#28 Happy New Year!!!

Hei Hei Alle Sammen!!  GODT NYTT ÅR!!!

So since I didn't have a chance to write my normal e-mails last week, I'll give you all a short recap of what went on the week of Christmas:))  So for Christmas Eve we went to a part member family and it was so much fun!!  We had pinnekjøtt and ribbe (Norwegian meats that they eat for Christmas), and then spring rolls!  Kind of a random selection but it was so good and the spring rolls were my favorite!  Anyway, so we had that and then we had riskrem (that is so much better than Risgrøtt) and then we danced and sang around the Christmas tree which was a blast!  It sounds a little crazy but it was actually so much fun!!  Plus Mom, because we listened to all those Norwegian Christmas songs growing up, I was actually able to sing along!!! So that was exciting too!! We opened up presents that the family had given us (that was the picture of the Norwegian book and the Norwegian flag) and then we got some more chocolate!:))  It was so sweet of them!  They also gave us the boxes that the ward filled with presents for us, and that was a TON!!  We were definitely spoiled!!! We sat down and played a game with the family and then ate more Christmas cookies!!  It was a fantastic Christmas Eve and one I will never forget!! Christmas morning we picked up the elders and went to the missionary couple's home to open up our presents!! They had made us waffles, eggs and bacon for breakfast and we got permission to watched Home Alone!!! Greatest Christmas morning!!  You had 4 18-20 year olds literally dying of laughter from Home Alone...it had been a while since seeing a movie!!:)) After that we went to church for an hour and then headed over to a member's house for dinner. It was fun being with them!!  We headed back to the missionary couple's house to skype our families!!! That was my all time favorite part of Christmas!!!  I was so excited to be able to talk to them "face to face" for a little while. It was definitely the highlight of the holiday!!  I sure do love and miss them!! We were laughing and being sarcastic even from across the ocean..that's my fam!!  Then we just hung out until the elders were done skyping... and we spent the majority of that time just eating:) It was a great Christmas!!! Oh and I forgot to mention that on the 23rd we went to a member family and had dinner...and more christmas cookies! We helped them decorate their Christmas tree and house for Christmas, an we watched a Mormon Tabernacle Christmas concert while eating pepperkakker!! (gingerbread cookies)  Lots of fun!  That is not all of the stuff that happened last week...but it was the highlights!!

As for this week!!!

Monday

So last P Day everything was closed so we just sat in the church and played cards, made food, and then we got permission to watch Home Alone 2.... so that was so much fun!!  We were still dying of laughter from watching that one!! Later that day we had a dinner appointment with a family in the ward (literally LOVE that family) and it was a blast! It is so much fun to sit around the dinner table with them, because there is always a conversation going on and the kids crack me up!! 

Tuesday & Wednesday

These two days my companion had the flu:( .. so we were in our apartment the whole day for these two days...so I slept a little, I watched Legacy and Mountain of the Lord, I cleaned, organized, who knows what else!  Let's just say those two boxes of American Mac and Cheese came in handy!!:)

Thursday

Today we made it out of the house!!  We went to Oslo to listen to one of the ladies that teaches Norwegian at the MTC, and listened to her experiences of being a missionary at Temple Square. It sounds so much fun!!  Plus, I have lots of friends from the MTC that are serving at Temple Square, so it was a lot of fun to hear what they do every day!  It's very different from what our mission does,but it's cool to hear how many different ways you can spread the gospel!  Then we listened to President and Sister Hill do a year in review and show pictures from throughout the year, so that was a lot of fun!  After that we drove the elders to their appointment, and then we drove down to Drammen to have Christmas dinner with my grandparents!  That was obviously delicious and there were so many cookies!!  It was fun being able to sit and enjoy Christmas with them even though it was after Christmas!  We showed them the He Lives: Testimonies of the Apostles Mormon Message (go watch it!) and then we talked about how we can make goals to live our testimonies of Christ. I love being able to hear my grandparents share their testimonies and experiences of the gospel!! 

Friday

Today was deep cleaning day across the mission!  I had already started when my companion was sick, but we cleaned down to the tiniest little detail!  I was cleaning out the shower drain...yea gross but it was kind of funny because of all of my medical classes and things...if you just think of it being a medical situation then it doesn't become as bad, and it's a little easier to handle haha!  But that's what we did all day...cleaned!

Saturday

Today was NEW YEARS EVE!!! So we knew that not many people were going to be out today because people were preparing for their festivities.... but we called around in the area book and we got a referral for Drammen and Oslo and 8 people that possibly want to meet, so that was really successful!  Then we got a call from President and Sister Hill and they sang us a New Years Eve song and then President Hill told us he had one more little announcement.  He told us that we would be a part of the "mini moves" because the transfer isn't over yet, and guess who is moving!? ME!! And guess where I'm going!?! DRAMMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yea so to say that I'm a little excited is an understatement!!!  I'm going to serve with an amazing girl, and I talked to her before the mission... and have gone on splits with her before... and we get along so well... so I'm super super excited!!!!!!! We made a list of the people that I need to say goodbye to, and then headed to the church to make brownies. We brought the brownies to the missionary couple for New Years! We headed over there afterward and they had Dr. Pepper for us!!! And of course we had all kinds of other foods and treats...and we just hung out! We also went to the top of this hill to watch all the fireworks... and we were going to count down... but then we were told that we missed it:))... so way to kick off 2017! But we had a blast!!!

Sunday

Today we met with one our investigators before church, because church wasn't starting until 1 because it was only an hour!  So we got to meet with her and it was such a spiritually powerful lesson!  We had talked about how you can depend on Christ and how she could feel His love for her and it was soooo good!  Even she was crying!!!  It was the perfect lesson to be the last lesson with her!! She then gave me her email so that I could keep in touch with her and of course pictures!  Then we went to church and it was my last Sunday in Asker:((  It's just so weird because I've been here for so long!!! ( 5 1/2 months)  I've come to absolutely love the area and the people here.. so I'm sad to leave them... but there are great things ahead and I'm excited for that too!!  So I got pictures with a lot of people and then I packed up my stuff when I got home from church, and then we went to a member family for dinner!  We had quite the difficulty with the bus routes getting there, but we made it!! and the food was delicious and that family is fantastic!  They are so so much fun and we spent a couple of hours just chatting and telling stories!  We then shared our message about preparing for a mission and inviting people to church and both of the parents served missions, so it was so much fun to hear why they decided to go and why the kids wanted to go!!  Great great visit!!!

Today

Today we are emailing and then going shopping!! Wahoo for Christmas money!!! So I'm pretty pumped about that!  Then we are going to President's house with lots of other missionaries and playing minute to win it games and having fun!! 

Love you all lots and miss you all tons!!! Have a HAPPY AND JOY FILLED 2017!!!!! 

Talk to you next week from DRAMMEN!!!!!

1.Christmas market in Oslo with her companion
2.Her area
3.Donuts
4-7. Baerums Verk
8. Making marzipan
9-16.Celebrating Christmas at members' homes, gifts from the ward and families
17-20. Christmas morning!
21.Handmade mittens from grandma
22. Kylee and her companion
23-25. Kylee and the meeting with other missionaries in Oslo