The sun is out and so are the Norwegian sweaters!

Hello friends and family! 

Wow am I so grateful for the sun and summer and best of all here in Ålesund, tourist season. It has been quite the week here (but then again when isn't it?) and we have been loving every minute of the sun and the tourists. We have been able to talk to none other than good old AMERICANS! It's always way fun to get to talk to someone from your home country. The other day Søster Ralphs and I were headed back home after a long days work. We spotted one of our friends here in Ålesund walking ahead of us so we hurried to catch up. We finally got close enough to say Hei Hei and not only did our friend turn around to see who had said that but this elderly couple did as well. The elderly lady then said, "Oh I thought you were talking to us," and it took Søster Ralphs and I a second to realize that that was ENGLISH! As soon as it had registered we asked them where they were from and started up a lovely conversation with this cute couple. They were from the wonderful state of California and live not far from Woodland Hills where I was born. We have this cute little music store here in Ålesund and the old man told us they had just come from the music store and had become good friends with the store owner. He told us how they talked about music and bands for a while and then he remembered he was wearing a tshirt that had one of the bands they were discussing so he decided to give the owner the SHIRT OFF OF HIS BACK. I mean that's pretty crazy. Apparently the owner gave them some free records and things from his shop which is awesome. Obviously they were a very friendly and giving couple and it was way fun to get to talk to them for a little bit. I'm sure their trip to Ålesund will be a trip they will never forget, from the little music store to talking to the Mormon missionaries, it seems like they had quite the vacation.

This fast Sunday was also blessed by the presence of good old AMERICANS in the Ålesund branch! We had a visit from our stake high councilman and he was wrapping up his Sunday school lesson when a big family walks by the big windows in our bakery/church building. They originally walked past us but then spotted all of the Books of Mormon in our display and eventually realized that this little bakery was really the LDS church building here in this tiny town in Norway. They came in and for the first time since I have been serving here in Ålesund we actually didn't have enough chairs set up! What a good problem to have! It was way fun to be able to talk to this awesome family from Salt Lake City, Utah and to hear some testimonies in English as well. Also thought my Mom and Sister Malouf would like to know that I am the piano player for the branch, so all those years of piano practice are starting to pay off! It did make me a little more nervous when all of a sudden all of these Americans showed up and the size of the branch doubled and now I would have to play piano in front of 6 more people but the Lord really provided and I was able to play the Hymns with ease. Church was really amazing this week and the Americans may have snapped a picture of Søster Ralphs and I to send home, so keep an eye out Mom(;

After church we headed to our usual Sunday dinner at our favorite Dutch family's home. We walked right in (as we have become really close with this family) and proceeded to the kitchen to ask if we could help with anything! They said they had it under control and so we proceeded to ask how their week had went. We got the response, "Terrible!" and were quite taken aback. They told us that the husband had lost his job and that they are moving back to the Netherlands before the end of this transfer. We plan to spend every weekend with them up until they move helping to pack and get the house ready for the new owners. It was really sad to hear that a family who has taken such great care of us would now be so far away but we were happy to get the opportunity to know and befriend them and are humbled to serve them in any way possible. I was able to share Helaman 5:12 with them and explained that sometimes in life we are thrown things that are out of our control and that we all go through challenges, but as long as our foundation is in Christ, we cannot fall. We hope to keep in touch and they will be in our thoughts and prayers while they go through these next couple of weeks. 

I tried to pet the sheep.  The adventure that is Norway!

Last week was a really hard week for me and I was kind of in the mindset that nothing was going right and that my life just sucked. I was really humbled this week as we talked to not only our Dutch friends but also one of our investigators from Venezuela. She told us that her friends and family back home were really struggling economically and that they were all going through some pretty hard times. It's been a very humbling experience to hear about all of these people having to endure much harder things than I am at this point in my life and seeing them all handle it with such grace and not saying to themselves, "Wow my life sucks," like I had been doing earlier this week. I am grateful for this opportunity to serve those around me and grateful for the tender mercies and miracles that I have been blessed with while serving here in Ålesund.

Earlier this week I was reading in the Liahona (a church magazine for those of you who aren't familiar with this title) and I came across a story entitled "Seven Tender Miracles Along the Way" and (of course) I would encourage all of you to take like 5 minutes to read this article when you have the chance. It is a story of a boy who had a pretty challenging life and yet was able to recognize some miracles that got him to where he is at today. It was also a very humbling experience for me to read this article and to recognize that my life really isn't all that challenging and that I need to be more grateful for what I do have, so this past week I have been trying to focus on and be more grateful for all the little tender mercies and miracles I have experienced here in Ålesund. I'd love to share with you all 7 tender miracles I've had along the way. 

1)Members from Logan, Utah. Usually I am not the biggest fan of this particular city in Utah seeing as I attend the Lord's school in Provo, Utah, but here in Norway it's a real blessing to have some members from America. We have two men in our branch from Logan and we were able to visit both of them this past weekend. We got to speak English, have pizza and even make Smores. Norway doesn't actually sell graham crackers and really I don't think Norwegians make Smores on the regular but we did what we could and it was a tender mercy that reminded me of home and who doesn't love a good Smore?? 

Norwegian Smore

2)Also I hit my 3 month mark as a missionary! As I said earlier I had been having a rough week and my wonderful companion Søster Ralphs picked up on that, so I woke up to a wonderful apple cake to celebrate my 3 months as a missionary! I am so blessed with a companion that is so aware and willing to serve in any way possible!! It was truly a monumental day and I am lucky to work towards 4 months this transfer! 

3)I'm not sure if any of you would remember the super cute African kid who helped me play piano a couple weeks ago, but he was the cutest thing! He is one of our member's nephews and my first time meeting him he was super shy and I couldn't get any words much less a smile out of him, but this week we passed him and his Mom walking to the store and he saw me and just smiled from ear to ear. I was just as excited to see him! I am so grateful for little children who are just so loving and kind!

4)We went to meet with one of our investigators this week and she really loves to shop. We met up with her at her house and shared a spiritual thought. Afterwards she asked us if we wanted to go to Fretex (the Norwegian equivalent of Goodwill but so much better) to go shop for a little bit so of course we said Yes! While we were there I found a super cute and super modest skirt for a super good price and anyone who knows me knows that clothes and retail therapy are always considered a blessing in my life!

5)I finally found a Norwegian sweater!!! Ever since coming to Norway I've been on the hunt for the perfect Norwegian sweater. I am happy to announce that I have found it and I am so beyond happy about that! Søster Ralphs found a couple as well and so we gladly took a companionship photoshoot with out Norwegian sweaters, hence the title of the blog post today!! 

6)Søster Ralphs got her package! While Søster Ralphs was on her 2 week vacation in Tromsø her Mom told her there would be a package waiting for her back in Ålesund. Of course, Søster Ralphs comes back home way pumped to receive her package and yet Søster Bender has taken our mail keys with her to Moss. Søster Ralphs gets right on that and has Søster Bender send the keys to our Dutch friends so we can actually check our mail. We finally get the keys and there is nothing to be found in our mailbox (classic life of a Norwegian missionary). She proceeds to have us check the mailbox every time we pass it and even would watch for the mailman and have us check once he left. Every time it was the same result, an empty mailbox. Finally today we go and check our mailbox and the slip that says you have a package at the nearest post is waiting for Søster Ralphs! She was so happy to get her package and I was so happy to not have to check the mailbox 100 times a day! JK! I was happy for her to get her package too(: 

7)Last but DEFINITELY not least, probably one of the coolest miracles happened this past fast Sunday. Ben bore his testimony! That was a way cool experience for me as a missionary to see my first convert go up and bear such a solid testimony of this gospel. He has such faith and it was way cool to see him share that with all of us in the Ålesund branch as well as our American visitors. I am forever grateful and humbled that I could play a small part in his conversion and expect nothing but wonderful things from him. He is such a rock and even was giving us some spot on missionary tips on Sunday as well. It was such a miracle to see and hear Ben bear his testimony and a very wonderful way to end my week!

Alright, I just had you all read quite a bunch so beklager (Translation:sorry) but I hope you all have a fantastic week and I would challenge you to look for the tiny miracles we are blessed with on a daily basis. Thanks for reading and can't wait to hear from you all next week! Ha en fin uke! (Translation:Have a fine week!) 

Love,

Søster Blankmeyer

Transfers, transfers, transfers. 

This week was my first transfer week and it's been something else. First off, we were told on Sunday that we would be losing Søster Bender here in Ålesund. We had until Wednesday to go around to everyone she had become friends with during her 6 months here in Ålesund and say goodbye and take pictures. That was quite a hectic couple of days. Somehow, we got through it alive and successfully got her to the airport and on her way to her next area, Moss, Wednesday morning along with our mail keys. That's a funny story...

A few hours later I was able to pick up Søster Ralphs from the airport as she had finished her two week vacation to Tromsø and was now back to finish training me. We have had quite the week as Søster Ralphs has been out on her mission for only 12 weeks and I've been here for 6. Somehow we are surviving and trying to have some fun along the way. 

It's been a pretty slow week as far as missionary work goes so this may be my shortest blog post yet. (I'll try and keep it interesting though for all you readers back home.) 

Once Søster Bender was gone, Søster Ralphs and I basically had to start from ground zero. We tried to set up as many appointments as we could and still ended up having a lot of time left to go and find some new investigators. The sun is finally coming out here in Ålesund and it's starting to feel more and more like summer. Although the weather is getting warmer, the people are still pretty cold (Don't worry, I still love the Norwegian people)! We spent hours and hours this week trying to find people who would be interested in our message and by the end we didn't have much to show for it. It's been a tough week to say the least. 

Sometimes though, when we are having our hardest weeks or we are going through our most challenging trials, we are humbled enough to see the hand of the Lord in our lives. That is something that became really evident this week. I can definitely say I drew closer to my Savior this week as I leaned on him and recognized that I couldn't do any of it without him. There were moments where I just wanted to pick up the phone and call my family or talk to some of my friends back home, but being a missionary that's not allowed and in a way I am grateful for that. Not being able to call my Mom when things get tough is really hard but it gives me the opportunity to rely on the Lord and that is such a blessing. My relationship with my Father in Heaven and my brother, Jesus Christ, has really been able to grow. I have felt their love and concern for me and I have been able to know that I am not alone. 

If they won't let us in we will...

take some pics for mom!

I was reading a recent General Conference talk this week for personal study and it talked about how,"the first thing you must commit to do is to go and serve knowing that you do not go alone." I absolutely love that. I know that I am not alone here in Norway. I have amazing leaders, wonderful companions, and none other than an Almighty God helping me through this work. I would challenge you all to go out and serve someone in need this week and just go the extra mile. 

The week wasn't all hard though and we were able to turn things around for the better. We were able to chase down the mail women and get into our mailbox. We were able to talk to our friend with the boat a few blog posts back. We were even able to talk to multiple Americans this week which is always a sweet surprise. I am so grateful for all the tender mercies we experience during hard times or even during good times. I know the Lord knows us personally and knows what we are going through and what we need. I am so grateful for this gospel and for the opportunity to be here in Norway. I love you all and hope you all have a wonderful week!! Ha det bra! (Literal Translation: Have it good.) 

Love,

Søster Blankmeyer

Ålesunds little lighthouse.

wildflowers

city on the water

Reunited and it Feels so Good!

I apologize in advance for that cheesy title. Alright so hopefully some of my 17th of May pictures made it onto the blog but if not I was told Snapchat did a nice little story of the event so hopefully you all tuned in! Lol! That was such a fun day to be serving here in Norway! We were able to attend the parade and see everone in their traditional clothing! We were able to go to a member's house after the parade and watch Brother Bear and Puss in Boots as well. Great movies. It was such a fun and relaxed day and I can't wait for next year when I get to experience it all over again.

MTC companions reunion

classic selfie with Hutchings!

This week has been such a blast. Not only have we hit week 6 of my first transfer, but this was the week of my mini MTC reunion. On Wednesday of this week Søster Bender and I packed up and headed to the Ålesund airport. After a short 40 minutes we arrived in the amazing Oslo airport. The last time I was in that airport I was split up from my first companion, Søster Dransfield, and was on my way to my first area in the country- Ålesund! It was crazy to step foot in the Oslo airport again and brought back a flood of memories which only got me more pumped for the days to come. We grabbed our luggage and headed to the train that would take us to the mission home, or rather the APs who would then take us to the mission home. Søster Bender and I were the first to arrive and were taken to the mission home to wait for the others. Eventually, one by one, my MTC group and their trainers began to arrive. What a cool experience. It was so awesome to not only see my friends and catch up on the past six weeks but see how much we all have grown. We all had the same personalities and for the most part looked the same (with the exception of a haircut which Søster Dransfield may or may not regret) but we all had grown so much spiritually. It's crazy what the mission will do to you and your testimony of this gospel if you just let the Spirit work on you and let these people and these experiences change your life. 

selfie pics with the people.

Everything is turning so green from the snow melt and rain.  Stunning!

beautiful city!

We were able to learn a lot during this conference as well. We were taught from President and Sister Hill and our APs. The Spirit of the conference was so strong and helped me to expand my knowledge of this gospel and how to be a more successful missionary. One of my favorite parts of the conference was actually focused on Family History work. Our mission has been trying to incorporate family history work more and more and I have really grown to appreciate learning about my family history and getting that time to focus on the importance of families. It is way easy to use family history work as a missionary tool and I'm so excited to put that to use this upcoming week here in Ålesund. With this emphasis on family history work is also an added emphasis on temples and the work which we perform there. Unfortunately, Norway does not have a temple of their own at this point in time but for those of you nearby a temple I would plead with you to attend the temple. Elder Russell M. Nelson has said, " if families were not sealed in holy temples, the whole earth would be utterly wasted." He goes on to say, "The purposes of the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement all converge on the sacred work done in temples" that is a bold statement. This really put the importance of family history and temple work into perspective for me. For those of you reading who are able to attend the temple I would challenge you to attend the temple at least one time before the end of the month. For those of you not able to attend the temple, I would challenge you to research your family hstory. Find out where your family is from, find out what they were like or read some stories about your ancestors. I know this will bring you closer to your family and also closer to your Father in Heaven as you come to realize that families are a central part to His plan and that our families really are a blessing from God. 

The conference was a strong testimony builder for me and it was such an enjoyable time to catch up with old friends and make some new friends as well. I hope you all have a fantastic week and know I love you all so much. Thanks for all you do!

Love,

Søster Blankmeyer

A member gave us some Norwegian food and snickers.

Cheesecake

Trainer and Trainee Hugs!!

Norwegian: Denne uken var en fest!

English: This week was a party!

Norway's independence day!

In Norway the 17 of May is HUGE.

The Squad is Poppin'

Alright I understand that most missionaries would not title their blog post "The Squad is Poppin'" but I promise it relates to missionary work. This has been a way busy week. On Tuesday morning we went and dropped off Søster Ralphs at the airport since she is needed in Tromsø for the next couple of weeks.

Bonding with Bender!

That left Søster Bender and I in charge of Ålesund and all the work that needs to be done here. We worked so hard this week and almost set a record of gospel conversations. Although this was a week filled with a lot of work, we also had a lot of fun. I truly believe you can be an obedient missionary and still enjoy the work. Which brings me to the explanation of my blog title this week. We have befriended quite a lot of people in Ålesund who originally come from the Congo. This past week they invited us over to have some African food called Fufu. Let me tell you, I was definitely not raised in Africa. Søster Bender and I had to relearn how to eat food with our hands. It was crazy. It was also way fun. I have loved meeting people from all over the world and learning about their different cultures. I've been trying to pick up a bit of Swahili and that's definitely something else. While at this fufu "party" Søster Bender and I were throwing out some English phrases for our African friends to learn. One of which was "pop a squat" as in "take a seat." They proceeded to repeat what we were saying and then questioned the meaning of the phrase. One of the guys thought he understood and told his friends, "It means that the squad is poppin' you know?" Way funny for us, but as I write it out I'm starting to think it's one of those "you had to be there" moments. Anyways, we love all of our friends from Africa and all over the world and are grateful to be missionaries where we have the excuse to go up and talk to everyone and make tons of new friends. 

Fufu from our African friends.

Played Skip Bo at a member's house.  Reminds me of good times with Grandma and Grandpa Conger. 

One of our favorite Africans happens to be our newest convert, Ben. Ben traveled the 3 hours or so to our branch president's house this week to receive the Holy Ghost and the Priesthood as our branch president would not be there on Sunday to perform those duties. He also would not be able to lead church seeing as he would be in London, so that left our tiny branch with a big problem. We called Ben after he had gotten home from the branch president's house to see how everything went. He told us what a wonderful experience he had had and that he was just so happy. After discussing his experience, Ben told us that our branch president had asked him to lead church on Sunday! Wild! I am not certain but I think this is probably one of the first times that the newest convert was in charge of welcoming himself into the branch. Ben ended up doing an awesome job though and made everyone so happy to be at church this past Sunday. He's so great. 

Norway is so great. It's such a fun and exciting country to be living in. We have a national holiday tomorrow, which is supposed to be even bigger than Christmas here so I'm way pumped. Our president is allowing us a couple hours on Wednesday to email, so I'll be sure to send some awesome pics. As for the pictures from this week, last PDay the elders in our District asked if we wanted to go on a hike.

 Taking a break halfway up the mountain.

Top of the mountain!

We ended up climbing to the very top of one of Norway's massive mountains and although it was challenging at times, it was way cool when we were standing up on the top. I think that's a lot like life. We are given certain challenges or mountains to climb and sometimes it's very hard and you are on a steep incline while at other times you are simply taking a stroll and it's a gradual path up. By the end of it all though, you are able to look and see all that you have accomplished to reach that top point. I hope and pray that we all are able to get to the top, to climb those "mountains" that are placed in our path. 

Also just had to include some stunning pictures of a Norwegian beach here in Ålesund.

I hope you all enjoy. I love you all and am thinking and praying about you while I'm away. Enjoy your week and can't wait to talk to you all then!

Love,

Søster Blankmeyer

I found myself a Norwegian Molly twin. 

Thanks mom for the Mac n cheese!