Week of December 20th

Happy Birthday Rowdey Charles Ke’Koa Rose!!!
We started the week with Pres and Syster Evensen asking us to go for a ride. We drove up to Sigtuna. It is this old little town where they have shops in these little old buildings. It was a darling street and all the little shops were decorated with two Christmas trees on each side of the front door.

It was very cold so we just looked in the windows. We also went to an old glass blowing factory that has a large store selling Christmas crafts and items plus blown glass from the glass factories we went to visit last year. I found several things I would like but getting things home is a big concern. We had a fun day together.

We stopped at Willies and got a few groceries and then came home to make and enjoy hamburgers together.
Yea! We have had the shortest day of the year and now we will begin to get lighter earlier. We will gain about 3 mins in the morning and 3 mins in the evening of more daylight. We are still involved in indexing and I still love making baby booties on the round loom.
There have been a lot of people in the temple sneezing, coughing and blowing their noses so we have been washing our hands a lot. We have been nursing ourselves with extra vitamin C so we won’t get sick. Dad does have a little cough and we both have had a slight cold.
We were invited to dinner at Elder and Sister Parker’s apartment along with the young Elders in our area. Elder Bloomfield is from Snowflake, Arizona and Chuck really enjoyed talking to him about people and places they have in common. Elder Todesco is from Washington State, north of Seattle.
Pres Oscarson tried to teach me some pointers on doing Swedish Genealogy and I took a lot of notes. I hope I can verify some of the information on my family line.
December 24th is the “big” day here in Sweden. So we got together for an assigned potluck dinner at Pres Oscarson’s home with all the people from America; there were 9 of us.

We had a lot of the traditional foods and we tasted all except the raw herring!! We had a Family Home Evening where we read the Christmas Story from Luke, sang Christmas songs, and shared Christmas memories. It was a fun evening and we got home about 10:30. Tomten (Santa Clause) comes this night to see if the children have been good and to leave presents if they have. He stands outside the windows swinging a lantern and yelling are there any good children here!

We stayed with the Swedish tradition and opened our few gifts too on Christmas Eve also. We they watched ‘Ghost’ on TV and ended up getting in bed about 2:00!! On Dec 25th, our Christmas Day, we enjoyed dinner with the Lundgren’s and Bro Pederson.
Sunday our church service was combined with the other ward in this area and we started at 11:00. We only had sacrament meeting and it lasted for almost 2 hours but it was wonderful. There was not much talking but a lot of musical numbers and singing Christmas hymns together. After Church we went on the train to Syster Ofasuah’s for an African dinner. Syster Ofasuah is from Ghana.

We had to make two train transfers and she sent her daughter Ruth to meet us at the train station in Skärholmen and show us the way to her apartment. The dinner was very good and her children are wonderful. Her two daughters have both served missions in England; she has a married son with two grandchildren and then a younger son that still lives with her. We really had an enjoyable evening and we got home around 20:00.
The temple was only open for two days this week and most of the people that serve here are home with their families. The sessions were small and our ward had the Tuesday night shift so we stayed for the 17:00 session. The temple was closed 23,24,25,26, and 27th.
We say thanks for the many gifts that we received, for all the Christmas cards, emails and for the ability to skype our kids on such special occasions. It has been fun to get family Christmas cards with family pictures. We hope the true spirit of Christmas has been in all your homes and that the spirit of Christ will bring love and peace to your families in 2011. We love you. Thanks for your love and support.

Week of December 13th

There is this expensive department store in downtown Stockholm called NK. They had the most awesome window displays last year so we organized everyone to take the train together and have a home evening to go see the windows. It was not too cold but the sidewalks were a little slick as we walked from the train station to NK. When we got there I was so disappointed. Last year they were all animated and this year – none. You could not read what the story was supposed to be. It was these two kids flying around the world on a magic carpet. We did enjoy the big four story high Christmas tree and looking around, but not the windows. We did all go to dinner together and that was fun, and it was fun to be together.

We have received many Christmas cards and several goodie packages left at our door. One big sack of goodies was left at the door of the guesthouse because she could not get in. It had our name on it so Bill picked it up and brought it up to us. She is one of the darling girls from the Young Adult Center. I fixed cinnamon roll wreaths for Chuck’s home teaching families and we got them delivered.
On Wednesday night they had a Christmas light dinner (breads, cheese, ham slices, fruit, rice pudding and candy) and then entertainment. They wanted the American’s to sing an American Christmas song so we sang and acted out “The 12 Days of Christmas”. We got a good laugh and we all really acted goofy. I was ‘Three French Hens’ and Chuck was ‘Six Geese a laying’. Pres Oscarson was ‘Ten Lords a leaping’ and he was so funny. Everyone said we were the best!!

We finished reading Elder Hales’ book ‘Return’ and dad also finished reading the book about Pres Monson. I have made 5 more pair of baby booties and enjoy making them. I just passed my 6000th name in doing indexing. Chuck spends a lot of time working on clearing up his genealogy on Roots Magic and New Family Search. There are so many duplicates that he really works hard at it.
We went to a wonderful Christmas concert in Odeplan at the Gustav Vasa Kyrka. This church was absolutely beautiful. There was a combined choir of two wards from the Stockholm Stake (conducted by our good friend’s daughter) that performed with two famous Swedish singers, Anna Lotta Larsson and Göran Fristorp.

It was really a high light of the season. We took the train and it was a half hour late because of the
storm. But, coming home the train was an hour late because of the storm. We have almost 2 feet of snow with more on the way. It is cold especially when the wind blows.
This week we have no visiting groups in the temple but we do have several couples that have come to serve until Christmas. We have had rather large sessions and on Saturday we had a Spanish session along with the regular sessions. The baptistry has been busy also. It is great to see the saints come and enjoy the peace of the temple. We had an American from New Jersey come while her husband attended meetings in Stockholm. It was great to visit with her and to see her courage to take the train alone and just know she would find the temple. Once she got to Västerhaninge she turned the wrong way but the people in the shopping center showed her Angel Moroni above the trees.
Christmas wishes to all of you. How grateful we are for our testimonies of the birth of the Christ child and this great gift from our Heavenly Father. We know that each one of us is a child of a loving Heavenly Father who has provided a way for us to return to leave with Him again. Our Christmas wish is for all is that we may have the strength and courage to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to feel His peace in our lives. God bless you; our dear family and friends. We love you and appreciate all you have done, and do for us.

Week of December 6th

Our good friends, the Kämäräinens, left for home in Finland this week. Before they left we had a great day together having lunch and then visiting several stores that we have not seen before. We had such a fun time. We are in hopes to see them at the temple in Finland when Zach and Ginet come. Sister Kämäräinen thinks she can remember Zach as a missionary so that could be a fun reunion.
It has still been very cold, but we have seen the moon at night and even the sun for a little while during the day. One morning it was -13C and the conditions were just right for we saw another rainbow. Wow, such wonders of God.

Friday we were asked to spend the evening with the Young Adults. They packed the food into boxes that they collected at ‘Soul Night’. It was fun to be with them again. We borrowed the Temple Presidents car so we could get to the church where the activity was held. They seem to have a lot of fun with each other. The boxes of food will go to the Baltic counties to help some needy families.
We attended the traditional St Lucia concert and we enjoyed it more than last year. There were about 1400 kids involved in this singing production and all carried lit candles as they walked around the ice hockey Stadium and sang.

 It was wonderful and the kids really seemed to enjoy singing together and no one’s hair started on fire! It is supposed to be the biggest Lucia concert in the world.
The temple was busy this week with a lot of people staying at the guesthouse. There was not a certain group assigned to come this week. The Pederson’s were here from Norway. They have a daughter that lives in the 5th ward in our home stake.

 They are going to Utah in January to visit with their daughter for a week and then enter the MTC where they will train to be the couple in the Norway Mission Office. One night we enjoyed eating dinner with them and the Evensens. They are great people and great friends.
Some of the people who come to the temple now will not return until after we are released. It is hard to say good-bye to our temple friends. I have even learned how to say…När kommer du nästa gang? (When will you come next time?) We are starting to have some of these close friends write in our memory book!
Sunday we had a spiritual Sacrament Meeting. The theme was Jesus Christ. After two talks and a musical number the father of a missionary, leaving on Tuesday for Australia, got up to bear his testimony. All he said was, “I know that Jesus Christ lives” and then sat down. Wow, the spirit was very strong and a few tears were shed. Then the missionary, Elder Lindberg, spoke. He will be a wonderful missionary. He is such a compassionate person with his family and has such a desire to serve. He will be awesome. The spirit was strong through his talk also and more tears were shed. We too know that Jesus Christ lives and add our testimony to theirs!
It has been a good week. We will have a white Christmas because it is too cold for the snow to melt. It is beginning to get light about 7:45 now and it is dark at 3:00. But, only 7 days for the longest night of the year and then it will begin to be longer days!!
Thanks for your faith, prayers and support. Also for the packages, Christmas cards, emails and love. We love you and pray for you too.

St. Lucia Concert

Week of November 29th

Monday was Pres Evensen’s birthday so I decorated their apartment door before I went to bed!

We had them over for a birthday breakfast and then they had us over for a birthday dinner of Norwegian Hot dogs (they are so much better than ours). Their hot dogs are foot longs and their buns are about 5” and little. You hold the bun in the middle and eat the ends by dipping them in mustard and catsup and then eat the bun with the rest of the meat. Their car needed to be run, with the cold weather, so we went for a ride and stopped to walk through a mall and get some groceries.
I bought a couple of Christmas items so after our ride we came home and I put up our Christmas decorations. It took me 15 mins!!!

We had a Relief Society Christmas activity this week at Sister Krus’ house. It was cold and had been snowing but Sister Mattsson, Sister Evensen and I took our walking sticks, bundled up and walked the mile to RS. It was a fun evening on simple ways to enjoy friends and neighbors for the holidays. Then we bundled up again and walked home.
Chuck worked the recommend desk on Wednesday morning and when I arrived at the temple he had me turn around and look at the sky. There was a beautiful and bright rainbow, BUT it was not raining. It was one of God’s beautiful creations caused by the ice crystals in the air. I wish I would have had my camera! Everyone was amazed!
In my Swedish class this week we talked about Swedish names: mother (moder or mor), father (far), grandfather (farfar or morfar), children (barn), grandchildren (barnbarn), grandmother (farmor or mormor), brothers and sisters (syskon), niece (systerdotter or broderdotter). It was a fun class. Chuck’s class was on irregular verbs!!
We are still doing indexing and loving it. I try to do at least one batch a day and in the month of November I did 1500 names. I am indexing 1930 census records for different states and Chuck does marriage and birth records which are harder and take more time.
The visiting group has been from Moss, Norway and they held their own sessions. We had a couple of people come to the temple for the first time, a wedding where the bride wore her mother’s wedding dress (she looked beautiful), and a family with two beautiful children that were sealed. What a wonderful week! There was a big group of youth in the baptistry on Saturday.
We received the updated Swedish translation cards for the women this week. Now I start all over again trying to say the words they have updated. It is an exciting time but a challenge for me.
Some of the temple workers that come now will not return again until after we are released so we bought a journal to have them write their addresses and a message to us. Henden’s and Steffensen’s left this week and more will leave next week. This is the sad part of saying goodbye; not knowing if you will ever see these friends again.
Enjoyed out Skype time with the Tobler’s, after technical problems were solved (thanks Dan)! Thanks for your emails, your IM’s, letters and your faith and prayers. We love you!!

Week of November 22nd

Happy Thanksgiving from the land of Sweden. Sweden does not celebrate this American holiday so the temple was open all day. We did however have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with everything we eat at home. We ate at Pres and Sister Oscarson’s home and there were 32 guests and only 14 were Americans.

But the rest of the guests are all converted to this holiday and all the delicious food. My assignment was 6 doz homemade rolls with butter and jam. It was a very fun evening but we ate too much!!
It seems like it is snowing all over the globe, it has been here for about a week now. With all our girls and their families going to Washington for Thanksgiving we did worry about their driving conditions. Stacie kept us updated on their driving progress and conditions. We even got up in the middle of the night to check the computer to see if they had arrived. We are thankful that they all made it safely even with the added hours and hours of driving. Mia Rose Pratt was blessed on Sunday with 17 members of the Rose family able to be there to support them.
This week the visiting group has been from Latvia. They are such sweet and humble people and just sacrifice so much to come to Sweden to the temple. On Tuesday there were 2 Russians and 1 Latvian who came to the temple for the first time. Some of the people from our day shift went on their shift to they could have their own sessions. Most of the Latvian saints flew home on Saturday but we did have a mother and son come for the first time on Saturday. The son is going on a mission to Russia. Chuck and I were asked to go on the session with these new saints and the whole session was in Latiska. I listened in English and Chuck listened in Swedish. Oh what a wonderful and spiritual week with these dedicated saints in the temple.
Saturday evening, after a busy day at the temple, we took the train and went into Stockholm to attend the Katarina Kyrkan Concert. This concert is on the first Sunday of Advent starting the Christmas season.

The old church is beautiful and there were about 10 choirs involved in singing from all sections of the church. They sang mostly Swedish spiritual Christmas music and ended with the Halleluiah chorus (and they do not stand up when it is performed). It was a beautiful evening and enjoyed by all. We walked
about 20 minutes from the train to the church and it was cold. We stopped for pizza before we walked back to the train station and it was still cold and snowy!
Sunday we all met and had cake and ice cream for Sister Parker’s birthday.
We do have our candles in the windows, put up for advent, and our big stars in the big windows, and our little Christmas tree on the table. Christmas is coming!!!

With the month of December here we pray that the true meaning of Christmas will be in your homes and that you will all enjoy the love of the Savior in your lives. We love you and are grateful for your daily love and support. Family and friends are so important in our lives.

Week of November 15th

Happy Birthday to Dan and Cortney!!
This week it has been around freezing with mostly rain but some snow. We always take our umbrellas with us because of the fast changing weather. Dad had to get a new umbrella because his broke and I could not fix it this time. On Monday we went on a Maxi run (groceries) with the Evensens and then she had us over for homemade soup. They are great friends and neighbors.
I finished reading the 9th Volume of the Work and the Glory and yes, I shed a few tears when it was over. I am amazed at the strength the pioneers had in crossing the plains and their strong faith and trust in the Lord. The pioneers gave us such great examples to follow.
The visiting group this week at the temple has been from Oslo. They brought one sister with them who was coming for the first time. I was asked to help her as her native language is English. She is from Nigeria and her name is Violet Israel Urang. She is a beautiful and powerful lady and she is certainly filled with the spirit. What a blessing it was to be able to help her with the ordinances. The visiting group from Oslo had their own sessions but it was nice to be able to see these saints again.
On Tuesday we received a new Swedish translation to the temple ordinances. The Swedish language is changing all the time so this new translation brings it closer to the original revelation. The first time I heard the new voices I thought I was listening to a different language. Chuck understood them but it is a challenge for me. New things to learn but it will not take long.
In our Swedish class this week the beginners, my group, talked about phrases we could say to people. I learned that when you have already done something (like bump into someone or sneezed) you would say förlåt mig! But, if you want to say excuse me for something you are going to do (like walk in front of someone) you would say ursäkta mig.
Thursday was wash day and I fixed soup for supper. The Klarin’s brought us some fresh homemade bread and Syster Rudén knocked on our door about 20:00 (8:00pm) and said she would bring us some cake. About 21:20 the doorbell rang again and she stood there and said “no cake” in her very limited English. When I asked her what happened she just smashed her hands together and said “no cake”. I started to laugh and then we both laughed. Friday morning when we opened our door, to go to the temple, there on a plate were two pieces of cake!
Sunday was the Primary Program and the children did such a great job that I am positive that the angels came and helped them. I love these programs and watching the kids give their parts. I could even help them sing in Swedish, when I was not playing the piano!
I did get three of my six dozen dinner rolls made for Thanksgiving dinner that we will have at Pres Oscarson’s house. There are 35 people invited and only 8 of us are Americans!
It has been another busy and interesting week. This is the month of thankfulness and we are very thankful for all our family and friends and so many, many other things. Have a happy, safe and thankful Thanksgiving. We are truly blessed and thankful for all of you.

Week of November 8th

We got notification that we had been given approval for an extension of our visa and to come and get the new stamp. The Parkers, Pres. and Sister Oscarson, and us went together to get them we had to stand in line for almost 1 hour and 45 minutes. You get a number when you arrive and then you wait for that number to be called. Our number was 54 and they were calling #16 as we walked through the door. Needless to say it took a while! It was like visiting the Social Security Office in Salt Lake.

After our visa experience we went with Pres. and Sis Oscarson to order a turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner. There are 35 people invited this year and only 8 are American. It was ordered at a little meat shop at a mall in Stockholm. Turkey is not a common meat here in Sweden so you can’t just get one anywhere. We ate lunch at a little fast food place in the same mall.

We had a ‘Healthy Salad’ and it really was, plus it was very good. After lunch Pres. Oscarson drove us around and showed us some of the places where he lived when he was a young missionary. Some of the views of Stockholm were breath taking, both by sight and by being COLD!
Friday, Saturday and Sunday there was a Single Adult Conference here in Sweden. People came from England, Wales, Germany, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Scotland. We were asked to go help on Friday night at their ‘Soul Night’ with a fireside and a dance. They were asking all that came to bring an item (food or non food) to share with the poor. We got to collect the food and then stamp their hand. It was fun and great to see how excited some of them got when they saw each other again. Some had been on a train for two days and many of them were dragging their suitcases with them to the church.
Sacrament Meeting this week was on LOVE. A few thoughts: 1) It is hard to think negative thoughts if you are smiling. 2) Lifting your eyebrows sends a positive message to the brain. 3) Loving God is to find peace in Him – even during the storms of life. 4) When the storms of life come we must be like a strong tree – immoveable because our roots are so deeply rooted in the gospel. 5) Peace in the Sacrament is the love of God giving us what we cannot do for ourselves. It was a great meeting. Next week is our Primary Meeting.
Wednesday we woke up to snow and it snowed almost all day. This week I finished reading all the volumes of the Work and the Glory! Yes, and I cried at the end!
Elder and Sister Sheen went home to Canada this week with an Honorable Medical Release. His health did not allow them to stay any longer. They will be missed.
This week it was the Swedish Mission as the visiting group in the temple. We also had workers from Göteborg. We have some very close friends that came. It was particularly great to be with the Karlsson’s again. We had two people who came to the temple for the first time. We also had two weddings. On Friday we had double sessions and on Saturday we even had triple sessions at the same time. The baptistry was very busy on Friday and very busy on Saturday. At one point on Saturday there were 50 Young Single Adults either being baptized or waiting! It was wonderful.
We enjoy our Skype time each week and the emails, letters and cards we get from all of you. We get more mail than all the missionaries. Stay strong in the gospel and work hard to live worthy of the blessings we all have. Have a good week, we love you, and are thankful for each one of you. May God bless each of you.
Äldste och Syster Rose

Week of November 1st

Happy Birthday CJ (14)
Monday is our p-day so we went on the train with Pres and Sister Evensen and also Mary Jane and Hank Lundgren to the Armory at the Palace. It was so interesting. We saw a lot of displays about the early wars in this country and the Armor they wore not only on the soldiers but also on the horses.

We saw many carriages and clothing worn by past kings and queens and even some baby clothes. The dress that the present Crown Princess, Victoria wore on her 18th birthday (coming out day). It was very informative and we spent several hours there. We also took the Lundgrens to see the littlest statue, the Stor Kryska, the narrowest street and the house where the artist Karl Larsson was born. We then tried to find a fun place to eat. Every place was so crowded we rode the train home and ate hamburgers at the ‘Pub’. It was a fun day.
School has been out in Sweden and Norway for a week of Fall vacation. The baptistry was very busy and so was the temple. It was wonderful. I am not sure how many baptisms we did but some days the font never closed.
Wednesday (3rd) we had been in Sweden for one year. It seems colder this year than last year but the beautiful blue sky and sunshine for a few hours a day is the same. It is dark about 4:15 and the sun comes up about 7:00. The frost on the north side of the buildings never melts during the day.
Our Swedish class was culture again. Sister Klarin talked about Swedish music and music artists from Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. We listened to 8-10 songs on CD’s and most were wonderful. One CD was of religious songs and we liked it so much that Sister Klarin allowed us to bring it home with us until we leave Sweden. Sister Klarin also fixed homemade Kräm for desert (Brent, it is similar to röd gröd). That was wonderful too.
The visiting group has been the Swedish Mission and they kept us very busy. Neil Baker, a member from Göteborg, brought his accordion and put on a mini concert here at the guesthouse. He does this every time he comes to the temple. He is a very talented man and his accordion is computerized so it can sound like other instruments too.
Saturday was super busy at the temple. There must have been some miscommunications because no shift leaders came. SOooo, Chuck and I were asked to be the leaders when we arrived. In preparation meeting we had 4 women and the men had only 3. But the Lord did provide and we were kept busy. At 10:00 we had a Swedish session and a Spanish session; there were over 500 names done in the baptistry, with lots of clothes and towels to be washed; and there was a beautiful wedding. We came home so tired but we still went with the Evensens and tried a new pizza place, Millas. It was great pizza and we will go back and try other menu items too.
Saturday was ‘All Saints Day’ (like Memorial Day) and the families place candles in containers on the graves.

Most of the candles last for 24-36 hours and it looked so beautiful. We were so tired we did not walk over on Saturday but we did on Sunday. It was very cold but very special to see it and walk through the cemetery.
Sunday was fast Sunday and we heard some great testimonies. Some were more like talks but there was a great spirit in church. We were sad because we did not get to talk to the Rose family on ooVo. We so look forward to seeing and visiting with each family as it is their turn.
Being the month of Thanksgiving we give thanks everyday in our prayers for our family and friends that we love so much (we do this even if it is not Thanksgiving). Thanks once again for your prayers and continued support for us here in Sweden serving the Lord. We love you.

Week of October 25th

This week started out at 3:30a.m. We got up and had skype time with our family having FHE at the Packer house. It was such a special thing to be able to have family prayer with them. Chuck gave the prayer and said half in English and then finished in Swedish. We are truly blessed with an awesome family.
The visiting group this week has been from Kungsbacka. They wanted to have their own sessions but did not bring enough people with them so they took some of our day shift people to help them. That made our sessions smaller but it also allowed them the opportunity to realize how many people they need to bring from their ward to have their own shift and do their own sessions. Kungsbacka is about a 5 hour drive from here and it was good to see those saints again.
When we got to the temple on Wednesday morning we were informed that Chuck and I would be the shift leaders for the rest of the week. Elder Sheen, the assigned leader, got sick and Sister Sheen was staying home to take care of him. They later took him to the hospital with chest pains and ran tests on his heart but everything tested out normal. It was a challenge with such a small group but we gladly did it and things went smooth in the Lord’s House.
The Kungsbacka group brought three people for the first time and that is always a special and spiritual time in the temple. On Friday their group joined our group and it was very interesting because we had to have an A and a B session at the same time.
On our P-day this week we slept in, finished a puzzle and went with Evensens to this new mini-mall that opened and then to the buffet at Pizza Hut. They are so fun to be with.
Our Swedish class this week was just a lecture, with a few comments, in comparing the old Sweden’s with the current Sweden’s politics, economy, standards, etc. It was interesting but hard to really understand with the same compassion as the teacher!
Thursday morning we were up and over to the church by 6:50am so we could put out the breakfast for the seminary students before they went to school. Cold cereal, toast, yogurt, bread, butter, sliced tomatoes, sliced cheese, sliced cucumbers and different kinds of juice. We spoiled them by doing their dishes! It was really quite fun and the kids were very polite. There is a lady in our ward that coordinates who is there each morning and then the reminder is printed in the Sunday program.
Our Primary Program is in two weeks so we practiced on Sunday. It was a normal practice with having no control and the kids not singing. BUT I have had enough experience to know that the angels will come and they will sing beautifully!!
Kris had both knees scoped this week and we’re glad to report that she is doing well. The doctor said her running days are over and she needs to find another way of exercising. She does love to ride the bike and she is strong there too. However, she is going to run one more race so she can run with Cortney. Go mother and daughter go!!
Our time changed this week so now it gets dark at 4:30 in the afternoon but it is still light when we get up at 6:30; that won’t last much longer.
We went trick or treating to Evensen’s apartment and had some great treats!!
Enjoyed our skype time with the Toblers and once again say thanks for your letters and emails. Now that we have been on our mission for a year it seems we hear less and less from things going on in our neighborhood. Oh well, life is busy and we understand that because we are busy too.

Week of October 18th

On October 19th it had been one year since we entered the MTC in Provo. It has really been a wonderful year full of many awesome experiences and blessings.
This week’s group at the temple has been from Shövde and Borås and it has been great to work with these marvelous people again. They were included in our shift so it was a great blessing to work with them. We now have four couples and two single sisters from Sweden and Norway serving at the temple daily and living here in the guesthouse. This week we also got a brother from Washington (around Seattle) come to serve at the temple for 18 months.
This week we had the opportunity to register a couple of sisters and get them started doing indexing. Syster Jørgensen from Norway asked us to help her as she had talked with the Merritt’s before they went home. While Chuck was helping her another sister, Syster Vennerholm, from Sweden said “I want to do that”. They are both very excited about getting involved in this important work. Chuck has reached 1000 names and I just finished 3000 names.
Chuck is reading a book about the history of Sweden. I am still working on volume 9 of the Work and the Glory.
Friday morning we woke up to our first snow fall and it continued most of the day. It was beautiful but it has all melted now. We did get out winter coats out of storage and we always take our umbrellas with us.
The gardeners are now planting winter flowers around the temple. The snow really made the old flowers look bad!
Saturday after the temple closed Syster Cordova, one of the workers in the temple, had a surprise birthday lunch for her husband. We were invited along with all of the temple presidency and a couple of other sisters. She was so excited to surprise him and it was fun to watch. She had prepared a very nice lunch followed by the traditional birthday torte (cake) which is always delicious. The Cordovas are a wonderful couple who came to Sweden from Chile. They are so dedicated to serving in the temple.
We had Stake Conference this past weekend and we now have a new Stake Presidency. It is amazing that we have only been in this little part of Sweden for a year and we personally know both of the counselors and know the parents of the young Stake President. Stake conference was very spiritual and uplifting. We were encouraged to live the gospel of Jesus Christ to the best of our ability, and to teach our families to live the gospel to fortify them against the temptations and evils that exist in the world. We were told that Satan’s work is relentless and that it will increase in intensity and sophistication. Our only protection, and that of our family, will come through living the gospel and making our homes a refuge from the world. It made us thankful for the wonderful family we have and for their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We got a fun Halloween package from the Owen family and we now have a bat and a spider on the mirror as you come into our apartment! Thanks for the pictures too.
We have enjoyed our skype and ooVoo time this week and especially when we were able to have prayer together at the FHE at the Packer house. How blessed we are to have such blessings in our lives.
We are doing great and we are both in good health, and happy to be serving the Lord here in Sweden. Thanks for your faith and prayers in our behalf.

With Pres. Oscarson (look above door)

Week of October 11th

Happy Birthday to Kenley and Kaipo!
The spirit in the temple has been incredible this week as the saints from the Norway mission (this is all of Norway that is not within a stake boundary) have been here. Again it was good to see old friends again and we are in hopes of seeing them one more time before we head for home in April. They are such good examples of love of the temple ordinances and they bring so many family cards to do the temple work for. We could all learn a lot from their dedication.
Our good friends Kent and Kay Söderquist left on Wednesday to return home to Logan, Utah.

We have developed such an awesome friendship and made so many memories together here in Sweden. We will truly miss them.
After a short lesson on ‘ett’ or ‘en’ nouns in our Swedish class, we had another farewell party for another set of missionaries. LeGrande and Carla Merritt returned home to Far West from their mission here in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway.

They were Family History missionaries and we became very close to them also. She is the one who taught us to index and we went with them to Örebro to help at the genealogy convention. We will miss them too.
We have watched the TV a lot and prayed a lot that they would be successful in rescuing the 33 miners in Chile. What a blessing to have them all safe. The one miner who quickly kneeled and said a prayer really touched my heart.
The Evensen’s took me to the hospital in Handen to have an ultrasound on my ugly finger. The doctor there said it had all the criteria of a gangling cyst except it had some blood in it and that is not common. All he could say is that he would send the report to my doctor and maybe a biopsy would have to be taken.
I am now on volume 9 of The Work and the Glory and I really cried at the end of 8!!
We have had two wonderful flower missionaries here from Salt Lake. A Sister Taylor and Sister Kimball came and replaced all the flowers in the temple. Wow, what a lift they gave the temple and what spiritual missionaries they are. They are so talented and really have a spirit about them as they perform their service. The Evensen’s and we invited them for dinner the night before they flew home and it was a delightful evening. We had great food and it was fun to get to know them.
We went to see the Vasa Museum. This is a museum housing a restored war ship built in 1626-28.

This ship was to be the best of the best. But, it did not even get out of the Harbor in Stockholm before it sunk. (10 Aug 1628) It lay at the bottom of the harbor for 333 years until it was brought out of the water. Because of the conditions of the water in this part of the Baltic Sea, it was remarkably well preserved. They have now treated all of the wood and restored this magnificent ship. Ninety-five percent of the ship is the original wood. The building they built to display the ship is temperature and humidity controlled. It was absolutely amazing and huge.

This week we enjoyed our Skype time with the Pratt family and they are so excited to have family coming for Thanksgiving and to be there for the blessing of Mia. We pray the weather will be good for all modes of travel.
That is it for another week and we are so close to our one year mark. It is going so fast and we already hate to leave our friends here in Sweden.
Thanks for the emails, letters, skype time, faith and prayers for this week. God bless you all.

Week of October 4th

Happy Birthday Mark!
My big outing this week was to the doctor to see what this big bump is on the inside of my index finger on my right hand. Two different doctors looked at it and think it is a cyst but they are sending me to the hospital to have an ultrasound done. I will let you know!
Our Wednesday night Swedish class this week was a farewell party for Kent and Kaye Soderquist. They have been here a year and they are from Logan. We played some fun games, had some good food and it was a fun evening. We will really miss them.
The visiting group this week has been from the Norway Mission and the saints that came are so wonderful and dedicated. The Petterson’s were here and they have a daughter that lives close to us at home. It was good to see them again. They went to Salt Lake this summer and visited with several people that we know. There were 65 youth who rode a bus all night, came to the temple for two days and did baptisms and then rode the bus back home.
Thursday night there was a concert at the church. The wonderful professional piano player from Norway was here so she played for a half an hour. Wow, she is really good. There was a man that sang several numbers one he wrote himself. He was good also. Then Brother Petterson played the organ and he is good too. There was a young mother that played the violin, she is from Sweden, and she really plays with feeling and you feel it. The concert was very enjoyable.
On Saturday seven couples all went out for pizza at ‘The Pub’ with the Soderquists. We laughed and ate and ate and laughed! Everyone had a good time.
Both of us have been able to spend time this week doing indexing. You feel like you are getting to know people that are on these records. It really is enjoyable to do.
We had ward conference and the meeting was very uplifting and spiritual. Our Bishop, Bishop Krylborn, said he did not know what would happen in the coming year but that he places his hand in the hand of the Savior and put his total trust in Him. I really like that message.

Today (11th) we went to Stockholm for the last time with Soderquist’s and Evensen’s. We had a very enjoyable and relaxing day as we just walked places we had not been before. We walked down cobblestone streets, around palaces, over bridges, rode an elevator up a tower and looked over Stockholm and went inside the Stor Kyrka where the crown Princess Victoria and Daniel were married. We ended the day with a good dinner at the ‘Formosa’

down close to the water front. It was a fun day and we will miss Kent and Kaye.
We have really enjoyed our many emails, skype times and just chatting with our family and friends. Thank you so much for your love and support. We send our love and appreciation to each of you for thinking of us here in Sweden.

Week of September 27th

Wow time is flying and my mind is slow. Thanks to Kris’ reminder I have forgotten to write the weekly update. Put your minds at ease, we are OK. I guess watching conference at 6:00p.m. and 10:00 p.m. threw my mind off!!!
The visiting group this week is from Jönköping and their group was small but they still wanted to do their own four sessions every day. SO, some of our day group was assigned to be with the other group for the week. It is a good experience for them to be responsible for their own sessions. They really have some dedicated saints from this ward and it is a pleasure to know and work with them.
Our Swedish class this week was on the sounds of the letters A, Ä, Å, Ö and O. I am proud to say I finally can hear the difference and reading has become a little easier. I am glad that I am in the beginning class as the advanced class is a challenge for Chuck.
We are both still doing indexing of old census and marriage records. It really is very enjoyable to do. Anyone interested in learning how?
Chuck has finished all nine volumes of The Work and the Glory and I am slowly getting through vol 8. We both have enjoyed re-reading these books and I love the way the author puts what is fact at the end of each chapter. Wow what the saints went through when the church first began in this dispensation.
I cannot make pull apart rolls for conference so I made cinnamon rolls instead. Not too bad either! We really enjoyed general conference and it was not even hard to stay awake late at night. We are so thankful to be able to get all the sessions on our TV here in our apartment. I also really enjoyed the Relief Society General Meeting also. My spirit was lifted by these marvelous speakers and their messages.
On our ‘P-day’ we went with the Soderquists and Evensens into Stockholm and went to see an exhibit of Terracotta soldiers that were excavated from a tomb in China.

Some of the exhibit was taken from the tomb on the First Emperor Qiu (200BC to 9AD). Others were from other emperors and their tombs that had been excavated. It was very interesting. These soldiers and animals made out of terracotta were buried with the Emperor to help him in the next life.

We spent almost 3 hours at this exhibit.
We then walked around and saw the littlest statue in Sweden; we would never have found it except for our guide Kent Soderquist!

We ate a late lunch at Café Sten Sture, the old prison dungeon, where we have eaten before. This little café has a great atmosphere.
Again sorry for this update being so late and thanks again Kris for the reminder. We love you and pray for you.
Love ya, mom and dad (and other titles!)

The Littlest Statue

Week of September 20th

This week the saints have come from Drammen, Norway and they really had a big group. This is the city that President and Syster Evensen are from and they had 20 members of their family come during the week. They had enough people to do their own sessions and they bring such a special spirit to the temple. Some of them can only come once or twice a year because of the travel (12+ hours) and expense. It was sad to see them leave on Saturday morning as some of them will not be back before we finish our mission.
In our Swedish class this week we saw pictures of the Soderquist trip to Prague. It was very interesting and educational. I then showed our pictures of Gotland. Chuck had gone home teaching so he gave me a lesson on how to hook up the camera to the TV and I actually did get it to work!!
We are still reading The Work and The Glory. Chuck has more time to read than I do, with cooking, washing and such!!!! He is on Vol 9 and I am ¾ through Vol 7. We have really enjoyed reading them. This is the second time for Chuck but the first time for me to make it through all of them. I think last time I only got past Vol 4.
It is now getting dark around 7:15 and pretty dark around 7:30. The sun is not up but it is light when the alarm rings at 6:30. I do not know if I am ready for winter!! The days have been much cooler but we still have some pretty flowers!
Saturday night we went to Mats and Veronica Ekelund’s for dinner with the Evensen. They have had a traditional Saturday night dinner the whole time they were raising their family and we had the same meal, Burritos.

They were good with Pineapple salsa and a wonderful chocolate desert. Then we played a fun game. It is a board game called ‘Fly Away’ and it really teaches you the world map. We lost, but it was a fun game and I think the grandkids would enjoy it.
We enjoyed our double skype time on Sunday. Since we were out of town last weekend and unable to Skype anyone, we Skyped both the Packers and the Toblers in order to catch up. It was great to talk to them and to see them. After our Skype time we went next door to Evensens and had desert and she really knows how to make deserts! We stayed two hours just talking to them and the Soderquists. Soderquists only have three weeks until they go home to Logan.
Today we caught the train with the Soderquists and the Evensens and went into Stockholm. We then took the trolley and went to Skansen. It is a huge outdoor museum where they have houses, barns, churches, bell towers, farms, animals, reindeer and things from every part of Sweden.

We were there for 5 hours and really could have spent more time. It was a good day with no rain and a cool breeze. We really had fun. Most of the buildings are original and during the tourist season there are people inside each building demonstrating something or telling you about something. It really was amazing. We ate an early dinner at a cute little café and then came home. What a great day and fun place to visit.

Thanks for your love and support and prayers. Time is going too fast and we really are enjoying serving in the temple and seeing fun things in Sweden. God bless you for another week.

week of September 13th

We have certainly had some cool and rainy weather for the past week. It has rained almost every day and some days very hard! But the air is clean and fresh and everything is beautiful.
This week we had a missionary couple from Denmark come to the temple. Elder and Sister John Larsen are from Delta, Utah and he was on his mission as a young elder the same time as Chuck. We had seen them at church in Copenhagen when we went to church with Bettina. It was great to visit with them again. They only have a week until they are released from their mission in the mission office in Denmark.
The Goteborg Stake has been here this week and it has been wonderful to see people that we have met before and have come to love. The temple has been very busy this week. There were five young people (missionaries) who came for the first time and we had several double sessions.
I made cinnamon rolls so we could take them with us on our trip to the island of Gotland. We were invited a couple of weeks ago to attend the branch and talk. BUT, the city of Visby is a 30 min car ride to catch the ferry and then a 3-3 ½ hour ferry ride on the Baltic Sea to the island of Gotland. We left Friday night on the 8:00 p.m. ferry. The ferry was very crowded as it was Friday night and the sea was a little rough. We went with Bruno and Harriett Klarin (he is a member of the high council).

The apartment house we stayed in was built in 1793. The island of Gotland was ruled in the past by both Germany and Denmark before it became part of Sweden. It has an old wall around the main city of Visby; most of which is still standing. If there had not been any cars, and the people were dressed in old clothes you would think you had been in a time machine and gone back in time.
Saturday it was rainy so we took our sightseeing in the car. We saw a church in Lärbro that was built in the 1200’s. While we were there we met two couples from Denmark. After talking to them for a while they asked why dad had been in Denmark. When dad told them it was on a mission for the church he then asked them what they knew about the church. They replied polygamy!
We took a small ferry to the island of Fårö (sheep island). The wool from here is grey, very well known, and expensive. We saw Rack Cliffs (big towering rocks) along a beach on the Baltic Sea. It was unbelievable how hard the wind was blowing.

On the northeastern tip of the island we saw a light house and walked along the beach. We saw a large open pit limestone mine in the town of Slite on the island of Gotland.
Sunday we talked in church along with the Stake President. It is a small branch of 15-20 people and it was a good experience. BUT, it does not get any easier to give my talk in Swedish! After church we did some walking around in the within the walls of Visby and it was so interesting. We also saw the St. Maria Domkyrka church. Then we enjoyed a dinner at the apartment.
Monday morning we again set out to walk the old town and its magnificent wall and streets. We walked around for almost 4 ½ hours and enjoyed seeing everything.

We climbed up to the top of one of the corner towers, saw many ruins of old churches and walked along the Baltic Sea. We spend 2 hours in the Gotland museum. Our feet were very tired after walking on cobblestones for that long.
We then cleaned the apartment, packed the car, and went to Max, a well known Swedish hamburger place for lunch before we caught the ferry and returned home. This time the ferry was only 1/3 to ½ full and it was nice to travel in the light and see the beautiful sea. Wow what a great trip we had.
Now you can see why this email is late! We hope this message finds you well and happy and knowing how much you are loved.

The Old Town of Visby

View from Our Apartment

Week of September 6th

Happy Birthday Ginet!

The temple shut down was a very fun time being able to do and see so many things. But, we were excited to get back to the temple and leave the worldly concerns outside and enjoy the happiness and peace we feel there.

There is a touch of fall in the air and the leaves are beginning to turn beautiful shades of yellows and reds. We have had some rain so that makes it a little cooler too.

At our Swedish culture class this week we each shared the pictures we took in Narvik and Abisko. We saw still pictures and movie pictures and it was so fun to share our trip with the temple presidency and their wives, and a new couple from Idaho Falls, Brother and Sister Lundgren, they have come to serve in the temple for a year.

We have both finished vol 6 of the Work and the Glory and now have three volumes to go. Dad has started to read vol 7.

The traveling group at the temple this week has been from Norway. Most of them came by car but it is a 10 hour drive for some of them. The spirit they bring is wonderful and they brought enough people to have their own sessions. There were some people who we had met before and others that are our now new friends.

Our temple attendance was a little low this week until Saturday and then we had to have extra chairs on one of the sessions. We had two new people come to the temple this week for the first time. They are both preparing to go on their missions. The sister is going to Denmark on her mission and leaves in two weeks and the brother is going to Australia in a couple of months.

There was one Sister in the temple this week that I was helping and I noticed on a card she had written in pencil: ff mmm. When we were through I asked if those letters meant how she was related to that person. She confirmed it meant her: father’s, father’s, mother’s, mother’s, mother. Or it was the sister’s 3rd great grandmother. It was a tender mercy to be able to help her do this marvelous work. Also, this week we finally got to meet Camilla Rose’s (our niece) mother. Her name is Bella Wadling. She and Camilla look a lot alike and it was fun to have her here. Your dad was the session leader and he asked her to be one of the witnesses. We didn’t get to talk to her too much but she will be coming back and we will talk to her more then.

Please know of our love for all of you. Thanks for your support and we hope this finds all of you in good health, happy and living close to the Lord. The gospel is true and we love serving the Lord here in Sweden in His Holy House.

Week of August 30th

Welcome to the family baby Mia!

Happy Birthday Stacie!

After our weekend in Örebo we had to get clothes washed and packed for our trip to Norway. While I was doing laundry a man was in the lobby with Elder Olson and he said “well hello Sister Rose”. It was Brother Colburn, the Managing Director of the Temple Department. We knew him when we were serving in the Salt Lake Temple and it was good to see him and visit with him.

We did receive the news that we have a new little granddaughter before we left on our trip. We were grateful for this as we did not know if we would have any computer access on our trip. Mia Rose Pratt was born on 31 August weighing 8 lb and 2 oz and 21 ¼ “ long. We even got to skype and see her in the hospital. What a blessing.

We left on the train to Narvik, Norway on the 31st at 6:15 pm. We were in for an 18 hour train ride in a sleeping car. The scenery was beautiful but I could not handle sleeping in those tight quarters, so I slept in the chair car sitting up!

Narvik is a harbor city and is at the base of a fjord. It is around 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The mountains were tall, jagged and covered with snow. Just after we got off the train Chuck noticed that he had lost his credit card holder with all his credit cards. We did not realize it until the train had left the station. We ran back to the station and explained what had happened and what sleeping compartment we were in and they called the conductor. It was a great blessing and a miracle of sorts to learn that the cleaning people had found it on the bed in the compartment we had been in. The conductor walked it back to the station from where they were cleaning the train. While in Narvik we stayed in little cabins up high on a hill that overlooked the Atlantic Ocean and the fjord.

We had to walk/hike, dragging our suitcases, about a mile to the place we stayed. It was a little windy and cool but that did not stop us enjoying this beautiful land.

The next day we rode the train for 1 ½ hours back into Sweden to Abisko National Park. The scenery was breath taking as we left Norway. We took lots of pictures. The mountains in Norway are tall and jagged but the mountains in Sweden are more round on top. We stayed in little cabins here also. They reminded me of the condos at East Canyon.

We got settled, ate lunch and then took the ski lift up this high mountain and looked down and enjoyed the panorama view of Lake Torneträsk. We were hoping to see the Northern Lights but it was cloudy that night!

After breakfast the next day we hiked down the river to the boat ramp on the lake. It was a beautiful hike and we stopped many places to enjoy the view of the river and take pictures. After lunch we hiked the Kungsleden trail to Meditation Place #1, about three miles up the Kungsleden trail. It was a beautiful day and we even saw a reindeer out in the wild.

It was a beautiful clear sky all day but no matter how much we wished we did not see the Northern Lights this night either.

We ate breakfasts and lunches at the diner and then Brother and Sister Klarin fixed our evening meals. They are such wonderful home teachers!

We left Abisko at 4:24 pm on the 4th and arrived back in Stockholm, after another night on the train, at 9:15am of the 5th. We dressed in our Sunday clothes on the train in order to be ready for the special 2-stake conference. So, after arriving in Stockholm, we locked our luggage in lockers at the train station and took a bus to Stake Conference. Elder Russell M Nelson and his wife (Wendy) were there and also Elder Kopischke (President of the Europe Area) and his wife.

Sister Nelson talked about things in Sweden that reminded her of Christ. The big rocks on which Stockholm is built……Christ is the rock of our salvation and strength when the winds of life blow against us. The tradition of Sweden having lights in the windows to guide the children home from school……Christ is the light that is guiding us to come unto Him. Sweden is a land of many islands surrounded by water…..Christ is the living water and if we follow Him we will never thirst. Sweden is green and filled with nature…..Christ is the Living Vine. Sweden’s delicious food….feast on the words of Christ. She also cautioned a person to take a spiritual inventory of their homes and get rid of anything (CD’s, videos and etc.) that prevents the spirit from filling our homes.

Elder Nelson left the 1,480 saints in attendance with a blessing to feast upon the words of Jesus Christ, to taste of the goodness of Jesus Christ, a blessing of healing with faith of the saints and the Lord’s will and blessed all to be a good example to others of the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We have had an awesome week both physically and spiritually but we look forward to returning to the temple tomorrow and once again feeling the peace that abides there.

Week of August 23rd.

This has been a busy week even with the temple closed for cleaning and updating. We had a little get together for Sister Norling who just received her visa and will be leaving for the rest of her mission in Salt Lake at the Family History Center. We had this little social at our apartment and she was very appreciative. She is excited to go since she has been serving here for 4 months waiting for her visa.

It is very weird not going to the temple every day. It took me one whole day just to wash and press our temple clothes so we are ready to go back when the temple opens on 7 Sept.

Elder and Sister Bylund from Lehi arrived this week and will be staying here in the guest house until they can find housing for them in Stockholm. They are the missionary couple that has been called for the Young Adult Center. It is sad not to go ourselves but they will be great with the Young Adults. We took them over to the Centrum (shopping area) and walked through the grocery stores and showed them a few eating areas.

It has been rainy and cooler this week, definitely a feeling a fall in the air.

This week it has been 3 years since GG Rose died and what a great , compassionate and faithful lady she was. We all miss her.

Thursday morning Chuck helped load a big van and then we went with the Family History missionaries to Örebro to help them set up the display and work in the Family Search booth at Sweden’s National Genealogy Convention. The convention was Saturday and Sunday but we left on Thursday so we could set up on Friday. On Thursday we went to see the Örebro Slot but it was only open on the weekends. Then we went to see Statsparken and it was this huge park with awesome flowers and a few statutes.

We stayed at the Scandia Grande Hotel and it was just across the street from the convention center. Friday we were at the center at 8:00am to set up. We unloaded the van, and set up the display then took all the empty boxes downstairs to a holding room and we finely finish about 4:30pm.

The convention opened at 10:00 on Saturday and closed at 5:00. Sunday it opened at 10:00 and closed at 4:00. Then we had to bring up all the empty boxes and disassemble the display and pack it in the right boxes and then pack the van to take all the stuff back to Germany. We did have some youth who came to help take things down so it only took 2 hrs. The convention was very successful. We had 8 computers in our display and they were all busy the entire time helping people and getting volunteers to help with the indexing of records from around the world.

It is a process that comes to your home computer and allows you to index

public records that have been digitized to that they can be retrieved on your computer at home. Both Chuck and I have done close to 700 names this last month and we really enjoy doing it. Let us know if you would like to do it and we can give you instructions. We returned home about 8:00pm Sunday night. It was a physical weekend but a very enjoyable one and fun serving the Lord in a different way.

Aug 31st Mia Rose Pratt came into our family weighing 8 lb 2 oz and 21 ¼ “ in length. What a blessing and also a blessing to have Skype!

Thanks for your continual support and for the example you set in living the gospel of Jesus Christ. We love you.

Week of August 16th

We have had an uplifting and spiritual week. Many wonderful things have happened and the Lord has truly blessed us.

It now starts to get dark around 8:30 and it is really dark by 9:00. But it is light about 5:00 in the morning. It is amazing how fast it changes. There is a feeling of fall in the air, and it is wise to take an umbrella when you go someplace.

Chuck has now read Vol. 6 of The Work and the Glory and I have about 50 pages to finish in Vol. 5. These books are really hard to put down!

This week’s P-day we went with Soderquists and Evensens and caught a boat and went to see the Drotningholm Palace.

It is where the Royal Family lives except for formal appearances and then they are at the Palace in Stockholm. They have English and French gardens there and I bet we walked 4-5 miles trying to see it all. We took a tour through part of the Palace, walked through the gardens, and saw the China Palace where the Queen used to have lunch with her friends! We were there for about 5 hours and then caught the boat to return to Stockholm. It was a really fun day but we were very tired when we got home.

Our floor in the guest house is very quiet now. Soderquists have gone to Prague with their son Brian and Evensons have gone home to Norway. So Saturday, after getting out of the temple, we went for Pizza with the new couple from Canada, Elder and Sister Sheen.

The group visiting this week were the saints from Latvia. It was so good to see them again and they are so thankful to be able to come to the temple. They have their own session and do 4 sessions a day. They seem so happy to be here. They brought two sisters to the temple for the first time.

One day at the temple a tall blonde walked by me and looked at my nametag then she said “I have a hug for you from Sister Mayfield in Zimbabwe” and then she did give me a big hug.

I worked with Sister Judy Mayfield in the Salt Lake Temple. She and her husband are now serving a mission in Zimbabwe. The sister who gave me the hug Cecilie (CC) Lundgreen and she is from Norway. She is a professional golfer and is such a happy and positive person. You just love to be around her. Her golf coach is from Zimbabwe so she spends the winters there. Her coach and another golfer from South Africa are the ones that introduced her to the church. Now people call these three golfers the Three Mormons. She said her

whole focus in life has changed since she became a member of the church. These three ladies are really involved in many charities in Zimbabwe. I really connected with her and she really lifted my spirits.

This has been the last week of the temple being open because of the maintenance shut down. During the week there was a wedding for a couple from Norway. Some of the sessions have been big and others on the verge of being canceled but the Lord does provide and the people came. What an awesome place to be 5 days a week. On Saturday, the last day the temple was open, we were really needed as we had a lot of patrons but few workers. But, it was a wonderful day.

We have several fun things we are going to do during the shutdown but you will have to wait until next week’s update to see where we go and what we do!

We so much appreciate your faith and prayers in our behalf. We have now been on our mission for 10 months! Wow, where does time go.

Palace Gardens

Palace Gardens