Glædelig Jul og et godt nytår!

Hello Everyone,

This week has been very interesting. We have had a lot of different things going on and the most of it has just been preparing for this beautiful new year! We have organized activities and planned a lot of potential work. We had the opportunity to plan out the transfer and what we are going to do! This meant that we wrote each day what we will do for the rest of the transfer which just made me see how short the time we really have is. This work continues and these two years are the least I can give for the sacrifice of Christ that we get to remember during this Christmas time!

As a small challenge for this week we gave cookies to some of our friends! Overall it brought us a lot of joy to be doing something that could just bring joy to those that could use a treat! Giving in any way brings joy to our heart and as a missionary that is even more prevalent!

Before Christmas day we got out a lot to try and find and just do the work. A lot of it wasn't successful but we also find them that are elect and ready to learn! We have had some small miracles with finding some people that were willing to talk and give us their number! We hope to be able to have some success in this area and we pray for guidance as we do it.

As of Christmas Eve, we got to go to a members house after our short sacrament meeting! We spent the entire night at their house playing games and just having a whole lot of fun! We got to dance around the Christmas tree and just have a lot of fun with the Danish family! It felt like home since I have been celebrating Danish Christmas Eve's my entire life. 

For Christmas day (Today) we got to go over and again and have fun with our district and the Johansens (The Danish family). We played board games and ate some very classic Danish food like smoked meal and smoked salmon! Overall the day was very fun and the reminder of us being missionaries still let me remember my purpose to constantly represent Christ. It's really special being a missionary at Christmas time. As this day comes to an end I get to see how thankful I am for the times to come and the times that have been. I loved chatting with my family today, and feel especially grateful for them. 

We , as missionaries, are very thankful for your prayers and we wish everybody A Merry Christmas! 

Love,

Elder Lines

The Week Before Christmas (and a very cold new year)

Hello everyone,

This week has been really good! We have had a lot of things to do that were not in our area. We had some activities for my companion's visa and some meetings with our district! Overall, the experiences this week have been special and have helped me understand the purposes of the work we do. The days are short on light and it's cold, but we are staying warm and turning on our "happy light" each evening.

We got to go and have a district meeting together which included lunch and just having some fun. We talked about the guideings of the spirit and shared some ways for us to focus more on that. We really had a good conversation and just being in person makes it a lot more personal! Our district is small, but we are mighty. 

We went to a place near Copenhagen for Elder Hacking to do a language test! It was fun to spend some time with the Danish Elder in the mission and learn some methods of contacting people! We also got to buy some good food and had an amazing lunch! It was a fun day trip. 

We have had quite a few experiences this week but one of the saddest ones was that we had to stop meeting with one of our friends because of his intentions. We realized it was necessary and made the decision to do it in person. We hope that he can change his heart and try to learn!  On a happier note...we have been able to visit and teach with a sweet lady from Peru. She is such a good person and we hope she can continue to feel the love of Christ in her life. 

As a good part of this week we also went into the new transfer! We got to see some of the new missionaries and where they were assigned! This mission is growing surely but slowly and I'm happy to see the work progressing in so many ways. We are up past 80 missionaries I think and a whole entire new zone will be opening (my area!!!). 

I feel grateful this Christmas season to be a missionary and share the good news of Jesus Christ. I feel grateful for my amazing mission companion, Elder Hacking, as well. We are a good team and it's good to be serving together. Our small branch takes good care of us and we are very blessed.

On that note everybody I thank you so much for an amazing week and we will see you next week around Christmas Time!

Love,

Elder Lines

These are pictures of the place we visited today (near a Viking graveyard and cool stone structure) along with some pictures of the 108 door we knocked in a day!

Zone Conference and Transfer Calls!

 Hello Everyone,

This week has been filled with a lot of fun and especially a lot of Christmas activities! So here are some of the big events...

The service schedule continues as we have been able to plan and go through with a bunch of different projects. We got to sand some stuff to paint, chop some firewood, and shovel some snow! All in all I have seen the joy that it brings to serve in ways that are more physical. It feels good to help.

This week we had the opportunity to go to Zone Conference! That means that we got to drive up to Copenhagen and spend the day Christmas caroling in the centrum and next to the Kristus Statue!!! It was super pretty and I will include pictures of our time there below. Another part of Zone Conference was the great company of our mission President and all the Denmark Missionaries! I got to see all the missionaries that I was with before and more. I love uniting and being together. I also got a video from home that the mission office collected from missionary families. My siblings and parents all shared qualities I have that help me as a missionary. It made me smile. 

After we arrived home from the conference we got to go to our branch Christmas party! We ate a lot of classic Danish food and partied with the Danes. We played some games and then in the end just had an amazing time! The food was delicious and I most definitely ate too much! It was sooooo good. I did have 7 helpings of the rice pudding in hopes that I would get the almond. I've been doing this tradition for years with my Grandma, so it felt like home. They hide 1-2 almonds in delicious rice pudding, if you get an almond it gives you good luck for the next year (or something along those lines). I did not get an almond. But, it was worth all the delicious rice pudding to try. 

 

An experience that particularly stood out to me was when we sang Silent Night in front of the Kristus Statue! We got to truly feel the spirit in front of an amazing depiction of the loving and embracing arms of the Savior! The moments we shared there were by far one of my favorite memories and a spirit filled experience I have had yet, and really set a wonderful tone for my Christmas season. 

My companion and I are both staying in our area for another transfer. We are both very happy about this. The work continues and we feel grateful. 

Thank you everyone for your prayers and I will see ya next week!

Love,

Elder Lines

Pictures are of Danish food and the Kristus Statue with us!

Det sneede så meget!

 Hello everyone,

This week, as the title implies, has been snowy! We have had a lot of fun getting out in the snow and we've really cracked out the winter gear to prepare for the season! We have had a few snowball fights and overall have thoroughly enjoyed this week!

We have some strong potential learners and are excited to get some work done. One of the many miracles that came with the many doors knocked and people talked to was this one family that comes from Ethiopia! They were so kind!!! The first time we came to them we brought them a Book of Mormon in their own language. We could see the joy that they felt to have a gift. Their kids were kinda crazy but in the end we hope that they can continue to learn. It was fun to be able to give them something in their native language.

We also went on splits with the Elders from Rosekilde! We performed  some service with them by taking out thorn bushes with some weird tools. Overall it worked out great and we loved the chance to serve someone in our community! We also got to go up to Vordingborg also and had a great time teaching a lesson looking out over the harbor! The lesson went great and the person we taught was super happy to receive a copy of the Book of Mormon. We hope that she can read and learn about the gospel. 

As a finishing act for this week we had something called a "Pinseuge". That means that we did nothing but speak Danish to each other the entire week. Even during the hardest times I tried to remind myself the reasons that we were doing these challenges. In the end, it went super well and I feel like my skills in Danish increased so much because of the dedication we showed!

One day this week, we went out and I just felt the spirit guide me to the right places and even though it wasn't much it was a sign to me of the surety of His guidance! It wasn't monumental in missionary success, but it felt monumental to me to feel the promptings that come from the spirit. I know this is great work. Miracles come in all shapes and sizes. Additionally, our branch president talked with us about missions and his experiences serving. It really strengthened us. It's a small branch with a big spirit. I was particularly touched with my scripture studies in Jacob 2 about seeking the kingdom of God before riches and how that adds bounteous blessings to our lives. It's one of the hardest concepts to teach, but one of the easiest things to see and feel the blessings from. 

Well, that is all for this week everybody! I look forward to the opportunity to have fun in the next week and to serve more people! I'll see y'all next time!

Love to all of you,

Elder Lines

Greetings!

 Hello everyone,

This week has been very busy and very full but I will be making a list of things that are super good and some that have been bad!

The Good: 

We were able to teach a lesson to our friend and we also got a few referrals. He is a super good guy but he has it a little hard right now. It means a lot that he would trust us to try and bring hope to his life by sharing about Jesus Christ.

We got to have splits this week with the Zls and they are very cool. We had some good lessons with some potential friends and got to get some important work done.

We made a post on our service page and now have over 9 different opportunities to do service for people! I cannot say that I am surprised but I will say that it is a little unexpected. A lot of them asked what it would cost and when we said it was free all of them were super surprised! I am grateful for the opportunity to provide service. It really helps lift our spirits and definitely fills our schedule with good things.

We have been able to travel to an island that is kinda far away but literally no missionary has probably gone to before. We did service for a restaurant owner and had a very good time. The drive there was extremely pretty and we were basically the only ones on the road the whole time. We also had a fun feast together on P-day and traveled to a beautiful beach. It was cold, but it was beautiful to see the dark black sand and high cliffs. Because the water was so high, we could not walk down to the edge of the water. Still, a very fun day with our district. 

The Bad: 

Not much!!!!! It is great as missionaries to accept the bad and not let the most of it stand out but I will say the darkness and the slow work is definitely hard to deal with at times. We are finding more and more ways to be better though so that is exciting! I continue to have a good attitude. And, they ZL's brought us the "happy light" that all missionaries in Denmark are expected to turn on each evening. . 

Spiritual Experience: 

As I met with our mission President during interviews, what he shared made a lot of sense to me. The reasoning and faith that our president has is evident. He really cares and is guided by God! I'm so grateful to have a really thoughtful, fun and dedicated example. It really buoyed me up. I'm grateful to wear the name of Jesus Christ on my tag and look forward to this Christmas season.

Well everyone, I thank you for the support and I will say that I am thankful for all the prayers for missionaries across the world.

Vi ses til næste gang!

These are a bunch of pictures of me and my companion together around art!

Love,

Elder Lines

Nykøing Falster and the many islands

 Hello everyone,

This week has been amazing!  My companion, Elder Hacking, and I  have been doing some great work. The area we are in, although hard, is filled with  a bunch of fun stuff! We have an amazin branch with super dedicated members. They have invited us over to eat and we have been able to get to know them better.

A big thing we focused on this week was getting to know the areas around our zone so we went to some of the other places on the islands. We knocked on a lot of doors and used our time efficiently to find out whether or not the inactive members in that area were actually interested in coming to church. Overall ,we did some very good work. 

As the time in Denmark goes on, so does the love that I have for these people! There is so much joy to be found and they just need to take the first step and they will be so blessed! As a part of my study this week, I have made it a staple to focus on the way that we better show our love and the idea in my head keeps coming  to SMILING! I have seen so many people go from frowning to smiling after the simple gesture of sharing my joy.

As a cool activity this week we went to the town of Vordingborg and took some fun photos while doing some findnig up there. The best part of this experience is that it was the most successful day I have had in this new area. We were truly in the right place at the right time and made some good contacting. The work is slow, but it is happening. And, I'm grateful for the small and big miracles. I've enjoyed training and am learning so much as a district leader. Our district is small and I'm looking forward to a fun p-day activity we are planning for next week.

We had a very cool experience this week with one of our friends who moved out of their house due to a rat problem. We got to talk with them about the Book of Mormon and Heavenly Father. We gave them the invitation to read and helped them move their furniture and get some food from the depths of the infested house (luckily I didn't see any rats luckily). It was a combination of service and testifying. The best combo!

This has been a pretty normal, uneventful week.  I feel that every week that goes by it just becomes more and more familiar with me and becomes easier to handle. I am just happy to be out here! Each week there is something to learn and someone to love. And, I get to testify of Jesus Christ which really does bring a smile to my face. 

I am thankful for everyone's prayers and for your faithful support. Happy Thanksgiving my friends!

Love,

Elder Lines

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