Cold and happy January

I hope this finds all of you well and happy.  January is almost over here in the frozen north.   We have now been in Sweden for 7 months and have seen abnormally warm temperatures in August and abnormally cold temperatures in December.  Our layers of ice and snow are beginning to melt.  Some days the temperature reaches +4, which really helps the melting along.  While other days the temperature remains in the -2 to -5 range all day.  (+4 is about 38F to 40F and -5 is about +20F)  there are still spots that are extremely slick while in other spots we have grass showing.  I saw a swan a couple of weeks ago in the local canal and was told it was a sign of spring.  Spring will be here in about 6 months!!  The kids at the center are hoping for an early spring, about May.   We have also enjoyed (??) some fog recently, the first of the winter.  As close as we are to the sea I thought fog would be a regular part of nearly every day, but it isn’t.

The last week or so have been just normal for us:  at the center every day, doing the normal things.  Last Friday’s chill (Jan. 21) was a really fun ice cream party.  Monday’s family night was well attended and the lesson was interesting, about what makes something precious.  As soon as the word was said I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about “the Ring.”  Gollum, from whom Bilbo Baggins won the ring in the riddles contest, called the ring ‘my precious’ and even Baggins slipped once or twice and called it that.  Anyway, back to FHE, the precious thing the lesson was about was, of course, the gospel  –  not a fantastically powerful ring that can make you invisible.  (see 1Nephi 19:7)   Tuesday was institute and dad had to teach the lesson again, but this time he was asked about 7am by the instructor who was sick.  Wednesday was also institute and we had cake and ice cream for the treat.  Both Thursday and Friday were very slow.  We closed early both days.  Friday was chill. It was sports night at the ward building.  Just as we got there, 5 of the YSA were leaving the building on their way to the hospital.  Michael Baker had crashed into the gym wall (which is brick) and had split his head open.  The Sisters (what everyone calls the sister missionaries)  had cleaned up the blood, which apparently was everywhere.  We shooed everyone out of the building and locked up.  We were no sooner in the door at home than the Sisters called and said someone was knocking on their door and trying to get in.  just as Dad was saying ‘I’ll be right over’ they said ‘oh!’ and ‘it’s a letter!’  The boy that lives under them was bringing them a letter that had been delivered to him by mistake.  When they wouldn’t answer the door, he dropped it in their mail slot and left.  William, the under floor neighbor, asked us in church today if we knew why the sisters wouldn’t answer their door!  I don’t think that they realize it was only William, even now.  Back to Michael – he required 3 stitches and was woozy but was back at the church Saturday for the weekly Innebunde game for investigators.  (It’s a thing the missionaries have organized to get members and investigators together in a comfortable setting so when the investigators are taught the missionaries can have a member who is known by the investigator at the meeting.)  We did our weekly shopping trip Friday before the sport night because Saturday we drove 315 Kilometers to Jonköpping (pronounced: yawn-shepping)  to deliver a vacuum to the missionary couple who moved in to the center there in January.  2 hours to get there, a visit of 2 hours, and 2 hours to get home.  Part of the way is freeway with a speed limit of 110K (about 65mph) the rest is 2 lane road with a limit of 80K (about 50mph).  The highest speed limit I have seen here in Sweden is 120K, or about 70mph,  and all the 2 lane roads have speed cameras on them.  You get about a 20 yard warning that there is a camera ahead.  The worst part of the cameras for us is the picture of the license plate shows that the car is owned by the church so the ticket goes to Salt Lake City, where they determine it is a car from the Swedish Mission and send it to the Mission President.  The office couple determine who the car is being driven by and send them the ticket.  It can take months!  When the ticket finally comes you say,  ‘but I haven’t been there in months! How could I have a ticket?’   One of the senior couples was home before their ticket came!  I guess we haven’t been here long enough to know if we have a ticket or not!  Another funny thing about the cameras is that the government got all these cameras installed then determined that the film was horribly expensive and there wasn’t enough money in the budget for film for all the cameras.  So, many of the cameras have no film in them and couldn’t issue a ticket if they wanted.  But drivers never know which ones have film and which ones don’t!!  it’s a game of Russian roulette.

As we inspected the missionary apartments last quarter we gathered up all the ‘extra’ stuff that was cluttering their places.  It now clutters our place!  One of the things we collected was a large sack full of old Liahonas and Ensigns.  I have been reading through them before I throw them away and have found some very interesting articles.  One of them is an article on Mr. Dahlquist’s family that I thought you might be interested in.  it was in the September 2002 Ensign and is titled “In a Quiet House.”      I think you could look it up on the church’s web site but the archived articles do not include the photos, and the pictures are an integral part of the story.  We have scanned it and could send it to anyone who may not have access to the actual magazine.  Email:  Robert@oranderson.com

Our elders who were shipped to the north of the mission 3 weeks ago have been replaced by a set of sisters.  The missionary apartment for the elders is big enough for 4 sets of elders and has 1.  The sisters’ apartment is big enough for 1 person and now has 4!  We met the new set at church and they are wonderful.  One is Sister Maxwell from North Carolina and the other is a part time missionary from Umeå (pronounced:  oo-me-o) who will be here for 2 months.  Several members asked me why we have sisters instead of elders.  I have no clue.  I’m just  glad that the Lord is running the mission, not me.

We tried for several days to get help in the Family History Center at the ward, but the room was being used or the person was sick, or they didn’t have the key.  Finally we got in and got some help last Tuesday.  We found several original certificates for Oliver and his family.  And we have determined where the family farm was originally located – about a 15 minute drive from us!  It’s in a little town called Larum  (pronounced:  lair-room, accent on the last syllable).  We hope to visit the land registry office and get a map then drive up there on a nice day and take some pictures.  We’ll keep you posted on what else we can find in the Swedish Church archives.

We were invited for a middag on Friday with the Sisters.  Middag (pronounced:  mead-dog)  is the word for dinner.  It’s what the missionaries call an invitation to have dinner with a member family.  This member is a single man who joined the church many years ago when he was 12.  This time he invited us and we all went to Pizza Hut!  It was only about 4 blocks from the center and was a delightful taste of home.  Thick, soft crust pizza with green salad on a buffet.  I ate 3 pieces and so did Dad!  It was heaven compared to the kebab pizza that the missionaries like to eat every week after district meeting.  Now we have two choices when we crave a taste of home that I don’t have to cook  –  a MacDonald’s burger or Pizza Hut.

Thank you very much for your love and friendship.  We hope you remember how much we love you and that you are always in our thoughts and prayers.  We hope you have a wonderful week, filled with happiness and success.