Week of March 22nd

After church we sat on the couch and sang out of the Swedish Hymn book. I really enjoyed it as it forces me to decide the pronunciation of the words and move on! It is really a beautiful language. Evensen’s had us and the Soderquists over for desert, chocolate cake, ice cream, fruit for the ice cream, whipped cream, nuts and a drink. They really do not do things in a simple way, but we sure enjoy getting together.
The visiting group this week has been from Norway and they have had enough come to have their own sessions and ordinances. A young sister came to the temple for her first time; she is going to the Temple Square Mission in July. Her name is Sister Nyman. She was here with her mom and I looked twice every time I saw her nametag.
Easter is a big deal here in Scandinavia and most people have the week off. With everyone getting ready for this holiday our sessions have been small.
We did have a group of 11 missionaries come to the temple. Most of them were just arriving but a couple of them were ready to go home. They bring such a great spirit when they come. There were four sister missionaries with this group.
Our Swedish lesson this week was a very fun going home party for Dale and Elaine Ensign. They live in North Salt Lake and we are really going to miss them. We had lots of food and really played some fun games. We even had a 7-layer dip with refried beans. Sister Oscarson found a recipe on line so we can make our own!
On P-day we went into Stockholm with the Soderquists and spend most of the day in the Army Museum.
It was very good and I enjoyed it more that I thought I would. They really have wonderful museums here and very good displays. After the museum we found a very cute place to eat.
‘Café Sten Sture” used to be a prison and it is a dungeon. The food was very good and I am sure we will go back. I had shrimp soup with 2 open faced cheese sandwiches and Chuck had the traditional meal ball dinner.
I was asked to give the prayer in Sacrament Meeting. I told Bro Krus I could give a very simple one in Swedish or do it in English. His comment was “simple is good’. So with faith and several personal prayers I did it in Swedish. I know I made several mistakes but I really had my prayers answered as I felt very calm and peaceful while I was praying.
Because of General Conference and Easter being next Sunday our lessons were on Jesus Christ and the Atonement. In Primary we watched part of ‘The Testament’ movie and I am so thankful for all that Jesus Christ has done for us, to enable us to return to his presence by faith and repentance. We are grateful for our testimonies and for the opportunity we have to serve in the Temple in Stockholm.
Have a great week, a happy Easter and know that you are loved and prayed for and we appreciate your prayers and support for us. Love ya, Hej då

Week of March 15th

Happy Birthday Brent!
On our P-day we went with the Söderquists to the Nordiska Musset in Stockholm. We spent five hours in this museum and it was so interesting.
It has displays of Swedish trends and traditions, of homes, clothes, fashions, manners and customs. As you enter the museum there is a huge statue of King Gustof Vase. Sweden has awesome museums.
Our ward had their RS Birthday Social. It involved both wards here in Västerhaninge plus the sisters here from Norway. It was a fun evening of talents to show how unique each sister is. The talents were displayed, performed, eaten or talked about. My talent was listening!
St Patrick’s Day is not celebrated here in Sweden, but I wore green anyway! I made potato and meatball soup with homemade bread and as we sat down to eat I realized I had forgotten to add the meatballs! But, I did remember to add them to the left over’s!
We have had awesome weather most of this week. Blue sky and we saw the sun all day! The weather was uplifting and the temperature was in the 40’s. I have joined the people in worshiping (loving) the sun!!!
Saturday we had the Stockholm Stake Relief Society come for a day at the temple. There were 60-70 sisters and they were so excited to be together in the temple. We had double sessions plus all areas of the temple were busy. They had a luncheon here in the guesthouse and Sister Oscarson talked to them. I met their Stake President, President Nyman, but he did not seem too anxious to see if we had the same genealogy! Maybe next time when he does not have so much on his mind!
Each Sunday in priesthood meeting they just call on someone to give the lesson so it is to each man’s advantage to come prepared. Chuck got his turn last Sunday and they said he did a good job. He is really getting his opportunities to speak Swedish.
This week the traveling group is from Norway. What wonderful, dedicated saints to come for a week and do four sessions a day. It takes them about 12 hours to get to Stockholm.
This Sunday (28th) all of Europe goes on Day Light Savings Time.
As you can tell we are busy and happy. We love having a p-day and seeing some of the neat things around us. But we do love serving in the temple and the peace that is enjoyed there. Hope all is well with each of you and thanks again for your prayers, love and support. We are blessed with such an awesome family and awesome friends. God bless you.

Week of March 8th

We got a black blind installed in bedroom window so it is not quite so bright when the sun comes up at 6:30. We do not change to daylight savings time until the 28th so then the sun will not come up as early for a couple of weeks!
We have had several days of blue sky and above freezing temperatures. We have been on several walks and I know why these people are sun worshipers. At home I would open the blinds and lay on our bed to enjoy the sunshine; here the only place in our apartment to be in the sun is standing by the window! It is hard to sleep standing up!
This week’s visiting group has been large enough to have their own sessions so we did not have much interaction with them until Friday. They had some of their people leave so my schedule was bagged and my sisters mainly went on sessions and Chuck had to incorporate the visiting men into his schedule. I am not sure which was hardest! Oh well, we got through the day and it is always wonderful to serve the Lord.
Tuesday we had 8 Elders and 2 Sisters from the Stockholm Mission come to the temple. The one Sister, Sister Hegmond, is from San Jose, Calif. and goes home in two weeks. The other Sister, Sister Coleman, is from Mesa, Ariz. and Tuesday was her 1 year mark. I really enjoyed talking with them and I got the email of Sister Coleman’s parents and sent them a quick email about their darling daughter. I got a reply right back and that was a tender mercy. I was glad I listened to the promptings to do that.
We had a temple worker have his 90th birthday this week. He can’t see very well and he can’t hear but he loves being at the temple and going on sessions. At lunch there was some wonderful cake with fondant frosting and we all sang happy birthday to him. I hope he heard us!!
Thursday I got to help with the ordinances of a beautiful Hawaiian girl who came for the first time. Her name is: Raija Masina Tuipelehake Maugututi ‘a, and it sure sounded a lot prettier when she said it than when I did! She was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. She was so excited about coming to the temple; she did three sessions the first day, and two sessions the next day before they traveled 6 hours to get home. What a marvelous experience.
Sunday a Brother Keane, who was born in India and has been a Bishop, talked about the second coming of Christ. He said we have our agency to prepare but we also have the opportunity to change and begin to prepare today. He said our preparations should be done in love so we become closer to Christ as we prepare for Him to come again. I have not thought of preparation in that way and it was good for me to hear, so I pass it on!! It was my first Sunday playing the piano in the Primary. Thank goodness the kids don’t seem to care if your make mistakes because I made them! But I did enjoy the day!! I love to hear the kids speak Swedish, they are so cute. Then we attended a baptism of Jonatan Lundquist and Chuck was a witness to the baptism and stood in the circle for the confirmation. He goes to their family as a Home Teacher.
That is it for another busy week here. We do smell a hint of spring (Vår) in the air but the ice is not melting very fast. We again thank you for your faith and prayers in our behalf, for your love and support. We are doing great and love the people here, being in the temple and learning all that we are. Hej då.

Week of March 1st

Happy Birthday Drew (7)
This week we started our month as being shift leaders. We had a nice sized group this week from three different wards. They live about 4-6 hrs from here. There were not as many at the beginning of the week but more as the weekend got closer. Our sessions were almost full and it was wonderful. Someone described the temple as a SPIRITUAL SPA or SANCTUARY. I would have to agree because it gives me the peace and love to renew and inspire me to do my best.
We have now been in Sweden for four months. Today we went for a walk and in spots you could even see the sidewalk. It has been above freezing for the first time since December.
In Swedish class this week we talked about clothing and what it is called:
Shirt = skol dress = klänning shoes = sko tie = slips
Socks = strumpor pants = lång byxor coat = rock (man’s) kappa (ladies)
Earrings = örhängen belt (women’s) – skärp shirt = skjorta
To say ”to get dressed = att klä på sig (to dress on me) See why it is a challenge to learn this language!
This week we went to eat at the first hamburger place in this part of Sweden. You get in line and order then find a table or do take out. They have a lot of other things to order but the hamburgers are 90g, 150g and 200g. The hamburger bun stays the same it is just the size of meat that changes. The 200g meat patty is about 1” bigger than the bun all the way around. It was busy but very good.
We got a black blind installed in the bedroom to help us sleep longer. We now have about 12hours of daylight and gain 10 minutes more a day. By 23 June we will only have about 3-4 hours of darkness! So the blind will help us not wake up at 2:30 when it begins to get light and help us go to sleep when it does not get dark until 2300.
My first week in Primary was really quite fun. I know most of the songs (can’t play them without a mistake) but not the words. The kids are so cute but some of them are very wiggly! There are about 25-30 kids in the primary but only 10 in Jr Primary. The Jr Primary kids have not started to learn English yet so they try to talk to us in Swedish. We use a lot of hand motions but usually end up knowing what they say. The teachers all speak English so that helps. I am looking forward to learning from the kids and Primary Presidency.
We love our morning routine of having prayer, reading the scriptures individually, reading Jesus the Christ together then having breakfast and getting ready for the temple. If we can we get some study time in also. It is wonderful to do it as a couple and we have become closer because of it.

Week of February 22nd

This is Bror och Syster Kämäräine from Finland.
This is the couple that remembers Zach when he served in Lappeenranta and Helsinki. They are wonderful people and they do speak some English!!
We have been called to be Shift Leaders for the month of March. It is much different than being a shift coordinator at home. You are the day shift leader on Tue, Wed, Thurs and Fri with different workers coming every day. It is a challenge but we are glad to take our turn! This month we will have different wards and stakes from Sweden plus a group from Norway. This past week we have been receiving some training to be shift leaders. I think the February shift leaders are glad to have us out of their hair and to have their turn over. The Ensign’s have set a good example for us to follow.
We have really enjoyed watching the Olympics. Go USA! It is obvious what events the people like as we have seen a lot of skiing events and curling. The opening ceremonies were marvelous.
Syster Nilsson (waiting for her visa to come to SL and work in Family History) came one night and helped us know more about the New Family Search program. We did look at some Swedish records and found verification of families and birth dates for some of my relatives. However, we did not find where our name changes from Jansson to Nyman. She said it probably occurred with something to do with the military. But it was thrilling to see what I did see. We could enjoy doing genealogy!
Enjoy our Skype with each family and we were surprised to see that CJ has now become the BIG brother! They all looked so sharp in their Sunday clothes; sorry we made you late for church.
We went into Stockholm and purchased our tickets to go to Copenhagen in April. It will be a little costly to stay in a hotel and eat out but we need to go see Vera (Chuck baptized her when he was a young elder in Denmark) as her health is failing. I guess we could just not eat!
This is the picture of our late Valentine dinner when the group went to Nynäshamn.
We really had a fun evening and the atmosphere could not have been any better. The Kroken was down on the harbor plus it was snowing.
We had a good Skype visit with the Tobler’s and it thrills us to see the kids be excited to see us. Janey just keeps waving her hands.
Chuck’s did a marvelous job in giving his talk in church. There were several people from the temple who are not in our ward who came to support him and hear him speak Swedish. Syster Dahlö, from Norway, said she could understand him better than most Swede’s! The American Couples also sang a song and they said our song was beautiful too. I received a ward calling to be one of the Primary pianists. Their song books have been used so much that my book starts on pg 17. I will have to find time to practice, and I am sure that my mom is saying “now you know why you should have practiced more”. The other pianist is Syster Parker from Provo.
Sunday evening we had a night of singing put on by the Bautista family for the guests of the Guest Home.
Bror Bautista is one of the engineers at the temple and his whole family sings. Two of the daughters are involved in the music profession. They are marvelous. It is the same family that we were so impressed with when we went to one of their concerts at Christmas time. They sang two of my favorite songs, Be Still my Soul and A Child’s prayer.
Hope all is well with everyone. We will gladly ship you some snow.
They have been on the roof of the church clearing snow off all day.
We love the Lord and are so thankful for all our blessing. We are thankful for the gospel and our knowledge of how to be a forever family. We give thanks for your support, your emails, prayers, packages and letters. We can feel your love.