Sunday, June 11, 2017

Here They Come; There They Go!

This week was transfer week, as it is every six weeks. This was especially poignant for President and Sister Beckstrand as it is the last time they will greet the new missionaries at the airport and train them the following day. It is the last time they will assign new missionaries to their trainers and treat them to a traditional meal to send them off to their new areas.

It is also the last time they will have the returning missionaries come to their home for their final testimony meeting, final interview with the President, keep them in the bunks downstairs, feed them breakfast burritos and see them off at the airport. It has been an emotional roller coaster for this valiant couple this week.

We were able to assist in the comings and goings, which we always find uplifting.  After the new missionaries arrive in Sweden, they are taken to downtown Stockholm and have pictures taken there. This week, however, they arrived especially early in the morning, so they were able to spend a little more time in the old city. They were also able to visit the temple grounds (the temple is closed for cleaning) and take a path beyond the temple where there is a Viking burial ground.

While they were watching a special changing of the guard at the palace, we were preparing the YSA Center for their lunch. June 6 is Sweden's National Day, so the palace guards were accompanied by an excellent military band. In honor of the day, the YSA missionaries, Elder and Sister Hall, prepared a traditional Swedish meal of meatballs, lingonberries, and honeymoon salad (lettuce alone, no dressing). We helped set up and serve.

After the meal, the missionaries are paired up with veteran missionaries from the Stockholm areas and go out to the street to do contacting. As we left the center, we witnessed Elder Stapley, one of the Proselyting Office Elders with his companion for the hour, speaking with a young couple who happily took a Book of Mormon and promised to read it. We have good missionaries in this country.

The following day, we helped prepare the lunch and attended the meeting where the new missionaries were paired with their new companions. It is always fun to listen to them read their letter, try to pronounce their area and see the trainer jump up and hug them.

Then it was off to T Central in a bus specially chartered for the purpose to begin their service. I followed shortly thereafter and assisted in picking up the returning missionaries from T Central and taking them to the mission home. We had a meal with them at a nice restaurant and then back to the mission home for a testimony meeting and "Sister Anderson's delicious chocolate cake."(Quote from the written itinerary)

The next morning we assisted in taking these elders to the airport. Sister Wilson had already left with the Clouses at 4:00 AM to catch the first of what would be a 22 hour (in the air, not counting the layover times) trip home to Australia. She and the Clouses were in the MTC together. We will miss her, very much. We have had a lot of contact with her over the past nine months.

The elders' flight out of Stockholm was cancelled, but they were rerouted and arrived in Salt Lake City even earlier than originally anticipated. There were some anxious hours for Elder and Sister Hales who were emailing, calling and waiting for word from the Church Travel Department and keeping parents informed. It was their first time at this and kind of a baptism by fire. They did a great job, however.
At the airport with Elders Rowley, Cluff, Pfost, Adams, Groberg,
Chugg,Weaver, Murri (in back), Payne and Walton

Sister Wilson on her birthday when she\
served with us in Uppsala





















With this group going home and another in six weeks, the mission will be short of elders and will have to close three areas this transfer and another three next time. They will be able to open three again in August because July and August will see a large number coming in. Our contingent of missionaries, however will be reduced by the time the next president comes in, so three will be permanently closed.

It doesn't seem like much when I write about it, but this took up most of our waking hours for most of the week.

We were, however, able to get in some social and sightseeing time (I prefer to call it site seeing) with other senior missionaries. We tested our new BBQ grill with the Clouses and Hales to celebrate Elder Hales' birthday on Friday. The meal turned out fine. Charcoal heats faster with a hairdryer here as it does back home and the grill was a hit. The company was even better. Elder Hales did not want to celebrate his birthday so, of course, we celebrated again on Saturday. Before they leave, we wanted to introduce the Clouses to the movie The Little Kidnappers, another Anderson family favorite, so we had another meal at the Clouses' temporary quarters and watched the movie afterward. Elder Hales' birthday just provided a good excuse.
The traditional picture beneath the Viking Ship replica. Sister and
Elder Hales, Elder and Sister Clouse

Sister and Elder Clouse, Elder and Sister Smith, Sister and Elder Hales

























We had arranged for Elder and Sister Smith to take us on a tour of the train system, thinking that it may be a better mode of transportation when Cedric's family comes next week. We decided, however, that even with the parking issues in tourist season, the car will be a better mode of transportation. That freed up Saturday morning so we went with them to Drottningholm Palace. This is the official residence of the king and queen and their immediate family, but the grounds and many of the buildings are open to the public. It is a beautiful place to visit and take in so much history. It is definitely on our "to do/see" list for when Cedric and family come week after next .

My rule is to always look up when visiting a
church, castle or other historical site. There
is always a masterpiece that many never see.













The grounds of Drottningholm Palace go
on for miles...

in front and in back


Most of the garden is grass and evergreen
hedges, but there were some beautiful
rhododendrons as well. Also, all kinds
of birds, especially waterfowl.










One of the many rooms inside the Palace

I think this is a mirror selfie inside one of the rooms, too.
At the far end of the garden is the China Pavilion, originally built
by King Adolf Fredrik for his queen Lovisa Ulrika  in 1753 as a
surprise for her birthday. Chinese objects and culture was all the
rage in those days. This was intended to be a place to get away
and enjoy quiet time.

The China Pavilion is filled with ancient
objects from China. Porcelain figurines, here 

Several other buildings went up by the China Pavilion
for various purposes. This is called The Confidential. It
was a place where secret conversations could take place.
Enlarge the photo and look closely at the floor. You will
see that under the table and the cabinets the floor could
be lowered, the cabinets filled and the table set below,
then raised, so no servants need be present for the
conversations that would take place during the meal.
Two new missionaries in the Uppsala Ward today and we are excited to have them. Elder Harper came from Växjö (vek'hwa) which was his first area as a missionary. This is where we met him when we went there to close a vacant apartment and got good help from him and his companion. Sister Christensen we have met several times. We take her picture whenever we see her (except today 😕) so we can share it with her family. Our daughter-in-law's sister (Camille's sister Christine) plays tennis with her mother, so we are practically family! A more positive, hard-working missionary you will never find. We are thrilled to have them here.

We were saddened to hear of the death of a good friend, neighbor and brother, Jim Miller. For some reason we don't have Linda's email address or home address with us. If any of you have it, we would appreciate your sharing it. He was a kind, caring bishop, scout leader, girls' camp adviser, and all around good friend. We will miss him dearly.

That's all for this past week. We are making plans for next Sunday and the week that follows. That is when Cedric's family will arrive and we are most excited to see them.


2 comments:

  1. Also so sad to hear of Jims passing. 120 pascus sp 89431 should do it. Thx for the great information on Sweden as always. God bless

    ReplyDelete
  2. So cool Cedric and team are coming! Karen and I watched a Swedish movie last night with subtitles. You wouldn't have needed them, and I was amazed at how many words were English-like. A Man Called Ove was the film and it was very enjoyable. So, you guys coming home in a few months? How long is your mission, I forget -- 18 or 24 months?

    ReplyDelete