Of Cleaning, Conferences, and Counsel

I think we are finally finished with the apartment for the Jakobsberg elders. Monday was one of the busiest days we have ever experienced. We started the day with a visit to the Jakobsberg elders to deliver their shoe rack, install a full-length mirror and a few other things. Then they rode their bikes while we drove to McDonald's where they locked the bikes up and we took them to a shopping center. From there we met the Hales who were on their way to Malmo and gave them some items to deliver to the sisters at the zone conference. At the office, we collected the items we would need for our trip to Norrland, and while Olivia organized the store area, I cleaned and vacuumed the car in preparation for taking Pres. and Sister Youngberg to the airport. After the trip to the airport, we went back and loaded all the items we had collected along with supplies, packages, mail and two dozen phones for the missionaries in the Norrland Zone. Parents are now asked to provide smart phones for the missionaries who will then be able to meet contacts on such apps as Facebook and Twitter. So phones have been pouring into the office in anticipation of the zone conferences to be completed this month.

We made it through the winter with all the gravel on the roads and tires that sometimes throw a stud and had not even a chip in our windshield...until last Friday. I think it was a thrown stud that hit the glass directly in front of the steering wheel, causing a spider chip. So, Monday also included a trip to the auto glass repair shop. Hopefully, it will hold until next winter's gravel and studded snow tires.

I had to include this picture, because it is the stereotypical missionary picture
Elder Petersen and Elder Francis (Jakobsberg Elders)

This too. We missed taking a photo
of these two when we checked their
apartment with Elder and Sister
Whitehead, so when we saw them
again, we snapped a quick shot.
Elders Baggett and Steele

 Speaking of studded snow tires, we have noticed this year what I am sure has been here all along, but I had not paid it much attention. I have noticed that many of the paved streets and highways have sort of deep ruts. I thought, in a passing way, that the pavement must not have completely cured before traffic was allowed to drive on it. I realize now, that the ruts are caused by the studded snow tires. I think they put up with the damage because the traction obtained by the tires is significant. The safety aspect is greater than the cost to repair or replace, I suppose.

This looks like just tire tracks. In fact they are rather deep ruts
in the pavement.

Here the road is worn through the first
layer of pavement and is quite rough

I am told that most states in the US have outlawed these, because of the damage they cause; even Alaska, according to President Youngberg.

Tuesday began quite early, so we could see our good friends, Elder and Sister Smith, and tell them good-bye at the airport, drop off some clothes that Olivia had repaired to the sisters in Uppsala and still get to Ornskoldsvik with some daylight left to start the cleaning process in the apartment we need to return to the owners. We are seriously going to miss the Smiths. They are so pleasant, hard working and who can help loving another Scottish missionary?

Olivia wanted to take a "before" picture of how some of the trees
are pruned. It will fill out with small branches and leaves by summer.

Olivia takes a picture of this church and the field before it just
outside of Uppsala in every season. Fields are planted and starting
to green up a little

Just outside of town and in several other places in the country
are these community garden areas. Another "before" photo.

Then, we were in Norrland. It looked like Spring in the sky,
but snow is still heavy on the ground.

It is picturesque, but we were sorry for the people who have to
wait for so long to see grass.

The paper mill across the bay in Sundsval
Even the Baltic Sea is filled with ice in April.

Still, the days were very pleasant, the snow was melting rapidly and the roads were running with water, so the car was covered with the mud below.

We were going to be in the city for four nights, so staying at a hotel seemed expensive. We found a place online that just fit our needs. It is a little apartment just 2-3 minutes from the apartment we needed to final clean. We had a little kitchen with fridge, stove, microwave and even some dishes. We shopped for food and stayed there the whole time. Quaint and cozy.

Our apartment was on the ground level

Our cozy kitchen

In many of the hotels, beds for couples are separate. I had to
try this one out. Very comfortable!

Some shots through our windows. The
snow is still quite deep here.

A car that won't be going anywhere for
a while. That's the roof with a pile of
snow on top.

A closer look at the car from inside

The path to our door. By the time we
left the snow was below the window
and the snow on top of the car was only
about 6" deep.

We dropped off our bags and immediately headed to the apartment we would be cleaning to take advantage of what was left of the daylight. It is a nice, long, normal day during Spring, so we had hopes of making some good progress. As we turned onto the road leading to the apartment, we met the local elders who were on their way to a teaching appointment. They stopped long enough to tell us that the family who was receiving much of the furniture in the apartment was still there taking things out.

We have been so grateful to the elders for looking for families in the branch there who needed the items from this apartment. There is no more room in the office garage in Stockholm, so it would have meant our taking the furniture out by ourselves and hauling it to a second hand store or a dump.

We met the father, mother and their daughters, Esther and Anne who were working to get some items into their car. We helped them take things down the stairs and fill the car. We speak very little Swedish (certainly no Burmese), and they speak very little English. Still, we enjoyed their company and made quick friends of them.

After they left, we started going through everything that was left, gathering it into piles for disposal or placement when we got a phone call from the elders. We had thought they would come over and help us after their lesson. The call, though, was to tell us that they had been invited by this Burmese family for dinner. We told them that we understood and that we appreciated their help in getting things out of the apartment. Then, they told us that the family had invited us to dinner, as well. We were concerned that we would run out of time to clean the apartment if we didn't stay, but thought it best to accept their generous offer. We were so happy we did.

When we arrived at their home, about 20 km out of town in a little village called Bjasta (sorry, my Swedish language keyboard disappeared from my taskbar and I can't seem to be able to get it back, so you are getting the Anglicized version of spelling this week), we were immediately greeted by Elder Hansen who informed us that the father was not having much luck with the charcoal. It was his first time trying to cook on a grill. Elder Hansen said he wasn't sure how to do it, either. I could tell that it would be a while before we ate as we were going to have to light the coals and burn them down a little before the cooking could even start.

I went out to the back patio where a new grill filled with charcoal was smoking, but not burning. Even fanning it was not going to help. I told the elders that it needed more lighter fluid,but that was not easy to translate. Finally, I came to understand that they had no lighter fluid. I don't know what they used to start the coals, but now I had to be creative. I noticed that they had pruned the vines and shrubs in the backyard, so I searched for some dead limbs. There were not many and what there were had been recently covered by snow, so they were still wet.

I made a pile of the sticks over a little wad of paper towel, lighted it and when the wood was burning, started piling coals over it. The result was smoke filling the neighborhood and covering me with the essence of campfire. It worked, however, and with some help of a pizza pan to fan the coals, we were soon in business. The mom thought the fanning idea was amazing and took over the task, piling on more and more charcoal. I finally had to risk offending her and telling her to stop because it would burn the chicken. She took it as a friend, so no there was no offense. Soon, however, she decided that I had worked long enough and ushered me back into the house to begin eating.

Chicken legs and thighs, 15 cm (foot long) hot dogs, steak, a Thai dish of spinach and other unknown vegetables, and several other foods were on the table along with enough noodles to feed an army. It was a wonderful meal. We were joined by the other two children David and Jonason, older boys who spoke quite good English and interpreted for us.

While I was working on the coals, the father joined me, trying to communicate and build a relationship, which I really appreciated. One thing he was curious about was guns in America. He indicated that his impression was that America was like the old West depicted in the movies. I assured him that it is not like that at all, and showed him my CCW permit. At this point one of the sons came to interpret and told him about my permit. We get that from time to time. People can't believe that the government has not confiscated all our guns to make America safe. I bite my tongue to avoid getting political and just move on to another subject.

In the meantime, Olivia was in the house talking with the family and the elders. Elder Hansen explained to her that this husband and wife were in Burma during the civil war. He was a journalist and found himself on the wrong side of a demonstration. He was jailed and tortured; part of which involved being shot four or five times. One of the times they shot his finger just above the first knuckle at point blank range. His concern became a little more understandable, at that point.

Lighting the pile of sticks to start
the coals

Elder Wilson teaching Esther a game.

Anne was so cute, chattering away in
one language or another, holding our hands
and just being a little, happy toddler

Esther made Olivia a necklace with
yarn using her fingers as a loom. It
was such a sweet, thoughtful act.

The next day we were at the apartment early and made significant progress, before the elders came with the father and the two older boys to take out the last of the heavy furniture. We had saved the room where these bookcases were located for last, so they could keep their shoes on when they came to take them away. Otherwise they would have felt obliged to remove their shoes as is the custom here; even in the doctors' and dentists' offices.

The father (I could not understand his name), Elder Wilson,
Jonason, David, Elder Hansen and me dismantling the cases
to take them down the stairs.

We so much appreciated the help of everyone taking the heavy
things down. Of course, I helped, but I didn't have to do it all.

Carrying the drawers and shelves down

from the fourth floor on a circular staircase is hard work.

When they finished, all that was left were a few small items that we could put into boxes to take away and some coffee and end tables. As we were taking a heavy coffee table down the stairs, a young man, probably in his late twenties, came down behind us. Olivia asked him if he would like the coffee table. He was a little confused at first, but then realized that she was serious and was beyond delighted to take it. I helped him carry it down the rest of the stairs and into his flat, only to discover that it perfectly matched his furniture.

Wednesday and Thursday were entirely taken in cleaning the apartment, but two days is short in comparison with the other apartments we have closed. Many thanks to the senior couples who had lived there before. We finished everything except moping the part of the floors where we had left items that needed to be taken back to Stockholm on Saturday.

Friday we helped with the zone conference. This round of conferences was entirely based on how to use the phones, what apps were appropriate and what uses could be applied to the apps. That was followed by demonstrations and explanations about how missionary work could be greatly enhanced by the use of these new instruments. It would be a working lunch, so Olivia had the idea of pulled pork sandwiches with the trimmings. We had time on Thursday to shop for the items we would need and then warmed the meat in the oven at the church while we made the salads and prepared the Drottningtorta (queens cake) and ice cream for dessert.

The conference this time involved an evening on Thursday and all day Friday, so finding a place for the elders was a challenge. The sisters were able to stay with the Umea sisters, but the elders planned on staying with the zone leaders. 13 missionaries in one apartment would have been a real issue, especially on the plumbing. Olivia asked me to look online to see what accommodations might be available. I found a camping area with cottages. I reserved two that had bunk beds, and bathrooms for under $100, including breakfast. Not each, that was the entire total. It was a good find.

A couple of the cabins

Elders Strong, Gordon, Young, Wilson, Stapley, McCarl, Wolff,
Jarman, Hansen, Beveridge and Black

Sisters Young, Botita, Cook, and Andrewsen going over the clothes
left behind by other missionaries when they went home.

Sister Adams is thrilled with her choice
of clothes.

Lulea District: Elders Eardman and Hughes; Sisters Botita and
Andrewsen

One of the elders left materials in the zone leaders apartment, so
we drove out to get it. Olivia thought the mailboxes were so
Swedish. Check out the names, if you can make it large enough.

The lake and islands on the road to the zone leaders' apartment

We invited the local elders to dinner after the zone conference.

As we traveled through Norrland, we saw fields covered with water as the snow melted. There were hundreds of migrating waterfowl stopping to feed on whatever was in those flooded fields. We saw cranes, geese, ducks, swans and other birds that we could not identify. The skies were filled with them, as well. Unfortunately, we couldn't get pictures.

As we started to get out of the north, the skies were too beautiful
for Olivia to refrain from taking a picture.

We got back just in time to change clothes and go to the Saturday evening session of our Stake Conference. Our visiting authority was an Area Seventy from France, Elder Matthieu Bennasar. He was the chairman of the temple committee for the Paris France temple and had some good stories. He is friends with Bishop Gerald Causse who told him of President Nelson's private time in the temple where he was inspired to announce that there would be a temple in India. Those announcements create a lot of work for the Presiding Bishopric's Office.

It turns out that he is also friends with Eugene Sacuto, who married Olivia's former roommate, Kerry. We have lost touch with them over the years, so he gave us their contact information. We are anxious to make contact again.

From www.lds.org:Elder Bennasar with his wife speaking to a
group of visitors at the grounds of the Paris temple.

He spoke in both sessions that we attended, focusing on President Nelson's talk about revelation. It was an inspiring couple of days.

Following the Sunday session, we brought Elsa and the Uppsala missionaries home with us for dinner. It was a nice way to finish a nice day. Olivia made all the ingredients for taco salad, which was a big hit, and also made a cake that she served with ice cream. Elder Dawson said the blessing on the food, Elder Grover gave an impromptu message, and Sister Jones gave a closing prayer. Then we all went out to our Viking ship in the meadow for pictures. We were going to take them to the airport where they could take a bus home, but decided to just keep driving and took them to their homes in Uppsala.

During our walk, Elsa told me about the little strawberries that grow wild here. They are called smultron. The name is also given to special places that are known to only a few, smultron stalle. For instance, a special nook along a brook would be a smultron stalle. She is a wealth of knowledge; teaching new words to the missionaries, telling us about places to visit and special events. We hope she will be able to come to the US for her internship or just for a visit, so our friends and family can meet her.

The obligatory picture under the Viking ship in the meadow

I'm not sure what the raised index fingers are about, but they
all seem to share the secret. Elders Dawson and Grover; Elsa,
Sisters Beck and Jones

We hope your day was as blessed as ours. Certainly, we were inspired to aspire to greater revelation in our personal lives. It is possible, and as President Nelson said, it will become vital in each of our lives. Our love goes out to each of you, along with our prayers and best wishes.

Not Much Adventure This Week - But Some!

So most of the week, that is to say, all of this week was spent in the Stockholm area and all but a small amount was spent on just one apartment. We did not take much of a P day and we won't this coming week, either.

We did have an experience worthy of repeating, however, that occurred on Monday. It had to do with changing tires from winter treads to summer treads.

When you buy a car in Sweden, you get two sets of wheels, one of which has winter tires usually with studs, and the other set has summer treads. There are various places to store the unused set. We have a portion of the basement at the mission office where several sets are stored. Others have a storage space in an area of their apartment buildings, but many use a däckhotell (hotel is spelled with two "l"s). That's right there is a hotel for your tires. It is actually a storehouse for your tires. It is big business with various prices and services.

Winter tires must come off by the 15th of April and I wanted to get ours off as soon as it was safe to do so. Studded tires cause a lot of wear on the roads, but just as or more important, I wanted to be sure the next driver has good studs and treads for next winter. I wasn't able to get it done before the trip to Trollhättan (see last week's post), so I got it done on Monday.

Last time I had it done in a permanent shop that took most of the afternoon, but the time before I just took the car to a little temporary location where they do it without a reservation. I had a good experience with them, so I thought I would try it again.

It is a little risky because they don't post their prices. You have it done, then go into the payment booth, pull out your credit card and hope for the best. This time I went to a location near where we shop and while Olivia did some grocery shopping, I got in a very short line to get the tires switched out.

One man directed me to the right location to wait for the next opening, speaking in somewhat broken, but adequate English. Soon my car was on the rack that raises only high enough to get the tires off the ground. As I watched and listened, I discovered that all the men at this place were speaking Russian to each other. Then, I knew I had made a big mistake. The Russian Mafia is fairly strong in certain parts of the country and Russians have a spotty reputation. I was certain I would have to eat crow when the other senior missionaries compared what they paid for the tire change and what I would end up paying.

When they were finished, I went into the payment booth. The man behind the cash register was the one who directed me to the proper stall when I first arrived. He flashed a smile and said, "Ees all OK?" I agreed it was all finished and a good job. "OK," he said, "thank you for coming." Now, in some car-related businesses, they just send a billing statement to the office based on your license plate number. I asked, "How do I pay? Do you use the registration number?"

"No," he replied, "ees on da house." He had watched some American movies, obviously. I must have looked very confused, because he came over to me and put his hand on my arm and said, "We all believe same God. I cannot charge a brother. Ees on da house." I seldom think of the name badge we wear all the time, but it had been very apparent to him, especially with the words JESUS CHRIST taking up the better part of the space on the badge. I thanked him profusely, shook his hand and gave him a pass-along card.

This is kind of what it looked like, but the rack didn't lift quite
this high. 

One of the challenges in the Jordbro (yord' bro Jord refers to earth, dirt or ground; bro means bridge. We haven't seen an earthen bridge, but who knows what may have been there when the place was named) apartment is that someone gave the missionaries a piano. A very heavy, beat up, out of tune piano with no castors. I could move it a little, but lifting it was difficult. The missionaries managed to get it up the stairs; getting it down the stairs was going to be a real challenge. If it slipped, it would crush the wall at the bottom at best and the person on the downhill end at worst. We thought of all the ways we could manage to get it down, like several missionaries at once (they all have mothers who would not likely understand if their boys were injured in the process) and taking it apart to haul it down piece by piece. Finally, Sister Hales suggested that we hire a service that did that kind of thing. No matter what the cost, it would be worth it.

I got online and found a place that evening. The email exchange went something like this. "Can you move a piano? The second hand stores will not take it, so it has to go to the Återvinning (the recycle dump). It is on the 2nd floor (3rd floor in America) and up 3 flights of stairs."

"Hi. Absolutely. If it only 3 steps, it will cost 1300kr incl. paid for recycling.

Viktor" I guessed 3 steps is the same as 3 flights of stairs, and 1,300kr is about $140, so OK.

We agreed on a day for him to come, but then I got concerned that he may not have understood about how far it would have to go to get down the stairs. I wrote, "Ok. We will be here, then. Kullerstenvägen 36, 136 52 Haninge. You remember it is on the 2^nd plan. 3 flights of stairs. 'YP Master' is on the door."

He responded, "ok." Then in just a few more minutes I got another email. "excuse. Is there 2 stairs or 3 steps? It is a big difference. Is there an elevator? If the 2 stairs and without the elevator and the piano are large and heavy models, it will be more expensive because it requires 4 people.

Viktor"  Huh? I certainly didn't know there was a difference between 2 stairs and 3 steps except one stair.

I wrote back, "As I have said from the first email message, 3 flights of stairs. There is no hiss (elevator). How much more? I don’t know what you mean by 2 stairs or 3 steps. There are about 36 stairs in all. It is on the 2^nd plan." Now I was worried. Viktor is an eastern European name. I am probably dealing with the Russians, again. He will find an excuse to really raise the price.

"Can you send a picture on the piano? I have to plan. If it's heavy model, it should be 3-4 people and then it will end at 1500kr"  I sent the picture you see above, we set a time for them to come and I had the cash ready. He had demanded to be paid in cash, another red flag. Still adding $35 to the price was more than reasonable.

When we arrived at the apartment, about 20 minutes earlier than when we expected him, the truck and 2 young, strong guys were waiting. They knew almost no English, but with my and Olivia's scarce knowledge of Swedish we managed to communicate. We all went up the the top floor of the apartment building and I showed them the piano. They tried to carry it to the door, but it was too heavy, so I assisted them in putting a dolly under the center of the piano.

They managed to get it through the door on the piano dolly.

Then the two of them moved it from the bedroom to the top of the stairs where they strapped on shoulder harnesses, and put the front straps under the piano legs. It took some time to get it right because one was balancing the piano as it hung over the first step, while the other had to reconfigure his straps that were slipping. Finally getting it right, they were able to use their back, chest, shoulders and legs to carry it instead of just their arms. Pretty slick! It was still a clumsy, heavy object and it was not always possible for the lower man to lift high enough to keep it from hitting the stairs. In fact, at one point they chipped a stone stair on one level. I followed behind and made the chipped piece disappear. 

Getting the straps under the bottom
side of the piano

Around the corner on the first landing

Down the second floor.

And into the truck. Thank Goodness for lift gates!

Even though it required only two men, I still paid them the full 1,500 kroner; it was more than worth it.

According to the landlord company, we have been in the Jordbro apartment for many years. It is very unusual, however, that we have no file on it at all. There is nothing in our binders and nothing in the file cabinet, so we don't know how long we have been there and we don't know if it came furnished or unfurnished. A call to the landlord clarified the latter issue. They didn't care if it came furnished or not, they had sold it and wanted everything out. That meant carrying out the heavy wooden kitchen table, a full-sized sofa, a desk, a coffee table, and some short stools and stuffing them into the Ford van. All the other furniture had been taken out earlier to furnish the Donohoo's apartment in Sjövde (see March Marathon has Begun). For the earlier move, we had the help of several elders; for this it was Olivia and me. I could carry everything alone, except the sofa , so Olivia had to help.

Earlier that day, I had been trying to clean the grime off from the balcony railing with a scrubbing brush. Water and suds were streaming down , but when I looked over the side, all I saw was only grass below, so I didn't worry about it. Soon, however, I heard, "Ursätka! Ursäkta! Hallå! Hallå!" I looked down and saw a man poking his head up from the balcony below me. He tried to explain in Swedish that the breeze was blowing the water onto his head. It was a nice day, so he and his wife were trying to enjoy the first sunshine we have seen for a long time. I sheepishly apologized and tried to keep anything from dripping down on them, after that.

To carry the sofa, we took off the legs so we could slide it down the stairs, lift it around the corner of the landing, then slide it down the next flight. When we got to the bottom, Olivia lost her grip and dropped the sofa. As she was trying to pick it up again, who should be coming down the stairs, but the guy with a wet head who cheerfully helped me carry it to the car. Nice to know he didn't hold a grudge.

We ate lunch at the apartment each day. Crackers and ham or tuna.

A couple of days I had to take the computer and router with me
because we were expecting important emails.

Olivia can't help herself. she doesn't
just clean, she deep, deep cleans.

The apartment was declared clean,finally.

The days were long before we could
leave. We usually got home and
ate dinner at around 8:00 PM

During all that time cleaning we had to shoe horn in some other activities, as well. It was nice, though, because we got some diversion from the grind of cleaning. Elder and Sister Whitehead agreed to take some apartments to inspect, for which we were very grateful, because we lose three senior couples this month and have no one to replace them. So we took them to one of the apartments they will be checking to instruct them on the ins and outs of apartment inspections.  Elders Baggett and Steele had done a great job preparing for the visit. We forgot to get a picture, but the Whiteheads invited us to lunch, so we got a picture afterward.

The Whiteheads are now official - they even have the clipboard

We have been trying to find a shoe rack for the Jakobsberg elders, but ended up buying a kit for a wooden one with the idea of cutting the shelves shorter, so it will fit into their coat alcove. Luckily, Elder and Sister Smith were at the mission office at the time. Elder Smith is a former construction company owner, so I had expert assistance.

Unfortunalely, Elder and Sister Smith
return home to Idaho on Tuesday. We
will miss this selfless, cheerful couple.

We are continually asked where we will live when we return home. We finally made a commitment. We authorized our daughter Hannah to act on our behalf to purchase 2 acres in Middleton, Idaho where we will eventually build a modest home. The home will not likely be completed until Christmas or later, so we still have to work out the details of where we will stay in the mean time, but we have a lot of options, for which we are deeply appreciative.

Gotland is an island that is part of Sweden,
but only accessible by ferry or airplane.
When I saw this sweatshirt, I told Olivia
that in America it would have a ? behind
the name. So, for Hannah, I made a ? and sent
her the picture.

Saturday night we had a potluck dinner at the mission home where President and Sister Youngberg opened their home and all that goes with that. The food was wonderful as was the company. It was bitter sweet because we will miss these sweet friends (not to mention losing three sets of apartment inspectors). 

Seated in front are the couples who will be leaving this week and next. Elder
and Sister Hall, Sister and Elder Smith, Elder and Sister Bell. Behind are
me and Olivia, Elder and Sister Donohoo, Elder and Sister Johnson, Sister
and Elder Whitehead, Sister and Elder Hales, President and Sister Youngberg

Spring is officially here as evidenced by machines of various sizes swooping up the gravel that has been spread out over the winter. Because it has contaminants, it will not be used on roads again, but will be landfill some place or other. the video below shows one machine cleaning the parking lot at the mission office. Another evidence of Spring is that the Elders want to be outside without their jackets. We had no trouble convincing the Proselyting Office Elders to test the fire escape. We had not done that for a while, and discovered that no one from the current group was even aware that there was a way out in case there is a fire near the staircase inside. We needed to be more aware. 

I remembered that last Spring, I walked out of the house one morning to a chorus of song birds singing in almost deafening beauty. I commented to Olivia that we hadn't heard the song birds this year. Then, as I left the Jordbro apartment to get the van so we could begin loading it, I heard it again. Songs from a multitude of birds that had filled the trees all around - beautiful songs sung at the tops of their lungs as if they were completely unaware that there is trouble in the world. When I told Olivia about it, we brought some items down to the car and she listened for the sounds I had described. What we heard then, was the squawk of hundreds of jackdaws, cousins to ravens, that have a loud, almost disturbing call. Certainly nothing you would describe as a song. Still, we know we will hear the song birds again. Spring is making its presence known with brave little flowers popping up through the soil, buds making their presence known on the trees and migratory birds filling the air.

We hope your Spring has sprung and that your days are filled with the newness of the hope that is in Christ. He is risen and his is our message to the world.