Burnt Goat, Julmust, and Road Trips

Today is Andra Advent, the day on which you would light the second candle and read Isaiah 35:1-10 (Be strong, fear not Behold your God will come...and save you.) James 5:7-11 (Be patient...unto the coming of the Lord... Behold, we count them happy which endure),  and Matthew 13:31-34 (the parables of the mustard seed and comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to leaven). I should have mentioned that last week the scriptural references for the Första Advent were Micah 4:1-4 (the mountain of the Lord's house), Romans 15:4-7 (That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God...Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.") and Luke 21:25-36 (Signs of the second coming of Christ).

We love many of the traditions for Christmas here in Sweden. It seemed to me when serving my first mission in Scotland over 50 years ago that Christmas was just something to get out of the way so they could celebrate the New Year. Here, they can hardly wait for Jul (Yule). Christmas trees and lights started going up in October, since they don't have a Thanksgiving to get in the way.  There are special Christmas cookies called pepparkakor - a type of thin, crispy gingerbread made with ginger, cinnamon, cloves and other spices (I'm hooked), julmust (yule moost) a soda saved to sell during the Jul season - smells like medicine, but we like it, glögg an alcohol free (ours is, promise) mulled wine-like drink that is heavy with cloves, and lights in every window. The window lights are typically either a heavy paper star with lights in the center or a terraced candelabra.
  

The center of Stockholm has decorations littering the streets and shop windows. The merchants in Gamla Stan (old town) set up special booths to sell specialty Christmas items. We are going with the other Senior Couples in a couple of weeks to sample their wares.

One of the Christmas traditions is that Julbocken (the Christmas goat) delivers the gifts on Christmas Eve. Now it is Santa Claus, but they still have straw images of the julbock in all sizes, usually tree decoration sizes. However, in Gävle every year they produce a huge julbock about 40 feet high. It is a grand undertaking, but every year, despite the town's best efforts, someone burns it down. This year it was announced that the straw would be soaked in a fire retardant so it cannot be burned. We thought about going last week when it was unveiled, but the weather was miserable, so we didn't go. It is supposed to be up until Christmas Eve, so we had time.

 We shouldn't have put it off. I don't know who or why or how, but someone found a way to burn it down the very night it was put up. This is a picture taken by one of the missionaries in the area.

Click on this picture and you will see the burned out skeleton of this year's julbock.

We traveled over 1,000 kilometers this week, but carved out time while in Gävle to see julbocken, but we were a week too late. Very sad.

We typically start our week with an office meeting at the mission president's home. These are report and training meetings. President and Sister Beckstrand are inspired leaders. With his emphasis on working whenever and wherever you might find yourself and boldly challenging for baptism has led to  record baptism dates being set and exceeding the baptism goals for the year, already.

[In front of the mission home in Stockholm]

We usually try to give the missionaries enough advanced notice of  our coming that they have a preparation day to clean and be ready for us, so in four days we traveled to 17 apartments to perform inspections. The mission supplies approved items that will be used in the kitchen, study area and other rooms in the apartments, so if something is missing or broken, we replace or repair it. Our little Ford Transit van is usually stuffed to the ceiling with those things. On our way back the van is stuffed with things that need to be tossed, recycled or donated. Departing missionaries leave things they can't fit into their bags, or no longer want and it tends to accumulate and take up room. I now have some work shirts, work ties, a very nice coat and a perfect jacket. There are also some well-dressed refugees thanks to our departing missionaries.

This week we met with hard-working, dedicated missionaries. They seem to have attitudes of faith and a desire to share the good word of the Gospel. We are continually impressed with the caliber of young person we meet.

[People have been living in apartments for centuries in this country. We typically find our missionaries in these kinds of apartments. Some are more modern than others. Finding parking on these crowed streets is always a challenge.]

Our original assignment was going to be working with the young single adults (YSA), so we bought lots of new clothes and I gave away all my old white shirts. Just a couple of weeks before we left, the assignment changed to what we are now doing. I find myself under tables and beds repairing something or other. I am often on the floor drilling a hole somewhere or putting an IKEA item together. Hardly a place for new shirts, so I needed to replace the old shirts I gave away with old shirts someone else gave away.

Today, we had an amazing testimony meeting. People here are commonly well traveled and many have immigrated to Sweden. One sister is a returned missionary who came here from Chile. She is married to a Swedish man. She told of her father being imprisoned during the Allende years and the family having to fend for itself without the bread winner at home. Following his return, the family found the missionaries and joined the Church. Another testimony came from a man who is one of the most educated I have ever known. He joined the Church in 1982 and testified of his gratitude for the Book of Mormon's teachings about the purpose of the Atonement of Christ. There was no time between testimonies at all. It was one after another all meeting long.

Our Gospel Essentials class was packed today. It is taught in English as there are some who are investigating the Church from other countries and do not yet speak Swedish. The teacher is a law student who served a mission in Russia, but also speaks excellent English. He taught about the need, purpose, manner and authority for baptism. There are two young women in the missionaries' teaching pool who are in need of just making the commitment and not worrying about the consequences. Usually, the fears are less than the actual results. Olivia and I were able to talk to them separately and give a little encouragement.

We may not have told you that our house in Sparks has sold. It is in escrow where it could remain until the end of April. In the meantime, the new residents are living in it and paying rent until it closes. If you get a chance, it would be nice to follow the example of Darlene Svetz who has gone up and welcomed them into the neighborhood and invited them to the ward Christmas party. By all accounts, they are very nice people and receptive to new friends.

That's it for this week. We love and miss you all and wish all the blessings of the Gospel of Christ in your coming week.

Thanksgiving, Soul Night and Advent

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Of course, it is an American holiday, so no one knew to celebrate it in this country except the Americans. Ours was a wonderful day. Olivia spent much of the day in the kitchen while I worked on making boxes to send home to the children and their families.  Of course, we later learned that we have an Office Depot nearby that sells boxes that are the perfect sizes and are made for mailing, but the activity kept me busy and out of the kitchen which is too small for two people - especially when only one of them knows what she's doing.

The meal was amazing as was attested to by all who attended. We found a turkey at one of the local grocery stores, there was a can of outdated pumpkin puree left in the apartment, but we weren't sure if it would be enough, so Olivia thawed the remaining pumpkin from Halloween. It turned out that the can was still good and plenty, so she used the fresh pumpkin to make a pumpkin bisque appetizer. It was the first out-of-the-park hit of the evening. It was perfect.

Olivia feared that the turkey would not be done in time if she followed the typical formula for baking turkeys, so she started earlier. It was a good thing she did, or it would not have been done. As it turned out, the meat was hot, moist (including the white meat) and tasty. She tried a new recipe for cranberry sauce that will, no doubt, be found on our table for years to come. One of the elders requested green bean casserole, but we couldn't find the French fried onions that are supposed to go into it. Instead, she used potato chips flavored with four different kinds of onions. It wasn't close to the original, but it didn't stop Elder Payne from filling his plate with seconds on the casserole.

The relish plates contained olives that almost tasted like those at home, celery sticks stuffed with two flavors of cream cheese, baby pickles and carrot sticks. We bought bread for making the stuffing, but later found an "American Store" where we bought Stove Top dressing, so the bread is now pressed into service for French toast at breakfast. She tried new recipes for apple pie and for the pie crusts. Everything was delicious and received rave reviews. Olivia was disappointed with the pie crust and has obsessed over that. She is right - it was not as good as her usual recipe, but overall, it was a minor thing.

The elders and sister missionaries from our assigned ward in Uppsala came and we also invited Stefanie Larsson, a student from the US who is studying for her masters degree at the university there. Stefanie was born in Sweden and lived here until she was seven, but grew up in Ohio. She is very successfully re-learning Swedish.

[Sister Hall, Sister Wilson (from Australia - first time for a Thanksgiving celebration), Stefanie Larsson, Elder Bringhusrt, Olivia is in the mirror taking the photo]

Everyone told their favorite Thanksgiving disaster stories, "top this" stories of sledding, tubing and ice adventures. and generally enjoyed the evening together. 

Much of the week was spent trying to outfit and prepare a newly acquired apartment for a senior couple who are transferring from the Scotland/Ireland mission. They are scheduled to be here on the 16th of December, so we have been repairing the obvious holes in the walls, cupboard doors that won't latch, painting, putting furniture from IKEA together, fixing the fixtures in the ceilings so we can hang lights. In Sweden the ceiling has an outlet, but the fixtures are taken when you move out. We almost finished by Saturday, but we will have to go back tomorrow to finish a few things. We still haven't taken a picture of us doing this kind of thing. but we did take a picture of the view from the window of this apartment, because it is so beautiful.

[The apartment is on the island of Lidingö, in Stockholm County. The view of the ocean and the trees is spectacular]

Elder and Sister Hall are the new couple who are responsible for the Young Single Adult center and YSA activities. This week, immediately on the heels of Thanksgiving, they hosted the annual Soul Nite. I don't know if it is always called Soul Nite, but that was the theme this year, citing D&C 18:10. Along with classes, meals, dancing and other activities, the young people from all over Scandinavia spent the nights in the high school classrooms made into dormitories. We helped with the evening meal and dance. There were over 300 in attendance this time. The dance well planned with light shows, a good DJ, and for a couple of hours, a live band. The theme was the 70's, so many of the attendees as well as the band members dressed in the ridiculous garb we were forced to endure in that era. We can only hope that fashion never, ever comes back into style - ever.  [They really did dance, but in this shot they were participating with the band. The last shot was everyone waiting for the dance to start.]

  

 [Elder and Sister Hall with us behind the serving table. They served cut and whole fresh fruit instead of cake, cookies and the like. Huge hit and a great idea.]

Today in church we met a young woman from Botswana who married a Swedish man in our ward. She has been gone for the past two months visiting family back in Africa. They have a beautiful 20 month-old boy who is just sweet and happy. She was excited about the growth of the Church in her homeland which now has its own mission separate from South Africa. Also, in our Gospel Essentials class we had a couple from Iran. Mohammed is a member, but his wife is not yet baptized.

Today is the first day of Advent. Each Sunday prior to Christmas is an Advent day and a candle labeled 1 is lit. Next Sunday another and the following another, and the last on Christmas. Each Advent Sunday has its own name. Today is Glädje Advent; glädje means "joy".

[By the fourth Sunday the first candle is nearly gone.]

It is a bitterly cold day today. The snow has been falling sideways and the wind so strong many of the branches from the weeping birch tree outside the church building were broken off and spread across the lawn and parking lot. We gave the missionaries a ride to their apartments, for which they were grateful, as were we. 

It has been a full, busy and gratifying week. We are happy in the mission and in our service together. We hope all of you are, as well.

Some time ago we took pictures for the mission Christmas card. Afterward the office elders and assistants to the president posed for their separate picture. Here is the video result:

No Snow and a Crime

Well, the snow is almost all gone, just as I predicted...sorta.  With all the snow we got, and the prediction of rain to follow we expected flooding and nasty ice. We got some ice, but there was so much sand and gravel on the roads, it didn't matter much except for walking.  I put out a few shovels full to be sure our landlord didn't fall when he came out to line the garbage bins. The rain was so light and steady that the snow just quietly melted away. The ground soaked it up and the drainage system was more than adequate. The result is a very dirty car which I will wash again tomorrow.
 [What our back window used to look like before the wiper stopped working. The fuse box is hidden in a place where no one can find it. Ford.]

Today was our stake conference. We had no visiting authority, so the speakers both today and last night were local members, members of the temple presidency, the mission president and his wife, members of the stake presidency and others.  It was a difficult challenge to understand what they were saying, but we did have interpreters.  You know the interpreter is having trouble keeping up when the congregation is laughing, but you didn't hear the joke. Still, the Spirit prompts, the speakers were inspired and inspiring and the meetings were excellent. Today, we couldn't get the interpretation well at all, but we sat by Sister Hykola, a missionary from Finland whose native language is Swedish, but she also speaks several other languages fluently - including English. She was able to translate almost as fast as the speaker could speak. We were very grateful for her.

We invited the couple who had us over for dinner a few weeks ago to come to our house after conference. Their pianist son would not come to the meetings, but rode the train to our station and joined us. He enjoyed the keyboard I bought for Olivia, because it has all different kinds of sounds from piano, to harpsichord, to carnival organ, etc., etc.  We also brought Elder and Sister Smith who came out the day prior to the heavy snowstorm. They have become used to the train system, so we brought them with us from the conference, but they made their way home from our local station.

 [Sol Brit and Tore Burman, Sister and Elder Smith and Christopher Burman.]

We did what has become traditional and walked down to the viking ship to take pictures.  The conversation was jovial and at times, lively (Olivia brought up politics, again. I need to find the page in the white missionary handbook that tells us not to discuss politics. I think it expressly forbids discussion Hilary or Trump. Note to self - find that page). We learned a lot about how traditional birthdays, Christmases, Easters and Midsummers are celebrated. We also learned about their political system, but there was such a diversity of opinion, that I'm not sure we learned much.

We enjoyed an amazing Olivia's Special Dinner. Roast pork, potatoes, and carrots in the crock pot, tossed salad with her special, home-made ranch dressing, corn (all Swedish meals seem to include corn), brown gravy and dessert of oatmeal cake with slivered almonds and coconut frosting. The Swedish contingent was not sure what to do with the salad dressing as they typically don't put dressing on tossed salad. Christopher, the pianist son, put it to great use on several helpings of potatoes. The gravy went on the meat. I'm salivating as I rehearse the contents of the meal. Sorry you couldn't have been here.


We did have time this week to plan out the rest of November and December in order to get in all the apartment inspections we need to accomplish. We will visit 20 apartments, primarily on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, so it comes to 3 each day. This week, only Wednesday is available as we have invited the Uppsala missionaries and a young woman from America who is studying here to come for Thanksgiving on Thursday, and Friday will be a preparation for the tsunami of inspections that will follow.

 [A typical scene on our drives]

We were able to attend the last session at the temple on Saturday, before taking some items to Elder and Sister Hall, the new YSA couple, and to the Handen elders. We had packed a lunch, which was good because we were just in time for the evening session of the stake conference. The temple was a welcome relief from the hectic pace we have kept. They are so happy to accommodate us with headphones for the English translation. I kept mine off for most of the session, so I could become a little more acquainted with the Swedish language. I am not at a point that I can conduct myself in Swedish at the veil, however.  We meet interesting people each time we attend there. This week we met the Richardsons from Las Vegas. They sold their home before their mission and haven't decided where they will live when they return. He served his mission in Norway, so Swedish is close and he picked it up fairly quickly. She has learned all the ordinances in Swedish and can carry on a short conversation. We were impressed with their determination. Their call is as temple missionaries, so it is necessary for them to learn.

 [We stopped for a picture after visiting an apartment]

Tuesday we put the finishing touches on cleaning the apartment we are turning back to the landlord. The landlord had sent several emails and I had taken several phone calls all about how clean the apartment had to be. We have been told that often landlords will look for any excuse not to return the deposit, plus charge for whatever clean up they had to hire to be done later. This one had sent us 6 pages of what was expected from cleaning the walls, to a spotless oven and stove, to the tops of the doorjambs. We had cleaned one day that I reported on in an earlier blog, but had spent even more time just cleaning what had not been done with the other missionaries. I was fully prepared to go to the mat by explaining that we were only obligated to repair abuse, not normal wear and tear and that we only needed to clean to the degree it had been when we took it over.

When he came, he brought his mother who seemed to be educated and formal. They did not even look above the doors or under the sinks. The place shone like a new marble and they declared that it more than achieved their expectations. We had a nice conversation about her experiences with the missionaries when she lived in New Zealand as a student and how they wished that they could keep the apartment, but state regulations forbids owning more than one property in the same county without special licensing. That was it. He even asked where he was to return the deposit.

We did have an adventure on Friday. The mission office washer and dryer were replaced and when Elder Clouse went down to the "clubhouse" to let the men in to set them up, he discovered that it had been broken into by someone who apparently just wanted to create mischief. They pried open an window and threw the contents of a desk onto the floor, tore the guest bed apart and ate two Twix bars, but didn't steal anything. We went over to do some mission laundry of items we had taken from apartments that could be used in other apartments and the clean up was already done. Elder Clouse was pretty vocal to the office Elders about how Sister Anderson was so upset with Elder Anderson that she threw the pens and scissors from the desk at him and tried to throw the bed, as well. Ya gotta love Keith Clouse.

Since we were already there, we were invited to a meal the sisters who work in the Täby ward made for the Clouses and the office elders. One of these, Sister DeSouza, is a Swede whose parents are Brazilian. She is a visa waiter and has been serving here for the past 14 weeks. Her mission is the Salt Lake Temple grounds and visitors' centers. She made a great pasta dish and her companions made the other dishes.  We closed with the sisters singing O Holy Night in English and a challenge to remember the gifts we personally have received from Christ. Sister DeSouza leaves for her mission Tuesday. She has had excellent training and wonderful experiences that will make her mission much more successful. She and her companions, Sister Trotter and Sister Olsen had two investigators attend the stake conference session today. Good missionaries!
 [She will get there just in time for this.]

We are finally starting to understand the major road systems and have made several forays without the GPS, mostly without getting lost.  It is a confusing system because, like most of these ancient cultures, the roads are paved over where dirt roads used to be. The dirt roads used to be oxcart paths. The oxcart paths used to be trails made by a wandering calf and its mother who was looking for her baby. The major highways, however, are quite modern and allow us to get from one side of the city to another fairly conveniently. Knowing the roads does make our work much more efficient and our nerves less on edge.

We are loving it and would love to hear from you.

Did I Say That...?

Before we left someone asked me if I knew what the weather would be like in Stockholm. The first time we were contacted about serving here our assignment would have been only in Stockholm, so it was an appropriate question. I reasoned that it was at sea level and situated similarly to Scotland's North Sea, so I responded that it would probably snow, but that the snow would not likely stay. It does snow and so far, it also stays. We were informed that this is the heaviest single snow storm in Stockholm since the winter of 1905.

As I mentioned last post, Tuesday, we got some snow, which was nice for the new missionaries. It was a good storm that left about 4" and went on for most of the day. By evening it had stopped. 

At home there was a lot of snow on the driveway that we share with the landlord's son who keeps a couple of trailers there for his business. I spent about an hour shoveling the snow off the driveway and had a great night's sleep.

The next day we got up to see that the driveway was completely covered with snow as deep as what I had shoveled the evening before and it was still coming down. Wednesday on the week of transfers is the day the new missionaries are treated to a traditional Swedish meal, get more instructions and then open their letters to find who their companion/trainer will be. They needed us to be at the church early because we had left our van for the missionaries to take the greenies to the mission home to sleep and the car we took had materials in it they needed for their presentation. As we traveled, we saw buses off the the side of the road, traffic snarled, road blocks where cars had slid off the road and stop-and-go traffic, making us quite late.

[Snow on our balcony give some perspective.] 

We needn't have worried. Nothing was going to start on time. The snow continued and caused delays for everyone. We shoveled off the walks, only to have them covered again in minutes. Elder Clouse and I took one of the smaller cars that is pretty nimble in snow and made our way to a store where the meal was waiting in steam table pans and carried them back to the building. Still snowing, we had to go the long way round because the normal road was too steep even for the little car with studded snow tires.

The meeting continued and it continued to snow. We got the missionaries to their companions and sent them to T Central on a chartered bus. There they would catch trains to their areas of labor. We stayed and cleaned the chapel with Elder and Sister Clouse. It continued to snow - heavy, heavy snow. 

In the mean time the missionaries who were to return home made their own ways to the temple, leaving their phones in their areas. The trains were still running and the train station is walking distance from the temple, so they did fine. President and Sister Beckstrand left to be with them at a little after 1:00 PM. They found themselves stuck in traffic and moving hardly at all, so they called the temple and asked that the missionaries be informed that they would not be in the session, but would be in the celestial room when they came through the veil. 

Still stuck, and not moving at all, they called the temple and asked them to instruct the missionaries to take the train to the closest station to the mission home. By that time the trains were delayed by about 2 hours and the buses were not in service at all. It continued to snow.

During this time, Olivia and I were trying to make ourselves useful at the mission office. I shoveled a path to an area of the mission office not accessible from the indoors. Snow was up to two or three inches above my knees and quite heavy. It took about an hour to complete the path and more time to dig some of the cars out of the snow. A great workout, but it continued to snow.

Elder Clouse got another call from President and Sister Beckstrand stating that he should go ahead with the traditional going away meal for the departing missionaries, and if necessary, start the final testimony meeting without them. Talking to the office missionaries and the assistants to the president the decision was made to have the missionaries who were stuck at the train station just walk to the mission home. The missionaries there had no phones, so the office elders drove to the station to relay the message. When we got there with the Clouses, Elder Clouse and I decided to also go to the train station and at least bring the two sisters back in the car.

 [The assistants to the president digging out the driveway next to the office]

 [Trying to dig out a car.]

 [The POEs and assistants dug out a spot for the bag van (similar to a UHaul) to stay for the night.] [Taking a break.]

[A snowplow driver saw what we were trying to clear out and finished  the job for us. The neighbor was upset that the plowed snow had blocked the path his little girl used from the sidewalk to his home, so the elders cut a new path for her.]

When we got there, we discovered that the office elders had taken the sisters with them and intended to drop them off and return for some of the elders. We packed three of them in our car and took them back; the other three were picked up by the office elders on their second trip back. Elder Clouse got another call from President Beckstrand asking him to start the meal and take charge of the testimony meeting. He had no hope of returning any time that night. By now it was after 8:00 PM. We helped with the meal, but had to leave before the testimony meeting because the office elders were giving us a ride and had to leave for some reason. We said our good-byes to Sister Woolsey who had been serving in Uppsala and to whom we had grown close. The Beckstrands finally arrived during the testimony meeting at about 10:30  PM. They had been stuck in the traffic caused by closing a tunnel for over 9 hours.

The snow had turned from a heavy snow to a light fluffy snow by now, so the road were covered with the heavy snow that had been packed solid and had a light, tractionless layer on top. Luckily, the snow plows were out in force, so some of the roads we traveled were clear. They took us to the van which was parked about a mile from the mission office where the assistants had abandoned it because they didn't want to take it further, since it still had the summer tires on it. There we got into the van while the office elders waited to be sure we would get out alright. There were two roads to choose from that would get us to the street that would eventually get us to the freeway and home. One was plowed and easy to maneuver, but a longer route. The other was not plowed, but had tracks that were packed down and was a shorter path to the same road. In other words the smart way and the stupid way. 

You can guess which way I chose.

We slid off the road and the elders and I shoveled and pushed while Olivia drove and mumbled something to me about why I hadn't listened to her and that sort of thing. We finally got out and back on the smart road. When we got to our neighborhood at about 11:00 PM the roads were covered with packed snow. Olivia had continued to stay behind the wheel, having concluded that someone with some brains and common sense should drive. However, she did not want to manage these roads, so I traded places and drove once again. We got to the very last road and looked down the hill to the driveway. I started down and almost immediately applied the brakes to get us into the driveway. I turned to go in but the car just continued to slide past the driveway and down to the bottom of the hill.

As I have described in other blog posts, these roads are very narrow, so we couldn't just leave the car and walk home. About every other driveway in the neighborhood has a large steel bin labeled "SAND" which means gravel, I guess. We walked back up the hill and filled a large snow shovel with the gravel and drug it to the car where we sprinkled the grit under and in front of the tires. She drug the empty shovel back up the hill while I inched the car up the hill. We filled the shovel again and repeated the action. We continued to do that until we almost got to the driveway. we shoveled and scraped a large section down to the pavement in front of the driveway so we could actually turn the car when we got there. WE MADE IT. 

Olivia had warned me that she did not feel that I should take the road where we got stuck and that she feared that we would not get into our driveway, but that we should borrow a car with studded snow tires for the night. When the adventure was over...

We had a talk. Some serious repenting was needed on my side of the companionship.

Thursday, we informed the office staff that we were not able to get out and we took our first P day in over three weeks. We planned our next two days, I got a haircut and we slept in. We needed it. The landlord's son shoveled off their balcony onto ours. The pile was not only up to my waist, but compacted, making it exceptionally heavy. I shoveled off the pile and the rest of our balcony, the stairs down the hill to the son's house and around the sheds where he keeps his equipment and supplies. I slept well again, but got to bed very late.

 [Before] [After]

Friday we put the snow tires on the car and did some shopping and other preparations for the following day and still did not manage to get into bed before 11:00 PM. In the mean time, our plans for Saturday were scrapped by emergencies that were called in on Friday. We arranged for a pair of missionaries to give up a bunk bed that was needed by some sisters who are in a threesome. We then got a call from some sisters who have no heat and only a small space heater. There were also elders who were without a toilet seat. The reason we got to bed so late is that we spent a lot of time just mapping out our route to make it to everywhere we needed to go and still be home at a reasonable hour.

Saturday we followed our charted course and traveled literally hundreds of kilometers to all the apartments who needed us and made it back to the office at a reasonable hour. We were amazed at how well the day went. Of course, we had to drop things off at the office, which means we have to talk to everyone there. Which means we didn't get home to eat until 9:00, again.

Today is Sunday and we are home from Church, we have finished dinner and have spoken to Cedric's family who were just getting ready for their meetings.  Last week I mentioned that a young man who sat by us in Sacrament Meeting and continued to our investigator class with his schoolmates. He was back again today with two more schoolmates and the bishop asked us to take some Sunday School time to answer their questions. Olivia and I were the only ones in the classroom with them at first, so we started. The classroom is the room with the baptismal font, so we explained baptism and priesthood authority. In a few minutes we were joined by the elders. It was a great time with each of us explaining different parts of the doctrine of the Church and answering questions. We were able to explain the logic of; repentance, the plan of salvation, the concept of eternal families, Word of Wisdom, abortion, and many other topics. Again, the young men were impressed and at least two of them seemed interested enough to pursue things further. Elder Bringhurst gave them a copy of the Family Proclamation, I gave them each a pass-along card and invited them to research mormon.org.

The seminary teacher in Olivia came out and some very important things were explained. Afterward, the elders were very complimentary about our participation. They said their goal was to be able to teach as we had done. It was nice for us to hear that, because I was concerned that we might be blowing their teaching method. 

Today was Ward Conference and we were surprised to have the stake presidency release our bishopric and install a new one. The bishop is Mathias Holmdahl, to no one's surprise. He and his wife are examples of the believers and we are happy for them. They are a younger couple; probably in their forties. They have two small daughters who are very intelligent and active. He is related to Elder Hall, who with his wife just got to our mission last Tuesday.

That is the news for this week. We love you all. Olivia has been asking the older grandchildren to write to us electronically so we get the news from their point of view. Today Rebeca, Jordan and Ruth's daughter, wrote and asked with many exclamation points when we are coming back because she misses us. At this end of the time spectrum, 22 months seems like a long time, but looking back, two years seems to come and go very quickly.  We constantly pray that we will be efficient, effective and truly magnify our calling.

Up, Back and in the Middle

Some have commented that they think I have slacked off because I have not added to the blog the last two weeks. We have just been busy - very, very busy. I have needed a hair cut for a week, but there has been no time to accomplish that. Maybe, by next Sunday I'll either have a haircut or put it in a man bun - all the rage, these days. We haven't had a P day for three weeks, but we see one coming.

I will begin by describing our week before last. The week began with on invitation to attend the young single adult FHE held in the ward we are assigned to attend.  The last time they held the meeting they had a room full of people, so they wanted out assistance. As it turned out, only the missionaries, the FHE coordinator and one investigator came. The investigator is very active in attending the meetings on Sundays and has been meeting with the missionaries for a couple of months.  At one point I sat down across the table from her and asked her about where she thought she was in her progress. Essentially, she admitted that she was hesitant to commit to joining the Church because she would disappoint her family who are Apostolic. I got to testify to her that when she could honestly pray and tell her Heavenly Father that she was prepared to do his will, no matter what the consequences, everything changes. While there would be challenges, she would experience growth as she had never experienced before in her life. The missionaries continue to work with her, but the past three Sundays she has not been present because she works in Stockholm some weekends. We pray that she will act on the promptings so the Holy Ghost will continue to be with her.

Then,we traveled with Elder and Sister Clouse to Norrland (north country) stopping to inspect 9 apartments along the way. They were a great help to us. Elder Clouse had to look into a car that had been in the shop for 10 weeks without any serious work being done on it.  He also needed to retrieve the winter tires for a car that was removed from a town when the senior couple there were transferred to the south. In this area, specific winter treads, which usually includes studded tires are required before December 1. It turned out that the car was not repairable, so arrangements were made to sell it at auction and have it transported out. It seems that being driven without oil really does cause damage. Hmmm. We were able to pick up the tires and do our other visits, as well.

We visited Hudiksvall, a town where the mission president has been anxious to place missionaries, but finding an apartment has been very difficult. We were met by the missionaries from Sundsvall, town north of there, who travel by train to serve there about once a week. The members in that town watch Sacrament Meeting as it is broadcast from Sundsvall, but there are no priesthood holders there who can pass the sacrament, so members travel to Hudiksvall about every 2 months to administer that sacred ordinance.

We picked up the missionaries at the train station and took them with us to a member's apartment complex where we picked up a member who had a rental they were willing to rent to the mission. It turned out that the little cottage is about 15 - 20 kilometers out of town on a farm; sort of servants' quarters. The mission president is not sure about accepting that offer due to the distance and lack of regular bus service to the place, but is still considering it.

Then, the whirlwind tour began. We visited the apartments of elders and sisters in Sundsvall, Skelektia, Umeå, Luleå and Boden. At each apartment, we performed our normal inspections and made some repairs. The back of the van we drove was filled with items they needed in their apartments all through the area, so we dropped those off where needed. As we inspected, we discovered items they were living without, so we shopped for those and gave them out on our way back home. We also took bags full of clothes and other items that had been left in the apartments by departing missionaries and accumulated over the years.

Along the way we saw the largest cheese slicers in the world, stayed in a vacant apartment two nights and at a Scandic hotel (similar to a Holiday Inn Express) another.  One difference we have noticed is that when a hotel offers breakfast, it is a feast. All kinds of breads, cheeses, yogurt, cooked and dry cereal, muesli, meats, rolls, eggs (scrambled and hard boiled), juices, cocoa, fruits, etc., etc.

We saw a couple of the sister missionaries who came out with us. Both have excellent trainer companions and speak Swedish like it was second nature. We were very proud of their progress. We also checked an item off our bucket list. As we traveled one night, the car in front of us suddenly stopped, so Elder Clouse, who was driving stopped and pulled to the side. We then saw why the car had stopped as a moose and her calf sauntered across the road in front of us. We still have not seen a reindeer or the Northern Lights, so more travel is warranted.
 (a borrowed image, unfortunately. It was dark and they were fleeting)

Returning from our trip to the north, we immediately had to assist a couple who returned to their home in Utah, then clean and outfit their apartment for a pair of elders who had to move out of their apartment in Stockholm. We then had to deep clean that apartment (still not quite done) with the help of the missionaries, the sisters in that district and a new senior couple who are here to do records preservation. Then we immediately had to clean, prepare, furnish and outfit a new apartment in Väster Haninge which is south of Stockholm and very close to the temple. We started that project on Saturday and worked with the Clouses until late.

As we returned home, we were sorry that it seemed impossible to go into the main cemetery for All Saints Day. People from all over the city go the cemetery and leave a lighted candle on the graves of their loved ones. We could see the thousands of candles, but the traffic was impossible to get in. Then we noticed a church just off the freeway exit to the mission office. We took a chance that there would be a churchyard and we were not only right, but also surprised to see how massive the cemetery is. There were candles everywhere and even as late as we arrived people were still coming in, many with older parents and young children. We found a place where there were so many candles that we could feel the heat from them. It was a quiet place with a fountain and water plants. A nice couple explained to us that most cemeteries have such a spot for people whose families are not in the city or for those who have been cremated. In fact many have their ashes spread in that spot. It was touching to see the level of dedication to family there.

Writing this, it doesn't sound that hard, but it all involves hours of travel, shopping and putting furniture together. The IKEA method is a blessing because we can put lots of furniture into our van, but it is a curse, because it takes hours putting it together. No matter which store we choose to purchase the items, we end up trying to follow the directions and re-doing much of it when we noticed we did not pay close attention to the details.

A week ago Sunday we were invited to the home of ward members, Torre and Sol Brit Burman. They are a retired couple. He was a dentist and she was his assistant, They were very generous with us and served a wonderful meal. Olivia didn't drink as much as she should have because the pitcher of water was constantly being refilled and then injected with CO2 to make it fizzy. I personally like it, but it was less than her favorite.  Their son is not active in the Church, but joined us for the meal and engaged in the conversation.  He is a concert pianist, but currently out of work. He graciously accepted the invitation to entertain us for the evening and it was wonderful. Olivia boldly told him he was needed in the ward as she often has to accompany on the piano in Relief Society due to the fact that there is only one other member and a missionary who plays and she is often missing.

Olivia has invited the family to come to our house after Stake Conference in two weeks as they will have to travel into Stockholm to attend. They were happy to accept and even thought their son would take the train to come, but would not attend the conference, unfortunately.

Last Sunday was Sister Woolsey's last Sunday in the ward. She returns home Thursday and she will be deeply missed. She has been our interpreter in Sacrament Meetings and for Olivia in RS. She has been a dedicated, faithful/faith-filled missionary. Her equally dedicated companion, Sister Wilson, translated a Mongolian sister's testimony into Swedish and Sister Woolsey translated it into English. I should say back into English because the woman's son had sent the English translation to the sisters, who then translated it into Swedish. It was 4th hand by the time we heard it, but it was still inspiring.

Sister Wilson had a 26th birthday, so to honor both Sister Woolsey and her, we brought them and the elders who also serve in Uppsala home with us for a dinner and birthday cake after our meetings. It is always interesting to hear the conversation of young people and inspiring to know that they know they are on the Lord's errand. They are young people with purpose, perspective and vision.

(Sister Woolsey wanted to see out Viking Ship before she went home. Elder Payne, Elder Bringhurst, Sister Wilson and Sister Woolsey.) 

During Sacrament Meeting a young man came in and sat by us. It was a particularly good testimony meeting and he was touched by what was expressed. It turns out that he and four other young men were visiting because of an assignment in one of their classes in school.  We and the other missionaries gathered them up and used Sunday School time to explain the beliefs of the Church and answered questions.  Two of them have given contact information to the elders, so I would not be surprised to see a baptism come from that visit. It was certainly inspiring to feel like a missionary again. We know our responsibilities as housing coordinators is important and we love doing it, but the opportunities to share like that are especially rewarding.

Yesterday, we spent the entire day from about 9:00 AM to 11:30 PM working on the apartment in Väster Haninge that I mentioned earlier. It is a nice place, now. Then we rose early to meet the incoming missionaries at the airport and assist them to register at the Migration Office, take pictures in old Stockholm, attend a lunch at the YSA center and then go contracting with an experienced companion on the streets of the city.  Tomorrow we will assist with their meeting and luncheon where they will learn who their training companion will be and where in the country they will be serving.

From there we will assist in preparing and sharing a meal at the mission home with the missionaries who are leaving to return home. It is always an emotional time for them. We look forward to hearing their testimonies just before they retire for the night. We will then assist in transporting them and their belongings to the airport.

Thanks for being interested in what we are doing. It is amazing to see how the Church grows in every part of the world. It is a huge undertaking and one that dedicated people everywhere are assisting to succeed. We are happy to be a part of it.

I Can Fix That

Those are my famous last words - I can fix that.  Anyone who knows me knows that either I can't fix it, or if I can fix it, the project will end up looking like a four year-old has fixed it. In any case, we are usually better off just getting a new whatever. Still, Olivia and I are trying to save the tithes of the Church by fixing what we can rather than buying new.

We visited the apartment of one set of elders where we were told that the missionaries had been putting the dish drying rack on the butcher block counter top, rather than the stainless steel on the other side of the sink. The result was mold and several splits in the butcher block.  It was also reported that they had somehow ripped the curtain rod bracket from the right side of the window leaving a gaping hole in the concrete wall and a large piece of plaster broken off. They have a small apartment, and a large sofa, so it was also suggested that we remove the couch and replace it with a small desk and a bookshelf.

When we inspected for ourselves, we agreed with the elders that the couch should be replaced with the desk and bookshelf, but I was quite sure the mold was not that deep and that we could just sand and re-seal the wood.  I was also sure we could fix the wall.

We bought the desk and bookshelf at (you guessed it) IKEA. The mission has a good set of tools including a sander, but we needed the sealer and something to repair the wall. Luckily, Olivia was with me at the hardware store because she had the presence of mind to actually ask for assistance. What is called "spackle" turns out to be something like Bondo and what I thought was sealer received scornful looks from the helpful clerk who also mumbled something in Swedish that sounded like "You idiot."

When we arrived at the elders' apartment, I took charge of the butcher block, one elder took the tube of whatever-it-is-that-fixes-walls and Olivia and the other elder assembled the desk.

I found that the mold was not just skin deep. No amount of sanding was going to go below the mold. When I thought that I had gone deeply enough that the mold looked like just darker grain, I made the mistake of cleaning off the sanding dust to find that the mold was more distinct than ever. I decided that it will just have to do. I used an old shop class trick to fill the cracks. I put a little sealer in a small lid that was in the garbage. To the sealer I added some of the sanding dust and mixed it in. I took a piece of heavy paper and filled the cracks with the mixture and it filled the cracks perfectly. The sealer is clear, not a stain, so the elders now have a counter top that still looks like mold is all over it, but it is safely sealed.

The wall looks great and the desk is perfect. When the missionaries are no longer able to rent that apartment, we will have to replace the butcher block, Until then, it's fine. We didn't have time to put the bookcase together, but they have the tools and the instructions, so they can take care of that.

From there we rushed over to the sisters' apartment a few kilometers away (I know you are impressed that I used kilometers rather than miles), where we had been the night before. They had hosted several other sister missionaries the night before prior to the Sisters' Conference. The next morning all the electric hair appliances were going at once and blew the breaker. We went over to see if there was something they missed in trying to flip the switches and found that there was nothing else we could do. Later that evening, however, we had dinner with President and Sister Beckstrand. President Beckstrand served his mission here as a young man and has been here 27 months as president of the mission. He was familiar with the system I had described and knew that there was a main fuse associated with the breaker box. He was quite certain I could just replace the fuse and it would be fixed.

 

That is why we rushed from the elders to the sisters the next day. I replaced the fuse and flipped all the switches again with no success.  At that point we did have to call in the electrician, so I called the agency from which we rent the apartment. They were unconvinced that I had replaced the fuse, but eventually put me in touch with the building manager who was also unconvinced.  Finally, I was able to talk to the emergency manager and gave him the sisters' phone number so arrangements could be made for an electrician. By that time it was after 4:00 PM, so no one could come out for another day.

The next day contact was finally made for the electrician to appear. He, of course, was unconvinced that I had replaced the fuse so he came without tools or parts, so he had to return to his shop and get another fuse. This time the fuse was behind a locked door in the basement of the apartment building.
The result is that the sisters now have electricity, but after all that time, all the food in the fridge had spoiled, so Elder Clouse had to arrange for extra money in their accounts to replace it.

The reason for the other sisters to be staying with the Stockholm missionaries was that this week was the big Sisters' Conference.  Much of our time was preparing for the various aspects of the conference.  Olivia was asked to assist Sister Clouse in her presentation which was based on the story, or rather the movie of Cinderella.  In the Grimm version Ella's mother advises her to be pious and kind, but in the movie she is advised to be courageous and kind. That was the theme.

The overall theme was Disney princesses, so the cultural hall was decorated in Beauty and the Beast, the other presentations were Snow White and Little Mermaid themed.  We spent shopping time looking for a candlestick, tea pot and cup. I was then tasked with the duty of finding and printing off pictures of the characters in B & B those items represented. Olivia also needed props for Cinderella, so she decorated a pumpkin to look like it was turning into a carriage. I was in need of something to do during all her preparation, so I found an image of a goose and lizards and made them to go onto the carriage. No picture, unfortunately.

The men got the opportunity of setting up, driving out to the COOP (a local grocery store that also caters) to pick up the food for the meal, cleaning, washing dishes (my specialty as everyone else disappeared when the time for cleaning pots and pans arrived), cleaning up and just making sure details were taken care of. It was so much fun seeing these excited, hard-working women enjoying each others company and feeling so special.

Sisters Woolsey and Wilson from Uppsala where we 
attend church                                                                              The APs as candle & clock at photo                                                                                                                 booth with some of the sisters

The entire group with Sister Beckstrand and senior sisters         Sister Clouse w/ office elders                                                                                                                  (note the candelabra and clock) 

Olivia, Sisters Hurlbut, Beckstrand, Clouse, Mitchell, 
and Watson (senior missionaries)                                                       
                                                                                          Sisters Heaps, Gow, Hansen, Botchway,                                                                                           Capuccio, & Nelson (they came in our group)

 Sisters Trotter & Young      I did get hot chocolate & brownie                 Elder & Sister Clouse

 We have spent a wonderful day at the Uppsala Ward where everyone is so accommodating to our lack of Swedish. I am finding that for many in the ward Swedish is a second language. A couple from Iran speak Italian and English; the ward historian is from France, one single man is from Norway, another woman is from Philippines, another couple (both working on PhDs) is from Vienna, another man is from Bolivia, one woman from New York, a woman from Finland, a family from Mongolia, another from the US and there are others, as well. English is commonly spoken, some better than others.

The last two Sundays, students from the university in Uppsala have visited as an assignment. Today it was just one young woman who expressed how welcomed she felt in our little ward. Olivia is so good at making people feel comfortable and carried on a conversation with her. Afterward, we invited her to come back when it was not just an assignment and she again expressed that she felt comfortable there, but made no commitment.

We are enjoying our mission and love helping move the work along even though it is mostly non-ecclesiastic. We take a huge burden from the mission president and make the living situation of the missionaries much more conducive to their study and lives.

We love and miss you all. We love receiving your emails and hope you enjoy this rambling blog.