"Contacting in the trees, Knocking on the houses..."

I'm pretty sure that's what Kid History was talking about, right? 

Monday! It snowed! Quite a bit too, which was exciting. We had a lesson set up with a man from the Faroe Islands (Færøerne) so we waited in a little coffee cafe for a while and eventually called him and his number didn't exist. So hopefully we'll run into him again. So then we biked in to Strøget. We picked up some things from the many souvenir shops and they were excited that we could speak Danish, so that was fun! Otherwise, we went knocking in Lufthavnsparken. I'm not sure what it is about that complex, but people are simply more willing to have us come back than usual! We have a ton of potential friends over there!

Tuesday was basically all contacting. We stopped by an older lady we'd knocked into but she was waiting for her eye doctor to come and deliver her glasses, so she only talked for 25 minutes at the doorstep. We did our, now normal, less active stop by's and got a couple to answer. The rest of the time we were just out contacting. We talked with a cool Greek man who volunteers for a Danish church simply because he volunteered before in Greece. That was fun!

Wednesday included a lesson with Emil! We had planned to work out a plan with him to quit smoking, but as we talked to him, he isn't ready for it. He told us more about why he likes the church (which is mostly social reasons) and that his family isn't too stoked about him joining another church. And he also answered that he wouldn't pray for help with smoking because it would be hypocritical unless he was dedicated. I just tried my best to testify of the truthfulness of this church, literally the Church of Jesus Christ. Our lessons with Emil have basically just been us testifying our hearts out so that he can grasp on to the truths he's been taught. But he said he's look in the 12 step program and he'd come to church! We also went to the Doctor because Ældste Throckmorton's ankle is being annoying. He's a trooper and keeps working, but after 3 hours of walking, it starts to make itself noticable. All the doctors were in completely casual clothes!! I thought that was so strange! But we were taken care quickly, so that was nice. Not much decided yet, just needed to get some free x-rays taken at a physical thearapist first.

Thursday was exciting! We stopped by the Physical thearapist in the morning for Ældste Throckmorton's ankle and they helped us pretty quickly! Also saw the Google Maps car driving on Amagerbrogade while we contacted. (That's online proselyting!) Then we cleaned out our area book, and went contacting some more.

Friday was crazy! We went in to København for District Council, then stayed for interviews with President Olsen. It was an awesome Council about temples (buildings and bodies) and consecration! Very intriguing! We didn't have much time in our area after all that, but we made it down to Lufthavnsparken to knock. There were a ton of young moms that were putting their kids to bed, but they all said we could try again when their husbands were home! So that was perfect!

Saturday rolled around, so we did Weekly Planning! (The planning is still extensive, but the weeks seem to be shorter.) Then we followed up with a referral over on Christiania. This woman's name is Jeanne, and she was excited to see us! She'd been told a bit about the church from a colleague and gladly took a Mormons Bog. She at least wants to visit the church, so we're hoping to see her there soon! We also tried stopping by the Sisters' friend "Bob" who is American, but was in Poland for several weeks. When we went by his house, a very Polish looking man came out to the gate to open it. He had no idea who we were, couldn't really speak Danish or English, but took our card and said he'd look at it. We're still confused about that, to be honest. We also knocked on Store Krog again. We talked with a hilarious buddhist man who ended almost every sentence with "... så det er meget sjovt!" ("So that's really funny/fun.") But sadly, Emil also told us that he couldn't come to church.

Then Sunday came! We had church, which was exciting! We had about 10 minutes until Sacrament Meeting started and we were asked to speak! Luckily we only had to fill 15 minutes combined, so it wasn't bad. And Mads (an awesome member missionary) had invited two of his friends!! So I tried to talk about how God's power can affect our lives. Then we had a fun time translating in Priesthood! There was also a visitor from Argentina (shoutout to Elder Peeples!) who was stellar! He made a lot of comments even though our live translation can sometimes be a hinderance. Especially if the one giving the lesson is actually Swedish... After the meetings, we had the opportunity to go to Birk's baptism! Birk is (Branch) President Olsen's grandson. That was really cool! Then in the evening, we went out kontacting.

I would say my spiritual thought has to come from Birk's baptism. Throughout the service, the importance and significance of Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost was addressed. Katrina Michanek (Birk's mom, and Branch Pres. Olsen's daughter) talked about how the Holy Ghost can be like a flashlight. If there's something dark that we don't understand or something we don't see, the Holy Ghost can shine before us to give us understanding and open our eyes. It dawned on me how cool that gift truly is! And I received that when I was 8! It made me think just how often I'm grateful for that guidance, especially when I don't even notice Him working with me. It's a testimony that God really wants us all to return, and He's given us tools that cannot be beaten if only we will use them. So thank Him for the blessing of the Holy Ghost! It's an amazing gift!

As Danes would say: "Have it good!"

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Ældste Bryant Jepsen

- We bought pizza and grape juice. I really like grape juice. :)

- I was smelling my hat. And apparently that merited a picture.

- Ældste Throckmorton sometimes has the craving for mozzarella cheese
Kind of boring week for pictures. Next week will have cool ones though, I promise.

Hungry for... well, not food!

Just a quick shout out to my incredible Mom!! She just celebrated her birthday this past week!! She's incredibly loving and has truly been an astounding Christlike example for me. Thanks for all your love and sacrifice, Mom! I love you!

Also, fun fact: Hans Christian Andersen wrote nearly every classic childrens story from my childhood! Who knew, right?! And we ride our bikes past a statue of him every week! How cool is that?

Monday was all about pushing limits. You have to start the week off right. Just like Wheaties are "The Breakfast of Champions," so are Nougat Bits the "Breakfast of Missionaries!" Ældste Throckmorton and I therefore rode in to København and looked a little bit around Støget (str-oi-el) which is the main gågade in the city. We wanted to visit a couple churches (Vor Frue Kirke) but they were closed until February. But we stopped by Christiania and Vor Frelsers Kirke on Christianshavn on the way over. We then all gathered in the church (away from windows). The goal is to eat the entire box of Nougat Bits with 1 liter of milk in under one hour without vomitting (which results in immediate disqualification). So we ate! Ældste Haruch was the first out because he tried crushing the cereal (which is similar to Krave in the USA) into a river of mush. I wasn't able to finish it in time, and had way to much extra milk to try and chug it all down. But it was good for the experience. After that, we two rode back to our island for an eating appointment! We were with Josh and Hanne Keogh, who are super cool!! Josh is Scottish and Hanne is Danish, and they're newly wed return missionaries (Australia and France missions respectively). It was really fun, and they're just awesome! 

Tuesday, we weren't hungry! (Alright, maybe a bit at the end.) The Zone Leaders, Ældste Haruch and Ældste Steffensen came for an extra splits in the area. So we just went out contacting and knocking with them. It was super cool! It was raining basically all day, but in the morning we asked an older lady if she had time right there on the street that we could talk. She explained that she was confused why so many different ideas are floating around in the world, and wants to meet with us in order to figure things out herself! We also had an man from Sierre Leone give us his phone number and ask us to call! Nothing too crazy, just little miracles all throughout the day! We then had Branch Council where they lightly debated whether or not it was ok that we are using women bikes. I've never thought that we could accidentaly be supporting gender issues, but apparently men bikes are also faster, so I'm sold!

Wednesday included a lot of stop by's. Branch President Olsen (our Mission President's brother) gave us names of less active members that we should get in contact with. So we spent time riding our bikes around stopping by different people. We went by 10 different addresses and everyone was either not home or sick. So we just have to do the same another day. But we got some time in to contact, which was super fun! We contacted one man, Mikkel, in a pea coat and scarf and he asked if we could walk with him instead, so we did! We walked all the way to his apartment and talked about his philisophical/psychedelic past which had led him (strangely) to believe in God and the Bible! So we taught him about Joseph Smith on the way. Once we arrived at his apartment he explained that he only had an hour to exercise and then be on his way to meet a friend, so he invited us in to talk to him while he excercised! So we taught him about the Book of Mormon while he did push ups! It was super fun! He also is completely interested in reading and meeting! So we're stoked!

Thursday was Zone Conference! Officially my first Zone Conference on Sjælland, so that was exciting! We biked in to the office and then caught a ride up to Maglegårds Allé. The theme of the Conference was "Becoming Full Time Missionaries" and also Vessels of the Lord. It was super cool!! We talked a lot about small things that keep us worthy of the Lord's power and blessings. After, we helped the Frederiksberg Elders (who work in the office) put things away, and then we biked home. 

Friday was pretty fun! We did some contacting, almost taught the man from Sierre Leone until he called to reschedule, and then we biked to Dragør! That's on the south side of the island and is apparently the most expensive place in Copenhagen to live. We stopped by a couple less actives, one is a Chinese man named David. He was sleeping when we came, but let us in and share a message with him! We also knocked a bit where we met a man who had family who were members in Utah. He let us know that the Church was not a cult over in the Salt Lake area and encouraged us to visit when we had the money to do so. (He was also surprised to hear we came from Utah.) There was also a lady who completely ignored everything we said about Jesus and replaced it with an imaginary question about how they treated their dog. It was super weird and almost humorous. Then we biked home, half frozen.

Saturday included weekly planning and some contacting. It was pretty good. We stopped by some of the less actives again as we contacted around, and we talked with a couple of them.

Sunday was crazy! We were at church for two hours, which was great! We then had SOS which stands for Slægtsforskning og Sandwicher (Family History and Sandwiches). It's basically a little presentation about someone's family history and then we all eat sandwiches and talk! It was really cool! Ældste and Søster Gleason talked about their Danish ancestors and their emigration. We also got to talk with a ton of members! Then we took the Gleasons to a lesson with Chavalee, who is a middle aged Thai woman who is really lonely. We hadn't met her before, but she's really searching for happiness. Then we biked out to Frederiksberg to eat with Ældste and Søster Wolfgramm! Their two temple missionaries and conviniently family with some good family friends (shout out to the Francis family)! It was super fun! They're incredibly loving and fun people!

I was reading in Jacob 5 where I read verses 70-72, which really stood out to me. It discusses the ending of the Lord's vineyard where He calls all His servants to serve faithfully and fulfill His commandments to rid the vineyard of evil. (Also read the footnoted scriptures! Especially D&C) It really struck me thinking about missionary work how we are gathered as the "warriors" and the "strength of mine house" in these the last days. Our Zone Conference was all about being worthy and able to hold the Living Water for ourselves and let it pour from us to others. Truly while we're continuously repenting and sharing, we are worthy servants serving in the Lord's vineyard. There is no time to let up. Keep working hard. "and if ye labor with your might with me ye shall have joy in the fruit." (Jacob 5:71) There is unimaginable joy in this work.

Have a wonderful week!!

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Ældste Bryant Jepsen

- Biking Adventures

- Skippers Pipes (black licorice)

- I ate Bran Flakes during Weekly Planning because we needed to make cupboard space and the Sisters didn't take them. Would not recommend them, but I did think of you Dad.

- Us with Ældste and Søster Wolfgramm after Sunday dinner (They are serving a temple mission here and are Nettie Francis' aunt and uncle)