I got to wrap her towel around her and give her a hug and she just smiled and smiled.

Hello from sunny Bergen!

That's like an oxymoron but it's true today and it's been true all week. It's been the biggest tender mercy ever because I was going crazy in the dark and cold. I realized I hadn't felt warm sun on my face since September and it made me so happy. I am grateful for the little things that Heavenly Father keeps giving me so that I feel like I can do this.

that's Mina!

Mina got baptized on Saturday!! She had a ton of family there and lots of ward members. Everything went really well and she was so happy. I got to talk about baptism and the path that it puts us on back to our Heavenly Father. We need covenants to be able to cling to something when that path is scary and difficult. I love being able to help people make covenants and remind others of their covenants. I think sometimes I forget how powerful they really are and I don't rely on them as much as I should. But sometimes I like to feel the edge of my garments on my leg when I'm just sitting there and think about the things I promised Heavenly Father. Mina's mom wanted to be out in front of the font so she could watch her be baptized so I got to be in the font part with her. She was really nervous but she did great! I got to wrap her towel around her and give her a hug and she just smiled and smiled. I don't think she realizes how significant her baptism really is. She is changing her family.

scrubbing the font for the baptism...
don't know the last time it was cleaned...
we had to scrub and scrub.

We also had a relief society party, volleyball tournament, and farewell for the senior couple in Bergen this weekend so it was crazy! I've never washed so many dishes! It was really good though because I got to know ward members a lot better and have a lot of fun with them. I'm really impressed with how involved the ward is here and how they help with missionary work. They are good people. Relief Society beat Elder's Quorum in volleyball by the way. We were proud of that.

We met with Hakam again for the first time in a while. He wanted to "get some coffee" so we went to this little outside place and had some hot chocolate with him. He taught us all about Islam and the culture and Palestine. It helped me to understand him better. We actually have a lot of similar beliefs and customs. We talked about how important family is and how eternal families are the goal. I want so badly for him and his family to understand the blessings that are waiting for them. It starts with a testimony of Christ as the Son of God though. Testifying to him that He really is the Son of God strengthened my testimony a lot. I know that we need Jesus Christ.

all the flowers are making my heart go crazy.
this is my favorite little flower shop in the city.

On the way to the relief society party we picked up one of our less-active friends, Birgit. She's the one with the cats that drew a portrait of me. I'd never met someone that loves flowers as much as me until I met her! It seems like all of the flowers have come out in this last week because of the sun and Birgit had to stop and admire every single one on our walk there. It took us an hour to get to the church but it was well worth it. I loved looking at the flowers with her and thinking about how spring always comes-- literally and in any other way when things are dark and difficult.

so. pretty. so pretty, people.

Sister Robbins and I watched the general women broadcast for studies this morning and we both just cried and cried. I forget how at home anything with Salt Lake or the tabernacle makes me feel and it was really neat to see all the women assembled there. It's something you take for granted when you live in Utah but when you're so far away from it, it feels so good to even see it on TV. I feel like everything everyone talked about was staying on the path and keeping covenants. That's why we're here. I want to try asking myself this week, "Does this keep me on the path or not?" A lot of things aren't black and white, but the path is defined and simple and always there. I know that helping other people is part of our covenants because we all need reminders and help. 

our apartment and flowers from the baptism

Can you believe it's April? I guess I kind of can, but it's so weird to think that last year at this time I was going on a mission. This tag has been on my shirt for a year now and I am grateful for the experiences and people that I have met and learned from. There's no other way I could have learned all these things! And even though it's been a year and even though this has been the hardest thing I have ever done, This is still Jesus Christ's church and He still lives and guides it. I know that with all my heart.

I love you I love you and I'll see you in not too long. I can't wait!

Love, Søster Pyne