The Goteborg Center

Our mission in Sweden consists of being at and helping to run a Center for Young Single Adults (YSA’s).  Elder L Tom Perry was given an assignment by President Hinkley and part of the revelation that Elder Perry received to help him fulfill that assignment was the establishment of these centers throughout Europe.  The center is a meshing of institute and a gathering place where YSA’s can fellowship and visit and meet other YSA’s and feel the spirit in their lives.  One of the main activities at the center is missionary work.  As a consequence, missionaries are assigned to each center and the center is used by them as a place to teach discussions and to have their investigators meet members their own age.  Most centers are in a town where there are many young people gathered — where there is a college or a university.

Our center here in Goteborg, Sweden,  is in just such a town.  Goteborg has between 500,000 and 750,000 residents (depending on which suburbs you count and which you don’t.)  It also has 3 very large universities.  Goteborg University is located in several large , old buildings around what is called Centrum (the center of town.)   A couple of these buildings are a stone’s throw from our center.

we are the 3rd floor

Here is the building where our Center is located.  We are on the third floor (one of the windows is open.)  The story I was told is that it used to be the residence of a man who made tons of money during the war manufacturing ball bearings, or some such thing, and selling them to everyone, the allies and the Germans alike.  How the church got it I have no idea, although 2 of the boys who attend here claim their dad was one of the locals who helped the church get the place.

The gate

This is the door through which we have to drive to get to our parking place.  I thought it was funny that our car came with a parking place, but it is very important as the parking on the street is either non existent or VERY expensive.  We fold in the mirrors and Robert just roars on through — after I have entered the secret code that allows us to open the doors.

the coveted parking place

Here is our little car, JLO, in her parking place.  It is actually an inner courtyard and there are four parking places, all reserved, plus several bicycles and often a motorcycle.  Somehow Robert has to turn the car around so we can go out frontwards,  some days more of a chore than others. (It depends on how many of the other cars are there.)  The small door in front of JLO is the garbage door.  And please don’t ask because I have no clue how the garbage gets taken from this inner court .

Above are the stairs from the ground level into the building.  Yes they are marble. The doors just swing open without any latches.  Once inside you turn right and find the stairway up and the lift (hiss in Swedish.) We always take the stairs — its good for us! — and the stairs, and the stairs.  They circle around the shaft for the hiss, and we go up to the third floor.  The windows have stained glass panels in them and the offices we pass on the way up are filled with doctors who have planters filled with plants on their landings.

Finally, we are at the center!!  This door also has a code.  I’d say it was a secret but every YSA that uses the center knows both the code for the downstairs big doors and for this door.  The rest of the pictures are of the inside of this wonderful facility.  It is very large and very nice and the YSA’s try to keep it that way by taking their shoes off when they come in and by cleaning

The front door

and taking care of everything.  I think they know how fortunate they are to have this place.  Many of the other centers throughout Europe are just a designated room in a church building.  There are 4 other centers in Sweden and none of them are anywhere near this nice; even though the one in Stockholm is not in a church building, it still doesn’t quite measure up to this.

The entry way

As you can see, this is an amazing place.  We also have a large classroom, a medium size meeting room, and a small meeting room

plus    several bathrooms and large closets.  The billiard room is to the right of the lounge, through the double door.  A room with a ping-pong table is to the left through the double doors.  The whole affair is L-shaped with the entry way and the lounge where the 2 legs come together. Because it is a corner of the building every room has large windows that offer a fun view of the street and the people going by.   As well, they open to let the cool breeze blow through.  Different buildings of the University of Goteborg are all around us, dormitories as well as classrooms.

our lounge

our billiard room and computer room

our library

our kitchen

Robert in his office

I hope this gives you an idea of where we spend our days.  The Center is on a very busy street with trams, buses, cars, walkers and bikers going up and down from morning to night.  It is 2 blocks from The Avenue, a major street of  restaurants and shops and museums.  At one end of the Avenue is the museum of art with a large statue of Poseidon and at the other end is a large sailing ship that has been made into a very nice restaurant.  There are also parks and the library and the opera house and theaters scattered here and there along the Avenue.