Uke 95: Almost home

DÅKKER!

We had a dang good week that involved lots of awesome people, service, my first sauna, and free stuff! I don't feel like writing about anything, but yall will maybe get a decent letter next week since it wll be my final p-day before coming home! Or I might just be too busy enjoying my last moments here, so I can't promise anything. Just know I love yall anyways 

Ha det bra mine nillas!

Uke 94: When Stavanger Is an Option

HALLA BALLA! This week was super busy!

We had zone conference in Stavanger this week so the mission President and his wife and the assistants wanted to come the day before to spend p-day with us because there is no reason to stay in Oslo if Stavanger is an option. So we went on an awesome hike as usual. It was called Ugeliåsen. It was pretty short but the trail and the view from the top were beautiful!

Zone conference the next day was really good, it felt a little weird though being my last one before I go home. We hosted a couple other Elders from Bergen the night before and that was really fun and we made Tandoori pizza and reminisced about Geir the good old days up north.

We traveled to Flekkefjord on thursday! It is really far away (closer to Kristiansand than Stavanger) but there is a member and her husband that live there who come to church in Stavanger when they can. We had some adventures on the way there. We had to switch busses in a place called Hauge i Dalane and that was really weird. We had about 30-40 mins to wait there before our next bus would come so we had a look around the town and it was just really weird. The first sketchy thing that happened was when the bus driver just pulled over on the side of the road, where there was no bus stop and told us it was the end of the route. There was nobody else in sight at first and it was dead quiet even though we were in the middle of the town. We walked around and picked up some weird vibes, and saw a dead bird, and a little girl jumping on a trampoline which was on her roof. We felt like everyone we saw was spying on us and following us. We were excited to leave, and when the bus finally showed up, it was just a big green van... not a bus. But we got on anyway with only one other man, who also seemed really strange, and then started the drive towards Flekkefjord. Luckily, the weird vibes went away as soon as we left Hauge i Dalane and the drive was super pretty! Especially Jøssingfjord! Flekkefjord was awesome too! The people we visited are some of the nicest, friendliest people I have ever met. And it was also just cool to be back in Sørlandet, which is the region where I began my mission 2 years ago. And the weather was awesome! Actually it was a little too hot (32 C) but its better than cold.

Other than that, we played beach volleyball, taught a mission prep class, and had a funeral/roastimony for my companion and I since we are both dying in 2 weeks! Me snakkes, dåkk!

We got lots of good pictures this week! Unfortunately, there is only space on this email for 3 so these are some of my favorites:

Uke 93: Having fun and working hard

Last p-day, we went on a hike with some of the young adults here in Stavanger and that was super fun! We went to Randabergfjellet which is just a small hill but it has a beautiful view of the beach and ocean in the area.

Danish Splits: We did splits this week with the Stavanger Elders, and I was with Elder Lindberg, who is from Denmark. I asked him to only speak Danish the whole time we were together and I tried to speak it the whole time too. I learned a lot! Also it was just a good splits in general and we had a fun time.

Another highlight was that Ove came to church! We have been working with him the entire time I have been here, and he came to church for the first time in over a year this week. He liked it a lot and he says he's going to keep coming. So we were really happy about that.

We have continued to be fed every single day. The streak is now at 4 weeks without buying groceries. I was amazed and a little confused by this until yesterday when we put 2 and 2 together and realized the time we started being fed so much was exactly when the sister missionaries got taken out of the area. I'm not gonna say that's the only reason we're getting fed more... but it is interesting.

Me snakkes, dåkk!

Uke 92: Becoming Norwegianly

Hei bois! It has been a good week in Rogaland! Summer has finally started and we have had a lot of good sunshine the last few days, so that's been super nice. Don't get fooled by the sun though, it's still a little chilly when it's windy. I need to get warmed up as much as Norwegianly possible before I get back home next month and it's actually hot. I am worried I might die of temperature shock in August, so yall gotta pray for me. 

We went on a little hike with some members and their friends along the coast in an area called Viste. It was a beautiful day and we had a picnic, saw an old lighthouse, some horses, a cool cave where people lived about 8000 years ago, and other rock formations. It was very koselig.

We got stranded yesterday. We took a little trip to a city called Jørpeland to try to find some specific people but the boat didn't go back when we thought it would so we ended up being stuck there for a while. Luckily it was a really nice place to be stranded so we weren't too disappointed. Eventually, we had to take a bus to another city called Tau and then eat some kebab while we waited for the ferry to take us back home. We got home a little later than usual so we got to see the sun come close to setting and that was really pretty. There were some good vibes.

Our FHE Activity yesterday was going to a beach on a little island and grilling hot dogs and playing baseball with a few young adults here in Stavanger, so that was fun.

Another cool thing: People fed us almost every day this week as well as last week so this p-day will be my 3rd consecutive p-day without buying groceries.

That's about it for this week. Snakkes, dåkk 

Uke 91: A Really Good Week

This week was filled with a ton of appointments and service and free food. There were not a lot of exciting events that happened, it was just overall a really good week. The biggest highlight was probably that Noah, one of the young men here who is one of my favorite people, got called to serve a mission in Sacramento, California, so I'm really excited for him! 

That's about all I gidde this week, so until next time, ha det bra dåkk 

Also we didn't do a hike last p-day so here's a week old picture from Preikestolen.

Uke 90: Six weeks left

HEI DÅKK!

We had a good week! We got to find out about moves on Saturday and I was very happy to find out that I will be staying here in Sandnes for the remaining 6 weeks of my mission. I have loved all of my areas but this has probably been my favorite, so I am excited to be able to finish strong in such a great place with amazing people!

We helped a friend set up for someone's wedding this week and that was really fun. We got to meet lots of new people and help out a lot. I got hit on by a gay Filipino guy which was a little weird for me, but if I ever want to take a trip to the Philippines, he said he will buy the plane ticket, so that would be cool haha.

Another highlight was Kleppe eventyr! We went to a little town called Kleppe this week to try to find some inactive members. This was my first time visiting this town so I didn't really know what to expect but it turned out to be a fun adventure. The second we hopped off the Train, we were hit with a wall of rain and something that smelled terrible. We found the first house we wanted to visit quickly without any problem (other than the fact that we were soaked) but there was nobody home so we started walking to the next one and the smell just got worse and worse over the next few minutes until we were both gagging and laughing and choking all at the same time, and we didn't know why it smelled so awful until we passed by a building and got a view of a big truck spraying a huge fountain of manuer all over the fields. When we finally got to the town center and tried to find the next house, it took a really long time and we got lost and ended up finding some other cool stuff along the way, such as an old viking burial mound/monument, and a cool park. When we finally found the house we were looking for, nobody was home... But it was worth it for the eventyr.  Now Kleppe means so much more to me than just a stinky little farming town with lots of cows!

Norway is so awesome! Yall should come visit! Me snakkes!

Uke 89: On Mountains

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I went to Preikestolen today so I dont have much time to write. It was an incredibly awesome hike and we went in a group of 18 people, including 8 missionaries, the mission president and his family, a former missionary who came back to visit, and a few other friends. So it was a blast and the weather was good and we did a legendary photoshoot. I'll send the pics next week because I don't have them yet. Also, for the 3rd time in a row, I did my transferly interview with pres on a mountain.

Last p-day, I returned to my previous area (Haugesund) to do an awesome hike that I did 6 months ago when I was there. It's called Himakånå and it's really amazing, and it was greener this time than it was in January. It was really weird going back a previous area, it was a cool adventure.

Ellers, we had a mission farewell to Claus on Sunday, who is a homie going on a mission to Calgary Canada. I feel a bit shlosky only writing about p-days haha but that is usually the most interesting thing  Also shout out to my boi Tony Martineau who just got engaged. Shake & bake.

God natt, sov godt, og drøm kjøtt.

Uke 88: Cool stuff happened

God morgen folkens!

Last p-day was a little crazy so I didn't get much time to write emails. I walked 45 kilometers though so that was cool...

I called home in celebration of fathers day and talked to my family which was really nice, but that also means I feel less need to write a lot this week. So here's a list of cool stuff that happened:

- Trollpikken pt. 2

- Zone conference in Drammen (elder DeFeo was there)

- Missing our flight home after conference

- Eating at MAX Burger at the airport

- Teaching mission prep class to the youth

- Playing beach volleyball 

Have a good week yall, here are some good pics

Med vennlig hilsen, Eldste

Uke 87: No letter

Uke 86: Happy Times

BIFF! 

It has been a pretty good week! We started off last p-day with a hike called Dalsnuten. I had done it before but there were a couple people with us that were doing it for the first time. It's a pretty solid hike and the weather was pretty good and the people we went with were fun, so it was a good time. After the hike, we got some Happy Time kebab and thats always a highlight. Then we turned our apartment into a gym.

I can't actually think of anything else exciting that happened this week so here are some pictures 

Uke 85: So grateful, so glad

God morgen!

Last P-day was awesome! We took a trip to Månafossen with my favorite Filipino and saw some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen! The 1 hour drive took us through some breathtaking valleys and fjords and that drive by itself probably could have been an awesome p-day/something that tourists would pay lots of money for, but that wasn't even the destination. I'm so Grateful to be here in Norway where we are always surrounded by beautiful mountains and fjords and such. Anyways, Månafossen is the tallest waterfall in this region of Norway, and it is really cool! It's just a straight 100 meter freefall off a cliff, and there is a cool hike that takes you there, and Beyond it to a koselig camping area in a nice valley. When we got to the end of the hike, we hung out for like 15 minutes and then it started pouring rain, so we hiked back fast. Then we drove to a cool place called Byrkjedalstunet before travelling back home.

 I got a new companion the next day so that was also cool. I will miss Elder Barnes but Elder Baldwin is a bro too. We have had a good and busy first week together. We have spent lots of time with members and other people we are working with, eaten lots of pizza, and we even got to mow a lawn in the pouring rain in our white shirts and ties so that was fun!

I started compiling a list this week of fun memories and stories from my mission over the last almost 2 years, and it's been fun to look back and remember all the fun stuff I have done, all the good times I have had, and all the amazing people I have met! I am so glad I chose to serve a mission!  Gla i dåkk!

Uke 84: So much to celebrate!

HEI DOKK!

Fyrst og framst, we had a baptism this week! André got baptized on Sunday before Church and it was awesome! Elder Barnes and I were pretty stressed for a few reasons, one being that the person we asked to give a talk called in sick the night before. We asked a nice old lady in the ward right before the meeting to give an impromptu talk about the holy spirit and she killed it! We were very very very grateful for her and we gave her chocolate and a note and visited her and her husband yesterday. I don't know how missionaries do this in Places where baptisms happen often. I don't know if they are any easier there but this one took a lot of planning and stress. It turned out great though! I am so thankful for the opportunity we have had to teach André and help him come to Christ!

On a sadder note, my companion is moving ): It has been a great 3 months with Elder Barnes. It flew by so fast! He is going up north to cover an area that used to be covered by 3 sets of missionaries when I first came to Norway. He will be travelling between Harstad, Narvik, Bodø, and Mo i Rana, which is absolutely insane! I am a little jealous but very happy to be staying here in Stavanger! I will be getting Eldste Baldwin as probably my next companion, who was in the MTC with me so we will probably kill each other (not actually kill each other, but be each others last Companions before going home).

17 Mai was also this week obviously, which is Norway's national day and that was really fun! We saw the children's parade in Stavanger in the morning, then went to a member's mom's house to have a koselig afternoon barbecue. After that, we went back to Sandnes sentrum and watched the rest of the parades there. I liked it a lot more than last year actually! I travelled to Oslo for last 17 Mai which was cool because it's the biggest city and we saw the king, but there were way fewer tourists this year here in Stavanger and Sandnes which was nice.

Last p-day, we did a hike called Krossfjellet and that was a cool little hike with lots of friendly sheep.

I hope yall also had a sykt bra week, we'll be snakkin

Uke 83: Norway is the Best!

Last p-day was awesome! We took a Ferry to a little island called Langøy near Stavanger and it was beautiful! We took a little hiking trail that goes around the whole island. We saw lots of cool stuff and beautiful nature, a cute dog, and some sheep. Norway is the best!

On the same day, we did a presentation for a religion class from a local high school, and ate dinner with a member which was really fun.

The rest of the week was not super exciting, but it was chill. I called my family on American mothers day and that was nice as well. Have a good week dåkk