Wow, 7-Weeks Have Come And Gone!

January 30, 2017

Hi Everyone!

Wow. 7 weeks have come and gone! The transfer is nearly over and it feels like I just moved here!

This week was pretty jam-packed. We had a crazy week with two different splits, a world-wide missionary broadcast with several changes to the standard missionary schedule, and we even had time for a waffle stand!

Last Tuesday, Elder Johnson and I were on splits together. Since we already are in the same apartment it was no problem. It was pretty great, we had visited some different people that day and went out talking to people. It was tons of fun. He really enjoyed it, especially because he hadn't been on splits before on his mission (he's been in Norway for only a few months).

There was a world-wide missionary broadcast this week too. Some adjustments had been made helping us be more effective. Changes were made allowing the previously more standard morning schedule to become flexible. For example, studies could be put wherever we wanted in the day to best fit daily/local needs. So it was made a lot more flexible, leaving it up to us to decide when to do everything. (Plus, we get an extra half hour to get ready for the day!)

I went on splits with Elder Applegate too this week. He's serving in Sandvika, and he came here to Drammen for a day. He's an awesome guy, it was great having him here for the day. He was also here for some of the Waffle Stand that we had put up.

We set up a giant tent, with some tables set up, and handed out free waffles all day! It was pretty great. We got to talk with a TON of people. I'd say it was quite a success. I had done one similar in Bodø, so it was quite fun to go for it Round #2.

So as for moves this week, I'll be getting Elder Nelson and saying bye to Elder Hoopes this week. AND! Elder Mitchell will be coming to Drammen too! I was with him in Fredrikstad so it's going to be a blast!

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

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

I was given a challenge by a little girl in the ward to write down every day a reason why I believe in God. So #1, I believe in God because I can feel His love for me.

Have a great week everyone!

Wow! What A Hectic Week!

Me by our apartment

January 23, 2016

Hello Everyone!

Wow! What a hectic week! But such a good one at that. We started out the week on Monday with a way fun activity as a district. Elder Hoopes had gotten the game Bananagrams for Christmas, so we decided to play that as a district. TONS of fun. It was the party edition, so all of a sudden you had to start doing crazy things like only playing with one hand, standing on one leg, or setting the banana case that the tiles go in on top of your head. It was a very silly game, but a lot of fun.

All of us at Zone Leader Training

We had Zone Conference here in Drammen this week (sadly didn't get to travel very far to it, just across to the other side of the river). The day before we were getting different things set in place for it, and out of nowhere we get this call from a member of the church here, letting us know that basically all of the busses had stopped running... It had been raining all day, but it was still cold enough that the rain froze on the ground, and the entire city became just a giant sheet of ice. To put it simply, it became one huge ice skating rink, suddenly with a bunch of cars on the roads. A bunch of accidents happened. Luckily we were taking the busses so we didn't have to worry about driving, we just needed to worry about the busses running still (which they eventually did).

Oslo

That night we had walked over to a house for a lesson, and we were walking up the driveway, which was still a sheet of ice, and it took us about a minute to walk a few feet. One step forward, two slides back.

Oslo

We had Zone Conference, which was blast. I still love getting to see everyone. I realized that I had known most of them for a really long time, and that I had been in the same city with almost half of them at one point or another. It was really enjoyable. Right afterwards, I headed off to Oslo for splits with Elder Bleggi (we came to Norway at the same time). It was great being with him. We got to teach a few different people and it was loads of fun. We were at the mission office which is the same place as the young adult center there in Oslo, and they had seminary that evening, so I walked into the room, and saw several different people I knew, some from here in Drammen, but also some that I knew from other wards I had been in. It was great getting to catch up real quick with friends there.

It was a great week. Really fast-paced, but very enjoyable. I hope you all have a great week. Take care!

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

Alma 37:37 "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day."

Drammen Was Hit With Quite A Bit Of Snow

A bunch of us over at President's home after New Year's.

January 16, 2016

Hello Everyone!

A week ago, Drammen was hit with quite a bit of snow. A whole several inches. The snow we'd been missing since November finally came. Well anyways, we had gotten up one morning and were about to go out the door to catch the southbound train to Tønsberg, and all I hear is... "It's raining..." It's one thing to rain overnight, melt all of the snow, and stop... but the rain went on for a couple of days. Needless to say, I got soaked pretty fast.

Our District together after interviews.

We still caught the train and made it just fine to Tønsberg to spend the day with the missionaries there. It was really cool because we not only were in Tønsberg for a bit, but we drove down to another city called Sandefjord because that's the city they normally are in. With a constant pour, we hit the streets and it was a blast. We were with Elder Arveseth (he was in Fredrikstad when I was there) and then his companion Elder Hansen.

Elder Hansen and I spent some time knocking on some doors talking to different people. We had walked up to a door and there was just country music blaring and I thought someone was having a party. But, it wasn't like a ton of cars were parked there, so we knocked. When they came out it was fun asking about the country music and finding out that they had just been jamming to it. Fun meeting people who love country music too! haha

A game we all played to try and get a piece of a cereal box off the ground with only your feet on the ground, I found out I'm more flexible than I thought (yes, that is me)

A few days ago, we had been over at a family's home for dinner, and while we were waiting for a few minutes for the food to finish cooking, several of us sat down and played some with LEGOs with their daughter. It was fun seeing all of us, sitting around the classic bucket, loaded with LEGOs and building fun little houses. It's quite entertaining having a blast to the past with something that was such a part of my childhood.

We had finished up eating and their son, Elder Jefferies, Elder Hoopes, and I all had a wall sit competition. Everyone was out by the 2 and a half minute mark and it was just Elder Hoopes and I left. We had gone for 5 minutes straight (By the way, the longest wall sit I've ever done in my life) and we decided to fall at the same time. My legs were shaking pretty hard-core, but we managed.

I was out talking with people and started talking to this guy in high school. He had this really nice camera, and come to find out, he's way into film-making. He's helped make a few music videos for some local musicians. He was a way cool guy to talk to.

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

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

"Difficulties allow us to change for the better, to rebuild our lives in the way our Heavenly Father teaches us." Thomas S. Monson

I Hope You All Had A Great Week, Because I Sure Did!

Elder Hoopes (my current companion) and I

January 9, 2017

Hello Everyone!!!

I hope you all had a great week, because I sure did!

There's the saying that when it rains, it pours. I'm saying that when it snows, it dumps. It finally snowed here in Drammen. From what people have been saying, there hasn't been snow since November! So many people were happy that it finally snowed so that can go hit the ski slopes and others to head off to the woods and cross country ski. As long as it stays snow and doesn't turn into slush, I'm happy! So great so far!

This week we we went to President and Sister Hill's home for dinner. A bunch of missionaries from around the area were invited over for a late New Year's dinner and to play some Minute-To-Win-It games. The games ranged from trying to move an Oreo from your forehead to your mouth, a balancing/stretching game to get as low to the ground as possible (I found out I was flexible enough to kiss the ground), and eating as many dry crackers as possible in a minute (I managed 4 and a half). It was so much fun and really enjoyable!

We were also able to help out with the young men's activity this week too. We helped out with their family history activity. It was real fun helping them look through really old church books. Often, you can hardly read what was written because it was in hardcore cursive. Still really enjoyable!

We took a train up to Sandvika, one of my old areas, to go visit their district meeting. It was real fun just to be back visiting the old area and see it all again. We had a lot of fun, and afterwards we grabbed a quick bite at the pizza place there which had an ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET!!! I got my fair share of pizza for sure!

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

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

"True happiness is not made in getting something. True happiness is becoming something." -Marvin J. Ashton

At new missionary training

Godt Nytt År! (Happy New Year!)

The morning light hitting the other side of the city

January 2, 2017

I hope you all had a great time this week, because I sure did. This last week was what is called Romjul, there's not a name for it that I know of in English, it's just the week between Christmas and New Year's.

We had loads of fun though. We started out on Monday by playing soccer with a bunch of people from the ward here in Drammen (we lost, not terribly, but ya. The others were pretty great, to say the least).

A lot of this week we were visiting people and more of getting to know others. There's a lot of people in the congregation here in Drammen, so it is a lot of people for me to get to know, and this week has been great for me to get to know them.

All of us in Oslo (Sister Hill's picture)

We got to drive up to Oslo (it's not that far away) on Thursday for a little fireside. A lot of the missionaries from the surrounding areas (mostly those around the Oslofjord were there. It was a way great little meeting. Practically everyone went and got kebabs right afterwards, and it was delicious!

I got asked what Christmas and New Year's is like in Norway, and it really made me think about how I could explain that. And I think that the best way to explain it, is that everyone just gets together, ALL THE TIME. So for like two weeks straight, family and friends are getting together for giant, incredible, delicious dinners, and just enjoying each others' company. Of course, days like Christmas Eve, and New Year's' Eve, you have your larger parties, but still, everyone just gets together all of the other days. Most people don't have to work much at all during the last couple weeks of the year. The time is spent mainly with family.

Our view of the fireworks on New Year's Eve

(the really bright lights were the fireworks)

New Year's' Eve is the COOLEST in Norway. Basically everyone in the country lights off loads of fireworks for the night. So it's practically a nonstop firework show from 11:30pm until 12:30am. Our apartment is on the higher side of the city, so it overlooks most of the everything. So we had the most incredible view of the fireworks. Tons of fireworks going off everywhere! I'll add a picture of some of the fireworks you could see. They were going off everywhere around us!

New Year's Eve and New Year's was so great, in addition to this whole week. Take care and I hope you all have a great week! Keep up on those New Year Resolutions!

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

"Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one." -Brad Paisley

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Our district: Me, Elder Hoopes, Sister Dransfield, Sister Cook, Elder Johnson, Elder Jefferies

December 26, 2016

Merry Christmas everyone! Today is Second Christmas Day! or happy Boxing Day if you're into that. We're celebrating the fourth day of Christmas, and that's perfect for me!

This week was a really great. We spent a lot of time visiting people (which for me means meeting a lot of people) and getting to know them. I really enjoyed it.

Yesterday was the beloved day of Christmas!!! It was awesome. We went to this wonderful family's home for the evening and spent Christmas with them. We ate some great food, and played some games also. While I was there I Skyped my family back home and it was wonderful getting to see them and talk to them again!

On Lillejulaften (Dec 23rd), all of us missionaries got together and made a TON of cinnamon rolls (and yes, they were DELICIOUS). We made a bunch up and delivered them to a lot of people. And we did it ding-dong-ditch style (mostly because we aren't good enough at singing to try caroling). But several dozen cinnamon rolls got made, and many got to eat them so that was wonderful!

In Norway, Christmas is celebrated mainly on Christmas Eve. So all of the festivities take place on Christmas Eve. And one cool thing is that it's a big event. When everyone gets together, it's not a pajama event. Practically everyone is in their best clothes. (suits for men, dresses for women). It's just really cool to see how formal it is, because people acknowledge it as such a big day!

Elder Hoopes and I

Here's a list of typical Norwegian Christmas foods (list is variable depending on where you live)

-Ribbe: Pretty much ribs (not barbecued) with extra fat on top and loads of meat. AMAZING STUFF!

-Pinnekjøtt: Dried and salted lamb ribs. It's like steam cooked on top of sticks. It's incredible and basically just falls apart because it's so tender.

-Turkey: Classic turkey cooked up. Like a Thanksgiving turkey, just on Chrsitmas Eve.

-Christmas Ham: Pretty self-explanatory. Tender ham, for Christmas. It's always great.

-Lutefisk (or other fish): Fish jello? well not really, but that's pretty much the closest explanation. Topped off with bacon. Apparently it isn't too bad. I've never eaten it so I couldn't tell you how it is.

I hope you all have an awesome week! Take care!

Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

The first verse of "Joy to the World"

"Joy to the world! The Lord is come.

Let earth receive her King

Let every heart

Prepare Him room

And heaven and nature sing

And heaven and nature sing

And heaven and heaven and nature sing"

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS THIS WEEK!

Me and one of the youth here in Drammen. Way cool guy!

December 19, 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

Wow! Hectic week, but a great one at that!

After an amazing 6 months in the Arctic circle, I moved back down to Oslofjorden. It was really sad saying bye to everyone up there in Bodø. They are just so incredible up there. They were and still are such great examples of the kind of person I want to be.

After having a great stay in Bodø, I said bye to Elder Dawes. I went through airport security and started the next chapter of my mission here in Norway.

A quick thank you to all of those that I got to get to know in Bodø!

Luckily, all of my luggage made it to Oslo (I'd be really concerned if it didn't). I caught the Flytog (the airport's train system) and started my way through the oh-so-familiar winding hills, through Oslo, through good ol' Sandvika, and continued down to Drammen.

I got off the train, and made my way off the platform and found all of the Drammen Elders. My companion is Elder Hoopes. We came to Norway at the same time (we actually sat right next to each other in class in the MTC in Provo, UT also). So it was exciting seeing him again. He's from California, and loves the beach (a HUGE beach guy). Elder Jefferies is also in our apartment. I served with him at the beginning of my mission up in Alta. He was my second companion. Elder Jefferies is also training a new missionary, Elder Johnson. We have an awesome apartment, and a bunch of great guys. So long story short, it'll be a great time in Drammen!

Drammen is GIANT! Ok, not really. But kind of. There's a lot more people in Drammen than Bodø. Drammen actually is one of the largest cities in Norway. It has one of the biggest congregations too in all of Norway. I showed up to church yesterday and was practically overwhelmed. There had to be over 200 members there! I've been pretty used to about a dozen in church, so it was quite the change. But it's a good one. If there's anything I've learned, it's that all of the members here in Norway are incredible. They are the greatest examples of what I'd like to be one day. There's no doubt about that!

It's interesting moving back down here to Eastern Norway. This is where part of my family actually comes from (like 150 years ago, but still). We drove through this area called Eiker, right outside of Drammen, and it dawned on me I was practically in the same spot that some of my ancestors were from. It was just a real neat experience being where my family used to be.

And last but not least, CHRISTMAS!!!!!!! Ok, so now it's been about a year since I talked much about Christmas traditions in Norway.

Well, to sum it up, it's INCREDIBLE!!!

But I can elaborate a bit. Any time that you have 4 days of Christmas, it HAS to be great. so they have Little Christmas Eve (Lillejulaften) on the 23rd, Christmas Eve (Julaften), which actually is the biggest of the days of Christmas (it's when Santa comes). That's on the 24th. Then you have the Førstejuledag on the 25, the first day of Christmas. and then the second day of Christmas (Andre juledag) on the 26th. It's just a great time to just spend at home with family or at your cabin.

Food at Christmas time is wonderful! There's ribbe, pinnekjøtt, potatoes, kjøttkaker, and tons of baked goods. It's like the greatest assortment of food you can think of!

Well I hope you all have a Merry Christmas! Take care and have a wonderful holiday season coming up!

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

Luke 2:11 "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

Merry Christmas! God Jul!