Dearest Family and friends  –  once again it is Sunday evening here in Göteborg and time for the weekly update of life in the frozen north.  Last week was an event called Fokus in a community near Stockholm called Enköping (pronounced  n – shepping.  In Swedish köp means to buy so a town with ‘köping’ in its name is an old market town where people used to go to do all their shopping and trading.  There are quite a number of them throughout Sweden.)  Many of our YSA were going and the stake president called us a couple of weeks ago asking us to attend.  We left Tuesday morning about 9 because we wanted to drive in the daylight hours.  It was a good thing we did.  The trip up was through a constant snow storm.  Several times we got stuck in a long line of cars behind a snow plow.  Once even behind 2 snow plows side by side.  Part of the time the road was a freeway, part of the time just a 2 lane road with very little shoulder.  About 11 we stopped for a rest at a McDonalds.  Dad had a burger but I just had a small shake, thinking we would surely stop again for lunch.  Well, we didn’t and by the time we got to Fokus I was starving.  We got there about 3:30.  Our GPS  was very little help as it had us driving out in the middle of the forest and just kept repeating “please return to the marked route.”  The event was held at a school.  The YSA stayed at the school.  Luckily the local hotel was decent  –  not a mini Hilton but very nice.  It even had a very good buffet breakfast every morning.  We spent each day in the ‘outreach room’  –  a room with tables and games and movies and a piano and guitar.  The YSA would come in and chill and play games when they didn’t want to do whatever the conference activity was.  We were actually quite busy most of the time.  And we got to know several people from all over Sweden.  It snowed every day we were there, piling up about a foot of new snow in 3 days.  Each evening was a dance, with the Thursday night dance being a dressy affair with a really nice dinner beforehand.  All the adults who had been helping at the conference got to be the wait-staff for the dinner.  It was in the lunch room but the lights were dimmed and the tables had candles.  The dinner was very nice and the YSA looked great all fancied up.  We took many pictures but when we looked at them this afternoon, they were blurry and not very good.  I don’t know if it was the camera or the photographer (me).  We left Friday morning about 9 to come back to Göteborg, even though the conference wasn’t quite over.  They were serving a late brunch and having a testimony meeting.  We wanted to again travel in the day light hours.  The weather actually cleared for our drive home  –  the sky was beautifully blue all the way home.  Of course we were driving south – south west and the sun was right in our eyes for a good portion of the afternoon.  We used up all our window washing fluid about an hour before home and had to stop a couple of times to wash the window with snow from the side of the road.  But we got home about 3:30.  I don’t know why I was so tired from just driving all day but I sure was.  I was very glad that Saturday was our p-day.  It started raining Saturday morning – the temperature rose to 2+ — and it continued all the day.  In the afternoon we went grocery shopping and the roads were terrible – either icy or awash in water.  One of the roads just before the store was under about 6 to 8 inches of water for nearly 100 yards.  I thought we would stall in the middle of the lake, but we didn’t.  Today it is still cloudy and just as warm but the rain has stopped.  Warmer weather is predicted for next week so our 2 feet of snow will surely be melted and the roads will be even worse.  The rain has of course turned what snow was still on the roads into ice.  And our parking lot is once again a skating rink.  The parking lot at church was also an ice rink, with some cars unable to turn into their parking spots because they couldn’t get any traction.  ( the parking lot is a little hill  that you go up then turn into the spaces.  Even on warm, no ice days it is often difficult to turn into a parking spot without making a couple of tries.)

Robert and I were the preachers of righteousness at church today.  Our topic was ‘Be Thou an Example’ from 1 Timothy 4:18.  Because we don’t speak Swedish enough to give a talk, we had translators beside us.  They did a very good job but having a talk translated makes the talk twice as long as you figured it would be.  We had 20 minutes for the 2 of us.  My 7 minute talk took nearly 15 minutes to present, leaving Dad barely 5 minutes.  But the Bishop let him have his own 15 minutes.  It is a very strange feeling, having a translator.  You can’t ramble.  All your sentences have to be complete and understandable – the kind you could diagram, if needed. And the constant stopping and starting is disconcerting and often made me feel like I had lost the flow of thought.  But it seemed to work for both of us.  And it is over.  I really have to concentrate on learning Swedish.

The center opens again tomorrow for normal hours  –  2pm to 9:30.  While the break has been nice, it will be good to get back on a schedule again.   Our weather wasn’t good enough for any sightseeing or being out and about so we didn’t accomplish much while we were off.  But we have discovered, by visiting with some of the others at Fokus, that the Swedish church has kept, since the 1500’s, a complete record of all the people who live in Sweden.  The priests had to go to every home twice a year and record all births, deaths, moves, marriages, even literacy levels.  Those records are available to the public through the Family History Library at the ward building.  Our Family History person was not at church today,  but we will keep trying to catch her.  The records also include land ownership, sales and purchases.  The numbering system for the property here is the very same as it has always been, we are told.  So we should hopefully be able to find the birthplace and home for the original Oliver.  We are excited to get going on it.

We hope all is well with each of you.  That work and school and everything is going well.  We’d love to hear from you when you have a few minutes.  We are both doing well.  Remember how much we love you.  You are always in our thoughts and prayers.  Remember your name.  we love you,   Mom and Dad,  Grandpa and Grandma,  Elder and Sister Anderson

Dearest Family and friends –  here it is,  Sunday night once more and I have the opportunity to write to all of you while Dad naps.  He stayed up last night and watched the TCU football game (the Rose Bowl) until the final batted down pass and is very tired today.  Luckily, I resisted and went to bed about 10:45!!  (Although it was an afternoon game for you guys it was a late night game for us, starting at 11pm.)

Our weather has warmed and we have had 2 beautiful days of blue skies and sunshine, with the temperature around 0 C.  The snow is slowly melting, only to refreeze as soon as the sun sets.  Rather than melt and soak into the ground, which is also frozen and not thawing, it melts and just sits there only to become ice about 4pm.  In many places the ice is so thick it doesn’t melt at all.  One of the roads we have to take to get to the center has some ice mounds in it that could high center the car if Dad didn’t drive just right.  I knew it would warm up as soon as Dad bought me my Christmas/birthday present –  a new Swedish coat!  It is marvelous with a fur trimmed collar/hood, a thinsilate layer between the lining and the coat, made of wool and cashmere, and as long as 6 inches above my ankles.  I love it.  But it is definitely for the cold weather, and our weather has definitely warmed up.  But I wear it anyway!

Last week was a real lazy one for us.  We went to the center on Monday for family night but no one else came so we turned around and came home at 8pm.  Tuesday and Wednesday were laze around and do very little that didn’t absolutely have to be done days.  Thursday we had district meeting at the center at noon.  The missionaries had gone for kebab pizza at 11am and we met them at the center afterward.  The lesson was on goal setting and achieving.  The young elder who is our district leader is an amazing young man.  The message was very well organized and well delivered and everyone gained something from it –  even the 2 old missionaries on the end of the row!  After the meeting we went shopping and bought my coat then came home and had the last of the leftovers for dinner.  Friday we had to pick up the zone leaders and take them to the airport.  Pick up time: 7:15 am!  That is an excellent way to make sure we are up on time.  Later that day we decided to go grocery shopping.  The line of cars to our usual store was longer than ever so we decided to go to one that is fancier and more expensive, but less crowded.  We wandered around inside for about an hour, finally buying some window washing fluid for the car.  As we came out and were putting the cart away we heard some fireworks going off.  They appeared above the store so we decided to drive around and find them.  The neighboring store had several clerks in the parking lot shooting off the fireworks by the boxes full.  We watched for a few minutes then came home.  For about 4 days every evening we had been hearing fireworks but hadn’t been able to see them.  That evening (New Year’s Eve)  they started again about 8.  By 10 we could see them shooting into the air all around us.  Our bedroom window has about a 150 degree view and we counted 9 places where the fireworks were happening.  Our living room window has a 90 degree view (the building is an ‘L’ and we are at the bend.) and we could see 6 places where they were going off.  They are the kind that shoot into the air,  like Genola or Junction does.  They are available to be purchased at several of the stores we shop at as well as at kiosks, and apparently anyone can buy them.  I don’t know what the laws are, I only saw one sign and it said they could only be used December 24 to January 1.  The display New Year’s Eve was amazing.  It lasted over 2 hours!  Just when we thought that must be the end, they would start again.  They didn’t seem to be at parks, but came from housing areas.  It was a real thrill.  If that’s what happens on a ‘normal’ New Year’s Eve,  what did it look like at the turn of the century?

At church today a ward member (Sister Jeaneen Andersson) came up to me and said they had missed us New Year’s Eve.  I wondered what she was talking about and she said her husband Benny had invited us by talking to Dad.  Dad had told me the young ward mission leader had asked us, which Benny is NOT.  I spaced it until that evening and when we remembered we decided not to go (to the wrong house, I might add) because we didn’t know when or if we should take anything or what.  Sister Andersson said that in the ‘feed the missionaries’ notebook several of the families that invited the young missionaries had also written ‘äldste and syster Anderson, too’.  I said I don’t even look in that notebook because I thought it was just for the young ones.  So now I guess several families in the ward think we are anti-social.  We have to speak in church next week so I will use part of my allotted time to apologize to everyone for our ignorance of the local customs and our lack of knowledge of the  Swedish language.  That alone gets us into more trouble than anything.

This coming week we are driving to Enköping (pronounced: en-shepping) for a YSA conference called Fokus.  Hopefully we will be staying at the only hotel in Enköping.  If not we will be on an inflatable mattress  at Fokus with the students.  We could call ahead for reservations but don’t know where it is in relation to the conference, if it is decent, or anything.  Hopefully it is a mini-Hilton!  (keep your fingers crossed.)  We will be there from Tuesday to Friday, possibly Saturday depending on timing.  We also hope Google knows where Enköping is compared to where we are and can get us there! (keep your fingers crossed.)

We hope all is well with each of you.  A very happy birthday to all the January birthday people

We love you all and would enjoy hearing from you.  How did your Christmas go?  What fun things did you do while the kids were out of school?  Have any bears been to your house this winter?  (I just threw that in to see if you were paying any attention!)  any way,  we love you all.  May this coming week be great for each of you.  Remember your names and always remember that someone way over in Sweden is praying for you.    Love,  Mom and Dad,  Grandma and Grandpa,  Elder and Sister Anderson

Our past week has been not quite as hectic as the few before it.  On Monday we had FHE at the center.  There weren’t very many of us as the evening started but more came before it was over.  Of course we talked about Christmas and had cake for the fica.  Tuesday was our last meeting with the old institute presidency.  The meeting took about 6 minutes then we had a party  –  drank jul must (pronounced Yule moost)  and ate snacks and gave Oscar a few presents.  We gave him 2 ties and Shara gave him a pair of  bright yellow and blue socks with crowns all over them and an “I love Göteborg” pen.  He leaves Tuesday morning for Toronto.  We will get the new presidency the first of January.   Wednesday Oscar and Josephine came in.  Then Shara wandered in and in 30 minutes there were about 12 YSA in the center playing ping-pong and chatting.  Then they blindfolded Oscar and led him down the street to a farewell dinner.  Thursday was district meeting.  Of course the missionaries all went to Mossin’s for kebab pizza. Then came back to the center and we read and acted out the nativity.  Dad and I were Mary and Joseph with the others being angels, shepherds, wise men, and the evil king.  It was great!!  However, we had planned to have the missionaries at the center on Christmas day for games, etc.  but Dad got a phone call from a fellow in the stake asking if he could come by and get Dad’s key to the center because Erik had told him that the stake single adults (31 to 45) could use the center Christmas afternoon for a social.  After several phone calls and much thought we moved the missionaries to the church and gave him Dad’s keys.   Thursday late afternoon we shopped for Christmas eve and Christmas day.  We were at the first store and the machine wouldn’t accept any of our Visa cards!  We paid with all the cash we had then went to the bank hoping that machine would take our card – it wouldn’t!!  we came home and waited for about an hour for the bank in Spanish Fork to open and Dad got them on the phone.  They called Visa and Visa had put a fraud alert on our card because it had been used the day before in Sweden and they have been overwhelmed this season with card fraud.  After several explanations, Visa lifted the fraud alert and we were able to finish our shopping.  How blessed we are to have so many people watching over us, protecting our money and our good name.  we were so grateful that our bank account hadn’t been emptied by someone and left us stranded here in Sweden!  When we got back to the store the crowd was gone and shopping was easy.  Friday was wash day and we had to be to the Malm’s by 2pm.  We cooked a ham and made a green salad and I curled my hair and we left about 2:15.  Our GPS couldn’t find the satellites and we wandered around the back streets of our neighborhood for 30 minutes before it found them.  Come to discover we had turned right when we should have turned left.  We got to their house just in time to watch  “Kalle Anka”  at 3pm.  It is a show on TV that has been a tradition in Sweden for 50 years.  It is several shorts from Disney animated movies and cartoons featuring Donald Duck (aka Kalle Anka) and friends  with a voice over in Swedish.  It has been the same for all 50 years, but in the last about 5 years they have added 2 shorts from recent movies to update things.  It was so old it was funny.  Dinner was a small traditional julbord  –  meatballs, plain;  tiny hotdogs, plain; ham; boiled potatoes, plain; scalloped potatoes; salad; smoked salmon; hot rolls (should have been hard bread); and Brussel sprouts.  We drank jul must (Dad calls it mule juice)  or water with limes in.  the 4 year old daughter asked why there were  green vegetables in her water!!  After dinner we cleared up then Santa came.  He isn’t our red clothed Santa  —  he wears gray pants and a kind of maroon coat.  He knocks at the door and asks  “are there any good children living here?”  everyone claps and shouts  yes!  yes!  And he comes in with bags of gifts for the family.  The gifts are opened as they are passed out,  he is offered a snack and a nice drink  and he leaves amid more clapping and shouted thank you’s.  he is usually a family friend or even the dad of the family and has been given the gifts before hand by the mom.  Here his official name is Tom Tim.  Then we served the desserts and had a white elephant gift exchange and drove home 2 sets of missionaries and finally got home about 9:45.  Dad had chosen little flashlights for our white elephant gifts.  The 4 year old daughter (Sofia)  picked one and started to cry every time someone looked like they wanted to trade with her!  She would say No!  I need it!  And hide it under her night gown.  Luckily there was another and it changed hands several times before the game was over!

Saturday started about 11:30 and we got home about 7  after food and games and all the missionaries calling home.  We think they enjoyed themselves.  Sunday we drove 20 kilometers to Kungsbacka and attended church there then went home with the retiring institute director and his wife for dinner.  We ate Reindeer!!  In a casserole with bananas.  It was really good.  We got home about 7 and have just been waiting for it to get late enough to go to bed.  We are exhausted!!!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.   We love you.     Mom and Dad,    Grandma and Grandpa,    Elder and Sister Anderson

INFORMATION ON FAITH

Hebrews 11; James 1:5–6; 2:14–26; Ether 12:4–27; Moroni 7:20–48; D&C 63:7–11; 90:24

The Apostle Paul taught that “faith is the substance [assurance] of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Alma made a similar statement: “If ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true” (Alma 32:21). Faith is a principle of action and power. Whenever we work toward a worthy goal, we exercise faith. We show our hope for something that we cannot yet see.

Excerpts from Lectures on Faith

1. NOW faith is the substance [assurance] of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

2. For by it the elders obtained a good report.

3. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

From this we learn that faith is the assurance which men have of the existence of things which they have not seen, and the principle of action in all intelligent beings.

If men were duly to consider themselves, and turn their thoughts and reflections to the operations of their own minds, they would readily discover that it is faith, and faith only, which is the moving cause of all action in them; that without it both mind and body would be in a state of inactivity, and all their exertions would cease, both physical and mental.

But faith is not only the principle of action, but of power also, in all intelligent beings, whether in heaven or on earth. Thus says the author of the epistle to the Hebrews (11:3): “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”

Who cannot see, that if God framed the worlds by faith, that it is by faith that he exercises power over them, and that faith is the principle of power? And if the principle of power, it must be so in man as well as in the Deity? This is the testimony of all the sacred writers, and the lesson which they have been endeavouring to teach to man.

24. Faith, then, is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion, and authority over all things; by it they exist, by it they are upheld, by it they are changed, or by it they remain, agreeable to the will of God. Without it there is no power, and without power there could be no creation nor existence!

3:13. First, that he was God before the world was created, and the same God that he was after it was created.

Secondly, that he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in goodness, and that he was so from everlasting, and will be to everlasting. 3:15.

Thirdly, that he changes not, neither is there variableness with him; but that he is the same from everlasting to everlasting, being the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever; and that his course is one eternal round, without variation. 3:16.

Fourthly, that he is a God of truth and cannot lie. 17.

Fifthly, that he is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that fears God and works righteousness is accepted of him. 3:18.

Sixthly, that he is love.

Faith yields priesthood power

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the priesthood’s dynamic power source. By failing to put faith first in our callings, we reduce the priesthood’s light and power. Other obstacles also block its beneficial rays.

Oliver Cowdery thought he could translate under the flickering light of a candle. The Lord instructed him, “Remember that without faith you can do nothing; therefore ask in faith.” (D&C 8:10.)

Past priesthood leaders such as Peter, Paul, Joseph, and Brigham accomplished amazing results in their callings. How? They all did it with faith. They had no computers or fax machines. Their power depended on faith. Jesus often answered pleas for his miraculous intervention, “According to your faith be it unto you.” (See Matt. 9:29; Matt 15:28.)

Rather than relying on faith, we are tempted to stay with the comfortable and tangible tools of our temporal lives to accomplish priesthood callings. The Church has also provided some tools. These tools are useful. They have helped us achieve success, power, and control over our time. They include our natural intelligence; education and training; preparation, with manuals, handbooks, agendas, and budgets.

We operate with diligent, purposeful effort using management concepts and systems we have learned. I wouldn’t say a word against these tools. They serve us well. Often they have come themselves through a process of faith and inspiration, trial and error, and intelligent effort. After all, the Lord said, “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing.” (D&C 88:119.)

Add faith, however, and priesthood service becomes magnificent. Two candles suddenly burst into four hundred watts of light. More to the point, we tap into the Lord’s power source, and our actions move in rhythm with His. The Lord compensates for our deficiencies. Vast, unseen reservoirs of dynamic power supply our needs.     [John K. Carmack, “Faith Yields Priesthood Power,” Ensign, May 1993, 41]

Ask in Faith

“My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join” (Joseph Smith—History 1:10, 18).

Joseph’s questions focused not just on what he needed to know but also on what was to be done! His prayer was not simply, “Which church is right?” His question was, “Which church should I join?” Joseph went to the grove to ask in faith, and he was determined to act.

True faith is focused in and on the Lord Jesus Christ and always leads to righteous action. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “faith [is] the first principle in revealed religion, and the foundation of all righteousness” and that it is also “the principle of action in all intelligent beings” (Lectures on Faith [1985], 1). Action alone is not faith in the Savior, but acting in accordance with correct principles is a central component of faith. Thus, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20).

The Prophet Joseph further explained that “faith is not only the principle of action, but of power also, in all intelligent beings, whether in heaven or on earth” (Lectures on Faith, 3). Thus, faith in Christ leads to righteous action, which increases our spiritual capacity and power. Understanding that faith is a principle of action and of power inspires us to exercise our moral agency in compliance with gospel truth, invites the redeeming and strengthening powers of the Savior’s Atonement into our lives, and enlarges the power within us whereby we are agents unto ourselves (see D&C 58:28).

I long have been impressed with the truth that meaningful prayer requires both holy communication and consecrated work. Blessings require some effort on our part before we can obtain them, and prayer, as “a form of work, … is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings” (Bible Dictionary, “Prayer,” 753). We press forward and persevere in the consecrated work of prayer, after we say “amen,” by acting upon the things we have expressed to Heavenly Father.

“Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other” (Bible Dictionary, “Prayer,” 752–53). Humble, earnest, and persistent prayer enables us to recognize and align ourselves with the will of our Heavenly Father. And in this the Savior provided the perfect example as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. … And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly” (Luke 22:42, 44). [David A. Bednar, “Ask in Faith,” Ensign, May 2008, 94–9]

Faith is always a gift of God to man, which is obtained by obedience, as all other blessings are. The man or woman in this Church who desires to enrich his or her faith to the highest possible degree will desire to observe every rite and ordinance in the Church in conformity to the law of obedience to the will of God. In these things, and through them, man gains a more perfect knowledge of God’s purposes in the world. An enriched faith means an enlarged power, and though man may not have in this life an occasion to exercise all the powers that come to him through the enrichment of his faith, those powers may be exercised in their fulness in eternity, if not in time. [Gospel Doctrine, 444–45]

Faith is always a gift of God to man, which is obtained by obedience, as all other blessings are. The man or woman in this Church who desires to enrich his or her faith to the highest possible degree will desire to observe every rite and ordinance in the Church in conformity to the law of obedience to the will of God. In these things, and through them, man gains a more perfect knowledge of God’s purposes in the world. An enriched faith means an enlarged power, and though man may not have in this life an occasion to exercise all the powers that come to him through the enrichment of his faith, those powers may be exercised in their fulness in eternity, if not in time. [Gospel Doctrine, 444–45]

Faith exists when absolute confidence in that which we cannot see combines with action that is in absolute conformity to the will of our Heavenly Father. Without all three—first, absolute confidence; second, action; and third, absolute conformity—without these three all we have is a counterfeit, a weak and watered-down faith. Let me discuss each of these three imperatives of faith.

Often what passes for faith in this world is little more than gullibility. It is distressing to see how eager some people are to embrace fads and theories while rejecting or giving less credence and attention to the everlasting principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is distressing how eagerly some rush into foolish or unethical behavior, believing that God will somehow deliver them from the inevitable tragic consequences of their actions. They even go so far as to ask for the blessings of heaven, knowing in their hearts that what they do is contrary to the will of our Father in Heaven.                                                                                                                                                    Faith is not so much something we believe; faith is something we live.                                                                                                                         [Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Shall He Find Faith on the Earth?,” Ensign, Nov 2002, 82]

Faith does not exist by itself. Faith requires an object. It must be faith in something or someone.  In that respect, faith is like love. Love cannot exist without an object.

[Dallin H. Oaks, “‘Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ’,” Ensign, May 1994, 98]

On Monday, July 26, about half of the Young Single Adults in the Goteborg Stake boarded a bus for the first leg of a trip that would eventually land us in Lohra, Finland, for a week of fun and friendship.  The bus held 55 people and with Robert and I and another couple from our ward it was full to capacity.  The trip started for us on the second day of our time here in Goteborg.  We attended a meeting called ‘Institute Advisory Council’ after a very long day of Zone Conference.  We were sitting trying to get our bearings when something called Festi-Nord was mentioned.  The Stake President said, “And of course the Andersons will go.”  Our Mission President cleared his throat and said, “Well…. “   As they discussed the finer points of the arrangement, we sat wondering what in the world is Festi-Nord?   We finally heard the Mission President say, “It will take a few days to receive permission from the area authority.  I’ll have to get back with you.”  The youth were ecstatic that we were going (maybe) and proceeded to tell us how fabulous the trip would be and how fantastic Festi-Nord is and we’d just love it.  4 days later we got a call from Stockholm: we were going to Finland.   No one seemed to know exactly what we needed to take or what our responsibilities would be, but they were all certain we’d just love it.  On Thursday, July 22, we finally found out there is a Festi-Nord web site and we looked at it.  We needed our own mattress and sleeping bags, pillows and towels, soap and clothes.  We made a few phone calls and that was right, but we’d have our own room, not to worry.  Saturday was preparation day so we spent the whole day running from one store to another looking for a decent blow up mattress (preferably 2 twins) and sleeping bags.  We only knew where these stores were thanks to several of the young adults at the center writing the names on a paper and showing us on our map where to drive to find them.  By Saturday night we had purchased all we thought we needed (Don’t even ask the total price!) and were exhausted.  We found our two biggest suitcases and stuffed everything in and figured we were ready.   The bus left at 8am Monday and we were on board!

The young adults were on top of the clouds as we traveled to Stockholm (7 hours) and were dropped off at the wharf were the ferries loaded for the crossing of the Baltic.  Tracy, one of the YSA in charge of us all, went somewhere and got everyone a boarding pass with the key to their room.  We walked up the gang plank with about 1000 other people and were on our way to Finland! We  found our stateroom, marveled at how small it was (but delighted in the large window that looked out onto the sea), and decided to walk around and check out the ship.  At 5pm the ferry set sail.  3 hours later we were finally in the Baltic!  The east side of Stockholm is a maze of islands, large and small, that the ship maneuvered through going at a snail’s pace.  As I looked at a map of the area I realized we were actually going north and just a little east.  The Swedes call this the archipelago. They are very proud of it:  many of the islands are inhabited (of course the only way on and off is by boat), they are all covered with trees and huge rocks.  The homes are mostly summer homes.  We even saw a few smaller islands with only one house on them.  Imagine owning your own island!  At times during the trip 3 other ferries were visible in front of us and 1 or 2 behind us.  Just as the sun was setting we passed the last island and were finally in the open sea.

After eating some supper and wandering through the duty-free shop (and buying some Panda licorice and some mini Bounty bars!) we retired to bed.  The ship had picked up speed and there was nothing to see but miles of empty sea in every direction.  I think that several of the YSA never went to bed and several others slept in the hall or on deck.  Sometime in the night the ship stopped at a large island just off the west coast of Finland for about 15 minutes.  At 9:50am we were docked in Helsinki and departing (or deshipping or unboarding or whatever getting off a boat is called.)  We boarded another bus and drove north and east out of Helsinki to our destination — Lohra, Finland.  Helsinki was a colorless, drab place (at least what we saw of it) looking very “cold-war”ish.  In fact one of the large buildings we passed as we were leaving the dock area had a sickle and crescent moon carved into its outer facade.  This is as close as I’ve ever been to the old USSR and it was a little unnerving.  Finland itself was beautiful with trees and greenery and rolling hills.  The town where Festi-Nord was held was right beside a huge lake surrounded by trees and cottages — a real resort community, if there is such a thing 400k south of the arctic circle!

We had a bit of a struggle finding a place for us to sleep — we had been told we would have our own room (as had 3 other couples) but the organizers thought all couples should split up and stay with their YSA’s.  We finally located a room (the only room) in the school that wasn’t being used for anything and all 8 of us put our blow-up mattresses in it and camped for a week.  The first afternoon was the beginning rounds of the soccer tournament.  Several of the chaperons (only for want of an actual term that defined our status) walked into town for some lunch.  We decided on a place (because it was fairly cool and had a restroom) and tried to order.  The man behind the counter spoke only Finnish and we spoke only Swedish, Danish, or English.  We were getting no place when another customer noticed our problem and came to our rescue.  It still wasn’t perfect because as couples we ordered 1 meal but the fellow didn’t quite get it and brought us both the same thing.  We had to leave a good portion of a wonderful lunch because it was too much.  In spite of the many seeming troubles we had a great time at Festi-Nord getting to know the young adults and enjoying the other missionary couples and the town of Lohra.

These are the two schools that were used as boys’ dorm and girls’ dorm for the week.  We stayed in the large white one, the girls’ dorm.  All the meals were served here.  The morning institute class was here; the evening dances were here; most of the activities were here.

A run down of what went on:  Every night a dance; every morning at 8 was institute taught by a brother who was an institute teacher by trade, retired, had been mission president in Finland, was now on a mission to the Finnish temple;  Tuesday was arrive , get settled, and have the first several rounds of the soccer tournament;  Wednesday was the Amazing Festi-Nord Race – all the YSA were divided into 20 teams, they had to follow a map all down beside the lake and finish 15 amazing tasks (it took most of the day and was really fun but everyone including the adult helpers were exhausted when it was over.);  Thursday was filled with spiritual classes capped in the afternoon by 3 amazingly awesome testimony meetings (divided up by age groups);  Friday morning was a Mormon Helping Hands service project all throughout the town followed by an afternoon of secular classes (massage, ‘meet the parents’, and my personal favorite ‘why God wants you on Face Book’); Saturday was the finals of the soccer tournament (I am pleased to report that Sweden won!!) and heading home totally tired and filled to capacity with wonderful memories.  The following pictures are just a potpourri of what went on.

We can’t believe we’ve been to Finland, especially for such a wonderful experience.  These youth are amazing.  They love the chance to meet all together — there are so few of them in any one place.  They came from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland.  There were 500 of them.  And they were well behaved, respectful, kind to everyone, and having a wonderful time.  Next year Festi-Nord is in Sweden, near Stockholm and everyone questioned said they hoped there would be an activity at the temple (not more dances, more fun, but a temple trip!).  We love our mission!!!

We have been in Goteborg (pronounced ‘Yoot-a-bory’) here on the west coast of Sweden for a month now.  It is a beautiful city and a beautiful country.  Many things stand out in my mind that I especially like.

Many people of all ages walk and ride bikes — not for exercise but to get from place to place.  From the windows of the Center we can watch them go down the Vasagatan — the road in front of the center.  In the middle of the road is a special lane for walkers and bike riders.  It is wider than either of the other two lanes — which are shared by buses, trams and cars! — and is complete with lines and arrows for organized travel.  We have seen little people who still have the training wheels on their bikes,  college-age youth who zoom by on racing type bikes, workers who are wearing suits and ties, women in skirts (very short), and gray haired people slowly pedaling who knows where.  Walkers include families, youth on their way to the park, lovers on their way to one of the many night clubs in the area, shoppers with several bags of goodies, and grandparents trying to keep up with their grandchildren.  The walking and biking lanes are everywhere.  There is even one that goes from out by our apartment into town.  Many of the YSA ride in to the activities and to work.

Trams and buses go everywhere at all times and are usually filled to capacity, with many riders standing in the aisles.  the YSA say that if you miss your tram another will be by in 10 minutes.  It is very difficult to get a drivers license in Sweden and many of the youth do not have one.  Licenses are expensive and you have to be at least  18 to get one.  The trams wait for no one and the buses have special lanes on the larger roads.  We have both a tram stop and a bus stop near our apartment and there are always people waiting at both.  When you ask someone how to get someplace they answer “take sparvagn __ and get off at ______.”  (pronounced ‘sporvahn’ and meaning tram)

The place is GREEN.  Trees grow everywhere and the lawns are always green and every balcony on every apartments has flower pots full of blooming flowers (except ours!).  Wild flowers grow beside the roads.  The bushes grow like weeds.  When they mow they go around any flower growing in the lawn (even dandelions).  I have been told that it is against the law to water the lawn — and I’ve never seen a sprinkler.  It’s OK to water the flowers but not the bushes.

This is the cleanest big city I’ve ever seen.  Rarely have I seen a piece of litter.  Yards are free of clutter and full of bushes and flowers.  Garbage cans are inside little buildings or special rooms of big buildings.  There are even several construction sites in our neighborhood that are totally picked up all the time.  There are small litter bins on the roads that every one uses as they walk by.

Several things I’m not quite sure about:

Walkers and bikers are everywhere — in the road, beside the road.  You never know when one will decide to leave the sidewalk and cross the street.  Driving is a constant worry for bikers and walkers.

Grocery stores do not give you a bag to carry away your purchases.  You either have to bring several from home or pay for what you need.

The place is GREEN.  Because every other day it rains.  Not a quick cloud up and dump then go away rain but a be cloudy all day and alternately drizzle, pour buckets, drizzle, pour buckets all day or all night.  Then on the not rainy days it is hot with 98% humidity!

The round-abouts are huge and the cars whiz around them like race cars.  If you aren’t in the correct lane you go around again until you can work your way into the correct lane.  Dad and I sing “one more time around Picadilly circus”  quite often!

I’m sure as we live here longer we will find other things we love about the place, and I hope some of the things I’m not sure about will become things I like.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Our new little home is great!  It’s on the third floor of a very nice apartment building at the end of the street.  There is a code that must be entered before the front door will open.  Then its up three flights of stairs to our own front door.  The key is a regular castle key.  Once inside the apartment is functional and nice:  an entry, a bathroom to the left, a living room straight ahead, a bedroom ahead and a little to the right, and a kitchen to the right.  The living room has a nice little balcony where we can sit and enjoy the sun and the fresh air.  There is also a planter to hang on the railing, but I have found no plants to put in it.  (I will keep looking!)  The floors are all bare, in the typically Swedish fashion — either oak flooring or tile with area rugs scattered here and there.  All the rooms have big windows that open to the fresh air (no screens, but suprizingly few flies.)  There is no laundry room.  The bathroom is strange.  There is no shower stall or tub.  The far end of the room is cordoned off with the shower curtain and there is a drain in the floor about as big as a saucer.  Amazingly, the water doesn’t splash all over at all — it flows down the drain and stays behind the curtain. It took a lot of getting used to!

All the apartments in our part of the building share one laundry that is in the basement.  A special key gets us through all the doors to the laundry room.

There is a board on the wall beside the door where one signs up for a three hour block in which to do the washing.  There are two washers and two driers, one normal and one that is a big closet with bars where you hang things that you don’t want to tumble dry.  None of the appliances requires any money.  Next door to the laundry room is a “mangling room.”  I didn’t recognize any of the machines in this room.  When questioning some of the young adults here at the center about a “mangling room”  they assured me it was for ironing clothes.  It contains a huge thing with rollers that apparently rolls items like table clothes and pillow cases and trousers to stretch and smooth them.  When I explained what mangling means in English, they understood my confusion.

We already consider Kondesorgatan 23, apt. 3021 as home and love to get there at the end of the day.

Around us are many more apartment buildings.  Each morning we go for a walk passed them all.  The outsides are different colors but they are all the same height and about the same style.  There could be as many as 2000 apartments in them!  The walk takes us about 20 minutes so it must be about 1 mile.  The Swedish people love nature and each building has flowers and grass and a minimum of pavement.  (When they mow the grass, they do not mow anyplace where flowers are growing in the lawn — even if the flowers are dandelions!)  And any rocks that are naturally in the landscape (we are talking big rocks.  Apparently the whole country is a giant rock island with soil on top.) are just left there.  One building that we pass each morning has imported a few fake rocks that are molded to look like sleeping ducks!  They are about 4 feet long and 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall and very interesting.

Our place is very conveniently located.  The access to the road we take to the center is just at the end of our complex and there is a large mall and grocery store just a kilometer in the other direction.  We can finally get to either place (center or stores) without our liahona.  Our community is actually called Vastra Frolunda, with two dots above the first a.  (West Frolunda)  But Goteborg is very much like Salt Lake with all the little communities around it having their own names but still being referred to as Salt Lake.

Our stake is probably as big as Utah County, with 7 wards and 2 branches.  Our ward building isn’t far from our apartment.  It takes about 5 minutes driving through residential streets that are windy and just about one car wide.  Everyone is amazed that little Genola with 1100 residents has 3 wards.  Well over 1,000,000 people live in the Goteborg stake.

Hope this gives you a small picture of where we live and what this place is like.  Next time — the center!

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These are a couple of pictures of our apartment complex and our kitchen.  I just uploaded a couple this time.