Nothing Like Christmas in the Mission

To begin, I had several complaints that I had not included pictures of the knife and the nativity scenes from the last post, so here they are.

 [The Dala horse was mentioned in Oct. The knife is made in Lapland by the Sami people. The scabbard is reindeer leather, the blade is carbonized, tempered steel and the handle consists of beech wood and has a piece of reindeer antler at the end]

[This is the nativity carved by Gunnar Johnsson. It is based on the one he carved as a 13 year-old boy. He is now in his 80s, but still uses his original as the basis for his theme, even though  he now carves  much more intricate figures such as animals and the like.]

 

[This is the one carved by the Armenian immigrant who was unhappy he could not find a nativity in Stockholm, so he started making his own. He cuts out the pieces and then hand carves the details. He uses six different kinds of Swedish woods.]

While we did not spend a lot of time traveling to inspect apartments, we did manage to stay busy with our calling and seeing some of the sights and sites. We did have one last apartment to check which also involved taking out two beds that were worn out. The beds here resemble nothing in the States. They are all one piece, padded sort of box springs with legs, on top of which is placed a two-inch thick mattress.  In this apartment the beds were up a tiny spiral staircase, so we had to take the stairs and railing apart and have an elder pass down the beds to me and the other elder, then rebuild the stairs. It was kind of a fun project. We then had to go to a recycling place that allows the tossing of möbler och madrasser (furniture and mattresses). We were in a hurry, so we were in and out before realizing that we hadn't taken a picture so inquiring minds would be satisfied. Next time - promise.

[A typical bed. Mattress is removable; the rest is one piece]

We also assisted in distributing lots of packages from home. If the office receives a package under 4 lbs. it can be forwarded by the post office, otherwise it has to be delivered. The large Christmas packages start coming from the families in early November, which is good because it gives us an opportunity to help distribute them when we travel out of the area to inspect apartments. The ones that come later present a challenge because they may be for a missionary in an area no one is scheduled to visit for a while, but everyone pitches in to do the best they can. We took an entire postal bag (as large as Santa's, but not as magical) to the Handen chapel where all the districts in the zone were meeting last week. There were still some that had not yet arrived and a couple that would not fit in the bag. Still, in the end there was only one package that did not get delivered due to the missionary's being in a remote area that will not be visited until next week. He had received his major packages from home; this was one that was ordered from a shop in Stockholm by his grandmother, and dropped off by the shop, but was mostly candy. He can wait.

The Pettits are the new couple who came to our mission from their initial mission in Ireland. It is their apartment that required all the hours of work in November and December. We were not quite finished as we determined that they needed a coat rack above the shoe rack in the entry. In Sweden, everyone removes shoes as they enter the dwelling. There is a shoe rack in the entry and typically a coat rack above for coats and for the shoe horn to assist in putting the shoes back on when you leave. 

We went back to the Pettit's apartment to install the coat rack and they invited us to dinner as a token of their appreciation for the apartment. They have been very appreciative even before this, so it was nice to assist them in this project. Installing anything on the ceiling or walls of an apartment in this country is not just a matter of penetrating sheetrock, The walls and ceilings are concrete, so it quickly wears out the drill bits and requires an impact drill and lots of patience. We did manage to install it after breaking a drill bit and wearing out another.

 [Elder Bringhurst, Sister Hall, Sister Wilson and Elder Adcox]

We had a great time as the week ended. The missionaries' week ended Friday night at 6:00, so we invited them to our apartment for the evening. We had a nice meal and finally watched the First Presidency's Christmas program. Then I rushed them to the train station to get back to their apartments in time. They are good, obedient missionaries. They love Olivia's cooking and we enjoy their company.

Saturday was Christmas Eve day and it was packed. There is a place in Stockholm called Skansen which consists of several acres that has a variety of features including old buildings that have been moved there to show some of the 17th, 18th and 19th century ways of living. So there is a farm house with some of the outbuildings, an iron worker's house and buildings, an old church, a zoo with Swedish animals, a children's section, a Sami village and so forth. It is free on Christmas Eve day, so there were a lot of people there along with a contingent of missionaries. Of course, very few of the houses and other features were open, which is why it was free, but Olivia and the other sisters found things to spend money on in the gift shops.

 [Elder and Sister Smith, Tanner Clouse (visiting his parents) Elder and Sister Clouse, Sister Pullins, Elder Olson, Sister Shin, Elder Black at Skansen]

 [House in the Sami village] Reindeer in the zoo

 [In the iron worker's compound] [These fences are all over Sweden. The tops of the rails are held up by willows or bark and the bottom is in the ground]

 

 [Interior of the church. A lady deacon is winding the clock in front. The Podium is to the side of the pews. The paintings and wall decor are all quite ancient]

We went from there to a member family's home just outside of Uppsala for another Julbord dinner, games and conversation. They all speak English pretty well, so even we could follow along. The dinner again consisted of lots of meats, mashed potatoes, and cheese. I counted five different types of sausages, ham, a canned meat, and liver paste to go on the bread. There were three kinds of bread, but when we readied ourselves to leave the wife rushed to the kitchen and brought out a bag of rolls she had forgotten to put out on the table. 

[A lady who is a sometime member of the ward, Elder Adcox, Sister Hall, Tore Burman (host) Elder Bringhurst, Sister Wilson, Sol-Brit Burman (hostess) Christopher "Stofer" Burman]

That evening we rushed from Uppsala back to the mission offices where the Clouses had prepared food and refreshments for the same missionaries who were with us in Skansen, the sisters from Täby, and the Pettits. We enjoyed hearing and sharing traditions and how we tried to bring Christ into our Christmases with our families. We left there full and edified as we heard the stories of how the others invited the Spirit into their homes at this blessed time.

Sister Trotter, Sister Olsen, Sister Pettit, Elder Pettit, Sister Shin, Olivia, Brad, Sister Smith, Sister Pullins, Elder Smith, Sister Clouse, Elder Olson, Elder Clouse and Elder Black]

Sunday we were invited to our bishop's home for...Julbord. We won't need meat for a very long time. Again, lots of meats, but also lax (salmon) with a special sauce, and two kinds of pickled sill (herring). This time they also had wonderful mashed potatoes and a nice green salad. Olivia was asked to bring a dish that represented Christmas at home. She decided to bring Raspberry Crunch. 

This Raspberry Crunch was doomed, but in the end turned out to be quite the hit. The gelatin dessert here is not as flavorful as Jello or its generic cousins at home, and there is no Cool Whip or anything similar. They do have raspberries, however. It is their favorite flavor, it seems. They sell raspberry licorice candy and milkshakes. No, it is not raspberry flavored candy that looks like licorice. It is raspberry and licorice; black, salty licorice. Don't tell the Swedes, but it doesn't work. I digress. She got some nice frozen berries and plenty of pretzels. The whipped topping substitute was some oat milk cream that she whipped and blended with the the cream cheese. It didn't look like the gelatin was going to jell at first, but it did. Lots of frozen raspberries helped.

When we started off for Church in Uppsala, she made me pull the car over so she could put the Corningware pan of the dessert in the back where it would be less likely to get too warm. It stayed there all through the sacrament meeting and the Jul Fika (Christmas refreshments) after church. We then gathered the other missionaries to take them with us to Bishop and Sister Holmdahl's house. One of the missionaries brought his guitar and wanted to put it in the back of the van, but as they opened the back door, the Rasberry Crunch slid out and onto the pavement. Luckily, it spilled only a small amount and the Corningware pan only sustained a chip on one edge. It actually turned out to taste good.

 [Fontana Pero', Anna Masus (Primary Pres.), and Sister Holmdahl watch as the Primary children check out the goddis (candy)]

 [The bishop's daughter is enjoying her hot chocolate. Enlarge this picture if you can - very cute!]

We left earlier than the others because we needed to get home and call the children. We were able to video/talk to all the kids and all the grandchildren except Tavan's children who were at their mother's for the day. We will catch them this week.

I will end by telling you of a special experience. We were invited to participate in a discussion with an investigator named Jessica. Because the mission president cancelled our usual office meeting that day, we were able to attend. Jessica has been investigating the Church for a long time. She is a law student and has a very bright mind, but she is also very spiritually sensitive. I wrote in the blog several weeks ago about our experience with her in FHE. 

This meeting was to explain the priesthood. The missionaries told us they would like us to just tell about our experience as they presented the lesson. When the lesson started, however, they turned to me and Sister Hall said, "Elder Anderson would you tell us what the priesthood is and why it is important?" So basically, Olivia and I presented the lesson. I explained that the priesthood consists of power and of authority delegated by God to men on the earth and how it was necessary because of the Great Apostacy to have the priesthood restored in order to establish the Church of Christ again on the earth. Olivia explained the role of women in the auxiliaries to the priesthood and how we have been blessed through this important means. 

It went exceptionally well when we talked about priesthood blessings and administering to the sick. She has been very stressed as she approaches finals. Just like most law schools in the States, There is one exam that determines the entire grade for each class and she is determined to do well on those exams. There are no mid-terms, quizzes, theme papers or the like, just that one exam determines all. The missionaries asked her in Swedish if she would like for me to give her a blessing and she said she would like that. I don't remember what I said, but it must have been something she needed as she was in tears afterward. I have thought since that we should have challenged her to be baptized, but the impression was not there at the time, so it may not have been a good time. It was, however, a sacred time and one we will remember for a long time.

We love you all and wish you a very happy, healthy, prosperous new year filled with the love of family, and the love of God. You are all special to us.