Skåne (skone-uh) is the southern region of Sweden that has been ruled over the centuries by Germany, Denmark and Sweden. There is a hint of other languages in their speech that we don't recognize as much as the young missionaries who actually speak the language. We have noticed some difference, however. For instance, most of the country pronounces the name of the city of Växjö as ve'-qua, but we were informed when visiting a couple in Lund that the proper pronunciation is vek'-shu. Most people would know how to pronounce Kristianstad, but most people would be wrong. It is pronounced ker-quan'- stod. When I asked a couple of young women why, they could only tell me that it was named after the Danish king. I am still waiting to ask a Dane if they pronounce Christian like that.
It was a whirlwind tour consisting of apartment inspections in Halmstad (X2), Helsingborg (X2), Malmö (X3), Lund (X2), Kristianstad (X2), and Karlskrona (X2). We also closed an apartment by cleaning it to turn it back to the owner. There are no senior couples in Skåne at the moment, so it is up to us to make the apartment checks and be a support to the zone conference (meaning prepare food and serve it, as well as setting up and cleaning up). As we usually try to do when we are in a new place, we took part of a day and did some site seeing.
On our way, we wanted to stop at the Dom Kyrka cathedral in Linköping (lin'- shupping). Several months ago I included in a post our visit to Vadstena where we saw a magnificent castle and beside the moat, a small glass shop. The owner told us of work in which he was involved in the cathedral in Linköping. He showed us pictures of a gigantic window into which he had engraved (not etched, engraved) Saint Mary with a crown and gown of the flora native to Sweden.
At first, we had a hard time finding the window, because it was behind so much that obscured our view. A woman at the desk where souvenirs are sold was happy to guide us back. We were awestruck. The glass is about 3/4" thick and he has engraved the images with all the texturing into the glass with special cutting tools. We bought the book that tells how it was done. Of course, it is all in Swedish, but the illustrations and photographs are what we were interested in.
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| Mary's face with the crown of rose stems with the roses in the rose hip stage. |
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| The light was shining through making it hard to see the images clearly |
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| Some detail of the leaves and vines. |
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| Outside the church |
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| The pulpit |
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| A grave with the carved images of the inhabitants |
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| An ancient alter piece depicting stories from the bible. |
Our first stop was Halmstad where a few months ago we found an apartment where sisters were placed and where we had made some repairs to the apartment there. We had also seen the elders' apartment before. We were pleased to see that they were still clean and in good repair.
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| Sisters Cappuccio and Cook in Halmstad. Unfortunately, we forgot to get a picture of Elders Moulton and Greenhalgh. |
In Helsingborg (Hel'-sing-bory) we found Elders Barnes and Berlin who had told us that they needed nothing from us, but a fan. We had found fans on sale at one of our favorite stores and bought several, so we were prepared. These are thoughtful missionaries. After all the work was done at the zone conference, we drug ourselves back to the apartment and while putting things away found a thank-you note from Elder Berlin.
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| Elders Barnes and Berlin and the fan. It even has a remote! |
We rushed to the elders' apartment and tried to finish the inspection in record time, but it turned out that their appointment rescheduled, so we had time to check, repair, and leave a brief message and prayer before leaving. We try to do that at every apartment check.
Sister Botchway is another trainer who came to Sweden with us. She is a woman with an amazing intellect, having completed three years of an international baccalaureate degree while in high school, completing the degree and winning a scholarship to study in France. This opportunity is on hold while she serves her mission.
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| Sisters Botchway and Hickman |
Sister Hickman is a new missionary who is picking up the language and work from an excellent trainer. She has a beautiful singing voice which she shared with the zone at the zone conference.
From Helsingborg we went to Lund where we stayed in the now-vacant couples' apartment. The Mitchels were there until a few months ago when they were assigned, for the second time on their mission, to serve in Örnskoldsvik (un'-sholds-vik), commonly known as Ö-vik (uh'-vik). It is a nice, large apartment and is just a few blocks from the apartment we needed to clean out and return to the landlord.
From the home base in Lund, we were able to visit the Malmö (Mahl' muh) missionaries and assist with the zone conference.
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| At the desk in the vacant seniors' apartment |
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| Elders Murtonen and Lee, the zone leaders. Elder Murtonen is from Finland, but returns home this month. We helped them get air mattresses and bedding for elders coming to the zone conference from outlying areas. |
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| Sisters Olsen and McWhorter.We helped them procure extra beds and bedding for the sisters who were coming in from outlying areas for the conference. |
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| Trying to fix the shower head that wouldn't stay up where it would do some good. |
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| Elders McCarl, Carlson, Sisters Hickman, Cook, Curtis, Botchway, Cappuccio, Elders Malone, Jämsä, Schwitters and Lee |
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| Elders Stapley, Barnes, Sisters DeMordaunt, Hall, Eldridge, Wagner McWhorter, Olsen, Trotter, Elders Berlin and Craun. In the back is Elder Wilson checking out some clothes from the give-away table. |
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| Elders Lee, Murtonen, President and Sister Youngberg, Sister Olsen (photo bombing), Elders Wilson, Moulton, Greenhalgh, and Elder Suspenders |
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| Sisters at the giant take-away table going over clothes left behind in various apartments |
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| Sister Cappuccio found something useful |
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| Sisters Cappuccio, Curtis, Cook and Trotter looking excited with their seconds of cake |
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| Elder Lee finds a turquoise necklace that matches his tie. Then President Y explained the dress code. No necklaces for elders - dang! |
Staying in Lund allowed us to check the apartments there and to spend an entire day and evening cleaning and moving out items that belong to the mission.
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| Sisters DeMordaunt and Hall in Lund. They were companions in the MTC and the only sisters in their group. They are new, but doing excellent work together. Most of the clothes that went on the take-away table at zone conference came from their apartment. It has been home to lots of sisters over the years, I guess. |
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| Olivia spent hours in the kitchen of the vacant apartment; especially the stove top. It is a small, pretty clean apartment, but it still took over 7 hours to feel like it was ready. |
We attended church in Lund on Sunday, and really enjoyed the day. It was Fast Sunday, so we heard testimonies in Swedish because they ran out of translating units. The missionaries had a lot of investigators who spoke English better than Swedish, so we gave ours up for them.
In the Gospel Principles class, the teacher made the points of the lesson in English, then Swedish, then French. She was a good teacher and obviously gifted. She said she had just retired and found herself looking around her home, saying, "What do I do, now?" I resolved that dilemma for her by suggesting that she and her husband apply for a mission.
There were more visitors in Priesthood Meeting than ward members, so it was done in English with a brother in the back interpreting for the one person who spoke only Swedish. I sat next to a man from India who is investigating the Church and explained some of the concepts such as Home Teaching. It was a fun day.
Monday, we finished our apartment checks in Kristianstad and Karlskrona, then drove to Kalmar where we spent the night. Sisters Eldridge and Wagner are seasoned missionaries who know the language and have the work ethic. We have had a little contact with Sister Eldridge in the past, but a lot with Sister Wagner. Sister Eldridge goes home this month, but Sister Wagner has until November.
Elder Carlson is training Elder Lee; two of the happiest, hard-working elders in the mission. I told Olivia it would take a plastic surgeon to remove Elder Carlson's grin. He is habitually happy. Elder Lee is training, but doesn't let his newness get in the way of his work. They had told us they didn't need anything, then, as soon as I entered their apartment I saw one office chair missing its arms, sitting there with a broken back. I took it apart so the zone leaders could haul it away. It turned out that the apartment we cleaned to return to the landlord in Lund had one of our chairs and it was still in good condition. We arranged for the zone leaders to make the exchange.
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| Elders Carlson and Lee. Enlarge the photo and you will see that they could use a new waste can, as well. |
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| Sisters Wagner and Eldridge. |
For weeks before we went to Karlskrona, Sister Trotter had let us know that under no circumstance would we leave that town without going to get ice cream at a certain shop. She and Sister Curtis seem like soulmates. They make every situation fun with infectious laughs. I repaired their beds and found everything clean, even under there. They have so many investigators that they had to recruit branch members to sit by them all. They are busy every day with teaching appointments. Still, as they return home from their labors each day, they pass the ice cream shop where they can smell the waffle cone grill, but they wait for special occasions to go in. Actually, we had to wait in a line that stretched into the street to get in.
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| Sisters Curtis and Trotter finishing their waffle cone with a friendly little bird looking on. It was so close we could have touched it. There was a sign saying Foder inte fåglarna (Don't feed the birds), but it had high hopes. |
I want a print of that picture of Olivia cleaning a teeny apartment for 7 hours. It will be my inspiration to work harder. At everything :) Also, I'd like to try that ice cream shop 😊
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