Week 35 The Real Missionaries

For the past several weeks The Book of Mormon Musical has been running in Stockholm.  Last year when the musical debuted the church decided to react positively.  They took out 2 full page ads in the program.  Our mission (and others in Europe) also decided to give out copies of The Book of Mormon. After each performance, the missionaries  and members stood outside the theater doors and handed out copies of The Book of Mormon in Swedish.  This year we are doing the same.  Performances are Thursday, Friday, Saturday (2), and Sunday (matinee).   We pass out 200 books after each performance, and usually we run out!

This is our district and a few other missionaries.

The missionaries find this experience is quite positive for the most part.  They find people willing to accept them and have even made some promising contacts. Some contacts surface long after the show.  There is one story of a girl who saw the play last year and had been thinking about investigating the church. She came up to the missionaries on the street and asked them to teach her. And recently, a teenage boy began investigating because he found the book on his parents shelf.  If nothing else, we are flooding Stockholm with the Book of Mormon.

But the story I know best is the one related to the pictures below.  Often the actors come out before the missionaries are packed up to go home and chat with them.  One night Elder Craun, one of our office elders, and the elder furthest to the right in the picture above,  chatted with one of the lead actors, "Elder Price."  Elder Craun asked how he could get a souvenir copy of the program, like he had seen the theatergoers holding.  "Elder Price" explained that it could be purchase in the lobby, but then said, "I can arrange to get you one."  The next night, he came out with an autographed copy, where each actor had signed by his picture.  But the best part was what he had written on the cover.  "From the cast of the Book of Mormon to our real missionaries!"  Perhaps these innocent young missionaries are not teaching many people from this encounter, but they are making a positive impact and earning respect, even from those who make a living making fun of them.

Autographed program

After the morning mist lifted, Monday dawned bright and by afternoon the winds died down. It was perfect for being outdoors, so we accompanied the missionaries and the Andersons to Runsa, the site of an ancient Viking fortification.

Can you see the tall stone at the far end of the picture?  That is the "bow" of the Viking ship.  This site is 56 feet from bow to stern is is a "stone ship burial area" containing 30 graves.  This type of grave symbolizes the ship Vikings believed carried the deceased over the river of death.

 With the Andersons and speckled by shadows, we posed to catch the brilliance of the yellow tree in the background, but the pictures doesn't do it justice.  The leaves were past prime, with virtually no oranges or red, but it was still beautiful.  (Taken near the top of the hill where the fortification once stood.)

Viking wolf pit (varggrop).  Between the shore and the fort at the top of the mountain where the  fortification stood, Vikings farmed.  Several wolf pits were in the area where the predators would come seeking prey.  To trap them, a chicken would be tied  as bait to a stake (like the birch pole in the picture). Which was set in the middle of the pit.  The wolf would fall through the covered opening into the 12 foot pit.

Perhaps this scene seems familiar to you; it did to me.  It felt just like, well, almost, like home. 

Tuesday morning 10 hungry missionaries were upstairs (6 zone leaders had come in for a monthly meeting--MLC--Mission Leadership Council).  So, we decided to treat them to breakfast, American style... buttermilk pancakes and eggs.  (I wish I had taken a picture....)  At the end of the day I got this text..."Hey, Sister Hales!!  We just wanted to thank you for the delicious breakfast this morning.  It made us so happy and reminded us of being back home with our mommies!"  Needless to say, it made my day!

Saturday we headed into Stockholm for a quick errand.  Here are a couple of pictures.

 "The Ring" at T-Central--the Grand Central Station of Stockholm.  This is where the missionaries always meet when they come in from other cities.

 Just one of the beautiful murals in T-Central depicting Swedish life of the past.

View of Stockholm from a walkway adjacent to T-Central.  (I'm not sure what that awesome building is at the end of the road.  Looks like I need another trip downtown!  Every time I go I discover something wonderful and new!)

We enjoy watching for interesting names of businesses. So many are in English. I liked this one--
not the bus, the building.

And speaking of business names, I'm not sure I'd want to spend a night at this hotel...
it might be my last!

We greeted another Senior Couple this week--the Bells from Oregon.  On our way to get them, we missed the airport exit and had to travel about 20 kilometers before we could turn around.  They had a 1:00 arrival and I made them a 2:10 migration appointment (to register them in Sweden--a requirement.)   Obviously, it was our goal to welcome them warmly and whisk them off to Migration.  We were already a bit late, but confident in our ability to meet them in time.  At 1:05 we were enjoying traveling with the Andersons and chatting amiably, when suddenly the exit appeared.  However, it was confusing because we hadn't been watching, only had a split second to make a decision, and thought we were at the first exit for the airport, which does not lead to the terminal.  We stayed on the highway and realized immediately our mistake.  There was no way to correct it until we came to an exit.  Ten minutes laters we flew around a roundabout and headed back down the highway, minutes ticking away.   Fortunately, two other couples were there to greet the Bells as they entered the terminal, and hurried them down to the parking lot just as we arrived.  We took their luggage in the van and all of us made it to Migration just in time for their appointment...a tender mercy.

I have been thinking our little mishap on our way to pick them up and can see an analogy. Sometimes while we are traveling the road of life, we get distracted.  We are enjoying ourselves and seem to lose focus of our goal.  We may not even be doing anything wrong, or bad (or we might), but suddenly we realize we have missed the right path.  We've lost our hold on the iron rod and we are forced down a detour away from our goal.  But there is always a way back.  If we recognize our mistake, we get ourselves turned around as quickly as possible, the goal can easily be reached.   If we travel further down the road, our way back may become more complicated but is still possible.  Though things may not work out as smoothly as we originally planned, there are still blessings and opportunities that await us as we reach our goal.  We should never give up, never feel there is no way back, never feel defeated.  The fact is, we all originated from our Heavenly home and we CAN find our way back!