This is a picture of our apartment from the lake side.
This is our YSA Christmas dinner. It was in our long and narrow CUV center.
Elder Buxton playing Santa Claus at our zone conference.
Christmas game with the district.
The rest of these pictures are from Møns Klint.
Kære Familie, January 1, 2017
Godt Nytår—Good New Year! One of our missionaries talked in church today and he said his goal this year was to become more like Christ. I think if we all did this, we would have a successful year no matter what else happens.
We will be in Denmark for all of 2017. It is hard to imagine. I really feel we are over our ‘honeymoon’ stage of the mission—we can’t say we are ‘newbies’ anymore. During this next year, we should move forward, lead out, and be confident in what we are doing. The only thing that still lacks the confidence is our Danish, but even that has improved. By summer, we will be the ‘oldest’ senior couple here in Sjælland. We will have to step up and help the new couples get acclimated like others did for us. As far as our YSA responsibilities go, we should see that improve as well. Even as we have tried to get the ball rolling in the stake YSA organization during the past few months, it just takes time. We can only suggest and offer our help—the real decisions (and time table) come from the YSA leadership. Hopefully we will see things come together in the new year. All committee leaders have been changed and additional committee members called. We have a kick-off to the New Year this coming Friday. The new committees will be introduced and the YSA leaders will share goals for the coming year. We are willing to do whatever it takes to help them be successful. We want to train and encourage these young people so they can stand on their own. Many of them are very capable and already show a lot of initiative. Others—not so much. We met with the new temple committee chairman over a month ago and suggested some ways to increase temple attendance and family history work (ideas we received from a leadership conference we attended in September). He wanted to wait until after the New Year to do anything. So we must be patient and allow things to happen in their own time. One thing I am especially interested in is the food committee. I want to know exactly what that calling entails and how that will affect my responsibilities. One committee that has worked extremely well since we came on the scene is the FHE committee. Two young men have been responsible for the activity and lesson each week. One young man in particular has done a great job in seeing that each week was planned. I am sad that he has been released, but the new one should also be good.
Our New Year’s Eve looked pretty much like our Christmas Day last week. Same couples, same missionaries. The couple visiting Copenhagen had gone home, but we invited the Warnsdorfs, so we still had 4 couples and 2 sister missionaries. The Warnsdorfs serve in the mission office two days a week and are local service missionaries. We just had hors d’ouvres for food, so I made some of our favorites—pigs-in-a-blanket, BBQ meatballs, bacon-wrapped water chestnuts, and chips with pineapple dip. Sister Buxton had made a cheese ball, artichoke/spinach dip, and spicy chicken wings. It was all good. The others brought desserts—way too many desserts. I also made a cranberry Christmas punch. Dad was determined we were not going to just sit around and talk so he brought some games. We started out with the Game of Things. I was worried that the Danish couple would have trouble, but they did just fine. We only played 3 rounds of it when we stopped for dessert. Then we played the charades game—we only did two rounds of that one because it was getting late and the sister missionaries had to be home by 9:30. Dad went with Elder Buxton to take them home and I took the opportunity to clean up and take all my food home (downstairs). I almost didn’t want to join the party again, because it was late enough for me, but I did. No more games the rest of the night. Someone wanted to watch the Holiday Bowl which was pre-recorded on the Buxton’s ESPN subscription. The ladies were talking family history, but I ended up watching the football game. The end of the bowl game had some excitement so it was fun to watch. Fireworks were going off all during the night (since 4 p.m. when it got dark), but now they were going off in earnest. At 11 p.m. Tivoli sent up a beautiful display. We had a nice view from the window, but we went to the top floor of the apartment building (6th floor) and watched them from a patio area on the roof. Large, exploding fireworks are not out-lawed in Denmark--anyone can buy them and set them off. So there are fireworks going off all over the city. We had a very nice view and could see many spectacular fireworks. Some were very close to us—right on the lake, in the street, in a parking lot—anywhere there was a bit of an open space. We could see fireworks in any direction. I can’t imagine the amount of money that is spent on this night. At midnight, the fireworks went off non-stop for no less than 45 minutes. It sounded like explosions—a war zone. The windows rattled. The smoke was thick. The fireworks continued until well after 2 a.m. We took the Jenson’s home at 1 a.m. and carefully wound our way through firework-debris in the street. I was actually worried one would blow up in front of the car. Amid the explosions, you could also hear the ambulances. I’m sure there were a few injuries during the night—there always is.
The blessing for staying up so late—how can you sleep with explosions going off every few minutes--came in a late start for church. Church was at 12:30 and we only had sacrament meeting. We were combined with the other ward again, that meets in our building. I think there were fewer people here today than last week. Some of our YSA’s were in church, even though they don’t attend our ward. Dad asked them what time they went to bed. They said 7 a.m. It must have been a fun party, but I was glad they came to church.
The weather has been somewhat mild with temperatures in the low 40’s. The wind makes it seem colder, but it is still not as cold as I was expecting. We haven’t had any snow since that first week in November. This week should be colder but still no snow. One morning we had fog that was very thick—it even grounded airplanes for a couple of hours. It looked very eerie over the lake. I’m glad I am not riding a bike, but I don’t mind walking. I asked a mom about putting her children outside in the cold for their naps. She said they really sleep better. When she bundles up her 18-month-old twins in their snowsuits, they just know it is time to sleep and there is no fuss about taking a nap. Out they go in their carriages and sleep for a couple of hours. How would that work with your little ones? I guess it is just too hot in Houston no matter what time of the year.
It was nice to have a week off from YSA responsibilities—but we filled it up by serving the missionaries. We really love these young people and have enjoyed working with them. Making them breakfast is just a little thing, but gives them a taste of home. We told our district on Wednesday that this would be the last time we would meet with them for a while because the days for our language class had switched to Wednesday for this semester. I was surprised that they were genuinely sorry that we cannot attend. I don’t think we really add that much, but maybe we do in some way. One even suggested that they change the day for district meeting so we can attend. We will start attending the district meeting in the area where we live, so it will be a lot closer for us. They meet on Thursday. Our schedule for the next few months will seem busier, because we no longer have a free day except for Saturday. We have Mondays free until FHE, but we usually head to the center around 4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday will now be language days—we will have our afternoons free. Thursday will be district meeting and institute. Friday is language class and temple. I guess it is good to be busy.
Some of my greatest joy comes from hearing about the time you spend with each other. Even if I can’t be there to share in the memories, my heart is full knowing you are there with each other. A few weeks ago, I sent a talk about not being the ‘weak link’ in the family chain. The very idea of a chain represents the closeness and unity I desire for my family. Link denotes togetherness. I want us to be linked together in love, in purpose, in faith. When we moved to Texas I remember Jared thinking it was the end of the world—we were moving him from friends, his social life. We all make friends through life, people we hold dear, and they are important relationships, but in the eternities, it will be our family relationships that are the most important. And I think Jared came to understand that over time. The family is God’s organization—it is His plan. How we succeed in developing and then strengthening those family relationships will be one way we show our love for God and His plan. We are closest to our families because we spend time with them. They are the ones we turn to in times of need, in times of sorrow, in times of stress. They love us unconditionally. They can often hurt us the most, but they can also love us the most. As we understand that love, it is easy to forgive and let go of things that don’t really matter in the big scheme of things. If we are unified in purpose, we all want what is best for each other and we will help each other achieve that end.
I wanted to share a thought I found from President Kimball the Allegory of the Olive Tree. He explained why the development of a deep spiritual root system must precede branches and fruit.
“‘… The branches have overcome the roots thereof, behold they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength unto themselves. Behold, I say, is not this the cause that the trees of thy vineyard have become corrupted?’ (Jacob 5:47–48)
“It seems that some [Latter-day Saints] among us have this same problem; they want bountiful harvests—both spiritual and temporal—without developing the root system that will yield them. There are far too few who are willing to pay the price, in discipline and work, to cultivate hardy roots. Such cultivation should begin in our youth. Little did I know as a boy that daily chores in the garden, feeding the cattle, carrying the water, chopping the wood, mending fences, and all the labor of a small farm was an important part of sending down roots, before being called on to send out branches. I’m so grateful that my parents understood the relationship between roots and branches. Let us each cultivate deep roots, so that we may secure the desired fruits of our welfare labors” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1978, 113; or Ensign, Nov. 1978, 74–75).
Have a great week, Kærlig hilsen, Mom
Kære Familie Sunday, January 1, 2017
With Christmas and New Year’s, we have spent a lot of time with the young missionaries this week. We are so impressed with them. It is not easy to do missionary work in Denmark because the people are not very religious. There are not many who will even talk to them. Despite that, the missionaries are always happy. They try to follow the spirit so that they can be sent to someone who is ready to listen. Then they just love teaching about the gospel and testifying about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. It is so neat when someone gains a testimony and decides to change their life and be baptized. We have seen the change that comes over them as they repent and commit to be obedient to the gospel. They are happier and they have a light that shines from their faces. I know that this comes from a new testimony that the Savior knows who they are and He is happy with the choices they are making. Grandma and I are truly happy as well to be on a mission. We love our missionary work!
This has been a relaxing week for us since we have no YSA activities or mission responsibilities. It has been nice not to have to prepare a dinner, but you know mom, she wanted to feed the missionaries (Monday & Wednesday)!
Mom and I started reading a book together this week. We are trying to expand our companion study, both in the morning (scripture study) and at night, which will be this book. We're with you: Counsel and Encouragement from the Brethren. It is just released by the church and has an emphasis on YSA. We downloaded it from Deseret Book as an E-book. Since it is on both of our I-pads, we can sit in bed together and take turns reading. So fun (if we can keep our eyes open!). A YSA couple in Germany recommended it to us, so we thought we would try it.
Last letter, we mentioned the district party we had in our apartment on Monday. That was the Frederiksberg District. We felt sorry for the other district we work a lot with, since they missed out on our fun. So, this Wednesday, we invited them to a brunch as part of their district meeting (Gladsaxe District). We couldn’t duplicate the party on a work day and they can’t leave their area to come to our apartment, so we did brunch at the stake center. Mom prepared the same menu of breakfast casserole and waffles. It was way good and very appreciated. We thought this would cut the district meeting short but they still went the normal length. It was obvious that this is a hard time of the year to do missionary work and they liked the distraction from the cold and the rebuffs by the people. I do feel very sorry for them as they spend a lot of time finding every day and the people the last few weeks, if they are interested at all, tell them to come back after the new year.
The district meeting was on improved finding and was very good. I am impressed with Elder Jenson who is the new district leader. I think he did a smoother meeting with more depth, comments from everyone and more cohesion. He is a good missionary and came out a bit before we did. [We found out Thursday night, that President O’Bryant has noticed him already and is grooming him to be a zone leader or maybe an AP. Interesting that he begins planning those transitions early on in a missionary’s life. He mentioned that his next companion will be one of the best so that he can learn from him.] A lot of the discussion focused on the inspiration step of improved finding; how important that is, how to know if we are receiving inspiration, and how to go about seeking the spirit as we work. There was a stronger spirit in the meeting than we have felt in most district meetings.
Our dining out experience this week was to try a buffet restaurant within Tivoli Gardens. The stated price was 199kr for soup, salad and a buffet of meats and vegetables. It was ok but not a cheap meal and the food was like Golden Corral type but with a very small selection, not at all like our buffets with many selections. Some of it had been on the grill for too long so it was overcooked and dry. We likely will not go back there again.
We finished dinner in time to see the synchronized water jets with colored lights set to music from the Nutcracker. It was about a 15-minute show and was quite nice, though our viewpoint was not the best.
We planned a get away from Copenhagen on Thursday and invited the Jenson's to join us on a day trip to southern Sjælland. We had to plan around our 7 hours of daylight. We picked them up at 8:00 and drove 75 minutes to Stevns Klint, which are some white cliffs on the southeastern coast of our island. We went to an old church right on the cliff top, in fact some of it fell onto the beach below in 1928. It was built around 1250-1300. It is in a town called Højerup (higher up). We hiked down some steep steps to the beach and spent a little time there. The water of the Baltic Sea is quite pretty and clear and the spot is picturesque.
From there, we drove further south to the island of Møns, getting there by crossing a bridge. On the eastern side of the island are more cliffs (Møns Klint) which were much taller and even more spectacular. It is a popular tourist spot and quite a few cars were there even though the visitor center is closed until April. The weather was around 41 - 43 degrees all day but with the wind chill it was quite a bit colder. Cold does not keep the Danes in doors. It did affect our enthusiasm to be outside a bit. There are hikes along the rim in both directions for several kilometers and some stairs that went down to the beach. We took the stairs first. They were pretty easy to go down though we descended a long way and there were some good picture spots as we descended. They beach like, Stevns Klint, is very rocky with mostly small black rocks, like our garden path rocks, and it is not more than 30 feet wide in most places. The cliffs rise straight up from the beach. The climb back up the stairs was pretty strenuous. We counted the steps and got about 487. We had to rest several times, but it was almost more than the Jenson's could handle. They were exhausted when we got to the top and they voted against any more exploring. Mom and I wanted to do some of the cliff top hikes but really couldn't make them wait and it was after 1:00 and time to find some lunch. We will come back in the Spring with warmer weather and do some hikes and see what is in the visitor's center. It claims to have lots of interactive displays. Lunch was not easy to find as everything is closed until the tourist season. We had to go back to the largest town on the island to find a couple of restaurants and settled for a pizzeria.
From there, we drove back home and pulled in about 4:00 just as dark was settling in. It made for a long enough day for us. 3 of us slept most of the way back while mom drove. I am never fair to her with my sleepy habits.
At 6:15 that night, The O'Bryants picked us up and we went to a Mexican restaurant that they claim is the best in the city. It was good for fajitas, almost as good as Houston, and I thought the beans and rice were better. We had a 2-hour dinner with them and really enjoyed ourselves. They are very fun to talk to and they always tell us a lot about the mission, which is nice to see from an inside perspective. We talked mostly about missionary work but also some about families. The President mentioned two new things that are interesting and may affect us:
The temple president has asked for his two apartments back. These are the ones that Buxtons and we are in on Vodroffsvej. The temple owns them, dating back to the temple construction days, but since they haven't needed them, the mission has had senior missionaries in them for many years. I think he is thinking of seeking more short-term couples from Sweden to work in the temple for 3 months at a time and he would house them here. The president is going to try and hold him off and make a change when a senior couple goes home so it is not so disruptive to our lives. Buxtons go home April 1st. It is a long time until we would naturally leave. This will be a financial hardship on the mission as it is hard to find nice apartments and undoubtedly the rent will be very high.
[He also said that Denmark is the most expensive European mission. This is likely due to the high taxes on everything here. A member told me this week that a new car here is 70% more than Germany for the same make and model. Of course, if you buy the car in Germany and drive it across the border, you still have to pay customs duties and the cost ends up being the same.] Lucky us for being in the most expensive mission.
He has been going through year-end training broadcasts for mission presidents and they have a few new initiatives. Mission presidents are now supposed to interview every missionary every 6 weeks. I think this will be double what he is currently doing and it will be hard to make that much time available in his schedule. Zone conferences are supposed to be held every 6 weeks. Presently, he has a zone training between zone conferences which are every 12 weeks. The assistants and zone leaders normally run the zone training meetings so he will need to change the format and will be more personally involved in the training. Third, there is a new push for missionaries to work with YSA's directly. They are supposed to sit with them, look at their Facebook Friends and identify ones who might be receptive to more gospel information. They send them a Mormon Message on the spot with Facebook and invite them to listen to the message and then let them know if they would like to hear more about the church. President would like us to be involved in this in some way with the YSA's but he needs to think about how he will implement it. Options might be to train the missionaries and YSA's together or separately, or just train the missionaries and let them work with the YSA's as they get with them. I suggested we could use some of our YSA FHE's or Firesides to introduce the idea if he wants.
The new temple presidency announced some changes for the new year. It will no longer be necessary to schedule temple work with the temple (we were not aware that you had to unless it was for the baptistry) and they want to emphasize endowments over sealings and initiatory work. The latter 2 are 70% over endowments for this past year and a temple is expected to keep all ordinances somewhat balanced. We haven't seen the temple schedule, which has some slight changes to it but they mentioned starting the day with an initiatory session and ending it with sealings held at the same time as the endowment sessions. This would enable someone to do all 3 ordinances while in the temple on one day. They also emphasized that they would like the temple to be very accommodating to the patrons so if one requests an ordinance, such as Initiatories, that is not scheduled we should try to accommodate them. This had our coordinators a little perplexed and concerned because our staffing of temple workers is not such to allow much flexibility. Everyone works the veil and we can normally only have one other ordinance open at the same time as an endowment session. If the baptistry is also open, then the workers just are not available to open something else without closing something that may be in progress. They are going to have a meeting with the coordinators in January and will work through some of these concerns. They also asked the coordinators to send extra workers on endowment sessions instead on holding sealing or initiatory sessions if we do not have patrons.
Love to you all. Dad.
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