Yes, it is getting colder and darker by very noticeable degrees here. No, I don't love it. I miss the 24 hours of sunlight and sleeping with my beauty mask.
The following happened this week:
We were taking the bus from point A to point B. Søster G and I were sitting apart from each other in order to talk to people on the bus. Sometimes if we are having a good conversation we just stay on a little longer, so we try to keep an eye on one another. Once we got to point B I kept talking, but just a little bit. Just a second long linger. But it was a second too long, because Søster G didn't know that I had the intention to get off the bus. I hopped up, leaped through closing doors, and turned around just in time to see Søster G standing on the other side of the window looking at me with a look of shock. I lost it right there. I waved goodbye to her and started the long walk to the next bus stop. It really wasn't long at all, but took me twice as long because I was laughing so hard the whole way. People must have thought I had gone crazy.
One of my favorite parts of missionary work is helping people to stop smoking. You wouldn't believe how many people smoke and don't want to. It is my favorite part because you really can see them get help from the atonement. We tell them to drink orange juice, chew gum after eating, read from the book, and pray. And it works. They come back and talk about how good they feel. We are helping a Norwegian\Greek man about our age. I also like when we get to teach the younger kids about the commandments. In Norway you would have to teach no smoking starting at 8 at least to make sure it is early enough. I am still amazed by the number of things we do everyday when we know how bad they are for us.
We met a big old man from Spain who has my heart. He has met with missionaries before and says the funniest things in his half Norwegian half Spanish. (I can get any latino to give me their number, because I speak a few words of Spanish to them, melt away the Norwegian cold, and we are BFF. It is like we have some sort of understanding. I like it.) He told us he can't pray to God anymore because he fights with him too much. I wish I could take a picture of the moments that I am in and send them home to you. This week he is having us over for dinner and we are bring an old member Norwegian member with us. It should be quite the party.
Went to Oslo again this week. Sat next to an architect on the airplane. Thought of you, dad. The houses here are real different than the houses there. Super simple. It might be the future...maybe you could google it? I like the yellow ones. But I have always liked yellow houses.
Søster G and I work real good together doing missionary work. We get a lot of new investigators every week and are really good and keeping each other laughing. I'm wondering where all the super weird sister missionaries are, because I haven't met any of them yet. Poor girl though. Her camera got put in the washing machine. Mine only works every other time I turn it on, but I just shake it up a little and it works again. Neither of us are big picture takers. I think we have 1. Sorry, never been a strong point.
Another real good part of the week was teaching T, a 20 year old Norwegian, the law of Chastity. He almost died as we slowly named one more thing that was now forbidden. He is out of town but called us because he felt like he was losing the spirit. I wasn't planning on giving him the lesson, but he said he was trying to avoid alcohol, marijuana, and girls. He said B told him about the no girls, so I decided I might as well go into detail. By about the middle of the phone call he asked what he was going to do all day. I told him to get a job. : )
My favorite things to teach: The Plan and Commandments. I don't know why, but I love teaching commandments.
Boy, dad was sure on fire after my last e-mail... Sorry it was so short!
I miss you all mucho grande. Winter will be the hardest part. I'm still in Tronheim, but moves are around the tenth of next month. President said he will put me somewhere warmer because I never take my coat off, even inside. He said he was sorry that there was no places in Norway with palm trees.
Love you,
Katie
