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!!
--
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)
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