"Boot scootin' boogie!" 🤠🎵

 Howdy y'all!

Gratulerer med dagen America! One thing I never expected to do on my mission was teach the boot scootin' boogie line dance. They had an American night this week at a youth center and they asked us missionaries to help run it, since, of course, we are all Americans . With that said, let's get going on this week!

4th of July

- This week we got to go on splits with the Trondheim sisters! I was with Søster Barker and it was so fun! She is seriously just such an amazing missionary! We got to meet with a couple members and then also talked with a crazy guy who sold jewelry and tried to tell us that we were too young to be preaching about what we believe in. Street contacting is always an adventure .

Splits with Trondheim Sisters

- We had a lesson with one of our referrals this week over the phone and let's just say... I never thought I would have to pray for the gift of tongues for English, but here we are haha. Luckily, we made it through and managed to invite him to read the Book of Mormon!

- We had an awesome testimony meeting this week! The members here are absolutely amazing and one of them testified on baptism because his daughter had just gotten baptized a little while ago. One of our friends was there in church who has been taught for over a year heard his testimony and loved it! He talked about how baptism is the gateway to the covenant path and our friend really enjoyed listening to that. So, hopefully we can keep helping him feel more ready to be baptized :).

This week I also took the opportunity to share my testimony. Now one of the hymns that we had sung for church that day had a line that said that death opens the path to an eternal life. In a way I knew that, but this week it hit a little different. This week I had had a dream about my grandpa who passed away and the next day I came to miss him a little extra. Then, I was studying about charity and how Christ has continually shown his pure love for us and one of those was through paying the price we never could. If it weren't for Him, we would never be reunited with our loved ones forever. We would have that hope of seeing them again and finding that eternal joy. My favorite thing to teach as a missionary is the plan of salvation because it just amazes me every time how hopeful it is. And it's because of Christ. Because of Him, I know that all my family on both sides of the veil will be together again. I know that I will be with my Savior and Heavenly Father again. 

Hope you all have a great week! 

Glad i dere!

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede

Washburn says goodbye to her US license.

Hedgehog

Me acting as a music stand!

Rise and Shout! The carbon monoxide is out! 🐾

Hei alle sammen!

I hit my six months last Wednesday! That blows my mind! Time flies and it's kind of scary. Well, this week was quite an iconic week in ways that still amaze me, so here's the rundown. 

- So this week we got a new mission president! It was really cool to hear from President and Søster Montague one last time. Kjempe glad i dere! We then got to meet President and Søster Updike and their family on Saturday and that was super fun! It's hard to say goodbye to the Montagues, but we're excited to get to know and work with the Updikes! I know that they have been called of God and that they will be awesome here in Norway:).

- Språkkafé was super fun this week! I got to talk with a lady from Scotland as we practiced Norwegian and she was so fun! There were times where we had no idea how to say some things but we just kind of laughed it off 😅.

- Friday at 5 am in the morning we were woken up to our carbon monoxide alarm going off. Yes, we are alive and well. Our lovely senior couple, the Merkleys, helped us out and it turns out the batteries were old in one of our alarms. But that morning we just got to hang out on our porch studying for our driver's licenses, fending off another cat that tried to get into our apartment, and eating breakfast. The sleep deprivation was not the greatest that day, but you know we got through 😁.

- This week we had a music program during our second hour of church which was super fun! We had a few of our friends there and Søster Washburn and I got to play a few musical numbers. I have just come to love playing more and more because I know it's a way that everyone, no matter who they are or where they're from, can feel the Spirit.

One of the hymns that we played in our little music program was one that a member requested and it was actually from the Swedish hymn book. It's called "En vänlig grönskas rika dräkt". After the meeting, I got talking to one of the members about it. He actually got emotional as he explained what the words meant and rightfully so. It talks about how beautiful the earth is in the summer, but how eventually all the worldy beauties wither away. " All flesh is hay, and the flower dies, and time all passes away; only the word of the Lord remains." Yes, things don't last when it comes to the world, but what does is Christ and His word. Because of Him we have eternal families, because of Him we have eternal hope, because of Him we have eternal peace, and because of Him we have eternal joy. I love you all and hope that you guys have a great week!

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede 

Carbon Monoxide Breakfast

Midnight Sun Hike #2

Midnight Sun Hike #2

Midnight Sun Hike #2

Pday Exploring

Pday Exploring

Pday Exploring

Pday Exploring

"Aaaaa svenyaaaa...the circle of life!" 🌅

 Heisann alle sammen!

I honestly have no idea if that is the correct spelling for that song but hopefully you get the point . Anyways, I got to see the midnight sun this week and it was so cool! It's sometimes crazy to think the sun never goes down here and a little bit interesting when your trying to sleep but we're just really grateful for blackout curtains and sleeping masks . With that said let's get going for this week!

- This week we met up with one of our friends and had a lesson about the atonement of Jesus Christ and it was amazing! Her life has not been very easy lately, but the amount of faith she has in her Savior is amazing! We watched the Easter video and as we were talking about it afterwards she said how she would not have had the strength to endure all that she is if it wasn't for our Savior Jesus Christ. I honestly have no other words other than yes. That is true.

- Later that day, we had English class and game night which was super fun! Søster Washburn and I also got to play a musical number afterwards which was so cool! We played Gratitude by Brandon Lake (Søster Washburn on the violin, me on the piano) and the Spirit was very present. We had played that song for zone conference this week in Trondheim with two other missionaries as well. My awesome trainer Søster Bell on the viola and Elder Hancock on the guitar. That song is our mission president's favorite so it was really fun to play for zone conference:).

- Zone conference! Yes, we did just have zone conference three weeks ago, but we are getting a new mission president this week, so we had it earlier so we could say our last goodbyes to President and Søster Montague. So, zone conference was really good, but definitely a bittersweet! I have learned so very much from my mission president. He and his wife are truly amazing! It was really special to hear from them one last time and to listen to their powerful testimonies. They have truly been big examples to me of what it means to be disciples of Christ. Kjempe glad i dere!

Trondheim

Trip to IKEA

Zone Conference!

On that note, one of the things that President Montague has put a focus on in the mission is really coming to personally know the Savior and doing that by reading and studying stories of Jesus. So today I would like to share a story of Jesus that I have come to love. Many know the story of when Christ calmed the sea, when he spoke the words "Peace, be still." Before this, the apostles at the time were worried and terrified. They were probably asking, "Why is this happening?", "Are we going to make it?", and maybe even "How is He sleeping right now?" We do know that they did ask, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" Now did Christ wake up all flustered and worried? Did He shake with fear and ask what was happening? No. He confidently and purposefully stood up and spoke to the winds and the waves and they heard his voice. They knew his voice and obeyed. Now, it's okay to recognize that the winds are strong and the waves are huge, but we can't let that make us forget how much bigger and stronger the power of Jesus Christ is. Even if the winds and waves continue, when we focus on Him and have confidence in Him, we find that peace and stillness.

Hope you guys have a great week! 

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede 

"The hills are alive with the sound of music!" 🎵

 Heia alle sammen!

Greetings from the great land of Bodø! We have now gone from the big city vibes of talking to a person on a bus then never seeing them again to a town where you have giant mountains and fjords all around you and you start to see the same people most days. Quite the difference, but Bodø is amazing! I quite literally started thinking of the beginning scene in Sound of Music with the mountains and Julie Andrews singing. I just love Norway . And my comp, Søster Washburn, is just awesome! We have had so much fun this week, so let's get going!

- Wednesday, I arrived in Bodø and that day we had a fika with a girl about our age and who had been given a Book of Mormon by the elders that used to serve here. She is so cool! And apparently, she had read the whole thing and had prayed to know if it was true and let's just say she is a very big fan of the Book of Mormon and is wanting to learn more about the gospel! Woot woot! 

- This last Sunday was super fun! I got to help translate in church for our friends which went pretty well for the most part. At times, I was really struggling to understand the dialect and had to put in some of my own interpretation  but it all worked out! We also had a guy walk into church with a Book of Mormon (also given to him by the missionaries before, way to go you guys! :) and said that he wanted to worship with us! So now we are in contact with him and are planning to start teaching him soon :). 

- We also have this cat in the neighborhood named "Safety Cat" because it wears a bright neon yellow vest and just makes a trip across our yard most days. This week we had our door open to cool down our apartment a little and Safety Cat decided to pay us a little visit inside  . Needless to say, Safety Cat is watching out for us :). 

Now just like Safety Cat, we have someone else watching out for each one of us and his name is Jesus Christ. One of the things that my mission president has done in our mission is had us share a story of Jesus in every meeting and conference we have. I used to think I knew most all of the stories of Jesus and what we could learn from them, but I realized that there is so much more to learn. I was messaging a couple people on Facebook this week and I asked them what their favorite story of Jesus was. One of them responded with the scripture John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Why did Christ suffer? Why did He choose to bleed from every pore, shed every tear, endure every heartbreaking thought? I'll tell you it wasn't because He thought it would be fun, because it definitely wasn't. But it was worth it. He did it because He loved us too much to see us suffer on our own and be lost forever in the darkness. There's a quote that says, "Sometimes He calms the storm, but sometimes He calms the child." He is the way, He is the one that protects us every day even and especially when it doesn't feel like it. We just need to open the door to let Him in and trust Him in every step we take. I love you all and hope you have a great week! And even if it's not a good week, then I just hope you know that storms don't last forever.

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming :)

- Søster Twede

Fun boat!

The water is so blue!

Little band playing by the library

The view from our apartment

The red houses are just so fun!

Pday exploring!

The fjord

"We have our heading, here we go!" ✈️

 Hei alle sammen!

Yep that's right! We had transfers this week and I'm heading off to the north! I'll will be in Bodø which was Søster Gundersen's last area and quite of few of the missionaries and a couple members here in Oslo have served there and they all say it is amazing! So I'm super excited and I'll will be with Søster Washburn! I've met her a couple times and her and Søster Gundersen grew up together so I've lots of amazing things about her and am so excited to be her companion:). Not going to lie, I'm really going to miss Oslo and all the people here. They are all so amazing and it has been so fun to serve here! But I'm excited to experience more of Norway and meet new people as well! So we're just a mix of emotions right now haha.

But here are the highlights of the week!

- Tuesday we met a guy in the library who recognized us as missionaries and wanted to talk. Initially, we were excited but within the first five minutes we soon realized that he was a little crazy and had a hard time trying to get out of the conversation. But luckily, a family from Utah was visiting Norway and saw us and said hi! So then we told the guy that we had to go because we had to go meet with the family and that was that . We then got to talk with this family which was super fun because their daughter had her mission call and was getting ready for her mission! 

- We got to go on another road trip to Moss to visit a family friend which was so fun! Thank you Eddie!

Visiting Eddie

- Språkkafé was awesome this week because we had it at the church building and weren't sure how many people were going to show up but the we had 30-40! We also got to do a little musical number for everyone afterwards and the spirit was so strong! 

- Splits with Søster Terry! She is just the best and we had so much fun on splits! There was one point where we realized neither of us had a sim card so that was lovely haha :). Then we couldn't get wifi so we got to do some fun street contacting! While we were walking we actually ran into one of our old friends so that was awesome! We also had taco night later in which we found a new friend who wants to learn more about Jesus Christ! Woot woot! 

With that said let's just say that everything happens for a reason. In the Book of Mormon, Nephi and his brothers were getting food and their bow broke. Was that hard? Yes. Was it quite inconvenient to the point of starvation? Yes. And do they wish it didn't happen? Absolutely. BUT, unlike Laman and Lemuel who decided (as Grandma Twede would say:) to just sit there with their teeth in their mouth, Nephi decided to see it as an opportunity to witness a miracle. He went and built a bow and by doing so, he built his faith and testimony. Trials are not necessarily inconveniences, but blessings and miracles in disguise and waiting to happen. If things were supposed to go according to plan, they would. But our plan is not always (maybe more than not:) what the Lord's plan is and that's okay because as long as we are willing to accept what His plan is, we will see unlimited miracles. 

Hope you guys have a great week! 

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede 

Moss Scenery

Road Trip

Museum Trip

The Book is always better 📚

 Hei alle sammen!

What. A. Week. I'm convinced that that first week after I get home, I'm going to be bored out of my mind and not know what to do haha. But anyways, here's the rundown:

- Zone conference! It was awesome! We had zone p-day before zone conference which was super fun. Then we spiritually recharged the day after :). Our focus was on Embracing the Doctrine of Christ and I loved it! It was a good reminder of how important it is to just focus on the principles. It's really easy to get caught up in logistics, but when we focus on the simple truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that's where we find clarity and strength.

Zone Conference

Zone P-Day

- Guess what! Marvin was baptized!! Yes, that's right! We had a baptism on Sunday! He is one of the Elder's friends and is just awesome:). He was baptized right before church and we had a bunch of members there and it was just a great day! Me and Søster Gundersen had the opportunity to talk with him earlier this week and you could tell that he was ready to get baptized. So we're super excited for him:).

Marvin's Baptism!

- Splits with the legend Søster Conde! We got to explore a new area of Oslo that we both had never been to, which was awesome! Then we got a little lost on public transportation, which was fun haha. All in all it was such a fun day and Søster Conde is just awesome! (Fun fact: she's my mission grandma :)

- Miracle in ukulele class yesterday! So we had to change locations from the institute building to the church building. So not a lot of people came (there was 5 including the teacher). BUT, my comp and I were talking with the teacher and turns out he's Christian and teaches Sunday school! So we invited him to church and he said he couldn't come this week, but will be there next week! Mirakler Skjer! And this is why we invite all to church :).

Now I'd like to back track a little to zone conference. One of my other big takeaways was the power of the Book of Mormon. I know that it is the word of God. It is the way for us to truly learn more about Jesus Christ and for us to have a relationship with Him. Growing up, my dad always showed so much excitement and passion for the Book of Mormon (still does:). He always encouraged us to read it and gain a testimony. Let me tell ya, it is true. The Book of Mormon holds an incomprehensible power that no other book has. It truly testifies and confirms that Jesus is the Christ. He is our Savior and it is through Him that we find strength to take one more step, say one more word, to breath one more prayer. I know that when we choose to learn about Christ through the Book of Mormon we can become rooted in Him. 

Love you all and hope you have a great week! 

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede

Overlook of Drammen

They take their Teslas very seriously!

"[Søster] Twede, the chickens are organized" 🐓

 Hei alle sammen! 

I don't know who here has seen "Chicken Run", but apparently my lovely comp, Søster Gundersen, thinks of this line in the movie every time she says my name. But this week has been a pretty good week, so let's get going :).

- We got to do some ministering with a member this week who is absolutely amazing! She's from Chile but served her mission in Norway and is just the best! 

- We had a hike this week for those that come to our språkkafé and any of our friends which was super fun! My comp got talking to a guy from Russia for a while and taught him a lot about the gospel. She asked if he would be interested in learning more and he said maybe and we were able to get his number,  woot woot! (He didn't necessarily say "no" so we're taking it as a win:).

- We also had a painting class this week where one of our friends came and we ended up having a really good conversation with her. Her boyfriend is a member so she was asking more about what we do as missionaries and also the church. We got to talk to her about the Book of Mormon. She said she had one and wanted to read it, so I asked her if she would want to meet up to read it sometime and she said yes! Mirakler skjer:)

All in all, it was a pretty good week! It is still crazy busy here in Oslo and sometimes I wonder how things turn out, but then I remember that this is the Lord's work and He's got our back always:).

Which leads into what I would like to share with you guys today. Tomorrow we have Zone Conference and so I wanted to share one of my takeaways of this transfer (also I can not believe we are already almost done with this transfer! Time flies). In Luke 15:4-7 Christ talks about the shepherd who goes and looks for the one sheep who lost their way and when He comes back everyone rejoices. It says, "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." It's the one He cares about. Yes, at times it would be nice to think of us getting a lot of baptisms here in Norway, which I'm saying is a bad thing but I just live how Christ just always focused on the one. In the hymn, Prayer is the Soul's Sincere Desire, is says, 

"Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice, Returning from his ways, While angels in their songs rejoice And cry, 'Behold, he prays!' "

Christ did everything He could to bring the one back and He continues to do everything He can to bring back the one. The way back may seem daunting but know that He and all His angels will rejoice upon your arrival.Love you guys tons and hope you have a great week!

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede

Vi elsker dette landet!!

 Gratulerer med dagen!!

So this week was awesome because... we had 17. mai!! The 17th of May is when Norway celebrates their constitution and let's just say that Norwegians are very proud of their country because they party hard! I thought Americans were pretty big with the 4th of July, but 17. mai is even bigger. Most everyone wears their bunads or festdrakts and if you don't, then you wear dresses and suits. You also eat tons of ice cream and hotdogs. They have barnetoget which is a parade of children and their schools. And you basically just party all day:). So by the end of the day on Friday, my comp and I were worn out! But it was so fun! Plus we had a miracles that day because one of our friends came to a bbq we had at Frogner's park and she asked why our name tags say "siste dagers hellige" (the Latter-Day Saints). Well we explained that and that led into the plan of salvation and then at one point we just asked her if she would us to teach her about our church since we've already told her a lot and guess what! She said yes!! Mirakler skjer! So we are now very excited to teach pur new friend:). 

We also met three new awesome people at språkkafé (language class) this week and ended up giving a Book of Mormon to one of them! Woot woot! Tell you what, it's times like these that just give you the strength to just keep going because people here in Norway aren't super interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and His church but the important part is that it's not everyone. There is the one who is just waiting for us to find them and they're the ones we do it all for. Christ always goes back for the one and so must we.

And speaking of Jesus Christ, I wanted to share some thoughts that I've been having through the week. I've been studying a lot on repentance and how we can come unto Christ. There is a talk by Elder Hamilton, "Then Will I Make Weak Things Become Strong", and it talks about a guy who works at a rehabilitation center and a critic told him, "You should know that leopards don’t change their spots!’ “Replied Warden Duffy, ‘You should know I don’t work with leopards. I work with men, and men change every day.’” "

At the beginning when God created everything, He said that it was good. But then when He created man, He said it was very good. He created us to look like Him for a reason. It was so we would energized be like Him. We are humans learning how to be more like Him, but we can't do it alone. We were never supposed to. Jesus Christ is the way, He suffered so we wouldn't have to. We aren't meant to be perfect because we need to learn and it is through Christ that we can. It is through His love that He guides us back home, we just have to let Him. Let Christ work that "mighty change" in your life. Love y'all and hope y'all have a great week!

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede