There and Back Again

This week seemed like a repetitive week, honestly. I had deja vu basically the entire week. But it was great! It was the last week of this transfer. I can barely believe that it's already over though. The timing of a mission still baffles me. I feel like I just got off the plane and yet I also feel like I've always lived in Skive, it's quite strange.

Monday was a pretty relaxed P-day for us. We didn't really want to do much, so we didn't. We got groceries, emailed, and then just kind of relaxed. Ældste Saviano got a free suit from the Korsgaards, so that was exciting. (Ragnhed and Verner Korsgaard are members who live about a half hour outside of Skive in Røsley) Then we visited some genbrus (a thrift shop, literally translates to "time-use" so like 'another use' basically) and we got some roller blades and little Danish Bibles. We also had a meeting with Rune again. He's such an awesome guy, and we accidentally let a stray cat into his apartment. It was hilarious though. He was super relaxed about it and basically watched the cat run in and said "That is not my cat..." Then we proceeded to have a lesson that really just changed our purpose of meeting with him from getting him to church towards getting him to the temple. He does want to receive the blessings of the temple, he just needs to want them enough in order to start making the changes in his life. He committed to call about a ride to church, which annoyingly fell through because the carpool was coming several hours earlier to Skive for some meetings. So that's just a weird problem we have to work out soon. We don't want people not coming to church simply because they can't drive there themselves.

Tuesday was an awesome day! We went finding and set an appointment with a previous investigator, then we had kind of a weirdly long and unproductive visit with Poul (who we contacted into a while ago, who is also a previous investigator). Then we had an awesome lesson with Helle!! She's just incredibly sensitive to the Spirit!! We talked to her about whether she wanted to get baptized and what that meant to her. She knows that baptism is a big step and doesn't want to overlook it by focusing on the Gift of the Holy Ghost. But we asked her to make a goal for baptism and she chose December 2nd! I was so excited for her!! It will be quite hard, but she can make it if she's willing to put in the work and trust in God. After that lesson, we ate with Birgit again. She's a way fun lady. We have quite the interesting conversations with her. We found out that she really likes motorcycles, which was quite unexpected.

Wednesday was a very slow day. We had our coordination meeting with Willy and then attempted stop by's and such with no avail the rest of the day. It was very hard for me. I just didn't feel like we were getting anything done that we were supposed to.

Thursday was much better though. We had a lesson with Karsten where we watched some of the 12 Step to Recovery videos from the church. He really like those and we heard some of the goals that he has, which are awesome! He really wants to change his life around, he just doesn't know how he can do that. (The Gospel does that all the time for people!) Then we were at the Family History Center where a man named Per came in. He asked for some technical help which I attempted to explain in Danish. Then we talked with him about a bunch of random things in English because he was excited to use it. He had quite a large knowledge about the music school in Skive, random Viking tidbits, and knows several languages! It was quite interesting.

Friday was our district meeting in Herning where all of us said goodbye to one another. It was actually quite sad. It was really good though! We discussed what we learned from Elder Sabin and how we can apply that. We also attempted to replace a chandelier for Helle, which had to be continued the next day because of quite a few complications. That evening, Ældste Saviano and I sat on our couches with tons of candles lit around us. We had quite the hyggeligt transfer review and basically just bonded. I loved it. We weren't sure what transfer calls the next morning would mean for us, but we enjoyed the time together.

Saturday was insane, mostly emotionally. I had started to think that Ældste Saviano and I would stay put, but I also prepared myself for leaving. And then neither happened. President called us and first told me that I was staying in Skive, but this time I would have Ældste Haruch as my companion. I was very surprised at that! Ældste Saviano would then be moved down to Kolding to be a Zone Leader in Southern Jylland! It was a shock to us both. He's definitely capable and willing and he'll do a wonderful job though, so I'm excited for him! Also that evening, Ældste Saviano played the guitar while we sang some hymns for the Korsgaards. They were kind enough to invite us over to eat, so it was great!

Sunday was Ældste Saviano's second mission farewell. He gave a talk, played a music number, and everyone in the ward said goodbye. We barely fit in time for him to pack before we left again. Minna was the first person we visited, where we also played and sang with her. She loved it, and I think was really good for her. Then we had an eating appointment with Carl and Helle. It was Ældste Saviano's last eating appointment in Skive, so Carl make some flaeskesteg (even though he always makes flaeskesteg). It was delicious! Along with the great food, we had an awesome discussion with Helle!! She asked us quite a few questions and we got ideas from Carl about how to help her quite drinking coffee. She then asked for a Priesthood blessing, and specifically if I would say it. I, to be short, was terrified. I was praying the rest of the evening that I would be able to hear what the Spirit told me to say. Then after cleaning up the dishes, we gave her a blessing. I don't remember too much, but I do know that I said things that I would have never known she needed to hear. I also had no problem with my Danish as I was giving her that blessing. It was a huge testimony to me that God really does work through his servants. There was no way that I could have helped her in a way that Heavenly Father knows she needs and how she needs to hear it. (That's my spiritual thought for the week) Ældste Saviano and I then slept out on our splits mats surrounded by candles for his last night in Skive. It was pretty great, I must say. 

Then today I spent most of the day in Aarhus after sending off Ældste Saviano and waiting for Ældste Haruch. Now we're just barely getting time to email and then we'll have to hit the sack. It was a pretty fun day with Ældste Bailey and the Zone Leaders though. (Ældste Bailey was also waiting for a new companion in Aarhus.) So that's why my title is There and Back Again. I've had such random days in Aarhus lately. I feel like I've been there quite a bit, and yet I always come back to Skive.

That was my crazy week though! Thanks for all of the emails and support! 

--

Ældste Bryant Jepsen

-Our district (the well defining photo)
-Top- Æ Jamison, Æ Saviano, Søsters Dietch, Esplin, Thorpe, Jex, and Æ og Søs. Forslund Bottom- Æ Schaffer, Æ Jepsen, Æ Throckmorton, Æ Bailey (fun fact, Søster Jex and Thorpe are wearing Ældste Saviano and my scarves! They wanted to match within the sisters)
-Ældste Saviano and his roller blades. We were going to the church for Sprog (language) Study
-Ældste Saviano's train ride from Skive 
-Day of transfers in Aarhus 
-Ældste Haruch! (new comp, pronounced "Ha roosh")