On Monday, we had our District
Activity! It was thrown together last minute but it actually turned out to be pretty
fun! We all met at the church in Fredericia and cooked a huge breakfast! We ate
at 3, so it wasn't actually breakfast but basically counted for all three
meals! The Zone Leaders had to leave early to get to an eating appointment,
sadly. Then the Vejle Sisters and us ran to the train station to catch the
trains! But they drove away as we were pressing the Open Door buttons!
Blessings! The Zone Leaders called right after we missed it and said we were
supposed to come to the appointment as well! So we switched trains and went to
eat with Christian and Nanna. Christian is the Elders Quorum president. He's a
really relaxed and funny guy. They have three kids (boy-5, two girls- 3,1) who
took three of us captive on the stairs while Ældste Smith talked with Christian
about possible careers. It was hilarious! We had a really fun time!
Tuesday was less like prison. We had
a lesson with Rosa, so Niels (the High Priest Group Leader) picked us up. Niels
is a pretty young High Priest and he's really tight with the missionaries. He
served his mission in SLC so he jokes with us all the time. Rosa is an
Icelandic lady, about 24 years old. She's super sweet and made us all pancakes!
So we ate pancakes with her and then taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She was
struggling with a personal relationship with Christ, so we testified of the
Spirit's power to testify of Christ! It was an amazing experience! The Spirit
really testified of what we were saying to her and we could all feel it! After
that lesson, we had three others planned. Sadly, the first one cancelled. Then
the second lesson was burned while we waited at the library for her. And the
third was with Maria, and she forgot and didn't contact us! It was pretty
rough. But we got to see the First Presidency broadcast, so that was cool!
Wednesday was Trio Day #1. Ældste
Weaver and I visited a Less Active named Rigmor and she was really happy to
talk to us. She was struggling with smoking even after she was baptized but
hasn't smoked since October! After that visit, the Zone Leaders came home from
splits for a couple hours. Ældste Smith was headed off to his My Plan meeting
soon, so Ældste Saviano joined our companionship. We tried some knocking, but
it was a little awkward with three people. So we decided to try the other
extreme. We all took separate levels of an apartment stairwell and knocked the
doors by ourselves. Ældste Saviano was done really fast because no one wanted
to listen, but Ældste Weaver and I both only talked to one person who was
decently positive! It was great!
Thursday was kind of awkward, but
also fun. We scoped out a college in the morning. It's called SDU (South
Denmark University) and we got some super cheap (1 crown) matching sunglasses
for all of us! Then we had a lesson with the Zone Leaders' investigator,
Thomas. He's a 23 year old Dane. We were waiting in the library for a while and
I started watching a guy outside playing with a kendama. I jokingly was like,
"That's probably Thomas" but we didn't go ask for a while! So we got
to watch him do some cool tricks and such! It was a great lesson! He was happy
to learn and was open to meet more! He's a really nice guy too! He said the
closing prayer in Danish to try and keep us from hearing it, but then he
realized we understand Danish, so that was funny. Right after he left, Maria
showed up! She is extremely spunky! She is a former member who is now really
involved with the Apostolic church, but has a strong connection with the
missionaries (us and the past ones) It's a little weird. She asked Ældste
Saviano if he would give her a blessing on Sunday, but that was about all we
did.
Friday was an exciting District
Meeting! We were combined with the other SydJylland District for the Zone
Training. We all wore our matching sunglasses to District Meeting as well, so
that was pretty legit. The Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders trained us
on helping our investigators come to church. That was a really big focus last
transfer in NordJylland, so I thought it was really helpful! After District
Meeting, Ældste Weaver and I went on splits with Fredericia. I got to go
finding with Ældste Cannon! We found a couple potentials, which was really
helpful for them because their area has been having a hard time. Ældste Cannon
and Ældste Woodforth are the two Elders in Fredericia and they're both a
transfer younger than I am. It was fun!
Saturday was pretty hectic. We woke
up and left Fredericia pretty quick to get home for a lesson. Then our earlier
lesson with Frank and Elizabeth was cancelled! Neither of them were home, but
they let us know so that was nice. So we prepared for our lesson with Rosa.
Niels picked us up again and Rosa had made us some Hot Chocolate! Or Scalding
Chocolate! I honestly couldn't feel my tongue the rest of the day and it hurt
for a good couple days after drinking it. We talked about our personal
relationship with Christ and why it's important. She really likes meeting with
us, but doesn't want to join the Church. We stopped by an investigator named
Kenn. He is a bus driver who's about 50-60 years old. We talked for quite a
while and then he invited himself to church! We then had Weekly Planning and
Compartmentship Inventory, which is our apartment companionships' inventory for
all four of us. It's great! It was really funny! All the other Elders spoke for
me, so they all mentioned the dishes, socks on the ground, etc. so that I
didn't have to! It was quite nice.
Sunday was weird. We wanted to get
to church early, so we took an earlier train. However the bus didn't come for
an hour! So we walked! We got there pretty early, which was quite nice. Then my
Mom's cousin, Jeff Lund, and his wife were at Sacrament Meeting! The ward
announced that a former missionary (Jeff) was attending, so he got to talk to
quite a few people. They also gave me a nice package from my family and some
fine American foods! (Root Beer and Jif Peanut Butter!)
[*A little more on that from an
email he sent to Mom: "It was super fun to see Jeff and his wife! I
felt a little awkward, but only because I didn't know either of their names...
I only knew they were your cousin and then he tapped me on the shoulder! It was
super fun talking to them! They were super kind and happy to see us! Jeff
talked to quite a few of the members in Danish too! They announced in Sacrament
that a missionary who served here 30 years ago was there, which was pretty
funny. :D They gave us a ton of peanut butter and Root Beer too! Ældste Saviano
is trying not to drink soda this year, so we'll have to find some happy splits
people to drink some. ;) It was really fun, though! His wife (I still don't
know her name...?) gave me a hug at the end, which caught me off guard and was
a little apostate, and she said it was from you. I kind of gave her a
half-I'm-trying-to-be-obedient-but-it's-for-my-mom kind of hug, so I hope you
feel the love there! ;) "] After church, we had Coordination Meeting
with our Ward Mission Leader, Alan. And we tried practicing a song for next
Sunday but just decided on a different song instead. Finally, we got out of the
church building. But we got home just in time to have studies and that was all.
It was a rough day. Luckily, I got to study a bit for the Language (Sprog)
Test.
Monday was also crazy! I hopped on a
train to Copenhagen at 10 in the morning. I went to the Sprog test with Ældste
Gottfredson, Ældste Cannon, Ældste Hosac, and Søster Funk (Søster Funk's
companion Søster Holbrook also came) The Elders all met on the train in Odense
and then we ate a place called Hulk Burger. It was pretty good! Then we all
were bored to death in little cubicles and recordings asking how many children
Maria had. (That's one of the story questions. The question follows a sentence
saying that Maria has two children.) Then we went to the Mission Office, signed
stuff, and talked to the Office Elders! We had some trouble getting on the
right trains to get everyone home, and then some companions weren't where their
companion was supposed to pick them up, but in the end everyone had their
companion and were back in their area. I got back in Kolding about 7:30, so we
worked on a little survey we want to use at the colleges around. It was a
pretty exciting day!
My spiritual thought for today comes
from our lesson with Rosa. I've been thinking a lot about the Why I'm serving
in Kolding. While we were teaching Rosa, I testified of the Spirit's ability to
teach us. As I testified, the Spirit confirmed to me that I was doing the right
thing. I'm here to share the gospel and the truth with as many people as will
listen to it. That was a really cool answer to me. It also shows that the
Spirit will support you as you do what you know you should! Your answer might
not come until you start moving! So start going towards the light, and soon
you'll be able to see more of what's around you!
Thanks for your support and love! I
hope you all have a wonderful week!
--
Ældste Bryant Jepsen
-I saw a one legged bird this week, so here's a picture :)
-American Peanut Butter
-Hulk Burger!
-This is just some cool Kolding Graffiti
-Here's a picture of the Lunds and I
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