"Singing in the rain" 🎵☔️

Heisann!

Greetings from Oslo:). Which speaking of Oslo, we got transfers this week and guess what! (drumroll...) I'm staying in Oslo! I am going to be losing Søster Bell which is super sad. She is the best! She's heading off to Stavanger and I'm going to be comps with Søster Gundersen who is awesome! I've met her a couple times and heard so many great things and am just super excited to serve with her in Oslo:).

This week we also had stake conference which was awesome! We got to hear from a return missionary and an absolutely beautiful musical number (Norwegian hymns are the best:)! We also had a referral come who had come to church before. We visited him and got to meet his family the day before and taught the first lesson:). He seemed to really enjoy it and is interested in learning more! Woot woot! 

Okay can I just say that I absolutely love the members here in Oslo! We got to go visit a few of them this week and it was just awesome :). We had a surprise dinner appointment with one of them and it was so fun. Another one we got to go on an hour drive (beautiful:) to help out with their yard. It did end up raining, but that doesn't really stop Norwegians, so we got a wee bit wet:). Afterwards we had some lunch and shared a message about miracles. It was so amazing to hear their testimonies of Christ. The members here in Norway are just amazing and are so strong and willing to help with anything. I was reading in the Come Follow Me chapters this week and  Mosiah 2:17, 24 stuck out to me. Verse 17 says that "when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." And verse 24 says, "He doth require that ye should do as He hath commanded you; for which if ye do, He doth immediately bless you;" Is it easy to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints? Nope. But it is worth it. Everyone is a child of a loving Heavenly Father and it's sometimes really heartbreaking to know that so many don't remember that. There have been so many times where it has not been easy to get going with the day and serve, but one of the things that has kept me going is that very fact. The Lord has asked us to serve Him by serving those who need to remember. Remember their divine identity, a Child of God. Remember they have a Savior that suffered and died for them, and that they are loved more than they could ever know. I know that the Lord is going to ask us to do hard things but that we will receive those blessings "immediately" because we are serving Him. 

Hope you guys have a great week! Glad i dere!

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede 

Fun bakery visit with a member

Just thought the sign was funny:)

Told a lady I liked her glasses and she then gave them to me 

"You take the [puff]. You put the [creme] on the [puff]." ⚾

Hei alle sammen!

I'm pretty sure I just wrote my last email yesterday but apparently a week has passed so here we are, woot woot! :) This week we're doing bullet point style because so much happened but due to "short term memory loss" I can't remember so let's see how this goes :).

- Språkkafe! (language class) A french couple that we had met a couple weeks back came and  as we were all trying to practice speaking norsk with each other, Søster Bell and I were asking how it has been coming to Norway and... (pause for effect...) they said "we just need God." Woot Woot! They are just amazing and are super open to meeting up again and we are planning on inviting them to church :).

- Bakekurs! (baking class) On Saturday we had a baking class and Søster Bell taught us how to make cream puffs and eclairs and it was so fun! We were able to meet some new people and invite them to more activities we have here at the institute center which was awesome! And then just to top it off, we went straight to a member meal in which I got to do a fun comprehension test as an older lady in the ward talked for a good solid portion of the meal. She talked about a number of different things that my comp and I are still not quite sure what they all were haha:).

- Sleepovers! Basically, we had a lot of sisters come to Oslo for splits with the sstl's (senior sister training leaders) this week and we got to host everyone:). So that was super fun!

Sorry I don't have a whole lot of time, but I was reading a talk by Joy D. Jones this week and there was a line that she said how when we lose ourselves in His work, that is where we find ourselves. I know that it's not always going to be easy and frankly it hasn't been, but I know that through Him I can find where I fit in this work and especially as a missionary in Norway. I know that through Jesus Christ we all have a place.

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming!

Søster Twede

"The sun was in my eye, Astrid" 🐉

 Hei alle sammen!

The sun!! 😎 It's been finally looking like spring here and getting a little warmer to the point where Søster Bell and I have done some of our studies outside, which has been amazing:). I will say it is kind of weird though waking up at 6 in the morning because it's already bright outside and you get worried that you missed the alarm only until you realize you still get to sleep for another half hour haha :).

Anyway, we had three friends in church this week! Woot woot! And two of them said that they would most likely come back! (Not sure about the third one but don't forget that mirakler skjer:). But Sunday was just an awesome day:). We also got to have a dinner appointment with some YSAs in the ward which was so fun! We had a little tea party which was so cute (no it was real tea just for any of those who were worried:). Then on Saturday, we had an stake youth activity where they were in groups doing a scavenger hunt around Oslo. Oh my goodness the youth are amazing! We got extra points if we handed out a Book of Mormon and one girl in our group was just so great at going up to people and asking them about it. She was a huge example to me of what it means to trust the Lord and fear not.

Which leads me to what I would like to share with y'all:). So this week we had zone conference and our focus for the transfer was "building confidence with the Spirit". Now, I have lots about this topic but today I would just like to bear my testimony of the Holy Ghost and his role in bringing us closer to Jesus Christ. I know that we have loving Heavenly parents that look out for us every day and know that this life is not easy. It wasn't supposed to be. But that is why we have Jesus Christ. I know that because of His love for us, Jesus Christ suffered and died for us so this life, though difficult, would be made possible. And I know that He sent the Holy Ghost so we could come to know how to come unto Him, how we can come closer to Him, and how when the winds and waves come we can remain still and bound to our Savior. I know that when we strengthen our foundation and fully rely upon our rock, Jesus Kristus, we may never fear. We shall always have confidence in Him even if we don't have it in ourselves. I know that Jesus Christ is the peace and hope. 

Glad i dere og jeg håper at dere har en kjempefin uke:).

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede

What time is it?! ... Conference time!

 Hei alle sammen!

So this week, not going to lie, was pretty awesome. We started out by having a lesson get canceled on us as we waited for them at the library which was highly unfortunate. BUT the Lord is just amazing because as my comp and I decided to do studies right then, a couple from France came and sat down next to us and we got talking with them. They had just been in Norway for a few days and were trying to learn Norwegian. Soooo, naturally we invited them to our language class and guess who's said they're coming tomorrow! We messaged them on facebook and they said that they were coming and were excited to see us again! Woot woot! 

We also got to help out one of the members this week with some service and also got to go visit her ministering sisters with her which was so fun! Then right after that we heard from one of our friends that we hadn't seen for a couple weeks. Last time we had tried to see if she was interested in learning more about the church and she unfortunately said no. She asked us if she could come to church with us this Sunday! So we are very excited for church this week :).

Last but certainly not the least... General Conference!

The first thing that really stood out to me about conference was how essential our temple covenants are. Now they don't have a temple here in Norway but that doesn't mean we don't have access to the power of the temple right where we are. Our covenants are what help us to remember that we are all spiritual temples of the Lord. As Sister Spannaus said, our covenants are the foundation that bind us to Christ. They are what allow us to have the powers of heaven constantly surrounding us everywhere we go. And that leads into my second thought that it is through prayer that we can open ourselves more up to the Spirit and they allow to feel the love and power of our Heavenly Father with us. Don't ever underestimate the power of prayer (Sister Porter's talk). I know that through prayer and covenants we can become closer to our Savior and "Be still" in the midst of chaos (Elder Bednar).

Hope you guys have a great week! Kia Kaha and Just Keep Swimming :)

- Søster Twede

God Påske!

Hei alle sammen!

God påske! Happy Easter! So just a little explanation on what happens on Easter in Norway:

- Easter break lasts from Thursday to Monday and basically all the stores are closed except for a few hours on Friday and Saturday. Lots of people like to go out of town to warmer weather and/or just stay at home and be with family. So walking on the Oslo streets this week was kind of weird because there was hardly anyone out and it was so quiet.

- kvikk lunsj! Basically a better version of Kit Kats and they are always on sale because people eat them like crazy at Easter time. People also like to have oranges and solo (another kind of soda).

- Påskekrim! 👻 So apparently crime stories are really popular during Easter. Do I entirely know why? Nope, but you know maybe by next year we'll have found out more. But yes, people buy lots of crime novels and enjoy a cold mystery to celebrate Easter 🐣 🕵‍♂️.

And that is Easter in Norway! As for the week it was a bit more chill because of Easter. I unfortunately got sick on Saturday and so my comp and I were stuck in the apartment all day but no worries I am feeling much better now (I just can't eat pb&js for a little while which is kind of sad). But Sunday was great because we had church and then held an Easter dinner! We had an egg hunt for the kids and then also for the adults which was so fun to watch 😂 (I don't think I've ever seen adults so excited for an Easter egg hunt:).

Easter though is one of my favorite times of the year. Throughout the week I've tried to study more and more on Jesus Christ and His atonement. One of the things that I have come to have a greater testimony of is that hope is never lost because of Jesus Christ. He did what was unexpected so we could expect miracles when it seems like they are impossible. We just have to remember to have faith in Him and just believe that He can do the impossible. Please just trust Him. He knows what it feels like to feel alone, hopeless, and lost. But it is because of Him that we can have hope for the future. Because of Him ALL is possible.

I hope you guys have a great week!

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming 

- Søster Twede  

"HI, I'm Dory" 🐠

 Hei hei alle sammen!

Yep! Another crazy but fun week so let's get started!

This week I got to meet a lot of people between just talking to people in public, our Taco night (so fun!), Book of Mormon stand (I felt so much like a salesperson), and through a few fikas we had this week. And just a quick explanation: I don't know what it's like in other missions but in Norway we actually introduce ourselves with our first names in public because it's really weird to say "Søster" or "Eldste" with the culture. We really only use those titles with other missionaries or in church settings. So with meeting a lot of new people, I used my first name a lot which does sometimes feel a little weird, but kind of fun. 

But Søster Bell and I got to meet a lady who is so cool! She's originally from Cuba, but has lived in Norway for a while. We got to talk to her about what we do as missionaries and the more we talked to her, the more we learned that she has a lot of the same values as we do in the church and just tries to stay focused on Christ! Woot woot! So crossing our fingers that we can meet with her again and possibly start teaching her:). 

This week I've been studying and thinking about our relationship with Christ and prayer. In "Secret Prayer" is says, "That this boon to mortals given, May unite my soul with heaven." I think we often forget how thin the veil is. So far in my mission I have had multiple experiences that have shown me that we have angels walking right next to us. In "A Child's Prayer" it says "some say that heaven is far away, but I feel it close around me as I pray." Prayer has for a long time been very special to me. I know that it is our way to communicate with our loving Heavenly Father and allows us to feel heaven and angels surrounding us. And I know that we can come to know our Savior,  Jesus Christ, is right next us as well. He loves us to much to leave us and is ready to help us if we just let Him. I know that through Christ we can come to experience the powers of heaven in our individual lives. Hope you all have an amazing Easter! God Påske!

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming!

- Søster Twede

"Here comes the [snow] do do do do" 🎵

 Hei alle sammen! 

Tell you what, it's been kind of funny to hear about other places getting warm and nice when I look outside and the rain/snow/sleet is coming down and the wind is blowing to the point where there's no point in doing your hair in the morning . But that's okay! I mean I do like the cold and on Sunday my comp and I got to shovel snow outside the church in our Sunday clothes (and no I was not wearing boots so that was fun:). Luckily it was sunny and it ended up being really fun :). 

Anyways, we had an awesome lesson this week with one of our friends! She is amazing! We taught her the rest of the plan of Salvation and oh my goodness... the Spirit was so strong! My comp and I both got to bear our testimonies and you could just tell that she could feel something and that she was ready to learn more. So we are really praying for her and hoping that she continues to progress with the lessons:). 

We also had transfers come out this week and guess what! Yep, Søster Bell and I are staying in Oslo, woot woot! This transfer went by so fast and now I'm half way done with training so we'll see how the other half goes.

Okay so this week I started to study the Consecrated Missionary talk which is amazing! The last little bit I've been trying to really focus on obedience and how we can have our will "swallowed up" in the Lord's will. There is a quote (I can't remember where from): "Obedience brings blessings but exact obedience brings miracles". In Alma 57:21, it talks how the 2,000 stripling warriors followed each command with exactness. In the mission, we have a video of all the miracles that have happened in Norway in the last six months and it's just been a testimony to me to know that obedience truly brings blessings. Yes, it is not always easy and convenient, but neither was the atonement that Christ suffered for us. I know that when we not only choose to follow Christ, but follow Him with exactness, we will experience blessings and miracles in our lives. Hope you all have a fantastic week!

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)!

- Søster Twede

Remember!

 Hei alle sammen!

So this week was super packed but I don't have a whole lot of time so let's get going!

This week I got to drive! Was kind of weird since I haven't driven in a little while but it was pretty cool!

I got to take a little trip down to Moss this week! Little background... a member in Moss served in Utah years ago and came to know my dad and his family really well and so it was so fun to visit with him and ask about his mission. The food was also amazing! Tusen takk Eddie!

Eddie!

We also got to visit quite a few members this week which was so fun! It has been super helpful getting help from them with the language and also great to get to know more people from the ward :).

We had zone conference this week! So this transfer our focus was sacrifice. I got to do a lot more study on the Savior and the sacrifice he made for each and every one of us. I also was able to think more on what sacrifices were made not only by me but by others in order for me to be here in Norway serving a mission. I have a lot of thoughts but some of the main ones are:

- REMEMBER. Remember why you chose to serve, remember why you chose to sacrifice to be here, remember those who also sacrificed for you to be here, and most importantly remember what Christ infinitely suffered and sacrificed for every single person.

- Sacrifice is something that gives us strength not sadness. One of the most important things we can do is to remember the joy that comes from sacrifice and using that helps give us strength to keep pressing forward when it's the most difficult. 

- Gratitude is essential. It may seem like we are asked at times to sacrifice a lot but in the long run, the blessings outnumber the sacrifices. Remember to look for the tender mercies EVERY DAY. Recognize Christ's hand constantly working in your life.

- Last, but most certainly not least, Christ. He is the greatest example of what sacrifice means. He gave his all to us and though we can never repay Him for the price, we cam continually show our love and appreciation for Him by giving our all. It is through Him we find strength, peace, and comfort. It is through Him that we can find true joy in sacrifice.

Love you all, Kia Kaha and Just Keep Swimming

- Søster Twede 

Adventure is out there!! 🎈🏠

 Hei hei alle sammen!

Quote of the week that pretty much summed it all up: "It's an adventure being Søster Bell's companion." 

SO, as you can probably guess, this week was quite the adventure so now I will give you the run down:

This week we were very busy! Which is great because it keeps us out of trouble, haha. We unfortunately had quite a few cancelations for lessons this week, but we are trying get more lined up for this week and praying that they work out :). We did though get to teach a couple lessons, one of them was on Monday with a lady and it was super cool! We talked about the plan of salvation and how we have a loving Heavenly Father. 

We got to help with yoga night, institute, and ukulele night this week which was also very fun. At institute I was kind of lost because it was all in Norwegian and they spoke really fast. That was until a guy wrote: Tro (faith) = håp (hope) × handler (actions) ÷ prøvelser (trials). I thought MATH, now that I understand, haha. Not sure if the logic behind the equation makes sense but in the words of Darren Twede, "It all goes back to math." :)

As for the language... this week I had a 15 min conversation with a lady on the t-bane (subway)! Public transportation has definitely been very helpful when finding opportunities to talk with people. I can't say that every day is great, but I will take the wins where I can:).

On Sunday right before church started, a lady came bursting in and started yelling at the bishop. Luckily, I could not understand all that she said but definitely did not help with the inviting the Spirit into the meeting. However, bishop then gave an amazing testimony and the meeting ended up being filled with the Spirit. Don't ever underestimate the power of your testimony. And then we sang Come, Come Ye Saints which just made it all even better.

Okay, so there was an experience that I had this week that I want to tie into my spiritual thought. First one: Saturday we went and tried visiting inactive members with our senior missionary couple, the Osburns, and we met a young single adult that loved the church but had some questions regarding some heavy topics. At the end we knelt down in his very tiny apartment and said a prayer. For those of you who don't know, I don't really cry hardly ever, but there was something about that prayer touched me in a way that made me realize that love is one of the most powerful things we could have. Love is the reason our  Heavenly Father gave His son. Love is why Christ chose to suffer, die, and sacrifice himself for us. When Christ was in the garden of Gethsemane, He asked if there was possibly another way to pay the price. He was scared, but it was His love for us that gave Him the strength to endure that incomprehensible amount of pain. He went willingly, humbly, and most importantly, lovingly. I know that even when life may seem restless and conflicting, we can find peace and comfort through the love of our Savior and as we choose to love as He did, we can witness miracles in our lives.

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming!

- Søster Twede :)

Eskimos, igloos, penguins and ICE?!

 Hei alle sammen!

To start out this week we had "first transfer" training which was super fun. I got to see my mtc buddies again which is always a good time :). We got to take some pics at the palace and then learned a ton of information that I can't say I remember haha. Then again... short term memory loss. But we will learn it eventually :).

I also got to do splits this week with Søster Tessem! It was so much fun! We got to help out with språkkafé (language café) and played some soccer. One of the things I learned this week is that there is a reason why I swam and played tennis. I can not play soccer but it's okay because on our way to soccer we had fun trying to walk on ice:). If any of you have seen Cool Runnings, the part where the team is trying to learn how to walk/run on ice... yep that was me haha. Basically trying to walk down a hill of ice with shoes that have no traction... it's a fun experience . Also I was able to talk to someone on the subway on my own in norsk! Conversation wasn't very long but guess what... progress:).

This week I started to read through and study hymns,  particularly sacrament hymns. I think hymns have a special way of saying something so simple but with it having such a powerful meaning. One hymn in particular I read was "Thy Will, O Lord, Be Done" (I invite you all to go and read it). I love how it says that "the king of kings left worlds of light... he counted his own will but naught, and said,  Thy Will,  O Lord,  Be Done." I think it's so important to remember how much the Savior sacrificed (his home, comfort, security, etc.) to come down to earth. And then saw His own desires/will as something not important. It was the Father's will that He wanted and was willing to follow and because of His willingness, humility, and love He gave the biggest sacrifice that ever could be. How willing are we to put the Father's will first as Christ did? It's never going to be easy, it wasn't supposed to be, but we can find strength through our Savior. 

I hope you guys all have a great week! Keep me updated!

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming!

- Søster Twede :)

Where's my hammer?⚡

 Hei alle sammen!

So this week was super busy! We did a lot and had some exciting stuff happen, so we're just going to get into it. We had a baptism!! His name is Tony and it was one of the Elder's friends and he got baptized on Saturday and it was awesome! Søster Bell and I also had one of our friends come to church on Sunday. Her name is Iselin and she has been taking lessons and has been really liking the idea that we have a prophet and leader that help guide us today. So we will see how lessons continue with her :). Yesterday we did some street contacting and we had a little miracle:). We went to serve this guy that needed help with picking up food for him but unfortunately we couldn't pick up the food, BUT we ended up running into a woman when we were there. She was soooo nice and was super open to meeting up with us again to get to know her better, woot woot!

As for language, I am starting to understand a little more and speak a little more (progress:). I'm still doing really well at smiling and waving but you know that's just how it is :).

We also had a mission conference and that was super fun to see my mtc buddies again :) and also to meet more people from the mission. Elder Phillips came and spoke to us and it was really cool! One of the things that he talked about that really stuck out to me was about how we can't just do things because that's just how things were done. The way we do missionary work is much different now. I know I've kind of had a hard time doing a lot of Facebook work, but I've been praying to try and have a better attitude towards it so I can better appreciate it. This helped me realize that we need to always remember why we do things. One of the goals we have as members is to help bring the light and love of Christ into people's lives. Many times it's not going to be easy, but we just need to trust in Him. He will give us strength and we will see that it was all worth it. Maybe not now but in the long run absolutely. 

Hope everyone is doing well and keep me updated!

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming!

Søster Twede :)

(Also in the pics, that is unfortunately not Thor's hammer but it was still pretty cool)

THIS...IS OSLO!

 Hei alle sammen!

NORWAY! I finally made it and it's hard to believe that I'm actually here now! So far I've learned that it is definitely colder here in Norway (which isn't a huge surprise haha) and that they don't use concrete for roads and sidewalks. So, when you shovel snow, you don't shovel till get to the ground,  you shovel till you get to solid ice.  And when you're walking on the sidewalk, some of the times you are walking on solid ice and trying not to fall . But it has been so fun here in Norway! My first area is right here in Oslo which has been very busy, but very fun. The language hasn't been too bad, I definitely have a lot to work on but I was able to bear my testimony on the Holy Ghost this week in a lesson. And I've been able to pick up on words people are saying, woot woot! Not quite sentences, but words so progress! My new companion is awesome! Hey name is Søster Bell and she also loves math so we've been getting along great!

This week my comp and I had a really cool experience with a girl that my comp found on Facebook. We were originally going to just meet up and get to know her. But, when we sat down with her, she just asked us about what we believe. She was so sweet and we ended up teaching her about the restoration and it was so cool! She wants to talk to us again and I just can't wait to see how it will go! 

I also just want to say really quick that the Lord knows you. I have seen so many tender mercies through the week that have helped me know that I am not alone and that He will never leave me. He wants to be part of our lives, we just need to let Him in. I know He loves us and I know that He lives.

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming!

Søster Twede