Piling it on

Probably the hardest part of our responsibilities is finding new apartments. There is a housing shortage in Sweden, so even thought there are new apartments going up all over, there is a waiting list to get into them. It is interesting to watch the progress of the construction. It is like building with Legos. The walls, floors and roofs are pre-poured concrete slabs with openings where they need to be for doors, windows, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical conduit. It looks like giant cranes are taking over the landscape. We have been watching a small apartment building that is going up near us and it is quite fascinating. Of course, the end result looks nothing like the beautiful old apartment buildings from an older century, but they do try to leave parks or some areas have sculptures, so even though the buildings lack architectural interest, there is beauty or at least interest nearby.

Typical skyline in Stockholm County

These are a typical sight
everywhere we go

My original point is that finding apartments has been a challenge. President Youngberg has asked us to find something a little closer into the city of Umeå (oo'mee o) because the elders' apartment is so far away from their teaching area that it takes up a lot of their allotted kilometers just to get to their usual area, the church building and teaching appointments. President also wants to open an area in Linköping (leen' shipping), so we are looking there. Then, as we left the meeting on Tuesday, we got a desperate call from a landlord in Örebro (ood' eh bro) telling us that he needs to move back in to his apartment where the sisters are currently living. Technically, we have 90 days, but he is in immediate need, so we are looking there, as well. In fact, he may have found another apartment near the current one. We will know more on Monday.

And that is usually how it happens. We don't fit the internet application model because we are an organization, we don't have an annual income, etc., so applying online has been a challenge. I have just been applying as a person and hoping when it comes up for review I can explain further. Usually, as in Örebro, someone who knows someone directs us to the proper source.

This week was mostly cleaning, which is a lot of work, but boring to write about and even more so to read about. I will keep it brief. We have a new senior couple coming in this week, so we spent much of three days cleaning, taking out items they won't need (elders have been living there), and making it back into a couple's apartment, as it used to be. The apartment is on an island on the north side of Stockholm where there are a lot of upscale homes and a few apartment complexes where the mere mortals live. It is a pretty place, and though the roads are narrow, traffic is usually light enough that it makes little difference.

We also spent much of a day cleaning an apartment we need to turn back to the owner before the end of September. As busy as we will likely be, we decided to get started and work any day we find a few hours to spend there. This one is in a downtown Stockholm neighborhood where apartments are a little older and a little more colorful. It is tucked away in a neighborhood of other apartments and a few shops, so it has some interest.

I tried to capture the view from
the open window and Olivia
slaving away...

but the outside light caused
her to come out pretty dark.

So, as we travel from place to place, she reads out loud. We have a book with a thought for each day by President Thomas S. Monson, the current Liahona magazine, and a novel by Jonas Johansson named The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden. It is written by the same author who wrote The Hundred Year-old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, which we read a few weeks ago. Both books are a fun read with lots of twists, frustrations, hilarity, and "flexible morals."

We were invited by the Hales to go with them on Saturday to Nynäshamn (Nee-nes'-ham), the city from where many of the ferries leave to travel to Gotland and other destinations. It is a picturesque little place at the end of Highway 73. We got there to find that there was no parking anywhere because the Hyundai Cup regatta was taking place in the harbor.

Some of the boats in the harbor. They may not have been
officially in the race.

The entire town seemed to have turned out to see it or to shop in the temporary kiosks that were set up all along the main harbor, where we would normally have parked.

Sister Hales found a painting done by this lady who had a
kiosk in the parking lot.

We rented bicycles and peddled our way all along the coast until we reached a small cafe where we had sandwiches and rested for a while.

Do not, I repeat, do not rely on me to
give directions. Even with a map

One of the many beautiful vistas we rode to.

It looked like shrimp salad, but it had a kind of
bread under it, so they called it a sandwich

Sister Hales is a lot like Olivia. She
would rather be the one taking the
picture

Viewing the sailboats from the cliff

Along the bike path we climbed a rock
hill and up the stairs to the top of an
old water tower. 

We then continued to the end of that part of the coast, and we hiked out to the bay where we tried to guess where all the sailboats were headed (hoping they would come past us. They did not 😢).

They actually looked nearer, but the camera couldn't pick up
the images as clearly as we saw them.

A panorama of the bay where we watched for about 45 minutes
It was a beautiful day

Olivia insisted on taking my
picture with a sprig of heather.
My first mission was in Scotland
where heather is one of the national
plants.

Rewarding ourselves with some ice cream
after returning the bikes.

Elder Hales got some good shots back
at the harbor with his nice camera. These
were participants in the race.

It was a good workout; one for which we are paying today in sore muscles. We did sleep well, however.

Today, we attended church with the other missionaries. The elders are working with Elder Barney whose companion went home two weeks ago with the other returning missionaries. They left a little early to get back into school. That meant they were trying to meet obligations in both Uppsala and Borlänge (bore-len'-ga). Elder Barney is a newer missionary who has been in the country about 2 months. Elders Harrel and Harper are more experienced. They will both be training new missionaries beginning this week, but we don't know which of them will remain in Uppsala, or where the other will go. Elder Barney will likely remain in Borlänge.

As I entered the building today, I felt that I should review the sacrament prayers in Swedish, but we were immediately surrounded by ward members and missionaries who wanted our time and attention, so I did not get a chance. Then, just before the meeting started, the Elders' Quorum President asked if I could administer and asked the elders to pass the sacrament. I must have looked inadequate to the task because Elder Harrel jumped in and said that he, I and Elder Barney would pass and Elder Harper would administer with another member. That won't happen again. I am memorizing and rehearsing as we travel to church from now on.

We don't want to leave the impression that this is a lengthy vacation. Missionary work is work and even though our work is different from the young missionaries, believe me, it is work. On the other hand, it is work we enjoy because it is service to others and service to the Lord and His kingdom.

Speaking of which, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Elder Dallas Moss from our stake in Sparks. It doesn't seem that long ago that we were listening to his mother report her mission in the old Sparks 2nd Ward. Time is relentless.

Farewell to Watsons and A New Couple Arrive

The mission lost a special couple this week. The Watsons have been serving in Göteborg (yet'-a-bory) as the YSA missionaries for the past 1.5 years with excellent results. Elder Watson greets and talks to everyone as if they were and always had been his friend. Sister Watson addresses everyone as a "dear, sweet" man, woman, or friend. Elder Watson once told us that attendance at the YSA center had substantially increased over the time they had served there. Olivia asked what he attributed the increase to and he responded, "Tafta's (Sister Watson) homemade bread that came out of the oven just as they arrived for dinner before class." I am sure that was a part of it, but I think they kept coming because they felt they had someone to listen to their needs and love them unconditionally. We will truly miss this special couple.

The Watsons

The other senior couples in the area and the Youngbergs had a
special dinner in their honor at the Mission Home the night
before they left.

Watsons at the Airport

At the airport with Pres. and Sister Youngberg. Sister Hales
and Olivia insisted on taking, rather than being in the photo.
Some people are incorrigible. 

We got to see the Facebook videos of their return to the airport in Salt Lake City. It looked like a very full airport with so many family members, even some they had not expected to be able to make it. They deserved it; they certainly served valiantly.

President Youngberg is doing his best to place all the new missionaries who will be coming shortly, so we went to a couple of the empty apartments where it is likely that missionaries will re-enter in the next few weeks.  It turned out that we spent an entire day and into the evening straightening the clutter, cleaning, hauling out trash and generally preparing the digs for missionaries. In the process, I managed to get a 850 SEK parking ticket (about $90 US). We keep a little stash of protein bars in the car for such occasions, and we were glad we did that day, because we were not able to eat until about 8:00 PM.

Olivia did make sure we had a lunch.
Crackers, lettuce, sweet peppers and
tuna. Then back to work. I married the
Energizer bunny.

One of the sweet duties we sometimes have is to assist the departing missionaries. This week we picked them up at the central station along with President and Sister Youngberg, the Hales and the POEs who drove the "bag van" which is like a UHaul truck that we rent each transfer to take suitcases to their destination. We got to take them to the temple and attend a session with them. 

A nice group shot with the temple and the gardens in the
background.

On the temple steps. L to R, back to front:
Elders Hatch, Lloyd, Murtonen, Adcox, Hyatt, Fawcett
Loertscher, Barnes, Kilton, Gentry
Sisters Hanson, Eldridge, Youngberg, Pres. Youngberg

  Deep friendships are formed in the MTC. These two will be friends for life.

The Watson's replacements came on Friday, so we went to the airport to haul their luggage. President and Sister Youngberg , the Hales, and the Halls were on hand to welcome them and take them to lunch. Elder Kelley is a retired mechanical engineer and Sister Kelley is a musician with a masters degree in music history and plays the harp. She also worked with music therapists in creating music to relieve pain, lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety and depression, and other uses. They are a very interesting couple.

The Kelleys arrive at the
airport

At the airport with Elder and Sister Hall, Sister and Elder Hales,
Sister and Pres. Youngberg and us. 

We went to lunch with them afterward where they were able to sit next to the Halls who have a similar calling in Stockholm, so they got some good advice for running a YSA center.

On Saturday we had arranged for an inspection of the apartment where the office elders (POES and Assistants) reside, so the Kelleys could get a lesson in how these inspections are done. The elders were a little concerned because, it had been a while since anyone had done a thorough inspection, there. They had obviously worked hard to have a pleasant-looking apartment for us.

We asked them to test
the fire escape ladder

Elder Benson is
first down

Elder Erdman wishes he
was not on splits today

Elder Bringhurst collapsed the
ladder back to the wall
 and replaced the pin

Elders Craun and Bringhurst
celebrate a clean apartment
with the ice cream bars we
brought them..

The overhead light fixture was half on/off and trying to fix it
we broke the diffuser lens. We traveled all over the area trying
to find a replacement and ended up just taping it back together.
Where is Home Depot when you need it?

After inspecting the apartment we took them and the Hales to see downtown Stockholm, but discovered that our usual parking area was unavailable and that the streets were unusually crowded. Looking more closely at the crowds on the streets, we saw odd costumes, mostly zombies. It was the Stockholm Cultural Street Festival and we are so far out of the loop, we didn't know it was happening. We did get some pictures of the family area, but missed photos of the walking dead, unfortunately. Still, we were happy to see that the Tyska Kyrka (German Church) is now open to the public again. It has some very beautiful stained glass from the 1870s and parts of the church date back to the 1640s.
We also found an amazing vegetarian restaurant. Sister Kelley has a special diet, so we needed a special restaurant. Normally, my sentiments about vegetarian is reflected in the motto on the wall of a steakhouse in Jackson Hole, Wyoming that says, "Of course we serve vegetarians. What do you think a cow is?" This one was an exception in my limited experience. Excellent food including soup, lasagna, salads, etc.

In the family section of the festival, the
children were given hammers, nails and
a board to add to the elephant statue.

This young woman did
gymnastic and correography
to music while dangling
from what looked like
heavy curtains.

The children got to tie yarn to complete
this work of abstract art

We couldn't get to our usual spot for
the picture with the city offices in the
background, but this bridge offered
a great view, anyway

A view of a church from
one of the many very
narrow streets of Gamla
Stan - Old Stockholm

Some of the stained glass windows
 in the German Church

The gilded pulpit

Above the door is the date: 1643

In Stora Torget. The square in the center
of Gamla Stan

At lunch in the vegetarian restaurant

The Kelleys got to see the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace

Sunday we took the Kelleys with us to church in Uppsala so they could visit some of the famous sites in that city. It is likely that they would not get the chance, otherwise, as their assignment will take them south of Stockholm; never north. We got to show them the Dom Kyrka, and Gamla Kyrkan in old Uppsala, both of which I have included in several of these posts, but every time we go, we see things we missed the last time.

In church we had visitors who created some excitement. A middle aged couple came in just as we were starting. They were dressed quite casually, which is not altogether unusual, and sat in the chapel by the wall opposite the entrance, so everyone would see them as they crossed the room. At the end of the opening hymn, she stood and in a loud voice exclaimed that the opening song was depressing and dull, "...inte bra." She went on in a lengthy diatribe and was finally answered by the organist who very kindly settled her down. The song was I Believe in Christ, which I have always considered just the opposite of what she was saying.

Olivia was the first speaker, and I feared that this couple was there to heckle, but all went well. She gave her talk with Sister Argyle interpreting; the other talks were given and before the closing prayer, the lady stood again and loudly complimented the last speaker for her talk about families. The two then got up and left the building. I guess there have been nutty people in every age, but I wonder sometimes if there may be some who never had a mother to teach them appropriate from inappropriate.

Olivia spoke about the place of adversity, trials and prayer in our lives. Sister Argyle has a superb command of Swedish, so everyone heard an excellent talk. I'm not the only one who says so.

I gave the lesson in the Gospel Principles class. It was about Adam and Eve and the Fall. It was a bit of a challenge because we had a man from China, two from India, another from a middle eastern country that I have forgotten. I thought it went well. It led to the man from China having a discussion with me and Elder Kelley about whether we are at war with God (we had briefly discussed the War in Heaven). It also led to a lengthy discussion with another about his confusion for life which derived from some harrowing personal experiences that he asked to keep confidential. I have summarized part of my thoughts in http://dadsstudyjournal.blogspot.se/ for those who might be interested.

It was nice to end the day back at the Hales' apartment where she had prepared a sumptuous dinner.

It was a good week with good company and good accomplishments, as well.