This Week Was Really Amazing.

Pic from the picnic (me, Elder Mitchell and Elder Decker)

April 3, 2017

Hey Everyone!

This week was really amazing. I don't know why, but each week gets more and more hectic. Maybe eventually I'll get a break. But who really knows?

Monday we spent the afternoon of our P-Day a bit more enjoyably. We decided that we needed to get out of the house, and out into nature... Or at least where the sun's shining. So in our lack of creativity, the sisters thought it'd be a great idea to go have a picnic. And because we couldn't come up with anything better, we said sure. It was really enjoyable and lots of fun. We bought a bunch of fruit, Elder Mitchell and I each got a Coca-Cola, and we went out to a park down by the river. We had our little picnic, tossed around a football (not a

soccer ball), and just had a good time. I even rolled up my pant legs a little bit to catch a little sun. Too bad it didn't do anything though. Still pasty white haha. That's alright, I'll live.

We had a little conference here in Drammen this week too. So that kept us pretty busy getting everything in line for that. But that went real well. It went smoothly so I can't complain any.

Right after the conference we, yes, got on a train, along with the missionaries in Arendal and Kristiansand because we were having splits with the Kristiansand elders. It was SUCH A LONG train ride. 4 hours. That's a long time to sit in one spot. I had to stand up and walk

around a couple times. But the train ride was real good.

Splits in Kristiansand was way nice. One, the city is like one of the most southern cities in Norway, so it's a lot warmer and it's just way cool. It's just a gorgeous place. Plus, I was with Elder Tangen who was in my MTC group, plus we served together in Sandvika, so it was a

blast. And a blast to the past. haha Just a lot of good reminiscing.

After splits, we took the beautiful, yet very rainy train ride the WHOLE 4 HOURS BACK! This time it wasn't so hard. Elder Mitchell and I each bought an 8-pack of boller, and a coke to make the trip. We ended having a way cool conversation with this lady on the train though. Fun story, her great great great something grandma was one of the last

witches burned in Norway. So, I met a descendant of a witch XD haha It was a pretty crazy story. I guess those witch trials weren't JUST in the US.

My lutefisk (sorry, didn't have bacon on this one).

LUTEFISK! Yes, so anyone still reading this finally hit the reason they wanted to read it. Yes, I finally had lutefisk. It was like one of the last foods on my Norwegian food bucket list! Now, for everyone who are turned away from the thought of lutefisk, or fish jello, or whatever you want to call it. It was DELICIOUS. Like, it was . Our landlords had made it, and wow. Good. I really liked it. I had it with some pea stew and potatoes on the side, with some bacon and grilled onions on the top. Boy was that good. If you get the chance, eat it.

This last weekend was General Conference. What a great opportunity to hear so many good talks. I loved it. It was hard to sit still for so long, but I managed! haha We're watching the last session tonight with a member here in Drammen so that'll be way fun. But I highly suggest watching it if you haven't!

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

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

"Walking with the Savior in priesthood service will change the way you look at others." -Pres. Henry B. Eyring

This Has Been Such An Uplifting Week!

Another beautiful sunset

October 3, 2016

Hello Everyone!

"All of us are seeking to be converted" -Elder Robert D. Hailes

This has been such an uplifting week! Well, I guess that naturally happens when getting to listen to General Conference (a semi-annual worldwide church conference where several general authorities of the church speak on different subjects to help strengthen our relationship to our loving Heavenly Father). If you didn't get a chance to hear it or want to listen/watch it, it's on www.lds.org/general-conference Check it out! it was really great!

Elder Mickelson & Elder Stephens

In this last week, Elder Stephens moved away from Bodø. It was really sad to have him leave and say goodbye to everyone, but on the bright side, I was staying! Bodø is a great city, I love being here.

After Elder Stephens left, Elder Dawes flew in. Elder Dawes is fresh from the MTC, so it's been so much fun having him as a companion. He's from Springfield, UT and just graduated this last spring. He's a tall guy! He's like 6' 2", I'm pretty sure my tallest companion so far. There has been a couple close ones, but I'm pretty sure he's the tallest. He's a really fun guy that is really smart with Family History, so this is a great place for him! Especially considering that we have a family history center here. So that will be great. Hopefully I'll get a lot better at it now!

The new missionaries that just came
in and where they are going.
Elder Collett, Elder Briggs and Elder Dawes

General Conference was such a wonderful way to end this previous week. There were so many good talks! I can't just pick one to suggest for you all or one as my favorite.

In the Priesthood session of General Conference, Elder Holland gave some wonderful counsel when caring for others in need. He said that we need to love and listen until the sun rises in their lives.

I think that it an amazing principle. When we are trying to assist someone who is struggling or needs to be helped back up upon their feet, we need to love them and listen to them. Many times, that is what people need, someone that cares and will listen to them. And that is something that they will need in until the metaphorical suns of their lives rise again.

One last thought that I really liked from conference was something that Elder LeGrand R Curtis Jr. said. It was that faith is strengthened during adversity. During the bumps in the road of our lives, that is when we begin to see our faith become more concrete, strengthened, and grow greater than it would along the smooth sailing points along that same path. I just hope not ALL of the points of life are bumpy, but that those times of adversity can strengthen my faith. I do believe that in adversity, we really do become strengthened by the hand of the Lord.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Thanks for all of you and what you do!

Sincerely,

Elder Mickelson

Elder Mickelson and Elder Tangen on splits.

Blood pancakes (really tasty by the way)

A view from a place outside of Bodø

Our group run on splits in Mo i Rana

Cool shoes picture

Another view of the fjord

Elder Stephens with a WW2 weapon

A little pond with ducks swimming around 
(maybe you can't see the ducks but they were there)

Rocky shoreline

Elder Dawes seeing the northern lights for the first time.

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

So This Has Been Quite The Week!

October 5, 2015

Dear Family & Friends,

So this has been quite the week! We've been doing a bunch of service throughout the week. We got to work some more on the garage we had helped with earlier. We also got to help with building a little carport.

I ended up finally buying a winter coat. It was definitely a necessary purchase. It's been getting a lot colder up here. It really does feel like Wyoming lol. We got our first snow here. It just so happened to be while we were on a hike! Super awesome! But ya, we are getting our snow tires put onto our car so it'll be just fine.

So we had General Conference these last couple days. It was really wonderful to get to hear from the Apostles. Three new ones were called and I think that was super cool. It'll be strange having a few different ones. I do think that it is so wonderful though to see how Christ's church functions, that it doesn't just end, but that it still continues today.

So I have only seen a few of the conference sessions because of the time difference, but we are going to be watching the last couple over the next few days. So next week I'll fill you in with which were my favorites. Oh! So for those that are wondering, we ended up watching conference over the internet. We just watched it on the computer so that was pretty great.

Sorry for not any pictures this week. I'll get some sent next week!

So for a random thought, I can't remember if I've shared this yet or not, but I got to eat some reindeer heart. It tastes pretty awesome. Oh, and some dried fish, so both are really awesome. They taste interesting, but they still are awesome!

Have an awesome week everyone!

Love,

Elder Mickelson