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

District Fiesta

Yo, what's up everyone!!  I hope you are doing good and I hope everything is good back home.  This week was a crazy, crazy week!

On Tuesday we were out working, and we got a text from a less active member and her husband we are teaching.  She said that she had just had a second major heart attack and that she is in the hospital again, so that was way hard to hear that it happened again.  So, we kept a good attitude and said a prayer for her.  She lives about 45 min away and so we were not able to go see her this week, but hopefully we can give her another blessing next week if we see her.  We were then going to eat with a member, who is awesome, and has fed the missionaries in Randers for a while.  We got there and he said that we actually did not have a dinner appointment and that he is not going to come to church any longer.  That was a punch in the gut too, Bam!!  But it's all good because we had another eating appointment on Friday and guess who came?? This member wanting to leave the church!!  We walked him home in the rain and I stopped him, and I said "Erick, how did you get a testimony and he thought about it a lot.  We talked about some really cool things for a while and it really helped him and it helped me too.  One thing you learn quickly on your mission is that you never know what will happen next and to expect just about anything.  

This week we had a district party and we got to go bowling and eat some burgers! We celebrated getting our baptism mission goal this year!  I love the Mission and even though it can be brutal at times, I know that God is always pushing me through.  I've had a lot of times where I've thought "Why am I out here?" And something will always happen that will remind me why. I love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and I know this Church is true!! I’ve got a challenge for everyone this week…. I want you all to read just a chapter in your Book of Mormon and try and pray every day and see how much happier you feel by the end of the week….  I know it will help!! I love you all and I'd love to hear from you so shoot me a quick email!! 

Love, 

Ældste Fisher

Pictures:

1) Me and my B of M in the forest

2) What my name tag looks like most of the time

3) My district bowling

Week #&$%

Hello and another week down in Randers.  This week was a good one, but I don't have very much time to write.

One cool thing that happened this week is that were able to meet with Niels and Shelly, who we decided to contact on our less active list a month ago.  Shelly was a member as a little girl but she really doesn't remember anything about the church.  She married Niels (who is not a member) and moved to Denmark.  For the past few weeks, they have driven about 30 minutes to meet with us every Thursday.  Unfortunately, Shelly had a heart attack this last week so she asked us for a blessing.  I was able to give her a blessing in Danish and it was awesome and the spirit was so strong.  They are planning on coming to church on Sunday so that will be something to look forward to this week.

Zone Conference was on Friday.  It was awesome to get together with all the missionaries in our zone and learn from each other and from President Olsen.   One thing I have learned on my mission is that God speaks to us through prayer and if we listen he will help us with the things we need to know.   Take time to Pray!

It's starting to look like a lot like Christmas around here in Randers! It should because it's dark (like really dark) by 4-5pm and cold.  I am excited for my first Christmas in Denmark and from what I can tell they celebrate it like champs!

Have a great week and I'm praying for everyone back home.

Elder Fisher

Rainy Randers

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Hej- from Rainy Randers. This week was a good one and we worked really hard and had a lot of fun (in the rain)!  We got to do some service for members so that was good (in the rain).  So, in case I haven't mentioned before, the Danish rain is insane! Ha ha ha!  Saturday we were out knocking doors and we weren't having much success (or none) and we literally got soaked.  I could squeeze my gloves and get a ton of water out of them.  I was thinking "What the heck am I doing out here, day after day in the RAIN?"  Then on Sunday we had an eating appointment with a couple of members and they told us that they had been struggling a little bit lately, but then they told us that they know we are ordained of God and whenever we were there they can feel the Spirit and they always feel better after we meet.  They also said that we are doing missionary work for the members too and to not forget that. We get so much rejection that this was very cool and motivating for me to have God answer my prayers through a member!!  Then I thought, "I know what the heck I'm doing out here!!"  As missionaries we are Perfecting the Saints too!

A funny thing that happened this week... We had visitors from Utah come to church and so we were translating English to Danish in Sacrament for the regular Danish members.  So this Utah lady was telling a story about how her son got something stolen in Columbia and she hunted the dude down and got it back, then a member turned around and said in English " she's a b****, she's a b****!!"  Really loud.  And in a really funny way.  Ha ha ha ha!!  They don't understand English swear words very well.  I believe he was trying to say that she was a bad "A" but called her the horrible "B" word.  My companion and I were laughing so hard!

I love the mission and I love getting closer to my Heavenly Father every day!!  My Danish has been improving a lot more.  I had a cool little experience happen to me this week.  We knocked on a door and a lady asked me and my companion where we were from and when I told her that I was from the USA she said she thought I was Danish after I spoke to her the first time!!  Yes, the gift of tongues actually works!

Well anyways, I love you all and hope you're doing good!! Keep praying, reading and striving to come closer to God in your life!!

Med kærlig hilsen

Ældste Fisher

Pictures:

- me and Elder Millett soaking up the sun while we can
- Randers sunset looking out our kitchen window
- out on a morning run

Videos:

- trying to teach my companion the art of the cackle
- proof of the rainy gloves

No typing, just pictures

Ældste Fisher didn't write a weekly email this week but here are some pictures (and a video) from his week in Denmark.

No more training for me!

It's official. I'm not being trained as a new missionary anymore. Now I'm just a normal, non training missionary and I couldn't be happier. Ha, ha! President Olsen called on Saturday morning and let us know that I would be staying in Randers and getting a new companion, Ældster Millett. He had been serving in Fredericia for the past couple months and now he's with me. He's a stud! He grew up in Orem and went to Timpanogas High. He's just a chill, fun, cool dude so I'm super stoked about being companions with him. Elder Grossnickle was sent down to an area south of Copenhagen. I think I really will miss him. He taught me a lot in these past few months.

It's been a crazy day today. We got up super early to get Grossnickle to the train station. We went to Aarhus where I got off the train and he stayed on to head down south. I hung around there all day with a few of the Elders and then went back to the train station to pick up Elder Millett and head to Randers. After getting a quick bite to eat, we headed back to the apartment to get Millett kinda settled and then we went over to the church to do some quick emails and call home for a bit.

We had some good meals in some awesome members homes this week which is always fun. Also, I had a feeling to call one of the less active members in our branch. She's actually from Utah and is living in Denmark with her Danish husband and she said that it was nice that we called because her husband has been asking questions about the church so we are going to meet with them on Thursday. I'm excited for that!

I'm excited for another week and to see what it brings. I hope you're all doing good. When it gets dark and cold at home, think of me. I know how you feel. Times a hundred. Ha, ha. But I'm doing way good. I'm happy and loving every minute here in the homeland!

Ældste Fisher

Pictures:

- bike helmet selfie. Safety first.

- my chef skills are improving

- my official Danish Visa card

- on splits with Elder Jensen

- out tracking 

- sunset at the train station this morning

Groundhogs Day

Have you ever seen the movie Groundhogs Day?? Well, that is what I've felt like this week. Bill Murray wakes up every morning to the same song on his alarm and he does the same thing everyday.... Ha, ha! Although I love my mission, i'm ready for a change this transfer!  This is my last week of officially being trained and I've got a spring in my step.  I'm ready!!  Transfers are next Monday and i'll find out on Saturday what the plans are for me and probably a new companion. I'm excited to let you all know what's happening and I think I'll be staying in Randers.  I really do love it here!

We did lots of finding this week. Not too many people are interested in talking to us, but that's ok we're still going to keep looking for souls that need the Gospel. On Friday I went on splits with Elder Krueger here in Randers, he's from Ohio and is a chill guy.  We had a great day and worked our rears off.  

So on Sunday, I got up and bore my testimony in Sacrament meeting on the importance of missionary work. The branches response was great! We have 5 eating appointments this week and hopefully we can get to know more members and see if they have anyone in mind that might be interested in meeting with us. Im convinced in this country, and everywhere, that members of the Church have to be looking for new members and not just the missionaries.  The people here are great, but God is not at the top of their priority lists.  I may have relayed the importance of Missionary work in a strong way to the Branch...  Well, I figure it's better to be bold than sit back and watch.  

I'm not going to lie, some days on the mission are rough. Like yesterday, we were out contacting and it seems like people were doing whatever they can to avoid us (bolt across the street when they see us coming or hurry and pick up their phone to look busy), it was pouring rain and I was sopping wet and I thought "what am I doing out here??" And then I quickly thought, "I know what I'm doing out here. I chose to be out here and this isn't my work that I'm doing, it's the Lord's work. Jesus Christ has gone through much more than we can imagine so the least I can do is give him 2 short years of my life". But I have to say, I was super excited to get back to the apartment and get dry and stay warm.  The weather is turning cold and dark.  In the winter I guess we only have about 6 hours of sunlight, so I'm getting ready for that with my "happy light" and vitamin D pills.  Stay tuned for a picture of that...

Finally, one of the requirements of passing off training in our mission is to memorize D&C Section 4 in Danish.  I finally did that and it is so powerful to speak that and remember the blessing of bringing souls unto Christ.  I started reading the Book of Mormon in Danish and I'm excited for the growth I hope to experience learning the language and feeling the spirit.  I am so grateful that I was called to this mission and that I can experience different things, good and bad, that I know will help others and myself for the rest of my life.   I love this Gospel and know it is true.  I love you all and look forward to next week!  

Ældster Fisher

Pics:

- rainbow

- just chilling on a net over the water

- ghost goody

- the best chocolate milk in the world

- me and Grossnickle singing happy birthday to his mom

Video:

- part of D & C section 4