And Then it was 45

We spent the week in Skåne (scone uh) which is the south of Sweden. I have written about this beautiful bread basket before, but it still amazes us to see kilometer after kilometer of fields being harrowed, harvested or planted as we drive along them. Later in this post I will talk more of this.

Our primary purpose was to assist with the zone conference and take Book of Mormon orders, proselyting materials, and packages to the missionaries. There were so many this time that there was not room in the other vehicles, so ours was pressed into service.

Olivia and Sister Hales decided on taco soup this time with fruit bowls as center pieces. It was inexpensive and popular, so we thought it was a success. One of the sister missionaries exclaimed, "Zone Conference - we get to EAT!" So we had a little pressure.

Elder Hales and me at the table. As if
we had anything to do with the preparation.
He did help set the places and napkins.

Elder Lee and Elder Lee
On the right is the zone leader
who was on splits with the
new missionary, also named
Lee. We had to get a key from
them to prepare an apartment
where a new set of elders will
live come the next transfer.

Sisters Kinnison and Hall.
They helped clean out the
old YSA Center and had
several boxes of proselyting
materials as well as Book of
Mormons in several languages.
We picked them up and took
them to the vacant apartment
where they will be available
to everyone in the zone.

While While we were in the Malmö Zone, we took a look at the apartment where elders will be moving in with the next transfer and spent several hours cleaning it and making it ready for the new missionaries. We have become quite proficient at seeing what needs to be done in these apartments. We hope they will appreciate having a little nicer place, rather than coming into an apartment that was inhabitable, but not too nice.

Back on September 29, 1973 we celebrated one year of marriage; we did the same thing the next year and the next. This past week we realized we had done it 45 times. I had researched special things to do in the area and found that Sound of Music was being performed at one theater and the Malmö Opera was doing Fiddler on the Roof. Olivia could only see that we had a lot of work to do in Lund and Malmö plus she was not too excited about seeing those plays in Swedish.

I had bought a sapphire necklace and matching earrings, but left them back at our apartment in Stockholm, so this anniversary was going to be a bust...until Olivia came upon an idea we both liked.

Lund (loond) has a beautiful archive building where she had visited before. We went together this time and found where her ancestors were born and christened. We learned a little more about some of the families (one grandfather had been convicted of theft and sentenced to 28 days on bread and water), but mostly we were looking for places. We transferred the information from the ancient map to a modern one with the help of a docent there and then traveled from one church to another. By the end of the day we had visited five of them. All were in the middle of the countryside, so we saw roads that most missionaries, or most Swedes for that matter, will never see. It was a perfect way to spend the day.

We ended the day at a nice restaurant in downtown Malmö. Of course we ended the night inventorying the items we had brought from the sisters in Lund. Still, it was a great way to spend a meaningful anniversary. We decided to re-up for 45 more of them.

    

Outside the archives in Lund   

Cool art in front of the building

Blentarp Kyrka. The first church we visited. Probably built in the
11th century, with additions made and remodeled in the 17th
and 18th centuries.

Olivia at the door where
her ancestors entered every
week.

Barns, silos, and other outbuildings along the way were ancient,
well preserved and modernized for current use.

Sheep were napping after a morning of grazing

In the little town of Villie was the next church

Unlike the churches we visited in the
north of Sweden, these were all locked
and alarmed. Here some nice people found
the caretakers who were happy to let us in.
Olivia is standing by the font which would
have been sculpted in the 13th century, so
obviously used to christen her ancestors.

The ornate pulpit

The young caretakers who
kindly opened the church
and gave us a tour. "Americans
always ask questions," they said.
"Two weeks ago a couple from
Utah asked the same things!"

After a few years, unless someone is willing to pay for upkeep,
the gravestones are removed and the graves re-used for new
occupants. Note the gravestones along the wall of the churchyard.

A random, large windmill in a field

Lilla Jordberga (leela yord-berry-uh) is the place where the thieving ancestor lived.

Källstorps Kyrka (shel-storps shyr-ka) near Lilla Jordberga

The gargoyles had to be reinforced to keep from falling off

We could only imagine how beautiful
the stained glass would have been from
the inside. 

A little town we drove through along the way. It's pronounced
anders love. We thought it appropriate for an anniversary day trip!

The fields went on forever

It was getting cold by the time we
got here. This is Södra Åkarp Kyrka.
Many of the churches have similar
architecture because they were built
at about the same time, often by the
same builder.

The grounds at all these churches were immaculate. The gravel is raked
into little rows, like a Japanese garden. The hedges, shrubs and trees
 are perfectly coiffed and the flowers are hardy and beautiful.  

Snails are everywhere this time of year.
The headstones were no exceptions.

This statue was along the road to one of
the churches. We had to stop and get a
picture of Nils, the naughty boy who
is changed into an elf and has a grand
adventure flying from Skåne to Norrland
with the wild geese. Olivia had read the
book to me some weeks ago as we traveled
from apartment to apartment.

Lyngby Kyrka is in the middle of  a
farm district. It sits at a curve near a
 kind of crossroad.

The church was likely built in the 11th
century, but this entry and tower was added
in 1882 during the reign of King Olcar II,
as the plaque indicates.

They have very modern farming equipment and methods. This is a
Case tractor.

On our drive back we stopped at Gränne, a little village known for famous peppermint candy. It is also known as the birthplace of Salomon Andrée the explorer who was killed while attempting to get to the North Pole by hot air balloon. The town's mascot is the polar bear. While I was buying dinner and Olivia was watching the candy cane making next door, I was informed that I was in the actual house where Andrée was born. We didn't take a picture, but we did get a picture of the store/workshop where the candy is made.

Rolling out the twisted red and white ropes.

Then he cuts it to the size he wants and
puts it onto a roller like the ones you
see for cooking hot dogs, where it
is coated and cooled.

The Polkagriskola butik where the candy is made and sold.

We arrived back just in time to shop for some fika (refreshments) that we would share with the other senior missionaries while watching the first session of General Conference. You watched it on Saturday morning; it was 6:00 PM here.  We watched the Saturday afternoon session Sunday morning, then gathered with the same crowd again Sunday afternoon to watch the Priesthood and Sunday morning sessions. Our good friends, Elder and Sister Hales, serve in the office and hosted the meals and fika, but we all brought something to share. Elder Hales is the nephew of Elder Robert D. Hales who died during conference on Sunday. He tells us that it was a blessing for him, but the family will miss this wonderful man.

We loved the conference sessions, including the Women's session which we watched last week. It is always a boost to hear the counsel of the speakers. We missed seeing President Monson, but we keep him in our prayers.

We wish you all the best for the coming week. For us there is a cold wind bringing in rain that will last for the rest of the week. We hope your weather is better.