Back in Stavanger

After a wonderful month in Oslo, Carrie has now returned to Stavanger with a new companion to resume the work there. Here is a part of her letter this week talking about Thanksgiving with the American members in Stavanger and her new companion, Soster Miles:

Well, it has been a crazy week for me. First of all, I am back in Stavanger, but you already knew that. It is so good to be back. All the members freaked out when I walked into the Lodge in the mountains for Thanksgiving Dinner. Seriously, I got like 40 hugs from both guys and girls. It was hilarious. And the youth were excited too. Our Branch President's son, Andreas, was like I DONT EVEN CARE I'M GIVING YOU A HUG!!! It was so funny.... Thanksgiving was really fun, although it made me miss you guys. As long as I kept myself busy, I was OK. But whoever made the pumpkin pie forgot the sugar, which was a bummer! But it was really fun, we just hung out, played the guitar, sang, ate, had a huge snowball fight, that kind of stuff. Didn't get much sleep though.... I stayed up talking to some of the youth trying to help and support them. My new companion is Soster Miles, she is really nice. We get along really well. She is a little quiet, and didn't really like Thanksgiving all that much, but I am bringing her out of her shell. I think that we are going to be good together. She is from Vancouver, WA, and she goes home in 2 months. So this is her last transfer. She will only speak to me in Norwegian. Its pretty funny.... hard though because I can't always communicate the best in Norwegian, but it is helping my language skills. So yeah, its funny because we have a dinner appointment almost every night this week. They were very excited to get the Sosters back. Our new apartment is absolutely gorgeous! It is seriously the nicest apartment in all of Norway.... brand new everything, including furniture! Its awesome! We don't have any investigators, so we are out knocking doors a ton, but its all good. So things are going really good here......I love the work here and the members are amazing. I feel very blessed to be back in Stavanger!
Send my love to everyone!!
Soster Kitty!!

More Pictures!!

This is a picture of Soster Fox and her district waiting for the train in Oslo. She was only in Oslo a few more days after this picture and then returned to Stavanger. Carrie loved this group of missionaries! They had lots of fun together and supported each other in doing the work. The weather is getting very cold, so you can see they are starting to dress warmly....the worst of the cold is yet to come!!
I am really not sure where this Christmas tree is at, but I am thinking it is at the Outreach Center in Oslo where the sister missionaries spent alot of time.

Carrie and her two companions in Oslo...Sosters Adams and Goodsell. These girls spent a wonderful month together supporting each other while they waited for the new soster to arrive from the MTC. Fun memories and many sweet experiences with these sosters!

The eldstes and sosters dressed up and had a small Halloween party! Carrie is dress up as a Norwegian!! Pretty funny!! Anyway, she loves this picture because the Doritos are 'Cool American' not Cooler Ranch like we have in the US. She said that of course Americans are cool!!

P-Day Fun at the Oil Museum!!!

On a P-Day recently Soster Fox, her companion and the elders in her district spent some time at the Oil Museum in Stavanger. Oil production in the North Sea has created an economic boom in Stavanger, with the consequence that the town is the most cosmopolitan in the country. The Norsk Oljemuseum is ultra modern and offers a full days worth of fun, informative things to do. It looks like they had a great time. Comments below are from the back of the pictures Carrie sent!


Soster Bjerga and I on top of the Oil Museum!! What a view!!

In an emergency evacuation oil rig ship--think Brother of Jared meets 2007!!

Carrie in the control room at the oil Museum. I AM IN CONTROL!! IKKE GUME! (Don't forget)

The space simulator! So much fun! Although I had a big Hode Pine (head torture...aka...headache) after! :)

Up in space in my fun suit--I know, I am crazy!!

All of us being cool in our space suits!! I know, the space suits are soooo HOT!!

Looks like a wonderful, fun P-Day outing for the elders and sisters of Stavanger, Norway!!!

Beautiful Stavanger, Norway!!

At last, Carrie sent a few pictures of the area where is has been in Stavanger. Norway is a beautiful country and Carrie is constantly amazed by what she sees!

Stavanger's historic Domkirken, dating from around 1100AD~The State's Church in Stavanger--So, So Beautiful~!!


One of the many, many beautiful views in Stavanger. The boats are wonderful!!

Waiting for pizza to cook at a member's house on the water. Stay out of the water Soster Fox!! :)

Beautiful Countryside near Tanager

Carrie says: More beautifulness in Norway!!

This is the neighborhood where Carrie lives while in Stavanger! Lucky girl!!

Oslo is Amazing!!

We are waiting on pictures that Soster Fox has said she sent quite a few days ago!! In the meantime, here is an excerpt of her letter today!! Check back for pictures in a few days and thanks for the many prayers on behalf of Carrie as she has worked on learning the language. Sounds like the blessings are flowing!!



Well, it is a wonderful blue day here in Oslo, and I cannot believe how much I love it here in Oslo. It is amazing!! OK..... so here it goes: things are wonderful here in Oslo. I love it here. My companions are amazing!!!! Me and Sister Adams are crazy together! It is sooo funny because we are seriously crazy.... it makes the days so much fun. Sister Goodsell is amazing too. She is from Logan, UT, and she is a little more quiet and serious but she still knows how to laugh and have a good time. She just sits and laughs at me and Sister Adams. We just all have so much fun together. We are teaching an investigator, Rebecca, and we just set a baptismal date for her which is so exciting. She is amazing. She has been studying the last six years to be a priest in the state church of Sweden, and so she knows a ton already which makes it easier to teach her. She is just so receptive, and she writes down all her questions, and she has already read Mormons Bok. So cool.... and she is Swedish, which is funny because she doesn't speak Norwegian, so our conversations are a combo of Norwegian, Swedish, and English.... pretty funny stuff! But yeah, things are going really great. It is so nice to finally be able to participate in lessons! The Elders here are great too. They are Eldste Lange, who I was in the MTC with, and Eldste Herrey, who is a Swede. The other two Elders are Eldste Welch and Wightman. Everyone has been super awesome to me. They are wonderful. We have a lot of dinner appointments with all of us together. Since the Sosters are outnumbered, we always have to sit next to at least one of them. It is sooo funny because they play this game where they just put lots and lots of food on our plates, and of course we have to eat it because it is not polite to have something on your plate and not eat it. Oh man, it is crazy. And you cant go to the bathroom, or else when you come back your plate is seriously filled to capacity. It is sick... but so funny. So we decided to start playing the game back at them. It is just hilarious. So much fun. So yeah, things are going really well here in Oslo. I am soooo happy! I am learning how to be a really good missionary. I feel like this is my reward for facing challenges last month. It is amazing what the Lord blesses us with if we just keep going. I have seriously come to know how much the Lord remembers me and my problems in the last few months. He has sent so many people to me to help me. So yeah, all in all, things are going really great. So guess what happened on Friday? Don't freak out.... I sprained my ankle! But don't worry, I spent a couple days just hanging out at the outreach center, and I am going to be fine. Basically, Carrie Forsyth, the sister who left right before me but then came back because she is marrying a Norwegian guy, well she babysat me the whole time. It was so much fun. And then our investigator, Rebecca, came and babysat me for awhile too. It was so fun! But yeah, I am up and walking again, just a little sore. But nothing too serious, so I am going to be fine. Basically it has been a pretty good week. My Norwegian is coming along really well too. Being in Stavanger to start was really tough, but it forced me to buck up and speak it more. So I am a little ahead of Sister Adams and Eldste Lange, simply because I have had to speak it more. So that has been kind of fun. And there are a lot of relatives up here of people in Stavanger, and apparently a bunch of them called the people up here at the outreach center and told them to look for me and to make me feel at home. So cute! And I have gotten a few emails from the youth in Stavanger, they all cant wait for me to come back. So, things are good.......Send my love to everyone!! Soster Fox :) Skies are blue!!

Pa Norsk!!! (In Norwegian!)

Here is a little bit from Soster Fox's letter this week.....we hope to get more picturres soon!!

And guess what else I did...... I spoke in church, på norsk!!! Seriously, it went really well. But I spent an hour on the phone with Elder Bagley while he helped me translate my talk to norsk. But my talk went really well I think..... It was on President Hinckley's talk Let virtue Garnish thy Thoughts Unceasingly. So yeah, it was soooo scary but it was good and I am glad that I did it.
We had the best time playing volleyball on Saturday with the Youth and Less actives. 16 people came and so it was sooooo fun! While we were there, this guy walked in wanting to know what time church was at. He is here on business, and guess where he is from???? REDMOND! I know, crazy huh???? He is in the Bellevue 7th ward, but he knows the Cabuligans, and his son is in the singles ward. It was so fun to talk to him. The last name is Calloway, so tell Jessica if she knows anyone with that last name I met his dad. It was funny. He took a picture of me on his cell phone as proof that he met me, and I wrote Jessicas name down for him to give to his son to say hi..... So yeah, cool experiences with Redmond kids all the way here in Norway..... Gotta love it!

Anyways, mom, I hope everything is well with you. All of my leaders are very supportive and have been wonderful to me. I am being taken care of, not just by them, but by the Lord too. He knows exactly what I need and when I need it. I can see His hand in my life every day. So dont worry, I am really good. I will keep you informed as to what is going on here! I love you so much and I miss you more!
Give everyone in Redmond my love!!!
Love Always,Søster Kitty

Kite Day In Stavanger, Norway!!

The following pictures are from Stavanger, Norway at a mission conference. Carrie had lots of fun making kites with the youth, playing games and enjoying the beach! I don't know who this adorable little boy is, but leave it to Carrie to seek out the children and love them!! I am sorry each picture is on a single post! For some reason I can't get this program to upload more than one picture at a time! I will have to talk to Leslie when I am in Seattle!! Janice