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!

Norway trip

Flam trip, fjords, Rex in Bergen

In front of church building in Oslo

Vicky's birthday cake!

Changing of the guard in Oslo
King's palace

We have been busy with training this month. Our trip to Oslo in preparation for the BYU Young Ambassadors Tour was a successful trip. I celebrated my birthday on June 22 in Oslo attending sacrament meeting, then a very nice meal at the home of our National Directors of Public Affairs, followed by all 11 of the committee singing to me and then eating the chocolate cake that Gabi bought for my birthday. We were able to see the Vigeland Park in Oslo which contains some 200 sculptors of bronze, brass and iron. It is a huge park with over a million visitors each year. We saw the changing of the guard at the King's Palace, enjoyed a trip called "Norway in a Nutshell" where we saw some beautiful fjords and traveled to Bergen, one of the prettiest little cities in Norway.

Sweden celebrates "midsummer" on June 20 where they dance around a May pole, picnic, set off fireworks, etc. and it is a national holiday. We were in Norway so unable to attend, but we understand it is a huge celebration of the longest day of the year. Many people stay up to see the sun at midnight. We were in Norway, but we saw the sun at midnight. I love going to bed in the light and waking up to the light. It is only dark for 1-2 hours each night right now.

Prawns Galore cruise and Vaxholm

Vaxholm cannons and Rex and Vicky in Vaxholm on 44th wedding anniversary.

Zone Conference was wonderful. I get such a spiritual lift as we all meet together to train and be spiritually fed. Pres. and Sister Karlsson will be missed a great deal when they finish their mission.

Our travel and training in Goteborg, Sweden was excellent. Leif Mattsson is the new NDPA and we trained him on his duties as well as the hosting of BYU Young Ambassadors next year. This is a huge opportunity to "build bridges" for the church in the Nordic Countries. We received an email from Per Akebrand, Key City Director that he just received the letter from President Samuelson of BYU inviting Alf Svensson, Member of Swedish Parliament to speak at BYU next year. Per presented the invitaion to Mr. Svensson on Monday. We will be having a dinner with Mr. Svensson and his wife before they travel to BYU. This will be exciting and fun. We met Per Malm, the new member of Quorum of Seventy from Sweden at church Sunday. He and our International Director, Sister Gabriele Sirtl told us they know now this is why we were sent here on our mission. We were commended for our work. The Lord is certainly in charge and helping us.

For our 44th Wedding Anniversary, we went on a "Prawns Galore" cruise around the islands and stopped at Vaxholm. It is an old fortress built in the 15th century to protect Stockholm from invading countries. It is quite an interesting place. The weather was perfect and we had a great time eating prawns. The only thing that was tough for me was seeing the heads and eyes of the prawns on my plate. I had to pull the heads off and take off the scales to eat the bite of prawn. Somehow that made it less appetizing.

We continue to grow in our love of the Lord and the gospel of Jesus Christ each day. Our lives are richly blessed as we serve Him.

Trip to Copenhagen, Denmark

We traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark this past weekend for training. We were privileged to attend the Copenhagen Temple and enjoy doing a session. The taxi ride to our hotel cost us 226 DKK ($52) so we decided to walk the 3.6 kilometers to the temple. Walking is becoming more natural for us. We enjoyed a wonderful Danish meal with our National Director of Public Affairs and his wife and daughter. They are such wonderful people, doing a great job with public affairs. Saturday we visited Tivoli, a huge amusement park and garden area famous in Copenhagen. I got run over by a bike and received a gash in my hand with several bruised fingers and hand. I am fortunate that was the only injury as he was really traveling fast. We walked with our friends, Bro. and Sis. Clark to the Queen's Palace and to see The Little Mermaid, famous in Copenhagen as well. It was about 3 miles we walked. Sunday we attended church and enjoyed dinner with the Clarks before taking the train to the airport for our flight home. We enjoyed spending the weekend with our International Director, Gabriele Sirtl from Frankfurt also. She is a wonderful lady and friend.

Yesterday was our Zone Conference and the last ones for Pres. and Sis. Karlsson who are returning to Norway. Oue new mission president is from Oregon and will arrive on July 1. It is President and Sister Anderson. We have been able to complete a power point presentation to train the elders and sisters how to introduce themselves to the press and take an interview.

Our lives continue to be wonderful, exciting, and filled with much to do each day. Serving as a missionary is truly a fantastic blessing and privilege. We feel the spirit of the Lord watching over us and our family each day.

Stockholm Marathon

Vicky at the marathon. Rex by the warship Goteborg.

What a site to see the 18,000 runners in the Stockholm Marathon. It took almost an hour for them to run past where we stood. We were also able to see them a second time at about 20 miles. The winner was a Kenyan who completed the 26 miles in 2 hours, 16 minutes, 5 seconds. The best woman's time was a Swedish lady who completed it in 2 hours, 34 minutes, 12 seconds. I would have been glad to have even completed it by walking. The weather was beautiful, in true CA style.

We are finalizing our power point presentation for our trainings that begin on June 7 in Denmark. The Mission President, Pres. Karlsson has asked us to do a power point to teach the elders and sisters how to approach the media with a story about themselves and get some positive press. Public Affairs mission is different from most, but truly an exciting, wonderful mission with many different ways and opportunities to serve the Lord.