Dåpen Dag!

Another beautiful baptism day for the Kristiansand Ward!  

Even, has been investigating the Church for about 7 months and now he is a member and today he received the Aaronic Priesthood.  He is a great young man and already a good missionary - two of his friends are at the center often!  We can't help but love him!

Sister Hogard, Even and Sister Campbell

Even with Sisters, Thor Øyvind, the YM president
 and his adorable daughter.

Bell, is a beautiful girl who lives in Arendal and was taught by the sisters there.  She has come to the center a few times to mingle with the other YA's and asked Jim to baptize her.  It was his privilege!

Jim, Belle, Sisters Johannesen and Larsen (Sister Maurik is skyping - she recently finished her mission
 and had played a big part in Belle's conversion).

As always, after a baptism, the ward celebrates.

Sister Johannesen really celebrated!

This great group of young people showed up in force
 to welcome Even and Belle into the Church and the group!

Aren't they a great looking group?

We are so very thankful for the opportunity to serve
 with these wonderful people!

Hjem, Kjære Hjem

Velkommen to our home away from home on 

Øygardsheia in Søgne, Norway.

Our cozy living/family room

Sometimes, Jim's sleeping room

Our kitchen

The oven door handle was melted off before
 we moved in - we didn't do it!

The extra bedroom/storage room

Bathroom/laundry room

Shower

Heated tile floors - NICE!!

Bedroom

We had only been in Norway for a couple of weeks and after a long day at the center, we returned to our apartment and as I walked in, I thought... this feels like home.  It was a comforting feeling!  

             We are very grateful for our Home, Sweet Home!!

Jim feels very much at home here too!!

Hjelpeforeningens (Relief Society) Activity in Birkeland

Spent an absolutely, delightful evening at Anne Svensen's home in Birkeland, about an hours drive from K-sand.  The R.S. sisters from K-sand and Arendal brought their bread dough and baked it in Anne's huge open brick oven.  We met in the basement of their beautiful and very old home, where the oven is.  There were candles everywhere!  The Norwegians love candles!!  Do you blame them?  During the long, dark winters, the candles, not only provide some light but also remind them that summer will return.  We just might burn a few this winter in our little apartment.

Anne, our hostess, is our very energetic Primary Pres., 
a beautiful singer, grower of beautiful flowers 
and beautiful daughters!  Ida, the bishop's wife,  and
 Åse, (one of our favorite YA's.) belong to her.

 Here's Anne and her husband, Tor, getting the oven ready for the dough.  It's a lot of work!

More beautiful women forming their
 dough by candle-light.

Åse-Helen braided these wonderful loaves.

Ida, (the Bishop's wife), Kristine and her 
grandmother, (Ingvild's mother).

Inger-Lise and my good friend, Ingvild

Aida, Rosell and her daughter.  Rosell is taking
 the missionary lessons.

While the bread was baking, the R.S. president gave a presentation on visiting teaching.  A few of the sisters shared experiences they have had that had strengthened their love and testimony of V.T.  Jeanette, the president, asked me if I would share something so I told them about my good friend, Selia.  I told them how much I loved her and that we should never give up on anyone - even if it takes twenty years!  

Fresh baked bread and....... moose soup.  
Yep!  First time eating moose and it was really tasty!!
(I can't seem to find them in the woods so I'll just eat them).

Anne's husband hunts them in the woods around their home.

Candles and apples in the window sills.

So many homes have geraniums in the windows.  
I love them!  They look so cheery!
Would they stay alive in the Valley of the Sun's 
homes' windows?  Nei, I don't think so.

Meresi and I

A lovely and very rainy, evening spent with some
of my new friends.
---------------------------------------

Meresi is the sweetest lady!  She is originally from Chile, cleans houses and cares for her brother who is in a wheel chair and has many health problems. She loves her Heavenly Father so much and lives very close to Him.  You can't help but love this lady!!

Recently, the missionaries, Jim and I were invited to her sweet home for dinner.

Her window sills were full of flowers - orchids.  Orchids and geraniums grow so well here.  I guess, in the window sills, they get just the right amount of heat and light.

Meresi, Sister Hogard, Elder Drage, Elder Dalton,
Sister Campbell and myself.

Vi glede i alle våre venner - nytt og gammelt!

(We delight in all our friends - new and old!)

Happy Halloween!

Celebrating Halloween in Norway is growing more and more popular.  So, we decided to have our own party at Senteret.

Creamy cheeseburger soup and home made rolls were served for dinner and then the fun began!  (First, a note about the home made rolls - we do not have a mixer and I have been a little hesitant about making rolls but Jim did the kneading by hand and they turned out great!  Who needs a Kitchen Aid or a Bosch??  Maybe it was the great oatmeal roll recipe from Master Chef, Rochelle Arnold!)

GAME TIME!

Starting out with musical chairs

These two cousins were a hoot!  A ghost,
a lumberjack, a prize fighter, "the assassinator" (from some
video game), a bandit and a mad scientist also joined us.

Pumpkin bowling

Even Elder Nelson got in on the fun!

Jocelyn, the ghost got a strike, I think

Jocelyn, Even, Belle and Jaime eating donuts on a string.
Even and Belle are getting baptized on the 15th.  Yay!

Henok, Frederick and Hannah.

Christina, one of our favorite investigators,
doing the "headless waiter" relay.

Everyone liked dancing to The Monster Mash -
 trying to pop each others balloons.

Our new Sister Hanock with investigators, Christina, Even and Reuben

We love it when investigators come join us at Senteret!
When investigators bring their friends - that's the best!

HASTENING THE WORK -
 ANYWAY WE CAN!!

To Stavanger

We decided to drive to our first zone conference rather than take the 3 hour train ride to Stavanger.  What a beautiful drive it was!!

I love all the red houses, sheds, garages and boat houses!

Wild grasses had turned to orange - it was beautiful!

We loved the town of Flekkefjord!  It's on it's
very own fjord.

Quaint villages in the valleys.  Notice how most houses are
red or white.

Village church and cemetery

Waterfalls everywhere!

It was great being with all the Elders, Sisters and Pres. and Sister Evans at zone conference.  It is very impressive to see all these young missionaries, far from home, so dedicated in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

It was also great to spend some time with Elder and Sister Whitaker who are serving in Stavanger.  We were together in the MTC and it was fun to share stories, experiences and recipes.  (We do cook a lot for the Young Adults)! Because Elder Whitaker is a Vet, they have access to a NATO base grocery store - (I may or may not have been a bit envious) - and so for the missionary meal, they served sloppy joes with real American potato chips and Fritos; cupcakes made from real American cake mixes; and handed out real American Halloween candy bars.  It was a big hit!  They did bring us two Duncan Hines cake mixes - I'm saving them for sometime real special like Christmas at the Center.

Elder and Sister Whitaker and Elder Allphin, (Bergen)

Pres. and Sister Evans and missionaries in
Vestlandet Zone

On our drive back to Kristiansand, we again took the more scenic, coastal route.  We saw beautiful farm land and took some great pictures of the sun setting over the North Sea.

See the cleared farm land with the walls made from the rocks
and the fields still waiting to be cleared

I stand all amazed at the beauty of this world God made for us!