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

This Week We Celebrated Easter

Elder Mickelson and Elder Kemp

March 29, 2016

Hello everyone!

This week we celebrated Påske (Easter). It went really well. We weren't able to work as much this week because of it being Easter weekend. One great opportunity that we did have because of it, was that we were able to think more about Christ and what he means for us personally. Obviously we can do that all year long, but when times like Christmas and Easter come around, it helps all of us ponder more about Christ than we normally do. It has been very interesting seeing other people's thoughts on Christ and Easter.

For me, Easter was a great time to take a step back and just spend some extra time reflecting on the life of Christ and his Atonement for all of us. I definitely believe that one of the focuses that Easter brings is Christ's Atonement. Because of Christ's Atonement, all of us will be resurrected when Christ comes again. We all will be resurrected with perfect bodies. But that is only just one part of Christ's Atonement. We will also be able to be cleansed from our sins if we accept Christ's Atonement through sincere repentance and turn to Christ. Through that, we will be able to become better people, obviously not overnight, but with time.

I really like this scripture, I probably have shared it before, but considering it's Easter, it's definitely appropriate.

John 3:16-17

Another picture of me

"16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

We had Zone Leader Training in Drammen this past week. So we went there for the conference and I learned a lot. Much of the focus that we had was centered around why we do what we do as missionaries. In other words, why do we as missionaries go out to share our message with those we come in contact with? It really comes down to our testimonies. We know that this message is true, that it has blessed not only our lives, but others' lives, and we know that it can bless everyone else's' also. It was a great conference to help remind us why we decided to come share such a beautiful message with the world.

We were very lucky this week, and because of the Easter season, we had some very delicious dinners. We had been over to some different members' homes for dinner and the food was definitely better than anything I could make, so that made me quite happy! This week has been full of fun, and now it's getting back into the swing of things.

I hope you all had a great Easter and I hope you all have a great week! Bye!

Sincerely,

Eldste Mickelson

We Got To Teach Some Of Our Progressing Investigators

Elder's Mickelson and Kemp

March 21, 2016

Hello everyone!

This week has been really good. We got to teach some of our progressing investigators. They are really cool people! The weather has been really nice lately, and that helps because it makes people happier, and happier people like to talk!

I think it is very interesting how different everyone really is. We all have very different personalities, different likes and dislikes, different opinions, different spiritual needs, and different questions. But through these differences, is what makes us all unique and special. They make us more than just creatures. For me, it is something that reminds me that we all are sons or daughters of a loving Heavenly Father, that wants the best for us. Because he wants the best for us, he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world so that we could be saved. Through Christ and His atonement, his sacrifice in the last days of his life, we can be saved from everything. Through Him, we can be saved physically, being able to overcome physical death when we are all resurrected like He was. We also can be saved spiritually. Without Christ, we could not possibly return to our Heavenly Father because we are imperfect, but with Christ, we can become perfected, we can be better people, and we can learn and grow. Christ paid the price for our sins, it's left up to us whether or not we choose to accept his sacrifice on our behalf and follow him.

Elder Kemp

Here's a link to a new website with a new Easter video and a link to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Handel's Messiah with others that sent in videos! www.mormon.org/easter

This week is Easter week, which is really exciting. We won't be able to contact people as much when Easter gets closer, but it'll be awesome getting to celebrate with everyone!

This week, I hope that we all spend some time thinking of the reason we have Easter. We celebrate new life, but not only new life because it's springtime, but new life in Christ. He is the hope that we have in our lives. He is the reason we have purpose in life. I hope that as we celebrate this week, we enjoy one another's company, spend some time pondering Christ's life, and what he means for us.

Have a great week everyone!

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

The Fjord

P-Day To Oslo

Streets in Oslo

March 14, 2016

Hello Everyone!

A view from a small park in Sandvika

Last Monday we went to Oslo for P-Day. We spent some time with the missionaries there, relaxed a little, and went to visit a memorial. We visited a memorial which was built in remembrance of a large terrorist which took place in 2011 in Oslo and a nearby island. It was a very quiet experience going through it all. It was very eye opening seeing it all.

View in Sandvika

After visiting the memorial we went around the city, browsed through a street market, and saw more of the city. Oslo is a really cool city. We had tons of fun.

Elder Kemp and Elder Mickelson

Elder's Kemp and Mickelson

This last week we were able to have dinner with a couple different families here in Sandvika. It was incredible! This ward is so great to the missionaries, and they have such a desire to help out. I really enjoyed getting to know more of the ward, and I'm still enjoying it every time we are with them.

Every Saturday we have sport. So the missionaries and different people within the ward, and anyone else who wants to join, gets together and plays soccer together. It's so much fun! It's been great serving here with this ward.

I hope you all have a great week!

Sincerely,

Eldste Mickelson

Transfers Week! Moved To Sandvika, Oslo

All of the Fredrikstad ward's missionaries before transfers.

March 7, 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

Transfers week! This week has been so busy with transfers. I have been moved to Sandvika, a large city just on the outskirts of Oslo. One cool thing about the city is that it has the largest shopping center in all of Scandinavia (it's quite large to put it lightly). It's very easy to get lost in there haha.

With every transfer comes the sad goodbyes. I said goodbye to everyone in Fredrikstad. The ward in Fredrikstad has been so kind to me. They take really great care of the missionaries. The ward will do anything for the missionaries, and the missionaries will do anything for the ward. I really appreciated having the opportunity to be a part of it. I made a ton of friends, and I am grateful that friendships last even after missionary service. They are incredible there. It's going to be so awesome to see so many of them at stake conference here in a few weeks!

I moved here to Sandvika and dove into meeting the ward. The ward here is quite large (in relation to where I've been so far), so I'm trying to learn who everyone is and get everything figured out. This ward is just as incredible here. There are so many strong members who are willing to work with the missionaries. While I've been here in Norway, it has been very interesting to see how important it is for the ward and the missionaries to work together bring people to a greater knowledge of Christ's gospel. It's been even greater to see it happen. The ward reaches out in love to help those that are new, and continue to support each other. I'm really excited to be serving here!

After walking in the front door to the apartment, I was excited. The apartment is so huge! Well, huge in relation to where I've been. With each new area, I've been getting into larger and larger apartments. It's quite awesome. It's a great place with incredible water pressure in the bathroom! haha It's definitely another upside to serving here!

I'm serving with Elder Kemp, a way cool missionary who's been out for around 14 months or so. He's a really cool skier from Burley, Idaho. He's way awesome. His Optimus Prime impression is quite spot on too. I'm really excited for a great transfer with him!

Love,

Elder Mickelson