Wonderful life in Sweden!

District Meeting with the elders and sisters.

Our Farewell luncheon for Elder and Sister Pearson

APs Elder Spjut and Ashworth, Office Secretaries Elder Lewis and Dawson.

This week has just flown by and this is the first chance I have had to write. We had some wonderful visits with Kyle this week and when they brought the twins home, he Skyped us so we could see both Eva and Leila. What beautiful little girls! That Skype is GREAT! Kyle and Kandace are adjusting to the additions to their family and loving being parents. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. How grateful I am for the faith that God is watching over our loved ones.

We had the sister missionaries over for dinner Monday evening and were supposed to have Birgitta as well, but she became very ill and was unable to join us. She sent the sweetest note telling us she could not come. We keep her in our prayers as she is such a wonderful person and truly felt the Spirit of the Lord when she was in our home just before Christmas.

Wednesday we spent all day in the temple. It is always such a blessing to serve there. We are actually learning a few Swedish words as we work. I’m sure the Swedes get a kick out of how we pronounce some of the words. However, they are most helpful and kind.

Our District meeting was Thursday and since it takes us one and one half hours each way to get to the meeting, most of the day was gone with travel, and lunch, then a 2 hour meeting. Elder Gomez had prepared a good lesson using the techniques taught in Zone Conference by Elder Kopischke on how to engage in conversation with people the missionaries meet. We had a practice session that focused on using the technique they were taught.

Two senior couples are going home this Thursday so we had a lunch at the mission office on Friday as a farewell together. We will miss these couples as they leave. It is amazing what a wonderful bond we share as we work together. I made three dozen rolls for the lunch.

Our ward temple day was Friday so we spent four hours helping at the temple, then we attended a baptism of a young man from the Congo who has moved to Stockholm. He was golden and had looked up the church as he wanted to know more. When he was 16 he had learned about the church while living with his grandparents. His father would not let him get baptized. He then moved where there was no church but kept searching. When he moved here, he searched on the internet and after some difficult roadblocks, was able to connect with the elders to be taught. He was confirmed in church today.

This coming week we have some Public Affairs training on the key messages on media training, so that will keep us busy.

Zone Conference, BYU Meeting, Birth of our Twin Granddaughters

Leila Lewis born Jan. 16, 2009

Eva Lewis born Jan. 16, 2009

Singing "Happy Birthday" at Zone Conference to all the birthday people.

Pres. Anderson, Elder Kopischke, Rex, Vicky, and Elder Ford at Zone Conference

Public Affairs meeting at our apartment Jan. 16 with Eva and Per Akebrand of Key City Council, Vicky, Ed Blaser from BYU, Ryan Koch from the US Embassy, Michael Holmgren - Bishop of Borlange Ward, Erlend (Pete) Peterson from BYU and Rex.

I was so excited to run into Birgitta and her husband today as we were walking to the post office. She immediately told me she wanted to come to our apartment to set up a time for dinner with us and the sister missionaries. A few hours later she knocked on our door and spent about half an hour visiting and telling me how much she felt something very special the last time she was here. She was deeply touched by the message the sisters gave her and the song they sang for her. When I told her that the sisters might get transferred at the next transfer, she told me to tell Pres. Anderson that he couldn’t transfer these sisters as she needs them. I know that she is excited to come and share an evening with us and the sisters. This is really exciting for me and such a great blessing for Birgitta.
We spent the day at the temple and loved participating in such invaluable service to those who cannot do it for themselves. We are trying to learn the Swedish necessary to be more effective at the temple. I just have to say, “We absolutely love our mission!”
When we returned home tonight, there were some exciting emails waiting for me to reply to. I got information from Bonneville Communications that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has a long term ongoing relationship with all the major networks in Scandinavia. We were unaware of them so we are planning on doing some major Public Affairs work to get this information to the public. The Danish and Norwegians also have relationships with the Choir. What exciting news!! I am also working with the Liahona Magazine to see if our Key City Council can publish a quarterly article promoting the Public Affairs work we are doing. It continues to be exciting as we find new leads and avenues to pursue in our Public Affairs work. The Lord is definitely in charge and inspires us daily.
Kyle emailed us today telling us that the ultrasound Kandace had today showed the twins are growing well. One appears to be over 6 lbs. but the other is 4 lbs. 10 ozs. and is be deprived of nutrition by the larger twin. We are praying that all goes well and that the Lord will bless them as they bring these precious little spirits into the world.
Today was one of the most powerful days of gospel instruction I have ever received. We attended the Zone Conference where President Kopischke of the Europe Area Presidency taught us, along with Elder Ford, an Area Seventy from the United Kingdom. They were powerful, yet witty, and such fabulous teachers. I will share just a couple of things they taught us. The Sweden Stockholm Mission motto is “Framgang Genom Lydnad” which means “Progress through Obedience.” President Anderson, the mission president shared the 2009 Mission Standards and the first one was obedience with exactness. Elder Kopischke taught us that our “consecration determines our elevation.” Success starts in our hearts and in our heads. He quoted Ether 12:19 and the “eye of faith”. A vision in our head and a desire in our heart lead to faith. Faith is action combined with God’s power. Faith is doing something with our plan and keep doing. Our faith cannot over rule the agency of others. D&C 63:9-11 was quoted. Use faith to work and do, then leave the power in God’s hands. D&C 43:8-9, 16 assemble – instruct – edify – sanctify. Keep our teaching simple. Elder Ballard said that “Complexity comes from the devil.” He instructed the missionaries to teach and invite those that “will receive them.” The GA’s showed with role-play the impact of their teaching and how to be more effective. Everyone was edified and uplifted. It was marvelous to feel the spirit so strong all day long.

January 16, 2009

WHAT AN EXCITING DAY!!! This morning I got an email from Kyle that Kandace’s water had broken and they were at the hospital. The doctor was going to do a c-section in about 90 minutes and he would keep us informed. We were on pins and needles watching for an email. As soon as we received the email, we called Kyle at the hospital and he shared the exciting news of the birth of their little twin girls. The first one was born at 1:34 a.m. weighing 4 lbs. 2 ozs., 17 ½ inches long named Leila. The second little twin was born at 1:35 a.m. weighing 5 lbs. 6 ozs., 18 ½ inches long named Eva. Kandace, Kyle, and babies are all doing well. Kyle said they are “beautiful” with lots of hair and he has taken hundreds of pictures. I expect to receive some soon. We are so grateful to the Lord for his tender mercies in bringing these little spirits into the world safely and all is well. They will be at the hospital a few weeks until the doctors are certain everything is functioning properly and that they are eating well. Now the long wait until we can hold them in our arms and love them.
We had a busy afternoon and evening with Ed Blaser and Pete Peterson coming from BYU to check out the venue and plans for the BYU Young Ambassador tour coming in May. After checking out the venue, they came to our apartment for dinner, along with six other people on the committee to help with the tour. I made a yummy ham, homemade rolls, funeral potatoes and Scandinavian brownies, with a nice relish tray. Eva Akebrand brought a salad. It was a productive evening with a power point from Ed and decisions on how to proceed with the plans for the BYU tour.

January 17, 2009

Several of the senior couples have been talking for months about the flea markets (Loppis) they attend every Saturday. We have never been able to go, but today we had time to attend with them. We went to three different ones and they knew how to shop for what they wanted. This being my first experience, I was much more hesitant and didn’t find the bargains they found. I guess “one woman’s junk is another woman’s treasure.” I just keep thinking of what it will cost to get it home with the price of luggage and shipping things. I probably won’t come home with much extra. We ate a great lunch together and then had the rest of the day to enjoy and relax.
We got pictures of our new little twin granddaughters Leila and Eva today. What beautiful girls they are. We feel so blessed they are here and doing well. We are also grateful that Mother and Father are doing well also. Their work now begins!

3 King's Day

3 Kings Day with the Karlsson Family on 6 January 2009.

Vicky and Laura Koch at the baby shower for Laura's baby due the end of January.

It was snowy and cold this morning as we pulled our little red cart and took our bags with us to Willy’s to grocery shop. I believe it was the biggest load we have had yet, 1007 SEK and the groceries weighed 101 pounds, as we weighed everything when we got home.
Elder and Sister Wright came for lunch and Elder and Sister Hanson, from the temple, came to have supper and share FHE with us. We enjoy hearing their many experiences as Mission President and as MTC counselor, and now as Assistant Temple Recorder in the Stockholm Temple.
We were invited to Bishop and Sister Karlsson’s tonight to celebrate “Three Kings” holiday. Three King’s Day is celebrated January 6, twelve days after Christmas. It is often viewed as the last day of the Christmas season (the end of the 12 days of Christmas). The food was incredible and was in abundance. Besides me and Rex, they had Elder Lewis and Elder Dawson from the mission office and Sister Goates and Sister Cherrington of our ward. The Bishop and his wife have 7 children. They are really a neat family and so loving.
Our entire day was spent in the temple today and is such a spiritual place to be. We are trying to learn enough Swedish to really be helpful. It is especially helpful for Rex to know it.
We had our Key City meeting tonight also. There was a great deal to report and goals for 2009 set in the area of Public Affairs. It is such a blessing to be able to help them with this great work.
Thursday was our district meeting and it was focused on good teaching techniques. One of the recent converts came, who has only been a member for a week. He bore his testimony and shared the joy in finding the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The baptisms are increasing each year. The Lord’s elect are finding and accepting the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our ward temple day was Friday so we went and did two sessions with our ward. It is such a wonderful opportunity and blessing to have this flexibility in our schedule.
I went to a baby shower of one of the ladies in our ward, Laura Koch, whose husband works at the US Embassy. It was attended by Embassy workers and wives of Embassy workers. I made friends with one of the women whose husband is 2nd in command under the US Ambassador. The lady giving the shower has a live-in Nanny who is from Korea. She fixed the most fantastic Korean food to eat. It was a fun day!

New Year's Week

Our New Year's Eve group at the Mission Home: Andersons, Karlssons, Pearsons, Rosevears, Johnsons, Hansons, Wrights, and Lewises -- December 31, 2008

Vicky and Rex New Year's Eve at the Mission Home

Rex, Sister Karlsson, Vicky, Pres. Karlsson (previous Mission President) Sister and Pres. Anderson (current Mission President) New Year's Eve Party

Sister Johnson, Vicky, Sister Hanson, Rex, Sister Pearson, Johanssons

We had such a wonderful New Year’s Eve tonight. Eight senior couples met at the Mission Home about 4 p.m. to begin the festivities. Eating was the major thing we did. However, we were privileged to have our previous Mission President (Karlsson) and his wife stop by for a while as they were in Stockholm for the blessing of their new grandson this coming Sunday. We watched the movie “Emma” and ate and ate. Then we played some really fun games in which I think I laughed harder than I have in years. One is the knife and fork game that you pass around the circle in opposite directions and can’t respond as to what it is without going all the way back to the beginning for the answer. There were two of the sisters who couldn’t get it right and we were literally rolling on the floor laughing at them. Then we played a game where you try to get 4 men or 4 women on the couch. The men win in they get 4 men and the women win if they get 4 women. However, you have to draw names as to who you are, as you aren’t yourself. The tough part is remembering who is who. We never ever finished the game as no one could remember who people were. It couldn’t be our ages!!! It ended up a tie, with 2 men and 2 women on the couch. We were all given a gift and as one person read a story that has the words right and left in it, we passed the gift in the direction of the word until the story was over. Then we kept the gift at that point. We rang in the New Year at 10 p.m. as we all needed to get back to our apartments, but we had hats, blowers, noise makers, etc. It was one of the most fun New Year’s Eve parties I have ever attended. We love these wonderful people with whom we serve here in Sweden. What a fabulous 2008 it has been!

We awoke to a beautiful New Year's day in Stockholm with the sun shining for the few hours that we get sun. However, the temperature is 18 degrees Fahrenheit. A nice tradition here is to watch the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra playing Strauss music for an hour and a half, beginning at 12:15 p.m. It was very uplifting and inspirational. This is quite different from the football bowl games that we watch in the US. Rex wasn't so sure that it was a good replacement. I really miss the Rose Bowl Parade though.

Today we spent at the Stockholm Temple serving wherever we were needed. It was an exceptionally wonderful day with the spirit of the Lord in abundance. The temperatures continue to drop. Today it was about 10 degrees Fahrenheit. It looks like snow as there is so much humidity and it freezes leaving a few inches of frost on the ground and everything else too. Our days are still short with the light coming about 8:45 a.m. and it is dark by 3:30 p.m.
Great quote by Pres. Benson: “When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes a quest, in that moment God will empower us with power.”

Our fast and testimony meeting was wonderful. I feel blessed having people who can translate for us each meeting. We invited Eric Riley for dinner tonight. He is a young 25 year old student studying here from Portugal. He is an impressive young man that has his life in perspective. He is here only another week before going back to Portugal. Another awesome week! I made extra rolls so took some up to my friend Birgitta. I will miss her when we go home.

Christmas Week!

Family Home Evening at Koch's. Singing Christmas Carols.

Rex, Vicky, Sister Pollastro with her Mom and Dad -- going home!

Rex, Birgitta Ameln, Vicky, Sister Goates, and Sister Cherrington.

Rex, Vicky, Ingrid and Per Nilsson on Julafton (Christmas Eve).

Tomten (Santa, Elder Larson) with Elder Alakoski.

Pertti and Magdalena Lorentz, Annamaria Nilsson, Elder Larson, Ingrid Nilsson, Elder Alakoski, Vicky and Rex (Per took the picture).

Per Nilsson, Annamarie Nilsson, Elder Alakoski, Elder Larson, Rex watching the traditional 3 p.m. Donald Duck cartoons and eating.

Vicky on Christmas Day with socks and Franklin refill gifts from family.

Vicky on Christmas Day with hat, scarf, and gloves from Kali and family.

Rex with black slacks and red tie, gifts from family.

We had the most wonderful Family Home Evening at Ryan and Laura Koch’s home, along with several other members of our ward: Bishop and Katarina Karlsson’s Family, Christian and Evalina Hagglund, Christopher and Helene Gleismann, and Peter and Heather Endler’s Family. Laura had made homemade donuts and hot chocolate. We ate then everyone gathered around the piano to sing Christmas songs. Ryan plays beautifully, so we sang Christmas carols (both American and Swedish), then did this dance that everyone holds hands and you sing as you go marching through the house, up and down stairs, into most every room. It is called “the long dance.” What a fantastic evening it was!! As we left, Koch’s gave everyone a box of chocolates that Laura had made. She learned how to do this while they lived in the Philippines. Ryan works with the US Embassies around the world and is currently stationed in Sweden. He served his mission here about 10 years ago so he feels like he is home. We have such great love for the people here and are feeling tremendous love in return. Rex enjoyed reading books to the two little 3 year old girls as well.

It was another fantastic evening for us!!! We invited Sister Goates and Sister Cherrington over for supper and also my friend Birgitta Ameln, who lives here in our apartment building. I fixed a nice meal and we enjoyed a lovely visit. Just as we were finishing, Elder and Sister Johnson arrived from the mission office with mail for the sisters. They ate some of my homemade rolls and were just leaving when Sister Pollastro arrived with her parents. She was released today and her parents are here to tour and pick her up. I served everyone homemade brownies and ice cream. Sister Goates gave us a Christmas message from the scriptures and then the two sisters sang a beautiful Swedish Christmas carol. Sister Cherrington sings like an angel. She has been taking voice lessons for six years and is just incredible. The spirit was strong and I know Birgitta felt it. She was just beaming the entire evening and loves the sisters too. She left after a couple of hours but the entire evening was filled with love.
Sister Pollastro gave me a beautiful Christmas table runner that her mother had made for me. I was so touched and appreciative. I gave Sister Pollastro a crocheted bookmark and I gave Birgitta a Swedish cookbook, “Finding Happiness” video, and a crocheted bookmark. She was very happy with the bookmark and said she would always treasure it. The Pollastros had not eaten so we then served them supper as well. I am so glad that I had enough food. It felt like feeding the 5000 as there just seemed to be enough food for everyone, even though I was only counting on 5 of us. When everyone left and we finished doing dishes and cleaning up, I was just on “cloud nine” and feeling we had been spiritually blessed and touched by the Spirit of the Lord. Life is Great!

This morning Birgitta stopped by our apartment to tell us how much she enjoyed the evening. She said she felt something very special that she has never felt before. I told her it was the Spirit of the Lord telling her what she heard last night was true and special. She hugged me and said that I was very special to her. I know the Lord meant for us to meet and become friends. She said people in Sweden don’t talk about Jesus as we do and it felt so good to her. She is trying to help her 90 year old husband understand how she felt.
At 2:30 p.m. we went to Per and Ingrid Nilsson’s home to spend Julafton (Christmas Eve) with their family. Swedish tradition is to begin the festivities at 3:00 p.m. by watching Disney cartoons for an hour. They are even published on the TV at that time for all to see. Since they were in Swedish, we just laughed when we saw something that looked funny. We began eating as we talked and enjoyed each other. At 5:00 p.m. we had a fantastic sit-down dinner that had a lot of fish dishes to begin with (Swedish tradition). I ate some herring for the first time and loved it. There were all kinds of breads, crackers, cheeses, meats (Swedish meat balls, ribs, ham), and roasted vegetables. The dessert was a fruit covered cheesecake. They have a drink called Julmust that is only available at Christmas and Easter.
Following dinner Tomten (Santa) comes and hands out presents to everyone. We got some boxes of candy, a CD, a little device that holds a small candle to burn for the window. Then we went downstairs where Per read Luke 2 in Swedish. We felt the spirit as he read and then we sang Christmas Carols. They all sing beautifully and Ingrid played the piano. Two of the elders were also there and one of them played Tomta (Santa). Now it was time for games. Rex and Per didn’t want to play so they watched the new movie “Emma” while I played the games Visionary and Tile Rummy with Annamaria, Ingrid, and Magdalena (the mom and two daughters). They are quite competitive, but so fun and enjoyable to share this day with. If we couldn’t be home with our family, this family is where I wanted to be. They are just incredibly wonderful people. Their son-in-law, Pertti Lorentz gave us a ride all the way back to Stockholm at 11:00 p.m. so we didn’t have to take the train. We had an absolutely fabulous day!
After exercising, we left for Klaus and Monica Bernpaintner’s home for Christmas Dinner. They went to Wharton MBA school the same time that John and Tonja Wade were there. They are still very good friends and have treated us so well. We ate Thanksgiving Dinner with them the day after Thanksgiving this year. We had another marvelous Swedish dinner. Monica is a very good cook and had a number of fish dishes like smoked raw salmon, herring, and several other dishes that were very good. They had ham and homemade rolls with crackers and cheese also. It was a great meal! I felt as if I have known them for a long time as they are such loving, kind people. Klaus also serves with us on the Key City Council. Currently we are trying to get a group of Swedish students who are in a school that focuses on singing to be able to go to Salt Lake and perform with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on Music and The Spoken Word. One of the senior couples serving here now sang in the Tabernacle Choir for 5 years before coming on his mission, so we hope he can help us make a contact.
We left there about 3 p.m. after a wonderful few hours with them and went to the home of Elder Garth and Sister Sheila Hanson who are here serving a temple mission. There was another couple there, Olaf and Tami Johansson who are here for a year to work in the temple. It isn’t a called mission, but the temple president knows them and invited them to come to Sweden to live and work in the temple. At 6 p.m. we ate another wonderful American Christmas Day dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, fruit salad, and rolls with carrot cake for dessert. They have the BYU Channel in their apartment so we watched some of the past Christmas Performances that had Angela Lansbury, Peter Graves, Gladys Knight, Renee Fleming, etc. It was another extremely wonderful day of sharing with friends the joy of Christmas. We feel so blessed having the opportunity to know and make friends with some very incredible people who live here as well as senior missionaries.
When we got home at 10:30 p.m., we Skyped with 4 of our children and families, which definitely helped make the special day of Christmas complete. They sent us some nice things that we can certainly use here in Sweden. Everyone seems well and happy. Since we can’t be home, Skype is the next best thing. Hopefully we will talk to the other two in the next few days.
This morning was a cold, brisk morning as we walked to church. We still don’t have any more snow except what we got at Thanksgiving. It sounds much worse in Utah and some of the other states.
I invited the sister missionaries for lunch right after church. They gave us a lovely message using Moroni 7:45 and talking about “charity.” Then the elders came over the supper at 5:30 p.m. It was a busy day of church and cooking. Elder Lords read Abraham 3:22-23 and asked us to think about what we were foreordained to do for the Lord. Are we each doing what we should each day to fulfill the measure of our creation? Is there someone we promised in the pre-existence that we would teach them the gospel here? If so, what are we doing to find them? He shared a touching story of a girl who wasn’t going to go on a mission, but then had a feeling she should. She went, and taught a girl who was baptized. Later, it was shown her that this girl was someone she promised in heaven that she would find and teach. It was very touching and made me think of Birgitta. I feel I was meant to meet her and share the gospel, no matter what the outcome.

Frankfurt, Germany Trip

Rex and Vicky, Ima Jean and Harold Oaks in front of the Frankfurt Germany Temple.

Our PA team outside the restaurant for our Christmas Lunch. Left to right: Harold Oaks, Ima Jean Oaks, Ralf Gruenke, Gabriele Sirtl, Maryann May, Vicky, Rex, Jane Holzer, Herb Holzer, and Francesco di Lillo.

Our PA Team seated for our Christmas Lunch in Frankfurt, Germany on 18 December 2008.

Rex and Vicky in front of Christmas Tree at Christmas Market in downtown Frankfurt.

Rex and Vicky in front of the big Euro sign in downtown Frankfurt.

Nativity that costs about $2000 in Johannesberg, Germany where they have hundreds of nativities all made of wood and beautifully painted as well.

Rex in front of Carousel in Frankfurt at the Christmas Market.

Vicky and Jane Holzer in a huge market in Frankfurt.

Rex with his banana split dessert for our Christmas Lunch.

Rex and Vicky in front of the Frankfurt Temple in Friedricksdorf, Germany.

WE SAW THE SUN TODAY!!!! It was the first time in weeks that we have seen the sun. Also, the days are getting shorter. We are almost to the shortest day of the year with the sun coming up at about 9 a.m. and it is dark by 2:30 p.m.
We completed reading the entire Old Testament from cover to cover. This was actually a great experience as we were able to discuss things as we read. There is so much to be learned from the scriptures. How grateful I am to have the privilege of reading them each day
It was an early day as we left for Frankfurt, Germany at 6:30 a.m. today. Our flight was very nice and we arrived right on schedule in Frankfurt. Elder and Sister Oaks, a senior PA couple, met us at the airport. Thank goodness for cell phones as that is one of the biggest, toughest airports to get around in. We finally connected and then they took us to our hotel, to get a Subway sandwich, and to the office.
Rex and I were asked to prepare a presentation of all the things we have been doing in Sweden and the Nordic countries. It was about an hour long presentation with the questions and discussion. Sister Sirtl, our International Director, told us that we were doing an extraordinary job and she is very please with what is taking place here. She did tell us that we will not be replaced. The Area Presidency wants all senior couples at the main office, not at a satellite location. She is truly a delightful person and we love serving with her. The other people in the office are also incredible. Our mission time is amazingly short. I thought 18 months was a long time, but ours is nearly half over.
Elder and Sister Oaks took us to their home for a delicious supper tonight and we had fun taking pictures at the Frankfurt Temple (actually located in Friedricksdorf). I served with Harold Oaks on the BYU Alumni Board of Directors for 4 years and we have a very nice friendship.
Thursday morning we had a one-on-one appointment with Gabi. We set up the schedule of our pre-tour visit to the Nordic countries in March and we shared with her our schedule. Then we all left for a yummy Christmas Dinner for the Public Affairs team. It was a good German meal that was quite expensive, but we did have a great time. The Holzers took us shopping at the Christmas market in downtown Frankfurt tonight. It was like a big carnival with hundreds of tent booths set up and a huge 2 story carousel with lights, a huge tree, Santa, etc. Holzers took us to their apartment for a warm cup of herbal tea and pumpkin bread before taking us back to our hotel for the night.
Oaks picked us up Friday morning and took us to a town about an hour out of Frankfurt called Johannesberg. There was this store that carried only wooden nativities, and beautiful carvings, etc. The price was high but the quality was unreal. There was one nativity for 2250 Euros, which is about $3000 or more. I felt that was a bit over my budget, but WOW!! Then we returned to Frankfurt to shop downtown for a while and see the sites before returning to the airport to come back to Stockholm. By the time we got back to our apartment it was 10:30 p.m. and it had been a long day, very enjoyable few days with our Public Affairs team.
Maci is 8 years old today, December 20th! We wish we could be there for her baptism and confirmation, which I believe is sometime in early January 2009. This is the first baptism we have missed. It is hard not to be there for such a special time, but Maci knows that we love her and would be there if we could.
We met with the three other senior couples that live nearest us to have supper together in celebration of Sister Johnson’s birthday. The Swedish torte we got to celebrate was a bit of cake, then a huge mass of whipped cream, unsweetened, with a layer of heavy lime green sugar frosting. You need the sugar to add with the unsweetened whipped cream. The evening was relaxing and enjoyable.
The weather is cold, 32 degrees today, but humid and windy, so the cold goes right through me. I am grateful for warm coats and layers of warm clothing. One of the Swedish sisters told me that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. That is actually very true.
After our wonderful Sabbath meetings, the ward had a buffet lunch for everyone. It was some different Swedish food that I have never tasted before. One thing is a pickled beet salad with beets and sour cream mixed up. There was another dish that tasted like potatoes, but was actually shrimp and some vegetables chopped up.
We invited Jan Thorne for supper tonight. She is a student who attended a music school here and comes from South Africa. Her testimony is powerful and she has been loved and accepted into the ward and YSA program with open arms. The gospel certainly blesses our lives, no matter where we live or where we may travel.

This coming week is full of wonderful events to be shared with our Swedish friends. I'll report more on it next week.

Senior Couples Conference Dec. 17-19, 2008 and Lucia Concert

Our Christmas trees covered with love note ornaments, picture ornaments and drawings from our dear family. This is the highlight of our Christmas and apartment this year!

Christmas table ready for our Senior Couples Christmas Dinner.

Rex walking toward the marknad (market) where all the tents are set up selling everything imaginable for Christmas. This is in the center of Downtown Stockholm.

The NK Store that has lights all around on the front of it. It is the most exclusive store in Stockholm and is decorated beautifully, inside and out.

Sorry, the tree is sideways. This tree is suspended from the ceiling as you walk into the NK Store in downtown Stockholm. It is just magnificently decorated.

One of the windows decorated for Christmas at the NK Store.

Another window at the NK Store decorated for Christmas. There are about 10 of them, but I have included only two.

Vicky and Rex in front of one of the booths in Gamla Stan (Old Town Stockholm). This is a small marknad. I talked to this darling girl in the booth in the background and wanted her picture.

Rex and Vicky in Gamla Stan on one of the narrow busy shopping streets.

This is the Lucia Princess at the Lucia Concert which we attended on Dec. 13th, Lucia Day. She wears a crown of lit candles on her head and a group is following her as they sing. We saw this in the Storkyrkan (King's Church) in Gamla Stan.

Vicky and Rex as we are preparing to leave for the play "My Fair Lady" with our senior couples group.

Some of the group learning the Lucia Dance taught to us by the Swedish couple who are serving in our mission now.

Our group in the lobby of the Oscarteatern where we saw the play "My Fair Lady". It is one of the oldest theatres in Stockholm.

We spent the past three days in a Senior Couples Conference. It began Thursday morning with lunch, scripture study, testimonies, a great presentation on Swedish Traditions, and then we went by train into Stockholm to see the Swedish version of “My Fair Lady”. What a GREAT day! It was interesting to see the play in Swedish, not be able to understand a single work, but loved the music and had a fantastic evening together. Our seats weren’t very good, but we enjoyed this cultural evening together.

Because of the presentation on Swedish Tradition yesterday, Rex and I got up at 5:30 .m. Friday morning to attend a Lucia Concert. One of the biggest holidays of the year here is December 13th, that is called Lucia. They celebrate by honoring a girl as the Lucia or princess. She wears a crown with lit candles on her head as she parades around. There is a song about it and this fantastic youth choir sang in the Storkyrkan, which is the King’s church by the palace. They sang some wonderful songs and it is one of the events to bring in Christmas or “Jul” as they call it. It was raining hard all day, so we stood in the rain to get into the concert, but it was so worth going. After arriving at the Mission Home, we had scripture study and more testimonies as there are 20 of us all together. The testimonies have touched all our hearts and helped us fell great love for each other and for our Savior and our families.

Elder and Sister Hanson, who serve in the Stockholm Temple gave a presentation on “Coming Together as One”. One thing that I felt was the most important, is that he said as couples we need to have “pillow talk”, as it is where true communication takes place, where hearts are bound together, and where we come to truly love and understand each other. He said women are better at this than men, but it is one of the greatest blessings in a marriage. We need to listen and understand how our companion feels, and this will help bind us eternally. While the husband is the patriarch and priesthood holder, the wife is entitled to inspiration and both need to be listened to with love, understanding, and compassion.

The group had free time for a few hours to go shopping in Gamla Stan (Old Town), and to see the beautiful windows in Stockholm. There are hundreds of tents set up in marknad, city markets where people can buy about anything for Christmas, or other occasions. However, Christmas is when they are out in full force. There are little Santas called “tomtes” that are so cute. Everyone has candles and the tiered 7 candle light in their windows. I even have one. It rained on us the entire day we were walking around but it didn’t dampen our spirits or our determination to see Stockholm.

We returned to the Mission Home and had a marvelous Christmas Dinner of salmon, ham, potatoes, salads, rolls, shrimp cups, deviled eggs, relish tray, cheesecake dessert, etc. They have this drink called Julmust that is only available during the Christmas Holiday. It tastes a bit like Coke without caffeine. I am not really fond of it, but it is the drink of choice during the holidays here. We each brought a 100 kroner gift (about $13) for an exchange. One of the couples was in charge and we played a game to get our gift. I will have to share it with you when we return. We ended up with two Swedish CD’s with Christmas music. Some of the gifts were Swedish story books, candy, a tie tack with the temple on it, a vase from Visby, etc. It was really fun. Following the gift exchange, we had a Family Home Evening Fireside together. We played Christmas Carols on pipes and sang together. We played a nose blowing instrument, and read the Christmas story. It was fun and spiritual.

This morning we all went to the temple together. This was the highlight of the conference. We dearly love each other and KNOW the Lord is aware of us and our families. I can’t begin to tell you what a tender mercy and special day it has been. We all then went to lunch together and said good-bye until next time. Every couple in the church should go on a senior couples mission when they reach that age and time. It is definitely a highlight of our lives. While we miss family, they too are blessed in our absence. The Lord promises us that sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven, and it is so true.

WE SAW THE SUN TODAY, Monday, FOR ABOUT AN HOUR FOR THE FIRST TIME IN WEEKS! We could have used our sunglasses.