Oi wassup everyone!!
I made it to Norway finally and man was that a blessing! I thought I would never get here but I made it and it's just how I pictured it. A DREAM! I kid you not this place is the most beautiful place on earth, no doubt. My area is Ålesund which is a bunch of small islands off the west coast of Norway. I honestly think I'm in a dream every time I leave my apartment it's so crazy. We go on runs every morning up in the Norwegian forest and we have the best views overlooking Ålesund! We are going to bring our scriptures and stuff up there one time and have personal study up there because it's just stunning. And we've been looking up different hikes to go on and there are some sweet places we are going to hit. Also we've been asking people to take us fishing so we can fill the fridge with some good fresh fish which will be awesome! Anyways, a little bit about my week! So last Monday we woke up at 3:30 got ready and headed to the airport and took off! We finally arrived in Norway the next day after a long time of traveling and layovers and time change I was dead I had been up for like 36 hours but then we got to the mission home and Sister Tew is just an AMAZING cook so we had this delicious proper Norwegian meal it was so good. We went to bed then President Tew woke up with us and took us on a dope run down by the fjords and we went out on the docks by the boats it was so beautiful the sun was coming and the water was calm and stuff agh I can't even explain it. Then we got our stuff packed and had our trainings and stuff then I met me companion and we got in our car and headed out to our area which was 8 and a half hours away! Haha, I was like oh man this is going to stink but it was the most beautiful drive of my life!!! I keep saying that but I'm not even kidding I was just so fascinated by everything I was seeing?! The ride felt like an hour because of all the waterfalls, fjords, cool old houses on the tops of these ELETRIC green mountains. All the grass looks fake here because it's so green. But we got to our apartment at like 10 that night and unpacked our stuff. Our apartment was nice and clean because I think the senior missionaries were living here before. My companion is Eldste Lindberg, he's from Copenhagen, Denmark. His mom is Swedish his dad's Danish so he speaks Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and English! He's a great missionary and we have a lot in common. He loves the outdoors, works hard, has a strong testimony but likes to have fun. We got to work the next day and started contacting! It was so funny because I was like I don't know what language they were teaching me in the MTC because this is not the same language. They have a crazy dialect here so I don't understand anyone but it's ok I just start talking about Christ every time we talk to someone and they seem to understand so that's good! My companion and I only speak Norwegian outside the apartment so it's helped a lot this week and I can feel the language coming even though it's still pretty hard. It's really cool though, I tell people I've only been in Norway for 6 days and I'm trying to learn Norwegian so if they could repeat or slow down it would help. They get so excited that an American wants to learn their language they slow down and help me so much, the nicest people! Also, the area I'm in hasn't had missionaries for like 8 months so all the area book stuff is on paper so we have to put it all into the system which is annoying but it's ok cuz there's like 20 members here and they're all less active except one so he's technically the Branch President but he doesn't even have the Melchizedek Priesthood which is funny! But I love it because its forcing me to do things in Norwegian! Sunday, when we showed up to church, I played the piano for our meeting, which is funny because I never practiced a lot before the mission which was dumb of me because now I'm the pianist! (Shauna Carter, you were right!! Thanks for all that you did teach me and for the simple hymn books you gave me before I left, they're being used!!! I know how much you'd love to see me playing all the hymns for sacrament meeting! Haha) But it's not like it's too embarrassing when I mess up because it's just my companion, the one active member and then the family we are teaching attending church! The chapel is in this old Norwegian Bakery and it's just the right size for all of us, it's so cool. After I played the opening hymn, my comp said the opening prayer, then he blessed the sacrament after I played the sacrament hymn, then he passed it then I blessed the water then passed it, then after that I went up and gave a talk, then my comp did and then the other member did ( Fred he's so sick) and then I said the closing prayer. We then watched the youth meeting with President Nelson for Sunday school! So that was very different for me coming from a massive ward to a branch with 6! But a little more on this family we are teaching! They are just absolutely amazing people and definitely Gods elect! The rules here are very strict on privacy so I can't say names of people we are teaching or say any personal things so that's tough but it's a family of four and they're awesome! It's a mom and dad and a teen girl and a younger boy. The daughter isn't interested but the other three are just amazing! Yesterday we were teaching them about the law of tithing and fast offerings and they were like "do we have to wait till were baptized to pay tithing?" And then they asked if they could fast every Sunday or not? They're so cool too. They made us dinner and he gave me a sick rain coat too because it was just freezing that day and I didn't have one yet cuz p day wasn't till Tuesday! Super nice and kind. And the son is so sick he's younger but he is so funny. He helps me learn Norwegian and we carve sticks together while we teach lessons sometimes so he can focus! But they're just the best and so nice and so prepared but they have to get married first so then they can get baptized so they are planning that here soon! But it's just been an amazing week, I love it here and I'm so happy I finally made it to Norway! Just living here makes my testimony grow even stronger in knowing that God lives because there's no other way a place this gorgeous could be made by anything else but our Father in Heaven! Hope y'all are having a great week! I'm not sure if I'll have time to email next week or not because were probably going to do this crazy sick hike that's like 8 hours. It looks breath taking! It's called Romsdalseggen! Look it up, it's sweet!!
Love,
Eldste McSpadden
Area and companion assignments! Alesund, Norway with Eldste Lindberg from Denmark.
Road trip with Eldste Lindberg from Copenhagen, Denmark. The drive from Oslo to Alesund was about 8.5 hours.
My new raincoat from a very kind man here in Alesund! It saved me the weather is crazy wet and cold but beautiful!
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