Nearing the end of summer in Norway

Dear Family and Friends;

We have really enjoyed our last couple of weeks.  It is nearing the end of summer here.  It is getting cooler and darker much earlier.  We taught our last summer institute class last Friday.  They were a great class.  Studying the book of Moses with them was great.  We start our fall institute this Friday. We have several new YSA's this fall.  We are excited about them.  Early morning seminary started this week.  I am subbing this year.  I taught twice this week.  We have 12 attend each morning.  They are very faithful.  We had a baptism Friday.  A sweet young lady 16, that moved here from Spain 3 years ago.  She has wanted to be baptized for a several months.  Her parents would not allow it.  We all prayed and their hearts were softened.  The young women have been such good friends to her.  We have a young Norwegian man about 28 that has agreed to be baptized in September.  He is writing a Masters thesis on the Crusades.  He loves the gospel. We have help teach him.  We have a lady from Cameroon that we have helped the Sisters teach.  She just had triplets last week.  She has agreed to be baptized as soon as she is able.  What a sweet lady.  She has her hands full.  The work is moving forward.  Elder and Sister Lemon, the senior couple from Oslo, came and spent the week-end with us. I heard him give a fireside in Stockholm, so I asked him to give it to our YSA's and our ward.  It was awesome.  His conclusion was that God created an unbelievable universe, but that his joy comes from us, his children.  He created it for us. Laurie has had a sinus infection the last few weeks, but she is about over it.  We love each of you and are grateful for your prayers.  Have a wonderful week.

Elder & Sister Gormley

We had a ward BBQ at a lake last Saturday.  It was a great time.  This is one of our new missionaries, Elder Kemp, playing the Ukulele.  He is from Burley, Idaho.  

This is Linda's Triplets.  Emily, Alex and Christopher.  She named them after the Sister missionaries that are teaching her.  (Emily) Sister Etchells and  (Alexis) Sister Cook

We had a display for the church at the International School of Stavanger.  It was fun to talk to people from all over the world about the church. This is Elder Johnson, on the left, from Pleasant Grove, Utah. The one on the right is Elder Richardson from Fillmore, Utah.  He is one of our new missionaries.

This is Elder & Sister Lemon from Logan, Utah.  We went on a fjord cruise together.  Below is a synopsis of the fireside he gave.  If you would like to see the science behind his fireside you can find it on You Tube.  Just go there and search Douglas Lemon Universe.  Very interesting.They are going home in October and wanted to come back to Stavanger, where he served in 1970.  Great people.

TITLE:  God, the Universe, and You.  SUMMARY: In this visually rich fireside, Elder Doug Lemon takes the audience on a "journey of discovery" --first of the universe and then of themselves. The fireside begins with a visual tour of the universe to establish a "cosmic context" for the topics to follow. Then, using language and examples easily understood by the non-scientist, he discusses examples of how the laws of physics, as the scriptures attest, are finely tuned to make our galaxy and planet suitable for human life. He concludes the workshop with examples from the scriptures that confirm our relationship with God and our infinite worth as His children. The workshop promises to be interesting, thought provoking, and spiritually uplifting. Elder Lemon was born and raised in Cache Valley, Utah where he received BS and PhD degrees in Physics from Utah State University. While at USU, he met and married Alice Mae Baugh. They are the parents of 5 sons, all of whom are now married. They have 15 grandchildren. Elder Lemon has over 37 years experience as a scientist, program manager and senior executive with science and engineering organizations. He has developed and led research numerous research programs for applications in aerospace, defense, and homeland security. After 30 years working with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, he returned to Logan to serve as Director of the Space Dynamics Laboratory, part of Utah State University. He later became president of the USU Research Foundation. He has written a book, Journey to the Stars, A History of the Space Dynamics Laboratory. He and Sister Lemon are serving a mission to Oslo, Norway supporting the Stake Young Single Adult Program, the Oslo Institute, and the Norway Oslo Mission office.

Mariana Munoz was baptized Saturday.  She is so sweet.  Sister Steffensen, her Young Women's President on the left gave a beautiful talk.  

We took the Lemons for a ride in the mountains.  We found Billy Goat Gruff.

Sister Gormley and I played our Ukulele's for the ward talent show Saturday night.  We sang Ghost Riders in the Sky.  It was a great evening with a lot of great talent.  We had a lot of fun.