S4:E11 "Chinese explosion"

Hello everyone! It's that time of week Again! EMAIL TIME! I hope you are prepared for this, because I am.

 

Monday!!!!! Wasn't that special, we spent most of our time putting up some blinds and talking about past girl drama with one of our investigators. But we did give a good lesson about why it's important to pray and read the scriptures, Then we tried to stop by Yaseens house, but sadly he wasn't home so... we ended up trying to find him because he had no phone, but sadly it didn't Work.

 

Tuesday, we finally were able to meet with a referral we got. Her name is Margit, and it was a good lesson. She is this super nice older lady WHO has travelled pretty much everywhere! We talked about religion and talked about why we have the book of mormon, and why we have a church on the earth instead of just worshipping by ourselves. After this we went ate a chinese buffet. We both ate 4 plates of food and then 2 bowls of icecream. It was nummy, but afterwards we walked to the car and Elder Holbrook wasn't feeling too well. (Neither was I, but that's not important) So Elder Holbrook went off on his own and tried to get himself together, and while he was doing that I found some cats!!!! There were 5 stray kittens that I just got to love and pet! But after Elder Holbrook puked, we went on our way and stopped by a potential named Jette, and finally made an appointment with her. But get this, she also had kittens, and I got to pet those as well. Then we had a good lesson with Kenneth. Lot's of cigarette smoke, but we talked about the book of mormon, and why we read it. Good day.

 

Wednesday, we went up and worked on setting up the blinds Again, and had a really good lesson about church and everything. (I can't really remember) Then we stopped by Inge-lise WHO is this less active member, and she was feeling sick so sadly we couldn't see her. Then we went to an eating appointment with Familien Cullingford. Sadly... they bailed and Quinten forgot to tell us. But his wife is super nice and gave us some dinner anyways. So we ate that, then we stopped by some college kids, did the usual chat about video games, then set up an appointment with them.

 

Thursday, we had district meeting, then we had splits. Me and this sick kid named Elder Hansen did 6 hours of service at their church! We were just helping a member take care of the grounds and everything. We had a lovely chat about past relationships and games and all of those fun past Things! After that we at some pizza, then some waffles with ice cream on it.

 

Friday, traveling home, but our train got cancelled. So we were just hobo mode at a train station. We had our blankets over us because it was freezing, and we just stared at everyone that passed us. We had an appointment, but we didn't have time to change into our missionary clothes, so we planned on just going up there and telling her that we won't be able to make it. But she invited us in, even though we were all stinky and stuff. Then she unloaded on us. We heard her life story, and it sounded a lot like a horror film. An ex husband that just went crazy on her. So that was exciting. After that we had a sweet lesson with the Steens, where we read a chapter in the book of mormon with them. The thing is, Anders read it before our appointment! So it's getting to them, and they are enjoying reading it!

 

Saturday we met with Andrea Again to fill out some paperwork for her baptism, after that we had a really good lesson with Yaseen, and ate some food with him. It was a chill day because of weekly planning. Andrea is so cool, she told us that she wouldn't be a member of a church if it didn't mean doing something. So she is already a super active member of the church and willing to help out in any way possible.

 

Sunday, It was a good day at church, I talked with some of the members about transfers... because we think that I will be leaving Sønderborg. It was sad to talk about it, this is my home, this is where I learned everything, and I love the people. I think it's sad because I'm not sure if I will be coming back any time soon. :P But tranfer calls come on wednesday, so NeXT week I will let you all now what is going on. After church, we went up and stopped by a less active named John, WHO sadly is upset because he doesn't have a calling. So he doesn't want to come to church even though he has a super strong testimony. Then we had a lesson with Ernzt, WHO read 200 pages in the book of mormon! It was a great surprise. We taught him about prayer, and how to recieve the answer because he asked us about it. After that we ate with Tom, and had our Little missionary meeting.

 

Now I am here, with Esbjerg elders by my side because they wanted to spend pday with us. So I hope you all have a good week. Love you all!

 

Ældste Swan

S4:E10 "Going Down"

Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a good week! I have had a Wonderful week, filled with a many Things.

 

Monday was sweet. We found out that it was Canadian thanksgiving via email from my sister. So we had to hurry and buy some doughnuts and bacon for that. Before our dinner we gave a church tour to an investigator, then gave a quick lesson to Peter, WHO wasn't too happy because he was hungry. So we went home, ate 300 grams of bacon, 6 sausages, 6 doughnuts, mash potatoes, and 2 liters of coke. It was a lot, but you have to make sacrafices for celebrations!

 

Tuesday morning, woke up with some hardcore bacon heartburn... which wasn't too delightful. After calming that Down with some milk, we started the day off by walking in the rain to a less actives house named Maria, and had a nice Little conversation with her at the door, then told her to Watch a talk from general conference. We later went and stopped by Andrea, and just gave her a Little comfort lesson, getting her ready for the baptism. Then we went up to Yaseens and spent the last Little bit of the day with him, even though it wasn't that fun because everyone was drunk and smoking and my leg hurt because of my bacon blood.

 

Wednesday, we finally got in with Muslim Mom. This lady that we have stopped by over 20 times, and every time she tells us to come back another time. So we went in and started talking to her about the gospel. We found out that she met with missionaries 12 years ago in Afghanistan and read the book of mormon. She also talked about how she was a muslim, but not a crazy muslim. We didn't get to teach a Whole lot, but at the end of it, she brought up witch-craft and what we believe with that. She told us to come back NeXT time prepared to talk about that. :P After that we went up to Peters house, but he bailed on us :( So we went up to Åbenrå to look for some potential investigators. That is the prettiest city, holy cow. If there is one city I could just be in, it would be Åbenrå. After that we drove back to Sønderborg and helped Tom clean up his house a Little.

 

Thursday, District meeting, followed by really good pizza from one of there investigators that owns a pizza shop. Then we took the train ride home and met with Peter, WHO showed us his beautiful dance moves to some 80's music.

 

Friday, we wrote our testimony in a triple combination we were going to give to Andrea after her baptism. then we stopped by lots of people, to no luck. Had a good lesson with Andrea, once Again just to get her ready for Saturday. Then we read a chapter with Familien Steen. They really like doing that, and they apply what they learn in their lives. Now we just need to get them doing it on their own instead of waiting for us to stop by.

 

Saturday came around. We started off the day by driving Down to Germany, and getting lost. After finally finding the church, we talked with the German elders for a Little bit and made some cookies in preperation for the Baptism. Then the magic happened. It was a really good program, we heard a talk from our branch president, then Ældste Holbrook baptized Andrea, and that went really well. I was super proud of Elder Holbrook... I'm not entirely sure why. I guess it is just because I am his mission father. Baptisms always make me feel the spirit. It just get's me thinking about the covenant you make, and what it Means. Which leads to me thinking about the eternal perspective of Things, and the hope of returning to God with a Family. After the program, we ate some food, and the branch welcomed Andrea in really well. Then we hit the town of Flensborg, looking at some German clothes and the crazy people Down there. We found an awesome store called Gandalphs that had every nerdy thing you could imagine (Warhammer, manga, anime, magic the gathering, etc.) But sadly it was all in German. I ended up buying 2 scarfs and a tie. Then we ate some subway which took me back to the mapleton days, getting the free cookie for being a student. To top it off, we bought some Dr. Pepper, because they don't have that here in Denmark either.

 

Sunday, we went to church and I was asked to bless the sacrament. While up there I was talking to the other member that was going to bless. I asked him if the confirmation happens before or after the sacrament. He said that if he remembers correctly it's after. So I was a Little surprised when the branch president announced it before. But it went really well. It was perfect Danish, but I feel that I did the job good enough. :P As long as the spirit is there, then it is okay. Then I got to bless the sacrament in Danish as well which was really cool. After that we stopped by Familien Thorngreen, some members here and they were all sick except for the dad. Then we had an awesome eating appointment and had a super fun Family home evening with Andrea and familien Vestergård. We ended the day by going up to Peters and teaching him the basics Again. That God is our heavenly father, and how we should pray.

 

Now we are here. :D That was my week. I hope to send some Pictures because they tell much more than my lazy English typing.

 

Love you all

 

Ældste Swan

 

 

 

S4:E09 "Jesus had some cactus"

Hi everyone! I hope everything is still going fantastic with you. Denmark is still the best, although it is getting awefully Cold. I am now armed with a scarf and a big coat, because the Wind is unbelievably freezing. But I have the fat from pastries to keep me warm throughout the Winter.

 

On to the week! Monday was a good day. We helped Yaseen move some random furniture from the middle of nowhere up North. Then we went to an áwesome eating apointment with Familien Eriksen, where they had this fancy grill looking thing in the center of the table, where it was more like a Cook your food while you eat thing. It was super intense, and way good. There was some chicken, beef, vegetables, deliciousness. Then we had an awesome lesson with them where we talked about how cool conference was. We also found out that Tomas (the dad) could have been a professional ballroom dancer but went on a mission instead!

 

Tuesday, we had a good lesson with Andrea. Every time we teach Andrea we sit under an acorn tree. So, whenever it is windy we can bombarded with acorns. During this lesson one acorn fell and nailed Andrea in the face. But other than that, we were just finishing up getting her ready for baptism. Then we met with Peter, WHO wasn't doing so well. He has to go through kemo Again, so he was not happy with life and was sick of how he was living. He was still awesome, and still a boss, but he wasn't his happy self then. After that we got this Deep dish pizza to make us feel better, then we stopped by Tai and had a really good discussion with him on the purpose of life, and why religion. Sadly Tai is still being himself, and not really giving it a chance because of what he already believes, but I still think he is the coolest guy ever.

 

Wednesday comes around, and this was zone conference. So I got to see Elder Larsen, Elder Eisert, and Elder Hawkes Again. I also got to see Elder Durrant, which was awesome. Yet another kid from Mapleton that I knew before the mission. It was a really good zone training, where we talked about faith. The Elder Larsen (Grandpa Stewie) shared his last testimony with the missionaries because he is going home after this transfer. It was kind of sad, and really weird for me to see another person I know leave. I'm starting to become one of the old farts here on the mission. After an awesome familiy reunion except for Elder Walch, me and Elder Holbrook went back to the South, where we went up to Yaseens and ate some yummy rugbrød. It's the Classic Danish open sandwhich. But the last one Elder Holbrook ate was made by Yaseen, and it had a Whole ton of mayo on it... I'm still impressed that he ate it. Also, there was this random teenager there, WHO was definitely high, but we started talking to him about religion. He was like, "In the bible it says Jesus was on acid", then he said that he got the effects from a cactus. It was one of the weirdest Things I have ever heard. But... oh well.

 

We had splits the NeXT day. Going out with our Zone Leader, Elder Hansen. He is a cool guy, so we tried to stop by some people, WHO sadly weren't home. Then we had the baptismal interview for Andrea! Where of course, she is ready. Then I got Elder Johnson, and we walked, and walked, and walked. We tried stopping by person after person with no luck, then we got some ice cream and ate dinner. Then we walked even more to stop by someone WHO wasn't home. Then we ended up getting lost because I took the wrong turn. I'm pretty sure I walked more than 10 miles that day. I was so pooped that night.

 

Friday comes around, we had weekly planning. Then we served Tom, vacuum and clean up outside. Then we had an awesome lesson with familien Steen, where we read a chapter with them in the book of mormon, and just discussed what we liked and what we learned from it. They absolutely loved this. MaryAnne started marking her scriptures and just going ham on it. Anders felt really loved when he taught us something from the chapter. After that we went up to Yaseens and ate some nummy Soup, and talked about alma 32, and how we need to give place for a seed of faith.

 

Saturday was good, we met with andrea, to try and finalize everything which was good. We found out that Ældste Holbrook with baptize her, and I will be giving the gift of the holy ghost. I'm a Little nervous, just because It will be in Danish, but I know that it will be okay. After that we stopped by some college kids and talked video games with them  (The new pokemon looks sweet), then talked a about the gospel with them. Then we stopped by Maria, and Dorthe the supposed witch. Then we ended the night by eating a shepards pie.

 

Sunday was a good day at church. 3 less actives were there, 2 investigators, one of them being MaryAnne Steen. Andrea gave such a good testimony on her conversion story, and how excited she is to be baptized. Then after church we waited and met with our branch president and Andrea to finalize the program. So now it is all set in stone, and we are way excited for the baptism. After that we went up to Yaseens and watched the Uchtdorf talk with him, which was good. Yaseen gave me this random porcelin donkey that looks pretty sweet, I will have to take a Picture of it. Then we ended that day by eating lasagna and ice cream with Tom.

 

Thank you for the love and prayers! We are super excited to go Down to Germany on saturday. I will let you know how it goes, and how much Money I spend Down there. :D

 

Loves,

Ældste Swan

 

The last picture is with Andrea, the girl that will be baptized. :D 

 

S4:E08 "How is Work going in 'textiles'."

Hello all! The weeks just seem to fly by. I swear I was here writing you all a couple days ago. Everything is going well in Denmark, although in the newspaper it said that the sun comes up at 7:40 and sets at 6:30... so the day is definitely getting shorter, and darker... and colder. But that's not a problem when you have a scarf! (Man mode!)

 

Anyways, on to the weekly report:

Monday, after writing to you, we went shopping. I FINALLY found the famous cereal. It's called nougat bits. Its chocalate pillows, with a chocolate creme filling. They are super duper dense, and taste like Rainbows! (That's how good they are) They reminded me a Little bit of the cereal Matt sent home from Russia, but these are a lot more dense. So that made my monday pretty good, After eating some of those, we stopped by Christian (American investigator) and read a chapter from the book of mormon with him. Then we drove out to Tønder which is an hour road trip there. We stopped by a less active WHO lives out there named Jessy Witt (the only reason she is less active is because it is so far away) Then we have an awesome Family out there as well named the Nielsens. So after Jessy, we stopped by Emil Nielsen, whose wife wasn't home, so our dinner consisted of hotdogs, and ice cream (Sounds like the first time I was there) But once Again, it was absolutely fantastic. We talked to him and his kids about Christ, and why he is so important so us in our lives. 

 

Tuesday, we started the day off by taking the rest of our p day, by going to the mall that opened that day. :D I ended up spending a lot of Money... but I bought a darn nice suit! As well as some slacks! And some shoes because I lost one of mine on a train. :( The suit was 65% cheaper, and it was a nice European suit, so I couldn't resist. After that shopping spree, we stopped by John Sundahl, WHO is pretty much our Grandpa here in Sønderborg. We talked with him for a while, just about how it's going. Then we had the class that night, (Grundlæggende principper af Mormoner) the one we have every week, and 2 people showed up Again! It was Andrea, the girl that is going to get baptized, and none other than John Sundahl, the less active! It was so awesome to see John get out of his house and actually do something. He also has a really strong testimony on prayer, which is what we talked about. It was actually a really good lesson. We compared it to an iceberg, and the only way to get under the Water and see the bigger Picture is through prayer. (Like Joseph Smith) after the class we ate some cookies with them, then tried to get John to sing Elvis for us, but sadly, he didn't.

 

Wednesday, We stopped by Karen, WHO is this old member in the branch. She was born with this problem in her eyes where she is pretty much blind. She can only see a tiny dot right in front of her, so she has no peripheral vision. But she had translated all of the Book of Mormon, and Pearl of great Price, into brail! It fills up 2 rows on a book shelf of 3 ring binders. It is absolutely amazing! She also has a super strong testimony of the gospel, and also on temple Work! After that we served Tom and helped him clean his house. Then we had a good lesson with Andrea, we talked about her baptismal program and kind of how it will run Down. Andrea is so awesome, she has such a strong testimony already. She listens to hymns every night, reads every night, loves church, comes to our class every Tuesday. It is also crazy for us to see the change that she has experienced in her life since she has found the gospel. After that lesson with Andrea, we had an awesome lesson with Anders Steen, where we talked about reading the Book of Mormon. But it was more of a we are on the same level as you, we want to read the book of mormon with you and talk about it, kind of like a book Club. He was excited about this, and really enjoyed reading a chapter with us. Anders also told us that he still is planning on getting baptized eventually. Familien Steen is so cool, they really will make strong members, and I can't wait to see them make the first step! To close up the night, we went up to Yaseens where he made us "Authentic Chinese fried rice" Which ended up like super American fried rice in a Soup thing. But it tasted really good. 

 

Thursday, weekly planning. Then we had an awesome chat with Tai's girlfriend, Julia. Where we just talked about thinking in the big Picture. That we are here to learn and grow, and that there is a life after this one where we continue to learn and grow. After that we said goodbye to Amalie, because she is moving to Odense. We had a really good lesson with her and Rubita. We just shared our favorite scriptures, then talked about how much reading scriptures has helped us in our lives.

 

Friday, District meeting, twas fun to meet the new missionary, and our new district leader, Elder Hansen. I also found out that another one of the goobers at my schooled arrived. Ridge Durrant is being trained by my grandfather, Elder Larsen.  Which is sweet. But after district meeting we stopped by Tai to see how he is doing. Then we went up to Familien Kuntz, where we had an awesome dinner with Andrea there. Afterwards we shared our baptism experiences and it was a really awesome lesson. We also had a good time with Tobias Kuntz, the 13 year old. Talked to him about videogames and all that fun stuff.

 

Saturday was a very relaxed day. We woke up, made the weekly newsletter. Ate some pasta for lunch. After that we had another lesson with Andrea, where we talked about how to pay tithing, as well as addressing concerns and going over the baptismal interview. After that we stopped by some people, then headed up to John Sundahls to Watch conference! It was sooooo awesome! If any of you missed it, I highly encourage watching it! (this was live for us, 8 pm)

 

Sunday comes around, the first thing we did was head to the church, make some crepes, then Watch the saturday night session of conference while eating some breakfast. After that we had an appointment with our branch president, Quinten, and Andrea. We had a nice brunch with them, then shared a lesson on conference and how important it is. After this we stopped by Christian, WHO sadly said he wasn't interested anymore. So we went back to the church and watched the priesthood session. Then we went up to Ernzt, WHO is doing well! For being over 90 he read 8 chapters in the book of mormon. So we had a good lesson with him. His concern was that the bible isn't translated correctly, and also that he isn't sure if the book of mormon is translated correctly to Danish. :P But after that lesson we went back over to Johns and saw the Sunday morning session! It was a really good week, and I hope you all saw conference!

 

Thank you for the love and prayers! I hope everything is going well! Remember to keep the faith, and that which is shared, is kept!

 

Love,

Ældste Swan