November
5, 2012
It
was a crazy busy week this week! I mostly blame splits, double eating
appointment
and immigration test. But ya know, I guess all the work we did
is
also in there.
Last
Monday was particularly nuts when I found out I had the immigration
test
on Tuesday, and our train leaving for København left in one hour. Wow,
glad
that piece of mail reached us in time. Lucky us. So Æ. Dunshee and I
scrambled
to pack and were off. The trip to København takes 5 hours from
Skive
by train. Glad I could keep myself busy. It was also very fun to meet
up
with my good ol MTC companion Ældest Wible for the long trip over. That
was
a fun 2 days, and I'm really glad it all worked out. Never thought I'd
be
in København when I woke up that morning. Immigration test completed,
(super
easy.) and return on Tuesday. Æ. Elsbury and King were very
hospitable
to us, in the central Fredricksberg apartment and it was cool
seeing
them again. OH! And I totally saw the København temple!!! It was
just
a glimpse but it filled my soul with immeasurable joy. You don't
realize
what a blessing it is to go to the temple often until you suddenly
don't
for 4 months. I know my last companion Æ. Arts in his interview with
Pres.
Sederholm said that whatever area he was transferred to, he only
wanted
to be able to go to the temple. Very important place. The primary
song
''I love to see the temple, I'm going there someday...'' suddenly
become
very precious. Actually, many of those primary songs take on a whole
different
level of meaning when you listen to them as a missionary.
The
work in Skive has oddly picked up lately. We've had several very
positive
investigators that we've been meeting with on a regular basis,
ever
since E. Dunshee showed up. We are totally rocking it! I really like
how
he works and some of his working style. One is a Greenlandic lady and
we've
been meeting with her a lot lately. She is open and progressing.
Another
named (name withheld). He's one that you'd never think was open, but is super
open.
Like he's being prepared. But like any good dish, you need to add the
right
things at the right time. Guided by the Spirit of course.
I
enjoy the format of many of the lessons and opportunity's I've had with
Æ.
Dunshee lately. Several sit down appointments, with many of those
ingredients.
He's the kind of missionary that likes Kig Fobi's so that has
been
our main focus this past week. It has a ''Onto phase 2!'' feel to it.
Æ.
Arts and I did all the finding, now Æ. Dunshee and I go to all the
teaching.
I believe that Forkynd Mit Evangelium (PMG for you English
speakers
out there.) can be super effective in helping much of the teaching
we've
been doing lately. No matter how good you think you are at teaching
and
think you can wing it on, there is always something more you can apply.
I
like the scripture that says before all things were created physically,
they
were created spiritually. So there was a plan set in place before work
was
done. God didn't just, ''wing it'' on creating the universe, no matter
how
well he knew how everything worked. He planned and prepared and
probably
communicated with those under him on how it was all going to work.
A
good outline of how our work should go.
We
had splits this week, with Æ. Wright and Merriel. I had the opportunity
to
go with Æ. Merriel, a brand new greeny in the land of... a week and a
half
I believe... and that was a unique experience. Both of our Danish is
not
super fantastic yet, so in those several hours we were together alone,
it
really pushed me to focus and make sure that I was on top of what was
going
on. To lead, so to say. It was fun, and we did not totally fail at
all,
so that was a good thing.
We
had the opportunity to meet with (name withheld) again this week. I think we said
that
we moved the date back to the 17th because of scheduling stuff. I'm
personally
very worried about her. She might not quite understand that you
can't
have a cup of coffee every now and then. Thats not how it works. When
you
repent, its for life. Or at least we try to. I don't want to baptize
her
if she's not totally ready, just for the sake of baptism, thinking
she'll
repent later or work on it later. We've got enough less active
people
in Denmark. Part of Elder Hollands general conference talk comes to
mind
for me. When you raise that arm to the square, you better make sure
they've
repented. The missionary purpose goes, Tro på Kristus(faith
in
Christ) og hans forsoning(attonment), OMVENDELSE(repentance), then
dåb(baptism).
It doesn't all come at dåb.
So
as we worked in one of the towns here called Nykøbing Mors, something
that
has been dawning on me the past week hit me. It's completely dark by 5
o
clock. WHAT IS THIS? Just 4 months ago I didn't see the dark of night for
almost
2 weeks! Now I'm never going to see it again? The other Elders in
the
mission say that in the heart of winter, it will be totally dark by 4.
So...
major contrast. And the constant rain can make it cold and downright
miscible.
However, the fact I'm in such a situation excites me. Adventure!
I
also found the most oddest thing in one of these Genbrugs up there... I
saw
it and thought 'cool' then looked again and thought, something is wrong
here...
it's a Pika-rabbit. Happy Halloween I guess.
Oh
so I guess they DO celebrate Halloween in Denmark. Just... on a date
that
is more convenient for them. Like on the
weekend where they can all
party
anyway. And no trick or treaters I saw. I've been in Skive 4 months
now
and I've never seen the Skive gogåde with so many people. Super cool,
because
Æ. Wright and Merriel came on splits with us, so we toured up and
down
with them looking at all the Halloween stuff. Fun. I saw another one
of
the super big dogs here.
I
guess thats all for this week.
Ældste Christensen
