Hei alle!
"Fresk som en fesk" is a northern-Norwegian expression that means
feelin' great and refreshed! In Bokmål (aka, the clearest, book form of
Norwegian), they'd say "Frisk som en fisk!" Gotta love the dialects here
:). There was a really nice man from Narvik (way north!) we bonked into
who wasn't interested to listen to our message, but he let us warm up
in his apartment. Super nice fellow! For some reason our conversation
stumbled upon fishing and the deliciousness of fish. To make a short
story shorter, we found ourselves outside his door with a good chunk of
delicious, boneless, newly frozen fish at no charge! Oh boy was it
balicious. Elder Farnsworth and I know how to throw things together!
Speaking of which, Elder Farnsworth joined me up here in Mo i Rana
last week!
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| This is Farnsworth and I! |
We came in the same MTC group, so this is quite the
experience for the both of us. He is rockin' - chill, fun-loving, and
together we can throw delicious dishes together in a heartbeat.
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| Delicious cabbage/meat soup! |
I'll
definitely miss Elder Olsen though - good luck in Drammen ol' buddy! One
thing I've definitely learned from Elder Farnsworth thus far is the
power of prayer. Storytime!:
A few weeks back we ran into a Romanian woman who wanted a copy of
the Book of Mormon. She was without a number (of course), and instead we
received her address, which ended up being all the way out in Båsmo
(quite far from Mo). With just an address, and a rough estimate of bus
routes, we made it to Båsmo on a quest to find that lady! Feeling rather
hopeless once we got off the bus, Elder Farnsworth immediately
suggested we hold a prayer. Now feeling hopeful we set off in an
arbitrary direction! After asking 4 different very nice people, we found
our heading! Then, through someone pulling out a phone, using google
maps, a cozy neighborhood trail, and checking mailbox addresses on the
way - we made it to the woman's home! Score!! But, of course, the
moment we bonked upon the door, she awkwardly drove up the driveway. Why
does that always happen to missionaries?? She was very pleasant and
gracious in receiving the book. Prayer of thanks, and of safely
returning home. Afterward, we found our way to the bus stop with a few
moments to spare. We got a waffle at the ski resort just up the street.
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| Snow resort in Båsmo! |
Snowboarding nostalgia hit me like a brick wall. Elder Farnsworth too.
Oh we were unprepared!
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| Me and the resort :P |
Once the bus finally came, it turned out that our
return ticket had expired (within 10 minutes, of course). We were stuck
in the middle of nowhere, without sufficient cash to pay the bus man!
He was extremely kind and let us ride. Prayer of thanks once again - we
were in the hands of the Lord that whole trip :).
As for other cool stories this week . . . all I have is that
yesterday we walked all the way out to Selfors (45 min. walk) for more
houses to bonk, and found a man who told us to come back! Yeeah!
Needless to say, our pants were soaked by the end. It dumped snow on us
this week!
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| That car's covered! |
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| I can see the sun! . . .'s effect on the mountains. |
And why it's raining right now in northern Norway, in the
middle of January is the greatest question of the year (thus far).
However we're extremely grateful it isn't -20 degrees outside anymore
:).
I love you all! By the way, who are these 9 beautiful and amazing
children on the back of our Christmas card?? I'm going to be floored
once I visit Lara's family again - I can't wait!! The Gospel is true
- because it works! It transforms us almost imperceptibly throughout our
lives :).
Kjør på! (drive on!)
-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson
