Vor gård af Frederikshavn

Translation: "Our garden of Frederikshavn"

Monday, (I can't think of any witty beginning, so we're just going to start) was awesome! We went down to visit Voergaard Slot with Ældste and Søster Ravn (R-oww-n). It's a castle from the 1400's, which was pretty cool! We couldn't take pictures inside, but just imagine a ton of art around a fancy castle with painted pig skin walls, gorgeous colored glass chandeliers, and some cool Chinese stuff that looked out of place. It was fun! Other than that, we had a crazy eating appointment with Erik and Marie Toft where their kids literally ran around the house to use up energy. (It's not just in my family!) Then we went knocking too!

Tuesday was spent down in Aalborg on splits! Ældste Friedbaum and I were out contacting and knocking! We had some fun people to talk with! We also went to an eating appointment with the Odgaard family (who has a son who just returned from the Burningham England mission). It was really fun! The Aalborg Elders are on an English fast, so we got to speak Danish all day!! It was actually pretty nice.

On Wednesday, we had District Council! I helped Ældste Danielsen-Jensen with his training which was about charity (or just kærlighed) in the work in order to do hard things. It was good! We then had a really fun lunch at the church with food from Netto! Then Ældste Ellis and I rushed home and ran like crazy around Frederikshavn. We had a lesson with Karen, which was based on 2 Nephi 31. She is lukewarm about commitments, and we aren't meeting for two weeks, so we'll see what happens with that. Then we had Choir, which was fun! But it went long so we were late to our appointment with Rakel. We had Kurt along with us, and he had some connection with her! It was pretty funny! But she nicely dropped us. We very specifically asked her to still read and pray about Mormons Bog, so we're hoping that she'll come back at some point. She's super cool and really open, just doesn't want it yet. After that, we contacted a couple people because our other lesson was cancelled. It was cool!

Thursday was less crazy. We went with the Ravns out to teach a less active member named Mathias! He's super cool, but lives far away and doesn't have a car. So, we're starting to work with him! We also taught Diana, Zefadi (Kurdish boyfriend), and Dian (Kurdish friend). They were interested and it went well!! After the lesson, Zefadi took pictures with us too!! And then Dian hopped on the train as well! It was pretty funny!

Friday, we taught Niels (older man that went to the dentist last week). He's not super interested, but said he'd still read in Mormons Bog and pray about it. We'll see if he wants more blessings the next time we come. Our lesson with Michael was definitely the coolest of the day! He had read the first 8 chapters in Mormons Bog, so we answered some questions about the Tree of Life and then we taught about fasting, which he completely accepted and committed to! But he was still wishy-washy about coming to church on Sunday! Kurt basically called him out (it was nice, don't worry) for not holding to the Iron Rod. During the testifying rampage, Michael calmly said "ok, I feel like I can say I'll come on Sunday" and then he said the Spirit confirmed to him that he should! It was awesome!!!

Saturday was a day! We got our bikes fixed with Ældste Ravn that morning and then had a lesson with Zibar. He was basically on the line of being dropped, so we basically laid it out for him (with a little nice calling out as well) and he decided he wants to be baptized! We're working with him now to keep him completely clear with the Word of Wisdom and be ready on the 22 of August! Other than that, we went knocking and had Weekly Planning.

As for Sunday, Michael came to church! He really liked Sacrament meeting, but had to leave right after that. We had an awesome talk about the laborers in the vinyard (not sure how to spell that anymore...) and how some are brought to the gospel (in the church) early than others but we can all attain the blessings! It was great! After church, we ate with Kamilini and Thanus! It was pretty funny! Thanus had a friend also come over half way through, so it was just crazy! His friend, Douglas, is Brazilian and super cool! We saw him later that day as we were knocking and he said he might bring his 3 yr old daughter to church!!

Spiritual Thought: Sometimes we need to be rebuked in order to obey. This past week has been a soft rebuking for me because I haven't been as bold in declaring the repentance that people truly need. It was really cool to see that with just a push and emphasis, both Michael and Zibar have made progress!! Sometimes we truly just need to do that with ourselves too! Just tell yourself you'll do something better, and then do it better! Just use the tools God has given you and do better than your current best!

I hope you all have enjoyed the first week of school! Have a wonderful coming week as well!! Remember God is watching out for you!

--

Ældste Bryant Jepsen

-Voergaard Slot

- Ældste Friedbaum!

- I tied this and thought it was funny.

- Danish clouds are the best!

- Pomegranate Turkish Delight

 

Miracles Happen! (Sometimes slowly over time!)

This was a week, that we know for certain.

Monday! It was another very relaxed P-day. We wanted to go to the Voergaard slot, but we just set plans to go the next P-day. So we basically just got some things that we needed throughout the week, like food. We tried picking up our suits from the dry cleaners where we dropped them off a couple weeks ago, but they didn't work with our American cards so I couldn't pick mine up until I had enough cash with me! We then had a lesson with Michael, which was incredible! We had Kurt Holm-Larsen with us. Michael basically let us in and before we had sat down had started telling us that he had read Mormons Bog, prayed, and then had a very strong confirmation that the book and the church is true!! I was basically swept off my feet! (Luckily, I was already sitting down.) The rest of the lesson ran extremely smoothly and he just wants to come to church before he chooses a baptismal date! On our way home, Ældste Ellis wanted to pick up some pastries, which turned out to be almost all of the pastries... So we had way too much deliciousness after an awesome lesson!

Tuesday was pretty slow in comparison. We went finding, talked to some cool people, gave a previously homeless man a Mormons Bog because he had lost his personal copy, and had Ældste Ravn come look at our clogged kitchen sink (it wasn't our fault!).

Wednesday was crazy! We had a normal day up until 4, then we had to stop by people on the opposite sides of the city, which required a lot of fast biking. But then no one was home... So we went knocking until choir! After choir, Ældste Ellis was practicing a solo for church, so there was a whole other choir waiting for their rehersal that got to hear him sing "O Bliv Hos Mig i Denne Nat." (secret missionary work!)

Thursday was District Council! We discussed mostly finding journals and our Zone competition, which is pretty fun! Then we came home, and had an eating appointment with Kasper and Vibeke Kristensen! It was great! We sadly had our appointment helping Nerkiz start moving cancelled though, so we just went knocking afterwards.

Friday was good! We had a lesson with Karen (a lady Ældste Moulton and I found but couldn't get in touch with afterwards). She was quite interested and we're meeting again this week! She said she did want to receive an answer about Mormons Bog, so we're working with her to get it! We also went to Yan's along with Arne Holm-Larsen. It was a pretty hectic lesson, but a ton of questions got answered. Arne was very helpful and Yan basically re-explained his life story of why he wanted to meet with us. He did say he would come to church, but wouldn't specify which Sunday he would actually come... But he's still reading in Mormons Bog and says everything we've taught, he likes.

Saturday was with Zibar, Michael, and weekly planning. Our lesson with Zibar wasn't the best. Mostly it was to try and figure out if he can be baptized even though he's a refugee, which we're still fairly unsure about. But he bought us some pomegranate Turkish Delight, which I really like!! So that was super nice of him! Our lesson with Michael was about tithing and the Word of Wisdom. He took it like a champ! He supported and committed to both and is working already! We had seen him earlier in the week (like Thursday?) and he said he was on his way to get coffee. I then gave a concerned "Michael?" and he quickly apologized for forgetting and got hot chocolate instead (which he said was really good)! But he is also kind of noncommittal about which day he can come to church. After we taught him, we stopped by Anwar (our Eritrean friend). But the Eritrean who answered the door was different! And he also had a friend who was different! So we taught a bit and invited them to church as well!!

Sunday was fun! After a ton of church invitations to a lot of people, we had three come in late! We were pretty downtrodden that no one had come, but then a lady we had contacted named Diana came and brought two of her Kurdish friends! We're going to be teaching them (but mostly Diana because she speaks fluent Danish) this week and they said they'd come next week to church as well!! They're pretty fun! So we're excited for that!

My spiritual thought is basically Sunday. Don't give up on the Lord! He will keep His promises to you as you keep His commandments!! Just do the things you are asked and things will work out!!

(Also, learn to write quicker emails. Sorry it was short today.)

Have a wonderful week though!!

--

Ældste Bryant Jepsen

- We were given Orange cookies which taste like Orange Sticks (I love orange sticks)

- We keep finding different Mission bikes around the city!! They must be some of the Three Nephites!! They're here!

Wait, we don't serve in Aalborg?

This week has been pretty busy, which means it was good! I like busy weeks, especially when they're actually busy because of missionary work!

Monday was good. We didn't have anything specific to do, therefore not much got done. Ældste Ravn called us for a blessing though. He was getting surgery on his finger (nothing major or unexpected) the next day, so we went over there. I have definitely given more blessings in Danish than in English at this point. We also taught Steinar, which was pretty fun! He walked us over to a little pizza place and ordered a giant pizza to share. Then we discussed God. He's a Seventh Day Adventist, which apparently is pretty similar to our beliefs. He committed to start reading in the Book of Mormon. But he wants a confirmation to come from the Bible, so that's a little harder.

Tuesday was pretty relaxed. We did a lot of stop by's, and finding. Not too much to say there. We taught Yan though! It was pretty all over the place. We discussed the Plan of Salvation, and then a little of everything. We talked a lot about his parenting theories (seem pretty cool). But he has been reading in the Book of Mormon and wants to come to church. He somehow got the crazy idea that if he comes to church, we wouldn't come, so we need to fix that. But his children really like us, so we're hoping that his whole family will come to church!! 

Wednesday was another fun finding day! We met a Norweigan couple that had seen the Book of Mormon musical, so they tried talking to us about it. It was pretty funny just because they were partially laughing the whole time and then it was already a little hard to understand what they were saying. We also attempted shortening Ældste Ellis' bike chain because it keeps coming off and the tire won't stay pulled back. But then it's too short, so we had to put it back together which is quite difficult with the little chain links! Then we went out knocking. There were a couple of very interestingly convinced people, but we were able to help many of them. 

Thursday was our first partial day in Aalborg. We went down for District Council, which was about Area Books. It's definitely a good reminder, and I appreciate the permission to spend time on organizing and cleaning it, because it sometimes feels like a waste of time. There was a lot of casual talk about the next transfer and Søster Matheson, because (Breaking News!!) she and Søster Sanford (I haven't served around her) are going to Iceland!! They both go home in December, so they're holding the place of two Elders that are going to replace them once they leave. So that's exciting!! Ældste Ellis and I also did some knocking that evening when we got home.

Friday was really busy!! We did all of our studies and tried to do some Weekly Planning before we had to leave for Hans Christians'. We had a good sprog study at his house and gave a spiritual thought before we had to scurry out. Then we had a bit of time to knock a little street before we taught Michael! We discussed the Word of Wisdom and he completely agreed with it! He's a very smart guy and knows that he shouldn't be smoking, so now he just needs to stop. He said he is unsure about being baptized though, so we're still encouraging and supporting him. He had some family coming on Sunday, but he said he'd ask them if they'd go to church with him! After that lesson, we hurried home and to the train station to head off to Aalborg! Once there, I started cleaning dishes, which received a very negative response along the lines of "Elder Jepsen! Put down the dishes and relax!" Yea, that happens pretty frequently... But I still washed stuff while they made us dinner! Then Ældste Danielsen-Jensen and I went knocking! We talked to a Baptist couple about Mormons Bog. It was basically just testifying that we can actually receive an answer from God about the book's truth and they don't need to take our word for it. After, we had a large variety of fun discussions accompanied by a pencil box full of candy.

Saturday was extremely fun! The Aalborg ward has soccer every Saturday, so we got to go!! I haven't played soccer for (*counting fingers*) forever! It was super fun! It had just rained a lot and was still sprinkling a bit, which was quite refreshing. I definitely made Lindsay proud; I scored twice (and one was a header). Then we walked home, picked some apples off a tree on the side of the road, and got ready for the rest of the day. And it downpoured!! Ældste Danielsen-Jensen and I walked out to knock and we were completely soaked the entire time! It wasn't even rain, just sheets of mist! We had a lot of fun though! We were able to help a guy set a tree back up after it's pot blew down in the wind! That was funny! We also experimented with speaking Danish in different voices. Then Ældste Ellis and I headed back up north so we could teach Zibar! We taught the Word of Wisdom to him. He doesn't have a big problem with anything, so it's just avoiding the little temptations.

Sunday came as well, as usual. It was our Branch Conference! So when we showed up, our Stake President shook our hands! And then Steinar had beaten us to church too!! We had some great talks, got to sing in the choir, and had a good discussion about scriptures and the Restoration in Guest Class!! It was super! He's still reading Mormons Bog too! After church, we had a fællesspisning (potluck is probably the best translation...). It was pretty fun! We also were given way too much food to try and carry home in our bags. We had some time to go out and stop by a couple people, one of which is named Rakel (rack-L). She's a young lady we found right after she got home from Bible camp! And she'd read in the Mormons Bog we gave her!! And she had her boyfriend over (not even living together!) so we could come in and teach them both!! It was awesome! She had some questions which led really well into the Restoration, and she said she'll keep reading and she's happy to ask questions so she'll pray to God about it!! It was awesome!! We also set another appointment for next week! (#miRakel)

I really liked something President Kreiberg said, so I'm going to use it as a spiritual thought! He said "Det er lige så svært for en missionær at komme hjem fra missionen som det er for en forældre til at sende dem afsted." (Transaltion: It is just as hard for a missionary to leave the mission field as it is for a parent to send them off.) This really touched me, because I really have come to love Denmark and the people here. But the cool thing is, that can happen anywhere!! You can come to love the people in your neighborhood, ward, work place, or school! All you need to do is choose to love and serve them! If you want to love them, you will! And then your motivation to be better, kinder, more helpful, etc. will increase! And you'll have more opportunities to share the gospel because everyone can be blessed by more fully following the gospel! So start by praying for the gift of charity, and then act as though you want it, and you'll see the difference of love and service for those around you!! 

Thank you all for the support! I hope you all have a great week!

--

Ældste Bryant Jepsen

- We have begun the war against the fruit fly infestation

Sorry we don't have any other interesting pictures thus far...