Midsummer's Eve aka St. Hans or St. John's Eve

Midsummer's Eve

"Norway celebrates Midsummer, not on Summer solstice but

on June 23 ," (which, I was told, is the birthdate of John the Baptist.)  "Like many other Christian celebrations, St. Hans was originally a pagan festival.  The central element of the celebration is the lighting of a huge bonfire.  Traditionally, the bonfire was lit around farms to "wake up" the ground.  When the light from the fire shone on the  fields, they were believed to become extra fertile that year.

The fire was also meant to ward off evil spirits and scare away witches.  Medieval superstition said that witches were particularly active on Midsummer's eve, as they were out harvesting ingredients for their potions or flying off to a witches' gathering.  In some areas a symbolic witch, (made of wood or wicker) is put on the bonfire, but this is actually a recent tradition that only became popular in the late 19th century.

St. Hans is a celebration of nature, life and fertility.  Many of the traditions are connected with the renewal of life.  If a girl picked five or seven different herbs and flowers on this day and put them under her pillow at night, she would dream of her husband to be."

(from, mylittlenorway.com)

Today, Midsummer's eve is just an opportunity for everyone

to have a night out close to nature, to barbecue and enjoy

the evening sun.  I was told it is also the day for everyone to

run into the sea, for the first time this season, if they hadn't already.

It was fun to meet and mingle with many of the ward members.

The Torjesen family

The Montanares family

Myself, Kari and Ingvild Tamper

Jim and I with Sisters Larsen and Hudson.

This was Sister Larsen's last evening in K-Sand  -

she transferred to Drammen the next morning.

After the fire burned down, the young people, (and Jim) 

had fun throwing frisbees near the beach.

Another great week - Uke 24

Vest Sone Conference
We drove to Stavanger for our last zone conference under the leadership of President and Sister Evans.  They will be leaving
Norway on July 1, headed back to their home in Mesa, AZ and 
President and Sister Hill will be our new mission president and wife.

The missionaries in our zone, all wrote notes of 
appreciation to President and Sister Evans.
They have done a wonderful job!

Vest sone - The West zone

Sisters Larsen and Hudson rode back to
K-sand with us.  We made a stop to see
the three Sverd i Fjell.  Three huge stone
swords in the rock commemorating a battle in 872
which united three districts of Norway into one
 kingdom. The crowns on the swords represent the
 different districts which took part in the battle.

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Last Friday, the YA's enjoyed 
a barbecue at the beach.

Can't beat the view!!

Clever, Hannah, Cecile and Jocelyn

Summer Fun!

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Tom og Turid 

Tom and Turid live in a flat above the center.
A couple of months ago, Tom came down, told us about their upcoming visit to the U.S. and wanted some information about visiting S.L.C. - they wanted to see "that big church" and hear "that
choir".  Jim scheduled a tour for them of Temple Square with a Norwegian Sister Missionary and our friendship with Tom and
Turid began.  After  they returned, we had a very nice dinner
with them and enjoyed seeing  pictures of their trip.

We also had a tour of Tom's collection.

Miniature liquor bottles!

One room FULL of liquor memorabilia.

Amazing!!
And, Tom doesn't drink - well, maybe just
a glass of wine once in a while.

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P-Day road trip
We went with our new Norwegian friends through 
beautiful Setesdal and up to Suleskar. 

A favorite rafting area

Turid and Jim

Love these old barns!

A lot of "cabins" near the ski resorts.

This is Suleskarvegen - it is known as
Southwest Norway's highest altitude road
connection with the highest point reaching
1050 meters.  

This road is closed, usually from November
to approximately May 20.  We were there
on June 13. They do "cut" through the snow 
to allow necessary access to power plants.

Yes, that is Jim against the wall of snow.

The snow was still about 7 meters tall.

Back down to a beautiful valley.

Lunch time!

This was an amazing gorge area

Its amazing what water and ice can do!

Fallen Rock!

More of nature's beauty!

This is normal to see in Norway - they train 
all summer for winter cross country skiing.


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Another Døpen Dag

Clever was baptized by Mats

Sister Larsen, Clever, Mats and Sister Hudson


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Members waiting to see the Bishop.  He and
his family will be gone for about a month so 
Temple recommends and Festinord interviews
were needed.  

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Three of our favorite YSA's

Ha det = Bye

Uke 23

Uke 23 - week 23

Week numbering is very common in Norway and

 Uke 23 has been another fantastisk one! 

I got my hair cut and colored (YAY!!) by Sally, a friend of Aida's.

Aida and Sally. (Aida also got her hair done.)  Sally only charges 100 Kroner for each a cut and color and that is a huge deal! Normal
price for the same would be about 1000K.  Sally says, "We help each other".  Have you ever been served refreshments while the color processes?  Sally, Aida and I visited, discussed the new Uke 23 grocery ads and became better acquainted, all while nibbling on an array of treats. It was a fun experience.  I'll be going back.

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Jennifer og Frederik

Frederik and Jennifer were sealed in the Cophenhagen Temple
on Wednesday and on Saturday, the ward, family and friends 
celebrated with them at a beautiful party.

Frederik is from Norway, Jennifer is from Spain.  They "met" while
Jennifer was serving a mission in New York and was companions
with a friend of Frederik's who he had met as an exchange student in Las Vegas, where he also joined the Church.
They wrote back and forth and when Jennifer returned to Spain, Frederik visited her and the rest is history.

Atle and friend enjoying the yummy buffet.

Meresi and her friend Rolf.  Rolf is a "car guy" so
Jim and he had a lot to talk about
.

A fun Norwegian tradition - anytime someone taps their
 spoon against the glass, the bride and groom stand up
 on their chairs and kiss. 
 Frederik and Jennifer climbed and kissed
a lot!!  

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Northern European Conference
Sunday, the conference was broadcast from Edinburgh, Scotland
to Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Great Britain, Ireland and
Greenland.  It was fantastisk!  Besides many great talks and beautiful music - Elder Holland was the visiting authority and we 
all know that is very special! Twenty five years ago, he and his 
wife lived in England while he presided over this Northern
European area and in a few days he will be speaking in
the British Parliament which he thought would be a first
for a General Authority.

Elder Holland shared that at this time the Sister Missionaries
make up 25-28% of the missionary force in the world and
a strong force they are!  
A few days ago, Sister Larsen, one of the traveling sister
training missionaries, visited K-Sand and she and Sister
Hudson asked Eldste Nelson and I to meet with them for
a practice teach.  I just want to share how strong the spirit 
was as these two sweet, young women "taught" us the
Plan of Salvation.  The tears flowed and my testimony of
this great plan grew even stronger!  

Søsters Hudson and Larsen -  beautiful inside and out
and sweet and powerful teachers.

Sister Hudson's Plan of Salvation teaching aid.

Elder Holland gave a sweet, emotional and powerful talk sharing when he first received a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon as a young missionary in England.  He said, "Through tears and triumph, the undeniable spirit of the Holy Ghost revealed the truth of the Book of Mormon".  He told us that this book will be a shield and a protection from loss of faith, from foolishness, from temptations - it is safety for the soul in these last days.  We need to cling to the iron rod; cling to the word of God; cling to the Book of Mormon.
Speaking of the Prophet Joseph Smith's last minutes at Carthage
Jail, he shared how John Taylor tried to defend the prophet with
only a hickory stick.  It made me stop and think --- how well am I defending him?  We have a lot more than a hickory stick as our weapon and I want to be a mighty defender of the prophet Joseph Smith.  I want to defend and share the Gospel.  I want to defend and share the Book of Mormon.  I want to stand as a witness to my Savior, not only on our mission but each and everyday.  

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Another beautiful Sunday afternoon walk
through the woods and of course, we found
another beautiful lake!

Came across these two women relaxing - leaning 
against a canoe that was leaning against the hytta,
 enjoying the beauty of this peaceful setting. 
I asked if I could take their picture.

The kind woman wanted to take our picture too.

My companion taking it all in.

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The Sanders met Søster Torjesen

Jason, Tonya and family met Sarah at Temple Square.
Tonya gave her a store klem from us.

Stor klem to all of you too!

Hope Uke 24 is fantastisk also!