We have had many blessings and great experiences since the time we thought we would be going home July 1. Among them is the opportunity we had to go to Tromsø, Harstad and Bodø again. We were in Bodø this weekend to release Elder Lloyd from his call as branch president and call a new branch presidency. It was a blessing to connect with the good members in that small branch. I love Bodø in the summertime. My 7 months there as a young missionary was a long winter mid October to mid May and it has been fun to see it through different lenses.
When we arrived at the airport on Saturday, it was a glorious 72 degrees and we headed straight to the mountains for a quick look around. This is the bridge over Saltstrauman, one of the strongest tide areas in the world connecting two fjord areas. These pictures were taken in a two-hour period we could squeeze in before meeting Elder and Sister Lloyd for dinner.
Hannah Kristiansen was a member I remember from the time I served in Bodø 45 years ago, faithful as ever since she was baptized in 1963.
A quick wet hike with Anne-Randi og Jack Farstad near their home outside of Bodø. Jack has been a counselor in the mission presidency for nearly three years and Anne-Randi is a translator for the church in Norway.
President Tew, President Farstad and President Martin Totland, newly called branch president. He joined the church in Bodø about ten years ago after finding the church as a foreign exchange student in the US. He met his wife Robin while they were both serving as missionaries in Portugal. After living in the US where Robin is from, they moved back to his home town in Bodø two years ago. They and their two daughters are a wonderful addition to the branch.
We squeezed in a quick rainy pday hike Tuesday morning before catching a plane back to Oslo. Missionaries from Tromsø, Trondheim and Bodø joined us Monday for an in-person district council meeting and interviews. Robin Totland, Sister Sande, Elder Bybee, Sisters Tew, Baird, Lloyd, Jones, Wilcox and Elders Lloyd, Graff and Martin Totland.
Sister couldn't resist having to stop to take pictures of a herd of moose resting off the road in this pasture. There were around 10 moose, old and young, basking in the drizzle and wet grass. We have never seen this many moose together at one time.