Statue of Christine's Family in Skorping
A thatched roof in Skorping
The 2 seas meeting in Skagen
Mom climbing rocks in Skagen on the calm side (west coast)
The convergence of the two seas at Grenen
The Skagen Lighthouse
Mom on top of the lighthouse on east coast / Lønstrup
Lighthouse in Rubjerg Knud that will fall into the sea
"Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse is located on the coast of the North Sea in Rubjerg, in the Jutland municipality of Hjørring in northern Denmark. It was first lit on December 27, 1900. Construction of the lighthouse began in 1899."
View from the top of the light house looking toward the sea. Not much cliff left to erode before the whole lighthouse falls.
Looking north from the top of the lighthouse
Men at Sea Statues in Esbjerg
"Men at Sea, the 9-metre tall statues near Esbjerg's harbor, welcome visitors to Esbjerg. These statues were built in 1994 by Svend Wiig Hansen in honor of the 100th anniversary of Esbjerg's independence."
Hyttetyr cabin
Hyttetur: YSAs playing poker
Hyttetur: canoeing activity
Kære Familie Sunday, April 16, 2017
So, as we left our letters last week, we were in Aarhus with the apartment switch. Our trip continued Monday and Tuesday. We were up late Sunday finishing the letters so we slept in a bit Monday and consequently passed on any exercise, knowing we would walk a lot sightseeing. Mom is also suffering silently from a cold which has her down. We left around 10:00 to head north to the tip of Denmark. Our first stop was at a National Park in Skørping (South of Aalborg). It is a beautiful area of rolling hills, lakes, rivers and forests. Right on the edge of the park is the statue of The Family, (named after Christine’s family) celebrating the many Danes who left in the 1850's to immigrate to Zion. I think it is in this location as some of the families came from the area. We understand there is an annual celebration on July 24th at the park. The statue shows a family of 5 looking towards their new home in the west as they leave Denmark with Grandma behind them staring at the homeland she is leaving.
We then stopped in Aalborg to see 2 churches; Vor Frue Kirke and Budolfi Domkirke. They were very close to each other and we walked along the Walking Street between them. The area is very nice and modern. It is a university town and had the sense of an active lifestyle.
We then drove to Skagen Odde and Grenen which are at the meeting of two seas. “Grenen is the junction point between the strait of Skagerrak (part of North Sea) and the Kattegat sea and the powerful turbulence of the colliding seas, have created a 4 km long curved sandbar above and below the waves stretching east. The currents and turbulence are very strong and it is prohibited and can be fatal, to take a swim in the waters around Grenen.” It was a 2 km walk from the parking lot to the point where the waves collide and the wind was at near gale strength and very cold. We were also walking in sand so the going was a little hard. They wind was at our back going over but in our face coming back. It is supposed to be fun to wade in a little bit and feel the currents pull in different directions but it was much too cold for such an experiment. There is also a white church in the area that is partially covered in sand that is on the tourist list. It was a disappointment as it took a bit of a drive to find and walk to and there was not much to see. It is a tower that is all that is left of an old church. The rest of the church is either buried in sand or fallen apart.
We left Skagen and drove to the west coast. Between the towns of Hjørring and Løkken is a Light House that has some recognition because it is built on the cliff in the sand which is slowly being eroded away by the wind. It is supposed to fall into the ocean by 2022. The Primary kids mentioned it as they sang the song, The Wiseman built his house upon a rock, which gave mom the idea of going to see it. It is in a pretty unpopulated stretch of ocean with small towns and lots of farms. The wind seems to blow incessantly from the west. We had to hike to the lighthouse from a parking lot and a trail through some heather fields and sand. The wind was blowing directly in our faces but was not too strong. There were some bikes to rent there and we thought about riding the bikes over the trail but elected to walk it instead. The closer we got, the further away it actually was. It was about a 30-minute hike to it. As we rose in elevation and got closer the heather turned to sand and for the last ascent up to the lighthouse we had gale-force winds whipping sand right into our faces. It was both hard to see, walk and breathe and we had to keep hands over our eyes even with our glasses on. We could climb to the top of the lighthouse and it was nice to view the scenery from the top - pretty barren landscape of sea, beach and cliffs. The way back was easier as we were walking with the wind but we were covered in sand and I had it in my eyes for the rest of the day and night. I had to let Jean drive while I tried to flush them with water. I even woke up the next morning with sand in the corner of my eyes even though I had showered before bed. We got back to the apartment at about 9:00 and had a dinner of soup and salad.
Tuesday, we left the apartment about 9:30 after cleaning it thoroughly. We drove west through Silkeborg and Herning to Ringkøbing and then went south down a little finger of a peninsula towards Esbjerg and then Ribe. Esbjerg was one of the original fishing ports in Denmark but now is more of a commercial port than fishing. It has an aquatic museum, Fiskeri og Søfartsmuseet, and we spent from 1:30 to about 3:30 there. They fed 4 seals at 2:30 and had a bit of a show for 15 minutes, in Danish, so we didn't understand very much of it. There were aquariums and then several displays of wind turbines in the North Sea, offshore oil rigs, fishing over the years, old boats, etc. I found the history and displays of wind farms and oil rigs very interesting. On the beach outside the museum proper, there are 4 huge statues of men sitting in chairs and staring out to sea. They were all white and pretty expressionless - not much to look at rather than their size. Someone told us they represent the unity of the Danish people.
From Esbjerg, we hurried to Ribe to see the Domkirke, which closes at 5:00. We paid 40 kr to see the museum on the 2nd floor and to be able to climb to the top of the tower which is maybe 8 stories high up stone and then wooden steps. It houses 2 enormous bells that chime on the quarter hours, etc.
"Ribe houses Denmark’s oldest and very impressive cathedral, “Domkirke” which was built in the 13th century. It is one of the most admired tourist destinations and is situated in the heart of the town. Visitors can climb the tower for an incredible view of the town and beyond."
We drove home from there by way of the Støre Belt bridge between Odense and Slagelse and got home at about 9:00 with a stop in Slagelse for a Burger King dinner. We had the unpacking to do and then language homework for our Wednesday class. We did not go to bed until about midnight.
Out little vacation trip was fun and we saw a lot - I guess we accomplished all we set out to do in the time we had. It felt weird missing our FHE Monday night and seeming to shirk missionary work for a couple of days. We spent a lot of time driving, but the countryside was beautiful. Much of it seems to be farmlands, with a few dairy farms. We did not see any pigs which are supposed to be a big industry, but we did see some sheep. The fields are just being plowed and planted for Spring so must of them were just tilled or planted with Spring crops.
I cooked a new meal this week which was inspired by talking to Jared last week by FaceTime as he prepared their dinner. I made Manicotti. It turned out delicious but mom helped me with the details. We could only find Cannelloni tubes over here so they were not very big to fill with a 3 cheese and spinach mix. I also made a meat sauce to go over them. I boiled the pasta for 10 minutes and it stuck to the bottom of the pan and was overcooked and some of the tubes tore getting them unstuck. We tossed those out after reading the box that said the pasta should not be pre-cooked but just put in the baking pan after stuffing. It worked out much better and I thought the meal was a big success. It did take me too long to prepare it and we had to eat it fast to make an appointment we had. I prefer to savor and enjoy my meals.
Mom is writing about out weekend campout or YSA retreat over Easter holidays. I have felt bad about our involvement with Hyttetur. We keep asking how we can help but they respond it is all under control. Mom says, "Don’t worry about it. They don't need us." Which is true but I would like to be more involved and feel part of it. This way, we just seem to be guests and the required adult chaperones that the stake would like to have there. There does not seem to be any other reason for our presence. They are going to assign cooking and cleanup responsibilities, and the activities and devotionals are all planned. I am sure we will get involved with the food and cleanup but other than that, it may be a couple of days of observing, talking and maybe some games. I guess it is a good role for grandparents, which is what we are even if I don’t feel like it yet.
I will end with our Easter Sunday. The Easter Bunny forgot us and we did not receive any candy or chocolates. We drove out to Roskilde again for church as one of the YSA was giving her homecoming talk. She is a great girl and did a good job. She served her mission in Ukraine and I am sure had some tough experiences that have helped her to grow. The church has been there for 25 years but it is still small and going through leadership and growing pains.
The ward YSA couple were not in church again as they are visiting in Jutland. We keep missing them when we attend that ward. They teach SS and had not arranged a sub, so we jumped in again and taught a lesson. There were maybe 7 in the class. We had read through the lesson we would have had in our ward and taught that but it was not the best without more preparation to teach. We didn't ask enough questions to get everyone involved and talked ourselves too much. The lesson was on the gathering of Saints to Ohio, then Missouri and then in our stakes today. I did refer to the Christine's Family statue that we visited on Monday and was very surprised that none of them were aware it existed in Denmark. They did not seem too keen on the topic of gathering, maybe because it is more US focused and Kirkland and Missouri are a long way away for them. The connection to the many Danish saints who sacrificed to obey the command to come to “Zion” sometimes backfires as they think how strong the church would be here now if those saints had built Zion in Denmark instead of immigrating.
Hope you all get over the Spring illnesses and allergies. Love, Dad.
Kære Familie, 17 April 2017
We had a nice Easter dinner with our friends—the Buxtons and the Jensons. I volunteered to make the ham and ‘funeral potatoes, but Sister Buxton had a turkey in her freezer that she needed to cook and Sister Jenson volunteered to make the funeral potatoes. As I had already bought a hamburgerryg (raw ham) and needed to cook it, I did the ham, a vegetable tray and deviled eggs. When we came home from our dinner and visit, I wanted to finish the mission newsletter and get it sent off to the office. I had finished it earlier in the day, so now it just needed proofing. Dad is good to do this for me, because I have already taken one pass at it as I prepare the newsletter. I fix any mistakes and then it is ready to go—or so I thought. I like to print a copy to make sure the pictures and the text actually line up during the printing process the same as I see it on the computer. I have had trouble before when I printed. This newsletter is longer than the past few newsletters because we have 10 missionaries going home—each missionary gets a page to share pictures and a parting testimony. The departing missionaries get a hard copy of the newsletter to take home in their final packet. They leave first thing on Tuesday, so the newsletter has to be ready today (this morning). Well, pages 1-9 printed fine, but I couldn’t get the other pages to print. I tried everything—closing the program, printing one page at a time, copying the pages into a new document, etc. But Microsoft Publisher just kept closing on me, with an error message. Eventually, I was able to print pages 12-14 after much trial and error, but not pages 10-11. At 1:30 a.m. I gave up. I made a pdf file and sent it to the office with a prayer that it would open and print. There is a mostly happy outcome to this newsletter fiasco—the pdf file opened and printed just fine at the office.
We got home from our trip to Jylland Tuesday night and had a quick turn-around to get ready for our YSA weekend. The event was called Hyttetur, which means Cabin-trip. And that is what we did—go to a cabin in the woods. Denmark has a lot of forest areas, but like Houston, there are no mountains. Although we were only 10 minutes from the nearest town, we traveled by narrow dirt, windy roads to get to the cabin, so you wouldn’t really know that we were close to civilization. There was a small lake nearby and we were surrounded by woods. We enjoyed a large bonfire on Friday night and had the Danish version of s’mores—they don’t have graham crackers in Denmark. Even though they have good chocolate here, I still miss Hershey’s chocolate bars.
The cabin had 3 bunk rooms—2 rooms slept 12 (4 triple-decker bunk beds) and the other room slept 9. The cabin is used for Danish Scout programs. So, there is a small office with a desk and two couches that become narrow twin beds when you remove the couch ‘backs’. That is where we stayed. There is also a large gathering room with tables and chairs where we ate meals, played games, and had our devotionals. There are 4 toilet rooms and 2 shower areas with sinks—one for boys and one for girls. There are two showers in each shower area. The kitchen is very adequate—large, fully stocked with dishes and cookware. There is a large freezer and refrigerator. There is also an industrial dishwasher—about the size of our regular dishwashers. I had asked about buying paper goods, and they kept telling me we would just wash dishes. When I saw there were no racks in the dishwasher, I thought it was broken. But, it worked just fine—in fact, it was amazing! There were several hard plastic racks stored in a cupboard. You fill up the racks with everything from plates, to cups, to silverware, to large pots. You place them in the bottom of the dishwasher and push start. Two minutes later, the dishes were clean and ready for the next rack. This way you can do all the dishes in less than 15 minutes. It sure beats the 2 hours it takes to run the dishwashers at home. The dishwasher didn’t dry the dishes, but the extremely hot water used during washing made for quick air drying once the rack was removed from the dishwasher.
We had a short spiritual thought the first night to introduce the theme—which was Love. One YSA talked about her love of the temple and doing family history work—basically love for her ancestors. She is a convert of only a few years and recently received her own endowments. Since then, she has attended the temple every week doing initiatory or endowments for her ancestors. She did the baptisms previously before she was endowed. After her thought, we played games. A big favorite was Apples to Apples (English version), Uno and Phase 10. Some played games like New York 1901, Settlers of Catan, and poker. I was surprised how many participated. We initially had 24 YSA, but a few more came on Friday. It wasn’t as many as we hoped, but it was Easter week-end and there were a lot of conflicts. Easter break begins on Thursday and goes through Monday. Businesses and schools are closed. A few years ago all stores would also close during that time, but now some of the grocery stores are open. We went to our room before midnight, after the bonfire and s’mores, the YSA just returned for ‘round 2’ of games. They were up a good part of the night and a couple of them didn’t go to bed at all. (They slept during the devotionals.)
On Friday morning the Stake President and his wife came to speak at our morning devotional (10:30 a.m.) Sister Bernskov talked about our hearts—hard hearts vs. soft hearts; proud hearts vs. humble hearts; closed heart vs. open heart. President Bernskov talked about marriage—always a good topic for YSA. This was all in Danish, so we caught what we could from the discussion. But at one point he asked us (in English) to share how we get through crises in our marriage—how do we handle it. The thing that came to my mind was to be unified in purpose. When we share a common goal to live with God again, then we put our ‘crises’ in perspective. We also lean on each for support and strength when problems arise. Where one is weak, the other may be strong and give the needed encouragement to keep going. I’m not sure what the President said, although he thanked us for our thoughts, but he got many of the YSA talking and sharing, and kept them all awake.
After lunch, we worked together in teams. Each group had some specific tasks to do. One task was to row across the lake in a canoe. We were asked to help with this activity. Our job was to go with the group crossing the lake and bring the canoe back for the next group. We had two canoes. Brother Andersen (CES director) and his YSA son also helped. I was paired with Jacob Andersen, and David was with Brother Andersen. The teams consisted of 5 people so we split everyone up between the two canoes. It was pretty scary with five of us in the canoe, especially with some of the larger YSA boys. There were only two seats, so the rest of us sat on the bottom of the canoe. On the way back across the lake, there were just two of us, so that was much better. We made it across the lake four times without incident. It was only the very last leg, when I was bringing the canoe back across the lake with another YSA girl, that I fell in. Up to that point, I was in the front of the canoe and let Jacob do the steering, but this young woman didn’t know anything about steering so I was moving to the back of the canoe when I lost my balance. Luckily we were still by the shore, so I didn’t get completely submerged, but I did get plenty wet. The water was cold, and it was only about 45˚ outside, although the sun was shining. I was only wearing a sweater and sweatshirt with my levis and gym shoes; I was grateful that I wasn’t wearing my coat or that would have been wet, too. I'm also grateful that I gave my phone to one of the YSA leaders to hold onto while I went out. Everyone was concerned, but I told them the only thing that was injured was my pride. I assured them I was okay and I got back in the canoe and we navigated safely across to the other side. Jacob’s kayak was on the opposite side of the lake, which was why he didn’t want to cross back in the canoe. After the activity, the youth could play in the canoes as well as the two kayaks that Brother Andersen brought. Dad enjoyed a spin around the lake in the kayak. I watched for a little while and then thought it best that I go back to the cabin and change. After a hot shower, I felt much better. I wasn’t the only one to get wet. After I cleaned up, we walked back to the lake to see what was happening. Several of the girls and the guys were wet. They threw each other into the lake, or just jumped in. It was crazy—really too cold to play in the lake. I hope no one gets sick from it.
We had hamburgers for dinner and then more games—this time Qwirkle, Sets, and Rummikub, in addition to the others. We finally connected to the internet that night so I was able to work on the newsletter a little. I was especially grateful for the help I received from one of the girls when I needed someone to proof-read the Danish testimonies (3 of the 10 wrote in Danish). About 11:30 p.m. the leaders gathered all the YSA together, put them in teams and sent them on a nighttime excursion in the forest. They had to go to 8 stations, marked by glow-in-the-dark sticks, and answer a question. Originally, they asked us if we would help with the canoes again, but Dad was emphatic that such an activity would not be smart in the dark. I worried that someone would get hurt and I knew that others, like myself, did not have any more dry clothes—or dry shoes. In the end, they listened to counsel and just did the questions. We were asked to make hot chocolate and have it ready when they came back. So, needless to say, we did not have an early night. We finally called it quits around 1:30. The others stayed up for a couple more hours.
Our devotional on Saturday morning was given by Brother Andersen—he drove back and forth to the cabin every day. He talked about the Holy Ghost and we read the entire chapter of Moroni 10 together—dissecting the verses. He is a very good teacher and easy to understand—even in Danish, most of the time. The kids have a lot of respect for him. After his message, we had lunch. I didn’t have to do any of the cooking this week-end. The food committee planned the menu and purchased the food, then each of the YSA signed up to prepare one meal and clean-up one meal. We had 6 meals in all. This system worked very well so we didn’t have to do much except sweep, wipe tables, etc. Several of the YSA’s went home late Friday night (after midnight) and a few left on Saturday morning, so that left only about 15 of us to clean up. We all chipped in to help vacuum, mop floors, and straighten everything up.
When everything was ready to go, we had one last activity. It focused on Love of Self and was a self-esteem building exercise. Fifteen of us sat around the table and said something positive about the person in the ‘hot seat.’ You even had to say something about yourself. A scribe wrote down the various comments and we each went home with a list of admirable traits. We participated for the others, but we didn’t want to be in the ‘hot seat.’ However, the YSA insisted, even though this activity went on for the better part of 2 hours. There was laughter, tears, and some tender moments as the comments were thoughtful and genuine. We enjoyed sharing something we admired in each of our YSA. We were very grateful for the heartfelt comments we received in return. Somehow, it was one of those ‘pay-back’ moments that are often so rare. Perhaps we are making a difference after all; perhaps our example is what they need at this time. One comment was about us being like grandparents and how much they appreciate our presence in the center—always willing to listen. A few minutes later, one youth said that we were more like parents because we were active and participated. I think we are younger than the past senior missionary couples who have come. All in all, it was a great event and we appreciated the leadership who planned and organized the weekend. It was a great event to unify our group.
Hope everyone had a great Easter! Happy Birthday to Capri and Lindsey. We love you all!
Exciting times in Houston right now—growth and opportunities!
Kærlig hilsen,
Mom
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