I Went To Hell And Back Again!

September 28, 2015

Dear Family & Friends,

This was a REALLY awesome week. We went to Trondheim this week for Zone Conference. Right outside of the airport going into Trondheim is this little town called Hell. It's pretty hilarious in my opinion lol.

Zone Conference went great. We talked about working with the members. And we talked about how we can best work them. It takes work on both sides, members and missionaries, to hasten the work of the Lord.

I got to see some of the Elders from my MTC group and it was was fun to catch up with them and visit. They are so awesome.

On our way back to Alta we stopped in Tromsø for the afternoon for splits. We were with Elder Gingrich and Killpack. Tromsø is a really fun little city. We met some people on the streets. One we had a pretty cool conversation about how we can better our lives.

This week has been super fun but flew by with the conference and splits. So this week will be a blast!

Love,

Elder Mickelson

This Week Has Been Really Eventful!

September 21, 2015

Dear Family & Friends,

So when Norway got invaded by the Nazis during WW2, they built a bunch of bunkers all over the place. So I've seen a couple ran down, crumbled bunkers so far. This week we came across one that wasn't fallen apart yet, so that was really cool. It wasn't too big, but it was still fun nonetheless.

We got to do a bunch of service this week, which was really awesome. We got invited to help paint a barn. It was really fun. I managed to not get too much paint on myself haha. Right by the barn was a ram... and we managed to get some pretty legit pictures with it. It was super fun haha. And it was pretty epic.

Well when we got done, we were told by the guy we painted the barn for, if we wanted to help someone else the next day, so we said yes (obviously, missionaries are always looking for service to do for others). Well we find out that we get to demolish some of a garage/workshop and then rebuild some of it. Not to mention rebuilding included raising the roof another meter haha. All part of the adventure.

Being missionaries, people are always curious as to why we are in Norway, how long we've been here, and what we actually do. So the Gospel always gets brought up. We don't always need to share a lot about our beliefs, but we can always share a little something that helps others and ourselves feel the Spirit so we all can draw closer to Christ.

Love,

Elder Mickelson

This Week Has Been Really Cool.

September 14, 2015

Dear Family & Friends,

This week has been really cool. We got to teach a really cool guy this week. He's younger but is really interested in religion. So it was really an amazing experience to get to talk with him. He said we could come back another time, so we will visit him again and teach him more.

Our seagull friend we saved!

Wednesday we were in our room studying and heard a bunch of noise coming from the roof. After a bit I looked out the window and a seagull was hanging upside down from the corner of our roof. We went out there and pulled up a ladder and moved the gutter on the roof that was keeping its foot caught there. So we got to be heroes for a seagull this week haha.

Me under the Northern Lights

That same night, and every night since, we've been seeing the Northern Lights. I freaked out when I first saw them. They were really strong the first night. It was so cool to see them dancing around the sky. That first night we got to see a bunch of different colors and they were really active. So it's been such an amazing experience. I'm just so excited to get to keep seeing them.

We had our transfers call yesterday and both Elder Cheney and I are staying here in Alta for the next 6 weeks! It's going to be fun!

We tried making cookies Saturday for a member in our branch that has helped us a ton. They started as cookies... and then turned into a brownie-like mix when we added the melted chocolate...and then seemed like a mix between a brownie and cake after baking it. I guess it turned out really good though. So that's a perk for us haha.

So I didn't explain the Polar Bear Club very well when I wrote about joining the Club. So pretty much there is this museum for the Polar Bear Club in Hammerfest. So if you want to be a member, you go through the museum and see the history of Polar Bears and hunting of Arctic animals in the Hammerfest area. Well they made this Club to help preserve polar bears. It was really interesting to learn about it all. But I ended up getting a certificate and a card saying I'm a member, and I ended up getting a little polar bear pin with it too. It's pretty cool haha.

So one quick thing about some of the food in Norway. Reindeer. You can buy reindeer sticks (similar to beef jerky) in Norway as easily as you buy beef jerky in the U.S. It tastes really good. It's pretty similar to elk, a little fattier tasting though (well the reindeer sticks at least).

Have a good week!

Love,

Elder Mickelson

This Week Has Been Super Fun!

September 7, 2015 

Dear Family & Friends,

This week has been super fun! Elder Cheney and I taught a bit about the church at the high school here. We went Wednesday and Friday. Linnea went with us and did most of the talking (which makes it easier for me). We answered questions they had so it was really fun to go do.

Thursday we had the chance to go to Hammerfest (the furthest North city in the world) and we visited the members there. They are such amazing members here in Norway. They are awesome! I am now a member of the "Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society" also known as "Isbjørnklubben" (Polar Bear Club).

We might have a new investigator! I'm really hoping that our lesson goes awesome!

We went on two short hikes today. It's been really nice up here in Alta. So the area was gorgeous today!

Here's a picture from one of my hikes today.

Love,

Elder Mickelson

The Hills in Norway

This Week Was Really Good!

August 31, 2015

Dear Family & Friends,

A view from an area around Alta

Picture of Bergen

Picture at Bergen

This week was really good. I had the opportunity to fly to Bergen for a mission conference. We flew down there Wednesday. So we had a group pday on Wednesday so I went and got to go explore a bit of Bergen. It's such a cool city. There's so much life there and it's really fun to explore! 

That night we went on splits. I went with Elder Arnold. He's really a cool missionary. He serves in Bergen so he got to take me around to try and contact members and less active members. It was a great experience to go with him on splits. 

Bergen Zone Conference
with Elder and Sister Johnson

Thursday was our conference. Elder Johnsen, our area Seventy, spoke to us for the conference. It was really cool. One question that was asked to him was "how can we change ourselves to be better". If we focus on ourselves we can't grow. So what I came to understand better is that if we want to be able to change ourselves to be better, we do that best by loving and serving others.

Alta Branch Meal

President Hill and Sister Hill came up to Alta and Hammerfest (our branch) and visited after the conference. It was cool to have them up here with us because they came to church with us. After church our branch had lunch together. Its was fantastic. There was some lapskaus and grøt and boller. All of which is delicious.

The panorama is a view from an area around Alta, and the other two are pictures while I was in Bergen.

Love,

Elder Mickelson

These missionaries are all serving above the Arctic Circle!

Missionaries have lived in the upstairs of this house
for many, many, years!  Sister Kristensen and her son
have been great to the missionaries.

Elder Cheney and Elder Mickelson

Lunch with President & Sister Hill