Plaque to Vats Church

Yes we are home... so we actually have online access and can blog about some more of the great experiences of the trip to Norway. On Saturday, June 13 we drove up from Stavanger, past Knapphus,

and onto Vats to the Lutheran church Torleif attended when he was in Norway


Allen had coordinated a gift for the church and community of Vats of one of Torleif's works (Jesus Christ, Fountainhead of the Church). We met with pastor Martin Ivar Arnesen, the committee leader, a local historian, and a gentleman from the paper and his wife.

We were granted a short tour of the church, including some history of the painting of the Stokka family (of whom we are related).



In his journal, Torleif recalls passing by the lake on the way to church.


After the tour we presented them with the informational plaque that accompanied the relief that had already been delivered. It was a smaller version of "Jesus Christ, Fountainhead of the Church"


They were all so gracious and friendly. We really had a great time getting to know them and making that connection with the church where Torleif grew up. Torleif reported being influenced positively by the leaders of the Vats church.



We were invited to a meeting room for some conversation and light refreshments. It was a very enjoyable afternoon indeed.


After the refreshments we took a moment to find the grave site for Torlef's mother, Liva.



The pastor recommended we go back up to Knapphus to see the plaque and get some pictures.


This was really one of the highlights of the trip. The people and culture of Norway were so friendly and inviting to us. They really define hospitality.

Speeding By...

so much has happened in the past few days and no time to write about it. We have been from Oslo to Balestrand, where we stayed the night. Then onto Bergen the next day. And then today we travelled to Knapphus and down to Stavanger where we will be tonight.

We said goodbye to Brooke and Justin's family last night. And we have just under a week left.

Hopefully I can post a few pictures here.

So, first pictures are of the glass window above Grandpa's art school in Oslo. They are moving the school to another location next year, but they are concerned that the building won't be kept up after they leave.











These others are of Knapphus area, including Lars' headstone in Sjold.

The Big Event

We are going to attempt to report on the wonderful event that took place on Sunday. We were all praying for good weather the night before. And as it rained on our 2 hour drive North from Oslo to Hamar we were a bit nervous. A few of us attended the branch in Hamar. They generally have about 20 people at their meetings. This Sunday they had 80 people attend. It was a wonderful service. They meet on the top floor of this building...


It was a very spiritual fast and testimony meeting. There were members and non-members alike at the meeting. Among the local leaders who attended were the mission president and the stake president with their wives. A couple of us attended the Lutheran church that is located at the emigrant museum.





After the church meetings we all met at the Emigration Museum. It started to rain quite hard there. But we were able to all fit inside - barely.




Knut, the museum director spoke a few times to the group re: the exhibit they have put together to explain the "story behind the statue" including the Mormons, the handcart pioneers, and the emigration of Norwegians.



As we prepared to go outside for the unveiling the sun came out and it turned out to be beautiful weather for the remainder of the day.

A very talented band from Oslo played, Allen and Knut both spoke, and the very talented Veslemoy sang. Hopefully in a couple of days we can add some of the video to this blog for you to experience.




It was indeed a memorable day. The locals and members were so kind to us and welcoming. We were able to have a nice luncheon afterwards. Veslemoy sang again to us, and this time the acoustics in the room were absolutely incredible.
The director, Knut spoke again to us. His director spoke, and the mayor of the county we were in also spoke to us. It was really special. I felt Grandpa Knaphus' spirit there as we gazed upon this meaningful statue in his land of origin, with all of these people representing the many others who will have a chance to see this work and ask questions about the emigration of Norwegians to be with other Latter-Day Saints in America.

We're HERE!

We all made it safely to Norway. Here are some pictures to prove it. We should have lots more to post tomorrow night after the big event. Norway is beautiful, with it's lush foliage and beautiful waterways.



We ate a WONDERFUL Norweigan meal at President and Sister Poulsen's house. They have been more than gracious to let us stay in the basement in the bunk beds.


This is a hotel near where the olympic ski jumping even was held.


These are of Vigeland Park -- He was a sculptor that lived around the time of Torleif and was commissioned to design all the sculpture work in this park. It was fascinating. A lot of the work was done in granite. The theme was mankind from infancy to death engaging in many activities.