Kære Familie, February
18, 2018
I begin with my tale of woe as my Valentine’s Day turned
into an afternoon fraught with worry and anxiety. As you know shopping is an almost daily
experience for me. But I have become
accustomed to it and accept the time it takes to walk to and from the grocery
store. But on Wednesday, I had a full
afternoon of things to do—shopping for Institute dinner, making brownies for
Zone Conference, sugar cookies for institute dessert, and a Valentine’s Day
dinner with 6 other senior missionaries.
I wanted to do my shopping quickly, so I could get the baking done. Was it my haste? pre-occupation with
everything I had to do? or just carelessness that resulted in me losing my
wallet. I had decided to just take my small wallet in
my coat pocket rather than my big purse—first mistake! After getting all my groceries to the
check-out stand and separating personal stuff from church stuff, I paid for the
orders separately. There are no
‘baggers’ in Denmark—everyone ‘bags’ their own groceries. So, I was busily putting the groceries in
bags and into the cart, trying to do it quickly so the next shopper could
retrieve their groceries. I don’t
remember if I put my wallet in my pocket or left it on the check-out
counter. Or it could have fallen out of
my pocket when I pulled out my gloves as I was leaving the store. Or someone could have seen me put it in my
pocket and picked my pocket. I didn’t
even realize that it was gone until I had walked back to the apartment. I frantically looked through all the grocery
bags and cart, hoping I had dropped it in one of them. But no luck.
I walked back to the store, retracing my steps, and talked to a manager,
hoping that I had left it on the counter or else someone had turned it in. But no.
I walked back to the apartment again worried that all was lost. I began to think of everything that was in my
wallet—not just the credit cards, but my driver’s license, Danish identity
card, temple recommend, Inco card (warehouse membership card), etc. All are replaceable but not without a great
deal of hassle and time. I wondered if I
could even get a new driver’s license from the states—and I worried because I
do a lot of the driving in Denmark. Dad
was awake when I came home the second time and listened to my plight. We looked through everything again and then
knelt in prayer. It is difficult for me
to ask for divine help when it may have just been my carelessness or stupidity
that landed me in this mess, but I did pray for help. Dad went with me back to the store—retracing
my steps again. I talked with the
manager again—but no wallet. Dad left me
and went to the bank to cancel our Danish debit card and I walked home—discouraged
and without hope. I did feel prompted to
speak to the beggar that sat outside the grocery store. I had noticed him, of course, the other two
times I was there, but this time I asked him if he had seen anything—like me
dropping the wallet or something. He
jumped up and assured me that he did not have my wallet and I told him that I
wasn’t accusing him, but I was just worried because it was missing. While I began the brownies, Dad started
working on cancelling the credit cards. I
was going to call the mission president about my temple recommend as soon as I
had the brownies in the oven. But then I
heard our doorbell ring. I could see out
the kitchen window and noticed the grocery store manager at the door. He had my wallet—someone had turned it
in. He got my address off my Danish ID
card and brought it to me personally. I
was so grateful. The cash and coins were
missing (about $40), but the cards were all there. It was a miracle. (And I was able to enjoy our nice dinner so
much more that evening.)
I know it is in these little things (that usually don’t feel
so little at the time) that reminds us that God is in the details of our
lives. Even if the answer had been ‘no’
and I didn’t get my wallet back, I would still be grateful for His help and for
the lesson I learned. He gives us peace;
He gives us comfort; He helps us put things in perspective; He lets us know
that He is there for us. We see it over
and over in the scriptures—ordinary people, living ordinary lives, who are
blessed extraordinarily to do the work that God wants them to do. Pick any of them—Nephi, Alma, Ammon, Abraham,
David, Daniel, Paul, Joseph Smith. God
is in the details of their lives—not always taking away the trials, the pain,
the chastening, but at the same time, helping them become who He needs them to
be, who He knows they can be. And so it
is with us. Do we pass the tests we have
in life? Did Abraham pass the test? The test was for Abraham to see what he would
do—God already knew Abraham perfectly and He knew what Abraham would do. But Abraham didn’t know until he experienced
the test. I hope I passed the test in
this trial. I was certainly humbled. And I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude
and a sure knowledge that God is a loving, caring Father.
We attended the Roskilde Ward today to hear another of our
YSA’s missionary farewell testimony.
Emma Petersen will be leaving on Tuesday to go to Peru. I think we had mentioned that her mother’s
side of the family is from Peru. She
will meet her maternal grandfather for the first time when she lands in the
airport on Tuesday. She is excited about
her mission and spoke about her journey to becoming a missionary. She wanted to serve a mission when she was
young but lost that dream in her teenage years.
Although she was never inactive, her testimony had become weak. It was through her association in the YSA
program that she regained that desire.
She mentioned some of our YSA returned missionaries who invited and
encouraged her to attend YSA activities.
These girls don’t take ‘no’ for an answer and just say ‘come, you are going.’ We have watched her journey in the years we
have been here. She began as a shy and
timid young woman who came sporadically to activities. Now she has blossomed into a beautiful
missionary with the light of Christ in her countenance. She has developed a confidence that wasn’t
there a year ago and she participates in all activities. She prepared her mission papers without
telling anyone, so it was a complete surprise to her friends when she received
her call. One of her good friends left
on her mission in November of last year.
I think she also had a huge influence on Emma. We went to the open house afterwards—the
small little country home was teeming with people so you could hardly
move. But there is a great spirit of
love and support. I’m sure Emma feels it
as she begins her new adventure.
We had Zone Conference on Thursday of last week. We began with a broadcast from the General
Missionary Department. Elder Gifford
Nielsen taught along with two members of the missionary department. They talked about the importance of
goals. The reason we ask people to be
baptized on a certain date, even before they are ready, is to give them a goal
to shoot for. Without a goal,
investigators could linger for months, even years. We see that with one of our YSA investigators. She has been taught by missionaries in three
locations now for over a year. She came
home from Festinord having felt the spirit during the week and especially
during testimony meeting saying that she wanted to be baptized. But when the elders tried to set a date, she
shut down and didn’t want to be pushed.
She says she wants to be baptized, but because she won’t accept a date,
there is no reason to push ahead. The
mission is way behind in our goal for baptisms this year. We have had only 3 baptisms and the goal is
75. The missionaries are giving away lots of Books of Mormon at the musical
performances, however—more and more each week.
Hopefully something will come of this.
The missionaries say they are getting better at their approach so that
is why they are handing out more books.
Sister Joy D. Jones, General Primary President, visited here
last Tuesday night to give training to our stake and the Sweden South
Stake. All the women auxiliary
presidencies were invited to come. Sister
Johnson (office missionary) heard about the training and called the Stake RS
President to say that she would like to come as well. She got ‘permission’ so she then invited all
the sister missionaries to come. It was
a cold night and I know that several of the sisters biked for over 45 minutes
each way in to be there. I drove Sister
Johnson who had offered to pick up the Amager sisters (over an hour bike ride
for them). The training was excellent—a
lot of emphasis on counseling. We
counseled together two on two about ministering to those for whom we have
responsibility. Sister Jones asked for
real problems or concerns that a Primary President had, a RS President had, a
YW President had, and a Priesthood leader of those organizations had. We then counseled together in small groups to
find solutions to one of the problems listed.
We shared ideas afterwards, but the real learning took place as we
modeled how a council should function.
Her closing remarks were on the power of music in the church. She asked for a volunteer to come forward and
start humming her favorite Primary song.
As soon as we knew the song, we were to sing along. It was fun to see people stand up and start
singing along—in English and in Danish and probably Swedish as well. The Primary songs teach the gospel in
simplicity and are so important in the church.
A funny side note about the language differences—one of our
YSA’s was asked to translate for her.
We were not even 10 minutes into the meeting when Sister Jones asked a
question for the congregation. Hands
went up and as she called on them, everyone answered in English. After that happened a few times, Sister Jones
asked us who did not understand English—not a single hand went up. So the rest of the meeting was in English and
the translator sat down. I wondered
about it anyway because the translation was only into Danish, not Swedish. The languages are similar, but not the
same. English really is the common
language, especially when you are bringing more than one language
together. I was glad because that meant
we got more training. I am sure the
break-out councils were in Danish or Swedish, but the general discussion was in
English. I think there were a few who
didn’t understand English very well, but their neighbor translated quietly for
them. I did notice that all the videos
shown in the training had no talking, just music and pictures. That way they can be used any place for any
language.
Dad said that one of our YSA young men played the piano in
Priesthood meeting. Afterwards, Dad
complimented him on his superb playing—a hymn played with some
embellishment. He responded that he was
taking my advice. I remembered well our
conversation. I knew he played the
piano—mostly self-taught, but he never played for institute. I suggested that he play next time and he
shied away from it, saying he didn’t play that well. I reminded him about the story of the talents
and said that if he hid his talents, they would be taken away. He is preparing to go on a mission and I told
him that his piano talent will be invaluable on his mission and throughout his
life in the church. It seems that was
just the push he needed to expand his repertoire of hymns. I take reading music for granted
sometimes. It’s not that they can’t read
music, it is trying to read bass clef notes and treble clef notes at the same
time. So what happens is that they read
the melody and make up an accompanying left hand. I am in awe of the beautiful music they
create and memorize or train their ear to hear what sounds good, while they
envy my ability to read music. Go
figure! I think they are the talented ones.
But it reminded me of Drew’s piano recital which Kari shared with us
this week, as well as the recitals we have heard from Caleb and Dallin. You are receiving important musical training
now—all those sonatinas where you work your fingers to the bone, really help
you learn technique and develop your talent.
Keep it up so you can give the Lord a generous return on the talent He
has given you.
Have a great week!
Med kærlighed,
Mom
Kære Familie Sunday, February 18, 2018
How was your valentine’s day? We had a nice dinner at a favorite restaurant
that specializes in traditional Danish food. They only have about 6 entrees to
choose from, but they are yummy good. We
went with the Johnsons, Halls and Jensens so it was nice company and a pleasant
way to celebrate a Valentines. Halls
came in from Bornholm to hear Sister Joy D. Jones speak to the sisters in
leadership positions on Tuesday night. (Mom
went along and I think she will comment on that.) They stayed over a day for a little R and
R. We went with them on Tuesday to see a
museum with paintings and statues, that we have seen before, but we wanted to
spend some time with them.
I have had some People
Reflections this week and thought I would share. You will only know these people vicariously,
but their stories are like so many others.
Amanda Jensen
came to FHE after coming to Institute last Thursday. She is a member but has
been away from the church for maybe 7-8+ years.
She seems to want to make the effort to be involved again. She is a 2nd year law student and has begun
connecting to our YSA. She also came again to Institute this week and to an
apartment open house on Saturday night. Suddenly, she has gone from an unknown
name to a consistent attender. Amanda is
a good example of how the spirit can work on a person and help them come back
to the gospel and their testimony. I hope she will feel wanted and keep coming.
Our YSA seem so willing to invite anyone into their friendship. It will be nice
to learn more about her and what has brought her to this stage. I know that the
Amager sisters know something about her as they mentioned to us that she might
show up.
Also Rikke Grand
Hansen came to FHE and brought a Tahitian from Australia with her. She has been on an internship there for 3
months. It sounds like she was attending
church and they met in a YSA ward. We
have only seen her at our activities a few times since we have been here. Rikke's slow progression is nice to see. I have hopes for her as well that she will
turn to the gospel for what she needs in her life.
Being with Anja
Johansen is refreshing. She went with us to the Glyptotek museum Tuesday. She is our friend who was baptized on
Bornholm, almost a year ago. She has such a bubbly personality and has just
embraced the gospel as if she has been a member her entire life. She has
started her mission papers. I know she
will bless many people over her lifetime with her faith and general
goodness. She invited Jen Hardman (American
volleyball player) to come to Glyptotek with us, and there is a deep friendship
and love between the two of them that is amazing. They met at Golden Days and must have just
been sympathetic souls. I am sure Anja
has been good for Jen, who has struggled a little to find herself here.
Thinking about
the YSA for the assignment from Brother Ringheim, made me appreciate what wonderful
young adults we have. The stake is going to call new leadership for the
YSA. There are many who could be blessed
by the calling to lead this group. The stake presidency will be inspired in the
calls so that the success of the program will continue and a new presidency can
grow from the wonderful experiences.
We had a zone conference this week. President O’Bryant repeated some training
from Sept 2016 (I guess we are old enough to get some recycled training
now.) Training is always a little bit
different however, so even though I probably wrote about this back then, it is
worthy of attention again.
He likes what he refers to as the 2nd Test (of our
faithfulness or testimonies). When someone leaves the church, there is a common order to the things they
begin to abandon. It often begins with prayer,
then scripture study, and progresses to Sabbath day, WofW, law of chastity,
etc. Our testimonies have a shelf
life. They must be continually
renewed. The 1st test is the witness of
the spirt and our baptism, maybe a mission where our testimonies and conversion
is deeply implanted. Many church members will face a 2nd test. This is a later crisis
of our faith caused by doubts from something we hear or read. They key question to ask ourselves at that
time is, “If I take this other road, in 2 years, will I be closer to Jesus
Christ or further away?” Have the faith
and courage to take the harder path that leads us to Christ. The easy path is the one Satan wants us to
take.
President
O’Bryant then offered some counsel to his missionaries for the time when they
are home again. Most likely, they will
run up against people preaching against the BofM or Joseph Smith. There are
evidences of the BofM both against it and for it, and also against the prophet
Joseph Smith. Ultimately, it is a question of faith and following Moroni
10:4. The witness of the Holy Ghost is
the only true answer to our search for truth and happiness. (Though for those who get hung up by some of
these arguments, I always think about the talks by Elder Tad R. Callister in
conference and at a BYU devotional. I
think he sheds brilliant light on the falsehoods of these old arguments.)
We also listened to a recorded broadcast by Elder Gifford
Nielson. He used examples to show how a
single verse out of the BofM can be very powerful:
It can answer
the questions of the soul.
It will testify
of Christ and bring them to conversion.
It will link
them to the spirit of the Holy Ghost, which will testify of truth and help
convert.
It will teach
doctrines and show that answers can be found to all questions.
There is a “Pathway
of Covenants” from the Preexistence, to baptism, to temple covenants. All are possible because of the restoration
of Priesthood Authority. We teach
repentance and baptism but it should be done within the context of a covenant
pathway, so the importance of the Gospel in a convert’s life clearly points to
temple covenants. Hence, the first discussion is a good time to start focusing
the teaching on following Jesus Christ.
Investigators will progress when they have a clear goal and are
committed to it.
Our mission
assignment yesterday was to find used furniture for a new apartment in Ballerup
where the Wheelers will live during their mission and then 4 elders will take
over the apartment. The Wheelers are
transferring from Russia as Family History missionaries. Russia was closed to them and they have been
home for a few weeks until an apartment could be located for them here. They
arrive Tuesday and will work in the basement of the stake center doing work on all
the history books and material that is stored there.
We needed to
find a kitchen table, 4 chairs, two office chairs, 4 desk lamps, 2 end tables
with lamps, a coffee table and a 6' sofa.
They wanted to save money by finding used items in the Genbrugs (2nd
hand stores like the DI or Red Cross), but no one could give us the name or
location of a Genbrug that they suggested we visit. Mom did an internet search and made a list of
ones open on Saturday. We started about
11:00 and visited 4 stores, spread from Amager to the Kronberg Slot area. All were closed even though some of the doors
said they were usually open. As we were
leaving the last one, Elder Jenson called to see if I had a pipe cutting tool,
he was replacing a kitchen faucet. I
mentioned what we were doing and he told us about a Genbrug on Amager (close to
the first one we had already been to) that he had never been to but that Elder
Buxton had told him about as being the best Genbrug in Copenhagen. It is only open on Saturdays from 10 to 4:00 pm. We decided to try it and got there around
1:00. It proved to be what we needed and
was an answer to a prayer that we would actually be able to find anything on
this day. It was a big warehouse cut up
into several rooms and looks more like a big junk yard. The only organization is that, like kinds
were stacked together, but then everything was just thrown together. There were not any prices or anything. We looked around and found most of what we
wanted and then went to find out how the place worked. A girl followed us around as we showed her
each item that we were thinking of. She
took a picture of each and then sent the pictures to her boss who was "out
driving around". We were told she
would get back to us with a price for the whole lot, and the more we bought the
better the prices would be. As we
waited, we did an estimate of what everything might cost and came up to 1800
dkk, about $300. The boss called back
fairly soon with a price of 3600 dkk. We
tried to talk her down to 2500 or 3000 but that seemed to be a firm price - I
am not a very good negotiator. So, we
took it at that and she threw in the 4 desk lamps that we wanted, so about
$600. But no kitchen chairs or end table lamps.
We didn't see anything we liked in those departments. It was 2:00 by
then. We had to have the van back to the
elders for the afternoon matinee of the BofM by 4:30. I left mom at the Genbrug
and hustled home to get the key to the van, drove to the mission office to
switch vehicles, but had to unload two folding tables and 10 boxes of books,
and remove the seats from the van before I could leave. I could not get one
middle seat to come out. I got back to
the store around 3:00 and mom and I had to load everything into the van. It just barely fit. As we were doing that, I called Elder Koch as
he had the address and key to the apartment to announce our success and find
out what we should do next. I did not
think we had time to meet him, go to the apartment, unload and return the van
by 4:30. He and his wife were already at the apartment cleaning and organizing
and he thought we had time. So, we drove
to Ballerup, unloaded and arrived back to the mission office at 4:25. I had hoped to have some help to reload the
van, but it was just us. It turned out,
they would not come for the van until around 5:00, so we ended up with a little
time to spare. Nonetheless, this whole
affair, though very temporal in nature, seemed to be blessed from heaven for
the whole day. I certainly can see the
hand of the Lord behind everything that we accomplished.
After Zone Conference we cleaned up and
headed to the Center to make Pizza for dinner.
Mom made 10 pizzas and all were gone by the end of the night. 1 lasted until refreshment time. We had around 25 who ate dinner and maybe 27
for the World-Wide Devotional with Elder and Sister Uchtdorf that we showed
from Jan 14th. It seemed like all of
them really enjoyed his message. One
funny thing was that Gismo posted an invitation on FaceBook to come for the
pizza dinner and a visit with the Uchtdorfs.
A couple of people questioned back, did she mean that the Uchtdorfs
would be there in person? She jokingly
said of course, and at least 3 took her literally. For whatever reason, we had many faces there
we have not seen in a while. One girl
was particularly upset. She had changed
her plans for the evening to shake hands with the Uchtdorfs and felt lied to
when Gismo confirmed the personal visit. The message was wonderful, and I hope
that they were able to feel it despite whatever negative feelings might have
been there for some.
Love, Dad.
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