Well, it's
officially been 19 times around the sun for me. Ældste Cannon brought that
realization to my attention this past week. I can't say I've ever thought the
sun and I had ever been that close, but we've been hanging around each other
for quite some time now. The sad thing is, I still can't stand to look at it
for too long...
It was a
great week though! I'll try to give a good catch up from the last couple days
the week before!
We start
with Saturday! (because I didn't talk much about it last week!) The biggest
thing we had that day was our lesson with Finn. Jens Sørensen was able to come
with us too! We taught the Plan of Salvation, and it basically turned out just
like Finn's lessons usually turn out. He accepted the lesson, but had a
completely different issue. He understood why there were three kingdoms of
glory, but didn't want any reasoning for us to do good things on earth to be
because we'd reach the Celestial kingdom! He said he does good because he is
thankful for what Christ has done! It was honestly a really strange derailment.
So I basically just told him he was awesome for doing that! It also will help
him get to the Celestial Kingdom, you just need to be baptized by the proper
authority. ;) He got pretty embarrassed by us complimenting him though. He's
coming along well though! He's finished reading 1 Nephi already!!
Sunday was
also great! We had the guest class, which didn't have anyone there who actually
needed to be there (or who we planned it for)... so it basically was a review
and discussion about the Plan of Salvation. We had a lesson with a man named
Julian, but he wasn't home. So we contacted and got some good studies!
Monday came
quickly. (It feels like P-day is every other day at this point!) The weather
was wonderful!! We biked up to the Store Center to get some page protectors.
The four of us met Ældste and Søster Fonnesbeck up there to get some splits
bedding and then we gave them a coupon to come to dinner with us! It was pretty
fun! It was at a fancy Chuck-A-Rama type place called Dalle Valle (Dall-ey
Valley). On our ride home, my chain fell off, which allowed the Fonnesbecks to
beat us back. (we were close though) We stopped by a potential named Mousa, who
was home! He let us in and we had a weird lesson. He speaks Arabic and Danish,
but he had a friend over, Mohammed, who speaks Persian and English. So that was
fun! (We've also seen Mohammed quite a few times just around the city since
then.)
Tuesday was
great! We biked out to Norgevej and Ørebrovej to do some stop by's that
morning. It was good. On our way home, Ældste Schaffer's bike got a flat tire.
So we spent some time that afternoon fixing some flats! We then went back out
to almost the same area to follow up with some people. We knocked into a man
named Morten! He's a young guy who is searching for peace! We taught him about
prayer and set a return appointment with him! That evening, Ældste Anderson and
Ældste Friedbaum were over for splits with the ZL's. We tried eating muscles
(mine was crunchy. supposedly it's not supposed to be like that...). It was a
pretty fun evening! We also got to use the gigantic splits mattress that we got
on Monday. So Ældste Hunt and I tried it out through some wrestling. (I luckily
know the ancient toe tickling tactic, which came in handy.)
Wednesday
was our splits! I was with Ældste Cannon! We went out finding and then got a
call that Ældste Schaffer had set an appointment with Alexander for us!! So
after lunch, we biked out to teach him the Plan of Salvation! He invited us in
and first had us try to open his window! It was super weird! Fun puzzle though!
Then we had a really deep lesson. He had some really good questions and some
weird questions (for example: What would the difference be if the Devil and co.
were born just like the rest of us?). But he was quite thoughtful about it and
committed to reading some of the Book of Mormon before our next meeting! We
then did some more contacting where a lady literally talked at us for almost an
hour, even though we were trying to leave her house basically the whole time.
(Count your blessings! I could understand her whole spiel about her
kids!!)
Thursday was
District Meeting! We talked about setting our daily and weekly goals! It was a
good reminder to use the goals as goals rather than just an estimation of how
many investigators you could get in the amount of finding time you had already
planned. It's also really helpful to adjust your goals throughout the week, if
you need! Søster Peterson and Søster Andrizzi then brought out some cookies
that they made for my birthday! They had a hilarious card too! It was really
nice. We had a lesson with Kenneth that afternoon as well. He's not super
interested in learning more about the gospel, but is happy to have spiritual
thoughts! So we set up another appointment to help us with Danish, and share
another spiritual thought. ;) That evening, we tried some live translating from
Danish to English. It's super hard!! You have to process what is being said and
then repeat it in another language as closely as possibly!!
Then Friday
rolled into town. We went knocking that morning and met a young fellow named
Jonas! He had some Mormon friends in Aarhus, so we talked to him for a while
and got to set another appointment with him! The other cool thing that day was
the Forårskoncert! (Spring Concert) That was where our Elders Quorum song was
debuted! Ældste Hunt and I sang it with Ældste Schaffer on the guitar, and
Thomas Bornemann on the piano! It turned out pretty well! (Especially because
that was the most public singing I've done so far!) The evening was awesome!!
Our ward has extreme musical talent!! It was incredible!
Saturday was
pretty basic. Just the average day. ;) As I walked into the front room, Ældste
Hunt started singing and clapping for me, which started the festivities. I then
got a call at 6:45 from Ældste Saviano to wish me a Happy Birthday. The day was
basically going out to contact, doing some weekly planning, and then going to
the first ever Ward Sport! We played soccer in Fredericia!! There was quite a
good turnout too!! (I apologize I did not take a picture...) The weather was
wonderful and the competition was great! I'm a little rusty for not playing
since my 2nd transfer, but it was awesome!! I just loved having the cleats
back on my feet. :) I also scored once, which is why it made it into the title.
It's officially the first time I've played soccer with actual Danes!! It was
incredible! Once home, we finished weekly planning and had an awesome dinner!
Then the Elders pulled out a card game, Exploding Kittens, that the district
had got for me! So, we tried playing that evening, which was really fun!
Sunday was
awesome!! We had church! The Sisters had two investigators there, so we got to
talk to them a little bit. Ældste Schaffer and I got to join the Aaronic
Priesthood class, which was kind of fun! Then we tried to get home a little
earlier than usual so we would have more time in our area. We got home and went
out to stop by Jakob and Britta, who we had set an appointment with but they
cancelled. They're a really great Christian couple and they let us in and we
taught the Restoration! It was a little hard for them to accept, but they
realized that the only way to know about the Book of Mormon was to actually
read it. So they're starting!! We got home just in time to get picked up by
Thomas Bornemann! I love his family!! We had dinner with them! I talked to the
three kids a lot more this time too, which was really fun! I just felt very
welcome and loved in their home. They're amazing members and wonderful
people!
My spiritual
thought comes from the Bornemann family! We invited them to find something to
change in order to be more open to spiritual promptings. In like manner, I
invite you all to do the same! I, personally, want my prayers to be slower and
more sincere. It's quite easy for me just to list off a ton of things I'm
grateful for and also ask for help for those I'm around, but I also want to be
guided to help. So maybe you need to read the scriptures more thoughtfully,
maybe have a journal with you as you think or pray so you can write down
promptings, even ask your parents for advice if you're wondering about
something! Find something, and get better at it! You are able to receive your own
revelation if you want it! This is not a blind faith.
Thank you to
everyone for the Birthday wishes!! I hope all of you had a wonderful week and
have another wonderful week to come!!
The newly
19,
Ældste
Bryant Jepsen
- My fancy
Birthday hamburgers!
- Ældste
Schaffer and I after playing soccer
- Christian
(Elders Quorum Pres.) and his Dad in the concert
- Ældste
Hunt and I testing the splits bedding
- My
Birthday card from the Sisters
(treanslation: Relax … and enjoy life! It’s your birthday!
Congratulations on your birthday, Elder Jepsen!!
Your mom is so proud of you! Have an amazing year…)
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