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.