Week at Festinord

Baptism of Helene Ingman (center front)

Candy cane making at Granna, Sweden

Rex and Vicky overlooking lake near Granna, Sweden.

Rex, Vicky and Elder Pearson in front of old castle restaurant in Granna.

Students at Festinord in Jonkoping, Sweden.

We had an amazing week! Elder Per Malm of the Seventy called us for a nice visit and sent a letter to all the Stake Presidents and NDPA's in the Nordic country introducing us as the Public Affairs people with whom they will work in bringing the BYU Young Ambassadors to the Nordic Countries. He also said we could assist them with any public affairs issues. It was a huge step forward in our mission assignment.

At Festinord, our assignment was to take pictures and write an article to be published on the country websites. This event hosted about 700 YSA from 27 European countries, held in Jonkoping, Sweden this year. The youth had institute classes each morning, workshops on dating, marriage, sharing the gospel, The life of Joseph Smith, dance classes, and a big dance each night. Two firesides were presented with Elder Sterri and Elder Kopischke (both Area Seventies) speaking. Elder Sterri spoke on "becoming". It isn't enough to know, we must be working at becoming who the Lord needs us to become. Elder Kopischke gave us 11 ways to "live after the manner of happiness" that Nephi shared in the Book of Mormon. They are: 1) Follow the prophet, 2) Keep the commandments, 3) Walk with the Lord, 4) Love and read the scriptures daily, 5) Marry in the temple and have families, 6) Be prepared for bad and difficult times, 7) Work hard and develop talents, 8) Attend the temple often, 9) Be diligent (work hard and don't take the easy path) 10) Live where we have religious freedoms, 11) Listen to and become good teachers (in callings and in our homes). We served with other senior couples that are just amazingly, wonderful people. There was a song contest with 7 participants from 5 different countries. Each of the 7 contestants wrote his/her own song and music. An article was printed in the local newspaper about the Festinord event and song contest. It was a good article about the youth of the Church and the great event.

On our way home from Festinord, we rode with Elder and Sister Pearson. We stopped at a place called Granna, where they make candy canes and all other flavors of candy cane besides peppermint. It was amazing to watch!

I played the piano for the baptism of Helene Ingman today. When Helene walked into the font to be baptized, she smiled from ear to ear and waved at everyone in attendance. She said this "is the happiest day of my life." What a blessing for this dear lady. I feel blessed to be a part of such a sacred event.

Germany and Loreley

On tope of Loreley overlooking Rhine River.

Overlooking Rhine River - Rex and Vicky

Castle along the Rhine River

Grape vineyard looking down onto the Rhine River.

Vicky with Bro. and Sis. Stein in Germany.

We have had a great week traveling to Frankfurt, Germany to meet with our Public Affairs team. One of the things we miss is the daily interaction with other couples. The Associate Director of Public Affairs in Germany is Ralf Grunke. He is just the funniest guy and makes us laugh frequently. They are preparing for a big Open House in September so we helped with invitations, had a marvelous planning meeting for our huge NDPA Conference in Manchester, England coming in September. Rex and I attended a session at the Frankfurt Temple on Tuesday evening and were the witness couple. It was such a spiritual high. We also got to go out for supper with 3 other senior couples serving in Frankfurt. Each couple is interesting and shares a powerful testimony of service and miracles in their families. We too feel extremely blessed in our service to the Lord. Our family brings us such joy. Just in case you don't know, our daughter, Kali and her husband are expecting baby #5 in February. Also, our son, Kyle and his wife are expecting twins in February 2009. We will come home to 3 new grandchildren as of now.

Before we left on Wednesday, we went on a drive along side the Rhine River where there are numerous castles every few miles. The little town of Rudesheim is right beside the Rhine River. We stopped for lunch and viewed the spectacular grape vineyards that grow along the mountain sides. They are literally so steep, I wonder if mountain goats could walk there. I am not sure how they harvest, but it is amazing how they grow these grapes. We crossed the Rhine on the ferry and drove back to the airport along the other side of the river to view it from a different perspective. Germany is truly a gorgeous place. Everything feels so neat and clean. They keep their country immaculately groomed. All the wheat and grain fields are about ready for harvest also.

While in Germany we stayed at the home of Bro. and Sis. Stein, a little German couple who own a bed and breakfast near the temple. They serve in the temple a couple of times each week. We absolutely fell in love with them. Each night Sis. Stein had a baked strudel for us to eat when we returned. Our breakfast was fit for a king and queen with cereal, yogurt, eggs, cheese, ham, toast, juice, and milk. We felt like we were at the Radisson.

Upon our return, we attended the Zone Conference and met our new Mission President and his wife, President and Sister Anderson. They are amazing people with powerful testimonies. We are going to their home for a BBQ Saturday evening. Two of the elders are going home in two weeks so they shared their testimonies. These meetings are spiritual feasts for us.

Life is GREAT! We are having many opportunities to serve and share our Public Affairs message here in the Nordic countries.

I close with this quote from Pres. Joseph Fielding Smith: "Our young people...are the nobility of heaven, a choice and chosen generation who have a divine destiny. Their spirits have been reserved to come forth in this day when the gospel is on the earth, and when the Lord needs valiant servants to carry on his great latter-day work." I pray we each feel the need and desire to do His work each day.

July 4th and Borlange Trip

Boating on the Baltic Sea

In the Archipelago

Fort of defense for Stockholm, used as recently as 1980 for military defense.

An island in the archipelago.

Rex having a picnic at a lagoon in the Baltic Sea with Per and Ingrid Nilsson and family.

Rex and Per Nilsson

Vicky, Perty, Ingrid, Tea and Charlotta

Rex and Vicky overlooking Uppsala, Sweden.

Botanical garden in Uppsala, Sweden

14th Century Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden. Vicky in front.

Rex and Vicky with largest "dalahorse" in Sweden.

Vicky and Rex in front of church in Borlange, Sweden.

This was our first time not to be in the U.S. to celebrate the 4th of July with family and friends. However, we were invited by some good friends on our Key City Council to go boating with their family. We went through the archipelago among the thousands of islands and out into the Baltic Sea to a little island lagoon where we ate a delicious picnic that Sister Nilsson prepared. There were some old castles and defense forts from centuries ago that Brother Nilsson showed us. I will have some pictures for you to see.

We rode by train to Borlange, Sweden on Saturday and stayed with Bishop and Sister Holmgren and then on Sunday we made a presentation to the Borlange Ward priesthood and relief society about "Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet", which is a talk given by Elder Ballard to the BYU-Hawaii graduation in December 2007. It is an excellent article and counsel directing us to share our testimony and to stand up for our beliefs. We cannot sit by and let critics define who we are and what we believe. Each of us has access to the internet, and used wisely we can make a difference. We can be a missionary in our homes each day with opportunities to bear our testimony and testify of Jesus Christ. The Key Messages of the Public Affairs is: There are three points of common ground where we are like other Christian Churches and believe as they do regarding 1) Jesus Christ, 2) Bible, and 3) Humanitarian Service. The two things that set us apart as different are 1) The Restoration 2) New Scripture - The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. We also shared examples of people who are using the internet effectively and bringing others unto Christ. There is a website called LDSMEDIATALK.com that was set up by the Public Affairs Department of the church as a help in how we can more effectively share the gospel using the internet. I recommend it to each of you.

On our ride home from Borlange with Chip Oscarson and the 5 BYU coeds, we saw the largest dalahorse in the world. We also saw the oldest 14th century cathedral in Uppsala and a beautiful botanical garden. The northern part of Sweden is a deep green plush color dotted with thousands of gorgeous lakes and trees.

Monday evening we enjoyed a very nice potluck dinner with 3 other senior couples and a family who is moving from Sweden to Vienna, Austria as a member of the U.S. Embassy. He shared some interesting stories of being in attendance at meetings with the president and heads of state. They have a family of 10 children, and some hilarious stories to share.

This morning on our walk we passed a lady who had just been stung by a bee. She was in a panic. We helped her get the bee out of her hair and walked her home. She had been allergic to bee stings in the past and hoped she wouldn't swell up. We accompanied her and had a nice visit. When we said goodbye to her, we hugged. A little kindness is truly appreciated.

Our love to each of you. We think of you and pray for you. May the Lord continue to direct each of us.

We continue to absolutely love our mission and the opportunity to serve here in the Nordic countries.

More News from Sweden

At Key City BBQ in the archipelago. Great evening!

Church built about 1000 AD.

Group of 4 senior couples together in Sigtuna. Johnsons, Watts, Thunells, Lewises.

Vicky making her own tortilla in Viking Village at Sigtuna.

Bridal bike and bridal shower in Sigtuna. Bridal bike ridden by bride to be to bridal shower.

Bridal shower. Everyone in matching tshirts, except intended bride in orange.

Vicky and Rex with people from Viking Village in Sigtuna. We made our own tortilla in the village.

Things have slowed down somewhat this past week. We were able to go to the temple in Sweden and do a session, we have had the elders and sister for dinner several times, and put together a training session for a ward in Borlange on how to use the internet in sharing the gospel. Bishop Michael Holmgren has invited us to come to Borlange to speak and train in his ward this coming Sunday. Elder Ballard gave a wonderful talk about this and he outlines some ways we can be more effective in sharing what we believe, as well as counteracting some falsehoods about our faith and beliefs. He comments to the old adage that "the pen is mightier than the sword." The internet allows everyone to be a publisher. Everyone's voice can be heard. There is a website put together by Bruce Olsen and members of the Public Affairs staff called LDS Media Talk with many ideas for individuals and families on how to use the media more effectively as well as things we need to be careful of on the internet. I recommend both the talk by Elder Ballard and the LDSMediaTalk.com to everyone.

Last Saturday we met with three other senior couples and made a little day trip to Sigtuna, which is about an hour from Stockholm. We borrowed the van from the secretaries at the office, which they call RITA. Just as we were arriving in Sigtuna, Rita's power steering and the alternator quit. Thank goodness we got parked. They had Rita towed to the nearest city about 30 minutes away. We called the secretaries who came in two cars: one for them to continue on to the airport to pick up some elders and one for two of the couples to get back to the mission office. Rex and I rode with the other senior couple to Marsta, about 15 minutes away and rode the train home. It was a fun day together seeing this historic site and eating lunch together. We don't get many opportunities to socialize with other couples so this was a really fun day. I must say that the senior couples are a great group special people.

Monday evening we had a Key City BBQ with the members of the Key City Council. They are really a great group. All the members and their spouses were invited. It was held at the home of one of the members of the council who lives way out in the archipelago about an hour out of Stockholm. Thank goodness Per and Eva Akebrand gave us a ride. The home we went to is located on a hill that overlooks this gorgeous lake. We ate outside on the back deck and enjoyed some real, authentic, delicious Swedish food. My favorite was the marinated, grilled salmon. Everything was superb!