The Mafia in Nykobing Falster

 Hello everyone,

This week has been filled with quite a lot of things and I'm happy and doing well.

First of all, this week was transfer week! Where we got to learn about travel plans and say goodbye to the area. As I told you last week, I was moved out of Aarhus and sent to Nykobing Falster! I am so excited to be able to get to be here and serve the people. The branch here (meaning there are not many people) consists of around 10 people that come to church. We work with them closely and it has been great to get to know them in the short time I have been here. We live right about the church. Like, the church is on the first floor and our (very large) apartment is on the second floor. We also have a car since our area is large (three islands connected by bridges). We also have a washer and dryer right in our apartment which is obviously very convenient. 

My companion has told me about the members and they are literally like a "Mafia" (a good one) down here. They run the missionary work and the branch. They have the dad and his kids who make up the leadership of the "mafia" in the entire bottom of Denmark! I have been able to enter as an honorary member of the Johansen mafia family. What a faithful family to hold the church together in this part of Denmark. It's very impressive.

On another note, I have become the DL. That means that I am the leader of my district and will be giving ideas for finding and creating goals. I also check in on the missionaries and make sure the work, language, etc are going well. Along with that, it means that we will get to have a lot of fun activities with our district. I like people and enjoy being social, so I'm excited about this. 

This week we had quite a few lessons but I think the best lesson I had was right before I left Aarhus. It was with our friend Bozhidar and we had the opportunity to talk a lot with him about his current situation in Denmark. We got to teach him about God and his eternal plan for him and how we need faith to truly understand! It was a good last week in my first city. I loved it there and am grateful for the people who welcomed me and taught me how to be a missionary. 

A time that I felt the spirit this week was during the first church meeting in Nykobing Falster. I was able to bear my testimony! I shared a scripture from Mosiah 2: 

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and ^ahappy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are ^bblessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out ^cfaithful to the end they are received into ^dheaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

This scripture is such a strong testament to the work we do. I would encourage all of you to ponder on this scripture and how blessed we are to be followers of Christ. It felt good to feel confident in my  Danish skills and I can see how far I've come in just a few weeks. The gift of tongues is amazing. Mostly, it feels good to be able to say what I feel and people can understand me most of the time. 

The last thing that was fun this week is that we got to see a lot of the new Elders & Sisters in the mission. One of them is a native Danish Elder. We don't see those too often! He comes from Denmark and speaks perfect Danish. I just love seeing the Danes' own people out in the country to serve and love the Lord. 

I love you all and am very grateful for your love and support.

Love,

Elder Lines