December 1

Hey everyone, I thought last week went by quickly, but I was in for a surprise, because this week was even faster. Life has been such a blur of events, and it just seems like one continual day for me now. My train-ride from Trondheim to Oslo actually went really well, and I was able to meet a lot of really great people on the way. I had a travel buddy, Sister Robbins, to talk to along the way, so it didn't end up being too bad. It feels really good to be back in the Oslo area. For those of you who remember, last year I began my mission by serving in Oslo, and I was there for quite a long time. I am now in Sandvika, which is a suburb/city about 20 minutes outside of Oslo, so although I am in a new ward, it feels good to be home. And some of my friends from Oslo have even moved to this ward while I was away, so it feels great to be back.

I got to the office on Thursday, and we got right into business, and we haven't really stopped since. Which I like. It is really good to be busy, and time goes quickly. Life has been a whirlwind of buying plane tickets and organizing meetings and transfers and working to make sure everything in the mission goes smoothly. There is a lot to learn, but it is a great adventure. 

My duties now as AP include a lot of logistics things. We are in charge of tickets for all of the splits for missionaries in the mission (zls, sister training leaders, dls, etc.) and so that is crazy enough in and of itself. We also are in charge of organizing everything for the mission report every week for President Evans, and we do a lot for that. We also do a lot of things that President needs, like evaluating different statistics in preparation for different meetings he has. It is just a lot of crazy practical stuff to keep everything going smoothly. The church keeps really meticulate records, so we are always updating things on their database. They know every area, companion, and call each missionary has had, on top of all the key indicators they get for their whole mission. And on top of everything else, President Evans basically treats us like his counselors, so we spend a lot of time talking with him about the transfer and different missionaries and who should get what call, etc. So life is good. We get to the office around 7:30, then we work until at least 2, then try to do some things for our own proselyting area, then we are always back to the office around 8 o clock to do more office chores. We have been getting back home around 10:30, so everything really just blends together. It's fun :)  One of our other responsibilities is to go on splits with all of the zone leaders every transfer, so we will be travelling at least 4 times a month, plus zone conferences and different meetings that we will be going to. So we will be doing quite a bit of travelling.

Even though we are extremely busy, we also have been doing our best with proselyting so that we can be a good example in the way we work in our own area as well, and it went fairly well this week. We had one of the most spiritual teaches of my mission with a man named Jon Axel on Friday, and I know that he is going to be baptized. He is nervous to make that big step in his life, but his son, who was baptized last December, joined us in the teach and pleaded with his father to be baptized and join him on the path which leads to eternal life. The tears were flowing and the Spirit bore powerful testimony that the church was true. I left that appointment feeling so refreshed and energized, and I am so grateful for the opportunity we have as missionaries to be a tool in the Lord's hands. 

The Sandvika ward is really great, and I am loving serving here. We had a ward Thanksgiving party which was hosted by Sister Evans, and it was great to be able to meet all the members. I already have some good friends, and I can tell that it is going to be a fun time in my mission to be here in Sandvika. I think I am tired all the time, and we are working from 7:30 to 22:30 everyday, but it is so worth it. I love going out to find the Lord's elect. I love being relentless, and I love looking back and seeing the way the Lord's hand is in our lives. 

The Rasmussens are still in the YSA center, and I am so excited to be back where I can see them again! They are the best :) We are actually going to go down to a Thanksgiving dinner (with all the normal Thanksgiving goodies :) that Sister Rasmussen is making for the missionaries later today, so that will be a lot of fun. They are like my second parents out here in Norway.

It has been great to serve with my companion, Elder Skinner, and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us. I hope you all have had a great week, and just know that I love you!

Thanksgiving Dinner at the YSA Center

Thanksgiving Feast!

With Elder Rasmussen