"I'm not dead yet, I think I'll go for a walk!" 👑

Hei alle sammen!

Well, this week was a doozy! We definitely got our steps in, hence the quote from Monty Python and the Holy Grail haha. But we had transfers and so now is the beginning of my adventures in Trondheim:).

- Well, before I left for Trondheim, Søster Washburn and I got to have a tea party with our next door neighbor, Mary Anita, and it was the cutest thing ever! She's not a member but such a sweet old lady from Sweden that lives in a little cottage. Så koselig!

Tea Party with Mary Anita

- In Trondheim, I met my new companion, Søster Schnek! She is so cool! We have gotten in so many steps just by walking around Trondheim! We also had a fun member meal with a lady who is almost 99! And she is still going strong! So that was fun to meet and get to know her:).

- Took a trip down to Oslo and got to see Søster Bell and Søster Gundersen! It was so fun seeing them and having a little mini reunion:). Also kind if weird being in Oslo again even though it had only been 6 weeks. Time is just weird on the mission.

- After our flight back to Trondheim getting delayed by 2 hours and then getting home late, we woke up the next day to take a 3 hour road trip to Namsos to help out a member move! So that was super fun and great to meet some more members!

This week I felt like my thoughts were kind of everywhere. But one of the things I studied was the Consecrated Missionary talk. I've read through it before but thought it would be good to refresh on it. When it talks about obedience it talks about not getting lazy and satisfied with mediocre. It reminded me of a hike that Søster Washburn and I went on where towards the end we were so tired and a part of me kind of wanted to stop because it felt like it was going on forever. The view where we were at was already beautiful and I would have been satisfied, but we decided to keep going. Let me tell you, the view at the summit was much better than the view from before. We were not only satisfied but had ultimate satisfaction. 

Sometimes the Lord asks us to do things that a lot of times we have no idea why and are most likely not going to be easy, but nevertheless they are worth it. However, we can't just do the bare minimum. If we are going to do something, then do it! When we decide to just keep going to the end and give our 100%, it's then that we are not only satisfied, but we can enjoy all the blessings that the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings and find true eternal joy. Is it going to be easy? At times will we want to stop? Yep, but... when was anything supposed to be easy? Through Christ we can climb any mountain and find joy in any situation. 

Glad i dere! Keep me updated on everything and hope you have a great week! 

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede 

Nidarosdomen in Trondheim

Nidarosdomen

Trondheim

Hiking Group Adventures

Pretty Trondheim Bridge

The Bodø church building

Hiking Group Adventures with Søster Schnek

Saying Goodbye to Søster Washburn

Welcoming Søster Fischer to Bodø!

"It all goes back to math and ministering" , and... the M 🍫

 Heisann alle sammen!

Transfer news! Sooooo turns out I moving again this transfer which was definitely not expected since I've only been in Bodø for one transfer, but here we are haha:). I will be heading to Trondheim and be serving with Søster Schnek! Woot woot! She was my STL (Sister training leader) this last transfer and she is just the best! So now we will serving as STLs together! I'm super sad to be leaving Bodø because it is literally the best! I have loved serving here and the members are incredible! I'm also sad to be leaving Søster Washburn! We definitely had lots of fun 😅, but she will be training so that will be awesome! As for that, this was the week!

- So for those of you that know Darren Twede (my dear father:), his slogan, in a way of speaking, is "it all goes back to math amd ministering." So this week, one of the other missionaries challenged us to do WWJD×2 (What Would Jesus Do and Why Would Jesus Do it) and find opportunities for service this week. I immediately thought of my dad when they challenged this and just laughed because the amount of times it really has gone back to math and ministering is amazing :). Thanks dad!

- As for "the M", we got to go eat dinner with some members this week and they introduced us to some of the best chocolate ever! You know how we have M&Ms? Well this chocolate is "the M" and let's just say is it amazing and M&Ms will never be the same. I am forever grateful:).

- Got to take studies in a cemetery! We decided to explore a bit this week and decided to go take our study time by a church, only then to find it had a cute cemetery! So we found a bench and as we studied, some people walked through and they were so nice! We got to talk to some of them a little bit and it was awesome! Who knew cemeteries were the place to be :).

Church by the cemetery

So this week when I was reading in the Book of Mormon, I was in where Alma was testifying to Korihor that there is a god. Korihor was not convinced and kept demanding a sign and this what Alma said to him:

"The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." (Alma 30:44)

Søster Washburn and I help with the Facebook page "Kom til Kristus" and try messaging people who have commented on our posts. One of them was talking about how they believe in facts, not religion. I thought it was funny because for those of you who don't know, I love math and science and hope to study engineering. With that, you need all the facts you can get. The amazing thing about it though is that the more I learn about these things, the more it has actually built my testimony that there is a God. How could the earth and the planets themselves be created by pure chance and luck? They couldn't have. It was through a Divine Creator who is the source of all facts and truth. When the world becomes confusing and crazy, it is Christ that we can turn to to find truth and clarity.

I hope you guys have a great week! Glad i dere! 

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede

Double Rainbow

Double Rainbow

Gratulerer med dagen! Early birthday treat for Søster Washburn:)

Dedicated Service

Yoo hoo! Housekeeping! 🧹

 Heisann alle sammen!

Well this week we got to do lots of service because our new mission president came to Bodø! So we cleaned a member's house that they stayed at and the church. Plus, after all the other missionaries and President left, we cleaned some more. So, with that said, it was a fun week! Here's the rundown!

- Again, we got to meet President and Søster Updike! They are so cool! We showed them around Bodø and also had a taco party with them and the members, which was super fun:). We also met their kids which was awesome! It was very nice to get to know them some more and we are very excited to serve with them😁.

- Also we got to see my family friend, Ian! He was visiting Norway from England and was in Bodø for a day. So, it was super fun to visit with him. Thank you Ian! 

- So, super cool miracle this week! We went to go visit one of our friends who isn't super progressing. She doesn't speak norwegian and little english, so we are in the process of finding someone who can help translate our lessons. But, anyways we decided to prepare a simple lesson about prayer and right as we were about to leave, she said that she wanted to learn more about something but she couldn't remember the name. We found out that it was baptism! We said of course! Needless to say, miracles are always possible when it comes to Jesus :). 

- I also gave a talk in church this week, which was super fun 😁. I sas a little nervous because it was my first talk in norwegian and they told me I would have 10-15 min... yeah well they ended up having extra time so they gave me 20 min instead:). No worries our closing hymn was How Firm a Foundation (which has 7 verses). By the end my talk and singing all the verses, we finished right on time:).

In my talk this week, I shared a story about me and Søster Washburn of when we did our midnight sun hike. We had a great time, but on the way back we accidentally took a different trail and got a little lost. I got scared and worried even though I knew the trail lead back to where we began. Søster Washburn kept telling me that we could still see the Wood Hotel which was where we started our hike. Nevertheless, I was still nervous. When Christ calmed the storm, the disciples beforehand were very scared and worried. Why? They literally had Christ with them and He was quite the opposite of worried, hence why He was sleeping through the storm. But still they worried. Now, Søster Washburn and I did make it back to the Wood Hotel and Christ was able to calm the storm immediately. Sometimes it's easy to focus on the unfamiliarity of the trail or the size and strength of the winds and waves and forget the miracle of Christ's power. He suffered for a reason. He died for a reason. It was so we wouldn't have to be scared or worried when we wouldn't recognize the trail or the winds and waves would come. He is the light that gives us hope. It is through Jesus Christ that we can find that peace amidst the storms and find the path back to our heavenly home. 

Hope you all have a fun week! Glad i dere!

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede 

Norweigan Aviation Museum

Søster Washburn burnt the salmon

Pday Hike

Pday Hike

Pday Hike

I saw my first reindeer!

Pday Hike

"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