Pictures from Tivoli, some a bit blurry
Kære Familie Sunday, 26
November 2017
I
hope the Thanksgiving weekend has been fun for all of you. We have thought about you a lot as this is one
of the fun times of the year for family togetherness. We finally celebrated our Thanksgiving
today. We had a delayed Thanksgiving
dinner tonight at 5:00 at the Johnson's.
There were 5 couples and 2 sets of missionaries. That was a full house for our small
apartments. She had to borrow tables, bring dishes and silverware from the
mission office or use some of ours, and we carried 6 kitchen chairs up to them.
Everyone brought something of course and so it wasn’t all “homemade (our
style)” but it was a very good meal. There were 6 different kinds of pies and a
cake, so that was a bit of an overkill. Mom regrets making a pie as we didn’t
need it. She was asked to bake one. Some
of the others just wanted to, I guess. Dinner ended around 7:30 so we kept the
missionaries a little long, but we started late as the location was changed and
no one remembered to tell the O’Bryant’s.
They went to Jenson’s apartment, had to park 2 blocks away, and then
found no one home before they called to see what had happened. Nonetheless, it was fun to be together and I
am sure the 4 missionaries enjoyed having something special to remember home by.
President
O'Bryant talked a little about missionary work in Denmark and said he has done
some calculations and figures our mission has 100,000 hours of finding in a
year. That leads to 4,000 2nd
appointments and 60 baptisms in a year.
Not very productive when looked at that way, but each one is precious to
the Lord. Being a finance guy, I asked
him if he has also computed the cost of each baptism. He said that is a closely guarded number but
of course he had to look at it and it is "north of $10,000" per
baptism. That does make each one "a
pearl of great price" and we should do better at assimilating them and
retaining them into the ranks of the church. He asked me if I had heard about
President Olsen's call as mission president.
He wonders, as I have, whether he will be over this mission and be their
replacements. That would make a lot of sense since Danish is such a hard
language to learn and there haven't been that many local mission presidents
here. He also said it is rare that
someone called from Europe serves in Europe in other than their home
country. We shall see in good time.
I
think I have mentioned that Elder and Sister Yates who came out with us, go
home next week. Their 18 months is
completed. We will have a farewell
dinner with them next Tuesday. A piece
of our hearts will go with them as it has when any of the senior couples have
left. Yates have been special friends
and we have enjoyed when they have come to stay in our apartment. President has arranged replacements for them,
but they won’t arrive here until mid-January.
He hasn’t yet found replacements for us, Forslunds or Halls, who all go
home about the same time next year. That
is a big order to fill. And when you
consider that a mission call is normally received 4-6 months before a senior
couple enters the MTC, time is running out for him. I would guess that there will be some space
when these spots are left empty without senior missionary support. That will be hard as I think all 3 couples do
amazing work (modesty in our case of course).
Elder Hall is the branch president on Bornholm and there really isn’t
anyone else in that small branch to fill in. He and his wife have greatly
improved the friendliness and atmosphere in the branch. Forslunds do a combination MLS (member
leadership support) and YSA in a small branch in North Jylland. Our YSAs will get along, as they did before
we arrived (February to June 2016 without a couple), but they won’t eat as
well! I can’t help but have some
thoughts about “what if it were us going home next week?” There are both some
yearnings to get back and see what normal life is like again, as well as a
strong desire to finish strong and see what differences we can make in the time
we have left.
Mom
went to Danish class on Friday and I stayed home and tried 3 different ways to
study the language: Duo Lingo, reading some Danish dialogues out loud, and
listening and reading along to a Book of Mormon recording. The recording I was finally able to find goes
along with a prior translation and I was reading the current version. Gospel
Library does not have any recordings available in Danish. I was surprised at how many differences there
are. To me it was a testimony at how hard translation is. Many people can work
on it and it can still be made better at a later time, with a new effort. (Think of the BofM being translated by Joseph
Smith in just 65 working days with no real corrections.) I have a hard copy of the prior version and I
will have to follow along with that one to make it easier. I found that I need to go verse by verse and
refer to the English copy for the meaning of many words and phrases. I think and hope it will get easier as my
vocabulary builds. In keeping with that thought, we are reading the Old
Testament together and I notice all the Footnotes that refer to alternate
translations from Greek, that make the meaning of some verses much more
understandable.
The
temple was kind of quiet. I did
Initiatories with 5 temple workers and then we were supposed to have a family
in the baptistry. They called at 6:30 to
say they were 30 min late so we did some more Initiatories with 3 of us. For the baptisms we had a father, mother, son
and another girl they brought with them. They only did 8 names each, so it went
fast, and we were done in plenty of time for the veil. The son, who was around 13-14, had an
attitude with him and it was obvious he didn't want to be there that
night. I wondered what the parents
dragged him away from so he could be in the temple? I don't think it worked. My heart went out to
them as teenagers can be so hard. I know
some of you are beginning to see those teenage years coming sooner than you
want or expect. This is a good family as
far as I know. They have a daughter on a
mission in Italy. This should have been
a special night together in the temple and I hope he did not spoil their effort
for all of them. The mom smiled weakly at me several times, as if to say, “We
are doing our best, please don’t judge him too harshly!”
Monday,
we had to leave for the stake center and FHE at 6:00 and mom discovered she did
not have enough flour for the refreshments which meant an unplanned trip to the
store. I made 2 loaves of bread at lunch
time and that used up too much flour. We arrived a little after 7:00 but
everything was set up and ready to go for the Face to Face Event with Elder
Oaks and Elder Ballard. Jonathan had
brought his laptop and set it up. Jean
spent most of the time in the kitchen with Gismo making cinnamon breadsticks
and cutting up fruit. I thought one of
us should be upstairs with the YSA and I suspect Gismo liked the time alone
with Mom. They somehow have a special bond. The event was well done. I enjoyed the questions and the answers. I had seen some online posts about the event
earlier in the day that were a bit negative -- too many easy questions or
answers that were superficial and did not address the heart of the issues. I did not find it that way at all, even
though I was predisposed to filter it that way because of those comments. I guess if someone has issues or is looking
for certain answers, then they might have that reaction. I think for a general church broadcast, the
answers were thoughtful and sensitive and the 2 Apostles had fun and were
connecting with the audience. The female
co-facilitator was baptized just 2 months ago and I thought she was amazingly
calm and poised. Some YM should grab her
up in a hurry!
Our turnout
was 15 YSA, including Alma as a non-member plus 10 missionaries. Where we were concerned that we were not
getting support from them, they turned out in masse. I don't know if it was because I asked Elder
Evans to bring it up in District Meeting or because they themselves wanted to
watch the event. It had a lot of things
in it that would be good for them as well.
There was a question on returned missionaries adjusting to post-mission
life and on pursuing marriage and determining who to marry.
We
had our first freeze this winter and there was frost on the car windows two
mornings when we were hurrying to get to early apartment inspections. I do not plan time for that into the mornings. The temperature generally has dropped from
highs around 47 to 43 or lower into the high 30’s. It seems like we have rain every other day
with a cold biting wind. It will get
colder however!!! We have been doing
another round of apartment inspections which means 2 or 3 days a week we are
leaving early to catch missionaries during their morning study time. The Taastrup apartment needed a lot of
work. "We" had inspected it
one time 3 months ago but mom was not with me that time and I must have been
easy or superficial with them. The
bathroom and kitchen were both substandard from many months of neglect, we
think. There was a lot of caulk buildup
on the tub and faucets, the toilet was dirty and had caulk and the kitchen had
a layer of grease over most everything.
I think some elders must have done a lot of deep fat frying and had not
cleaned up afterwards. We did a lot of
cleaning and demonstrating for them but left them a lot more to do with a
commitment to report back to us in 2 weeks. (Commitment pattern!?!)
We
had some unplanned excitement on Wednesday night. Coming home from a late run
to a store searching for cans of pumpkin at 9:00, the gate key broke off in the
padlock. That meant that 15 cars would not be able to get out of our apartment
parking lot that night or in the morning for rush hour to work. I tried to get
the broken piece out of the lock and then decided that I better get some
help. The office window had emergency
numbers posted so I tried the maintenance man and then a lock smith. The maintenance # just said leave a message
but the locksmith was able to come out and arrived about 9:45 and had a tool
that got the key out in just a few minutes.
The lock is getting worn out and this may happen to someone else because
it is hard to open. The whole experience
was frustrating because of the language and communicating even simple things
like our address. People don’t understand when we say the name of our street
and it does not help much to spell it.
He called twice after he was on his way to verify where he was coming
to. It also cost me 750 kr, that I
likely will not get reimbursed for. My
phone also ran out of battery as I was using it as a flashlight working on the
lock, before making the calls, so it was a sort of comedy of errors where everything
was going wrong. At least he did not have to use a hack saw and had the right
tools to do the job.
To end with, here is a quote I liked from the BYU-I
Devotional, Karen Kunz, "Hope On, Hope Ever", Nov 23, 2017.
Elder M. Russell Ballard said, “I have a deep
conviction that if we lose our ties to those who have gone before us, including
our pioneer forefathers and mothers, we will lose a very precious treasure. I
have spoken about “Faith in Every Footstep” in the past and will continue in
the future because I know that rising generations must have the same kind of faith that the
early Saints had in the Lord Jesus Christ and His restored gospel.”
This ties in so well with Elder Bednar’s
recent devotional talk on being the “wielding link” in our family chain (Bednar worldwide-devotional) and
President Hinckley’s talk (reference is in Bednar’s talk) referring to a broken
link in the generations of our family chain.
We love every one of you and I think often of what I consider our Family
Motto: Return with Honor: No Empty Seats!
1 Now it came to pass that there were many of the rising
generation that could not understand the words of king Benjamin, being little
children at the time he spake unto his people; and they did not believe the
tradition of their fathers.
2 They did not believe what had been said concerning the
resurrection of the dead, neither did they believe concerning the coming of
Christ.
3 And now because of their unbelief they could not understand the
word of God; and their hearts were hardened.
4 And they would not be baptized; neither would they join the
church. And they were a separate people as to their faith, and remained so ever
after, even in their carnal and sinful state; for they would not call upon the
Lord their God.
Here are two other quotes from the
lesson.
President Henry B. Eyring of
the First Presidency emphasized the need to teach the youth of the Church to
believe in God: “No charge in the kingdom is more important than to build faith
in youth. Each child in each generation chooses faith or disbelief. Faith is
not an inheritance; it is a choice. Those who believed King Benjamin learned
that. Many of their children chose later not to believe. The scriptures give as
a reason, ‘for they would not call upon the Lord their God’)” (“Inquire of the
Lord” [remarks at an evening with Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Feb. 2,
2001], 1, www.ldsces.org).
Speaking
to the youth of the Church, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland explained why older Church members mentor those younger
than them: “So much that we do in this church is directed toward you, those
whom the Book of Mormon
calls ‘the rising generation’ (Mosiah 26:1; Alma 5:49). We
who have already walked that portion of life’s path that you are now on try to
call back to you something of what we have learned. We shout encouragement. We
try to warn of pitfalls or perils along the way. Where possible we try to walk
with you and keep you close to our side” (in Conference Report, Apr.
1995, 52; or Ensign, May 1995, 38).
It is
not easy to be part of the “Rising Generation” in our day. It is not easy to be a parent of these
precious youth. We pray for you daily
that you will be strong and be able to pass on your values to our
Grandchildren. We know that you are all
equal to the task and the Lord will bless you abundantly as you choose to walk
with Him. Please pass on hugs and kisses
from us to those wonderful children.
Love,
Dad
Kære familie, 26
November 2017
Our missionary message tonight, after our Thanksgiving
dinner, was on gratitude. One set of missionaries encouraged us
to ‘count our blessings and name them one by one.’ The missionaries sharing the second message
committed us to ‘live in thanksgiving daily.’ They asked us what it means to live in
thanksgiving daily and I thought about the Nephites who lived after the manner
of happiness, even though they had hardships, feared their enemies, and
experienced trials and challenges just like anyone else. But I think that being happy has a lot to do
with being grateful. Elder Sabin told
the missionaries when he visited early this month that happiness is pretty much
determined by how grateful we are. One
missionary said when he counted his blessings and wrote them down, it wasn’t
until blessing number 30 that he wrote down challenges. When we are grateful for our challenges, we
have broken through a big hurdle. If you
will forgive a rather secular example, I was also reminded of Pollyanna. She could always find something to be
grateful for—even when she got crutches instead of a doll. She called it the ‘Glad Game,’ but it the
same thing. Be grateful—be glad. We have much to be grateful for and I count
my family among my greatest blessings.
What joy you bring into my life.
I miss you all so much, but I also rejoice in the experiences you are
having—some of which may be because
we are gone. I am grateful for your
kindness and patience with your children, your diligence in teaching righteous
principles, your testimonies, and your support.
I am grateful for the light of the gospel which envelops us. And, yes, I am grateful for challenges. The following scripture also comes to mind. “And
in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save
those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.” (D
& C 59:21) We are taught from a young age that gratitude is one of the
steps in our prayers. I know that I need
to spend more time in my prayers thanking
rather than asking. I need to be better about confessing God’s
Hand in all things.
I made a razzle berry pie for our Thanksgiving dinner. I wanted to make a lactose-free pie for Dad
and had planned on making a lemon meringue pie, until I found out Friday night
that Sister Johnson really wanted to
make a lemon sour cream pie. So,
despite having all the ingredients for a lemon pie, I decided to make a mixed
berry pie. It almost tasted as good as
the Marie Callender’s pie. I say
‘almost’ meaning that I will still continue to buy Marie Callender’s frozen
pies when I get home—they are cheaper
and a lot less work. But I don’t have
that option here, so I am glad that I know how to make a pie—and a pie
crust.
Earlier this week, I made three huge pies for our institute
dinner. On Wednesday, I learned that our YSA wanted
to have a Thanksgiving dinner for institute.
I thought that was a bit strange, but a lot of the returned missionaries
had eaten Thanksgiving dinners on their missions—even in foreign countries
because most of the missionaries (and mission presidents) are American. They liked it enough that they wanted to make
one for all of the YSA. Two of our YSA
girls had volunteered to make dinner, but then one of them had to work so she
asked if I could help with the grocery shopping and preparation. The other girl was supposed to contact me
when she was available to go shopping on Thursday afternoon. She also asked if I could make pumpkin pies
for dessert. That evening we ran to
several stores looking for canned pumpkin and finally succeeded. It would have been easier to buy a pumpkin
and bake it—almost. You can only find
canned pumpkin at stores that have an ‘American section.’ We had 2 apartment inspections on Thursday
morning—which went very smoothly, thank goodness—and then I came back to our
apartment to make pies. I still hadn’t
heard from anyone when I was done with the pies, and I began to panic. It was now 2 p.m. and dinner was to be served
at 6 p.m. I finally decided to go
shopping and get the food. I bought a
ham instead of a turkey, mostly because I couldn’t find turkey. Dad dropped me off at the center about 3:30
and I went to work. Two YSAs came about
4 to help so I put them to work peeling potatoes. I made green bean casserole, candied sweet
potatoes, homemade rolls, boiled potatoes (NOT mashed), and brown gravy from a
box (YSA preference)—besides the ham. The
YSAs seemed to really like the dinner and ate it all up. I felt really bad when two girls came about
20 minutes late and there wasn’t anything left. Dad thinks I am crazy to go to all this
trouble—especially as I bailed them out—but I am always glad when they enjoy
the dinner and are well-fed.
One conversation around the dinner table tonight concerned a
new directive from the Church of Sweden to stop referring to God as ‘He’ or
‘Lord.’ “The Church of Sweden is urging
its clergy to use gender-neutral language when referring to the supreme deity,
refraining from using terms such as “Lord” and “he” in favor of the less
specific “God.” The Church of Sweden is
an Evangelical Lutheran church with 6.1 million members in a country with 8
million people. The archbishop
(presiding authority) is a woman. She
said, ““Theologically, for instance, we know that God is beyond our gender
determinations, God is not human.” It is
interesting to see how much people conform to the popular ideas of the
day. In a world where we bend over
backwards to show tolerance for all, not wanting to offend this group or that
group, we offend the very Creator, the Father of us all. God is no respecter of persons; He loves all
His children and so should we. But we
should show reverence to Him, not change who He is. Instead of getting to know Him better, we are
moving farther away from Him. That is
why we must be firm in our faith, willing to stand for truth and righteousness
in every way, in every place, every day.
I had two interesting conversations in my language class
this week. One of them was about
religion. I had to give a presentation
on religion in Denmark vs. my country. I
was shocked to learn that only 2.4% of Danes attend church weekly. (Maybe that number represents the Mormon
population in Denmark???) In the U.S.
36% of the people attend church at least one time a week. My teacher asked me why I thought that
Denmark was not a religious country (#4 on the list of countries without
religion). My best guess is that the
people don’t have a need for God in their lives. The government takes care of them; they are
told they are the happiest people on earth, so they don’t need anything
else. Religion for them is more of a tradition—big
celebrations for infant baptisms, confirmations, weddings, etc. Of course, it doesn’t help that the country
promotes amorality. It is amazing to see
a country so full of beautiful churches, but they are not used for
worship. I was able to bear a brief
testimony about what religion has meant to me in my life. I told the teacher that my church gives me
direction, hope, and values. My religion
is my life.
The second conversation surrounded the legalization of
marijuana. Even though marijuana and
other drugs are not legal in Denmark, the state sponsors several ‘fixerums’ in
Copenhagen and elsewhere. These are safe
houses for addicts to come and get their ‘fix.’
The state does not arrest them, but instead provides sterile needles for
them, as well as therapists if the addicts choose to get help. There is a room for heroin smokers, a room
for cocaine users, etc. There is also a
‘hippie colony’ in Copenhagen (Christiania) where officials turn a blind eye to
the sale and use of marijuana. I’m always surprised by the liberal opinions
held by many of my classmates. I guess I
have lived in a sheltered world, but many of them think it is okay to legalize
marijuana—the reasons being the tax revenue it would generate as well as the
ability to provide a safe quality of drug as opposed to the black market. I listen to these seemingly logical
arguments, until I can’t hold back.
What is good for society? What
kind of community do we want to have?
What is the best environment for all?
What kind of world do we want our children to grow up in? We can see
example after example of societies who have followed this road and in every
case, it leads to destruction. Why would
we want to go down that road again? Is
generating more tax revenue worth the consequences? In our lesson in institute this week we will
study the consequences of Nehor’s priestcrafts and Amlici’s wicked ambitions to
be king. We must be on guard to
recognize and resist the priestcrafts in our world today. And we need to stand up for truth and
righteousness. In his conference address
from 2003, nearly 15 years ago, Elder Ballard encouraged us to raise our voices
against the wicked trends in our day: “We need to remember Edmund Burke’s
statement: ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to
do nothing.’ We need to raise our voices with other concerned citizens
throughout the world in opposition to current trends. We need to tell the sponsors
of offensive media that we have had enough. We need to support programs and
products that are positive and uplifting. Joining together with neighbors and
friends who share our concerns, we can send a clear message to those
responsible.”
It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in
Copenhagen. The streets are decorated
and the store windows all have colorful displays. The missionaries are decorating their
apartments and there is an anticipation in the air. I think the Danes use Christmas to lift
themselves from the depressing darkness that falls on the country at this time
of year. Sunrise is at 8:00 and sunset
is at 3:45 and the days continue to get shorter. But the lights of Christmas are warm and
inviting. We walked through Tivoli on
Saturday afternoon—it is beautifully decorated.
The park was swarming with people, but we enjoyed the ambiance.
Hope you have a great week.
Love, Mom
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