Missionary Survival 101

 DEADLIEST MISSIONARY 

This week I will be sharing with you some information on how to survive as a missionary. For those of you who have already served a mission and have survived, Congratulations! You are alive and reading my blog post on what I have to do to survive the rugged Norwegian wilderness! Now for those of you who have not served a mission, I will say that surviving a mission takes real determination of the heart, finding a love for others, and knowing what you are doing is right. The Lord will bless you and take care of you always throughout your mission. BUT this is not the Survival that I am talking about! I am talking about surviving on the land and what your mission has to offer you such as shelter, clothes, and most importantly FOOD! Yeap that is what this blog post is all about today! LIVING OFF THE LAND!  I should say I am one of the luckiest people in the world to be able to serve here in Norway. I can drink water from just about any place without filtering it. I have full access to Ocean Food! I guess that is really what I want to share with you today. Ocean food! Well for those of you who remember... about 2 months ago my companion and I caught about 96 fish. I had other plans for the insides and heads of the fish. Yes that is right I saved the fish guts and heads in a plastic container.  Now you might be wondering why! Well being raised the way I have been, I have a uncontrolled love for sea food. As a missionary I can not really afford sea food.  So I recently purchased a crab cage. Yes a crab cage, which maybe has been the best 100kr ( about $17 USD ) I have spent on my mission. We should spend roughly 20 kr for each meal of the day which is very hard to do! That is why most of my mission I have eaten rice and chicken which is why I have lost such a significant amount of weight. Now I get to change it up, because it is crabbing season. Yeap that is right I have officially started my own Deadliest Catch! but with no boat... :( but that is ok! im sure Sig Hansen would be proud! )

So Ladies and Gentlemen  please enjoy my pictures of my Deadliest Catch! 

In Addition: Click Sig Hansen's name or the Northwestern to find out who he is!.  Also If you need real survival tips for Norway here is a quick list! 

1. Big Warm jacket

2 .Fishing pole

3. Good shoe's

4. Ice defrosting tools! 

5. Learn a small amount of Norwegian 

6. Double your money before thinking on buying stuff here!


Enjoy the Pictures! 

The Cage. 

First Catch.

The Second Catch.

The Third Catch.

 THE BIG GUYS! Each of these crabs goes for about 45kr. a piece out on the docks. 

THE MONSTER!!!! 

ME and THE MONSTER! 

Perry and THE MONSTER! 

A Great Friend!

A Great Friend!

Well this week has been exciting, from picking baptismal spots to having a baptism. Yeap that is right this week we had a baptism... Her name is Christine Sikveland and she is AWSOME! It has been an interesting road teaching Christine, because we never really looked at her as an investigator... We always saw her as a great friend... I guess some missionaries look at people and merely see them as a statistic or as an investigator.  For me I always have looked at people I have met as friends... and found the things that I love about them. I can say that is was not hard to find the love for Christine She has a heart of gold and is by far one of the nicest people I have met on my mission. So I would like to share how we met Christine  Well here in Ålesund we have a double apartment.  One side of our house contains a 60 inch TV and a kitchen with two sofas, so we often have youth activities here at the apartment... Ålesund does not have very many members we have about 8 people in church every week and only 5 youth. We try to do as much as possible with the youth here because that is what seems to matter the most! For those of you who remember Sara from the Goat Story, she had invited some of her friends over to our alternate apartment for tacos and a movie night, that we hold each week. This is where we met Christine. She is a very shy girl and she just moved up here to Ålesund from Stavanger area to come to art school. She is an amazing artist!  Elder Perry and I are not the pushy bunch of missionaries. We like to give people their space. We try not to attack everyone with the gospel, mainly because that's how everyone perceives us, just wanting to convert everyone we see! Although sometimes that may be our desire because we know how much this message can help people. Through out my mission I have found the people that I have gotten to know and love have been the people that it really means something to me to share the gospel with them. It is such a great feeling to share this message with the ones you love and care about rather than sharing it with people who you don't really know... So as time went on we kept talking to Christine and realized just how great of a person she was!  What a fantastic friend she had become!  We neglected to try and teach her for the fear that we would loose her as a friend. It came to the point where we could no longer take it and told her! "Hey look Christine you are a great friend and we don't mean to scare you away with this but what we do as missionaries can really help you in your life, and we really want to share this message with you because we care!" Well she just smiled  and replied "Ok sure."  As we took the time to share the gospel with her our friendship grew stronger. I have no doubt in my mind she is going to do great things in her life! She will be a fantastic member of this church.

In Addition: If you click on any of Christine's names throughout my blog it will take you directly to her blog where she has also written about the Baptism, and has added additional pictures!

I Hope you all enjoy the Pictures!

Before Going out into the cold

Making sure water doesn't go up the nose

Walking down...

This is the place!

Norway!

Umm its Cold!

But Really its cold! do we have too?

Ok Fine! lets do this! :) 

She was laughing at me because i could barley even talk
because it was so cold!

Haha Ta Den!

The Branch! 

Eye Candy of Norway!

Eye Candy of NORWAY!

 Dear Friends and Family. I am sorry I have not kept you posted on what has been happening over the last month here in Ålesund. But for those of you who read my little blog, you are in for a great treat coming this way. Yes that is right, over these next three weeks you will have some new and exciting story's Coming! and Trust me you do not want to miss next weeks Story! :) But for now. The reason why the tittle of this post is called Eye Candy of Norway, is because I would like to take the time to share with you just how Beautiful this country really is. Before I begin I would like everyone to know a simple picture can NOT justify the true beauty of this place. And sadly to add, the last post I added. The Three Billy Goats Gruff. My camera developed a screen error, so I have been taking picture with my Ipod. So my current pictures really do not justify the True Beauty of Norway, so ill just have to make do with what I have for now. :)  But recently we have Traveled to Trollstigen and over the mountain to Geirangerfjord these are just some of the most Beautiful places in the world "in my personal opinion" It was fantastic to see these two places and the journey between the two, it was most definitely a breath taking drive...  Also to make everyone a little jealous this what I have gotten to see almost every day since I have been here in Norway. :P  So I hope you enjoy the pictures I have taken! And thank you for all of your love and Support!

Love Eldste Strange.


"Additional Note.  Please Feel free to click on  any of the Trollstigen, Geirangerfjord and Ken Block Links they will take you to some more breath taking pictures, provided by Google Images of these places,I have just recently Been! and also info about who Ken Block is."

"On the Way to Trollstigen"

" Elder Strange (Me) At the bottom of  Trollstigen" 

" Elder Perry at the bottom of Trollstigen"

"A little Stop Mid Way"

"At the Top of Trollstigen"
"Additional note, Ken Block was here and Drifted that road about 5 weeks ago.
the Tire tracks where still burnt into the road!" 

"Trollstigen Info center"

"Christine at the top of Trollstigen"

"Perry Confused..."

"A MOUNTAIN ORGE! " (Me)

"On the way to Geirangerfjord" 

"Also on the way to Geirangerfjord "

"Geirangerfjord "

" Me at the viewing area of Geirangerfjord"

"Perry, Christine, and I at the viewing spot of Geirangerfjord"

"Back side of Geirangerfjord and down below the town Geiranger" 

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

OLD NORWEGIAN FAIRY TALES 

Now I am sure there are many of you who have heard of the old tale, The Three Billy Goats Gruff...

Well  today I would like to share this story with you, because I want to tell you that this is not  just a fairy tale. It is a real story that really did happen to three little goats. People say trolls do not  exist, but after living in Norway now, I can tell you they do exist! But first before we go any further with this story, I must say

last week, Elder Perry and I went hiking. We went with a member of the church (Sara) and her friend ( Ilakkiya... aka Charlie Brown). We decided we should hike the Mountain ( Sula ) ... well I should not say mountain more like over sized hill. You can not really compare these mountains to some of the things I have hiked with my good friends, the Martins. Even so it was still was very, very large in size, big enough to put us high into the clouds. As we were hiking we found the real place where the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff took place. Now I have heard multiple versions of this story, but I will now share with you the real version of this story!.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Norway

Once upon a time there were three billy goats, who were to go up to the hillside to make themselves fat, and the name of all three was "Gruff."

On the way up was a bridge over a cascading stream they had to cross; and under the bridge lived a great ugly troll , with eyes as big as saucers, and a nose as long as a poker.

So first of all came the youngest Billy Goat Gruff to cross the bridge.

"Trip, trap, trip, trap! " went the bridge.

"Who's that tripping over my bridge?" roared the troll .

"Oh, it is only I, said the tiniest Billy Goat Gruff, and I'm going up to the hillside to make myself fat," said the billy goat, with such a small voice.

"Now, I'm coming to gobble you up," said the troll.

"Oh, no! pray don't take me. I'm too little, that I am," said the billy goat. "Wait a bit till the second Billy Goat Gruff comes. He's much bigger."

"Well, be off with you," said the troll.

A little while after came the second Billy Goat Gruff to cross the bridge.

Trip, trap, trip, trap, trip, trap, went the bridge.

"Who's that tripping over my bridge?" roared the troll.

"Oh, it's the second Billy Goat Gruff , and I'm going up to the hillside to make myself fat," said the billy goat, who had such a small voice.

"Now I'm coming to gobble you up," said the troll.

"Oh, no! Don't take me. Wait a little till the big Billy Goat Gruff comes. He's much bigger."

"Very well! Be off with you," said the troll.

But just then up came the big Billy Goat Gruff .

Trip, trap, trip, trap, trip, trap! went the bridge, for the billy goat was so heavy that the bridge creaked and groaned under him.

"Who's that tramping over my bridge?" roared the troll.

"It's I!" said the big Billy Goat Gruff,  who had an ugly hoarse voice of his own.

"Now I 'm coming to gobble you up," roared the troll.

Well, come along! I've got two spears, And I'll poke your eyeballs out at your ears; I've got two curling-stones, And I'll crush you to bits, body and bones.

That was what the big billy goat said. And then he flew at the troll, and poked his eyes out with his horns, and crushed him to bits, body and bones, and tossed him out into the cascade, and after that he went up to the hillside. There the billy goats got so fat they were scarcely able to walk home again. And if the fat hasn't fallen off them, why, they're still fat; and so,

Snip, snap, snout. This tale's told out. Well now you know the tale of The Three Billy Goats Gruff! I am here to tell you today that this was not just a Fairy Tale. This really did take place on the tops of Mount SULA... and here is your proof! :D  please enjoy the pictures of our journey on Mount Sula, and just to add on to this story really quick, on the way up we kept hearing bells! and almost at the top, we went off the trail for a bit to find this bell sound! Low and behold there were Three Goats!  I didn't have enough time to pull out my camera for that one before they ran away!

Three Billy Goats and Troll 

Told you! 

Awww cute little guy! 

I figured it was best to ride the smallest goat across for safety!
and insurance! 

On the way to the top! 

What we thought was the top!  We were very, very WRONG!!! 

ME!
THIS IS THE TOP!!!! The wind was blowing SUPER HARD  and it was kind of
raining the whole time! The clouds were so thick we could barely see more than 20 feet away!
It is also a tradition to carry a rock up the mountain and set it at the top of the pile!   

Sara and  Ilakkiya performing the rock tradition .

WE DID IT!!! picture was taken on the way down...! :) 

This should have been our View at the top but much much better!
This was about half way down and after the clouds cleared up! 

Legends of Fishing!

FISHING TALL TALES 

Now I know you have all heard the stories of fisherman catching The ONE BIG FISH...  or the Story where a couple of friends went out and caught 100 Fish in 2 hours...  Well Today I want to let you know these Legends Are Real... people always ask who are these Legendary Men or Women who catch these fish? Well low and behold there are people you know! They just don't tell the story because they often don't have proof that it has ever happened. Well back in my early years when I was a young boy around the age of 13 I used to love going biking up the canyon with my best friend Kevin Martin and go fishing... Well there is a place called Vivian Pond some of you may be familiar with that area. Also you may know that it is a very small pond and you may only think like 6 inch to 8 inch long trout could ever come out of there. Well this is the Story that we love to share...  One morning we went biking and like usual we went fishing at Vivian Pond, there had always been a big fish in that pond but nobody really knew of him but we had seen him. He was a monster of a fish! We named him Goliath! Now you say how big is a monster of a Fish!??? 10 inchs...? 1 lb?  Well Goliath was A LARGE and SMART FISH! around 7 to 8 lbs. about a foot and a half... if I remember Correctly... but then again that is where tall tales come from over exaggeration... BUT it took some smart fishing tactics that I am  not aloud to share... mainly because they are too gruesome to share. (Sorry) Well today I have some pictures of Goliath to share with you!  BUT DO NOT scroll down.  Just Wait! there is more to this story! This is one of my Legends I would like to share with you today...  Now it is not too common for people in life to have more than 1 or 2 Big Fishing Tall Tales... Well this last week Elder Perry and I went fishing with a member  for about 2 hours... Well lets just say we caught a lot of fish! How many is a lot you wonder...? 20...? maybe 30? at the most 50??? YEAH? well up untill a week ago I would have agreed with you.  But in 2 hours time of fishing we caught 95 Fish! We could have had 100 but we did toss a few back because of small size....  It truly was a great day to take a new convert out fishing and have such an Awsome Experience. Something I am sure we will hold onto forever in our memorys...  That day we were catching between the three of us about a fish every 1 minute and 50 seconds... which was almost just about every cast! Everyone else around us was not really catching anything but today was our day! Our new convert Stever had been needing a good day and he loves to fish! and God certainly did bless us with a good day of fishing! who would have thought it was because of God who actually allows Fishing Tall Tales to come TRUE...      

 LUKE 

5:3  And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

5:4  Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

5:5  And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

5:6  And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

5:7  And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

Please Enjoy the Pictures! 

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK MY FISHIING SPONSORS THAT MADE THESE CATCHES POSSIBLE
THANK YOU MOM AND DAD FOR SENDING ME AND ALWAYS BUYING ME FISHING GEAR!
 I LOVE YOU AND APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR ME!  

The Goliath! 

Eric Kevin Al
He was real! 

Hmmm maybe we should open up the bags yeah? 

Stever, Elder Perry
Hmmm How many do you think we have? 

Stever, Elder Strange
ok enough lets line them up! 

Elder Perry, Elder Strange
Thats alot dont forget to count the one in my hands

Elder Perry, Elder Strange
Whew thats A lot!!! 

One Bag clean and ready to eat! 

Both Bags Done are ready to Go!!!!