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 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