Random Splits and some fun lessons!

Hello everyone, 

This week has been amazing! We have been so lucky to be here on Bornholm and everyday makes me want to stay longer! This week we were lucky to have a couple of good service projects and some good lessons. Here is the run down: 

We began this week pretty calm by just having a lesson on Tuesday where we got to talk to one of our friends Theis! He is a cool guy and we loved being able to talk about the scriptures and more of the things that go with some of his beliefs! On Thursday, we got to have another lesson and we talked about some hard topics! We hope to help him come to church and eventually be baptized. We are happy to be teaching and are praying for him.

Wednesday was when it got really fun! We had a service appointment in Nexø, which is a place that is on the furthest end of the island. We traveled out there and spent the entire day finding, contacting, and even ate lunch. We had some great experiences and got to invite the lady we did service for to come to church and bring her son! We hope to see them in the coming weeks. She was grateful for our help and we love doing service.

The rest of the week involved a lot of finding and normal missionary activities! We got the opportunity to do some service on Saturday that led to an appointment today where she took us to a museum and shared some cool information about Bornholm and its history! People are so interesting and there is so much to learn.

Speaking of Bornholm, we learned a lot about culture. We talked with quite a few people about how Bornholm and Denmark in general have always focused on people and taking care of them. I am always so fascinated by their system and the way it works! They really are some kind people that understand charity. I am learning about how to love others from the Danes.

Now, the spiritual side this week was strong! We had some powerful lessons and got to teach some important principles. This week, though, I would like to focus on the organization that the Church has given us in our lives! I have a strong testimony that the restoration is needed due to the confusion and contention that many others seem to have. I know that the gospel provides a foundation that will never fall! That foundation is built on the Savior Jesus Christ and the increased knowledge we have received of him and his actions/purpose! 

Leading off that, I would like to share 5 things that I feel I have learned from Christ and the organizations he provides!

1. I have learned the importance of patience and timing! This is very important and easy to understand when you take into account what it means to be impatient and just do the opposite. 

2. I have learned that grace is given freely to all in every situation! Grace is that which we cannot do and in this scenario it impacts our eternal destiny. The requirements (commandments) can be hard but the fruits are greater!  

3. I have learned that Obedience and Understanding of the commandments can help us to live a more happy life! It is all rooted in love and in the plan made before we came. 

4. I have learned that the gospels organization provides us with safety from the world around us that can often be more destructive than uplifting! We have been given these things in order to help us navigate the hardships and temptations in life.

5.Finally, I have learned that God loves us so much that he sent his Son. He gave the ultimate sacrifice. His love is not limited and can reach all of us! He wants us to feel it and He wants others to feel it!

Thank you everyone for reading this week! We are also very thankful for all the prayers that are given and for the support we receive. 

Love,

Elder Lines 

A very busy week and meeting Lord Knud Erik Mogensen of Bornholm Rønne Branch!

Hello Everyone, 

As the title of this email states we had a very busy week! I really can see why people say the mission can be one of the hardest experiences of your life! I can also see why people say that it impacted them so positively! This week although one of the harder weeks was very very good. We got to see the work progress in a new way and learned a lot of things about how we can be better missionaries!

This week began with a lot of lessons and activities where we contacted quite a few people and scheduled some lessons for other times! The biggest success was getting to have two lessons with our friend Klaus and showing him the church building. It's been so fun to teach and talk with him. 

We ended up having a really good time and just learned that the light of the Gospel can really help people! For example, this week, when we were sitting on a bench outside of our apartment, we saw one of our friends that was walking down the street late at night. We stopped him and asked him how he was doing. He said that after coming to Bornholm he was a bit lonely and wanted to find some friends. And, he found us. We ended up having a good discussion about how the Book of Mormon has impacted our lives. We are so happy for the personal experiences that we get to share! 

Another good thing that happened was that we got to give not one, not two, but three tours of the church building! Two of them were our friends and one of them was for a school project for some kids on the Island. We loved getting to show the building and share how our services work normally and how they work on the island due to it being a branch. 

Overall, this week kept us on our toes and we ended the week with an eating appointment and interviews with President! The eating appointment is the title of email as we figured out that it is possible to buy land in England and claim the title of Lord through that. Which is what the Mogensen's did. The Father of the members family we were visiting for an eating appointment was gifted a piece of land by his daughter. This land legally gives him the right to change his name to Lord Knud. Its safe to say that I want this so badly. We took a picture of the token that represents his new Lordship and got a picture that I will share below! My message this week is that it definetely is cool that you can be called Lord (Insert Name) by buying land but it is even cooler that you can have such an impact on missionaries for so many years. The Mogenson family is legendary here on Bornholm and means so much to the branch and us missionaries. I would love to empasize how much a single family can make a mission so fun and memorable! 

I had the opportunity this week to zoom in and watch the funeral of my step-grandpa, Tony Knudsen. I have lived near him for most of my life (like 90% of my life). Even though I knew him well, I learned so much from watching the funeral. It was so good to see and hear from family.  I will really miss my grandpa and know that he is really proud of me and my mission. He is such a great example of goodness, hard work and faith. Faith and Family are really important to me and I feel very blessed. 

Thank you everyone for reading! I hope you enjoyed and I will write you all next week!. Thank you for all of your prayers! 

Love,

Elder Lines

Zone Konference and some helpful tips!

Hello everyone, 

This week I had the opportunity to go to Copenhagen and participate in Mission Konference. I will tell more about it later and what I learned but let us begin with the beginning! 

This week started out very well with some very positive things! We had an amazing lesson with our friend Klaus and had the opportunity to teach him about Prophets in relation to President Nelsons 100th birthday! We taught and the entire time we could feel that he was very understanding and actually loved what having a prophet meant and the character that he stands for! We will have another lesson tomorrow and we hope things will continue to go well! 

After that on Wednesday we took the bus for 4 hours to Copenhagen where we met the ZLs and went to the temple. It was amazing and we loved the opportunity to eat with all the Elders at a Sushi place that was ALL YOU CAN EAT! We ate way too much and slept well that night in preparation for the Mission Konference!

I would also like to share about the temple as this week it was definetely the highlight! It really is so uplifting to be as close to God as possible and be able to just hear his voice as we ponder! My invitation to everyone would be to go to the temple as often as you can and ponder what you can do to help or be more effective in your life! God wants the best for us! 

The next day was indeed Thursday, though, which meant we needed to wake and take a bus over to the Stake Center where we took pictures with Elder Whiting as he walked in! We then sat down and discussed 3 important topics for around 4 to 5 hours with lunch in the middle! We had time to ask him questions and were really inspired to apply more things to our missionary work! 

The three things he told us to focus on is "Minding the Minutes", removing generalized statements from our speech (in the form of vague promises and stories), and last but not least, inviting people to come to church and unto Christ! We learned some great tips and had the chance to learn how we can work more efficiently and preserve Spiritual Momentum that President Nelson talked about! It was very inspiring! 

After that we had the fun opportunity to hold splits! We went to Slagelse and had some of the Best Kebab I have ever eaten! It was very fun to be with the Elders for the only splits we will have this transfer! I was with Elder Erhental who comes from Germany! He is such a cool missionary and actually a convert to the Church. He has a strong testimony and we ended up enjoying the time that we had together!

After we arrived back on Bornholm we ended up having a great time just doing what we could with the time we had! Sunday went well but only 5 members came to Church so we ended up skipping the second hour!

All in all, the week has been uplifting and has taught me a lot! I look forward to working this next week! Thank you everyone for your prayers and I will see yall next week! 

Love, Elder Lines

Here are some pictures of Copenhagen Temple and me traveling throughout the week! The last one is the German Elder! 

Denmark Copenhagen Mission

 

A Hot Week but Lovely Company!

Hello Everyone, 

This week has honestly been very good! (I know that is what I say most weeks). We had quite a few lessons and got to  talk about a variety of different topics. The Gospel really has a lot to it yet is so simple. It feels my soul with happiness and peace.

Our week began with a day filled with quite a lot of lessons and a  service appointment where I removed a lot of thorny blackberry bushes! I got some cuts to prove it but absolutely loved seeing the bushes getting torn down. Actually, we had quite a lot of service this week and most of it was removing bushes. We are always so happy to see the difference that an hour or two of hard work makes. Lesson learned:  You can really make change in any situation! (and wear gloves)

The rest of our week was pretty normal! We had an online district council meeting because we can't meet in person (remember I live on an island)! We loved talking to the missionaries but it does feel different only getting to be online. We look forward to the Mission Konference next week and being with other missionaries! 

Speaking of Mission Konference, we were assigned to write something in preparation for it. The topic is the Book of Mormon and specifically how the Book of Mormon is changing me. I would like to share about how I have seen the Book of Mormon change me with each of you! I will start by saying that I have come to know the divinity of the book. I know that it is sent by God in these last days in order to give us an increase of knowledge about our Savior and the plan hat he played an important role in and how to love and forgive.Though the Book of Mormon has changed me in many ways,  the biggest way it helps me is in becoming more like Christ! I have been studying the different attributes of Christ quite often and I know that they can help me overcome challenges and find joy through the will and grace of the Lord! There really is much to learn and although it can be hard to read the same stuff again and again, there is always something new to learn. Concentrated study throughout my mission has changed me. My heart will not ever be the same.  Oh, how grateful I am for the Book of Mormon.

Well,  I end this email by saying thank you to everyone that reads these emails! I hope you feel uplifted! I feel so much joy and I hope you do as well. 

Thank you everyone for the many prayers for missionaries all over the world! The work is moving forward and we are happy about it! 

Here are some pictures of some Cinnamon Rolls I made and gave out to people this week! They taste great! Also, some pictures of nature. I promise to get more pictures of myself! (per my moms request)

Love to all of you, 

Elder Lines

En hurtigt men længe uge!

Hello everyone, 

This week has been pretty amazing! We have said goodbye to two elders and welcomed in the beginning of a new transfer. One of the biggest highlights/lowlights for the week was definitely saying goodbye to the Elders. It was sad to see them leave but good to see them off to their news areas! We will be the only ones on the island until there comes a senior couple in October! We are happy to be where we are and look forward to keep on working. 

First and foremost I will give a short introduction to my new companion! His name is Elder Webecke! We have been on the island for the same amount of time as his companion was the other Elder that was here when we first arrived! He grew up in Utah/California. He likes to play guitar and is quite talented.  We look forward to serving together and getting to work here on this beautiful island. 

Well, speaking of beauty, this week has been filled with it! We have seen probably the prettiest sunsets that have ever existed many of the evenings! The nature here on the island is just insane! With water surrounding you on all sides it gets out of control sometimes. We experienced that as we removed two massive bushes and 20 square feet of roots in the ground. All in all it was an adventure. More service! 

This week we also had a really good Family Home Evening where one of our friends came! We had a lovely spiritual thought and ended by playing some spoons! We sadly will be missing two of the members as they will be going to the USA for a wedding for their daughter! Of course it's a good thing, but our numbers go down!!  

This week the most spiritual thing that happened was weirdly enough the sunset! We had what I would call the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen (and that says a lot coming from blessed Albuquerque)! It was just God sent and as we sat and watched I just felt the love that God has for his children. I am so thankful for the world he created for us! 

This week I will show some of that thankfulness by sharing 10 things that I love about Bornholm: 

1. The nature 

2. The weather

3. The ward

4. The vibe 

5. The dialect

6. The branch 

7. The Board Game Club 

8. The fish 

9. The history

10. The Pretty Church Buildings! 

-This week through service projects where we removed bushes and chopped down trees I felt strong even though I was tired! I am thankful for the love of God! 

-This week I visited a church where some of my ancestors were buried. Can't say that every day!

Danish word of the Week:

Compassion -

Medlidenhed - Pity/Compassion

Medfølelse - Compassion/ Sympathy

Thank you everyone for your support and for the time you take to read my emails! I am thankful for it all! I will see you all next week

Love,

Elder Lines