High Five

Min kjære familie og venner,

Hei hei! I hope all of you are keeping warm where ever you might be. It has been COLD in Oslo this week, and I don't see any signs of that stopping any time soon. Seeing my familys' pictures in Hawaii today made me SICK! I have not seen sun like that since October! I have been singing 'The sun will come out tomorrow' for the past month.... Maybe someday it will actually happen! It is hard to be the sunshine when everything and everyone is so gray. It actually gets to be a bit draining, but I pray that I can avoid the grayness to get to my heart! Luckily the snow continues to fall, so I continue to feel like I am living in a snow globe. I really cannot complain about that.

Our investigator Gustav is doing great! He came to church yesterday, and we gave him a Doctrine & Covenants and a Pearl of Great Price to read. Knowing him, they will be completely read by tomorrow. He continues to be a sponge trying to soak up all the knowledge we give him, and for that reason, I really love teaching him. He has not committed to a specific baptismal date yet, but we are still working hard to get him there. We are still teaching Umar, David, and Andreas pretty consistently, but they just don't want to make the gospel a priority in their lives. As much as we emphasize the reason and importance of the gospel, people still have their agency. But I am not going to lie, it is frustrating! We got two new investigators this week which seem very positive. We will be meeting with Monika on Tuesday, which was a referral from a member. And we will be meeting with Andrei tonight, and he is bringing a referral WITH him! Exciting stuff!

Sometimes it is really hard to walk the streets of the city and try to find that one person who is prepared to hear the gospel. It is discouraging when your toes and fingers are freezing and no one is interested in talking to you. Sometimes I think to myself 'What in the world am I doing here?' but what I seem to forget is that the Lord is on my side! Preach my gospel reminded me of that 'God loves you and all of His children. He is anxious to support you in your practical AND specific challenges. You have been promised inspiration to know what to do and have been given the power to do it. He will help you as you try to recognize and understand the spirit through diligent scripture study. He will guide you to people who will receive the message of the restoration. He will give you power to deliver the message and testify of Christ and His gospel. He will shower His blessing upon you through the gift of the Holy Ghost. He asks that you remain worthy of this gift and ask, seek and knock.'

I am still absolutely amazed at the beauty that I see everyday here in Norway. We were contacting in a large, popular park on Saturday and I could barely focus on actually finding people! The simplest things are the most stunning. There was a young couple with their three little kids just out for a fun and snow-filled afternoon. The mom and dad were on their cross-country skis and their kids slowly followed behind falling and laughing and wobbling along. The huge naked trees draped over the emaculate white powder and I was just standing in awe. I had to pinch myself to remember this is really where I live.

Well, this week I begin my sixth month of being away! It has actually gone kinda fast... I never thought I would be saying that. But, the work is moving along here. Søster Pyne is probably going to be transferred away from me on February 5, so I am savoring every moment until then. I am doing well, and I hope all of you are too! Have a great week! Love you guys.

Ha det godt!

Søster Frampton