week 17--A trip south!

Originally emailed Monday, June 19, 2017

Dear Friends and Family,

Sorry this is late, but we were without the internet this past weekend.  This week began with a trip to a historic town called Sigtuna set on the coast of a bay about 45 minutes from our home. Sigtuna is known for its Viking era church, built about 900 AD, which stands in ruins today.  We were pretty sure that was going to be our adventure for the week, but boy, were we wrong!  At our office meeting that night, we volunteered to help out with an upcoming activity in Malmö.  That meant we’d need to travel to Malmö on the weekend…so here we are!  (Actually, we are staying in Lund, about 15 minutes from Malmö, in a vacant senior missionary apartment.  How convenient!)

Opportunists that we are, we also took advantage of a tour of the archives of Stockholm Thursday late afternoon.  The tour was arranged by a senior couple who is serving there as “Records Preservation Missionaries.”  They personally have completed the 1920 census for all of Sweden!  All church records have been done in years past, so now civic records are being done.  Our guide praised the Church’s help in preserving their records and said that we had digitized about 3 million pages; however, that is only about .05%!  After the records are digitized, they go into the indexing program in Salt Lake, with which many of you have helped.  Then then are made public for lds.org, Ancestry.com and other groups.  The church has record preservation missionaries all over the world.  All of you who enjoy Family History work can appreciate this great work that is being done!   Anyway, because the missionary couple work there and have become friends with the director, he gave us a “special tour” which included their most valuable documents. The  unassuming one single story building housing the archives was built during World War II to house the country's valuables.  It is built into rock and goes down six stories!  A highlight was seeing seminal documents of the early 1400s  on the lowest floor. Most people do not get to see this level. One goatskin document was actually much like our Declaration of Independence, where “the signers” (really, most couldn’t write, so seals were used) essentially were demanding rights for Stockholm in spite of the King’s wishes.  (see pic.)  After that, because the tour had run a few minutes long, we rushed to the car to be greeted by a yellow paper attached to the windshield.  Ten minutes over is costing us 1,000 SEK—a bit more than $100.  All during the tour we thought our experience  was priceless, …oh well.  Then we enjoyed dinner with some other couples at an Italian Restaurant in the heart of Stockholm.

Friday we left around 3 PM and arrived in Lund about 1 AM.   Our driving adventure and subsequent touring included 4 castles (one in ruin), three cathedrals, 1 cloister (ruin), 1 historic farm, 3 “old town” village sites, 2 shore towns, two Viking sites, one amazing aerial ballet on the side of a cathedral, a Renaissance festival (complete with jousting, music, and sword-fighting), 4 old-fashioned windmills, 1 university, fields of poppies, thousands of acres of lush green fields, and countless kilometers of “Miss Rumphius style” lupine lined highways and roads.    Sometimes, I’m truly amazed at all Sweden has to offer, and even more awed by our opportunity to experience it!  I can’t do these wonderful sites justice tonight, so I’ll give more details in subsequent emails, and John will be posting pictures in a few days.  (I’m quite sure there are going to be weeks I don’t have much to share.)  Let it suffice for tonight to share two of my favorite pictures:  1) Brahehus ruin.  This site is right off the road along Lake Vattern.  It was getting late and had been cloudy and rainy all day.  As I looked out the “window” of the ruin, the low sun, the strips of clouds, and the fog building up on the island below felt magical.  This “castle,” high on a hill overlooking the lake, had been built by a nobleman in the 1600s for a country retreat, but gave it to his son’s wife.  She died a couple years later, so it became a guest home, and in 1709 was ravaged in fire and left for ruin.  Still, it stands stately, beckoning all who pass it on the highway to visit. 

Brahehus

 2) I love windmills (I guess that comes from my Dutch ancestry).  When I saw this one, I insisted John stop on the road, we made our way to the middle of the poppy strew field, trying not to damage the plants.  I especially like the play of the old and the new.  The old windmills no longer work, but they deserve respect for their years of service, don’t you think?

Poppies and Windmills

My heart is so full of gratitude for this marvelous experience to be here in Sweden.  I know anywhere in the world, as a missionary, would be just as amazing.  Each land, each person, each moment in time is precious.  In fact, life is precious and amazing for each of us, and we can see it and feel the truth of that every day, wherever we are.   In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Alma’s belief in God and Jesus Christ has been ridiculed by an evil man named Korihor, and he asks for a sign of God’s existence.  In his defense, Alma says:  “Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God?  Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets?  The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things donote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.”  (Alma 30: 44)   For me, in addition to the beauties and wonders of nature testifying that God exists, walking in the footsteps of people from ages past, who built “things upon the face of” the earth, also remind me of God’s existence and power.  Some say that man “created” these structures, but I believe that God inspired men to be able to build such structures and has allowed these ancient things to stand to remind us of his influence in the lives of all of his children, throughout all of the ages—to remind us of his love and influence in our individual lives as well.  How grateful l am for a Father in Heaven and his perfect Son, our Savior, who know each of us, who love each of us, and who desire each of us to choose to follow them in this life, so that we may live with them, and our loved ones, again in the next. 

May each of you have a wonderful week,

Love,

Mom/Dad, Grandma/Grandpa, Linda/John

Week 16--Transfers!

Originally emailed Sunday, June 11, 2017

Hi Everyone!

We thought the previous week was busy with zone conferences, but this week has it beat!  Transfers!  That word has taken on a whole new meaning to me, especially regarding:  arrivals, trainers, departures, early mornings and late nights, canceled flights, and loads of paper work.

Monday evening everyone decided to leave for the airport Tuesday morning (John's birthday and Swedish National Day) at 6:30 for the 7:00 arrival of the 8 new missionaries (7 elders and 1 sister) we expected.  John got up at 4:50 to check their arrival time and found out they were coming in 40 minutes early!  A quick text to everyone, speedy showers and we managed to be out of the house by 6:00.  When we arrived at 6:30, the plane had already landed!  Fortunately, the missionaries hadn't come out of the secured area yet. (They were late coming out because one of the missionaries had lost her wallet and they were looking for it. Poor thing, not a good way to start.)  Using a rented van just for luggage (2 bags per person) and a passenger van (owned by the mission) to transport them, we began the marathon day. (The office missionaries (POEs and Assistants) drove the vans; we drove cars.  We had extra time to kill and we wanted to keep the new arrivals awake so they could adjust to Sweden's time zone more quickly, so ran from one activity to another.

First, we went to McDonalds a few kilometers from the airport for "MacToast."  Really it was whatever they wanted for breakfast, but the word for breakfast is '"frukost" so we like the play of words.  

Next, we went to the Stockholm Temple grounds.  (The temple is being cleaned this week, so we couldn't go in.) However, Sister Beckstrand told us the story of the location of the temple.  Pres. Hinckley, counselor in the First Presidency at the time, had 4 sites to visit.  This one seemed to be one of the least desirable ones...it was completely forested and near a railroad line.  However, when he walked the site, he felt impressed that it was "holy ground" and had been saved to become the temple site.  As excavation began, Viking burial grounds were discovered, so the church asked the government what they wanted to be done...should we build a glass floor, abandon the site?  The government said to just go ahead and build, but the President wanted to honor the Vikings, who had hallowed this site, so a pile of the burial stones were left on the temple grounds as a memorial.  (see pic)  Also, artifacts that were found were donated to the museum.  It occurred to me as I heard the story, that just as the generations of Swedes had "saved" the land for the temple by leaving it undeveloped, once the temple was dedicated in 1985 we could then begin "saving" them. 

From there we walked about 1/2 kilometer down a 1000 year old Viking road, adjacent to the temple that lead to a  large park/Viking burial ground.  Here, there were plaques explaining the rock formations and burial practices.  Some rocks were rounded and in circles, while others were more like pillars and placed in circles.  Also there were ones that marked the outline of a ship.  Incidentally, this excavation/discovery didn't begin until after the temple was built.

Then we drove into Stockholm to take the traditional mission picture of arrivals across from City Hall, where the Nobel Prize is awarded.  (You may recall our picture taken there.)    As we walked to it, we passed a car show.  It always amazes us to see so many American cars.

Then we walked across a bridge to Gamla Stan (Old Town) and the Palace.  We noticed a crowd gathering at the palace and some Royal security stationed around and found out that the changing of the guard would take place at noon, so we decided to hang around as long as we could.  Tuesday was "National Day," much like our 4th of July.  Their celebration marks two historical events:  June 6, 1523 Gusta Vasa was elected king, and on June 6, 1809 the country adopted its constitution.  Although Swedes are not known for their patriotism, many were waving flags and one man was dressed in blue and yellow, with a flag wrapped like a cape.  He looked like a Swedish superhero--with pants rather than tights. A few were even dressed in traditional clothing, like the woman in the picture.  The royal band marched into the square and played several patriotic songs, then the troop of guards were examined. (pic)  Unfortunately, we had to leave before the actual changing of the guard.  I heard later that in the summer, this show is performed every day for the noontime guard change.  Maybe we can catch the rest of it on another day.

Lunch was at the YSA (Young Single Adults) center in Stockholm.  The missionaries received an official welcome and some training then, paired with an experienced missionary, they went into the streets of Stockholm to  contact for 45 minutes.  These tired, but excited missionaries jumped at the chance to begin their work and came back with enthusiastic comments like, "that was fun!"   I wish you could see them, so pure and bright, happy to be on the Lord's errand.  They are amazing!

We met them at the mission office--in the "clubhouse"--the basement apartment where visiting family members can stay; where the Clouses are staying, now that we are in their apartment; where we had a movie night last night; and where meeting such as this can happen in a home-like setting.  Here, John and Elder Clouse presented some rules and regulations of the mission concerning cars, apartments, etc.  Sister Clouse and I presented and collected documents that had to be signed.  Then we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner, and the missionaries went to the mission home for interviews and a good night sleep.  Sister Clouse and I finished up some office work (sending a quick email to parents letting them know their son/daughter had arrived safely) waiting until 10:30 for the the President to let us know he had finished the interviews and closed the "transfer board."  We were waiting to find out which new missionaries were matched to which trainers so we could finish preparing their written assignment--a letter from the president given to the missionaries just before they meet their trainers, which they would receive the next day. No word, so we had to get up early Wednesday morning to do it before we left the office.

Finally, we were able to relax--not much of a birthday for John, but the day was crowned by the email from home which Kim orchestrated and Brandon created--a video of all the kids and grandkids singing "Happy Birthday" together!  Wow!  What a sweet message from home! 

Wednesday morning we finished up the letters and were at the mission home by 7:30, so we could get all the missionaries to the Migration office for their 8:30 appointments.  Fighting our way through rush hour traffic, we got there on time and everyone was interviewed, photographed, and fingerprinted in 12 minutes!

Back to the suburbs where we set up and served lunch at the church near the mission home.  We took a break before lunch to join the missionaries as they received their assignment letters.  First, their trainers filed into the chapel where the new missionaries were waiting, having been in a meeting with the APs and president.  Each letter was opened, one at at time and the third paragraph was read aloud, identifying their trainer and area where they would be serving.  Each trainer ran up  and hugged his/her new missionary. What a secure welcome to the young, inexperience and overwhelmed but devoted young missionaries!  Next they stood by a wall map of  Sweden, pointed to their area, and had their picture taken so it could be emailed home with a letter from the president.  After lunch, well-wishes and they boarded a chartered bus to take them and their luggage to the train station.  (Are you getting a picture of the logistics?  That's just the arrivals!  Also, that day, all over the mission, many of the missionaries traveled to their newly assigned areas.  They move every 12-36 weeks. And I haven't even talked about the departures--that's next.)

After the bus left, the POEs and APs went to the train station to pick up the 12 missionaries who had completed their missions and were headed home.  Sister Clouse, Sister Anderson and I cleaned up from lunch and returned to my apartment where we "bonded" as we talked and got to know each other better.  Suddenly the husbands rushed in, just before it was time to go to dinner.  "Where were you?  You missed the meeting at the mission home!"  We were so embarrassed!  We were supposed to have had the missionaries fill out their  departing the country documents!  Just before leaving for dinner, John received an email stating that the first leg of the return flight had been cancelled!  SLC Mission Travel was working on new plans. After dinner that night (with the missionaries), John and I returned to the office to talk to Salt Lake so we could explain what the new flight plans would be.   We returned to the mission home during their "going home" testimony meeting. They talked about their personal growth, love for the people they've met, love for the Savior and Heavenly Father.  What a beautiful experience! Back at the office, we sent word to the parents of the changed flight schedule.  In my delirium I sent the wrong one and had to redo it. Embarrassing!  I didn't get to bed until after 11.  

After another late night, we had to leave by 8:00 AM to take the missionaries to the airport.  It's a good thing we left early because there were some complications at the airport and 3 cruise ships of people flying out!  However, once we got to check in, all was well. We said our good-byes and watched as they went through security. We were certainly relieved!  

I'm sure you are tired of reading this, but I wanted you to get a sense of what we are doing here, how different it is from our work in the Norrland, and how busy this week has been! It was non-stop, burning the candles at both ends, and spiritually uplifting.  Next time it will involve double the numbers-- as twice as many new missionaries are coming in and almost twice as many departing. To add to the excitement, there will be a new mission president and we will be on our own--yikes! Yet, I am so grateful to be able to participating in this work.  The light that these young missionaries exhibit because of the gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives attracts the attention of everyone.  They are a powerful group and one can feel their goodness.  What a privilege to be with them!  

So my ending thought today is a tribute to missionary work.  I was reading a conference talk from 1971, the year I graduated from high school.  It said there were 3 million members of the church then and 20,000 missionaries.  Today, 46 years later, there are 15.8 million members of the church and 75,000 missionaries.  That growth has come in a large part because of the valiant efforts of countless missionaries who have served--searching for people who want to know the truth about God, life, and salvation. When Joseph Smith was martyred, many people thought the church would just die, just like when Christ was crucified, people thought Christianity would disappear.  Not so. That is because this church is Jesus Christ's church restored upon the earth.  Joseph Smith stated, "...the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear; till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."  John and I are grateful to be a tiny part of this great and eternally important work.

Best wishes and our love to all of you,

Mom/Dad, Grandma/Grandpa, Linda/John

Week 15--Stockholm and Gail Epstein

Originally emailed Sunday, June 4, 2017

Dear Family and Friends,

As we drove down to Stockholm Monday, I wondered, “What am I going to write about in my letters from now on?”  I figured with the demanding office work that awaits us, my letters would become much shorter and pictures fewer.  However, that is not the case this week! I still have plenty to talk/write about.  I'm quite sure none of you are surprised; rarely am I at a loss for words!  In fact, this weekly letter is a sort of therapy for me, so thanks for being my audience.  

We learned before we left that we needed to be in Stockholm for a 6:00 pm weekly meeting Monday night.  We rushed to get the laundry done and headed out at 10:15 a.m., arriving at our new home by 4:30 p.m., with no stops other than one toilet-and-grab-some-fast-food break.  The scenic treat was rapeseed fields Sweden is known for.  The plant produces canola oil and a beautiful, bright yellow contrast to the muted colors of winter and early spring.  I was also surprised to see an occasional white field.  What was it?  Dandelions that had gone to seed!

After a quick “Hello” to those waiting for us to arrive, a speedy unloading of the car (note:  no unpacking), a sprint to get basic groceries, a bite of yogurt for dinner,  we were off to our first meeting at the mission president’s beautiful home.  First, we gathered around the grand piano and sang a hymn.  Then we went to the president’s office, which had ample seating space on sofas and comfy chairs for 12 others—his wife, the 2 assistants, the 3 POEs  (proselyting office elders), the apartment couple (the Andersons), the office couple we will be replacing (the Clouses), and us. After the hour-and-a-half-long meeting which consisted of a prayer, spiritual thought and reports from the office, apartment and assistants, then follow-up planning details and President’s items, all of us headed to a church building about 30 minutes away—south of Stockholm-- to set up for the next day’s zone meeting.  (The mission is divided into 6 geographic zones.  All of the missionaries meet once a “transfer”--which is about every 6 weeks—for a meeting with another zone—which means a meeting in southern Sweden and two in the Stockholm area.  It is a fun time for the  missionaries in each zone to see their friends, strengthen one another, receive training, hear testimonies from departing missionaries, and enjoy a meal.) That’s where we come in—helping with set/clean up and serving the catered food for 60 people each day. Thankfully we didn't have to prepare much of it!  (In the future, John will also give some direction during the training portion. I will also be heavily involved in the planning.) Because this was the Mission President’s and his wife’s last Zone Meeting, the luncheon had a bit of a party atmosphere, with a theme of “You’re a one in a minion missionary.” Of course, minions were part of the decorations, including twinkies disguised as minions.  John’s self-discipline was put to the test; he wanted one so badly but there weren’t any left the first night.  Somehow though he managed to find two leftover after the second night—a tender mercy!  There were slides of the missionaries’ baby pictures (unbeknownst to them, sent from home) matched with recent ones, a video “yearbook,” and a personal letter written for and individually presented to each missionary by the President and his wife.  (I hope you can imagine the tender feelings of this experience for the missionaries; it was a privilege to witness and to be a small part of it.)  After two days of this…from about 9 am to 7 pm… we were exhausted, and office training started the next morning! I don’t think I’ll be wondering what to do with my time anymore!  

The next two days our heads were spinning as we started learning our office responsibilities.   More details will unfold as the weeks go by.  Let us suffice to say that John is handling all the financial aspects of the mission and I am sort of an office manager, handling correspondence, records on all the missionaries, making sure all the paperwork is done for visas, transfers, incoming and departing missionaries.   (That’s all I know right now…in two days!)

The highlight of the week came Saturday as we waited at the airport to meet my friend, Gail Epstein.  She and her husband Caleb Davis arrived in Stockholm to begin their Baltic adventure on a Viking Cruise.  We had talked about getting together but it seemed impossible, so John and I decided to surprise them at the airport.  Gail was thrilled to see us and we managed a little visit as we walked to and waited outside their bus.  Our first visitors!  Thanks so much, Gail, for wanting to see us!

Since we were out, we decided to take in a couple of castles (slott) in the area—Rosersberg  was closed, so we need to return to tour it, and Steninge.  (There are about 20 castles in the area north and west of Stockholm. Most of them were actually built for members of nobility rather than royalty.  John says they seem more as mansions than castles.)  More pictures  and details will be posted on our Facebook.  The Steninge castle is occupied, but there is a “galleria” of shops and a café in the carriage house, while  grounds are open to the public.  Naturally, we enjoyed a pleasant walk through the “parks” and out to the lake, despite the occasional raindrop. 

On our way home we stopped for dinner at Melanders in Täby Center, not far from our home.  John had fish and chips—the reason we went there—and I had fried herring, pureed potatoes and lingonberries—purely Swedish!  The herring tasted like trout, but had very tiny bones I had to eat…not a favorite.

When we returned home, the Clouses invited us to strawberry shortcake dessert.  The five elders who also live in this house were there, too, and together we enjoyed about an hour of conversation and music.  One elder played the guitar and sang a few songs then accompanied the group for a few more.  What a delightful way to end the week!  We feel so blessed to be here!

We enjoyed being with these elders so much that we invited them to dinner today.  I realized that I should have made more food when I watched them hungrily eating.  I'm out of practice for such a big group, especially on Fast Sunday!  What was I thinking?  They ate everything on the table--chicken, rice, vegetables, salad, and bread.  I had made homemade chocolate pudding, but I had to stretch it somehow so I added a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream and served pretzels (my dad's favorite condiment with ice cream) to insure they didn't leave hungry.  And now, I need to go to the grocery store, AGAIN!

Today in church one young man bore his testimony and made an analogy between playing a guitar and faith.  He had recently started playing his guitar again after several year’s hiatus.  He used to be a pretty good player.   Now his playing was rough, his fingers grew sore, and he everything was out of harmony.  However, as he kept practicing, the pain subsided and he could create beautiful music again. Then he drew the analogy.  Faith, he said is much like playing the guitar.  If we need to keep ¨practicing¨our faith.  When we stop, our lives seem ¨rougher¨ and ¨out of tune.¨  We then need to ¨pick up¨ our faith, start practicing, and regain the harmony we lost.  Even if it feels a little painful at first, its results will be beautiful and satisfying.  

Being here, on our mission, is stretching my faith.  My fingers have been a little sore and I have had a few moments were I was out of tune—wondering what to do, struggling with being in a new culture, feeling confounded by the language, but as I have pushed myself to be bolder, I have felt my faith growing stronger and my life harmonizing with Heavenly Father’s will.

May you feel harmony and happiness in your life as you, too, seek to strengthen your faith.

Always,

Mom/Dad, Grandma/Grandpa, Linda/John

Week 14--Arctic Circle and beyond!

Originally emailed Sunday, May 28, 2017

Hi Everyone!

This has been our last week in Norrland, and with John's expert planning, we really made it count!  

Before we left on our final Norrland adventure though, we (including Elder Black and Elder Fawcett) spent a long day--11 hours (4 hours round trip travel and 7 hours of working, mostly raking--with a few much needed breaks) on a small dairy farm. We have a new understanding of how demanding farm work is, watching the Karlsson's manage their little farm with 21 new calves, many of whom are still bottle-fed.  This little experience convinced us that all farmers deserve our respect and praise.  We visited here several weeks ago, but it was too early to be of help to them. Not so this time; they were prepared for us--with jobs and food!  Miraculously, we didn't get blisters and recovered quickly from our aching shoulders and backs.  It was definitely a good workout!  My whole body was so grateful when the wife, Lorayne, invited me in to help with the last aspects of dinner preparations and later to help her wrap butter and bottle buttermilk.   John has done a terrific job of documenting the farm, so please check out his Facebook page.  In fact, he has 5 posts this week--from all our adventures. (His account is open to the public so you don't need to be his friend to view it.)

The next morning (Tuesday) we headed north to do apartment checks of the three sets of northernmost missionaries.  Basically, our task was to evaluate the condition of the apartment, guide the missionaries to improvements as needed, fix any apartment/furniture problems they are having that aren't the landlord's responsibility, and be sure they have all their needed supplies.   (The most popular need has been dark curtains!)  It is fun to meet with them, take them to lunch or dinner and give them a little TLC.  On our way to our second stop we saw our first moose!  Hurray!  We spent a week in northern New England last summer trying to see one and failed.  There were actually two, grazing right next to the highway.  We were so excited, that we took the first opportunity to turn around and drive past them a second time!  There was no where to stop for a decent picture, so this one was shot out my car window.  We saw a third moose later the next day in the middle of the road, but we were so taken by surprise that we didn't even get a picture. 😞 

While in Luleå, we visited an Old Church Town--a World Heritage Site.   At the time of required church attendance, people in the north had to travel so far that they built homes near the church so they could stay overnight.  This particular site has over 400 homes, many of which are lived in year round today.  They reminded me of the homes of the miners in Falun. (Again, John has more details and pics of Facebook.)

The next day, after our third apartment check, brought a moment that I never dreamed I'd experience--crossing the Arctic Circle!   The flags in the picture designate the line of the ¨Polcircklen,¨ and the triangular building has a beam in it continuing the line. It was a surreal moment for sure to be standing there in our shirt-sleeves in 58 degrees!

Arctic Circle

We spent the night in Jokkmokk, known for their February ¨Winter Market,¨ complete with reindeer races and dog sled rides.  It's tempting to try to figure out a way to get back up there next February!  This is Lapland or ¨Sampi,¨ the homeland of the indigenous Sami people.  When I was a girl my parents gave me a book called, Children of Many Lands.  My favorite was a girl from Lapland, so for me, even though no one was wearing their famed felt and braided dress or reindeer boots, it was still a magical place.  As we drove further west and north the next day, we saw over 100 reindeer, (in small groups, none of more than 14) and all which are owned and herded by the Sami.  There were even corrals for them near the Sami summer homes--small houses built for the summer months.  In the past, the Sami were nomadic and dwelt in tents, as they followed their reindeer herds.  

Our last stop northward was the Stora Sjofallets National Park.  It is was bit disappointing to learn that a dam had been built which basically eliminated the falls for which the park is named.  It reminded me of the effect Finch Pruyn had on Coopers Cave.  So, we went on the park road past the non-existent falls and took our Arctic pictures of the mountains and river/lake created by the dam.  When we left Jokkmokk it was 10 degrees C, and we watched the temperature drop steadily to 4 degrees.  It wasn't freezing but it was still chilly and as you can see from the picture, a storm moved in and created quite an arctic scene.  John was disappointed that the sun wasn't shining, but I thought the mood fit this capricious season of Arctic spring. (Again, John has some great pictures and details).

Stora Sjofallets National Park

Further north along the river with the storm moving in

As we were making our 8-hour journey home, a phenomenal sight caught our attention.   We couldn't understand why we hadn't seen any advertising for this remarkable park--half roaring rapids with an 82 meter drop and a vast bedrock park with falls, pools, cliffs, and picnicking.  I guess there doesn't need to be any advertising because plenty of people seemed to know about it--granted, it was a ¨red day¨--national holiday. There were tour busses, families gathered for picnics, children playing, lovers strolling, and camera buffs all over the place, yet it didn't seem crowded.  Summer would undoubtedly be another story for this delightful paradise park--Storforsen. We kept wondering why this place was not a national park; to us it seemed to deserve that status.   By the way, this was the same day, about 3 hours south of the national park and it was at least 20 degrees warmer--well into the high 60s!  An hour later, we were back on the road.

Now we are preparing to leave our first area.  Saying good-bye today was a little tougher than I expected it would be.  We've made friends here, earned respect, and had our hearts touched deeply by these good people.  So, it is as we say farewell any time in life--transfers, moves, children going to college, young married children building their own lives, retirements.  We often make promises to keep in touch with each other, hope for future reunions, or plan on returning to renew acquaintances.  Life moves us on, more acquaintances are made, friendships built, yet our hearts still hold our past relationships dear. I take comfort in knowing that friendships and especially family relationships can be eternal. The wife of a good friend of our passed away this past week.  To him, we send our heartfelt condolences, and our testimonies that Heavenly Father's Plan affords us opportunities to bind our families eternally.  Our earthy farewells to those we love need not be permanent.  Rather, we can receive comfort as we look to the day when we will see each other again continuing our relationships eternally.  What a divine promise that is!  Today is Sweden's Mother's Day, so my heart is naturally turned to my sweet mother, who quietly led with a Christlike example.  May we all look to the glorious future where we can be united with those we love.

Best wishes for a peaceful week,

Mom/Dad, Grandma/Grandpa, Linda/John