Frescos and altar at the Elmelunde Church
Dad and I at Møns Klint
Dad at Liselund Slot
Dad at the waterfall on the park at Liselund Slot
The church at Stevns Klint—or what is left of it.
Kære familie, 15 April 2018
With our mission in Denmark coming to a close, it is difficult not to have our departure date brought up in conversation. There will be no slipping off to the airport without anyone knowing. Everyone asks when we are going home and are shocked to find that it is so soon. By serving 23 months, we have become a fixture here—a permanent resident in our ward and stake. We don’t get transferred around like the young missionaries, so it makes sense that we would form relationships with the people with whom we serve and fellowship. We had our first farewell dinner last week—that’s when it hit me. We have a goodbye lunch tomorrow with the Andersens—a couple we met our first summer in Denmark. Sister Andersen taught us Danish lessons in the YSA center, along with some BYU students. We became great friends ever since, even though we were not in the same ward. I think I fed the missionaries for the last time tonight as our days are filling up quickly. We were asked to speak in church next week—a farewell address? We will serve in the Copenhagen temple for the last time this week, as it will be closed for the following two weeks. And, I am using up all the food in my freezer. Those are all signs that we are nearing the end. I’m sure it won’t surprise you if I say my feelings are mixed.
Following FHE on Monday, there was a meeting for our upcoming YSA activity. This is a 3-day, 2-night ‘camp-out’ like we had last year—called Hyttetur (cabin trip). The event has been on the calendar for the whole year and a committee was organized to plan it. I know they met the first weekend in February to discuss ideas and location. I assume there have been other meetings. But, until Monday, nothing had been accomplished. The committee had tried to locate a place to house our large group, but everything was booked already—I suspect that they waited until just a few weeks ago to start looking for a location. Jonathan Leit, our former YSA chairman, was taking the lead on the committee and he told me that we would probably have to cancel the activity because the committee hadn’t been able to find a location. He was almost nonchalant about it—oh well? CANCEL IT? Really? That is the only solution? I talked to Gismo Borup and she assured me that we would not cancel it—she had a back-up plan. But after the meeting on Monday night, no back-up plan was needed. One of the committee members had found a scout cabin like the one we used last year. It is on the island of Lolland, about 2 hours south of Copenhagen, has sleeping for 48 people, has a kitchen and dining hall, and is close to the beach. It is farther away than we would like, but hey, we are in the ‘begging’ stage and can’t be ‘choosers.’ Now we could get down to the details—publicity, food, and activities. With less than 3 weeks to the event, we need to move fast, especially with the publicity. We have invited YSA from our neighboring Denmark Stake, so hopefully we can get 40-50 to come. Our job will be to chaperone and help in any way. We have already received one additional assignment—the first night mixer/get-to-know-you-games. Any ideas? We also discussed having better food than last year, which I wholeheartedly agreed. I’m not sure the weather will be conducive for swimming in the beach, but you never know with these kids. The Danes like to engage in ‘winter bathing’ in ice-cold water. So, I think the activity is off and running. We had a ‘return and report’ meeting on Thursday during dinner (before institute). I was busy in the kitchen so didn’t attend, but Dad represented us. It sounds like things are going well. The key to this committee, and really any committee or group in the church, is to act. Sitting around and waiting for ‘the other guy’ to do something, doesn’t work. Also, advanced planning is the key—procrastination never works!
Our coordinators at the temple were a couple from Sweden. They have been there a few times and I thought they originally were going to serve every other week—but we haven’t seen them for a few months. When they come over from Sweden, they do the Friday afternoon shift and the Saturday morning. But the last time they were here, the sister was waiting to hear from her doctor about her test results—whether her cancer had returned. The doctors had removed her uterus and other female parts in the late fall of 2016. With radiation and Chemo, she was given a clean bill of health. But the cancer came back—this time in her stomach walls. It is not curable, but the doctors hope to slow down the progress with treatment. For the past few months, between the treatments and the cancer, she has been really sick—too sick to even dress and bathe herself. Now it is a little better and she and her husband came to the temple. I’m sure it was nice for her to get out. She was very weak though, and when she was not doing something specific as coordinator, she was laying down. I’m glad we had enough workers that she didn’t need to do a veil or work in initiatory. It makes me grateful for the little trials I have that pale in comparison to hers. I am also grateful for her example of positive attitude and being happy through her trials. When asked about it, she says that it doesn’t help to be bitter and angry, so she chooses to be grateful and happy.
We went to Slagelse on Friday morning to do two apartment inspections. We thought it would be an easy trip and that we would return in plenty of time for our temple shift at 3:00. We even thought we might stop at the round church (which was closed on our last visit) on the way home and look inside. But it didn’t turn out to be as easy as we thought. We left home before 8:30 for our 9:30 appointment with the sisters. When we got to their apartment, we found a clogged bathroom sink. The stopper was stuck because of all the guck in the pipe—and they had been living with it for a whole week. They had called Elder Koch (who has responsibility for apartments) and he told them what to do, but they thought they would just wait until we came on Friday. It really wasn’t something they could do without the right tools. It took Dad almost an hour to fix it—it is a smelly and gross job. We were trying to hurry because they had a teaching appointment at 10:30. At 10:20, they realized that they didn’t have time to ride their bikes to their appointment and asked me if I could drive them. But that also meant that I would need to pick them up. So, I did that, saying that we would pick them up after we inspected the elders’ apartment. I drove back to get Dad and we went to the other apartment. Other than being a bit cluttered, their apartment passed inspection and we went back to get the sisters. It had been almost an hour now and we hadn’t heard from them. We sat outside the apartment for 15 minutes and then I decided to call them. Well it turned out that the apartment we were at belonged to an elderly member who had accompanied them on their appointment. Then he invited them to stay for lunch—which they felt they couldn’t refuse. We needed to go to the store to buy light bulb replacements for their apartment, so we said we would run our errand and then come back for them. By now it was after 1:00. We took them home, replaced the light bulb, and then stopped long enough to get a Burger King and headed home. We thought we would almost make it and were kicking ourselves for not bringing our temple clothes and Dad’s suit. Dad slept while I drove home until I noticed the gas light come on. (Dad thought we had enough gas in the car to make the trip—but we didn’t count on running the sisters all around.) We were in the middle of nowhere by now and I began to panic. I passed exit after exit which showed no sign of gasoline. Finally, I woke up Dad and explained our dilemma. At last I took an exit which showed a town I didn’t know. It was 6 kilometers from the freeway. We drove through the whole town and didn’t see a gas station. By now I was registering empty on the gas gage. As we got through town, we realized we were close to the freeway again and I looked up and saw a gas sign just off the freeway. I just needed to go one or two more exits and I would have seen it. Well, we didn’t run out of gas, but that put us late enough that we missed prayer meeting at the temple. It was nice for me to go on an endowment session and just feel the calm after the panic. I am always grateful for the temple—it brings peace and sanity to my life.
We have always wanted to return to Møns Klint—we went there once before at Christmas time 2016. It is a beautiful section of the coast where limestone cliffs rise from the beach. There is a mural in the first endowment room of the temple which shows these cliffs. When we were there before with the Jensons, we didn’t get to see all of it because we wore Sister Jenson out by going down to the beach. It wasn’t the 500 steps going down that got to her; it was the 500 steps coming up. This time we invited the Wheelers to come and they were eager to go. It is our last free Saturday—so it was now or never. We planned to see some other things along the way. The weather didn’t cooperate and it was quite foggy. We could see the cliffs okay but we could not see very far into the sea. At least it was not rainy—but it was cloudy and cold. We stopped off at some old medieval ruins on the way—something I have been wanted to do as well. Only one of 9 towers still stands and it is perfectly in tack. The Vordingborg castle was built in 1175 by the king and was used as a defensive fortress. Later a 800 meter wall was constructed around the castle. Much of the wall is still there, although in ruins. There is a golden goose on top of the remaining tower which, according to legend, the king used to taunt the Hanseatic League meaning that their declarations of war were as threatening as a goose and meant nothing to him. It is so interesting to walk around the ruins and imagine what life was like back then. We also saw a medieval church (built in 1085) with some well-preserved frescos painted on the ceiling, and a thatched-roof ‘castle’ with its beautiful and expansive park. There were peacocks and ducks running around on the property which we fed. We finished the day at Stevns Klint—another limestone cliff along the coast. This one has a church right on the cliff’s edge. As a result of erosion, a landslide in 1928 caused part of the church to collapse and fall into to the sea. The people built a new church close by and had stopped using the old church many years before because they were worried about its precarious position on the cliff. It was a fun, but a long day—more than 5 hours of driving, but we saw a long of beautiful countryside and coastline. Some field are starting to green up and others look freshly plowed. It was nice to get out of the city, and we really enjoyed getting to know the Wheelers better. Because we have so much more daylight, we got home at 8:30 p.m. and it was still dusk.
I will close with the thought the missionaries shared with us from Moroni 7:25: “Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.” When we exercise faith, we can lay hold upon every good thing. The elder asked us how we have seen that in our life and I thought about the faith it took for me to leave career and the accolades of man behind to be a stay-at-home mom. I can truly say that I did lay hold on every good thing because of the time I had with my family. You are my greatest joy and I am truly blessed.
Have a great week. Happy Birthday to Capri and Lindsey, and congratulations to Carter on his baptism. Good luck to Derrick as he finishes school. I love you all!
Med kærlighed,
Mom
Kære Familie Sunday, April 15, 2018
It looked like this coming week was going to be more relaxed with several fun things planned, perhaps a little more laid back than what we have been experiencing. That turned around quickly today when we were both asked to speak in church next Sunday, even though we have both spoken recently. The EQ president (old HP Group Leader) also came back to me and asked that I teach the EQ lesson next week, instead of the 29th. Now I will stress a bit over the two assignments. We had ward conference today and they sustained the remainder of the EQ presidency. I love the way this is shaping up. The 1st counselor is a young elder without any children. He has been married maybe a couple of years. The 2ndcounselor is Tomas Kofod (our singer/actor who we have written about and portrayed the Savior in the Testaments). He is a HP and has been in a bishopric and has 2 children. The secretary is the EQ president who was released last week. They bore testimonies in our first new combined EQ meeting. I think everyone is excited about the changes and the strength that we will all feel from meeting together. Our new stake presidency counselor, President Petersen, spoke in priesthood as well and I was able to witness another strong leader who will fill in admirably for the departing President Olsen. We have an area authority seventy in our ward (sustained last October) and he was in attendance today. We see him about once a month when he is not traveling on an assignment. He spoke a few minutes and shared his feelings about general conference. All the seventies (360) met for training on Thursday and Friday before conference. That was the first they had heard about the coming changes. He said the discussions leading up to them were only at the Apostle and First Presidency level. (Pretty admirable that the church does not have leaks like the government.) During a break on the first morning, President Nelson came up to him and welcomed him to the Quorum. He was surprised that President Nelson knew him by name and was making the effort to personally welcome each new member to the 70’s. Brother Engbjerg said that he felt the love the Savior has for him as he talked to the prophet and he bore testimony that President Nelson is the Lord’s mouthpiece. He knows the Lord knows him by name because he felt that in his brief personal encounter with a prophet.
For FHE on Monday, whoever had the spiritual thought did not arrive on time, and Gismo asked us to come up with something quickly. Mom had a good idea and shared chapter 1 of the new Church History narrative from the February Ensign. She has her debate/public speaking talent and read part of the story with lots of expression to them. None of the YSA have seen this or were aware that it is being published - evidence they are not reading the Liahona or the Ensign. I feel bad about that as there is the YSA section every month in the church magazines that have some great articles and stories that they are missing. Maybe this experience will encourage them to find the time for it. I know a few of them have not been able to listen to all of conference either. I thought briefly about the analogy of Moses and the brass serpent on a pole. If we look, we will be healed. We have so many resources available to us that will “heal us” and help keep us on the right path. I hope we are all finding the time to use them in out personal study, FHE, etc. I know I can improve.
Tuesday night we had our farewell dinner and testimonial at the Mission home for us, the Jensons (next Tuesday) and the Halls (June 18th). The Johnsons, Wheelers and Kochs were also there with the O'Bryants. 14 of us in total. The dinner was excellent and then the President started a little testimony meeting by expressing his appreciation for each of the couples. He is always so well-spoken and complimentary in these settings that it is a special experience. I love the two of them and think they have been powerful, spiritual leaders for this mission. They have accomplished a lot and blessed many lives. The Halls and Jensons went first before us with their testimonies and feelings. Halls probably took 20 minutes and Jensons 30 minutes between them. It seemed much too long and disjointed but the president let them ramble on - maybe there was nothing he could really do that wouldn’t have been rude to them. Mom and I took maybe 10 minutes total between us and tried to keep it to pure testimony with a couple of experiences that have made our mission special to us. I described "joy" as being in family settings when all the grandkids are playing nicely together (no one crying) and the adults can just be together sharing close bonds of love. Close to that level of joy, are my feelings about being a missionary and sharing testimonies, being with the young missionaries or with our young adults. Our mission has been an eye-opening special experience that I am truly grateful for. The 2 parts of it I stressed, were first, the opportunity to see the gospel in action with the YSA. It has the answer to all they need and are searching for. I have seen that the plan of salvation works for them and it will bring happiness as we embrace it. This was reinforced as we taught them and experienced activities and spiritual moments together. We have seen many of them grow and learn leadership skills as they have applied gospel principles. My 2nd thought, was the privilege it has been to give some of our YSA priesthood blessings. I have appreciated their desire to be blessed and their confidence in me to be able to help them. I related it to Pres Nelson's conference talk where he taught us to use the priesthood to bless and not to just give nice prayers. I think I have been able to do that and hopefully they have appreciated having someone to turn to when they have needed special help.
A little fun side note -- We had been having this awful smell in our kitchen area for several days. It smelled like a rotting potato and we looked all over the kitchen trying to find its source without any luck. It wasn’t always there and the “smell test” around the kitchen could not isolate a specific source area – it seemed to be all over. Towards 11:00 on Tuesday night after coming back from the mission home, the smell was evident again and Elder Hall had the idea to pull the fridge out from the wall. There is a plastic drain pan in the back at the bottom of it and it had some stinky liquid in it that proved to be the source of the smell. We don't know what it was or why it was there – maybe sour milk - but it was a drain tube from inside the fridge. We ended up cleaning the tube that was full of mold and guck, the pan and defrosting the freezer and cleaning the entrance to the tube from inside. It took us until after midnight and the Halls were good sports and helped us do it all. The smell was gone on Wednesday morning, so we know we found and fixed the problem! [Defrosting the freezer was an unnecessary distraction. Elder Hall started pulling it apart thinking it was part of the source, when it wasn’t. Once started, they just continued to finish that job.]
Thursday was a car maintenance day. I left the house at 7:20 to arrive at the dealership in Søborg at 8:00. On the phone, they had told me to plan on about 3:00 to have it done. On arrival, they said plan on 11:00, a little better. It was actually done at 12:00. In planning the day, I was going to take the bus home and go back again. But as I considered the time and hassle of going back and forth, I decided I would just wait for it. They have a nice waiting area with a raised table for laptops. I set up there and was the only person using it. I reviewed my institute lesson again and added some things to the PowerPoint that I wanted to cover. I then finally got started on my letter to the family from last Sunday that I had not gotten to because of the computer crash. That filled up my waiting time except for a 40-minute walk that I did first think after checking in. It was an ok day – I had brought snacks and they had free hot chocolate!
None of our English-speaking students came to Institute so I did not get a chance to have the lesson discussion I had hoped for. I overprepared and maybe spent 3-4 hours on it. It was good study for me however, so the time is never wasted. It is strange that the 3 regulars that we have now did not come in the same week. We stayed in the Danish class and listened to Brother Andersen with one of the YSA translating for us. He started by playing a 17-min YouTube documentary on the Mormons prepared by the university students that have visited Institute 2 times. It was well put together with nice cinematography but had a definite negative bias on our beliefs. I think they were attempting to be “fair and balanced”, but somehow that never seems to come out in our favor. They included comments by a university religion expert who stated that we are not Christians because we do not follow the standard ‘protestant’ dogma. They also had anonymous clips (face blanked out and voice disguised) of a female young adult who was an investigator but never baptized. She said something like too much pressure and some strange beliefs. They did include 2 of our sister trainer missionaries and did a good job describing their time as missionaries, but unfortunately the overall effect of their comments came across as a little ditzy. They were asked about modern-day miracles and one of them said it was a miracle that the missionary clothes she needed were on sale the day she went shopping! (Please prepare your children a little better than that!) They interviewed Brother Andersen for 90 minutes and of course only included snippets of what he talked about. He was not particularly pleased with the editing job or the bias that they managed to slip in. Overall however, the YSA thought it could have been much worse – they had hoped for much better – and any publicity around the Mormons with the musical going on seems to work out for the best. We are now over 20,000 copies of the BofM given away after the musical shows and have 9 baptisms for the year.
Congratulations to Carter on his baptism. We loved our video time with him and Haley’s family. The pictures and blog make us feel part of it. Everyone has grown so much that we won’t recognize you. I can’t believe that Austin and Claire are jabbering away and Benson is (almost) walking. Baptism is such an important step. We see it here, as non-members have to change their lives and often their friends to join the church. Only a few do it, but the joy it brings to them is beyond description. Their souls are priceless to our Heavenly Father who wishes that each of His children would want to come home to Him.
Love, Dad.
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