"Fresk som en fesk!"

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!

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.

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.

Snow resort in Båsmo!

Snowboarding nostalgia hit me like a brick wall. Elder Farnsworth too. Oh we were unprepared!

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!

That car's covered!

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