More memories of Haugesund

President Poulsen and his wife came to Haugesund to release Elder Humphrey from being the Branch President. We had a Linger Longer that day which was enjoyed by all in attendance.

Our church occupies the ground floor of this house. It is right downtown and they have been in this building for quite a few years.

The day the President came the ladies in the branch gave Sister Poulson and I Norwegian sweater which I will wear with love in my heart for these people who we have grown so close to.

Here are some of the sisters who were there when the sweaters were presented to us.

We went to dinner at Sister Elske's home just before we left. She is from the Phillippines and served delicious Phillipino food.

Special people, special times

Out of all the Elders we associated with in Norway, we spent more time with Elder Holst from Denmark. He spend four months with us in Tromsø and became part of our southern zone in August. He is our District Leader and came to visit us in Haugesund. We will miss him and the great times we have had together.

Brother Brevik came to Enrichment Night and provided us with some good Norwegian songs and folk tales. The sisters all enjoy being entertained by him.

How could we resist this one? As many of you know, we are avid Utah fans at our house. These are the Elders we are serving with us right now in Haugesund and they are both avid Utah fans also!

The boys that were just baptized on Saturday and confirmed today in church. We enjoyed going into their home to teach them each week for the last two months.

Dado was converted in Oslo but now lives an hour away from Haugesund. We have enjoyed having him becoming part of our branch.

Churches and more of Ruth's visit

Grandpa Knaphus did some painting restorations in this church. It was the church he was baptized in as in infant.

The painting behind us has distant relatives of the Knaphus family in it. Elder Humphrey's cousin was able to get a key to the church and take us on a tour.

We took Ruth to Bergen while she was here and showed her the sights of Norway's second largest city. This was taken during Christmas so Christmas decorations adorned the city.

This stave church is a site that is very popular with tourists. It is very close to our church in Bergen. We took Ruth there while we spent time with her in Bergen.

New Years Eve was spent in the home of members of the branch. We had a wonderful time eating, visiting and watching the children (supervised by their dads) let off fireworks. Ruth was with us on New Years Eve.

Winter in Knaphus and Ruth's Visit

We get very little snow in western Norway but winter can bring some very beautiful frosty scenes.

Elder Humphrey's sister spent Christmas week with us. We had a wonderful time together. We went back to the home of Elder Humphrey's third cousin so they could meet Ruth who is also their third cousin.

Ruth enjoyed seeing the Memory Marker at Knaphus.

We took her to our last Sons of Norway meeting. It was a holiday party. We said goodbye to all the friends we had made there during the last nine months of attending monthly meetings of this group.

Ruth and Elder Humphrey after church on the Sunday following Christmas. We were so glad to have her come and spend time with us.

Sister Wvarvik is our Branch Relief Society President. She had us to dinner on Christmas Day. We had Lukte Fisk which I had hoped to avoid while in Norway. It is a common dish at Christmas time. It is fish that has spend hours in lie and then drying out before it is served. Actually, it was not that bad. We then had a wonderful cheese cake which she is holding. It was nice being in her home with her family.

I had to show off the slippers I knit for Elder Humphrey for Christmas. I have learned to knit with five needles at the same time. I am making another pair so hopefully I will continue knitting Norwegian style when I get home.

Dinner at the Wvarvik home. She also served salmon in case we could not tolerate Lukte Fisk. All of us tried it even Elder Reese and Elder Lange.

Christmas Eve we were in the home of the Steinsvik family. The Norwegian people open all their presents on Christmas Eve. We also had a very good Christmas Eve dinner. Everyone dresses up in Sunday best for Christmas Eve activities.

At the Zone Christmas party I had to have another picture with me and the Tromsø missionaries. We served with Elder Issacson from Logan and Elder Hotst from Denmark. Elder Holst was with us for four months and helped me make it through mørketiden.

(the period of two months without the sun). It is great to see the growth in these and other missionaries during the time they are on their missions.

More Christmas Parties

President and Sister Poulsen at the Zone Christmas party in Stavanger. We ate, played games, had a program and exchange gifts. It was great fun!

The Elders serving here in Haugesund with us, Elder Reese and Elder Lange along with Emily Thompson who was visiting our branch from America. We enjoyed visiting with her. She served a mission in Germany.

It is cold and frosty here but the grass stays green all winter. It is amazing. We get wind, rain but very little snow on the west coast of Norway. After spending last winter in the far north we are not minding the change.

Sister Mjøs and one of the two sons we hope to baptize on Jan. 24. They are busy in the kitchen helping to clean up after our branch Christmas party.