Little Skien and I are doing well over here.

just wanted a picture of the cows but I ran out really quick and
tripped in the ditched then got electrocuted by the fence.
 I don't think it was worth it. That's what Skien looks like though.
A bunch of farm everywhere. It's beautiful!

Hi again!

The ward here is really good at being involved with the missionaries. Sometimes I almost fall over, in fact, because I haven't experienced anything like it my whole mission. It's so refreshing! There's an incredible lady here named Ragnhild-- she served a mission and then raised 9 kids by herself after her husband died. She feeds us dinner sometimes but this week she was babysitting her grandchildren (also in the ward because everyone is family here...) so she asked if we could come to their house instead. And guess who was there?? Her inactive son, his wife, and a German foreign exchange student that was interested in the Book of Mormon. Missionary heaven! The Lord works in mysterious ways, but it was an answer to prayers. 

We've taught so many lessons to people our age lately. The youth is where it's at. We've been  meeting with a girl named Sara that is half Norwegian half Canadian and she loves the gospel. She told us she wants to marry a Mormon and we liked hearing that! We taught her about the Book of Mormon and closed with a prayer and then she said, "Do you guys have an appointment right now or can I just talk with you more?" She asked us about all of our "little rules" and by the end she said, "Everything makes sense! I just have to mannen meg opp (that means man up but it's funnier in Norwegian) and come to church." And she did! It was so good. We're going to get real serious with our baptism talk this week. Pray for her!

We've been getting referrals from the office like crazy too. All of these Norwegians like to go to high school for a year in the US and the Mormons are smart and let them live with them so they can share the gospel and then they come back to Norway and we get some good calls! We called a girl named Iilse that was an exchange student in Washington and she said, "Can I come to church tomorrow?" YES! She loved it and sent us a text after thanking us. She knows everything because she went to seminary, church every week, and met with the missionaries. She told us now she feels like she kinda needs to make a decision now so she doesn't want to meet with us regularly yet.. that broke my heart a little bit, but I know that things will be great with her eventually. 

my girl Tonje... she's gotta get baptized. she needs it so badly in her life.

I got to go to Oslo. I know I always talk about how much I love it, but I didn't realize how much I really do love it. I was on cloud 9 the whole time! I walked into the center and the twins were there and we all cried and squeezed and squeezed each other. It was the best reunion. The sweet sisters in Oslo arranged splits so I could teach Tonje and see my Anne, my favorite member! It couldn't have been more perfect. Tonje hasn't been meeting with the missionaries for a while, but they called her and told her they wanted to meet and she agreed. We hadn't had time to plan a lesson, but I thought maybe it would be good to read from the Book of Mormon with her. We decided Moroni 7. And then all the questions she had during our conversation ended up being answered from Moroni 7. It was incredible. I got to teach with one of my very best friends, Sister Harrison too. It couldn't have been more of an ideal situation.

old churches everywhere!

I got to sleep in my old little apartment and catch up with everyone. It was all such a tender mercy and blessing. I think it was Heavenly Father's way of telling me that He's glad I came on a mission. The Spirit was strong on Friday when we met with Elder Dyches. He was a really casual, funny man and he and his wife were really entertaining to listen to. I feel like I got answers from the Spirit that had nothing to do with what they were talking about. I really like this though: "The desires of your heart can overcome the barriers of your weaknesses." It was just such a good two days and it was really hard to leave. 

Little Skien and I are doing well over here. I'm always amazed at how Heavenly Father works. I was thinking about answers to prayers the other day and I think most of the time Heavenly Father works through other people for me. People and my relationships have always meant the most to me, but i think I realized that even more this week when I was back in Oslo seeing these people that I love so much. I want to work to be an answer to more prayers for other people.

I love you guys so much! Good luck with school! It will be great!

Love,

Søster Pyne