Week of January 24th

This week we have worked on the puzzle that the kids gave Chuck for Christmas. We worked on it a lot and on Thursday the goal was accomplished and Chuck put the last piece in! He said he is going to number the pieces when he takes it apart.

My eyes are doing better and they no longer itch but my eyelids look like they have been sunburned. They are bright pink, very dry, scaly, and they itch. I think it has been caused by using a cheap brand of eye mascara when mine ran out and/or using eye drops that I bought just before we came but with an expiration date of May 09. I hope it gets better quickly. I look like I am using a lot of pink eye shadow.
We had a very interesting Swedish class this week. It was all about different kinds of Swedish cheeses and it was a taste party. We had 8 kinds of cheese with crackers and fruit and the evening was very fun and very educational. But our favorite cheese is still the one we have bought the entire time we have been here.
This week the saints from Latvia have been the visiting group in the temple. We were asked by the Temple President to join with their group as they had plenty of people for their own sessions but not enough temple workers. So after trying to learn Latvian for a day we joined with these humble and reverent people for the week. They did four sessions a day so we started at 8:00am and finished about 6:00pm. We both learned how to do the ‘V’ in Latvian. Chuck got very smooth at it but I was a bit slower. Now Chuck has done the ‘V’ in 7 languages. It was a wonderful week. Most of them speak some English but a few do not speak any English. The training films are in Russian so it was a little confusing for us. But thanks to the Lord we felt we did help these wonderful people and they were appreciative of our efforts. They truly love coming to the temple.
The guesthouse bought a treadmill and we have used it a couple of times. Wow, when your leg muscles cramp you know you are out of shape! But it is better than trying to walk outside on the ice covered roads.
Friday morning the sky was clear and there was a beautiful sunrise. It was cold but the sunrise was awesome. During the winter months this is a rare sight to see.

Saturday we went with the Lundgrens into Stockholm. We looked in a book to find this tourist information place that was supposed to have good quality souvenirs. Well we walked to where it was supposed to be only to find out it had moved and left no forwarding address. So we just kept walking and walked down around the palace and checked into some shops in Gamla Stan (the old city). I did find a few things that I wanted.

Then we ate lunch in the old prison and came back home on the train arriving about 5:00pm. Later we were invited to a birthday party for Michaela Nilsson’s boyfriend from Scotland. It was nice to meet him and he is an impressive and successful young man.
Sunday we both talked in the 2nd ward. We were given too short of notice to write the talks and have them translated into Swedish so we both talked with an interpreter. My talk was short but I did end the talk giving me testimony in Swedish. Because my talk was short that left more time for Chuck since we were the only two speakers. He did a marvelous job, but then he always does.
The temple is closed for two week so we are going to Norway with the Evensens. I will write about all our fun next week.
Thanks for all you do for us. For your letters and emails which keep us informed of the family events. It is hard to think that our mission is coming to an end but we are looking forward to seeing friends and family again.
We love you and pray for you. Hope you are all well, happy and that the spirit of love is in all of your homes.