Senior Couples Conference and Midsommar June 2009

Group picture at our Senior Couples Conference June 11-13, 2009 at Mission Home

Vicky and Rex in back yard of Mission Home in Stockholm, Sweden, at Senior Couple Conference

Vicky and Sister Wright being timed to see how quickly we could take off and put on a duvet cover.

Rex and Elder Johnson winning for the men in the duvet contest.

One of our delicious meals with barbecued chicken, hamburgers, and salmon with all the fixings.

Rex and Elder Johnson trying to take off and put on a duvet cover in shortest time.

Eating in the back yard of the mission home at the senior couples conference.

Darling little girl sitting in her stroller watching all the activities at Midsommar.

Lewises and Wrights with a group of elders at Midsommar.

Tug-a-war at activities for Midsommar. This is a group of elders and sisters pulling hard.

Dancing around the May Pole at Midsommar. There were probably 1000 or more people at this wonderful event in Tyresta National Park.

Rex eating in the rain with his BYU Cougar slicker and umbrella. Nothing deters us from food.

Vicky with Sisters Cherrington and Nilsson; also Lindsay Tanner (USA) and Leticia from Russia.

Two of the women in traditional Swedish dress for the fun festivities of Midsommar.

Rex and Vicky in big field where the elders were playing football and ultimate frisbee; also the 5 K race started and ended here. I love the horses and beautiful hues of green in the trees, shrubs, and fields.

Rex, Vicky, Linda Wright and Steve Wright by the May Pole. We are loving serving together in Sweden.

We had a wonderful senior couples conference with 10 couples who serve in different capacities here in Sweden. It was a great 3 days of instruction and fun. One game we played was to see how fast we could take off and put on a duvet cover. Rex and Elder Johnson took over 3 minutes. When Sister Wright and I tried, we completed it in just over a minute. The men came to the conclusion that it is women's work. Not so! We were trained by two outstanding women from our Frankfurt office on "Train the Trainer" which deals with leadership for the Young Single Adults. It was most helpful for all of us. Kay Hanson is a retired teacher from BYU MBA program and is a marvelous teacher.

Our stake conference was this past weekend and we had a satellite broadcast from Salt Lake. Elder Christofferson and Pres. Monson were our key speakers. We also heard from Elder Jensen and Ann Dibb. The topics were about virtue, the father leading and teaching in the home, and how to deal with adversity in the storms of our lives. It was an outstanding conference. They had a room set up for the English speakers. It amazed me how many Swedes wanted to hear it in English, as they said when it is translated, the translation doesn't always come across the same. We agree, since we have translations at all our meetings.

Midsommar was Friday, June 19 and the Stockholm South Stake has organized a huge party at a national park nearby to have games, races, tug-a-war, barbecue, and dancing around the May Pole. It is such a huge event that they started about 50 years ago, and it just keeps getting bigger. I believe there were over 1000 people this year. Now many people in the communities nearby join in the fun. We ended up having heavy rains off and on throughout Midsommar. One of the big cloud bursts came while we were eating. People just carried on in spite of the rain, which is typical this time of year. It was about 15 degrees celcius (60 F) for Midsommar.

45th Wedding Anniversary trip to Rome, Italy

Typical Rome street with small motorcycles and small cars

Our 45th Anniversary Dinner in Rome, Italy at La Lampada

On Rome, Italy Temple site with Mission President Acerson

Rex in front of Trevi Fountain (3 Coins in a Fountain)

Beginning of the Roman Forum

Vicky inside the Pantheon

Rex beside the Colosseum

Roman Forum in the background

Inside the Sistine Chapel Museum

Vatican Square

Roma Countryside in front of Villa in Frescati

Zone Conference was Wednesday and one of the Zone Leaders tore his shirt and used it as a “Title of Liberty” committing the elders and sisters in our zone to commit themselves to complete obedience and dedicated service to the Lord. Everyone in the zone signed the shirt and we have it as our zone flag now. It reminded me of Kyle and his freshman year at BYU doing this in his ward. Kali talked about it in Kyle’s farewell sacrament meeting. I love that story.
Key City Meeting was tonight and we had much to evaluate after a full month of May. We were busy with BYU Young Ambassador Tour, MHH project, European Neighbor Day, temple tours, working on publication of the Swedish Family Enrichment Program manual.
As we served in the temple on Thursday, Sister Pedersson read a quote from a temple president that said “as we serve in the temple each day, our sins are forgiven.” What a beautiful blessing and promise as we do the Lord’s work and try to live a righteous life.
We flew to Rome on June 5. Trevi Fountain is a huge attraction and we walked there after finishing our anniversary dinner. We toured the Colosseum where the gladiators fought. It holds about 50,000 people and is considered one of the greatest marvels of the Roman civilization. It was built between 72 and 80 A.D. Gladiators were trained to fight to the death, while wild beasts of every sort increased the horror of the show. They estimate 9,000 wild animals were killed during the hundred days of festivity to celebrate the dedication of this building.
Sunday was definitely the highlight for us. We got a taxi to take us to church. The mission president is in this ward and he offered to take us to the temple site and let us walk around a while. He took us to the site where we were able to get pictures and a souvenir pine cone and olive branch on the property. He said miracles are happening in Rome and surrounding area with the growth of the church. The Lord’s hand is definitely in the work. Pres. and Sis. Acerson held a youth conference a few months ago and had 55 of the Italian youth attend. They held the testimony meeting on the temple site. The spirit was powerful as we visited with him. We felt this was definitely the neatest thing we could have done here in Rome. I am so grateful to Pres. Acerson for his kindness and generosity in sharing his valuable time with us.
We walked around the Roman Forum and climbed the Spanish Steps. We also saw the Pantheon, Piazza Navona Square and dozens of statues, churches, etc. The President’s Palace was enormous and as we looked inside the guarded gates, the gardens were elaborately decorated with flowers, bushes, trees, etc.
Monday we went to the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, and ate some of the best ice cream ever at “Old Bridge” by the Vatican Wall. In the afternoon we took a countryside tour up into the hills above Rome. It was a 3 ½ hour tour as we saw the Pope’s summer home, Nemi where the world has some of the best strawberries (extremely small and wild), then on to Frescati known for its wine, The bus took us through forests, along the Appian Way and up to these elaborate homes built on the side of an old volcano. We passed gorgeous lakes surrounded by brilliant green forests and in the distance you could see the Mediterranean Sea. What a fantastic afternoon. One thing that was amazing was the number of mopeds or motorcycles everyone was riding. Women in dresses, high heels, and helmets, along with men in suits, dressed for work cutting in and out of traffic like wild people.
On Tuesday morning we packed and said good-bye to Rome. We are busy but very happy and loving every minute of the mission.
We completed and sent our BYU Young Ambassador report before leaving on our trip and when we returned here are two of the comments that meant a great deal to us:

A great big thank you, with a warm e-mail hug, to all of you who planned and carried out and performed on this trip. With 8090 in total attendance and 3975 reported as non-members - that is a success. Wow! I assume that a big portion of those non-members were Young Single Adults - our focus group in Europe for missionary work and four our Outreach initiative in Centers for Young Adults.

A special note to Elder and Sister Lewis. You are shining jewels and your work has been highly valued and appreciated, not only as it relates to this tour but in each and every aspect of Public Affairs' initiatives! We have been truly blessed by your outstanding, insightful and valiant service!

Again, many thanks to all of you, and best personal regards,

Elder Per Malm

and

Dear Vicky and Rex,

Thank you very much for sharing the final report with me. You have done a fabulous job in helping to organize the PR aspects of the tour. You are stars!

With warmest regards,

Gabi

Needless to say, we feel blessed and thankful to work with such great people and to have had this wonderful assignment.

Saltjobaden and Stockholm Marathon

Rex and Vicky at the Karlaplan

Vicky at beautiful castle hotel in Saltjobaden

Rex in front of Grand Hotel in Saltjobaden

Vicky at the harbor of Saltjobaden sailing area

Blue cows statue on harbor at Saltjobaden

Birgitta in front of the building where Stockholm Ward meets

Rex at entrance to the temple housing where we just moved

Stockholm Temple just beside temple housing - with Angel Moroni on spire

Bathroom in our apartment at temple housing.

Kitchen in the temple housing apartment

Our living room in temple housing apartment.

Living room at our temple housing apartment.

Sign as we enter the ancient burial grave site in Vasterhaninge

Vicky standing by one of the over 800 grave stones in grave site.

Rex in front of 1912 Olympic Stadium in Stockholm, Sweden

Kenyan winner of 2009 Stockholm Marathon as he enters the Stockholm Stadium doing his final lap to win the race in 2:15.35, led by two girls dressed in native costume.

Stockholm Stadium waiting for the awards to be presented for the winners of the 2009 Stockholm Marathon

Water spot for runners in Stockholm Marathon - 18,000 participants

Rex had quite the experience yesterday as he met the B/S Cox from BYU Young Ambassadors at the cruise line to help return two trucks that had been rented to carry all the equipment around for the BYU tour. He had been waiting around the dock for about 30 minutes and when Sister Cox drove the truck off, Rex climbed in on the driver’s side to help her so he didn’t have to drive in Stockholm traffic. Bro. Cox was driving the lead truck. They had only been out of the cruise line parking area a short distance when Rex was pulled over by the police. He didn’t know what he had done wrong. They asked to see all the paper work for the truck, asked Sister Cox if everything was okay, and made Rex take a breathalyzer test. This was the 2nd time in two weeks for a breathalyzer test. This would only happen in Sweden. The police said they had seen Rex hanging around the dock and they have had people high jack trucks as people drive them off the ships. They thought maybe that is what Rex was doing. He was so relieved that was all they wanted. They continued on and barely found a gas station before running out of gas before returning the trucks. What a day!
Saltjőbaden is a beautiful area about 30 miles out of Stockholm where the wealthy live with their large homes and sailboats. We took a train ride there to see some of the gorgeous sites as the day was exquisite. It is a mass of islands, boats, beautiful homes, large hotels, etc.
Both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings we spent in the temple and then in the afternoons we packed in preparation for our move out to temple housing. Birgitta brought us a meat loaf and sauce for a meal while packing. She is so kind and thoughtful.

Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. the APs and Wrights came to our apartment to load everything up to move. I had it all boxed and ready to go. It only took about 30 minutes to load up and we were off to our new apartment. Our first morning in our new apartment was great! We went for a great hour walk through the forest, past the oldest known grave site in Scandinavia where over 800 grave sites have been discovered. People lived here in the Stone Age over 6000 years ago.
This morning I found a nice workout room in the basement and had a great workout on all the equipment, then enjoyed a beautiful walk/run through the forest. There are horses, little garden areas, trees, lakes, and the trees and shrubs are in beautiful shades of green.
The Stockholm Marathon was today so we went in to Stockholm and found a nice place to sit for an hour and a half to watch the 18,000 runners go by. We sat where the runners got some water to drink, splash on them, and run under a light shower. Then we hurried over to the huge stadium where we saw the first place runner from Kenya cross the finish line. We watched the first 10 runners come in. The winner was in 2:15.35, which is just 8 minutes off the record time. Second place was 7 minutes later. This beautiful stadium has had more world records set in it than any other stadium in the world. It was built in 1912 for the Olympics.
Our ward had a nice dinner and party this evening, so we had fun associating with the ward members. They are all just wonderful people and we have grown to love them so much. It will be hard to leave them. We have decided to continue going in to this ward, even though there is a chapel next door to where we now live.
Today we spoke in the Hägersten Ward, afterwards Klaus Bernpaintner and his family invited us to dinner at their home. They are good friends of Tonja and John Wade, as they went to Wharton MBA School together. It is Sweden’s Mother’s Day today so all the women received a beautiful rose.

Oulu, Finland with BYU Young Ambassadors

In northern Finland just south of the Arctic Circle.

Baltic Sea as it touches the coast of Finland.

Driving along highway E8 in Finland. Lots and lots of trees.

Chapel in Oulu, Finland

Vicky in Oulu, Finland by the Sea.

Beautiful Oulu with Rex

Ed and Lynn Blaser with Rex and Vicky in Oulu

Vicky and Rex with Jason who performs in the Show Band.

Jeanette Lefrandt with us. She is a dancer-singer with Young Ambassadors.

Young Ambassadors relaxing after lunch for a few minutes.

Tonga and Mike singing to man who is overcome by the singing and the spirit they brought.

Megan singing in convalescent hospital.

Jason with his tender love and singing.

Rex sitting on the dock at the Viking Line where cruise ships travel to Finland and back.

Vicky in front of the first chapel in Stockholm, called Svartensgatan. It still has the beehive over the door.

Birgitta Ameln in front of the building where we attend meetings in Stockholm.

We left for Luleå, Sweden then rented a car to drive to Oulu, Finland. It was about a 3 1/2 hour drive. We had GPS problems but arrived at the BYU Young Ambassador fireside just as it was beginning. We definitely had the Lord watching over us and helping us. At one point in the trip, we got on the wrong road. We pulled over and looked around but we were in the middle of nowhere. Just then, here comes a guy on roller blades, he speaks English, and he directs us back onto the right road. Yes, an angel is watching over us all the time. The spirit and the love felt as the Young Ambassadors speak and sing is just the most touching experience I can relate. Everyone is in tears and hearts are touched. One of our favorite songs is “Come Thou Font Of Every Blessing”. They do it like a choir of angels.
It was a day of community outreach on Wednesday as the Young Ambassadors traveled to a pediatric hospital to sing to the children and staff. Then they went to an old folk’s hospital and sang on three different floors to about 20 people on each floor. Some of the people were in wheel chairs, beds, and on oxygen, but their spirits were touched. I got pictures of the YA kneeling beside the beds, rubbing the patients’ hands, touching their shoulder, singing into their eyes, and making a huge I impact on their lives. I am so grateful that I didn’t miss this day. I dearly love these amazing Young Ambassadors and their Christ like love. They exemplify everything the Savior stands for. Jeanette Lefrandt, one of the Young Ambassadors, gave us a beautiful thank you note expressing her love and appreciation for all we have done for the group. She is a friend of the Andersons who are serving a PA mission in Singapore, and have become our dear friends.
They performed 17 shows and we have been privileged to attend 7 of them. As we drove back to Luleå Thursday morning, it was much more relaxed. As we were approaching Haparanda, where we enter Sweden. The police were stopping cars and making the drivers take a breathalyzer test. It is a holiday in Europe, called Ascension Day. The people drink a lot on holiday so the police were checking for drunk drivers. I don’t think Rex has ever had to do that before. “He passed”! I saw a moose as we were driving along and loved the Baltic Sea as it appeared sporadically along the coastline drive.
One of my treasured emails upon our return from Pres. Johan Strandman, a counselor in the Stockholm Stake Presidency. He said:

Dear Elder and Sister Lewis, On behalf of the Stockholm stakepresidency I want to extend our sincere gratitude to you for everything you have done to help with the Young Ambassadors. It was a fantastic experience and an absolute wonderful show. Sister Lewis, when you told me how extraordinary good they are, I thought maybe you were exaggerating a bit. But I´ve got to tell you, it was such an overwhelming experience having four of them in our house, watching the show on Saturday and the very best part: the sacramentmeeting in Gubbängen. They were angels coming right down from heaven! They certainly strengthened my testimony. Now we are only waiting for them to come back... Sincerely, Johan Strandman

This makes all our efforts and work this past year so worthwhile.

This morning we received the following email from Ville-Matti Karumo, the NDPA in Finland:

It was really great to follow the presentation last night. The Young Ambassadors really are professionals. I was hosting 3 vip’s who had seen some shows at Broadway and their comment was that this was even better. The show was very energy and I got exhausted just looking it.
The fireside was excellent. I wonder how they were able to pronounce and memorize such a long pieces of music in Finnish! I loved the fireside presentation.
rgs vmk
It is just amazing to have had such a wonderful year in preparation for the BYU Young Ambassador tour, and now have it all over. We are so pleased that everything has gone well. Now we need to compile a full report on each city and get it into the Area Presidency at Frankfurt, Germany. The Lord’s hand has been directing our lives and we are so deeply blessed and grateful. I know that as we “Do Our Best”, the Lord makes up for our weaknesses.

Birgitta went to church with me today and she seemed to like it very much. It was the commemoration of the Aaronic Priesthood so all the YM spoke and then the YM President as well as the Bishop. She was impressed to hear such young boys speak and bear their testimonies.
We just got a nice note from our co-workers in Frankfurt, the Oaks, and this was their comments after seeing the Young Ambassadors in Helsinki, Finland yesterday:

The YA performance was excellent and drew fine response from a full auditorium. I got to meet with the Artistic & Technical Team – all of whom I had worked with at BYU (see picture below). They were: Charles Cox (Lighting & Sound), Ron Simpson (Instrumental music & Cultural Advisor- his wife is Finish), Ed Blazer (Tour Manager) and Randy Booth (Artistic Director). In the 27 day tour (Denmark, Norway, Sweden & Finland) they did 17 performances, 12 firesides and 14 school workshops with local young people. They traveled by bus, with 2 trucks for lighting, sound and musical instruments. They told us Elder & Sis. Lewis had done an outstanding job – it was their best organized tour –ever!
Randy Booth was Artistic Director and I was Tour Manager when my first wife, Virginia, and I went with the Young Ambassadors to Japan & China in 1986 – so I have a special relationship with him. He came to talk with me following the performance on Friday. The trip has been especially hard for him. He told me his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in January and had a double mastectomy, and is now undergoing chemotherapy. He wanted to stay home with her, but she said he should go, since their daughter, Annalece, was in the company and she needed him, too. His wife still has two more treatments – then a full set of radiation treatments. It is a challenging time for the family. But Randy carries a powerful Spirit with him and it shows in his work. He and the family will come through & be blessed.
It is amazing to me how the Lord blesses us and helps us through our trials. Randy Boothe is definitely an example of this. We loved our time with the Young Ambassadors. I am just sad it has come to an end. I could do this forever.