Transfer Preparation and Vikings

Hello Everyone,

This week has been filled with service to the members and some lessons with the friends we have been teaching for a while. A big thing we learned this week is about transfer calls. I will be staying in Aarhus and my companion will be going to Roskilde which is near Copenhagen. It will be sad to see my trainer leave but we will be having a good time with Elder Jacobs who will be coming from Copenhagen.

The service this week was for 3 different members. They are related but the work mainly included gardening stuff and a lot of work in painting. It was good to say that we got a lot done and had the chance to show the members some Christlike love. 

The funnest activity we have had this week was definitely making Mac & Cheese at our friend Janik.  It was fun because last time he made us food but this time we made him food and he appreciated the company too. He is an amazing man and we hope to be able to help him see the fruits of the Spirit. Another member's house we went to was Jonnes. She is an older lady that likes to tease the missionaries in a funny way and sometimes pretend to trip them. She was so fun to help out and it just shows me all the joy that comes from the gospel and a life involved in the gospel. 

We did a lot of street contacting this week and this one particular person stood out to me as important even though he hasn't been keeping in contact with us. He was super friendly and I could understand his Danish nearly perfectly. I loved the conversation because I really felt as if God was leading this conversation and trying to tell me to help him find purpose. I'm not sure what will come of it, but it felt important to me and I will always remember it. 

We have done this spiritual thought this week with a can and a Book of Mormon. The spiritual thought includes using the scripture Heleman 5:12 that talks about satan and his shafts in the whirlwind. We then proceed to put one of our fingers on the Book of Mormon and slam the can on it, representing the Fiery Darts of the Adversary. The finger because of the foundation of the Book of Mormon comes out ok and unscathed. 

Spiritual thought I have thought about is the idea of sacrifice. The idea that we sacrifice 2 years of life to help others is an example of one of the many ways that people of our church show their dedication and sacrifice. We as missionaries testify of the blessings that come from pursuing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and all that comes with it. I love this work and hope you feel the joy that comes from coming unto Christ. 

Until next week everyone!

Love, 

Elder Lines

Zone Conference and Stake Conference

Hello Everyone, I am doing really well and am very happy! I really enjoy being a missionary. This week has been a lot of work in order to prepare for zone conference and stake conference, which were both being held in may area, Aarhus. The zone confernce was a lot of fun as we got to work with mission leaders and see all the fun plans they had for us during the gathering. The conference included all the missionaries from Jylland and Odense which was around 24 of us. During the Zone conference there was an example of an apple tree that represented a friend or someone we are teaching. This tree did not have ripe apples but was starting to produce fruit. This tree was not ready for harvesting but instead of rejecting and not caring for it they pruned it and took care of the vines growing everywhere on it. This example was really meaningful as a lot of people we teach do not have the desire to progress but throwing them out, so to say, does not help! We can still find ways to nurture! At the stake conference, we got a completely new stake presidency and got to say goodbye to the last ones that served so well. The new stake president gave the people a challenge to feed the missionaries everyday during the month of October. We loved that part but we also loved all the faith that he already has about his service and his duty to the people of Denmark. I can say we are very lucky to have such amazing members and leaders in Denmark. We also had splits with the AP's before zone conference which was fun because the entire time was spent getting to lessons and trying to contact in new ways. The AP's are definitely good at Danish and it was a good experience to get to see their skills and approaches to speaking Danish. I was with Ældste Willis who has been out for 8 month and trained my current trainer. He is also basically a body builder and he is huge. I obviously thought that we pretty cool. I had a good lesson with Eldste Willis. We taught one of our friends that is on baptismal date. He has been trying to find the time to come closer to God and talked to us about the path he knows he needs to take but simply hasn't been able to find the path. It has been great for him to start making more commitments and learn about God and how he can become whole through Christ. I am amazed at the level of knowledge he has and know that baptism will help him reach another level. We were able to do some service with the Ravn Petersens which are members of the ward. We have done it a couple of times with them before, too, but this time we got to chop wood the entire time and just had a blast! There is no better feeling than splitting a log that looks huge in just one swing. It makes me feel invincible. Today for our P-day we were able to go to a Viking Museum. Super fun to have time to see some sights and visit a museum. I sure love Denmark. Thank you everyone for your support and prayers and we'll see ya next week! Love, Elder Lines

Der har være meget sand denne uge!

 Hello everyone,

This week we have had a lot of time at the beach. Not as one might think. We have had a lot of activities with friends and members that involve us going to a beach. Some of these activities included spike ball and rock skipping. The beaches in Denmark are such a beautiful thing and help me appreciate the things that God has given us. We don't get in the water, but we sure enjoy the scenery. It makes me happy. 

This last week we had a lot of lessons but most of them fell through. The hard part about teaching is sometimes people don't have the will to show up. In these cases, we often have other activities planned as a backup. But it's a very sad time when we don't get to have all of our lessons. Oh well. Trying to make the best of it!

We got to eat with 2 members this week and both of them are very amazing families. They are willing to help out with our missionary work and have offered to have our investigators and friends over whenever we have lessons. It is their generosity and the overall generosity of all members that has led me to say that the members of Denmark are really the best. It really inspires me. 

Overall, a lot of the activities we have done this week have been standard finding, planning, and other missionary work. I feel like this is the week before the storm but this storm is a good storm.

This upcoming week is going to be a very busy and very fun week for missionaries in Denmark. We have a zone conference and stake conference this week. It's been a lot of fun to have all these activities to plan. I'm really looking forward to it. It will be fun to gather with missionaries and members. 

This week, I have been able to see a lot of connection and spiritual power through my personal study. I have been connecting topics as I study and have been able to go more in-depth to learn about everything that I want to. In particular, I have been focusing on how people can experience the spirit and how we can strengthen the spirit and ourselves. I can say that my experiences as a missionary thus far have helped me to understand how I can strengthen my spirit and feel this strength more often.  I'm really grateful for this lesson. There have been a lot of talks that I have read that have pointed to Christ as the source of all spirit and hope.  I have felt that as I read scriptures or hear messages about Him. That is the way that I can feel the joy that He offers.

I encourage everyone to think about the ways that they feel the spirit and the way they connect to Christ as that is the most important way to come unto Him and see the blessings He can give you. 

Thank you everyone and I hope to hear from you next week.

Love,

Elder Lines

Lamanitter blev dræbt og vi var dem.

 Hello Everyone,

 Another good week in the land of Denmark! This week has been a lot of getting into the flow of Danish and truly trying to talk with everyone. My companion and I have been having an amazing time here in Aarhus and we have had some great experiences. 

We had an absolutely amazing dinner with a friend of ours named Janik. We made Frikadelle (don't know the spelling). They were so delicious and I devoured everything. There were caramelized potatoes and collard greens too. Overall a delicious meal and a good lesson to finish it off!

We were able to do a lot of finding this week and I wanted to try and lead more with that. I felt the hand of God in my words and actions as I talked without fear for maybe the first time since I've been in Denmark. What an amazing experience!

A big spiritual blessing this week has been my studies. I focused on trust and that led me to studying the way that light is used in the scriptures. My favorite thing I found is that light that guides charity which is Christ. As we show others our love they become more open to talking and knowing how they can have that too. It is important to see all of that as missionaries and as members of this Church. There is so much that can come to pass through the Light of Christ. 

We were blessed with the opportunity to be able to participate in the stake primary activity and dress up as Lamanites and the mob that attacked the members of the church. Part of that meant that we got to get swords and then pretend to die in front of a bunch of primary kids. I died at least 8 times and got stabbed more than a hundred times. They really were passionate about that situation. So much fun. 

Along with all of these experiences there are challenges. However, I feel the biggest thing that I feel is joy for the work when I reflect and look at what I have done this week!

Thank you everyone for all your prayers and all your support!

Love,

Elder Lines