S.'s life has consisted of fleeing war-torn countries, moving to foreign lands, and single-handedly raising six children. Her steadfast faith in Jesus Christ has carried her through such difficult times. Before immigrating to Norway, S. was a strong believer and always participated in religious activities. She once had a special dream similar to Lehi’s vision and knew there was a way back to God. She even founded her own church which included a couple hundred active members. In Doctrine and Covenants 123:12 it says, “For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it...” This scripture sums up S.’s journey of faith and how we were led to both her and her son, P.
While browsing Facebook, S. one day stumbled upon a video made by Swahili missionaries serving in Spokane, Washington. Curious, she decided to send them a message asking to learn more. After teaching her a few times via video-calls, the missionaries referred her to us here in Trondheim, Norway. We decided to make the long trip up to Namsos to visit her and her family of seven. We were immediately welcomed into her home and began teaching her about the Restoration. Namsos is unfortunately a 3 1/2 hour drive from our chapel in Trondheim. That distance, however, would not stop S. from progressing in the gospel.
We continued to teach her family over video and they felt that they had finally found the truth. At the same time, the Swahili elders would explain the gospel principles to them in their mother tongue. Later, we decided to visit the family again in Namsos and could tell that their faith was growing. For example, P., S.'s nine year old son, felt something special about what we were teaching. When we asked him why he wanted to be baptized, he responded: “To be nice like Jesus.” This simple yet powerful faith would carry him and his mother through many challenges along the way to baptism. S. and her family even took out a loan in order to attend a church meeting in Trondheim and rode the train and bus to make it there!
Before their baptisms on December 19, 2020, we ran into serious problems. S. and P. desired to join the Church but didn’t have sufficient funds to make the trip to Trondheim. S. was crushed when she realized that their baptisms might not be possible. Thankfully, a miracle occurred! Members generously helped the entire family of seven to travel all the way to the meeting house for the baptismal service.
God is always watching over this family and has now led them to the true Church of Jesus Christ in His own way and timing. He leads His work and performs miracles in accordance to our faith. After countless trials and challenges, S. and P. have finally found a home in the Church. They are committed to the gospel and S. is a natural missionary. We are currently teaching the rest of her family. Moreover, 21 of her friends in Uganda and 40 in Congo all desire to be baptized as well. The Lord has been preparing S.'s family their entire lives and we are blessed to be part of their conversion process.
Elder Olson, Elder Moll, and Elder Beutel
Norway Oslo Mission