Week 60 Spring has Sprung!

Finally, we can feel the warmth of spring!  Yesterday as we tromped along a newly-discovered-to-us beach and nature preserve along the archipelago, we basked in the glorious, windless sun in nearly 50 degrees!  Heavenly!  The thermometer has been crawling up the last two weeks, motivating me to put aside some of the dark winter clothes and add a little color to my wardrobe.  We are sorry for all of you  at home who just braced for another snowstorm with freezing rain; we are hoping the cold air doesn't find its way across the great pond to us!

Our outing yesterday thrilled us as we climbed granite outcroppings and trudged through sandy beaches admiring the distant islands in the Baltic.  Only 45 minutes from Stockholm, this area in Kläcknäset is packed with sunbathers in the summer.  One gentleman, clad in a coat, while his grandchildren, bundled in warm clothing, played in the sand, told us, "This is the best time to enjoy this beach.  It's crazy in the summer."  The beach and the nature preserve are two different areas which together cover at least 10 kilometers (our estimate) of shoreline.  I think  it is my new favorite place in Sweden!

I love this place!

Sandy beach...a rarity here.  Usually it is pretty rocky. It was low tide, maybe not such a pretty sight, but it is another rarity.  In fact, this is the first time we have seen any evidence of a tide at all!

View from a granite hilltop. Don't you just want to climb down into that cove?  One of the beauties of this place that the topography lends itself to easy walking and climbing, and virtually any place is accessible.

Interesting granite formations.

This was about as far as we went, but you can see another beach in the distance below a barren gray granite hill.  What you can't see are all the kids climbing on the hill and the family having a picnic at the top.  In the foreground is a dock of sorts with stairs into the water...for snorkelers!   The spot you see in the water is a fisherman walking in hip boots and a warm coat.  He went out about 30 feet beyond where he was when I snapped the picture.

Another sign of spring this week was the arrival of the street sweeper to pick up all the gravel that had been spread in our driveway and parking area behind the mission office.  No salt is used to fight the ice in Sweden, only gravel.  I was so glad we didn't have to scoop it up ourselves!  The town did it!  (They also plow and spread the gravel.)

The driver asked us to move our cars so he could manipulate his rig in the parking area.  Two  men with brooms push the  rocks away from the edges to facilitate a clean job.  Can you see the pile of gravel in the center of the picture?  Yeah, they are very generous with the gravel.

This week was also MLC (Mission Leadership Council--the zone leaders and sister training leaders and technology specialists) as well as one of our 5 zone conferences (which meant food and  kitchen duty for us.)  It is the beginning of our technology rollout with the actual cell phones.  The missionaries' parents had to buy them new phones so it's been a little crazy collecting over 100 phones and making sure each missionary has one.  And of course, there were a couple that got lost a few that had other issues that resulted in their orders being cancelled.  Of course the missionaries are excited to find new ways to use their phones to do missionary work and they recognize the trust that is given them.  Of course, there are limitations to their use and only one phone is "live" with a sim card and phone number.  The other uses a hot spot and acts more like a computer.

We also squeezed in a farewell dinner for 3 of our senior couples.  Two were planned, as the couples are being released as their missions end, and the third couple is going home for medical reasons.  We will miss them!  We only have one couple coming (in June) to replace them.   

Our three departing couples are seated, only one other couple is absent from the picture. So we are down to 6 couples plus the President and his wife in our mission.

Tonight our stake had a special fireside to educate and encourage seniors to consider going on missions.  The temple president, the mission president and one senior couple spoke (all in Swedish, so I didn't get it all--or even most of it, but I did get a few things I'd like to share.) 

In the October Conference of 2011, Elder Holland said, "We need thousands of more couples serving the missions of the church.  Every mission president pleads for them."  

President Youngberg shared 8 Myths of Senior Missionary Service (taken from lds.org.):

1.  Now is not a good time.  I have too many obstacles--finances, family circumstances, health, etc. 

2.  I will have to knock on doors, memorize and teach the lessons, or give lots of talks. 

3.  I should wait for my priesthood leader to approach me.

4.  I can only serve as a couple.

5.  I will have the same rules and expectations as young missionaries do.

6.  I can pick my mission assignment.

7.  The only available mission opportunities are across the world.  

8.  The Church doesn't need me.

We need more senior couples, that is for sure, and I'm pretty sure if  you have read any of my blog, you will recognize that these myths certainly are not true!  Our mission is giving us opportunities we could not experience any other way, and we are so grateful to be able to serve.  We hope you will consider serving, too! You are needed!