Mom with Chocolate mousse (zoom in on the mousse for the presentation!)
Cherry tree blossoms
Shelves in the RPC that we are assembling (I love doing hands-on-work like this)
Flowering trees on the path around our lake
Daffodils in bloom on my morning run
Frederiksborg Castle fountain (again) with Elder and Sister Brown from Norway
Ken and Marian Andersen at our lunch
Mother Swan
It seems that each week we are checking off some of the ‘lasts’ for our mission. This week it was the last time to serve in the Copenhagen Temple and the last senior missionary dinner at Knudsens. And today was the last time we will speak in church in Denmark. It is a weird feeling. But instead of focusing on the ‘last time’ for this or that, I am trying to focus on being grateful. Tonight, as I look out over the lake and see the light reflecting in the water, I am so grateful for this beautiful view. I am grateful for the wonderful people we have met in Denmark—their kindness and love. I am grateful for the sweet children in Primary and getting to hear them sing my beloved Primary songs in Danish. I am grateful for my sturdy missionary shoes that have carried me all over the streets of Copenhagen and beyond—which will not be coming home with me. I’m grateful I know how to cook which has come in quite handy on this mission. I am grateful for the love our YSA show us and I am grateful for the growth I have witnessed in their lives and testimonies. And I am grateful for the delicious chocolate mousse dessert that was served at our dinner on Saturday night. Yes, it is much better to be grateful than to dwell on what I will no longer have or get to do.
Spring has finally come to Denmark, I actually shed my coat on Wednesday for the first time this year. We have had a beautiful week of sunny days, and even though it has been cool at night, we enjoyed temperatures above 70 on Thursday and Friday. People joked that we had two days of summer this week, which was about all we had during the summer months last year—just two days! Everyone in Copenhagen came out to enjoy the sunshine—Tivoli was packed, the sidewalk café tables were full, and people thronged the parks and our lakes. Our mother swan sits faithfully on her nest day after day, and the daffodils are out with huge blooms. Yesterday we joined a million other people to walk along some paths in a cemetery which were lined with cherry trees, all in full bloom. I suppose that Spring is all the more welcome after a very cold dismal winter. It is the hope of new life, of warmth, of light and it really lifts my spirits. Unfortunately, next week looks like we will be back to colder, rainy weather, as our highs drop down below 60 again. I won’t pack up my coat just yet….
It’s Banner time again—and yes, this is my last Banner. It will be a small newsletter as we only have one missionary going home and one missionary coming. However, we have 3 senior couples going home in May, and 2 couples coming—both of them will serve in Iceland. The Jensons’ replacement will not come until summer and ours will not come until the end of July—just missing out on Festinord. So, the Banner should not be hard to do this time, except that I am tutoring my replacement—Sister Wheeler. We met once last week at the stake center where she and her husband serve their mission--sorting through historical records and artifacts that have been saved over the years. They determine what is important to be saved and catalogued. We met there because the church has a laptop computer with Publisher on it. She thought I could download my files and we could work from there. But it was not that easy. I still don’t know what the problem was, but after a while, we could not get the program to work on her computer nor on mine. I was able to show her a few things and then it just went haywire. We finally gave up. Luckily, we both found that the program worked fine at our apartments, so we figured it had something to do with the church internet/firewall or something. We met again today after church—we went to their apartment. I had started the newsletter and showed her what I had already done and then we worked on two new pages. I think she will do fine, but it was a bit overwhelming for her. It is probably best for her to learn ‘trial and error’ like I did, but I hope I gave her a few tips to make the transition easier. They fed us dinner, which was very nice.
Two of our YSA prepared dinner on Thursday night, but they asked that I do the shopping. I am also always available to help with the preparation. They made 4 pans of lasagna and garlic bread. We had a big crowd that night and there was nothing left over. We had 40 YSA come to institute that night (not all of them came early for the dinner). It was nice to see the center so packed. We even had a ‘large’ English group—6 students. Even though they all speak English, we have a variety of nationalities and cultures. Two are American; one is from Tahiti, one from Bolivia, one from Sweden and one from Denmark. I enjoy having a small class, but one student can be too small. It is nice to have 5 or 6 so that there is more discussion. I really appreciated their comments about the Brother of Jared. I was reading during my scripture study on Thursday morning in Mosiah when King Mosiah translated the 24 gold plates from the Jaredites. I read this scripture which gave me a new focus for my lesson: “Now this account did cause the people of Mosiah to mourn exceedingly, yea, they were filled with sorrow; nevertheless it gave them much knowledge, in the which they did rejoice.” (Mosiah 28:18) Just as the people in Zarahemla could learn from this record, I think that we too can gain ‘much knowledge’ as we read the Book of Ether. We should always ask ourselves, ‘Why did Mormon (or Moroni for the Book of Ether) decide to include this passage in the Book of Mormon?” or “Why is this account, this message important to me now?” There is much we can learn from the Brother of Jared—his example, his great faith, his humility, his prayers. For him, the veil was rent and we, too, can strive to have the veil of unbelief rent from us so that we can see as the Brother of Jared saw.
One of our assignments for Hyttetur is to organize mixer games. It just so happened that one of the workshops offered at our Stake RS Birthday activity on Saturday was all about party games. I went to that class and ‘prepared’ for our activity this week. Our teacher had some great ideas that I think will work well with our YSA. So this week I will be gathering props and supplies for our games. I’m not sure the weather will cooperate like it did this past week, so we may have a lot of time for indoor activities. I will plan a lot of games just for a back-up plan, if needed. Our YSA leadership is hoping for up to 50 participants. It should be a fun weekend.
The other class I attended at the RS Birthday activity was knitting. I remember that I attended a similar knitting activity in our ward shortly after we arrived in Denmark. A few of the RS sisters met at someone’s home and we just sat around and knitted. Everyone had their own project, but if not, we were encouraged to make blankets and hats for pre-mature babies. These were then given to various hospitals in the area. Last year we donated over 50 blankets and 90 hats from our ward sisters. I have made the small hats before in Houston for a similar project and so they became my knitting project while I was here. I have made over 25 hats. That first time we got together, I didn’t understand anything that the sisters were saying. Every once in a while, someone would speak English to me, but it didn’t matter. I could feel the sisterhood and enjoyed being with them. Now, nearly two years later, while I still don’t understand everything they are saying, I can catch bits and pieces of their conversations. I guess that is progress. But the spirit is still the same—sisterhood. I stand out among the group because I knit the American way (same as they do in England). They all knit like my Mom did, but I am just comfortable the way I do it, even though it is probably slower. The result is the same. When I was going through my Mom’s yarn after her death, I discovered a large quantity of the cotton yarn like the sisters use here for these projects. It is much thinner than the cotton yarn used for kitchen rags. I thought it was perfect for making these hats, so I put as much of it in a bag to carry back to Denmark on the plane. I brought it with me on Saturday to give it to anyone who wanted it. For a knitter, it was like Christmas. Many of the sisters took several skeins of yarn. It is different than the colors and variegations they can find here. They were all so grateful and made a point of thanking me. I am glad that the yarn has found a new home and know that it will be used for some special project and bring the knitter much joy just as my little projects bring me joy. I know my Mom would be glad to see it being used. One more legacy for her.
Med kærlighed, Mom
Not to be trunky or anything like that, we haven’t had time, but everyday it seems like we can have the thought, “this is the last time we will do that.” This week was our last time to be in the temple and to have our senior missionary dinner at the Knudsen home. Each of these events is a little sad as there are so many memories attached to them and we know they will not be repeated, but we can enjoy the memories!
Tonight, I can heave a big sigh of relief. We both spoke in church today – for the final time – and I taught the EQ lesson on the Sabbath day. I stress out too much over these opportunities, over prepare, and am always glad when they are done. For the lesson, I had 3 short videos I wanted to show, but only got to one. I also planned on spending more time on discussing how we can use Sundays to minister better but ran out of time. We did have some good comments and discussion though and that was likely the best outcome.
This week we have our cabin retreat Thursday – Saturday and then we are speaking at the YSA fireside on Sunday night. Then it should be downhill except for a YSA biking activity on our last Saturday, which I think we will only be participants in. It seems strange and very unreal, to think that these things won’t just keep on going. I honestly can’t imagine what being home will be like and I am beginning to appreciate what the young missionaries must feel when they go home. I almost have a sense of panic wondering what life will bring next. You may need to help us ease into it. Something I would never have thought about – a couple expressed to us that you can feel overwhelmed by family when you go home. You are used to just the two of you in a small apartment, lots of quiet, lots of personal time. Suddenly there are kids, grandkids, noise, new responsibilities, less personal time, grandkids get on your nerves more, you have less patience, …. Etc. That all sounds surreal. I hope it is not our experience.
We are slowly passing on assignments and working ourselves out of responsibilities. Tuesday, Mom arranged to meet the Wheelers at the stake center at 10:00 to teach her how to use Publisher and prepare the Banner newsletter. Meanwhile, I worked with Brother Wheeler to assemble some new metal shelving to hold the historical boxes they are organizing. The software was acting up within the building for some reason and the sisters did not make a lot of progress. The men got 1 section of shelving put up and figured out the configuration that would best fit in the room the stake has allocated to it – it was a good start. We were just headed to lunch at 12:30 when the FM group called and wanted to get into our apartment. We have been having a couple of problems with water and have been waiting for them to show up for a week. They have a key, but it would not work. Hence, we hurried home and took a raincheck on lunch. A plumber fixed our bathroom faucet which had the cold-water side clogged with rust and silt and examined the outside wall that has water damage. It appears water draining off the roof outside is seeping through the cement wall and damaging the inside wall. They will need to put a plexiglass water barricade outside and repair the wall and paint inside. That will happen while the apartment is vacant this summer. I also suggested they give the whole apartment a coat of paint while they are at it, but that will depend on the availability of budget funds.
Elder and Sister Brown from Trondheim, Norway came into the city today to do some sightseeing before ending their mission next week (we vaguely remember them from Festinords). Their mission president gave them permission to visit some of their family locations. I had given them a list of suggested sites to see on a walking tour and invited them to dinner. About 5:30 they called and had gotten turned around and crossed the canal bridge to Amager and were basically lost going in the wrong direction on foot. I got them headed to the national library and then went to pick them up in the car as it was still a 30-minute walk for them to get to our place. We had a nice dinner and I walked them to the Grand Hotel by the train station around 7:30. This is their 4th mission: 2 for 23 months, 2 for 18 months, with about 18 months between each one. They have been in India twice (humanitarian and MLS), then Sweden (MLS) and now Norway with the YSA. They are another example of a dedicated couple who has given their talents to the Lord to build His church in various places in the world in their senior years. The Wheelers have been in South Africa as a branch president, Moscow for 8 months and now Copenhagen for 12 on church history missions. The Browns living above us (temple missionaries), are on their 8th mission of various kinds. Some have been shorter or stay-at-home, but they have included a church ranch in Florida and a previous temple mission here for 18 months. Because of all of this, mom and I have talked about the coincidence of so many conversations in the last few weeks with couples who have served multiple missions. It seems like the Lord is sending us a message that we are not done, we are needed more in the mission field than at home, and that we should start preparing for our next mission right away. We are certainly ok with that but perhaps the time table will be faster than it otherwise would have been. So much depends on our health and the family situation. We have talked about selling our house right away and downsizing. The thought that comes to me as I write this, is that it would make more sense to stay where we are for the time being and then sell the house as we leave on the next mission. We could then serve without worrying about the house in our absence and we would not waste the effort of buying a new place just to leave it right away.
We took a trip Wednesday morning with Elder and Sister Brown (the ones from Norway). The #1 site on their list was Frederiksborg Slot to see the Carl Bloch paintings. They could have traveled to it by train, but it is certainly much easier by car, given their time table of wanting to be in Sweden by 3:00. We picked them up at 9:30 outside their hotel and headed up, parking at the upper end of the castle park where there is free parking. We walked with them through the grounds to the museum entrance and then left them there to enjoy the audio tour at their own pace. We went back to the car and wrote in our journals. They weather got up to 20 degrees C and it was a lovely day with lots of sunshine and blue clouds - perfect day to be at the Slot. Things are just greening up. They finished at 12:30 and we dropped them off at the main train station at 1:30. It was a nice, good Samaritan deed done to help them enjoy the end of their mission.
We had farewell lunch with the Andersens on Monday. She is the one that taught us Danish lessons with the BYU exchange students when we first arrived. They wanted to treat us to a going away present and so we met them in a small café frequented by pensioners inside the Hvidover public library. It was a strange setting, but she had preordered 3 different kinds of smørrebrød (Danish open-faced sandwiches) and they were very good. That type of sandwich is starting to grow on me. We had a pleasant lunch and were home by 1:30. The Andersen’s have an impressive family. Ann Marie (Lindberg – bishop’s wife) is in our ward along with 2 sons and their families. Heidi is the wife of Thomas Ringheim, our HC YSA advisor, and Lisa Klein (Victoria's mother) is in the Frederiksberg ward. Brother Klein is a non-member but the rest of the family are solid. They do a lot of good in the stake. Brother Andersen was an American missionary here in 1959. He met Marian and I think she followed him to the states. They were married, lived in the states for about 8-10 years and then moved to Denmark where they have lived since then and raised their family. I think he considers himself more Danish now than American, but he loves to talk to the senior missionaries and he has been an interesting friend.
Thursday, we were released as temple workers effective May 9th by President and Sister Olsson. They invited us to come in and visit with them. They gave us a release certificate and a Swedish candy bar wrapped in Danish flag paper. (They are Swedish but the president and matron of our temple.) They were very gracious and kind and complemented us on our service in the temple. They also “invited” us back in August of 2019 to serve in the temple. It looks like their needs are covered between now and then. That seems like a long way in the future at the moment.
Friday was our last day in the Copenhagen temple. The temple is closed for maintenance after last Saturday and does not reopen until May 8th. We of course will not be able to attend again. I was assigned to be the session leader for the first session. That was very thoughtful of the Coordinator as I appreciated officiating and offering the prayer in the prayer circle one last time. I was in sealings for the 2nd session. We had only 9 male temple workers, including a counselor in the presidency and the temple recorder. We needed each of them as during the 2nd session we did sealings, had a family in the baptistry and an endowment session. Every worker was used. During the endowment session, I found myself trying to commit the beautiful murals in the first room to memory. They are so beautiful. I wish I had pictures available to look at in the future to remind us of our choice service in this temple. I am so glad that was part of our mission experiences. To share one interesting thing from this week - I was at the front desk at 6:25 and was about to lock the doors and go to my next assignment, when an Asian sister slipped in. She only had broken English and at first, I thought she was looking for another building as she seemed confused and out of place. But then she pulled a temple recommend from her purse and everything was OK. She is from Taiwan and is visiting. President Swenson came to the front desk just about then and I was glad he did, as I might have told her that the session had already started. He quickly called downstairs and told them to hold the session for her. It started 15 minutes late, but it was nice she could be part of it. It was a small session with only 3 men and 6 sisters. 2 of us went in as part of the prayer circle. She wanted to go through the veil in Mandarin, and the recorder printed a veil card for her to use. Unfortunately, the script was English and not Chinese characters and she could not read it. So, she went through in English with some help.
On Saturday, there was a RS stake meeting at the stake center. So, I worked with Elder Wheeler again on assembling more shelves for the RPC (Records Preservation Center) they are setting up on the 2nd floor where the copy machine has been. We got one side completely done with 4 sections and 1 of 3 sections on the other side. We could have finished it, but an old copier needs to be junked to make room and we could not get it through the doorway without taking it apart. We did not feel like it was our right to do that in case we broke something.
So, I will end with some thoughts on my priesthood lesson. Lindsey’s letter has triggered me to add a bit more on this. In receiving the assignment to teach, I had thoughts similar to Lindsey. The last time I taught was on the Sabbath and I felt like I had shared all my feelings about it then – and it has been 4, 4th Sunday lessons this year and 3 years the church has focused on it – if not a dead horse, at least a thoroughly examined and talked about horse! Hopefully, with some guidance of the spirit, I decided to make this sort of a culmination of “what have we learned” and “how have we changed” summary of hallowing the Sabbath Day. We started with some sharing of what anyone had done on this Saturday or Sunday morning to spiritually or physically prepare for Sunday, and then some thoughts on how their attitudes or practices have changed towards the Sabbath, the sacrament, the Atonement, their love for the Savior, etc. as a result of the Church’s focus on the topic. There was a lot of good participation. Then my scriptural foundation was Mark 2:27-28. [27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.] After some good discussion/sharing on what these verses mean, I used these 2 quotes from President Nelson (April 2015 Gen Conf) to summarize that part:
What did the Savior mean when He said that “the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath”?2 I believe He wanted us to understand that the Sabbath was His gift to us, granting real respite from the rigors of daily life and an opportunity for spiritual and physical renewal. God gave us this special day, not for amusement or daily labor but for a rest from duty, with physical and spiritual relief.
The Savior identified Himself as Lord of the Sabbath. It is His day! Repeatedly, He has asked us to keep the Sabbath or to hallow the Sabbath day. We are under covenant to do so. [He gave us 6 days to use as we want, but the 7th day is His and He prescribed via Commandment how it is to be used. We break that commandment with consequences.]
The part of the lesson I did not get to as much as I wanted, was discussing how we can better use the Sabbath in our efforts to minister. That came out a bit in the comments though. I did want to suggest 5 areas or practices that they could consider incorporating into their Sundays and we spent about 10 minutes on these: Father’s Interviews, Family History (including Indexing, memories, journals), Power Hour (working on Faith in God, Duty to God, Personal Progress with their children), Sharpen the Saw (30 minute weekly self-evaluation session on progress on our goals, could also be a family council session), and Ministering. All in all, I think there was a good spirit and everyone left feeling uplifted. It was very nice having the mix of the “young elders” and the “older elders”. This is the first lesson this ward has had combined in the new EQ. I noticed a tendency of the HP’s carrying the conversation and perhaps that is something we all will have to be on guard against.
Love you all, Dad.
