Stake Conference In Romerike

April 25, 2016

Hello Everyone,

We had a full week of talking with people and the normal missionary work, BUUUUUUT, on top of it all, we had stake conference! That topped off a really great week!

Elder Tangen in the sunset

We did have the normal talking to people on the street and knocking on doors this week, and that went well. We did however meet a really awesome guy on the street though! We talked about finding out if God exists and we talked about life after death. We had an awesome conversation. We gave him a Book of Mormon too, which he seemed excited to learn about and read. He'll be on vacation for a few weeks, but we will meet with him afterwards. It was really great!

As a side note, it's been snowing off and on these last few days... while at the same time being really warm. I don't think that the weather can make up its mind when it comes to springtime in Norway!

Like I said earlier, we also had stake conference this weekend. So all of the churches in Eastern Norway (plus Trondheim), our entire stake, had a meeting in Romerike. It was a really great opportunity to see everyone I knew from Fredrikstad again, and also a great opportunity to learn. It was wonderful to see basically the entire Fredrikstad ward. A lot happens in two months of being gone! It was great to catch up with everyone and say hello.

I hope you all have a great week this week!

Oh! As of two days ago I did reach my 10 months mark. So almost at the halfway point! It's crazy!

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Eldste Mickelson

We Had Such An Action Packed Week!

April 18, 2016

Hello everyone!

We had such an action packed week! Transfers occurred this week, which includes a lot of goodbyes and packing and preparation and whatnot, basically it is a lot going on. Elder Kemp moved to Oslo, so that was sad to see him go, but he's only a half an hour away, and I'll be seeing him on Sunday because of Stake Conference! Elder Tangen came and is my new companion. He's from Meridian, Idaho. He just has been in Hamar and now he's moved here to Sandvika! Elder Tangen is a really awesome guy. We were in the MTC at the same time before we came to Norway. He's quite the Lord of the Rings fan (I've seen all of them so I totally understand why he loves it so much). He's also really smart. He's a science guy so we get along great!

There were a lot of people we visited this week. In combination of Elder Kemp saying bye to everyone and Elder Tangen meeting many of the members in the ward, I've seen a lot of people in quite the short amount of time!

We were able to talk with quite a few people this week while proselyting. Many people were home and open to talking. It was a great experience to talk with them and share our beliefs with them. There are so many wonderful people in this country, it's quite amazing to get to know them and to learn more about them.

While we were out this week we randomly came across this place called Tanum Kirke. It's just a small local church that is a few hundred years old. Anyways, while we were walking up to it, I realized what it was. I knew about this church because I had studied a little bit of my family history, and it happened to be the same church that one of my ancestors had been christened in when he was a baby! It was just so cool to be at the same place as where my ancestors have walked. It was quite an experience to have.

On Saturday, there had been a couple baptisms in the ward. The other Elders had been teaching two incredible guys, who happen to be brothers, and they were baptized on Saturday. It was so amazing to watch their baptism and have seen their progress in the last couple months. They are such awesome guys, and it just was so wonderful to watch them follow the example of Christ.

A view from the cemetery at Tanum Kirke

Yesterday in church we had talked about how we can share the gospel more in our lives. A common theme that came was how important our example to others is. As members of Christ's church we are to always have His name written on our hearts. I believe that means more than just remembering Christ. I believe it means trying our best to be more like Christ, striving to act as He would act, say and do what He would say and do. So when it comes to sharing the Gospel, a huge aspect is just trying to follow Christ. Others notice what we say and do, and many notice how we are different than a lot of others. We are unique, and because people are curious, they want to know what makes us different. We won't have opportunities to share the gospel every moment of every day, but we share a message without words by our examples.

I hope everyone has an incredible week! Thanks for being awesome!

Sincerely,

Eldste Mickelson

This Week Was Pretty Good...For The Most Part

April 11, 2016

Hello everyone!

This week was pretty good. For the most part, it was just a normal week. We did have splits with the Elders from Drammen. It was really fun. Elder Kemp went to Drammen for the day and I stayed here in Sandvika. Elder Broadbent (one of the Drammen elders) came and had splits with me. We really enjoyed it.

That evening while Elder Broadbent was here, we had gone to the church to help with the young men's activity. They were having a missionary night. So, we talked about what missions were like with the young men. We talked about what a normal day is like for us. Then it just turned into a question and answer session basically. It was really great. They were really interested and had a lot of random questions about getting ready for a mission and what it was like. It was really great!

Sandvika

I got an email asking about what we do for transportation here. In Norway, we walk a ton and use a lot of public transportation (busses, trains, metro, etc.). There's some areas which have cars (which are great to have). But here in our area, we mainly walk, use the bus system, and occasionally take the train. Norway for the most part has pretty good public transportation. It's fairly easy to get around with public transportation, it just requires timing everything really well and hoping nothing is coming late. Even then, sometimes it requires waiting a while for the next bus to come by. I've gotten pretty used to just taking a bus everywhere now!

I'm starting to come up onto my 10 month mark now out on my mission. Just a little over a week away from that! I guess at this point I'm pretty well into the swing of everything. I'm used to "mission life" and it's really great. Things are feeling fairly natural now. I'm no longer freaking out when someone talks to me in Norwegian! When it comes to Norwegian, now I'm no longer struggling to understand what people are saying to me, and I'm not struggling talking back. What's quite funny is that yesterday we were talking with a member in church from Sweden (he's really cool by the way) and we were having a conversation, him speaking Swedish to us, and we were speaking back in Norwegian, and there wasn't much of a problem at all! It helps that they are pretty similar languages, but still, it's pretty awesome in my opinion!

Glimpse of what Sandvika looks like.

This week is transfer week! I'll be staying here in Sandvika, but Elder Kemp is moving to Oslo. It'll be sad for him to go, but it's alright, I'll be seeing him a ton considering how close Sandvika is to Oslo. Transfers are every 6 weeks, so I figure I'll be here for at least for another 6 weeks, maybe 3 months, I don't know, I guess we'll find out!

Something that I've thought about a bit since General Conference was why we need to understand who we really are. It is necessary for us to not only know, but understand that we are sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. We are his literal spirit children. He is our father just as much as our fathers here on earth are our fathers. If we understand that, we get a glimpse of what our Heavenly Father sees us as. He sees us as His own children, because we are. If we imagine what a child means to their parent, that infinite love, then we can see what we mean to God. He wants the best for us, which is why He wants us to be able to return back to Him. Our worth to Him is beyond our comprehension. I believe that the worth of a soul cannot be measured with an amount of money or by any other way. Our value to God is priceless.

In Alma 39:16-19 it says,

"16 And now, my son, this was the ministry unto which ye were called, to declare these glad tidings unto this people, to prepare their minds; or rather that salvation might come unto them, that they may prepare the minds of their children to hear the word at the time of his coming.

17 And now I will ease your mind somewhat on this subject. Behold, you marvel why these things should be known so long beforehand. Behold, I say unto you, is not a soul at this time as precious unto God as a soul will be at the time of his coming?

18 Is it not as necessary that the plan of redemption should be made known unto this people as well as unto their children?"

Our souls are precious to God, because He cares about us, because He loves us, and because He wants us to be able to return to Him. I believe the worth of a soul is as great as and is even greater than what a child means to their parents. Infinite. Children are the pride and joy of their parents. There is no greater joy that people can have than that of their family. We are God's pride and joy. He loves us, and it makes Him happier than we can understand when He sees us becoming more Christ-like and working our way back to his presence.

I hope that we all can have a great week and ponder how much we mean to God. Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

This Week Was A Good Week...

Norwegian Waffles

April 4, 2016

Hello everyone!

This week was a good week, a bit slow, but still great! We got to meet with some investigators and it was really wonderful to be able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them.

Elder Kemp

As many people know, this last weekend was General Conference! Super exciting! General Conference is an amazing opportunity we have to listen to the prophet, apostles, and other leaders of the church as they teach us how we can better improve our lives by living a more Christ-centered life. In addition, they also teach us the teachings of the Savior.

For me, it was a wonderful chance to better understand the Savior and His role in my life. It also helped me receive answers to my questions. Many times while watching conference I felt like they were talking right to me, teaching me exactly what I needed. I know that it can be that way for anyone who will listen to it. There are some incredible talks that were given, and I hope that you all have had the chance to watch it, and if you haven't, go watch it! :D It was really incredible. Check it out here at https://www.lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng

One of my favorites was by President Uchtdorf during the Sunday Morning session.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/media/session_4_talk_12/4829486498001?lang=eng

A picture of me on our hike

I really loved how it applies to all of us personally. In it, he talks about how an entire city had been destroyed during World War 2, and years later, it had been rebuilt. If men can rebuild that, what could God do for us? He talks about it a lot better than I can, but I hope that all of you will watch it (it's pretty incredible, so watch it!)

I hope all of you have a great week!

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson