Week 9: A super awesome week!

Hallo alle sammen!!! This week was super awesome!

Im gonna start with last P-Day. (7 days ago) This was my first real P-day because we were really busy for the first one so i didnt get to do any cool stuff but this one was good. We took a bus out to Tromøybruet, the bridge that goes accross to the island right accross from us. Its a super huge high up bridge and its an awesome view! I will attach some pics at the end. We crossed over it and started exploring part of the forest on the other side and we found a mini abandoned lighthouse which was cool, and its just awesome to have some adventures in the forest. Missionary work is kind of an adventure, but its not the same as going out and doing stuff like that. Also it was very refreshing to wear normal people clothes in public. 10/10 would reccommend doing once a week.

Anyways, on wednesday we got to take a train up to Drammen for my first zone conference. It was really cool to be surrounded by so many awesome missionaries! Its easy to take it for granted in America, but here I have really grown to appreciate having so many spiritual people around me because of how few members or even religious people there are. I have a story about that, which i will address later because im getting off topic. At zone conf, I got to see 3 of my MTC homies. I like my new companion a lot but its good to see the people that i became friends with way back in the olden days of the MTC. And its fun to travel and see new places because Arendal is pretty small.

Oslo Fjord Zone Conference

I am adjusting to missionary life just fine. Our lifestyle itself is pretty simple and easy. The hard part is the missionary work. Finding people who are interested is very difficult, but its ok. We had a couple cancelled appointments this week, but we had one succesful appointment with Mira, a very interesting Hungarian lady. Shes been an investigator for like 3 years (a long time). Idk how we got onto this topic but I explained to her that baptism just had to be done by immersion, it doesnt matter if its in the baptismal font or in a lake or the ocean. She was very surprised by this and said that was the only thing keeping her back from baptism! She was just afraid of the baptismal font because shes a little bit paranoid and thinks its like a trap and we might try to drown her. But if its in the ocean she can just swim away to avoid being drowned! So we may or may not be having a baptism soon haha. Like i said, shes an intersting lady and needless to say there are a few things she needs to understand better before we can baptize her.

On Saturday there was a baptismal service in Kristiansand that we got to go to. There have been I think 19 baptisms in all of Norway in 2017 so its a big deal when one happens. So we went and it was awesome even though we didnt know the lady.

I mentioned earlier that i have a story about it being nice to be around other religious people. Yesterday evening we were tracting. We were mostly just getting shut out a lot. By the time we got close to the end of this long street, there had been several people tell us that we already came and knocked on their door a few days ago. We definitely werent tracting in this area a few days ago, so we started thinking. Who else goes around knocking on doors talking about religion? JEHOVAS VITNER! We got to the last house at the end of the street and banked on the door. The man who opened the door started talking to us and we realized that he was the JW who had been going around in this area! We realized that when his wife came over and gave us a JW pamphlet. We actually had a good pleasant conversation with them, and they were by far the most kind and open people we had talked to that evening. I have heard a lot of things about the JWs, but my first experience with them in Norway was very positive haha. It was good and refreshing to talk to someone who was at least interested in religion, even if they are not LDS.

Happy Halloween! Halloween is celerabrated in Norway. Its a really new thing though, like its been developing over the last 10ish years, and its definitely not as big as in America but its becoming more popular. Pretty much all American culture is popular here. Everyone listens to american music and wears american clothes and stuff. I kinda expected to get here and be surrounded by tons of Norwegian culture but its not that different here except for the language, and people dress better haha.

Here in sørlandet there is a good mix of pine trees and other trees, so the fall colors are definitely coming though and its beautiful. I think i got some good pics of it which i will send.

So thats about it for this week. I hope all of yall are having good lives. Ha det 

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Week 8: God is looking out for me!

Nothing too crazy happened this week, but I am still loving Norway!

Early this week we found 2 people on the street who said they would be intersted to meet with us! One of them blocked our number, but the other seemed genuinely interested so that was awesome to have a little success there. There hasnt been a ton of success with the missionary work so far but that just makes it even better when you do get it. 

On Wednesday we got to travel to Kristiansand for district meeting which was fun. There are 4 missionaries and a senior couple there, and it was cool to go see that city. Its much bigger and busier than Arendal. Eldste Brooks bought me my first Kebab while we were there, which I guess is a big landmark in the timeline of someone's mission here in Norway haha. One of the coolest things about that trip was just the bus ride to get there. It's about an hour and a half and the scenery is absolutely beautiful! I'm pretty 100% sure i got the most beauiful mission in the world.

My Norwegian skills are definitely improving a lot! It is still difficult to understand all the native Norwegians, but it's getting easier every day. My companion, Eldste Brooks, is really good at understanding people so I can rely on him for that quite a bit. Eldste Brooks and I are getting along very well, because we are both very chill people and enjoy working together. I have really good pronunciation and reading skills, but native Norwegians speak a lot faster than what i'm used to hearing, so its good to have Eldste Brooks to help with that.

The weather this week has been fun. It started out warm and with clear skies, but the last few days its pretty much been raining nonstop. I know God is looking out for me because he held back the storms until the day after I got a rainjacket. The weather reminds me of Petersburg very much. The last 3 days it's pretty much been lightly raining nonstop with a few periods of downpours or breaks. I am keeping warm and dry though. I'll buy a warm coat when it gets colder.

And the scenery here is so beautiful! there are trees everywhere, so that's cool but i think a couple of the coolest things with the scenery are 1. There is water everywhere. There are so many islands, and little bays and inlets, and lakes and ponds everywhere and that's really cool to see. 2. The rock formations. Everywhere you go there are just huge chunks of rock and cliffs jutting out of the earth randomly and it looks so cool. If Norway were warmer, it would be the best place in the world to go cliff jumping because of all the huge cliffs and water everywhere.

Something cool i discoved this week: You know I have always loved rice with butter and cinnamon sugar. What you probably didn't know is that is 100% a Norwegian thing! Its called risgrøt here and it's exactly the same as what I ate back home except that you cook the rice by boiling it in milk in a saucepan, so it has more liquid to it. It's about the consistency of oatmeal. It is so good! And that was just kind of another weird little confirmation to me that I was always supposed to come to Norway. So yall should try risgrøt, its awesome.

McDonald's in Norway

Speed bump warning sign!

Crossing a bridge in Kristiansand

Week 7: An eventful week, and hello to Eldste Brooks!

A LOT has happened in the 10 days since i last emailed! This might be a long email so dont feel bad if you dont want to read that much haha. I would also like to apologize for the fact that im typing from a Norwegain keyboard and for some reason it sometimes randomly capitalizes Words so when that happens dont judge me, its not all my fault.

I know yall are probably tired of hearing about the MTC so ill keep that part short. My last week there was awesome! I was very ready to get out of there by the end, but i am going to miss some Things about it. I will miss constantly being surrounded by happy People, and the spirit that was there. Also I will miss all of the awesome being that i met there and grew to be Close friends With. The highlight was probably Sunday, the last full day we were there. In sacrament Meeting all of those that were leaving for Sweden and Norway the NeXT day sang the efy medly partly in Swedish and Norwegian. It turned out to be super good and literally everyone that was there was bawling their eyes out by the end. 

Getting ready to leave for Sweden and Norway.... 

Norway/Sweden Elders

Anyways, now to the more exciting part: We left monday morning for the Salt Lake airport and then we were on Our way to Amsterdam. We had a very long and uneventful flight.  In Amsterdam we had a 6 hour layover and we didnt know what to do With all Our time. So one of the other Elders and I decided we would try to go be missionaries and talk to People in the airport. This was difficult because everyone spoke Dutch haha. At one point we talked to this old Dutch guy we saw. We went up ande said hi, and then he chewed us out because he didnt like Americans and he said we were Sodom and Gummorah. So that was my first contacting experience (: Eventually we got on the airplane and had a Shorter flight to Oslo.

Once we landed we got off and met up With the mission president in the airport. We were all so excited and amazed just being in Norway. It is an Incredible Place! We got to the mission home and did some introduction stuff and found out Our first assignments. They made some "Frozen" refences, and then revealed that I would be serving in ARENDAL! My trainer would be Eldste Brooks. Before we departed the NeXT day we ate breakfast and said goodbye to each other. I am going to miss everyone in my District, and it was a little sad to say goodbye. 

I am going to miss my MTC district!

I left for Arendal by Train With one transfer in Nelaug, a small Train station in the middle of nowhere. By the time I got to Nelaug, it was about 6:00 in the evening. I got off of the original Train and went to ask one of the station workers in my broken Norwegian which Train i should get on to go to Arendal. In the time that I was trying to communicate With him, all of the Trains left. I found myself alone at the Nelaug station With 3 old gruff Norwegian men With weird dialects that were difficult to understand. I was able to get from them that the NeXT Train for Arendal would not come for 2 hours. I asked for a phone to borrow to Call Eldste Brooks but i think they told me there was no service way out here, so I could only wait. So thats what i did. I sat in the station and looked at the scenery which was beautiful, but not where i wanted to be at that moment. Eventually the NeXT Train came and i was able to arrive safely at my destination and meet up With Eldste Brooks who had also been waiting 2 hours.

Arendal is actually nothing like it is in Frozen, but it is very beautiful. It is spread out over 2 Islands and part of the Mainland right on the Southern coast of Norway. It is a very old European style town of about 40,000 With a huge Lutheran Cathedral right in the middle. It is surrounded by forests and is very green and picturesque. Also the weather had been pretty good so far so I was able to get some good Pictures.

Yesterday I was able to attend Church. Its a branch of about 45 active members. I had spent the Whole week before contacting and tracting so i had learned by this point that I am not yet very good at understanding Norwegian speakers, and Church was no different. I bore my testimony in Church and a lot of People said i have really good norwegian, so right now i think i need to focus on trying to figure out what others are trying to say to me. Anyways, all of the members were very friendly and Nice to me and one of them gave us cake. In such a small branch like that it feels more like a Family than a congregation. I love it there and it was great to be surrounded by members for the first time after a week away from the MTC.

Bonus Story:

Out contacting one day we stopped to to talk to a middle aged African man we were passing by on the gågate. We introduced ourselves and talked for a bit. He was a little bit odd and he had kind of a funny dialect so we asked him where he was from. I might not be fluent in Norwegian, but i could understand what he said in a very serious voice: "Oh, im from another planet! Mars or Jupiter maybe, I dont know" We politely said we had to leave at that point, partly because we knew he wasn't all there mentally and partly because we were trying to keep from laughing.

So I have had an Incredible and eventful week! Sorry that letter was so long, but i had a lot to talk about. I hope yall have an awesome week, Ha det bra!

Some pictures of Arendal:

Week 6: Welcome to Norway!

From Sister Hill, the Mission President's wife:

"Hurrah! Another group has arrived safe and sound!! They are so excited to be in Norway 🇳🇴 and we are thrilled they are here! We love them already!!"

Headed to the mission home.

They are excited to proclaim the Gospel as they serve “far and wide” in Norway!

Wrapped in their dynes--their first purchase in Norway!

Ready to Serve!

...And they're off to their first areas!

Week 5: The Best General Conference...and Headed to NORWAY!

3 more days!   I am so grateful for my time here at the MTC and i plan to make the most of the last few days. My language skills have improved so much over the last 6 weeks and my testimony has grown a ton as well. The highlight of this week was definitely general conference. Although it was a little rough sitting in hard chairs wearing a suit for 10 hours, this was the best general conference i have ever experienced. It is so awesome hearing all of those talks from a missionary's perspective because it seemed like literally everything applied to and was directed at me somehow. I loved a lot of the talks but my favorite was Elder John C. Pingree's talk. It applied so much to me as a missionary because now it is more clear than ever how important it is for me to discover and develop my spiritual gifts. I love being a missionary!

Overall, I have had an awesome MTC experience, but I am very ready to go serve in Norway! On Monday morning we leave the MTC at 10 am to make our flight at 2 in the afternoon. We will have a 10 hour flight to Amsterdam for a 6 hour layover. Then, we leave for the Oslo airport and we will arrive a little after 4 pm Norway time. By 1 pm the next day, I will be departing for my first area with my new companion. I am so excited to see where I go because every area is Norway is super cool and beautiful! The only place I'm a little nervous to go to is the Stavanger area because they have a really weird dialect there; but even that would be awesome and I'm sure i would get used to it pretty quickly.

We are starting to wrap up the learning in our classes now, and we just taught our last lesson to a fake investigator yesterday. Eldste Lowther and I were able to commit one of them to baptism so we were very happy about that and we are ready to go teach some real Norwegians. We have started packing up some of our stuff and cleaning up the room and things like that. Its getting very real now and we are so excited for it!!!

Next time yall hear from me it will be from Norway, and it will be on next Monday which will be my new P-day. Ha det på badet din gammle skjokolade! (Or.... "Goodbye in the bathroom, you old chocolate!" According to Nick, "It doesn't really mean anything but Norwegians say it because it is funny and it rhymes.")

Yes! Very Nice!