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

A Mailing Update

Thu, 27 Aug 2015 10:12:39

Well...we are still moving in...but the big part of the move has happened and we are now in downtown Oslo at the Young Adult Center/Office.

#1.  Let me give you a mailing address update.  First…I goofed the last time and spelled Welhavens gate with 2 L’s….We still get the mail you’re sending but for future, the address is:

Welhavens Gate 2C 1.etg

0166, Oslo

Norway

#.2   Let me encourage you to send packages to the Sandvika postboks address:

Elder or Sister Name

Jesu Kristi Kirke av SDH

Postboks 894

1306  Sandvika

Norway

We pick up mail there on our way in to the city, and I feel more confident at least right now that your packages will arrive if sent there.  I’ll try and drop you a note when they arrive so you’ll know.

We got a package today for Sister Sophie Wood that I will forward later today.

Thanks for your patience in all this crazy mail stuff.

Yesterday we had a great zone conference here in Oslo with President and Sister Hill and our area authority Elder and Sister Johnson.  I got to meet many of your missionaries who up till now have just been voices on the phone!  I have not met a missionary here that I wouldn’t gladly take home and call mine.  You have done well with your parenting!  We have some of the best and hardest working missionaries in the world I’m sure.  They are kind, and polite and loving and thoughtful!  Be proud they carry your last name on their name badges!

Remember, if you have any questions or things you’re concerned about, just email me.  I’m a phone call away from either the President and Sister Hill or your missionary.

Fondly,

Sister Judy Brostrom

Norway Oslo Mission Secretary

Office phone No. +47 67 52 12 70

Organization No:  975 423 353

Address:  Wellhavens Gate 2C 1. Etg

                0166 Oslo, Norway

     Or: Postboks 894 1306 Sandvika, Norway

Email:       2018004@ldschurch.org/:  www.lds.org

So This Has Been A Cool Week!

A view from Borras Vestre from a week ago.

August 25, 2015

Dear Family & Friends,

Me with some horses behind the house.

Hey! So this has been a cool week. We've been trying to find some more people to teach, which has been a bit of a challenge, although it's been really good. We have a referral that we hopefully which we should be teaching soon. We also got to go talk with a lady. She let us in, but she mostly just likes to talk, but that's ok. I believe she'll open up a bit more and more every time we talk with her. She might come to church which is super exciting. We also taught another older lady a little of the Plan of Salvation. We teach her again in about a week, so that's super exciting. She likes having us over (I'm guessing so, she lets us come back ha-ha).

A view from Halide, an old northern lights
observatory that was burned by the
Germans in WW2, they're restoring it
some more now.

We went on two hikes this week with Johan. We get to go over the lessons again now that he's baptized. So we have the discussions on the top of the mountains, so that's been really cool.

Today we went to Nordkapp. It's the most northern part of Norway (excluding Svalbard). It was super cool. It was really foggy but it was still super awesome. It's pretty amazing to be able to be so far north.

This week we have a Zone-Mission Conference in Bergen. I'm super excited. Our area Seventy will be there. I'm excited to be going there. I'll be in Bergen for a couple days.

So to answer some common questions I guess that people would like to know,

1. We have a car for our area (it's great to have one).

2. No, our mission doesn't have ipads, but we might sometime while I'm here in Norway.

3. We have around 70 missionaries in my mission.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask!

Thanks for all of your love, support, and prayers.

Have a great week!

Elder Mickelson

Out by the river near our house.

Me with some sheep on our way down from Haldde.

A view of me at Nordkapp.

It's Been Awesome Here In Alta!

Elder Mickelson at Borras Vestre

August 17, 2015

Hi Family & Friends,

Hey! It's been awesome here in Alta! There have been so many cool experiences!. I went on a hike to a couple mountain tops here and it was soooooo amazing!

While on splits in Storekorsnes

We had splits with Elder Hoopes and Elder Gingrich, the Tromsø Elders, on Thursday. It was so cool. We drove to a couple small towns about an hour away. The view was spectacular! We found out that most people there work with fishing, so most people weren't home. It was still nice to talk to the people we did see.

We've had some really cool experiences this week. We have come across a few people that were busy, but they want us to go back to visit them. A couple people came to us to be taught, which is really strange because most people don't do that here. But I definitely am seeing how things are falling into place for them to be taught the Gospel. It is so wonderful to see people desire to hear the Christ's Gospel. I'm so excited to be teaching them and help them come closer to Christ.

We hiked Skoddevarre!

This week will be super busy. We've been going through our area book to find people that would still want to hear our message, and it has been so wonderful to see all of the blessings that have been occurring. I can't wait to see how it all turns out! Little by little the Lord prepares people to hear His word. It'll be an awesome week!

Love,

Elder Mickelson