The Month of May 2011

 Trondheim Branch has a small but very good choir.  You would all be impressed.

 P-Day/Memorial Day at the fjord.  Hot dogs (polse) are a favorite here.  Norwegians put dried onions and potato salad on them.  Try it, tastes pretty good and no calories!

 Volleyball at the fjord on the same day.

Former Viewmont (Bountiful, UT) volleyball player, Sister Johnston.  She's pretty good!

 Picking up our greenie Sister Fredricksen from the airport.  She,  Norm, and Sister Johnston trying to stuff her luggage into our small car.l)

 Good looking bunch of Elders on the famous YSA room sofa.  (We just got permission to buy a new one, hurray) Craft, Hill, Norm, Moyes, Amundsen, Smith.

 May 17th, Norway's 4th of July or Independence Day; they celebrate independence from Sweden.  Big holiday, but they dress up in suits, dresses or native costumes.  Each area of Norway has a different color and style.

 Nadia and Audhild in their Bunads.  The girls get these dresses when they are 14 with a lot of extra material in the seams to allow for growth.  They are very expensive.  They get all the jewelry that goes with them for birthdays and Christmas.  The full outfit is around 3 to 5 thousand dollars.

 Here the whole family is dressed up.

 During the celebration Trondheim host the world beard and mustache competition.  Thank you Russell for bringing this to our attention so we could watch for it.

 Those in the Salt Lake South mission should look for this elder, Elder Amundsen.  He's from Romerike, Norway and is called to serve in Utah but had to wait for his visa.  So we got him for a month.  An excellent, fun elder.

 A P day activity at a hands-on science museum.  Sister Johnston, Elders Craft and Hill, and Sister Fredricksen.

 4 elders smashed in the back of a VW Polo.  Elders Moyes, Smith, Hill, and 6'7" Craft  on top.

4 elders in the Polo with Elder Craft's head out one window and feet out the other.

 Geiranger Fjord from the ferry

 Famous Atlantic Highway outside Kristiansund.  Considered by many to be the most beautiful highway in the world because it connects a lot islands.  More spectacular from the air and when a storm causes the waves to crash on the islands.

 Atlantic highway; famous for this curvy, tall bridge.  Had to  be tall enough for ships to go under.  We visited a member of our branch who lives very close to the highway, about 5 hours away from our church.  Difficult for her to make it to church when you're that far away!

 Small fishing village near the Atlantic Highway.  Fishermen dry their fish on these racks.  We saw several of these; smell wasn't the greatest.

 Near the Atlantic Highway.  Norway grows grass and other plants on top of roofs sometimes.  This building happens to be a public restroom, or WC.

 Found another pic showing cool bridge on the Atlantic Highway.

 On American Mother's Day some of our young adults wanted to honor Dana so we had a picnic across from the church.  Of course since it is only celebrated in the USA she had a lot of personal attention that day.  Here we have Ingrid, Elder Hill, Harald, Dennis, and Shina.

 Maria and Ben, both recent converts.

11:00 pm the end of May at the fjord close to our apartment.

 We went on a trip with some missionary friends who live in Tromso and Bergen.  We began in the pretty coastal town of Alesund.

 Alesund.  It's even prettier on a clear day.

 Alesund.

 When the trip began we were excited to ride a ferry.  Here is our first one.  Two days and probably 6 ferries later they and the cost to ride them had lost their magic.

  We traveled from Alesund to ride a ferry up the Geiranger Fjord.  This shows a pretty shot from the ferry.

  Geiranger

More Geiranger

 Norway is known for Vikings and Trolls

 Waiting to ride the ferry.

One of the many waterfalls.  Unfortunately photos don't show the whole beautiful picture, at least not with our cheap camera.