Skien and Oslo, Norway

Tunnels between Skien and Oslo, Norway

Beautiful Norway countryside

Farming country in the hills of Norway

Rex and Vicky by a beautiful waterfall on drive from Skien to Oslo, Norway

Rex braved a roadway for a snapshot of a lake in the background. Rainy day weather.

Double steeple church in Skien, Norway

Mormon Helping Hands people passing out flyers at Kungstradgarden

The Royal Palace in Stockholm

Gardens of flowers in the Kungstradgarden with Vicky in the background

The Opera House in Stockholm

Rex with his shades on and the flowers of Kungstradgarden

Beautiful tulip gardens surround one of many statues in Stockholm

Today is Mother’s Day and I feel so grateful and blessed to have such a wonderful family. Being a Mother is the ultimate in happiness and blessings. I heard from everyone of my children and loved talking with them.
This week was such fun filled with the excitement of sharing a meal with the elders and sisters since transfers are next week. We have seen many miracles within the mission these past few months. My dear friend Birgitta came to our apartment for another lesson Tuesday. She has become such a dear friend. It will be difficult to say good-bye to her in a few months. We worked at the temple all day Wednesday and then had our Key City Council meeting Wednesday night. This is a busy month for Key City with plans for a UN Family Day, Mormon Helping Hands projects, and a Neighbor Day in the works. Rex and I are busy traveling around to support the BYU Young Ambassador tour and VIP receptions, helping where needed.
We went to Norway on Thursday morning and met Gabi, our Europe Area Director. She had us rent a car and the three of us traveled to Skien, about 2 ½ hours south of Oslo for a performance and VIP reception. It was the most amazing experience as the organizer of the tour in Skien went to the local high school and got 240 of the students involved helping arrange for everything. The students had to apply for the positions to help. When BYU arrived at their school, their band played The Star Spangled Banner and they had printed up t-shirts that had “Young Ambassadors” printed on the front. There was a day of workshops and interaction with the BYU students and the high school students. The VIP Reception was held with the Mayor in attendance and a special award was given to a community member who exemplifies a good volunteer. The man was presented with a beautiful statue created by the students. The city plans to make this a yearly award and the church will have a member sitting on the committee to determine the recipient. The town has already published two 2-page articles in the local paper about the show. A video of the performance is being made by the students to be sold to raise money for volunteer organizations. A famous opera star sang two intro numbers and the Mayor presented Ed Blaser, BYU Performing Arts Manager, with a beautiful porcelain plate of Skien. The evening was just “off the charts” in creativity, bridge building, etc. I am so happy we were there. The Ward Mission Leader is the person who was in charge of the evening and he said this is a ward mission leader’s dream come true. WOW! What an evening!
The next morning we drove through the gorgeous Norway countryside to Oslo. Norway is such a beautiful country. The show in Oslo was held at the Oslo Concert Hall and all 1400 seats were full. The VIP reception hosted some important people and friends of BYU. Erlend Peterson, International VP at BYU, was there and had invited many friends he had made as a mission president in Norway in the 80’s. He has been Knighted by the Norwegian Parliament as they think so highly of him. The show was absolutely fantastic!!
When we were on our flight home from Oslo on Saturday, a fellow sat beside us and we began a conversation with him talking about what each of us does. We told him about the Young Ambassadors and the tour. He then began reading the local newspaper and stated that he was a journalist and this paper was his competitor. As the pane landed he handed us his card and said that he was interested in what we had said and asked if we could get him some additional information. On Saturday afternoon at the MHH project we showed the card to Per Akebrand and asked him if the paper that he represented was a good paper that we would want to be associated with. He stated it was the #2 paper in Stockholm and was more conservative than #1 and was a great lead. Per had read several of his articles and said he was one of the top journalist for the paper.
Today we went to his office and gave him 5 pass outs and a press release and two tickets to the performance and invited him to the VIP/Media reception. He stated that he would like to come. What are the chances????

After arriving home we went to Kungsträdgården (a huge park in downtown Stockholm where much activity is going on) and help pass out flyers for a Mormon Helping Hands project Key City is doing. We are collecting baby blankets to be given to a hospital in South Africa where mothers have babies and nothing to take them home in. Some use brown paper bags or old newspapers, whatever. Also, we are making white blankets for the mothers whose babies die, so they have a white blanket in which to bury their baby. Next Saturday we have a tent set up at UN Family Day to gather the blankets. Our goal is to collect 500 blankets. The wards and branches are all making them in RS and YW.
Our friends and fellow PA team in Frankfurt shared this information with us:
We just got a report on the meeting with the Cardinal in Italy (it happened on Tues. May 5th). We talked with Pres. Robert Oaks last night at the BYU Management Society Europe Leadership Conference. He said the meeting was “Spectacular!” He said when they first met that the Cardinal said to Pres. Caussé “You come from Bordeaux?” He answered “We!” and the Cardinal said “Good!” They got along so well that the meeting was conducted in French. It went, as Pres. Oaks said, better than they could have hoped. He said it was another indication of “Help from above” in the work here.
Here is a follow-up report on the Mormon Film Festival in Belgium in April. Claude Bernard, the Brussels Key City chairman, wrote the following:
I think that everyone who was present on the day of the screening not only enjoyed the film but felt the spirit as well. We’ve had some interesting responses as a direct consequence of the films- from the non-member student in journalism who is writing a piece on Mormonism who said he could understand what missionary work is all about (Errand of Angles) and what being a bishop entails (Father in Israel) after seeing the Christian Vuissa films - to the member couple who had been inactive for some time and came, felt the spirit and has been coming back to the church ever since - from the investigator who came with the missionaries and loved the film “Errand of Angles” and wants to continue being taught - and to all the members present who felt legitimate pride in the work done by fellow (artist) members and who are now ready to invite friends and family to come to see other films in the future. A corollary to all this is that I have been asked to screen the films in Luxembourg, Paris and other francophone cities in Belgium.
We spoke with some friends from South Africa on Skype this past week. They told us of a group of 4,000 people in Sudan who had found a Book of Mormon and are waiting for someone to come baptize them. The Church is not recognized in Sudan so we don’t know when this will happen. Almost a year ago, we got an email from Bob and Renae that there were 2500 in Sudan waiting for baptism, but now the number is up to 4,000. Can you imagine being the missionary called to Sudan and having the privilege of baptizing 4,000 people? That is more than a stake! We are praying for a miracle so these people can be baptized soon.

Copenhagen BYU tour and Rex's birthday

Rex resting on the bench by the beautiful river.

Vicky in front of Gefion Fountain

Vicky and Rex beside "The Little Mermaid" statue, famous in Copenhagen harbor where the cruise ships dock.

Vicky by the cannons that guard The Citadel, an exceptionally well-preserved fortress

Rex on the mounds of dirt that wall The Citadel fortress, with beautiful park and church in background

Vicky at the walled gate to The Citadel

Sebastian and Christina Michaek with Vicky. They both dance with the Royal Danish and Royal Swedish Ballet companies. They were guests to the VIP reception and performance of the BYU Young Ambassadors.

BYU Young Ambassador performer with Vicky

Danish Parliament building

Nikolaj Church

Hotel D'Angeleterre at Kongens Nytorv, a majestic square encircled by stately mansions. This is where the VIP Reception was held.

Rex in front of the Kongens Nytorv square

Vicky in front of The Royal Theatre where the BYU Young Ambassadors performed.

Rex with a delicious ice cream cone sitting on Nyhavn port with its quaint old houses, restaurants, etc.

Nyhavn port with its quaint houses in the background and Vicky in front.

Frederiks Marble Church

Russian Orthodox Church

Celebrating Rex's birthday with seniors and elders at Mission Office

The birthday boy with his birthday hat on ready to blow out the candles on his cake.

We were privileged to have the sister missionaries for lunch yesterday and then Birgitta came and we had another teach. She will forever be one of my sweetest friends.
This morning we met Ryan Koch at the US Embassy to check out the facility where the BYU Young Ambassadors will perform. Ryan plans to invite all of the US Embassy staff and members of other embassies who live close by. It should be an outstanding opportunity to build bridges.
We spent the afternoon and evening at the temple working and serving. Our ward temple night was tonight so we were able to share some spiritual time with members of the ward. When we got home, we packed to go to Denmark tomorrow.
To say that the Young Ambassador show was great is a total understatement! It was phenomenal!!! We arrived in Copenhagen Wednesday about noon and had time to walk around the center of the town, check out the hotel for the VIP reception, and even get some pictures. Pete Peterson, BYU International Vice President was the person who put on the VIP reception and had some very important members of the Danish government and friends of BYU at the reception. We helped Jesper Paulsen (NDPA) with last minute ticket problems and made sure things were in order and ready to go for the performance. The show was performed to a “sell out” crowd of 450 people. It was a very professional, high energy singing and dancing show called “The New Musicmakers.” Rex and I were seated on the front row with Gabi and the VIPs. We absolutely loved every minute of the show. As people were leaving after the show, we heard many comments such as, “amazing talent”, “I have never seen anything like it,” and other very positive and wonderful comments. It feels great to be part of something so outstanding and wholesome.
Rex’s birthday is today and Gabi called the Frankfurt Public Affairs office. They all sang Happy Birthday to Rex. That was fun for Rex. We had time to walk along the water and get pictures of “The Little Mermaid”, some beautiful cathedrals, and visit with people from a NCL cruise line that just docked for the day. It was a relaxing morning before we headed to the airport to come back to Stockholm. Tonight we went to a Chinese restaurant for a quiet birthday dinner together to celebrate Rex’s birthday.
At the Friday lunch at the Mission Office, we celebrated Rex’s birthday with the two other senior couples and 4 elders (2 AP’s and 2 secretaries). They are such a wonderful group of people with whom we serve. I made a carrot cake and we had yummy barbecued kabobs, salads and rolls.
Our fast and testimony meeting today was such a spiritual feast. The ward is growing and we had about 125 people in attendance today. Two babies were blessed and two confirmations of baptisms performed yesterday.
We are enjoying some beautiful spring weather for a few days with flowers everywhere, leaves covering the once barren trees, and people sitting on park benches soaking in the sun. With a long winter and overcast skies for so many months, I am beginning to understand why Swedes love the sun. It is such a welcome sight each morning. The days are getting much longer.

Let the Light Shine Through

Flowers cover the lawns everywhere. This is on the lawn at Adolph Fredriks Kyrka.

Elder Langston, Baasanjargal Boldbaatar and Elder Lords.

Baasanjargal Boldbaatar coming out of the waters of baptism with Elder Langston.

Sister Cherrington, Baasanjargal Boldbaatar and Elder Langston. It was about 50 degrees outside.

The group gathered for Baasanjargal Boldbaatar's baptism.
25 April 2009

Baptism of Boakia Sandy (front row in white suit and black shirt). 25 April 2009

Our Public Affairs work this week consisted of two huge reports for Gabriele Sirtl and Elder Per Malm. Both had meetings with the Area Presidency in Frankfurt and needed detailed information regarding the BYU Young Ambassador tour. I spent all of Monday and Tuesday morning getting Gabi’s report to her, and then I started right in on the report for Elder Malm. His report was due to him first thing Thursday morning. It required me getting information from each of the venues where a VIP reception will occur and the schedule of the complete tour, along with locations, priesthood leaders who will attend the VIP receptions and names and titles of VIPs who will attend. Since the tour will include all four Nordic countries and 15 cities, it is quite a detailed report with much information to compile. After Elder Malm received the report his response was, “Excellent. This is exactly what I needed. You are the BEST!” He is such a thoughtful person and we truly love associating with him and working so closely with him on the BYU Young Ambassador tour. He was given the assignment from the Area Presidency to make sure everything goes well. Needless to say, he has delegated that assignment to us with reports to him on a regular basis as to how things are progressing.
Along with these two huge reports, we were asked to take care of the Center for Young Adults Tuesday and Wednesday as the couple who normally runs the Center went to Goteborg for a training seminar. I served dinner to about 20 YSA Wednesday night and cleaned up the center after institute was over. It has been a very full week.
We were asked to do the Key Message and Media training at our District Meeting Thursday and felt that was a big success. The missionaries get asked to do school presentations often and they need some direction in what they present and how they present it. The Key Messages put together by Public Affairs is the perfect tool. We present a power point along with discussion and a question/answer time.
Our Key City Council has been working on a MHH (Mormon Helping Hands) and welfare project that involves getting baby blankets together to send to South Africa. This project idea came to me as I read an email we received from a missionary couple (E/S Noll) in South Africa who are our friends from CA. I presented it to our Key City Council and the lady on our Key City Council in charge of MHH and welfare has really gotten excited about the whole thing. She has contacted numerous companies to donate blankets, gotten the two Stockholm Stakes involved in gathering blankets as Relief Society service projects, and is working on a way to get the blankets into South Africa and delivered to this hospital where they are so desperately needed.
Today our little Sydney Kimball was baptized in PA by her father. Abby (9 years old) gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and Paige (11 years old) played the piano for the music. We are sad not to be there, but our heart and thoughts were with Sydney today. Gage Lewis turned 4 years old today also. It was a big day.
We attended two baptisms here this afternoon and evening. The first one was in a lake just south of Stockholm. Elder Langston was not too excited about getting into the lake as the ice just totally melted a few weeks ago. It was truly an amazing site. The young lady Baasanjargal Boldbaatar is from Mongolia. The day was just beautiful but a bit windy. Baasanjaral said she wanted to be baptized in the lake as that was how Jesus was baptized and she wanted to do it as he had done. Both Elder Langston and Baasanjargal said that they were not cold and the “spirit” was so strong. We felt blessed to be there and witness such a special baptism.
The other baptism was in Sodertälje about 40 minutes south of Stockholm, The baptism was of Boakia Sandy, husband to a lady who was baptized in January along with her daughter. They are originally from somewhere in Africa and have a large family, all of whom were in attendance. It took three times to perform the baptism because Boakia’s tie kept coming up. On the third try the Bishop was able to get everything immersed. Bro. Sandy bore his testimony and said he had been smoking for 30 years, but with the help of the sisters and the Lord, he was able to quit smoking and enter the waters of baptism. Two of his granddaughters sang a song during the program about joy in the Lord. They were 9 and 4 years old. It was really sweet to see them perform their song. What a glorious day to see two of our Father in Heaven’s children baptized and come unto Christ. Today was the most beautiful day we have seen this year in Stockholm. It was about 65 degrees. Our lives have been richly blessed for sure!! By the time we got home it was about 10:45 p.m., but we were on a spiritual high.
It was another gorgeous day in Stockholm as we went to church. We were happy to be back in our own ward after visiting other wards in the stake to promote the BYU tour. We have an amazing ward, about 115 attended today.
Tonight was a missionary fireside in Gubbängen. There were about 20 young elders and sisters along with 4 senior couples who sang in the choir. We performed three musical numbers, but there were numerous other vocal and piano solos. There was also a talented violinist, flutist, trumpet player, and 3 touching testimonies. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

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!