Note from Mom:

We had a fun experience this week. When Ali was in Mesa, we'd often get random texted pictures of her which was so fun! Yet obviously this rarely happens with Bryant in Denmark. But, this past Wednesday I helped with Lunch Activities at Lindsay's Jr High. On our break between lunches, another mom Rochelle Brown, mentioned her in-laws are serving in Denmark! What!?! I told her my son is there... She asked if there was more than one mission. Nope! She pulls up these pictures (see below) and asks if I happen to know anyone?!!

Uh, yeah I know someone!!That face right in front! How fun to see our missionary's happy face. What a fun surprise on a random Wednesday! Sis Fonnesbeck was a Brown then remarried Bro Fonnesbeck after her first husband passed away. He served in Denmark as a young man and is happy to be back. The Fonnesbecks actually live just over in Farmington and I think come home next summer, same as Bryant. Here is a little snip from her letter that describes Bryant and the area they are serving in...

Hello Family and Friends,

I have named this email “change” because when you’re working with youth, that is something that is a constant.  We are very happy with this change, however, and I’ll explain.  

We used to be with the Esbjerg ward’s young singles each week on Wednesday evenings. I did not cook a full meal, but only brought dessert or treats of some kind.  At the beginning of the school year, however, we found that all of our young people were leaving to go to school, get married, or move to other parts, leaving only one young single, Trina, the leader of the group who is a returned missionary.  The bishop shut down the group because it’s hard to have a gathering and activity when there is only one.  

We were sorry to lose this group…..we love Esbjerg!  We love attending the ward and we love the young people there!  So that’s when we decided to see if we could start the group in Sønderborg with six young singles.  

So…..we replaced our Wednesday Esbjerg group with Sønderborg.  But, we still missed Esbjerg and the kids and the ward.  

This week, we got a facebook message from the Father of one of the YSAs and the teacher of the institute lessons, alternating with Bruce every other week.  He wanted to change the day they meet to Tuesday because his boy is a soccer player and his day to practice had been changed to Wednesday.  At the same time, we got a message from Trina in Esbjerg that some of the kids were returning and they wanted to have a get-together and an activity at the church.  We were elated that both of these things worked out!  We are so excited to be back in Esbjerg!  There is something very special about that ward and those kids…..I know….I say the same thing about all of them.

We are supposed to be with the 2 Odense wards on Tuesday also, but we have not been going because their building is not finished being renovated and so the kids have had meetings in their apartments.  This is a large group with a great teacher and we felt like we were just taking up more seats and really not contributing much else.  Bruce will sub for the teacher once in a while, but we have explained to the kids that we’d love to come back when there is a church to meet in and that we felt guilty squishing ourselves into someone’s apartment, eating with them and taking up the room that they so dearly needed for the young people.  

So that is our change.  It almost seemed orchestrated for us, and I’m sure that’s just what happened.  We feel the blessings each and every day.  We receive so many tender mercies and blessings that it is hard to list them all.  We are surely being taken care of and being guided to be with these young singles wherever they are.  

(Then she continues with a few details of other areas. We'll pick back up here.)

This first picture is out my window today.  It is a very typical November day in Denmark.  Light rain and clouds.  We don’t see the sun much anymore, but it is not cold (lower 50s) so it is not unbearable.  I was telling Brittani, Trent’s wife, when we were talking this past week that the dreariness of the days doesn’t seem to get to me now.  We are blessed with four big skylights in our kitchen and living room, so even when it’s dark and dreary, we have more light than anyone else.  It is really a blessing!  Often when we leave the apartment we turn to turn out lights and it’s just the skylights.  I like that.  Our view out our windows is just this gård pronounced “gore”.  It’s so interesting to me.  Over the right hand side of roofs is the gå gade or walking street where there are lovely shops of all kinds,  and over the left side, through the little opening between this back parking lot and the street is the front of our building.  But there are people who live in all of these places!  People are coming and going all the time, yet from the street, you wouldn’t know anything was going on.  It is so fascinating to me.

On the right of this lower grid is the group in Esbjerg.  We were playing a board game and then the bottom one, I made a chocolate cake and we stopped at a store in Esbjerg to get ice cream and that was our treat.  What fun it was to be with them again.  The elders are Elder Bailey (whose father was in Val Palmer’s home and saw his son in one of my emails she showed him.  I quickly sent these so he could have them too!  Small world!) and Elder Jepsen, leaning over the table, who we’ve known and worked with before.  He is a super, young man and so helpful when you are serving or cleaning up.  He is very thoughtful and a great missionary as well.  This night, they brought a “friend” Daniel, who brought his scriptures and questions.  He is a priest’s son and very religious and curious.  The missionaries took some time with him after our activity to explain some things.  He is a very nice young man and we were glad to meet him.He is in the black long-sleeved shirt on the right below.Our sisters are Sister Livingston and Sister Routh. Love these kids!

We will now be attending church in Esbjerg and in Sønderborg and in Fredericia.  We will rotate those wards.  

(And more details about her week, including a new large mixer to save her wrist with cysts from all the big batches of cookie dough and browning hamburger...)

It has been an eventful and wonderful week.  We are happy and well and we hope this letter finds you the same.  We love you all and thank you for your support and love as well.  

Take care,

M and B