Elder Stephens & I Staying Together For Another 6 Weeks

Anyone want to buy some blood and whale meat at the grocery store for some food?

August 15, 2016

Hello Everyone!

Well, I guess 6 weeks have come and gone, and I'm not really quite sure where it went. But what I do know is that it was full of a lot of fun, adventure, a ton of beautiful sights, and getting to meet a bunch of really cool people. Yesterday we found out that Elder Stephens and I get to stay together here in Bodø for another transfer. So that's really exciting. We'll be up here for another transfer!

Not too many different eventful things happened this week. Everyone in the mission got to spend a day to clean literally their entire apartment. Now we got a sparkling clean house! haha

Arctic Race of Norway

One cool thing that happened this week was the Arctic Race of Norway. It's a race here in northern Norway with professional cycling teams that compete for several days cycling around the area. So this week was busy with them being around and attracting crowds of people to watch.

Elder Mickelson with the Subway
dude handing out free cookies

On Saturday there were a bunch of people around because of the cycling race, AND as a result, a ton of food places were giving out free food. So in the space of a couple hours we had gotten samples from Burger King, Subway, and free cake because of Nordland Music Week. Definitely some great samples! And to explain the walking sandwich in the subject of the email, the Subway guy was dressed up as a sub sandwich! And I totally got a picture with him!

In case you all haven't caught on yet, I like ending my letters with a small spiritual thought, something that I've noticed or thought about a lot in the last week. This week comes from something I was thinking about yesterday.

I think too often as people, inside and outside of the church, we expect that our lives or other people's lives can be changed in a matter of days, a couple weeks, or just a month. We think that change happens basically overnight, but despite as much as we want change to occur that fast, I don't believe it occurs like that most of the time. Most change in life takes time. I believe that in life we go through "the refiner's fire", that through time we are molded and shaped into something greater. But a blacksmith doesn't take some ore and turn it into something great the first time he heats the ore and beats it across an anvil. It isn't complete even the second time it is hit, or even the tenth. So it is with us as people. We as people, and everyone around us usually can't change overnight, but we do change with time. We change through experiences and how we manage situations and whatnot. I think we expect change to occur too fast, not recognizing that change and conversion to the Lord with that change come over time. We aren't changed beings automatically because we went to church one time, but we are changed with time when we follow God's guidance.

I hope all of you have a great week! Take care!

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

We Had A Pretty Great!

Elder Mickelson with some Lefse

August 8, 2016

Hey Everyone!

We had a pretty great week this last week!

Nothing was too much out of the ordinary. We were able to go up to a city North from us called Narvik for splits. It was so much fun getting to see the missionaries up there. They're way cool and we had a really good time.

I went up with Elder Bunnell (who's serving in Narvik) to a city further North called Harstad to go and try to visit some people there. While we were there, we were walking down the street and ran across a family there that are members (out of the whole city and we come across some of the few members there). Anyways, we get invited to their home and visited them. They were so awesome. Such a kind family. I have to say I continue to just be impressed with how incredible the members are here in Norway. Everyone here just has such a strong faith and testimony of the gospel. They are all great examples to me of what I want to aspire to become. I love them all so much here!

Random thought, while we were in Harstad, I came across this really cool little bakery and it fitted so perfectly the stereotype of a European bakery (it looked just like the one in the movie the Best Two Years). So I bought some boller (basically rolls with some cinnamon and spices in it) from there and it was DELICIOUS!

Yesterday in church we talked about prayer and it's been something I've been thinking a lot about this last couple weeks. We talked about how we can have more meaningful prayers. There's a scripture I like a lot that talks about it. In Alma 34:26 it says,

"But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness."

I really like how it mentions pouring out our souls to God. I think that's so important, that we need to remember that prayer shouldn't just be repetitious, but rather a conversation with our Heavenly Father. When we start pouring out our souls to Him, that's when we find ourselves coming closer to Him. We will begin to have a better relationship with Him. And it all begins with something as simple as a heartfelt prayer.

Well I hope all of you have a great week! Take care! Thanks for all you do.

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

Everything Felt Very Scattered This Week

A street in a city called Mo i Rana has my name on it!!!

August 1, 2016

Hello everyone!

Man, what a crazy week, hmmmm, well, where to begin?

Well, everything felt very scattered this week, but in the end, it all worked out. Our week was filled with the normal, everyday activities, talking to people on the street, knocking doors, etc. Aside from that though, we flew up to Tromsø for Zone Leader Training. That was really fun. Normally, we would fly down to Trondheim for it, but they split the training so half went to Trondheim and the other half (us) flew to Tromsø.

View from our airport gate to fly to Tromsø

I have been to Tromsø several times already. That was while I was living in Alta. So I hadn't been back there for about 8-9 months or so. It was pretty great to go back there and visit the city. There were a bunch of other missionaries that were in Tromsø that I got to see and it was great to catch up with them.

At ZLT, the meeting was centered around the importance of the Holy Ghost in missionary work. It led me to think a lot about how important it is for us to be focusing on true conversion to Christ. The Spirit plays a large role in how we become more converted to the Lord. It is necessary for us to help others feel the Spirit to help them come closer to Christ. I think that too often when we as people begin to discuss religion or beliefs, it just turns to philosophy/ethics (nothing wrong with philosophy or ethics) and we forget what we really are talking about. We forget at times that we are talking about God and His plan for us, his plan that helps us come closer to Him, find more happiness in our lives, and live a more purpose-filled life. I think when we focus on what the doctrine of Christ is, that is when we can have a greater relationship with Him.

Caution, 

watch for hedgehogs haha I can't wait to see 

a hedgehog walking around Bodø. 

They exist in Norway I guess, 

just haven't seen one yet here.

In other news, it totally looked like I got punched in the face this week. I totally woke up one morning, and I blinked, and it was then that I realized I was going to be getting a stye eye, totally sucks to have, but ya, it basically just turned into a gnarly black eye, but it looks MUCH better now, nearly unnoticeable.

Other than that, there's not too much else that's new. I'd like to end with a thought that I've had these last few days.

There is a saying along the lines of "church is not a showplace for saints, but a hospital for sinners".

Perfect people don't need church. But no one is perfect. All of us have our faults, our trials, our struggles. It doesn't matter where we are at spiritually, or temporally, we all need church. It is there that will help strengthen us spiritually, and where we will find spiritual healing we need. When we feel like we shouldn't go to church, that is when we dearly need to go. It does more good than I think we will ever really realize.

I hope that we don't take church attendance for granted, there's a lot we can learn and it helps us grow.

I hope you all have a great week! Take care!

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

Zone picture at Zone Conference

Showing off my black eye!

This Week Was A Really Good Week

A Great View

July 25, 2016

Hey Everyone!

This week was a really good week. Not too much happened, but overall it was still a pretty good week.

Last Monday, we went out to a very pretty area to go visit a WW2 Nazi bunker. It had been quite a while since I had gone and seen some bunkers, so it was really great to be able to see some again. This one is situated all over a peninsula. Half way through, clouds rolled in, and sure enough, it started raining, kind of hard too, but we kept on climbing all over the peninsula, finding different random things. We found some old anti-aircraft guns, some old pill bunkers, the main headquarters of it, and also some random hidden barracks (which were tiny by the way). But it was a lot of fun going and seeing all of that.

Elder Stephens in a bunker, tunnel, headquarters of bunker peninsula thing, 

a beautiful view, bunker entrance.

Later in the week, we had splits. Elder Stephens got to go down to Trondheim and Elder Abril came up here to Bodø. That was a blast. It was really enjoyable.

Other than that, not too much else has happened out of the ordinary.

Yesterday, I got to teach Sunday School. It was on being converted to the Lord. I think we all come to points in time where we need to evaluate how converted we really are to the Lord. We come to a time where we have to ask ourselves whether or not we are converted to the Lord. I don't believe that conversion is an event that just occurs once, or for just a split second, but I believe that it is rather a process. Yes, we can come to a point where we are converted to the Lord, where our hopes, and dreams, and desires are the same as God's hopes and dreams and desires for us. But that is not the end. It never is the end. We have the rest of our lives to live. We find ourselves happier when we follow those hopes and dreams and desires that God has for us. And we can continue becoming more converted to Christ.

In Alma 23:6 it says,

"6 And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away."

I thought it was really interesting in the scripture, that those who were truly converted unto the Lord, key word, unto the Lord, never did fall away. When we set our sights heavenwards, and become converted to the Lord, then we find a sure foundation to stand on, a sure foundation to build our faith upon. I hope that all of us can be more converted unto Christ so that we can build upon that foundation that comes from it.

I hope you all have a great week! Thanks for all you do!

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

Another gorgeous view with the Lofoten Islands way in the background,

a cool wave, another great sight, a jellyfish on the beach...getting a tan.

Talk About A Crazy Week!

Midnight Sun, Me and the Midnight Sun, Outside my window in the evening.

July 18, 2016

Hello everyone!

Talk about a crazy week! First off, I finally got to see the midnight sun, and it was EPIC! Needless to say, we finally got a night which was clear enough and not entirely clouded over. That was definitely an experience of a lifetime. It's something I'd wish everyone could experience sometime in their lives! I do have to say though, pictures don't even come close to how cool it was.

A payphone. They still exist!

It did feel like a bit of a slow week for the first bit. Because it's summer, many people are on vacation, and that doesn't mean just relaxing at home. When people go on vacation, they're gone for weeks at a time (great if you're not a missionary). Mostly it just makes it a bit more difficult to meet with people. But lucky for us, most people seem to be finishing up vacation here soon, so that's exciting!

The Elders in Mo i Rana came up to Bodø for splits this last week. It was really awesome having them over, especially because I know both of them really well. It was Elder Tangen (who I was companions with a few months ago) and Elder McIntire (who was in Fredrikstad serving at the same time I was there). It was great to catch up with them, see how they were doing, and get to spend some time doing missionary work with them. It was a blast having them come up and visit.

(top) Elder Stephens and Elder Tangen
(left) Epicish Bad Limes with Elder Stephens
(right) Elder Mcintyre and I with Bad Limes

Yesterday was a pretty great day. We had church, both Elder Stephens and I gave talks for it, and it started out with just 5 of us there in total. While I started speaking, we had some visitors come and it was awesome because all of a sudden the number of us in church doubled! haha Normally there's more in church, but many were out of town of vacation this week. Next week it should be back to normal.

After church we went and visited an older lady in the city. She lives in a care center and is just the nicest lady ever. But we had gone there and sometimes we play the piano for her (that's what we ended up doing yesterday) and as I started to play, one of the nurses asked if we minded if they brought out some of the other people there too to listen. We naturally said yes, and it was a really fun experience playing for a bunch of people there. It was nice just seeing them happy and enjoying it.

There was a scripture which I read yesterday that I like very much. It is the last verse of Ether 12, and it says:

"41 And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen."

I really like his invitation for all of us, to not just think of Christ, or to just hope He is there, but to SEEK Jesus. I think that is something really important, that we not only just believe in Christ, but continually seek him out. That we continually try to come closer to Him.

I feel like that word "seek" means that we are engaged in finding. That it is more than just wandering around and maybe stumble across it, but that it becomes our goal, our desire, and our focus. I think that is something that we all need. We all need to continue seeking Christ. That once we've found Christ, that we continue drawing closer to Him and having a better relationship with Him. I think it's important for all of us to try to understand Christ better, that He becomes a more active part of our faith.

I hope you all have a great week! Thanks for everything you do!

From,

Elder Mickelson

A fun sign we saw in the grocery store (no, it wasn't us that corrected the spelling).

Fairytale Land Of The Midnight Sun in Bodø

Random pictures around Bodø

July 11, 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

In the space of 6 hours, and a couple different of different flights, I made my way from the comforts of Sandvika, and ended up in the fairytale land of the midnight sun in Bodø.

I have to say though, it was definitely a flurry of different emotions and it was just weird. But you know what? It's been like this in every city I've been to. When I'm on my way to my next city, I'm sad, missing all of those that I feel like I've left behind. I miss everyone that I've gotten to know so far. Although, because I know that I miss them, I'm sure that I can say I've loved the people. I've loved everyone and everywhere I've been. It was a pleasure to be in Sandvika, and I can't wait to see them all again at another point in time, I don't know when, but hopefully as soon as I can. I guess I feel the same way with every city.

Midnight in Bodø

The Land of the Midnight Sun. No, it's not just a joke. It's true. Here in Bodø for the next few days, the sun will not set, so that's exciting. I've looked outside at midnight, still feels like the middle of the afternoon, just not near as many people outside haha! Go figure, most people are sleeping.

I said goodbye to Elder Rial in Sandvika, and said hello to Elder Stephens. He's from Pleasant View, Utah. He's a way cool guy. He likes to rock climb and do a bunch of outdoor things. He's a great guy. I'm excited to be serving with him up here!

In the last week, I've thought about Christ's service for others, about how selfless He was in what he did. I think we all have a responsibility to help those around us. In Mosiah 18:8-9 it says,

" 8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life"

When we decide to follow Christ, we make a choice to do our best to be like He was, to become a blessing in others' lives. We choose to serve others, not because we have to, not because we feel obligated to, but because it is in the desires of our hearts to see those around us blessed. Because we want to help them. Because we want the best for them. And when we come to a point where we don't want to hinder their well-being, or happiness because of one reason or another.

Our epic Jenga game 

(it fell shortly thereafter)

I hope that we all find ways in our lives to bless one another. We can serve all of those around us. We can begin with serving within the walls of our own homes, and a random neighbor, someone in the community. It doesn't matter who it is, we should be serving as much as we can, helping whoever we know could use a helping hand. It didn't matter who it was, the poor, the blind, the leper, the sinner, Christ reached out to all. I hope that we can find those around us to be able to serve.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Take care!

Sincerely,

Elder Justin Mickelson

Leaving Oslofjord...A Sad Day!

Elder Rial and Elder Mickelson in front of our house.

Hello Family & Friends!,

Wow. Talk about another six weeks flying by. Based on the subject of the email, you can already guess that I'm moving this week. I'm leaving the good ol' city of Sandvika, and flying back to the North. I'm headed off to a city called Bodø. It's a small (but strong and awesome) branch up there. I think there's about 15 or so members in church on Sundays. It's really exciting. I'm headed back to the magical land of the North! It'll be similar to when I was in Alta, except now I have a better chance of understanding people and finally knowing what I'm doing! It's really exciting. My new companion will be Elder Stephens. I've met him once before so I'm looking forward to being with him up there!

This week was busy. With all of the normal missionary work, plus attending a funeral of a good friend, trying to get back a lost phone, and the normal craziness that no one ever expects. It was a great week. I'm still just amazed all of the time how fast it all goes by. It dawned on me that this week I'll have 11 months left... It's quite scary. I don't really quite know how to express it, it just feels as though I want it all to slow down a bit. Well, such is life.

On Saturday we played soccer (like we normally do), but this time, it rained... a lot... and it poured... the WHOLE time. I was SOAKED by the end! haha but it was a blast.

I'm going to miss this ward a lot. I finally feel like I've gotten to know them, and EVERY time that happens, I move. I really love this ward so much! It's so saddening to be leaving. I'll miss catching the bus outside of our house each day, walking around the largest shopping center in all of Scandanavia, all of the people I come in contact with, and especially all of the incredible friends that I've made here. If there's something that I was told before moving here that is absolutely true, it is that in Norway, once you become friends, you are friends for life.

I've thought a lot about what I've learned while I've been here in Sandvika. I believe that with each companion, every area, and every stage of life (whether on a mission or not), we learn something different. I believe that everything in life has a reason, that there is something that we can learn from every situation. I think the one thing that has stuck out to me while I've served here is how important it is for us to understand others. 1) Everyone has a different background. Because of that, we all see life differently, we all have a different perspective, and it is that perspective and beliefs that make all of us unique. 2) Everyone has something that we can learn from them. I was sitting in church and I noticed a person taking notes from what the different speakers had to say. It didn't matter if the speaker was an older person from the congregation, or one of the youth. This person was still taking notes from what they were saying. Things that had impressed this individual was written down. Everyone knows something that we don't.

In this last week, I've pondered a lot about what Christ means to me. I've thought about why He is important in my life. It comes to more than just a childhood faith. It's more than just having gone to church since I was a baby. My relationship with God isn't just a part of my imagination because that's what I've been forced to believe. Christ's gospel isn't about that. That's not what He taught. I think about my understanding of who He is, and it's much deeper than all of that. It's been built by many different experiences, trials, and triumphs through my life. I think we need to go to church, especially in our youth, so that when hard times come in life, we know who we can turn to. But it is just as important as adults as it is as children to go to church. Many see it as pointless, but we go so that we can be continually reminded of how we can strengthen our faith in God, something that is very easy to lose sight of when we don't go. But back to my original point, what does Christ mean to me? He's my foundation. When everything in life has felt as though it was falling down around me, when I've felt at my lowest lows, and I didn't know what to do, I knew where to turn. God always provides safety for the soul. He provides a way for us to feel of His love, for things to become better in life. He provides the light at the end of the tunnel. So when I ask myself, what does Christ mean to me, I can answer with saying that he is the foundation of my life, that everything I have is because of Him. I'd be a very different person without my faith, and I would be a very different person if I did nothing with my faith.

I hope we all take some time this week and ponder what our faith really is, to think about what the foundation of our beliefs are, what we know to be true, and think about what we are doing with the beliefs that we have. We have the ability to do as much good in this world as we do bad. So I hope that we take our beliefs, no matter how big or small, and use them to help build each other up, make everything around us better, quit tearing down others, but help each other stand a little taller. Our beliefs are reflected in our actions. So I hope that we all think about what Christ means to us personally, and build on it.

I hope you all have a great week! I'll talk to you all from the North!

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

Elder Micleson in front of a beautiful lake.