Highlights

Did you ever think a mission could be this good? I planned on not really loving the first month, but if you always expect the worst then you are always pleasantly surprised. Needless to say, jeg liker veldig mye å være på misjonen min. It get better and better every day. Here are some highlights:

My companion. Sister J from somewhere in Utah. She is a hard worker and a really good example. We don't waste any time and that keeps things moving, which I'm really grateful for. She is as loving as they come. She tells me everyday this transfer is dedicated to me and keeps me laughing and talking. 

So much sunshine. I never see the sun go down. We go to sleep at 10:30 with a bright sun still lighting the sky. We had to turn our little bunk beds into a fort with blankets hanging all around because it is even worse in the morning. I'm pretty sure the sun is out by 2:30, because if I wake up in the middle of the night I wake up to sun. I love it. It is so easy to wake up in the morning. My first day I woke up at 4 and felt like it was 9 the sun was so bright. Also, Norway is beautiful. I'm in the city most of the time, (and you know I'm really not a city girl), but have been able to go out into the country a few times. It will absolutely take your breath away. Green land, old and colorful buildings, just picture everything I love and you have Norway. 

Teaching and talking about Heavenly Father all day long. I meet all sorts of people and I get to tell them about Heavenly Father, sometimes they just stand there and smile. They don't agree to be taught often, but I make them smile while for 5 minutes I tell them about a loving God. Even just talking with people makes everything brighter and you can tell. I sat down on the bus today next to a girl and before I said a word she said she wasn't interested. I laughed and said she must know that I was a missionary. I still need to practice Norwegian so I just kept talking to her. You could see her slowly loosing up and smiling by the end of the bus ride. Maybe next time we meet she'll let me talk about how important she is to God. But today I hope she just felt happy. We are teaching one Norwegian girl about my age. She has a baptismal date for the 11th of June (Happy Birthday Dad). I loving hearing her talk about what the Book of Mormon makes her feel. I love seeing her smile more and more each time we meet. 

The small and interesting miracles that happen. I'm not one to admit a miracle, but they happen. Yesterday we were meeting a new investigator for church, but he has absolutely no phone, so we had to be to the bus stop at just the right time. Well, we got there and he wasn't. (That happens a lot). So we waited a bit and then went back to church. Once we got to the back door we realized neither of us had our keys, that never happens. As we were walking to the front of the church. He never would have come in if we hadn't walked over and seen him. He liked church and is coming to FHE tonight. Another thing I loved, *.  We met her contacting on the bus one. A lot of people give out numbers, but few people give out real numbers and even fewer actually meet with us. But she invited us to her house, made us dinner, and let us teach her about the Book of Mormon. She comes from * but married a Norwegian. She has * children. Right off she said she believed that Joseph Smith saw what he saw, so it will be interesting to see where it goes. She had about every Holy Book you could imagine. I'm excited to go back and teach the plan of salvation. 

The members. This certainly is not South America. I remember church being pretty big every time I went, but the church is small here. I'm talking 3-9 primary kids. 13 people in Relief Society. But they are all amazing. I love to ask them about how they found the church. I'm still really not the most effective missionary, and sometimes it's a downer, but then I see the members and ask how they heard about the church. They tell me about meeting the missionaries and what it was like for them. After that I am totally ready to get back out and try contacting again. I'm just one person, but I can make a huge difference. 

Worst part: 

They gave me a cell phone. My own. I've never been good at phones. Answering, talking, texting, keeping it with me, not losing it. And I have my own cell phone. It is a huge blessing because you can get a lot done, if you know how to use it. So I'm really going to have to learn phone skills. Especially how to listen and not start chattering the second it get quiet, and even more so how to not just jump into the reason I'm calling. (It is pretty weird when a stranger calls someone for the first time and just asks when they can meet to talk about God.) Top it all of, I'm doing it in another language. 

Love and miss you all.

Okay, I only miss you on P Day... but at least I'm honest