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

Transfers and lovely possibilities!

Hello everyone, 

This week has been just lovely. As the title states we received news about transfers! I will be staying here on the island of Bornholm for a second transfer and I will be companions with the other missionary that will be staying on the island. That means that we will be the only two missionaries on the island for a period of time until we receive a senior couple in about a month. 

As the second part of this email states, this next transfer will be filled with possibilities! It has been quite amazing and we love the opportunity to continue in what some would call impossible conditions! This week particularly has been good because of two things: 

1. This week we got to have a branch party! We got to grill some food and played something called "Kongespil". This game is played by setting up 5 wooden blocks on two sides of the king wooden block that stands in the middle. Two teams take turns throwing 6 sticks trying to knock down the 5 wooden blocks. Only after they are all knocked down can you knock the King down.

2. The next best part of this week was the experience of getting to make some good friends this week! We got to really see that sometimes our efforts don't show fruits right away. This really can be a blessing and I have found that I learn so much from these experiences. 

However, one experience in particular stood out. On Sunday after church we decided to go out and find people and ended up having some discussions with people that instead of just telling us to go on really wanted to tell us why we were wrong! Although there was anger in my heart at first, through some prayer and deep consideration, I came to peace a lot faster than I think I could have before (my patience has increased a lot)! We then proceeded to have a really good lesson where we invited the two people, whom we had planned to teach later that day, to simply ask God their Father if he was there! It was good to see how much love is in such simple truth! Sometimes it sounds weird and too simple but we just need to go back to the basics and feel God's love for each other and for ourselves.  

Other than that, this week we got to eat some really good food! I made some homemade bread and during our splits we did this week we made this really delicious soup! I'll attach some pictures of the bread below! 

Here is the Danish word of the week:

Balladmager - Troublemaker! 

We look forward to the work and thank you all for the prayers and support! I'll see y'all next week! 

Love,

Elder Lines

Another Zone Conference and a Long Trip!

Hello everyone!

Another great week. Each day had good things and I'm really happy here in Denmark. 

We journeyed over to the mainland to Copenhagen to enjoy a zone p-day and a fabulous zone conference.  It is such a blessing to see old missionary buddies and new ones too. Our new mission leaders are really kind and it's been good to get to know them. I miss my old ones and enjoy getting to know new ones. It's how life goes. All are inspired and I am learning a lot. I'm grateful to them and enjoy learning from them. So. Much. To. Learn.

Zone Conference is always a great time. We talked about how we can better apply the resources we are given to our missionary work! We had some good discussions and some of the best things we learned were: read through the resources, apply what they say, practice and ponder, and finally review when you feel something needs to change! These resources are really given to us as the way we should work and teach! They are very inspired! And, I plan on applying them to my work. 

After Conference we got to go to the temple. I love the Copenhagen temple. I'm so grateful we get to attend it from time to time. We reflected on everything that we had learned and just took the time to think. If you know me, you know I'm not super quiet in general. But, having time to sit in the temple quietly is something I look forward to. I have come forward from our zone conference week with the strength to overcome the challenges I face! Let's go!!!!

The journey home from Zone Conference was fun. We woke up early (5am) for the fourth day in a row and drove through Sweden to the ferry where we then took it to the island. It is a long trip but it was very nice to get back. That same day we had a Family Home Evening and had some friends come and we sung some songs while just hanging out! Honestly a very positive experience to just hangout with some Danes and sing some songs. Bornholm is a special place. 

Other random things we did: service projects, edited a cool video about rubiks cubes (for a purpose), talked to so many people!!!!  

My dad asks me for a Danish word of the week. I keep a pretty lengthy list of new vocabulary words and teach him one that is funny or especially hard to pronounce. This week, the word was:  Tandkirug. It means dental surgeon and I knew he'd especially appreciate it. 

The miracle of the week was having two friends come to church!!!! Our branch is so small so having two people come is just amazing. I spoke and felt filled with the spirit. It was wonderful to be together worshipping. 

This week was filled with good energy and some positive people! We love the work and keep moving forward! 

Thank you everyone for your prayers! i look forward to writing again! Here are some pictures of Bornholm and of us in our different activities! 

Love, Elder Lines

A Normal Week

Hello everyone, this email will be a bit shorter as today has been very chaotic! I have indeed had a busy week but a lot of it was just knocking and finding! 

If you follow me on Facebook you can probably see the post I made about family history! I decided to post about my ancestors that come from Bornholm. They were very dedicated and faithful! During just a normal door contact this week I had the opportunity to talk about ancestors for a sec. I shared my testimony that my ancestors are supporting me knowing that I am serving the ancestors'  of people they knew so well and giving them a message they deserve. I know that all of our families are supporting us from the other side. I have been feeling that very powerfully this transfer especially. I'm grateful to my grandma for sharing stories with me and helping me connect. 

The rest of this week was filled with fun activities with members and a good amount of editing for some social media videos we run on the danish Facebook page! This week has really been a highlight that Social media work is strong and helpful. 

Today was a zone P day which means we hung out in Copenhagen! We had a blast! We drove through Sweden to get here and ended up stopping at IKEA. We got some food and tried speaking Danish to the Swedish but they didn't like that. It was fun to be there and just see Sweden again! (We were in Malmö!)

I'll be here in Copenhagen until Thursday. We have conferences to attend and then will travel back again through Sweden. Copenhagen is lovely and it's nice to have a break from the island for a few days.

All in all it was a good week! Thank you everyone for your prayers and for the support you show!

Love,

Elder Lines

Here are some pictures of Sweden and us throughout the week!