Monday, January 23, 2012

Hej familie og venner!

All went well this weekend, finally. After that debacle of a week. But its done. Big relief. The baptism went really well. Yeny showed up and was very very tired and very sick at first because she had been in the hosptial for a chemo treatment the day before. We rushed her into a classroom and gave her a blessing, and within about 5 minutes she was perfectly fine, smiling, and energetic enough to make it through the whole two-hour event. It was amazing. I wouldn't believe it if i wasn't there to see it. She started talking to me about how hungry she was, when just 15 minutes before she had serious nausea. Miracles happen. But everything wen't very well after that. It was a beautiful day for everyone there. A day I will never forget.

We had a bit of a surprise on Sunday morning too. We met with our ward mission leader before church, and he said that I was to confirm Yeny, the daughter! I was not expecting this at all. He had told us that she requested elder williamson a week before, but apparently he just misspoke. Because we asked her again and she said she wanted me to do it. Shocker. I'd never done an ordinance or given a blessing in danish before. I was pretty worried my danish wasn't going to be up to par. But I quickly learned the right wording and made it work. I know my grammar and everything wasn't perfect, but it went well enough. I didn't really have time to get nervous, so that was good. It was a really cool experience. I kind of felt bad because willy hasn't had the chance to do that at all on his misison yet, but I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles? I feel very lucky and blessed to have baptised and confirmed someone so early on in my mission. That's rare here.

It was good to hear from all of you! I appreciate the emails and news. I'm impressed that i'm still so in the loop! I appreciate it. I know lots of missionaries here that don't have a clue whats going on at home. But knowing our family I guess i'm not too surprised. I miss talking over the dinner table long after the food has gone cold.

Giants and Pats again? That's lame. I was really gunning for Frisco, naturally. But there's always next year, right?

So Willy hasn't transferred yet actually. He hops on a train to Sønderborg at 12.34. He got permission to stay an extra week for the baptism and confirmation. So that's good. This has probably been the funnest and most productive week of my mission. We've had a trio, with Ældste Poulsen, me, and willy. Poulsen will be my new companion. He's from Dallas, Texas. Stud of a kid. Been out 20 months. I seem to get all the old guys battling chronic trunky-ness, but that's ok. haha it's fun because they know how to work hard and have a good time doing it.

So things are going better than ever over here. Going to have to get used to a new companion and all that jazz but we get along just fine, i'm not too worried.

Hope all is well at home! Miss you all. I think of you and pray for you often.

med kærlig hilsen,

ældste wooden

Monday, January 16, 2012

Long time no see! It's been a while! Lets just say we've been very very busy.

But good news! We have a baptism this coming Saturday for sure. Its been bumped back a few times just because of the holidays and a few mis-communications but the Mother and Daughter from the Peruvian family are going to be baptised on the 21st. We're still waiting on the son a little. There's a big language barrier and some question about how much longer he will be in Denmark, so baptism isn't making sense right now. But he's got a strong christian faith and likes the vibes he gets from church and when we teach. He just can't understand what we're saying enough for it to stick. But I have no doubt that if he goes back to Peru and finds missionaries he will be a strong member of the church one day. He will just say "OH. That's what they were trying to explain." He's a great kid. I'm gonna miss him a lot. He could be leaving this week sometime, so we'll find out from the immigration office soon. 

The weather isn't too freezing yet here. A little scary actually. Sounds like the whole world is a little warmer than last year. Hmmmm. No snow in utah and not much in sweden or norway either. interesting.

We've been working a lot lately with an 18 year old girl who has been investigating the church for about a year now. That's something notable about the work here. Investigators usually investigate for a looooonngg time. But she's got a testimony and likes church a lot, but our Branch doesn't have any youth her age at all. Everyone is either over 30 or under 15. So its a weird mix. But apart from that she's getting a lot of heat from her parents regarding her joining the church as well. Its helped me to see how big of a process it really is, to convert and change one's lifestyle. Sometimes we forget how hard it can be. Especially if there's no friends or family for that person in church. So open your doors to investigators! befriend them! Its crucial to the growth of the church. Not to mention the blessings that come when we do so.

Something else of note... we acquired a used and cheap orglet this week. That is to say, we got a good 80's electo-organ. haha its made for a great addition to our apartment. I'm brushing the dust off of some my old skills, so its been fun. Thrift stores for the win.

Looking forward to our next potential baptism with a guy from India, who is married to a member of the branch. Just moved in. He's a really cool guy actually. He's been to church about 4 times now and really enjoys it. Super nice, speaks english. Invited us over for indian food this tuesday, so we'll let you know how that goes. We're really excited. he said, "You come home tuesday at seven, I make some grub, and we have a nice talk? How does that sound? Bring your coke in hand, i like it spicy." haha. He's a riot. 

So that's about all i think, I'm trying to hit the high points here... Um yeah I gotta run but I think we're all caught up! News coming soon about this week's dåb!

venlig hilsen,

ældste wooden