Going GAGA (General Authority General Authority)

It has been a week for receiving counsel from General Authorities. We began the week with a mission tour by the Europe Area President, Elder Patrick Kearon. We ended the week (actually started this week. The European calendars, however, begin the week with Monday) with a broadcast to the northern European stakes, featuring Elders M. Russel Ballard, L. Whitney Clayton and Timothy J. Dykes as well as Sister Linda S. Reeves.

We spent the first part of the week, prior to the mission tour, trying to repair the dining table at the mission president's home. The finish has raised because the wood is a veneer and moisture caused the finish to crack in some places. When I realized that it was not going to be like the tables we have oiled and restored, I was prepared to let it alone. Sister Beckstrand said she had obtained a stain/varnish with which she had restored a bureau and that she would just take care of it. Olivia said, "Would you trust us to do that for you?" She, of course, was quite willing. What was that companion of mine thinking?! I have never had much luck with finishes, especially glossy ones. She, however, was concerned that with the new schedule for mission presidents, the Beckstrands are rarely home and were stressed enough without adding that to their plate.

We went to the Fluger Färg (pronounced flugger fairy) which is a paint store and got minimally accurate advice from the young man there who had probably painted walls, but never fine furniture. We purchased some stain and a water based polyurethane along with 600 grit sandpaper and 0000 steel wool. The sanding and staining went well, but even after three coats of the finish, there are still obvious brush marks. We are going back tomorrow with a paint roller specially made for such finishes. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

[Of course I'm wearing a white shirt and tie. Don't you? Here we are sanding and/or steel wooling between coats. After this we apply the polyurethane over a smooth surface.]

I think I have explained the white shirt and tie before. When we visit apartments for inspection or other matters, we are  often given bags of clothing that previous missionaries have left. I have found some shirts and ties that fit and use them as work shirts. Thus, I can still look the part and not worry if I get a little smudged.

I have mentioned that the Book of Mormon musical is playing here. As a result, the missionaries and members from the local wards are on the sidewalk in front of the theater when each performance is over handing out a copy of the Book of Mormon to anyone who would like one. They have always run out of them. That is 220 books per show. So far, over 2,500 of them have been given out along with a pass-along card that has the appropriate URL. The missionaries tell us that the people are amazed to get them for free. As a result, the Swedish version of mormon.org features some of our current and former missionaries to point out that real missionaries are not the naive caricatures they see depicted in the play, but young people with testimonies and deep conviction. Elder Olson, for instance, has only been a member for about 1.5 years, but joined the Church after going to the musical in the US and finding an ad in the program stating that "The book is always better." He read it and received the missionaries. Read his story here: http://www.mormonnewsroom.se/artikel/aldste-olson

Here is a link to Sister Hatch's testimony and song. She is one of the sister missionaries with whom we work closely. She is a Sister Trainer Leader in Uppsala.

http://www.mormonnewsroom.se/artikel/syster-hatch

There are several others at mormonnewsroom.se, if you are interested. It is in Swedish, but if you right click you can translate it into English.



You will remember Elder Kearon from the last General Conference. He is the one who spoke of the refugee challenge in the world and brought President Uchtdorf to tears. https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/refuge-from-the-storm?lang=eng Normally, we would not have a mission tour this early in the year, especially given the fact that it has only been a few months since the last one and that this mission president will be leaving and a new one coming in July. It is a lot of work to prepare and execute the visit and the Beckstrands were a little apprehensive until they heard who would be conducting the tour. They have worked with President Kearon, know his story, and have always been left better off after having been in his presence.

At this type of conference we usually sit in the very back of the room, so we can quietly move out when it is time to set up for the meal. However, he had the senior couples sit in the third row back, so he could see and direct comments to us. We were not disappointed, to say the least. He made the point in many different ways that we can make necessary changes, and that if we expect to make anything of our lives, we must. We cannot, however, make lasting changes without involving the atonement of Christ in those decisions. Most people realize that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel (2nd Article of Faith), but most of us seem to assume that this applies to everyone except ourselves. He spoke quietly, personally, and with a good dose of humor, but it was powerful. It was one of those experiences that cannot be described in words adequate to bring the Spirit as only being there in person can do.

[Elder Kearon with us and the Clouses]

Of course, we missed much of the training that was meant specifically for the the young missionaries because we were in the kitchen or cultural hall preparing and setting out the food. We also set up the room so it looked nice for the missionaries who came to eat there.

 [Olivia with Sister Clouse at the lovely tables. We recruited the local missionaries to help fold napkins, set out utensils, water and the tulips. It was very impressive.]

 [Elder Kendall gave Elder Baggett a much-needed (kneaded?) shoulder massage. Elder Clouse thought that service deserved its own massage, Elder Nielson, Elder Mecham and Elder Hurlbut agreed. Hard work has its rewards!]

The following day we helped set up and serve the lunch in a different building. This was the Mission Leader Conference (MLC) day. MLC happens every six weeks, but this time, President Kearon presided and trained. We were not invited to the training, but the missionaries who attended were energized to do their work in the Lord's way. It was edifying to listen to them and talk with them at lunch.

[Sister Christensen is a Sister  Trainer Leader. She is a natural leader who will make a difference in this world. Her mother is friends with our daughter-in-law's sister, so we make it a point to talk with her when we get the chance.]

We spent Saturday helping some of the missionaries with their needs and then helping prepare the Club House for the Hales, a senior couple who will be arriving Tuesday. I have mentioned the Club House before. It is temporary quarters for newly arrived senior couples until they can go to their permanent assignment. It is also used for family members and friends who come to the mission for a visit. I wired a light in the shower room. If people only knew how little I know... Jeff Peters would be freaking out to this day, if he had been there. Still, the light works and no one died.

Today we attended the northern Europe broadcast as I mentioned above. We went to the Gubängen chapel because we were informed that there would be a room where we could observe it in English. We were instructed that we would be in the main chapel for the first 1/2 hour then go to the room designated for English. After hearing from a member of the stake presidency, as interpreted by Elder Mecham, we were informed that the English broadcast was not available. We then listened while the speakers who spoke in English (which we could not hear) had their talks voiced over in Swedish and the missionaries translated back into English.There were huge gaps when the interpreter tried to catch up and much that didn't entirely make sense; translating is a difficult business. Elder Mecham did most of the translating and he told me later that Elder Dyches' talk was especially difficult. So if any of you have contact with Elder Dyches, please let him know that we would really like a copy of his talk.

Some of you may know that Elder Dyches, who is from Reno, is a counselor in the Europe Area Presidency. He conducted the last mission tour just a couple of weeks before we arrived. He is held in very high regard in this country, especially among the missionaries as well as President and Sister Beckstrand. We were very sorry to have missed seeing him.

To follow up from last week, Olivia is officially off the sympathy list. She became progressively better as the week progressed and we hope she stays that way.

We wish you all the best this week.We have much on our plate as the week begins, so stay tuned.

We love and miss you all.