Monday, February 20, 2012

Well, it's been quite a week!
Transfers went smooth enough, we had to overnight in Aarhus, where Ældste Broschinsky was serving, and catch a train at 6.30 in the morning to Copehagen, which was a bit of a drag with a ton of luggage, but it all went as smoothly as it could have. Considering that everything i own magically fit into three suitcases, it worked out ok.
We got here and pretty much hit the ground running. This area couldn't be more different, but I love it. I'd forgotten how much I liked big cities. We have a CUV center, which is kind of like an institute building in the states i guess? Its the stake's center for young adults, where we have family home evening and activities and stuff. Its a really nice flat, and its good to see so many young people come! It's fun. We've been to one activity there, a little open house on wednesday night. It was alot of fun. We also have an ægtepar in the area, so that's great! (That's a senior missionary couple.) They run the CUV. And make great food. Always a plus. 
In terms of the work, this week's been quite different. We've pretty much been going by old investigators and less actives, and street contakting as we walk to our next destination, trying to find someone to teach. After 8 hours of this, it's a little tough sometimes. Definitely tries your patience. But thus it is with whitewashing an area. We're building from the ground up. And Rome wasn't built in a day. 
But the overall awesomeness of the area kind of compensates for the hard times. It's one of the coveted areas in the mission. Everything is so close! I can look out my window and see the windows of the mission office on the next floor down and across the way... weird. Funny story actually. I was just chillin in my p-js this morning, playing the uke and eating, and I happen to look out the window next to me and down at the street. Who do I see? President Andersen, just chillin in his car at the stoplight waiting for it to turn green. Whoa. Weird. I quickly turned my attention back to my granola. We only live on the third story, so we could have easily made eye contact, but I don't think he saw me. Not that I was doing anything wrong, its just that quick moment where you double check and make sure you're solid. Kinda like when you see a cop in the lane next to you on the highway. It was funny. Definitely a new area.
We're going to some castle ruins that sit underneath downtown copenhagen today, so that should be cool. Lots of things to do on P-day now!
We use lots of public transportation. A combo of S-tog (subway-ish) the metro (like bart or trax) and buses. Its alot of fun. Big cities are the way to go. I miss F-havn and its hygge, no doubt. But this is definitely fun too. 
More to come!

MVH,
Ældste Wooden

Monday, February 13, 2012

So... some bittersweet news. I had a gut feeling I would be transferring, and that's exactly what's going to happen tomorrow. I'm heading out. Big bummer, because we have two baptismal dates coming up in March, but I can travel back and see them. So i'm hoping that will be possible and go according to plan. I had to say goodbye to the branch yesterday and it was tough. They're the most tight-knit, hyggelidt branch i've ever seen. I will most definitely be coming back to Frederikshavn one day. Without a doubt.

But now for the exciting news. My new area is Frederiksberg! It might sound similar to Frederikshavn, but I promise, it's only the names that resemble each other. Frederiksberg is a neighborhood in downtown Copenhagen! haha and you'll never guess who my companion will be... Ældste Broschinsky, who was my MTC companion just 4 months ago! I was shocked when president told me. I was like, are you serious? Just us, really? He thinks we're up to the task I guess. We're excited. But it couldn't be more different, let me tell you... Æ. Broschinsky and I will be living with the AP's in their sweet apartment, literally a block away from the mission office and two blocks from the temple and church building. In comparison, I have been walking 30 minutes to get to church in Frederikshavn for the past 4 months. So its going to be very exciting. Lots of change. Big, busy city here we come. Æ. Broschinsky has been serving in Aarhus for the last 4 months, so he knows the big city feel a little better at least. And we're not completely alone either, the AP's and a sister companionship work the same area, but the AP's don't have a ton of time to do peasant work, as you can understand. haha so that's that i guess! I leave tomorrow. I'm already mostly packed.

It's been a great week otherwise. Lots of breakthroughs with investigators. Things are just getting good and now i gotta leave. Its like walking out of TRON with an hour of the movie left. Who does that?

So i will surely have lots to report next week. My world is about to get rocked. Æ. Poulsen was on Amager for 10 months, which is right next to Frederiksberg, and he says its like a whole different mission. I'll be street contacting for about 8 hours a day, and apparently half the people don't speak danish, so i'll have to brush up on my english. hehe

Looks like mom and dad will have to move to a big city like the rest of the family. You back-country folk are just outdated. haha :)

Miss you all, hope all is well.

 

mkh,

ældste logan wooden

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

Monday, December 20, 2011

Nu er det jul igen!

 

Hej.

So, I know I've talked alot about christmas. You're probably sick of hearing about Christmas in Denmark every week for the past 4 months. But that's about how much they talk about it here, so you're getting a good taste. But now I will proceed to lay out the Christmas plan for the week and then it will be done. Hang in there.

 

This week we had our ward Julefrokost (directly translated: Christmas Lunch). It's their version of thanksgiving. Huge feast. Family, friends, etc. We also had our ward Juletræsfest. (Christmas tree party) We sang songs, ate lots of yummy food, and played christmas games and danced around the tree as a ward. It was alot of fun. We've got a great ward. Just a fun group of people. So it was a big party week.

 

Last night was also our ward Christmas koncert. Went pretty well. Sang in our church with the Ældresagens kor. ("Danish national church" choir from Frederikshavn). Our little branch choir is only 9 strong, but we busted it out. It went really well. We definitely held our own. If it was a battle of the choirs, we would have won. We sang a mix of english and danish traditional christmas hymns and stuff, it was pretty fun. Had a good time. Its helped us strengthen our relationship with the branch a ton as well.

 

So, this week:

We'll be in Aarhus again for two days for zone conference/mission julefrokost. Be back in F-havn friday night.

 

saturday is Juleaften. (Christmas Eve). But in Denmark, it's on that day that all the celebration takes place. So we'll be spending the whole day with a family from the branch. Eating, opening presents, singing songs, eating, dancing around the tree, playng games, eating, hanging out, and eating some more. Should be alot of fun. And its a very proper occasion, believe it or not. Apparently we will be wearing suits. And not becuase we're missionaries. I'm told tradition goes that it is a very important occasion. Everyone wears their sunday clothes. I'm sure it all depends on the family so i'm not positive exactly what will happen but that's the plan as of right now.

 

Sunday, Jul. (Christmas). Not sure what exactly what I will be doing that day. I'm calling home! That'll be great. And we'll have a short church service. But if i was Danish and not a missionary I would be just eating and hanging out all day with my family at home. Not sure if its as formal of a day for danes, but you just enjoy time with family and eat. Did I mention we eat alot around christmas?

 

Monday, andenjul (Second Christmas). Danes take the 26th and have another christmas day to hang out with their families. Stores are shut down, everyone's home, and the streets are pretty much dead from the 23rd to the 27th. So not sure what we'll be doing. Its p day but the library will be closed so i'm not sure how we'll write home. We'll find out what happens i guess. I'll probably just be eating and drawing and playing musik all day. Really looking forward to it to be honest.

 

So there it is. I apologize with the christmas overload. Its just so contagious! I love it. There's alot more traditions dealing with food, candy, songs, presents, and gatherings and more food but its hard to remember them all. It's just great. We'll leave it at that.

 

Jeg må skundte mig, men jeg håber i har det godt alle sammen. Tillykke til Josh Dahlin, hjemkommende missionær! Jeg håber alt er i orden og I alle kan ha' en glædelig jul med sine familiene. Fryd dig, o jord!

 

god jul!

ældste wooden

Monday, December 12, 2011

Hej med jer, jeg håber alle har haft en rigtig god veekend.

So i'm getting the impression its going to be January 2012 before I know it. Time is speeding right along. Christmas is upon us! And with Christmas comes joy and charity and love and hygge. Hope you're all thinking of someone else this juletid. When we look out for others they look out for us. So don't worry about yourself. Life is to short to waste it thinking about yourself. On top of that, Christmas is alot more fun when your with people, lemme tell you. I love my companion and all, but christmas time just isn't the same when you're not with the ones you love. So this christmas, be a people person. There's my little message for this month I guess. Be a people person. Think about someone else.

 

Fluffy stuff aside, lets get down to business. Food, Talks, Peruvians, and Storms.

This week we experienced som of the craziest weather I have ever seen in my life. I was very close to being blown over by wind. Not even kidding. I don't know what ticked poseidon off but he was pissed. We went up to Hirtshals on the worst day of all of it and saw the biggest waves i've ever seen. It rained/hailed all day, and by the time we got back to Frederikshavn it looked like a warzone. Banners were were torn off buildings, trees blown over, it was great fun. This was also the same day that we had to carry lots of christmas packages and a duck that a member gave us. So tomorrow night we're making JuleAnd (Christmas Duck). I'll let you know how it goes. I am rather excited. I don't think I've ever had duck.

 

I gave a talk in Church yesterday. It didn't go too badly actually. My topic was inspiration. I even went overtime. It was a whopping 7 minutes of danish. I imagine the members found it pretty dry due to my limited vocabulary and simple sentence structure. But "by small and simple means", right? That was my motto for the day. I was feeling pretty good about myself. They just said afterwards that I should have spoken up a little, apparently the mic is turned way down since the room is so small anyway. But not bad in my opinion.

 

The Peruvian family we're teaching is extremely extremely close to baptism but they all want to be baptised together but they're at different points in their journey. It could happen by the end of the year though. Its possible. Pray for us. We gotta help them make the jump. They're ready. Time to act.

 

Mad. (food)

Danske julemad er den beste mad på jorden. I love Danish food. Especially Danish Christmas food. Kartofler, brun sauce, frikedæller, æblekage, risengrød, ris alámand, grønlandskål, and, kylling, I could go on and on. Its so delicious. So don't worry too much about me food wise. But I do miss a good american burger. Alot. And homemade cookies. Danes don't do cookies, i've found. Just marzipan and pastries and småkage and a bunch of other delicious things. But oh what I would do for some snickerdoodles. 

 

Anyway, I'm short in writing today, but as usual time runs out. Too many good things to talk about!

Monday, December 5, 2011

goddag!

So not much time to write at all, really. we gotta go get some things done. but. Thought i would give all an update from the High Plains of Denmark. (Name that literary reference)

 

This week's been up and down. Sometimes it feels like no one cares. In fact, lots don't. But theres some that do. "Going for the one" was our motto this week. We did find a few people who were interested, and One we are especially excited about. An old woman who lives in Sæby. We're excited to start teaching her this week. Go for the one! They're worth it!

 

We've also done lots of experimenting with food lately. We've winged some ideas for food that have been delicious. Homemade æblekage. Deer meat. Piskeflød. Thats all I can say. Can't give out too many secrets. But its good.

 

I've also become very interested in old Danish books.

Here is a good time to explain a little background/cultural info about Genbruger. A "Genbrug" is a store thats basically a small D.I. or Salvation Army. A secondhand store? is that what they're called? anyway. Denmark is historically Christian, and so theres lots of conservative and charitable traditions that run in their culture. They're recycling fanatics. Danes also WILL NOT cross a street unless it is within a crosswalk and the green man is shining. But in every city there's a couple Genbruger where people just go drop stuff off. Usually sponsored by the Danish national church or Jehovah's Witnesses. No Mormon genbruger. Yet. But yeah they don't like throwing things away. So everything goes to Genbruger. They're gold mines! The have the coolest old stuff. We've furnished our apartment solely on Genbrug art, for example.

But they always have sweet old books. For example, I now have in my possession a 1925 Danish leatherbound copy of Charles Dickens' To Byer. (A tale of Two Cities). I'm gonna keep a look out for more classics. They're pretty sweet. One day i will be able to read them. My danish is a little too primitive right now, and its really old Danish anyway.

But yeah there's your fun fact for the week, I gotta run.

 

med venlig hilsen,

ældste wooden