Fun Day at Drottningholm Slott

Vicky, Mark Paredes, and Rex

Easter Dinner with Sister Wright, Vicky, Sister Johnson

Drottningholm Slott guard with Sisters Johnson, Lewis, Wright

Lewises, Wrights, Johnsons at the gate of the Drottningholm Palace

Palace gardens

Drottningholm Palace

We had dear friend (Per and Ingrid Nilsson) come for a nice turkey dinner Monday evening.
Tuesday was spent at the temple and then we went directly to our Swedish class. It was our Zone Conference Wednesday and we feel such a great spirit as we share the day with the mission president and his wife and the sisters and elders in our zone. Pres. Anderson shared the scripture in D&C 64: 29, 33-34 that is the scripture Rex and I have on our plaque in our ward at home. We are agents on the Lord’s errand doing the Lord’s business. We must not be weary in well-doing because we are laying the foundation of a great work. Out of small things proceedeth that which is great. The Lord requires the heart and a willing mind…..
Then we met with the YSA group before their institute class and shared everything they need to do to help with the BYU Young Ambassadors when they are here. Following institute, we met with the Institute Council and Stake Presidents for a report and update on what is still needed as well as what we have already planned. We felt our efforts were productive and much needed in order to further the work that still needs to be done.
Yesterday we met with David Weaver, a great contact in the media here. His name was given to us by one of the Utah temple working couples who met him on the train. David works with the Ticnet group where we hope to get more ticket sales for the BYU show. He is a religious man and very family oriented. He wants to come to the show with his wife and little daughter. It is a little miracle just in how we found him through the temple couple. But also, when we went to the address on his business card, we couldn’t get in due to a port code that we did not know. Just as we were discussing what to do, a lady walked into the building and turned to ask us if she could help us. We showed her the card with David Weaver’s name on it and she said, “Follow me up to the 4th floor where I work as he is in the same office and I’ll get him for you.” He walked out to say hello with a bit of skepticism as he had never met us. We told him the story of how we got his name and he was most kind, offered his services in any way and we feel we have made a good friend.
Last night was a very interesting event put together by Ingid Nilsson of our Key City. Her assignment is “building bridges of understanding”. She invited a Humanist (atheist) named Christer Sturmark to have a dialog with our institute director, Louis Herrey at the Västerhaninge Chapel. There was a big article in the Christian paper called “Dagen” about the dialog between a Humanist and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In fact, it was the lead story on the humanist webpage today.
We went with two other senior couples on Saturday to visit Drottningholm Slott, where the King and Queen reside and have done since 1981. It is fun to visit the portion of the palace where they do not reside. The gardens are spectacular, even though not many flowers are out yet and the trees are just beginning to bud. It was originally built in the 16th century and is quite ornate on the inside.
Sunday we had an assignment from our Stake President, Pres. Nyman to visit Uppsala Ward, which is about a 45 minute train ride from Stockholm. We then had dinner with the senior couple and a good visit getting to know each other better. They are trying to start an Outreach Center (Center for Young Single Adults) in Uppsala and are struggling with only 3 active YSA people in the ward.
This morning we checked our emails and have two huge assignments to complete. One needs to be done by tonight and the other by Wednesday evening. They are for reports to the Area Presidency in Frankfurt. I need to get busy!!!

Easter Week

S. Wright, Vicky, S. Johnson at Easter dinner

Baptism

Rex by statue at Dramatic Theatre

"utfart" means exit

We couldn't resist the laugh!

Saluhall has one of the most popular markets in Ostermalm Torget

Dramatic Theater where Greta Garbo began her career!

Junibacken has a journey through Astrid Lindgrens world of childrens stories

Vasa Museum - famous warship Vasa, sunk 1628, salvaged 1961.

Nordiska Museum has Swedish life through the ages

Sister Cherrington's 22nd birthday at our apartment.

This has been a tough week for Rex as he came down with a very bad cold and we finally got him into the doctor yesterday. Since I don’t speak or read Swedish, one of the other senior couples found a doctor and gave me the phone number to call for an appointment. When I called, they only spoke Swedish and I had no idea what they said so I decided to walk over to the office and get an appointment. There is a port code to get into the building, which I did not have. I waited until someone walked into the building and then I followed them in and up to the 4th floor where the office was located. They were kind enough to get us in that afternoon. He is now on an antibiotic and a prescription cough syrup. We were treated well and everything is looking up now.

It is finally becoming warmer and I was able to go for two long walks the last two mornings. As I walked along the bay there was still 4-5 inches of ice on the bay. Geese were walking on the ice trying to get something to drink. The sun is shining beautifully and soft pink blossoms are popping on the trees. What a fantastic time of year! Life is “jättabra”!! (super good)
I found a quote from Pres. Monson: “Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.” I hope I can follow that counsel in my life.
We enjoyed General Conference immensely. I feel the leaders are counseling us to be prepared for tough times both economically and spiritually. We must build firm foundations on the rock of Christ so we will not fall. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is paramount to surviving in troubled times. It was wonderful to see our new apostle, Neil L. Anderson sustained to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. How grateful we are for the modern technology that allows us to watch conference many miles from Salt Lake. When used wisely, the modern technology truly blesses us.
A huge blessing this weekend was talking to all six of our children, their spouses, and most of the grandchildren. We are on a “high” with love and support from home as well as being spiritually fed by our great leaders. I know that we need to strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ and focus on the temple blessings as we go there to worship and serve. I am deeply grateful for my testimony of Jesus Christ and the restoration of the Gospel in its fullness. We must remember to “be of good cheer” and as Elder Wirthlin said in the last conference, “Come what may and love it!” We are truly loving each and every day of our mission.
Another goal completed as we finished reading the Doctrine and Covenants together. Each day brings a new thought about the importance of the scriptures and why we study them daily.
The temple has been closed for two weeks to be cleaned. It was wonderful to be back serving all day Wednesday. Sister Cherrington turned 22 so we had a surprise birthday party for her at our place. The 2 sisters, 2 elders, and Eva (their investigator) all came. We had such a wonderful evening. We sang “Families Can Be Together Forever” before having a scripture and discussion about families living together in heaven. Eva was very touched. After getting home, she sent us the sweetest text message about how much she loved the evening, the singing, the love she felt and being with us. Rex is a big tease and Eva is very naive so he loves to tease her about things that she doesn’t understand.
Last night after our Swedish class, this young girl from Uzbekistan waited for us outside the building to walk to the train station. We made small talk as we walked, but as we got closer to the train I felt prompted to invite her to church. I kind of ignored it at first, but it came again. This time I said, “Camola, would you like to come to church?” She quickly responded that she had wanted to ask me if she could come and seemed very happy that I had invited her. This is such a small thing, but it reminded me that we need to “open our mouths” and the Lord will do the rest. How grateful I am that I listened to the prompting to invite her. I hope she will come. Rex and I will be visiting a different ward from our own to promote the BYU Young Ambassador tour, so I have alerted the elders and sisters to be looking for her. Out of small things proceedeth that which is great. The gospel is for everyone and I feel so bless to have it in my life. It is the reason for everything good about me.
This morning we met with Mark Paredes, from Santa Monica, CA. He is here in the Scandinavian countries to present firesides in different cities on Mormon-Jewish relations since the days of Joseph Smith. He is Executive Director of the Western Region of the Zionist Organization of America, founded in 1897.
Yesterday we had a wonderful walk around the bay. It is so beautiful with flowers and leaves budding everywhere. People are out pushing their babies in strollers and sitting on park benches basking in the sunshine.
We attended a baptism of a young man from Mongolia yesterday afternoon. The lady who was supposed to play the piano didn’t show up, so I played the piano and felt privileged to be a part of this sacred event. He bore his testimony after his baptism and was so happy to have been baptized.
Afterwards we went to Wright’s apartment for an Easter dinner with the seniors couples and one elder who is without a companion. Sister Wright had her table decorated so festive and with all the Spring colors. What a wonderful way to celebrate Easter Eve. We visited Jakobsberg Ward to promote the BYU tour for Easter Sunday. It was a beautiful day!

Missionary Life in Sweden

Sister Cherrington, Eva from Taiwan, Sister Goates

Rex and Vicky with Eva

We just thought it was starting to be nice weather when we got 2 inches of snow yesterday. Since we buy tunnelbana passes by the month, we need to get to April 1st before buying the new one. That being said, we are walking for the next week as our last pass ran out Monday. The sun is shining brightly this morning by it did the same thing yesterday in between snow storms. The weather is crazy here, but we love it. We got another 4 inches Friday night too.
Last night we had training with two elders in Jakobsberg as to how they can do school presentations effectively and share the gospel message leaving the students curious and wanting to know more.
This month we have been extremely busy with Public Affairs training as well as final preparations for the BYU Young Ambassador tour. The tour has been our major focus for months, and now it is almost here. Several of the locations have done some amazingly creative work in combining the tour with letting people know who we are and what we stand for as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Skein, Norway in particular has joined with a local high school to do the hosting, feeding them, advertising, getting articles in the newspaper, etc. I am excited to see the outcome. I’ll record more as it happens.
We had our Swedish class Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Friday night we went to dinner with Wrights and Johnsons at a great restaurant in Gubbängen. Sharing some time with the other senior couples is so important. We are able to build lasting friendships and laugh together. As it gets warmer we plan on doing some fun Saturday trips to see more sites nearby.
We gave our Public Affairs presentation during the third hour in our ward yesterday and it was very successful. We shared the Key Messages and talked about how we, as members, can effectively share the gospel in a way people will understand who we are from us. Many people commented to us about the importance of our message and how they feel it helped them gain courage to be bolder in sharing who we are. It is especially important to reach out to opinion makers and those who can help or hinder the church.
After church, we went to hear Magdalena Lorentz and her sister, Anna Maria Nilsson sing in a choral concert out in Bromma at the St. Birgitta Kyrka. We were going to ride with their parents, our best friends here, but they didn’t get out of church on time so we found out how to get there by train and arrived just as the concert was beginning. It was all sung acapella with 11 male voices and 20 female voices. We particularly enjoyed watching the male conductor. He had quite the arm, hand, and body movements.

Rex has come down with a rather bad cold. I am trying to keep my distance so I don’t get it from him. We had the sister missionaries (Sister Goates and Sister Cherrington) over last night along with one of their investigators, Eva from Taiwan. She is a 23 year old student here studying economics. She was so funny taking pictures of everything in our apartment. We still have the Christmas trees up from our family with love notes and pictures on the wall. We also have a wall of hearts from Valentines. She loved our family photo album we brought and wants to tell her family about it. She is so happy and excited to learn about Jesus Christ. This is all new to her and it is amazing to hear the sisters share the gospel to someone who has no idea who Jesus is and to hear Eva pray. My testimony of our Savior grows stronger every day as I realize the importance of the atonement and what Christ did for me.

Week in Norway and Denmark!

Espen, Rex, Vicky, Arnfinn, Stein, Vildar (Norway PA Meeting)

Norway road to airport

Rex in front of statue and building in downtown Oslo

Vicky in front of King's Palace in Oslo, Norway

Rex in front of National Theatre in Oslo, Norway

University of Oslo

Rex and Vicky in front of Christus in the foyer of the Chapel in Copenhagen, Denmark

Back row: Jorn Berndtsen, Rex, Helge Norrborg, Martin Stokholm

Front row: Vicky, Mette Paulsen, Jesper Paulsen

Beautiful lake and apartment lined street in Copenhagen, Denmark

Rex, Mette and Jesper by the bicyles at Copenhagen Central Train Station

Dinner at Paulsens: Maria, Rex, Olivia, Andrew, Sebastian, Sarah, Mette, Vicky, Jesper

2 year old Olivia Paulsen in her soccer outfit from Spain.

Maria Paulsen with her fabulous dessert: nut and crumb crust, ice cream, strawberries, blueberries and shaved chocolate.

We had lunch and a wonderful lesson in our apartment today with the sister missionaries and my friend, Birgitta. She always says how much see feels the spirit and loves reading the Book of Mormon I gave her. She is going with me to the Brigham Young University Young Ambassadors performance in May when they come to Stockholm.
We left for Oslo, Norway Wednesday morning and after arriving there we caught the express train into the city, which is 32 miles away. We walked 1.3 miles to the hotel pulling our suitcases as it was such a beautiful day. Our meeting was wonderful and things are about ready for the BYU tour to come here. We flew home Thursday.

Early Friday morning we left for Copenhagen, Denmark. The NDPA, Jesper Paulsen met us at the airport and Jesper and his wife Mette took us to the Copenhagen Temple to do a session. The temple president took us into the baptistery before we left. There are two beautiful murals on the walls with faces of real people who have been a part of the Copenhagen Temple in some way. We had a delicious Danish meal topped off with the most beautiful, best tasting dessert I think we have ever eaten at Jesper's home. Jesper and Mette picked us up at 9:45 a.m. Saturday for our meeting. It was another very successful meeting and much good is happening in Denmark as well. Copenhagen is sold out and so is Esbjerg. They provided some sandwiches and after the meeting took us to the airport to fly back to Stockholm.

Today is Sunday and we visited the Gubbängen Ward about 45 minutes away to promote the BYU Young Ambassador tour. We were greeted warmly by the ward and we took about 5 minutes in RS and Priesthood to promote the tour. One huge obstacle that we were just made aware of is that the BIG European Idol show is the exact same time as the BYU Performance in Stockholm. We are moving forward with faith and trying hard to promote that there are good, better and best choices in our lives. Attending the BYU Young Ambassadors show is “BEST”.

Winter is still here!

Picture taken March 11 outside our apartment window.

Walking to the temple March 10.

We are now preparing for our trips to Norway and Denmark. I had sent the information regarding when we arrive, where we are staying, and asking how we can get from airport to hotel to meeting. Our NDPA in Copenhagen, Denmark called me tonight to tell me that our hotel is in the “Red Zone”, or where all the prostitutes and pornography goes on in Copenhagen. He even said that the missionaries are not allowed in that part of town. I immediately sent an email off to the Frankfurt office asking our secretary who books hotels, etc. to change our hotel. Jesper laughed and said he and his wife got a kick out of the thoughts of us walking to our hotel in that part of town.
Our Key City Meeting was Wednesday night. Our huge discussion was the price of the BYU Young Ambassador tickets for the Stockholm performance. I was finally able to help solve the issue by proposing that we ask one price until a certain date, and then ask the larger price for the remaining time. This would encourage members to get their tickets early. Everyone jumped on the idea. End of discussion.
Yesterday we met the Elders and Sisters at “the ring” in downtown T-Central station where all of them meet for transfers. The elders from Borlänge brought tickets for us to get to the two Stockholm Stakes to distribute for the BYU Young Ambassadors performance. It is interesting how we get involved taking care of so many different things. We are working closely with both Stake Presidents now to make sure they understand how to prepare for these BYU groups. At our Annual PA meeting on Sunday, Area Seventy Elder Malm was very specific in letting them know what he expected of the Stake Presidents. It was so helpful to us. He is an incredibly organized, effective leader.
Temperatures are hovering about 30 degrees give or take a few. Still lots of snow here in Sweden. I attended a baby shower for the wife of the first counselor in our bishopric. They always make their baby afton (baby showers) a surprise. I made a cute pink fleece blanket for her. Marguerite was totally surprised and emotional about the party. She made David, her husband stay with her and she sat on his lap the entire time.
Wrights invited us to their apartment for dinner tonight along with E/S Johnson. We really had a great meal and nice visit together. These times we share as senior couples are important and helpful in enjoying our missionary service. I made a loaf of oatmeal sunflower seed bread that was really quite delicious.
It was our Ward Conference today and the focus was on temples. How wonderful if everyone could be temple worthy and go to the temple often. I loved the short video the church just put out on “The Purpose of Temples”. We need to focus on our purpose and not get distracted by the irreverence of the world in trying to demean the sacred ordinances of the temple.
We met with our stake presidency for 2 hours this afternoon in preparation for us to visit all the wards in the stake to promote the BYU Young Ambassador tour. It is great to feel the full support of the Stake Presidency now.
Elder Langston and Elder Lords came to supper tonight and we had a great visit with them about their work and about what we are doing in Public Affairs.

Annual Sweden Public Affairs Meeting

Sweden's Annual Public Affairs meeting

Vicky by snowman at Mission Office

This week has been GREAT, as they all are! We were privileged to do some service for Ryan Koch of the US Embassy Monday afternoon. He is going to be helping us set up a reception and performance for the US Ambassador to Sweden when BYU Young Ambassadors come to Stockholm.
Our day at the temple was great on Tuesday and then we had our Swedish class that night. I never realized how difficult it is to learn all the verb conjugations in a new language. I will be lucky to learn a few words, but we are supporting the elders in their classes Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
Zone Conference was Wednesday and packed full of instruction. A major focus was “unity”, especially in the companionships. The mission is having a great deal of success right now. President Anderson said that if the baptism dates that are set for March materialize, it will be the biggest number of baptisms in March for the past 20 years. I believe there are 19 baptisms set right now. They also spoke about “ATTITUDE”, one of my favorite subjects. If you add up the numbers of the word attitude with A being 1, T being 20 (as in the letter of the alphabet), it totals 100 so they determined that with the right attitude you can have 100% success. This is quite interesting.
The sisters came to supper tonight and brought the dessert, which is called a semla. It is something that Swedes eat on “Fat Tuesday”, or Mardi Gras. It reminds me of a crème puff except the crust that holds the pudding filling is much more like a bread and not as sweet.
Our Friday lunch was great, as usual. Elder Loomis made more semlor, but he made chocolate ones, which is not the traditional Swedish flavor. The lady who gave him the recipe said it is more American.
We met Gabi, and Leif & Eva Mattsson at the Radisson Hotel tonight for a wonderful supper. The only little glitch was that in our appetizer, Gabi had the band aid off of someone’s finger in her food and she actually chewed on it before realizing what it was. She discretely pointed it out to the waiter and he apologized. When it came time for Gabi to pay the bill, the waiter returned and told her that the meal for everyone was comped because of the band aid in her food. It was about a $250 meal and everything else was excellent!
Our Sweden PA meeting was excellent! I have never seen anyone keep a group on task like Elder Per Malm. I gave him a few items that we wanted him to cover with the Stake Presidents that would be of benefit to the success of the tour. He was able to discuss the items, keep the group focused and accomplish what needed to be done in a positive, efficient manner. He is truly an amazing man and we can understand why he is an Area Seventy here in Sweden. Public Affairs is becoming a very important essential program in the church in every country.

Our week and Sundsvall Trip

Rex in front of Globen City, a huge shopping center in Stockholm.

Front where we sat to eat lunch in the Hotel Sodra Berget on top of a mountain in Sundsvall. It overlooks the Baltic Sea and Sundsvall.

Rex and Vicky in Sundsvall in front of a snow drift.

Rex and Vicky by the ski lift that overlooks Sundsvall and the Baltic Sea.

Looking out the window at the countryside on our drive to Sundsvall.

We still have about 4 inches of snow on the ground and it is slick and icy to walk. The temperatures are hovering about 30 degrees. I guess this is very typical for Sweden this time of year. We had a wonderful day again at the temple and continue enjoying the great blessings in the Lord’s house. Afterwards we went directly to our Swedish class that is taught by the elders. It helps just to hear how the words are pronounced, as when we look at them, it isn’t how we would say it in English. There are so many rules that apply and then there are the things you just have to know. Guess what? We don’t just know. However, it is fun to learn a few words. My favorite word is “jättebra” which means super good.
My back is healing well. I just got my stitches out today and also received the biopsy report. Everything is great! The basil cell carcinoma was totally removed and everything is healing well. The Lord extends so many tender mercies to us and we feel his inspiration and guidance all the time.
March will be very busy with trainings and follow up meetings in the Nordic countries to finalize the BYU Young Ambassadors tour. We will visit all the wards in the Stockholm area and travel to Denmark, Norway and Sweden to see that things are in order.
The Elders (Langston and Lords) came for supper tonight. I fixed a great American meal of hamburgers and french fries. Then I made raspberry crepes for dessert. We all loved it. These two elders are so fantastic! There is such a great spirit about them and what they do as missionaries. They are truly “defenders of the faith.”
As we are reading the Doctrine and Covenants now, it is amazing the things that have such significance in the missionary setting. The spirit is strong as we read and share our thoughts and feelings. Companionship study is such a blessing.
Our district meeting was in Hägersten today. They showed the Church History video “Tried in All Things” about the Martin Handcart Co. It is a tear jerker.
Friday we had our mission office lunch. Elder Patchett from Henderson, NV fell on the ice and re-injured his knee. He has to go home 2 months early to have surgery. He was in good spirits.
On Saturday we helped Elder and Sister Johnson, office senior couple, drive two cars up to Sundsvall, which is 4 hours north of Stockholm. The sisters up there got a new car and the elders north of them totaled their car and got a new one. Thank goodness they were not injured, even after the car rolled 4 times. Angels were watching over them for sure. We brought back the car the sisters were driving to give to the elders in Gotland.
We went to the top of the highest mountain in Sundsvall that overlooks the city and the Baltic Sea. It is a ski resort with ski run and spa, etc. We found out they served a wonderful buffet for only 95 kroner so we stayed and ate a delicious lunch as we looked over the city and sea. They had salmon, roast beef, salads, rolls, soup, dessert, etc. It was such a great lunch for a reasonable price. People were sitting in their white bathrobes eating lunch after having been in the spa.
On our way back to Stockholm, we stopped at Gävle where there is a statue of John Erik Forsgren, who is the first Swedish missionary. He baptized his brother Peter Adolf Forsgren on July 26, 1850 into the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It was late when we returned home after a long 15 hour day of driving to Sundsvall and back. What a great day!