SPRING...Not Yet, Neighbor

Don't tell the neighbors, but it is not really Spring. We now have 12 hours of daylight, the weather was mostly clear, only scattered rain for several days, so the sidewalks are crowded with people enjoying what looks like it should be Spring weather. The problem is that it is still COLD!

We had a few free hours one day, so we took a walk along the paths through the meadows below us. We dressed in light sweaters and light jackets. As we passed the apartments to our left, we saw a couple of young mothers sitting around a patio table enjoying their morning coffee, totally wrapped in quilts. It didn't take us long to appreciate the fact that we had brought along our stocking caps which we recently purchased at the Naturkompaniet outlet store in Örnskoldsvik as I mentioned in our last post.

Some fat guy found my jacket, hat and phone

Me, "Why don't you let me take your picture?" She, "It's my phone. I get to decide." So you don't get to see her new hat.

What looks like ripples in the water are actually where leaves have fallen on the ice, the sun has warmed them and they sink a little lower than the other surface. Ice, Sweden, it's not yet Spring!

The fields are starting to green a little. Everywhere we go we see deer in the fields.
 It must be frustrating to the farmers. We don't know if they can harvest
deer or not. It has been a mild winter, here, so there are lots of them. No deer
here, Olivia just wanted to get the train as it zoomed by.

Same thing, today. The young families that inhabit the apartments below us (we live on a hillside) are all out with their children, mostly bundled up like the boys in Christmas Story. Still, the children are playing, the parents are supervising or cleaning their patios; one is grilling meat in his BBQ grill. I think it is just seems nice to them to have so much light, finally.

It was transfer week, and we got to help out, again. We got three new missionaries; two sisters and an elder. One sister is here just months after her brother returned from serving in Sweden. Because we only had one missionary return home, President Beckstrand opened a new area for sisters. They will be in the apartment we looked at about a month ago in Halmstad, which is just south of Göteborg. We know both of the sisters who will be opening this new area. They are both superior workers, with strong testimonies and excellent skills. They will be a welcome addition to the ward, there.

This is near the place where we typically take the picture for their parents to enjoy. In the background is the bay and behind it the three crowns atop the City Offices. Like all missionaries, they have to do the jump off the wall next to the statue of the transient musician. The idea is to get the shot while they are in midair. Olivia never quite got it.
L to R: Elders Hawkins (POE), Pärkkä (Asst. to Pres.), Jensen (AP) Winnet (new missionary), Christley (POE), Pack (POE) and Sisters DeMordaunt and Hall.

This transfer meant losing Elder Hawkins who has been working in the office. He has been an outstanding addition to the office staff. He is dedicated, efficient and insisted on including missionary efforts in the busy work, there. He was very anxious to get back into the actual day-to-day work of being a missionary.

We will miss having Elder Hawkins in the office, but will still see him from time to time, no doubt.

Some of you will remember Elder Sjokenan (not sure of spelling) from Finland who served in The Desert Hills Ward. Elder Pärkkä is his good friend. We took this picture so he could send it to Finland and tell him Bishop and Sister Anderson said "Hi"

President and Sister Beckstrand with the APs

In our travels, this week, one of the missionaries asked me what difference I saw in young men before and after their missions. I said it had to be the level of maturity. When a young man comes home and something needs to be done, he asks if there is anything he can do to help. That seldom happened when he was a typical teenager. Both men and women who retain the discipline they had during their missions discover success in virtually every aspect of their lives. They succeed in school, dating, careers and marriage. Those who go back to not-so-good friends and try to make up for the "lost 2 years" soon forget the valuable lessons of their missions and become mediocre, at best.

We spent many hours this week doing what we do: fixing, carrying out bags of items left by former inhabitants of apartments, installing desks and chairs and generally being of service. Each time as we drove away, one or the other of us will say, "Ugh! We forgot to get a picture of..." Still, these experiences are tucked away in our memories to become part of life's well. When we need living water, we go there and draw out something we deposited for that purpose in the past.

Friday, our ward's Relief Society celebrated the RS 175th anniversary. Olivia has become a part of the Relief Society, here. She was asked by Sol Britt Burman to read a poem. Sol Britt read it in Swedish; Olivia read the interpreted version in English. Basically, it was about a woman whose husband asked that if he died, would she promise not to marry Pehr? She responds that she absolutely would promise not to marry Pehr...because she promised Sven instead. The poem was written by Anna Marie Lenngren in 1793.

Sol Britt and Olivia

The Relief Society social. A couple of the men came along as security.

Saturday, the sister missionaries serving in our ward had a baptism. Anastasia is from Kazakhstan and speaks only a little Swedish. Olivia has become fast friends, even though Anastasia speaks only Russian and Olivia speaks only English. She was baptized by Elder Loertscher who had interviewed her for baptism. There was a good turnout for the baptism where her daughter, who is a member, spoke as well as the Relief Society President and the Bishop. After the baptism, she bore her testimony in Russian and our ward mission leader, who served his mission in Russia, interpreted. It was a very spiritual time.

Anastasia and Elder Loertscher

Today, as we walked into Sacrament Meeting, a counselor in the bishopric pulled me aside and asked if I would speak for five minutes and bear my testimony. We had just discussed the fact that we have been attending the ward for six months and had never been given the opportunity to speak. I appreciated the opportunity and several people expressed their appreciation. Most of them were deeply sincere, which surprised me a little, since I had little opportunity to prepare. I am grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost which we seem to take for granted, until something happens when we depend upon that gift. I am also grateful for the Atonement that allows us to be worthy when the time comes that we need to exercise our faith to complete a task.

Stay tuned. Next week we travel to new places; at least places to which we have not yet been. We love and miss all of you. We appreciate your prayers and your thoughtful communications.

PS: If anyone is interested, I have resurrected my study journal and have been transcribing it onto www.dadsstudyjournal.blogspot.com. No pictures, just my thoughts on what I have read or experienced, lately.