2014 December 30th lettter

hello everyone!!

What a crazy week this has been. Definitely bittersweet. It was so amazing to experience Norwegian  Christmas and of course to skype my family, but the day after Christmas was a hard one! Thank you to all of the people who sent their cute Christmas cards!!! They made me feel at home, and they were so fun to look at. Norwegian Christmas was a dream. I literally thought I was in a fairytale the whole time. My favorite part was on Christmas Eve all of the kids hold hands and sing and dance around the Christmas tree until Santa comes! It was hard to be away, but I felt more Christ in my Christmas than I ever had!

Over the weekend we had a multi-zone conference with President and sister Evans. It was really great, and just the energizer that I needed! I was able to see some of the elders I was in the MTC with also and that was so fun to catch up with them!! After the spiritual meeting we played games for probably two hours. It was so fun to relax and laugh and mingle with missionaries I do not get to see very often. Transfers are also happening this week! I am still staying in Oslo with Sis Pyne, and I am really happy about that. I love her to death, and we have a lot more work to do before she is taken from me.

Yesterday was quite the day. Sundays always seem to be that way. But we got a text from one of our new investigators saying he started the Book of Mormon and didn't put it down until he got to Alma!! Unfortunately he could not make it to church, but our investigator Andreas did, and he brought a friend! Gosh, he is a pretty good missionary. Sister Pyne had to lead the music so I was stuck with two Norwegian men talking to me in their strange dialects about what the sacrament was. They thought the sacrament water was shots of vodka, because they knew the savior drank wine.... they were a little disappointed to just find water!I kept making eye contact with Sister Pyne on the stand and she was just laughing at me. Luckily, we made it through ok. Well the night continued to be quite hectic. President Evans wants me to practice driving so I can take a Norwegian driving test to get my drivers license, since some of the areas have cars. Well, last night was the night. We had an appointment about 30 minutes away, so we took the senior couples car and headed in the direction we thought it was. I haven't driven in 4.5 months, nor have I ever driven in Europe. Round abouts, people, trains, buses, and street signs in Norwegian make things a bit difficult. Fortunately for us, we made it to our appointment in one piece, and I was able to lay my head down on my own pillow at night, not one at the hospital.

This morning was another magical moment. We decided to run around 10:30am instead of 6:30am because we wanted it to be lighter outside. We ran a few miles through the peaceful city and down to the fjord. The sun was rising on the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. Ice chunks floating on the water and islands with beautiful Norwegian homes on them. I literally stopped and stood all amazing. This place never ceases to amaze. A picture would not even do it justice. A boat passed by as we stood on a dock and the water started making waves against the stone wall. Sister Pyne and I closed our eyes and imagined we were at lake powell in  the warm sunlight, instead of the cold. But I was still happy to open my eyes and find I was still in my fairytale. 

One of the things I have really been trying to work on is faith and hope. I have set a goal for 2014 to live in the moment, and not be doubtful about the future. With faith and hope I can know that if I am doing my part, The Lord will do the rest. Sister Pyne's favorite quote is "I hate to spoil the ending, but everything will be ok." It reallly is true. Afflictions, trials, doubts, worries are but a small moment. We can overcome anything with The Lord on our side. I hope everyone has set goals for 2014 that can help you become a better person all around. It is hard work to actually meet a goal, but the reward is so much better than the work to get there. "There is no growth in the comfort zone, and no comfort in  the growth zone." (thanks for that  quote dad)

Love you all, keep pushing forward.

Sister Frampton