The Northern Elders

Hey!  This week was a good one.  Thursday night we traveled down to Randers to go on splits and stayed the night there.  It was fun to be in Randers for a day with Elder Modersitzki.  He's such a cool bro!  I miss Randers a ton and it made my heart happy to be there again :) Other than the road trip, it was a pretty normal week just working.

At church on Sunday, I prayed and ask God to help me see why I'm on a mission.  A lady got up and bore her testimony on missionary work.  She said that she knows it's not easy but it's so important.  She mentioned Elder Ogden and I and said how much she appreciated us and respects us.  One thing that I've learned while out here is that God answers prayers!  That's for sure.

A funny thing that happened...while we were out knocking there was a sign on a front door that said "If my dogs come out and bite you, lay down and act like you're dead or yell for help.  If no help comes, good luck!"  I thought that was pretty funny hahah so then we knocked on her door and her dogs came out and sure enough, one bit my leg and then attempted  to bite me in my nether regions.  I slapped it away and we just ran away from that house hahah!!  We then knocked the whole half mile street and every single person told us no :)  Fun!!

Anyways I love you guys and I'd love to hear from you!!!  Pray and read your scriptures it will make you so much happier!!

Kærlig hilsen

Ældste Fisher

Pictures:

- Me and Elder Modersitzki with my favorite green treat

- most of the Northern Elders

- just a small little kabob

- Randers sunset :)

Bring on 2020!!

Yo yo!!  This week was a good one!!  We celebrated Christmas and New Years big time!!  To the Danes, Christmas is mainly celebrated on the 24th so we went and ate with a family and their cousins.  It was so fun!  They do some fun stuff like dance around the Christmas tree and eat some good Christmas food.  Everyone was so nice to my comp and I.  We both got like 6 presents!  It was so cool to see how much they love us...I know we love them just as much :)

We had a pretty normal week with missionary work and even had some cool experiences.   We knocked on a lot of doors and we have a couple people who want us to come back.  This week I have focused on Jesus Christ and his Atonement.  It covers everything.  There is no depth it doesn't reach.  I tried to focus more on it because of Christmas and it was great.  One of my favorite scriptures is Alma 7:11.  It talks about how Jesus Christ takes upon himself our pains, sicknesses and weaknesses.  The Atonement is for more than just sins 🙂  Jesus Christ knows each one of us and loves us perfectly.  It's amazing to think about because in the mission field you can see your flaws a lot more.  I've learned that if I focus on Christ and try to improve and repent daily, I am much happier.  I invite you all to do the same 🙂

One funny thing that happened this week...we ate with some members and there was a recent convert there and they gave us non alcoholic beer.  The lady didn't know that it was non-alcoholic and almost lost her mind hahahah... she was trying to get our attention the whole time and tell us to read the label on the can hah!  New Years was crazy here!  It sounded like a war zone with all the fireworks.  We watched the Queen of Denmark give a speech on tv, ate some good food and played some board games with our ward mission leader.  It made for a fun night!  I hope you all have a great New Year and make some goals on how you can come closer to Christ this year!!  Read the Book of Mormon every day, even if it's just a verse.  I know it will help!!  I love you all...

 Godt nytår!!

 Ældste Fisher

Pictures:

1) Danish Christmas Tree

2) Elder Ogden and me

3) Biked up to Strandby, its the city just above Frederikshavn

4) Strandby beach

5) 2020 creamy drink

6) Our Mission Ward leaders Dad is a baker and made this New Year's cake masterpiece

Video:

New Years celebrating...hooray!

GLÆDELIG JULI!!

Davs venner!!

 This week was awesome!  We had a way busy week.  On Wednesday we had a mission wide conference for Christmas and it was so fun to see all of my buddies again from the MTC.  We heard from President, ate some way good danish food, played a gift game, and watched The Lion King (new one) and I loved it!  That movie is so good hahah.  It made me think a lot about Christ actually. There is a scene where the monkey talks about how the past can hurt, we can either learn from it or run from it!  That relates to us and why we are on Earth.  We are here to learn and grow!!  Through Christ, we can grow the most.  Christ is the savior and he atones for all of us perfectly, individually and fully.  He paid the WHOLE price.  Not just part and there is nothing left out.  He loves you!!

 We got back on Thursday from the conference and have had a good couple of days.  We knocked on a guys door and his neighbor came out and said no one was home.  So we then talked with that guy and he said he wasn't that interested but offered us a soda for the road.  We took it and said thanks and then knocked on the next door.   We finished the street and were walking back and the same guy came out of his door and asked us if we have anything about our church with us, so I offered him a Book of Mormon.   He was so happy when I said it was his for free and he said to us in exact words in danish "I will read the whole thing."  It was so sick!!  We got his number and we are gonna go back and talk to him after the new year!!

 On Saturday we decided to bike out to a nearby city and knock some doors out there.  Earlier that day my comp fixed his bike tire and so we thought we were good to go. The second we got to the city his other tire went flat.  We went to a store and bought a new tube and then it was the wrong size so we had to go back in and buy the right size.   It took about 45 minutes but we got it fixed again and then went and knocked a ton of doors and got some good talks in but not too much else.  We get back to our bikes and the tire was flat that he fixed the first time hahah!!  We just decided to catch a train and head back instead of walking an hour and a half.  Learning lessons of patience every day out here.  I love the mission and I love the Lord.  I'm not perfect and neither is anyone but all we can do is strive to be better than the day before!  I love you all and hope you have a Merry Christmas!! Remember why we have Christmas and serve people! Eat lots of good food for me back home!! I'm so grateful to be out here on the Saviors birthday serving him! No place I would rather be 🙂

 Shoot me an email...I'd love to hear from you!

 Glædelig jul!

 Kærlig hilsen

 Ældste Fisher

 Pictures:

 1) For p-day, a cool return missionary from Denmark took us on a drive to look down on Frederikshavn

 2) Same lookout with Elder Ogden

 3) Official Mission Conference Christmas pic

 4) Me and my MTC buddies back together again

 5) Gift exchange fun

 6) My Christmas tree all set up :)

 7) Out on one of our biking adventures

LIVING IT UP IN FREDERIKSHAVN

This week was great!  So I got transferred up to FREDERIKSHAVN!  It is the northern most area on the mission and it is awesome!!  My companion is Elder Ogden from Arizona and he is such a cool guy.  This week was crazy!  I got here on Monday, unpacked and stuff and then we ate with our ward mission leader, Jacob 🙂 I already love the guy!  He gave me a chocolate christmas calendar and is way good to us!  We worked hard this week!  We knocked a lot of doors and contacted a lot but it was actually fun because Elder Ogden and I get along really good! 

Up here in Frederikshavn we have one of the best branches ever! They are pretty much just one big family (quite literally they are all cousins) and everyone is so loving!! We played floorball on Wednesday night and it was so fun!!  Its like hockey on a basketball court with a whiffle ball.  There is a girl who is about 16 and she schooled me and Elder Ogden and embarrassed us hahah so we got some work to do.  We had a couple eating appointments this week, which was fun. It was good to get to know everyone just a little better.  We also had the Ward Christmas party on Saturday.  We sang songs and danced around the Christmas tree and ate Danish food.  It was a good time hahah a little different, but I went with it.  There is a family named the Blankensteiners and they are not members except for the dad.  They have three boys and they said they are going to get baptized soon.  It is fun to work with them and get to know them.  Their three boys remind me of my three little brothers so we are already really close.  We were meeting at the church and Elias (who is 11) came up to me and told me he needed to show me something.  He showed me the baptismal font and was so excited and happy!!  It made my week for sure hahah I know I'm here for a reason!! 

One thing that was funny this week was that we had an eating appointment with a family and their grandpa was there too who has Alzheimers. It was kind of sad but funny because he asked me and my companion at least ten times each if this was our first Christmas in Denmark, how long we have been here, and if we know what Danish people eat at Christmas!! He was sweet though and it was cool to meet him. 

When I read the scriptures, I love reading in Alma.  Two of my favorite chapters ever are Alma 34 and 36.  It talks about faith in Jesus Christ and why we have the Atonement.  I challenge you to look into it and see what you find out :)  I love you and miss you all!!  Thanks for all the support...it helps me a ton!!  Til next week!!

PS: we went up to Skagen today (the tip of Denmark where two seas meet) with a couple Elders from Svendborg.  They came up because Elder Salisbury served in Frederikshavn and helped prepare for a Christmas concert we had so he came to watch it.  We climbed around in some World War II bunkers and walked out to the top of Denmark!!  It was so much fun!  See pics below...

🙂 love you all!!

Kærlig hilsen 

Ældste Fisher

Pictures:

1) Me in front of the Frederikshavn Church

2) Found a chair that fits me perfectly

3) Another "cute" Danish street (plus I needed to document the blue sky that day)

4) Skagen bunker

5) inside the bunker

6) Skagen beach

7) Elder Ogden and myself where the seas meet

8) a cool old church in Frederikshavn

Goodbye Randers

Elder Fisher was transferred today from Randers, Denmark to Frederikshaven, Denmark.   He served in Randers for almost 4 1/2 months and will miss the area and the people he has grown to love there.  Frederikshaven is the northern most area in the mission, and he is excited to be serving there with Elder Ogden from Arizona.  Skagen (where the North Sea and the Baltic Sea meet) and Albæk, where many of Elder Fisher’s ancestors are from, are now in his area.  No change in the rainy weather, but his spirits are high.  We look forward to an update next week on how things went on the transfer and this next chapter in his mission.   Until next week….   

Pictures:

1) One of my last days in Randers

2) Me with some of my favorite members (Bjorna. Clara and their son). They fed us almost every Sunday night

3) We stood outside the Book of Mormon musical in Aarhus and handed out B of M's to the people leaving the theater

Video:

Christmas band playing in downtown Randers

Mission Conference fun!

Godmorgen alle sammen!!

I hope everyone is doing good!  Here is a recap of the week:  Tuesday we got to go and do some service for a members Dad who is not a member.  It was way fun and good to help and we are hoping we can get him to Church! On Wednesday we had a mission conference and it was so good to see everyone! I'm awful at taking pics (sorry mom) so of course I have only one to show!  But anyways, it’s always good to hear from President and Sister Olsen and to be apart of their awesome trainings.  He is an amazing leader and always knows what to say to help us! We woke up at 3am that morning and took the train all the way to Copenhagen, so we got like 4 hours of sleep…. We drove home in a car with Elder Redd and Elder Laurence, which is always so fun and they are both way cool dudes! On Thursday we had Italian food for Thanksgiving dinner and our friends Shelly and Niels took us out to eat.  It meant a lot because it was my first major holiday away from home.  Niels, on the way home, said he is getting work off so he can come to Church and he is anxious to see how it goes and so are we!!  

A couple funny things that happened this week:

1.  We saw a member on the street and he told us that he talked to one of his friends, who isn't a member, and the guy asked if one of our Missionaries was handicapped? I thought "Oh crap what did I do this time?" But he was talking about my companion because he walks around without a jacket on and it's cold…Hahahaha!!

2.  A couple of people here in the mission have been playing a way fun game…. It's called "Who can find the sun first?" We have been playing for 3 weeks... no one has won... hahahahaha

But on a more serious note!! I've been reading a lot in the new testament. One of my favorite stories is of the women who said that if she could just touch Jesus she would be healed and because of her faith she was. (Mark 5:28-34) As Christmas comes it is a perfect time to strengthen our faith and relationship with Christ.  All we need to do is have faith and believe!  Christ is the reason I am on a mission and he knows me, and I want to serve the people here for him.   I can’t think of a better thing to be doing in my life right now.   Thanks for all your prayers.  Until next week.  

Pictures:

1) My first ever mission conference

2) Frosty fields

3) a Danish Santa eating a pretzel

4) Randers Reindeer

5) ...still waiting for the sun

Get the freak outta my Face (Få frikken ud af mit ansigt)

Hey what's up everyone!! This week was a little bit slow on the teaching side, but it was still way good in so many ways!  We had interviews with President Olsen and it was so nice to see him!  He’s such a great man and he always knows just what to say.  He is a spiritual giant!  We had a couple people this week yell some stuff at us when we were contacting like "religion is s*** man" and some other great stuff I won’t write here, but I’ve learned you just gotta roll with the punches. This week I gave my first talk on the mission and I was a little nervous!  It was on the Book of Mormon and it went really good, but I didn’t say a word of anything I wrote down!!  It just tells you the spirit guides us when we need him.  I had a few members come up to me after and tell me it was exactly what they needed to hear this week.  That always makes you feel good.  We have fun and work hard on the mission and I may, on occasion, make an animal sound at people when we need a laugh or things get too intense...  Everyone’s reaction is priceless!  

If there is one thing that I have come to know, it is that Jesus Christ knows us personally and loves us.  He wants to see us happy and he wants us to come to him!  It is crazy if you read the scriptures how many times, he invites people to come to him.  Whatever it is that you need to do to come to him, do it!!  We have a mission conference this week and I'm so excited to see all my mission buddies and hear the messages!  We go to Copenhagen too, which will be fun!  

Have a good Thanksgiving and celebrate hard for me cuz they don’t do that here in Denmark and I’m gonna miss that turkey!!  I love you all and I miss you all!!  Come unto Christ!!

Med kærlig hilsen

Ældste Fisher

Pictures:

1) me and my favorite book

2) cool ship parked in one of the bays here in Randers

3) Elder Millett and myself with some cool sisters in our district

4) a member showing us how to bake

5) a Mormons Bog selfie