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