Week 48: Snow!

Last Sunday I broke a tooth while eating some nuts.  Fortunately, it wasn't painful, I was able to get into a dentist the next day, and things seem to be repaired well. However, the entire experience was one of the reminders that I am a rather clueless foreigner.  Sister Anderson had recently been to the dentist for the same problem so I turned to her to find out where to go. She suggested I schedule an appointment online since it was Sunday, so I did.  The next morning the phone rang at 7:30 with a number I didn't recognize. (No one ever calls this early.)  A woman spoke quickly in Swedish. With my head swimming, which is what always happens when I try to listen to a Swede speaking, I stammered out, "Can you speak English?"  Curtly, "What is your problem?" "What do you mean?"  "What is your problem?" she repeated.  I couldn't figure out what she was referring to.  "You called this number yesterday." I couldn't remember making any calls, but sometimes I accidentally "return" a call that has come into the office.  "I am sorry,"  I said, "it must have been an accident."  "OK, I will strike you from the list," she said and hung up.  About ten minutes later, after sifting through the  telephone conversation, it hit me, she must have been referring to my dental appointment.  I finally realized that when she was speaking Swedish she said something about 10:15--my appointment time.  I called back, apologized, speaking to the other receptionist, who actually spoke better English, and to my relief was able to still keep the appointment.  As we arrived about 20 minutes early and stepped into the clean entry, walking toward the reception area, I suddenly realized we were expected to take off our boots.  Oops,  I stepped back into the entry. For home visits, I carry a pair of ballet-style slippers in my purse if I don't have heavy socks on, but I didn't have those with me and I was just wearing nylons. There was an alternative:  slip on shoe coverings, so I did that.  Self-conscious and stressed, I didn't relax until I was back in the reception area, paying my bill and happy to have my tooth fixed.  We made an appointment to have our teeth cleaned next week and turned to leave.  I grabbed my coat in the entry, wrapped my scarf around my neck and set off behind John out the door.  Just as I stepped off the porch, I realized I left the shoe coverings on!  Embarrassed, I ran back, yanked open the door, tore the coverings off my boots, and threw them in the basket.  (I wasn't thinking about the fact that they were dirty and shouldn't be used again...another oops.)  Hopefully, I can do better on my visit this week!

Tuesday and Wednesday it snowed--finally, with a total of about 5 inches, enough to finally cover everything.  It seemed to brighten out world! Literally, the reflection of the snow has made the days much lighter.  However this weekend is where I really saw the difference.  People were everywhere!  We could see our neighbors walking from a nearby park carrying their cross-country skies.  Young children were being pulled in sleds on snow packed trails.  (Although virtually all walking/biking trails are plowed and kept clean, just like the roads, so people have to go to parks for recreational activities.)  Young and old seemed to be out walking with their family or pets, or even alone.  I hadn't see such crowds all winter.  It was exhilarating and chased the winter doldrums away.

This was just a walking path near the Maritime Museum.  However, these walkers are not museum visitors, nor were they a large group, they are just friends and families walking to the nearby park.  This is just a small part of a steady stream.

Friday we helped the Andersons move the Örebro sisters into a more permanent apartment.  (They had been living with a member family since their previous landlord wanted his apartment back.  We helped move them about a month ago.) Their new apartment is the most lovely missionary apartment I have seen--lots of room, modern decorating and appliances, and big, open, light-filled windows. What lucky sisters!  This is an addition built onto an established home in the center of town.   It is very difficult to find apartments in Sweden.  There are laws about subletting, about owners renting (they can only do so for 2 years), and with all the refugees, there's simply a housing shortage.  As a "church" we don't  qualify to enter the registration lists for housing.  The Apartment Couple have been trying so hard to find good places for the missionaries as their landlords reclaim their property--a difficult task to say the least.  We rejoice at each one they find; however, it seems to be an ongoing problem.

While we were there, we had lunch at Max--the Swedish competition for McDonalds and Burger King (both of them are in Sweden).  It is located, with a large window at one end of a large professional soccer field.  We wonder if burgers cost more on game days...

Our visit Saturday was to the Maritime Museum in Stockholm.

Maritime Museum

Model of the Royal Schooner Amphion--King Gustav III's yacht built in 1777.  A whole room is dedicated to this  boat and its role in Swedish history.

The (actual) stern of the Amphion

This was probably our favorite model, the Archipelago Frigate Lodbrok, launched in 1771.  The model was also built in 1771.   It is hard to see but there are 4 oarsmen sitting in each row.

The was probably the most haunting picture in the museum--The Cabin Boys Corps.  A couple are smiling, but most, especially the two in front are rather sullen, maybe even angry.  Below is the explanation of this picture, explaining the lot of these boys .

The basket was used for fire to indicate safe landing... a sort of portable lighthouse.

As I read the article, "Family History at Your Fingertips" in the January Ensign this week, I was impressed with a few facts and thoughts.

• First, there are "300 camera teams spread across the globe."  We have one such couple in our mission the Smiths, who are "Records Preservation Specialists. (We wrote about them and our visit to the Swedish Archives a few months ago.  They work 40 hours a week photographing page, after page of records.)  According to the article, these camera teams digitally record over a million records a day, with about 500 million records being preserved each year! "Once the images are acquired, they undergo a quality-check process.  Then they can be indexed, making the information easier to search and work with." 
• Second, "FamilySearch reports that as of 2016, 320,000 people are helping with indexing, processing million of images per year."  Plans are to partner with other genealogical groups and index all the records within a generation of 20-30 years!  
• Third, there is 80% more information available today than there was when my father was going family history work.  That means that there is plenty for me to research and  to discover that will augment the information he had.  
• Fourth, George Q. Cannon taught that, "...those who are joining the Church are joining quite precisely because their ancestors have been praying for one of their posterity to join the Church so that they, the ancestors, can receive their essential ordinances by proxy."  That adds another dimension to our missionary work, doesn't it?  

This article reminded me of my responsibility to do family history work. I want my children and grandchildren to know the grandparents I knew.  I want to get-to-know my ancestors before I meet them.  I want to help those who have gone before without the gospel, to have an opportunity to enjoy the eternal blessings that await them.  These amazing resources can help me (and you) accomplish those desires.