Hi Everyone,
From some of your recent comments, I think it is time for me to clarify the fact that we really are doing some work here, not just having a good time. 
Our assignment here is Member-Leadership Support, so our role is one of helping, nurturing, and doing what we can to support the missionaries and the members here. Because we do not know the language, we are limited in what we can do with people and in the church. Thus, we have been given assignments to work with the youth, because they speak English (having learned it in school). (Honestly, it's a bit embarrassing not to be bilingual!) Every Friday night we meet with them for an activity; the younger missionaries (elders) are there, too. On Saturday nights we teach a weekly Seminary lesson. We also teach their Sunday lessons. John teaches the boys (Aaronic Priesthood) and I teach the girls (Young Women). It is a joy to teach these students because they are attentive and participate well…no discipline problems in this small group! So, time is taken preparing lessons and making lots of cookies! We also support the younger missionaries. We feed them (usually once a week), go on occasional visits with them, attend meetings with them on the district level once a week. Additionally, the past few weeks we have been working on an Easter program, in an effort to get more of the branch members involved. It has taken a lot of time to create the program, find the scriptures in Swedish and translate the narration into Swedish. So, we are working, but we also have a lot of extra time. We feel the extra time is a great blessing because we probably won’t get back up here to experience this beautiful country. When we go to Stockholm, we will be in the suburbs and working many hours a week. Life will be different there!
Our assignment here is Member-Leadership Support, so our role is one of helping, nurturing, and doing what we can to support the missionaries and the members here. Because we do not know the language, we are limited in what we can do with people and in the church. Thus, we have been given assignments to work with the youth, because they speak English (having learned it in school). (Honestly, it's a bit embarrassing not to be bilingual!) Every Friday night we meet with them for an activity; the younger missionaries (elders) are there, too. On Saturday nights we teach a weekly Seminary lesson. We also teach their Sunday lessons. John teaches the boys (Aaronic Priesthood) and I teach the girls (Young Women). It is a joy to teach these students because they are attentive and participate well…no discipline problems in this small group! So, time is taken preparing lessons and making lots of cookies! We also support the younger missionaries. We feed them (usually once a week), go on occasional visits with them, attend meetings with them on the district level once a week. Additionally, the past few weeks we have been working on an Easter program, in an effort to get more of the branch members involved. It has taken a lot of time to create the program, find the scriptures in Swedish and translate the narration into Swedish. So, we are working, but we also have a lot of extra time. We feel the extra time is a great blessing because we probably won’t get back up here to experience this beautiful country. When we go to Stockholm, we will be in the suburbs and working many hours a week. Life will be different there!
This week we visited members (the Karlssons) who owns a small organic dairy farm. The husband is retired Swedish surgeon and his wife is from Logan, Utah. It is calving season and they are busy, but the wife graciously (and proudly) showed us around the beautiful, well-maintained farm. They use interns, who come from all over the world, to help for 6 weeks at a time on the farm. What a delightful experience we had there!
On our travels that day we saw reindeer, muted swans and Canada geese mingled together, and a couple northern lapwing birds. (Barbara E, you may want to google a picture of them. They are beautiful and have plumes on their heads.) Unfortunately, I didn’t get a pic.) We also stopped at a bageri (bakery) and treated ourselves to a traditional kanal bulle (John) (cinnamon roll; a stand-alone-roll, not as sweet as ours and with coarse sugar on top instead of icing), and a cardamom-almond knot (Linda), sprinkled with fine sugar. Both were yummy!
On Tuesday we took our “P-day” and went hiking a small mountain we had seen a few weeks ago that is only about 20 minutes from our apartment and near the coast. We met a small group of hearty young Swedes who were enjoying a day-off with a picnic on the windy summit, cooking their meal in one of those fireplace grills I’ve shown before. The wind kept us chilly despite the high 40s. (I’m so ready for spring! I’ve heard the daffodils are blooming in Stockholm, but here it is still brown with patches of snow.) We also walked the beach of Gullsvik, composed of sand, gravel, small rocks and boulders. It certainly wasn't Florida, but the sun was shining and the waves crashing, and if I closed my eyes, I could imagine...Off in the distance we could see the lighthouse we visited recently, and inland we found lignon berries growing in bounteous patches. Practically a Swedish staple, they taste like cranberries, but just sweet enough to be tasty. Often served as a jam or syllt , they usually accompany meatballs rather than bread.
On Thursday we had our tires changed. (In Sweden every car must have studded snow tires for the winter and they must be off and the summer tires put on by April 15.) While waiting, I had a nice chat with a Swedish woman who asked if I was “Mormon,” as she pointed to my missionary tag. She has cousins in Utah who are members and have served a mission. Then in the afternoon we went on a teaching visit with the missionaries. Unfortunately, the person just wanted to argue religion, so we had to respectfully excuse ourselves. It’s always kind of a downer to have that sort of experience, and I’m glad we were there to support the elders and had a nice dinner ready for them afterwards.
As we draw nearer to Easter, our thoughts turn even closer to our Savior. Words cannot express how grateful we are for his atoning sacrifice that makes possible our opportunities to better ourselves, to have a hope for the future, and support through our challenges. We can’t imagine how we could have coped with the challenges in our lives without this sure knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the World. This year, the church has an Easter video called “The Prince of Peace.” We hope you will take 2 minutes and watch it, reminding us of the peace Christ can bring into all of our lives: https://www.mormon.org/
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www.mormon.org
Find peace in a troubled world through Jesus Christ. This Easter season, learn principles of peace from the #PRINCEofPEACE. Get started at Mormon.org.
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Best wishes for a lovely spring week and a Happy Easter,
Mom/Dad, Grandma/Grandpa, John/Linda
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