"The winds of change" 🌬

 Heia alle sammen!

God Jul og Godt Nytt År! Hope you all had a great Christmas! This week we got snow and then a lot of rain which made a lot of the snow go away, but... let's just say the snow has come back in it's full glory haha. We are going to be getting 2 feet of snow in the next couple days and we've already begun the snow shoveling, so that will be fun:). Anyways here's how the week went!

- Christmas! We got to spend lots of time with members for Christmas Eve and Christmas and that was super fun! I got to try Ribbe which is essentially lamb and that was good. We got to play games and just kind of spend time with them:).

- The day after Christmas was kind of slow because we couldn't go out and talk to people due to the holiday and so we got creative on what to do. We decided to go on a walk which was interesting because we experienced the strongest wind I've ever felt! Almost got knocked over a couple times, but it was a fun time😅.

- Saturday we were reaching out to some people that had contact with missionaries before. One of them was an old Russian/Ukrainian lady. She invited us over to come and visit her that day and it was super fun! We don't think she's interested in learning more, but we did get to have a good conversation about Christ and how He can help us find peace:).

As we were visiting this lady she talked a lot about the war between Russia and Ukraine going on right now. As a missionary, it's easy to kind of forget all the things that are going on right now in the world. But as we talk to people, you see how real it is for them and it's very heartbreaking. All this lady wants is for the war to stop so she can go back home. As we were talking to her, it reminded me of a talk that I had read, "The Peace of Christ Abolishes Enmity". In there, it talks about how we are all different but one thing we do or can have in common is our discipleship of Jesus Christ. He gives multiple examples of people who were different but were still able to get along because "each put his discipleship of the Savior first." After talking to this lady, it was made very apparent that the world does not need more conflict. There is enough of it. Is it easy to be offended, frustrated, angry? Yes! But why does it have to stay that way? It doesn't. Even if you can't avoid it, there's always a way to handle it in a way that reflects the Savior. That is the goal. To do as the Savior would in order to spread His light, love, and peace to those around us.

Glad i dere! Hope you all had a great Christmas and will have a great New Year's!🎉🎊

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede

People love skiing

Post member visit pic

Pday activity-Do you wanna build a snowmaaaaan??

Snow angels

MTC Group-one year later-scary how time flies!

"The sky is awake, so I'm awake, so we have to play!"🌌❄️

 Heia alle sammen! 

The sky's awake!! Saw the northern lights for the first time this week and it was magical :). They weren't super strong but it was still super cool! It definitely made for a fun but absolutely crazy week:).

- Exchanges with Søster Haycock! So on Monday, I flew down to Oslo to have exchanges with Søster Haycock in Samdvika and it was so fun! We tried going around talking with people and got some weird looks, but I guess that's how it goes haha. We also got to visit a lady who had a really fancy house and that was quite the adventure:). Basically it was just such a fun time with Søster Haycock!

- Zone Conference! So this conference we combined with one of the other zones and it was so fun! It was great seeing all the missionaries there and we got to do a white elephant exchange at the end which was interesting haha:). It was kind of a crazy long day, but I learned a lot from the presentations and it was a fun time:). 

- Mirakler skjer! So lately Søster Cox and I have been kind of worried about one of our friends who we lost contact with. I knew her from when I was in Bodø before and she is just amazing! We have been praying that we could get in contact with her again, but didn't know how other than text. Well, on Friday, we were at the library for a lesson and as we were walking past a café there, we saw her working! So we went in, kind of terrified because we didn't know how this interaction was going to go, but as soon as she saw us her face lit up! Apparently her Facebook got hacked and couldn't contact us and was praying that she would run into us, mirakler skjer! It was so cool and she ended up coming to church for the first time on Sunday:). 

Speaking of answered prayers, there were few things this week that I had been praying quite a bit about. For a long time, I have loved learning about prayer and how powerful and crucial that line of communication is with our Heavenly Father. This week I had a few very specific thoughts on my mind and I just needed maybe not complete answers but definitely guidance. With that said, this week taught me again how amazing prayer is. He hears you, He listens, and He does answer. He answers in a way that is so personal to you that shows how much He loves and cares for us. The answers don't always come when we want or they aren't always what we want, but they are what we need and they come when we need them most. He cares too much to leave us alone.

Glad i dere! God Jul! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! 

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede 

Northern Lights!

Northern Lights!

"The boys are back!" 🎵😎

 Heia alle sammen!

Well this week we have had an interesting turn of events so I'm just going to get right into it!

- Emergency Transfer! Yep! On Tuesday, I got a call from President saying I needed to go to Bodø because there is a sister that needed to leave for medical purposes. So less than 24 hours later, I was on a flight back to Bodø and I am now here with Søster Cox! She was in my MTC group, so it's been super fun to catch up and she's just amazing! It was really tough having to leave Trondheim (there were definitely some tears), but I was able to see some people before I left. Søster Nartker and Søster Harmer are just incredible and are already doing great things there . We are all just praying that the sister who had to leave is able to get better soon so she can come back. 

- Bodø! So now I'm back in Bodø. Let's just say it's a little different from when I was here last. Instead of the sun never going down and it being green and relatively warm, it is now dark. The sun comes up for a couple hours but it's behind the mountains so we actually never see it, haha. Basically we are in what is called the dark times (mørketid:)), very snowy and very cold. I will never complain about it being cold in Utah anymore because this is the tundra haha:). So it's been great! It actually has been super fun and just great to see the members here again:). 

- Fika! (It's where you meet up with someone at a café) Ok but before I left Trondheim, we had a really great fika with a girl we found on Facebook. She was super cute and was very interested to learn more about what we believe in, woot woot! It went great so I hope maybe now they are teaching her :).

Ok so with all the craziness this week, I'm not going to lie, I was really nervous and scared and was just trying to feel the Lord with me in all of this. It was a little hard at times. But during my personal study on Thursday, I read this verse in Moroni 8 and it said, "Perfect Love casteth out Fear". Oh my goodness, it was exactly what I needed. I thought about the love that our Father in Heaven has for us. Yes, He gives us hard things but they are never more than we can handle and they are always for our benefit. And then I think about the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He loves us too much to leave us to overcome our trials by ourselves. He suffered so we wouldn't ever be alone even if it felt like we were alone. His love is what casteth out all fear and allows us to find peace and stillness even when the winds and waves are still becoming bigger. However, they will never grow bigger than His infinite, perfect love.

Glad i dere! Have an amazing week! :)

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede

Trondheim Christmas Market

Back in Bodø with Søster Cox

Dinner movie with the Christ Child video

Bodø is just beautiful (this is about how light it gets)

The wind was so strong, I couldn't open my eyes. Haha!

Goodbyes at the airport 😢

One last picture of the Trondheim Trio 💗

"Hi I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!" ☃️

 Heia alle sammen!

What a week! Definitely have had a lot of things happen this week, but I don't remember half the things that happened so thank goodness for journals haha :). Here's the update!

- Book of Mormon stand! Helped out with the Book of Mormon stand this week and it was very cold, but worth it because we gave a Book of Mormon to a girl who was wanting to become more religious, woot woot! 

- Hugs! So we were out street contacting as we were walking to the church today and we were walking past a Norwegian old lady. I said hi and she looked at me and just stopped. She asked me if I knew her and I said no and just wanted to say hi and right then she just lit up and gave me a hug haha:)! That was definitely a first and definitely made my day:).

- Julekonsert! On Sunday, our ward had a Christmas concert and I got to help accompany the choir and it was so fun! We also all sang a couple Norwegian Christmas songs and they were so fun! 

- Julemarked! So Trondheim apparently has one of the biggest Christmas markets in Norway and it started this week! It was so fun to walk around and see all the food and shops! We all tried "gløgg" for the first time which is basically apple cider but better 😋. It is now one of my favorite things from Norway:).

This week during District Council we got on the topic of success on the mission. Now, I remember when I first got called to Norway, I was told that I would not see a whole lot of baptisms and not a lot of people would want to talk to me. The longer I've been here, the more I've seen how that would make sense but... when have any of the Lord's biggest miracles made sense? In Moroni 6:4 it says, "their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God."

It can be very easy to get caught up in the numbers of everything, but one of the many things my parents taught me growing up is that it's not about the numbers, but about the people who those numbers represent. It's about bringing people closer to Christ. We can't control where people are on their path back to come unto Christ, but we can help them along wherever that may be. This week has probably been my favorite week of talking to people on the street and just helping those around me because I felt like I wasn't just trying to preach, but I was just trying to minister and connect with people so they can feel His love. Is faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost important? YES! They are so important! But how are we supposed to obtain those things and endure to the end without that relationship with our Savior? Just like that scripture, we record to remember and so we can nourish them with the word of God and I might add the LOVE of God. I know that as we come closer to Christ and help others come closer to Him, we will find that peace and joy in our lives "at all times, in all things, and in all places." 

Glad i dere! God Jul! Wish you all a great week!

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede 

"Gliiiide and pivot! Gliiiide and pivot!" ⛄️⛸️

 Heia alle sammen!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving this week! We got to have a little Thanksgiving dinner with our district and it was so fun! I am just so grateful for Norway, amazing companions, incredible members, the opportunity I have to be a missionary and help others learn more about Christ:). 

- ICE! Lots of it! Walking is honestly not the most safe mode of transportation and I'm about ready to get a sled or ice skates. My comps and I had a lot of close calls and unfortunately Søster Nartker took one for the team as we try to "walk" down a steep icy driveway...yep she slid down instead haha:).

- NAMSOS! Another road trip up to Namsos where we visited one of our new members and her daughter. It was so fun and definitely just so nice to spend time with them:). Was definitely a highlight when we were saying goodbye and her eleven year old daughter gave me a hug by body slamming me down to the ground . Love that girl:)

- At språkkafé this guy who Søster Nartker and I had talked to on the street came. When we first met him he said that he was athiest and did not believe in God. Well, that was about a week and a half ago... Then he showed up to språkkafé and informed us that he is now Christian! The Lord works in mysterious ways 

Speaking of the Lord's works, I was reading again in Ether this week and chapter 12 is just amazing! I knew that it was good, but I don't think I realized how good. But one of my favorite things was all the examples of faith that are given: Moses, Alma and Almulek, Lehi and Nephi, Ammon, the brother of Jared, etc. 

In verse 19 it says"And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad."

I sometimes don't think we realize how powerful God's power is. All you need is a tiny seed of faith to allow it to work in your life. In the Santa Claus movies with Tim Allen one of the lines is "Seeing isn't believing but believing is seeing." Faith is what allows us to see God's power already working miracles in our lives. The "eye of faith" is what opens the heavens and allows us to experience the joy of Jesus Christ in our lives. 

Glad i dere! Hope y'all have a great week!

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede

Winter wonderland drive to Namsos

Ice adventure

Road trip naps!

Practicing my posture at the young adult activity

Pday to Nidarosdomen

Thanksgiving