Hejså!
Well, another week has gone by here in Esbjerg and I can
hardly believe it. Sister Packard and I have had some pretty neat
experiences.
Like I mentioned before Sister Packard plays the
violin. It's actually her major, so she is very very talented. We
have had a lot of fun playing together. Monday after our p-day
had finished we planned to visit some inactive members of the
church. We stopped by one to invite them to a reliefsociety activity and
then planned to go visit a man who was on our ward list. It's super dark
outside early now, so we went into a store near by to try and find where
he lived on the map. We did our best to figure out how to get there but we were
a little hesitant that we would be able to find his house. Well we got on our
bikes and rode. We were able to find his house easy. that hardly
ever happens! It usually takes some time trying to get places we have never
been before, especially since Denmark doesn't like street signs very much. haha
but yeah we were guided right to his house. Their lights were on
and we could see that they were cooking dinner. As missionaries we seem to
interupt peoples dinner a lot. haha but afte we knocked and he opened
the door he told us he wasn't interested . We kept talking and then out of
the blue he said he would ask his wife if we could come in. I honestly thought
she would say no, but we got a very hesitant yes, which is all we needed:) We
went in and just started talking to them for a while. They kept saying
that they weren't interested in the missionaries visiting them. The wife isn't
a member and the husband hasn't been to church since he was little. I just kept
praying that they would have a change of heart, when suddenly I noticed a
violin hanging on the wall. I looked at that violin and it was almost like
it was glowing. I knew right then and there that it was an answer to my
prayer, and it was our way in. I asked them about the violin and it turns out
that the wife use to play. they had just recently been to a violin
concert and talked about how much they love the violin. I don't think
it was a coincidence that my companion just so happens to be a violin major.
She asked if she could play it. They said it hasn't been touched in years, but
that she could try. She tuned it and played beautifully, leading them to
tears. They told us they would love for us to come back. It was such a neat
experience. It is amazing how music can bring the spirit so
strongly.
We are teaching a young family right now, Anne Marie and
Min. I think I mentioned them last time. They are some of the most
wonderful humble people I have ever met. Min has commited to be baptized and he
isn't even able to understand the book of mormon because it isn't in
Burmeese. They are the sweetest family. Yesterday we had planned
to talk to them about Joseph Smith. I thought we were about done with the
lesson when Sister Packard pulled out a picture of the temple and
began talking about the temple. I was kind of like...uh...where did that come
from? Well, It was definitely inspired. We started talking to them
about the blessings that the temples bring. When we explained that only worthy
members of the church could enter the temple we heard Min say something. We
were both kind of like uh oh what did he say. We asked him, and he sait that is
great. You have to know Min in order to understand that him saying that is
like a normal person jumping up and down and shouting for joy. haha When we
started talking about baptisms for the dead and families being together forever
Min said, "If this is true, I am so happy." Anne Marie said,
"My heart is singing!" It was so wonderful. I can't even
describe how special they are. Everytime Sister Packard and I leave their home
we just have the biggest smiles on our faces. Oh they are just so
wonderful.
Church was great yesterday. IT was the primary program and
the children are so dang cute. Anne Marie and Min were there with their two
little children as well as Nikolaj. Nikolaj is one of the
members grandsons who we have began working with. He is 17, and yesterday
was the first time he has been to church since he was very
little. The elders just started working with a man who was a
referral from the office. They went to meet him and he said I have studied your
church and I want to be baptized. They gave him a book of mormon and asked him
to begin reading. They went back two days later and he had read the whole
thing. Pretty amazing huh? The work is hastening and people ARE
prepared now, more than ever before.
Wednesday was our zone training and that was fun. We had a
thanksgiving dinner. My zone leader actually went to riverton High, he was in
one of my math classes, so it was a lot of fun to see him, He's a year older
than me, his name is Nathaniel Vanderborghe. There's actually an elder in my
district who also went to riverton high, he was pretty good friends with Peter
James, his name is Elder Ennos. Small world huh? So we had our
training, a talent show, and then ate thanksgiving dinner. Oh yeah, it was in
Odense! So that was great! I love Odense. It will forever be a very
special place to me. AFter eating we went and played football. Or should I
say the elders played football. They're not the greatest at involving the
sisters. haha whatevs they just missed out on my awesome football skills. jk
jk
It was fun talking to Sister Olsen again. She was very
excited that I knew the Ericksons. She invited us over for dinner
tomorrow:)
Today a class came on a field trip to the church
to take a tour. There was about 20 kids ther age 13-14 and it was a
really good experience. We showed them the restoration film and then took
them on a tour of the church. We took them to the chapel last and Sister
Packard and I played come thou fount for them. They were very
respectful and had a lot of questions. One of the girls said she had goosebumps
the whole time. It might have been because the church was cold, but I
think she was feeling something:)
We are working with this man named Sven. How do
I even begin to explain Sven. When we go to visit him we have the elders come
with. Okay, I lost it in our lesson with him. I got the giggles so
bad. We were trying to sing a hymn when he pulls out his guitar. We
asked him to give us an A chord, when he played an a minor. His
apartment is super dark, so elder hansen was standing behind sister
packard and I holding a flash light so we could see the hymn book. The
whole situation was just super bizarre and I just couldn't stop
laughing. Sven got a kick out of it though.
I wish I could just give you every detail of who i'm working
with and exactly what i am experiencing. I am coming to love Esbjerg even
though it is dark and cold and sometimes smells like fish.
I hope you have a great week! Happy Thanksgiving! I love
you!
Love Katherine
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