Church Talks, 11/11/12

It is 3:30 a.m. Tuesday morning and I feel compelled to be at the computer and describe what happened last week - especially Sunday, November 11, 2012.

It started the previous Sunday when Brother Krylborn asked Kari and I to speak in church on the 11th on building upon the rock as discussed in the scriptures. He asked if I wanted to do it in English or in Swedish. When I said Swedish, he tried to convince me to do it in English and said that he would provide a translator for me in case I needed one. Mom even discussed the issue with me. For several days, I struggled whether to do it in Swedish or in English. I had decide already that just before we went home, a month from now, I would to bear my testimony. But I knew that one more month would give me that much more Swedish experience even though in August I gave up seriously studying Swedish. I had made that decision because I knew that I wouldn't be able to understand and to speak it well enough to be useful before going home and that I would never use it again.

By Wednesday, I had completely made up my mind that I would give my talk in Swedish even if it meant just giving my testimony and sitting down. Wednesday night I called the temple shift leader and asked if I could have Thursday and Friday off to work on the talk. On Thursday I set out the Swedish scriptures, opened lds.org to the English scriptures and opened a Swedish/English translation program called bab.la. Then I started writing in Swedish. Mom said that if I did it in Swedish that she wanted it to me my talk and not hers. However, on Friday night I had pleaded so much that she consented to edit it for grammar and spelling. On Saturday, she had me read it for pronunciation. By then, I knew that I could succeed if I just read the talk. (I have never written out a talk in my life and read it. It just doesn't feel natural.)

Västerhaninge Chapel

We arrived at the Chapel about twenty minutes early and sat on the stand in seats behind the bishopric. I watched the members come in and take their seats. Many of them were people that we work with on a weekly and even on a daily basis in the temple. They were so beautiful. I thought of having to leave them and it emotionally broke my heart. I knew then that I wanted to say something to them that was more than what was written on my paper.

 

The music seemed to be more beautiful than ever.  The opening song was Jesus för världen givit sitt liv - Jesus for the World gave His Life. I listened intently as Mom gave her talk on faith-building experiences as a child in Sweden that built her faith in Christ. We all know how strong a testimony mom has, and her expression of it to the audience was riveting. What she said meant so much to her and to the Swedish audience.

The Swedish members value music very much in their lives and and our ward uses a special number almost every Sunday in sacrament meeting. Every Sunday I wait in anticipation of what beautiful number will testify of Christ and of the members' testimonies. I will miss that back home. This Sunday two young sisters from an amazingly strong family (Elsa and Hanna Henretta) played Han lever min förlossare - I know that My Redeemer Lives - on the piano and flute. By then my heart was so full.

When I got up, I just had to express my love for the members, the beautiful music, and for mom's touching remarks. I wasn't concerned about my Swedish because there was something of more importance that had to be said. I was the same way when I was giving the talk - it was a testimony of Christ and it had to be given from my spirit to their spirits. I couldn't just read it without looking directly at them. They were so beautiful, and the temple Prsident and his wife were sitting there giving me so much support through their expressions. When I sat down, I knew that a small miracle had just happened and I was so thankful to the Holy Ghost for His help to help me express my love and testimony of Jesus Christ and of God's work.

As we sang the most fantastic Blott en dag ett ögonglick i sänder -Only a Day a Moment at a Time - written by Lina Sandell-Berg, 1832-1903 with Music by Oscar Ahnfelt, I was completely "overwhelmed" by the Holy Ghost.

Mom said later that during my talk, Brother Krylborn handed her a program (with a pen) and written on it the question, "How does he do it?" I have reflected on that very same thing now for two days. The one and only answere is that the Holy Ghost was there and joined us all together in love and in testimony of the greatness of our Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ, their great plan for us, and our part in fulfilling the plan for ouselves and for God's other children.

God's power was shown through the Holy Ghost what we on earth experience and perceive as a miracle. The great blessing for me is that I was able to be a part of it in that moment - I again experienced a part of God's joy.

The Opera 10/27/2012

Kari wanted to go to the Stockholm opera with Eva when she was here, but there were no tickets available during the times they could go. Kari was kind of sad not to have been able to go, so she asked Sister Oscarson and the sister missionaries here at the time if they would like to see Sleeping Beauty (Törnrosa in Swedish meaning Briar Rose).

On Saturday October 27, four enthusiastic sisters headed off to Stockholm and to the Royal Opera via train. Below is proof that they were at least in front the Opera (unless the photo was manipulated).
From left to right is Sister Oscarson, Kari, Sister Thatcher, and Sister Johnson.

I don't know if the other husbands got any sleep that night or not, but I didn't. When Kari got home she was so excited to tell me what it was like - the trip up, the walk over, orchestra warm-up, the building, the intermission, the train ride home, etc. I must admit that I was excited myself for her excitement.

But, back to the sleepless night.... It really may not have been because of the wives, but because of ourselves. We decided that since the women were having a night out that we would have a night in at the President's house in a room that someone designated, "The Man Cave." We watched some Pink Panther crazy movie, ate chips and a montrous 7-layer dip with potato chips, cheetos, pop corn, and topped off with A&W rootbeer bought in Sweden. Maybe it was just our stomachs that kept us up.

I'm sure that our wives were sound asleep, smiles on their faces... dreaming of sweet memories.

Temple Patrons

Almost every week a regional portion of Norway, Sweden, or Latvia come to the temple by bus, boat, plane, or car - many of them with entire families including you children. Parents trade off going to the temple and staying with the children, or, another group member will take care of the children. The Temple has four large rooms which allows the groups to conduct sessions by themselves and to be lead by themselves. An amazing amount of work is done with an amazing amount of commitment and enthusiasm.

This past week Latvians came who have the greatest distance to travel with generally the greatest amount of sacrifice. Every group comes and participates with the greatest showing of love. The Latvians were no exception. This time they brought traditional food with them to serve an evening dinner to the Temple Presidency and to the temple missionaries. The night before, on Wednesday, the Presidency and the missionaries honored them back by preparing a dinner for them. On Thursday night, we had a testimony meeting before the dinner lead by the Latvians.

It is so clear that we are a small but very important part of God's plan and that the Church is picking up momentum in phenominal ways towards events that we can only begin to imagine. It is absolutely so exciting to be participating in and to help create just a little part of one of the footsteps and to be able to see the footprints being created. Being here and being involved in a small temple, we are able to see the amount of resources that the Church commits to this great movement. This is the Lord's Church as no one in their right mind would attempt, commit to, undertake, and support such an ambitious and gigantic mission affecting all of God's children through eternities.

Tomte

Swedish folklore has it that there are little unseen Tomtes living in the forests and near homes that watch over family members, their animals, and crops. Kari and I decided that we would take home a replica of what a Tomte might look like.

We sat him on our living room cabinet. When our Temple President and his Wife came over to Kari's dinner invitation, we told them that we had trapped a real live Tomte in the forest graveyard near the temple. His wife asked what we used for bait. I said that I used a neighborhood kid since Tomtes especially like to help young people.

Below are several pictures of our Tomte in the Swedish forest where he was living (we have since released him and kept only his replica).

 

Kari's Relative 10/22/2012

Last Monday, October 22, we had the wonderful experience of meeting one of Kari's relatives in Stockholm. It was her mother's cousin, Kurt Kressner. Kari's grandmother was a twin and Kurt is the son of the twin, Agnes Gjednes.

It started when Kurt in Sweden asked Kari's mother for some geneology of the family. Jannicke sent the geneology to him. Kari decided to say hello to him when we are in Sweden. She tried calling several times but couldn't get him so she almost gave up thinking that maybe he had was on vacation, moved, or worse died. (He was 93 years old.) Then Jannicke gave Kari the email address that she had for him. Kari sent a message and Kurt responded with an invitation to his home.

We took two trains to get to his apartment, crossing a beautiful lake to the island of Lidingö, and walking up a set off quiet back roads. We turned a corner and were in front of the entrance to Millesgården on the left which is a beautiful park of statues by Carl Milles (a famous sculpture), Foresta (a famous restaurant) on the right, and Kurt's apartment between the two.

We rang the bell and he met us. He took us to an apartment adjoining his where we met Irene Söderblom. Irene was just finishing watching the end of a movie. Kurt whispered that the actress in the movie was in fact Irene. Irene is now also 92 or 93 years old and had been in 17 movies that were made in the 1940's and 50's. She was a beautiful starring actress and is well recognized and admired today. She is frequently in social media (along with Kurt who accompanies her).

Kurt invited us to have dinner at the famous Foresta restaurant where we had an exquisite dinner of thick grilled salmon, grilled asparagus, out-of-world sauce, and new potatoes. The grilled taste with the sea salt was one of the best meals I have experienced. During the tourist season the restaurant is difficult to get in to, but that night we were early and also beat the crowd that is there even in the non-tourist season. The picture below is Kari and Kurt in the Restaurant.

After dinner, we returned to the apartment where Kurt showed us pictures of his family. Pictures of his mom, brothers, his son, etc. Afterwards while they were talking, I took this peaceful night shot from their apartment balcony.

Their balcony overlooks a bay where many ships come and go to other countries like Finland, Latvia, etc. Across the bay is also a very successful telescope retailing company that he started and is now run by his son. Their company building is now being demolished by Stockholm to enlarge the bay's commercial services.

I snapped this shot of Irene, Kurt, and Kari before we left. Kurt is amazingly phsically fit at 93 years old. And Kari says that he looks much like he did when she last saw him 50 years ago and she sees features of his mother in his face.

Our visit to Sweden has been an absolute delight mostly because of the wonderful people that we have met and because of the marvelous services that we have been blessed to do in the temple.

Kari's College Roomate 9/29/12

A month ago (time is passing quickly) Kari was finally able to meet face-to-face with a fellow student at their University in Stockholm. Eva and Kari were companions and roomed together when their class of physical education students participated in extra-curriculum activities. For example, they went on several ski trips. One trip was a week-long ski trip where it took them a whole day of skiing to get from one cabin to the next through some nasty weather. (Their instructor let them go by themselves.)

After graduation, Eva taught physical ed for a few years then went back to school (education is free in Sweden) and became a medical researcher for a company until she retired. She and Kari wrote periodically to each other over the years and decided to get together when Kari came to Sweden. Eva lives about 3 hours south of Västerhanige where we are living. Finally, on the last weekend of September they met after 50 years in Stockholm at the train station, had lunch, went to a museum, and talked. 

Eva came back to our apartment, stayed over night with us, went to church with us the next day, and had a wonderful time walking through the historic gravesite in our forest. They went through and chatted about pictures that Kari had from their University days. Below is a picture of Kari and Eva next to the Stockholm Temple in front of its beautiful landscaping.

Memories of good friends and reunions are joyous moments!

Meeting Old Neighbors 9/18/12

I should be heading for bed, but there is one more thing that we did this week that I need to relate. When the children visited Sweden this summer, Mom took them to visit the apartment building where she lived as a child. As she was telling about it, a couple went up to the door to go inside. Kari went up to them and explained that she had lived there as a child and asked if she could show us inside. The couple said sure and let us in. Below is the apartment building. We went up to the third floor to her former apartment. As we looked around, Kari remarked that her former neighbors still lived across the hall. We knocked but no one was home. We left but decided to call and visit them later - such as at the end of summer perhaps when they would return from their summer cabin.

Kari called them after the first of September and reached the Slagbrands who said that they would be delighted to see her again. Last Tuesday, September 18th, we went up to Stockholm, quickly visited Haga park where the Lindbäck family played and picnicked (we will return and spend more time another day), then we went over and visited Anders and Britta Slagbrand.

 

 

 Anders is 83 and Britta is 85. They are in extremely great shape and doing very well. Britta was born in that apartment on the third floor and has lived there all her life. (Apartments are very difficult to get. There are waiting lists of about seven years to get one.) Of course Kari and they talked over old times while eating goodies and drinking a black currant drink that Britta had made from currants grown at their cabin. When we were leaving, Kari just had to take the 2-3 person elevator (more if you are kids or maybe pack in super tight). I should have gotten a picture from further back that showed their apartment door also. Anyway you can see that mom was super pleased.

The Slagbrands (and Britta's mother who also lived in the apartment) had been very good neighbors that had taken an interest in the Lindbäck family and the two little girls. Years later you could still feel the love that existed between them.

The goodbyes with good hugs and hand holding were very tender!

Half way mark 9/16/12

It is now a few days past our half-way mark and it is going by way too fast! As our time is running out so is the Swedish summer. The weather is getting colder, the wind crisper, the daylight shorter, the leaves are turning color, and the emotions are getting more sensitive.

In fact, I would like to honor the moment by saying a few things about some of the faithful saints and the temple. As I was sitting at the recommend desk last night, a brother stopped and talked. He had been here a week with the Norwegian group and was heading back that night by bus. He would leave at 10:30 last night and after two bus changes would be home outside of Oslso at 12:00 p.m, today - a 13.5 hour trip. Other Norwegians were also packing up either to bus, fly, or drive home. They had been here for the week with their families, including young children. Adults trade off taking care of the young children. This is how it has been all summer - faithful saints coming with their familes for entire weeks. They have their own sessions staffed by their own people.

Today, Saturday, our High Priest group will have their own session (or maybe two - the rooms only hold 31 people each). The temple President is keeping the temple open after hours just for them. Then they will have a meeting in the nearby chapel afterwards.

Either next week or sometime soon, the Gävle ward (about 2.5 hours away and Kari's dad's parents are buried in Gävle) have scheduled the temple on their own to attend. The President is so happy that they are taking the initiative on their own without being given a time to attend. The ward has already made arrangements and made plans to accomdate entire families. They told the temple President that they are bringing the children's Sunday clothes with them so that they can all walk up to the Temple in their Sunday best.

This is a Church for families. Last week mom sat next to two women that were non-members at sacrament meeting for the first time. (One was born in a small outside of Dala-Foda were mom spent her summers so they had a good bond and talked and talked.) The other woman had a pad and pencil and was taking notes. It was a primary sacrament meeting with all the beautiful children. One of the ladies asked if our Church always had that many children attending. Mom said that our Church was for families. The Sister misionaries were so cute as they came over and took the ladies under their wings. (Sister Briton has a brother in our ward in P.G.. Her parents are mission presidents in Siberia, and the other Sister - has a fake name because her's is too difficult to say in Swedish - is also from Pleasant Grove.)  After the meeting, mom heard one of the ladies ask the Sister missionaries if they could ask some questions. The Sisters had to make an appointment because they had about a 4-5 hour car drive to Goteborg for a music recital they were giving that night for the Mission.

This has got to be one of the greatest ways to celebrate life and to honor our Father in Heaven and His children on both sides of the veil!

Paris Attractions, 8/29-31/12

Versailles
Well, after getting to bed at 11:30 the night before, we didn't quite get out of the Hotel by 7:30 the next morning. So we didn't get to Versailles until about 10:30 where we encountered a long line of about three football fields long or about a 1.5 hour wait. (We had decided in advance not to buy a $125 ticket each to get in free to certain museums, skip the lines, and pay for all transportation. For us, it was a good decision because we got along with a lot less cost. This was our only long line.) We stood in line with a grandmother, her friend, and two grandchildren of about 8 and 11 years. We talked in French and I played slap-the-hands with the 8-year old boy.

 

The Palais de Versailles has huge acres of gardens. So we wisely rented a golf cart and tore around the gardens at a very slow speed.  I drove because I have guessed for a long time that mom has this strong latent desire to speed recklessly.

 



Sacre Coeur
Mom's best-liked site was the Sacre Coeur built on the highest hill overlooking Paris. It is very striking and peaceful.

 

We sat peacefully at a sidewalk cafe, had dinner, looked up at the beautiful sight. I think that we may have sat peacefully because it hurt to walk.  The metro station is at the bottom of the hill and I don't know if we didn't see escalators or if there weren't any. Anyway, the flights and flights of stairs that we took and took and took, took their toll on our poor old knees.

 

La Sorbonne

I have also been intrigued by the Sorbonne, the University of Paris. So I had to see it. It is a large building the length of the entire block and half as wide. It has a monitored entrance so not just anyone can enter (I didn't get in). Because of the fountain in front, we loved the water sound and ate there twice at side-walk restaurants.

 

 

 

Our eating consisted of buying yogourt and bananas the night before at a small neighborhood grocery store and putting over our mult-grain cereal that we brought with us for breakfast. Then we bought a fancy lunch at the sites that we visited at about 2:30 p.m. to save time and to enjoy the ambiance. Then we had snacks at night. Incidentally, mom liked french crepes with sugar and cinnamon so much that she had to buy them at side-walk vendores about once or twice a day.

 

Eiffel Tower

We spent about two hours walking the garden, sitting at the opposite end of the garden, and taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower through dusk and night.

 

 

 

 

Arc de Triomphe

I had better put in a picture of mom at the Arc de Triomphe. We walked the famous Champs de L'Elysees twice. The second time mom wanted to look at fashions in several of the stores. I stayed outside and at one point I made a fashion statement of my own by probably being the first person to pull out my ipad and reading a Louis L'Amour (french right?) short story right on the fashionable Champs de L'Elysees.

 

 

Interesting Pictures

I like two rather impressionistic pictures that we took at the Seine at night without stabilizing my camera -- so the pictures are blurred. But, I like the "aura" of a mystical and romantic Paris that the blurriness creates. One sees the Seine, boats, Notre Dame, and a beautiful full moon.

 

 

 

 

 

We loved our stay in PARIS!

(Yes we loved our stay in Paris!!  Mom)

 







First Day in Paris, 8/28/12

August sure went by quickly. Starting on Saturday the 18th, the Temple was closed for the rest of the month. The next Tuesday mom and I borrowed tennis rackets and balls and went to a private club outside court at a beautiful beach and played tennis for an hour. We would have gone other days also but the weather was "wet." Instead mom got her hair cut in a nearby town and visited a museum in Stockholm on her own while I stayed at home, researched, and planned our trip to Paris.

We left for Paris on Tuesday the 28th via Air France. We arrived in Paris at 5 p.m. and were supposed to be at our hotel at about 7 p.m. for a peaceful exploratory walk around the neighborhood. I know that the "supposed to be" gives way to intrique. So, we went to buy our train tickets for a clear one-way trip to the hotel. We we told that there would be at least a two-hour wait because there had just been an accident on the tracks and someone had been killed. We were told, along with "hundreds" of other people, tours, etc. to take a bus. So everyone "runs" across several terminals in shuttles to catch the bus for a detour around the wreck. As many people as possible were shoved into the bus. Of course, we weren't one of them. Suddenly, a worker yells that one could catch a train. You must realize that most of the people are tourist just arriving at the Charles de Gaulle airport and have absolutely no idea of what is happening. We all run over to the train platform. At this point, no one has tickets or knows where the train is coming from or going to. There are multitudes of people asking other people who also have no clue.  Finally, a train comes and everyone blindly piles in. The train goes, stops, and everyone piles out onto a platform of who-knows-where. We wonder about for about 15 minutes while asking other people what to do who answered back that they don't know either.

Finally, I go down in the subway and ask and we are directed (with another unknowing women trailing we unknowing two) to take another train to who-knows-where. Fortunately, as we are riding the train, I still have courage to ask another person the same question about how to get to the St. Michel metro stop. This time we hit a mother load of all paydirt. His last name was Viega, Spanish and born in Paris.  It was the first time that he had taken this train, but he was going to one stop before St. Michel and if we would follow him, he would take us that far. One once-was swede and one american followed him like two puppy dogs -- so close that one couldn't have put a thin piece of French cheese between us.

How great it felt to come out of a metro tunnel, smell fresh air, and see a sign that says Fontaine de St. Michel.  All my best planning had not prepared us for what had just happened. Then to have mom basically say that President Monson says that nothing is a coincidence.  I didn't see wings on Mr. Viega or any harp, but I do know that angels don't need to have either one.

After, checking in, we headed out of the hotel a little after 9 p.m. The hotel Severin was perfectly located -- about two walking minutes from the central metro, five minutes from Notre Dame, five minutes from a Seine boat cruise, ten minutes from La Sorbonne, fifteen minutes from Le Louvre, and smack dab right in the middle of one of the best tourist areas of the Latin Quarter. It was time to party!

We walked some streets, went to the Seine, ate dinner at a side-walk cafe, and fell into bed about 11:30 knowing that we should get out of the hotel about 7:30 am the next morning to go to the Louvre to miss the long tourist line.

Christer and Karin 8/7/12

A couple of weeks ago, on a Friday, we had another wonderful experience. (It seems that our time here in Sweden has been filled with fantastic experiences with great people.) So much happened with so much to say about the people and the activities in this story that I have delayed this writing until now.

Two of the main characters in this story are Christer Österlund and his wife Karin. Karin was Jannicke's mission companion in Northern Sweden where it really gets cold. Christer was born in Northern Sweden and moved on his own to Stockholm when he was 18 after he had been baptized. He was the only one in his family to be baptized.



Christer and Karin Österlund

When he moved to Stockholm, he became an integral part of the Church's youth group. Mom was there with him for one summer before leaving for America. The group did things together on Sunday nights and Mom's parents invited him to their home.

Eventually Karin and he were married (I don't know the details, but there must be a story there also) because they were both living in Canada.) They returned to Sweden, were married, and had four children - two girls and two boys. They developed a close friendship with Erik and Anna who loved to invite them over to eat and to spend time with their children. Anna and Christer then worked together in the translation department. Christer says that he heard all the stories about Anna's daughters and their families. In fact, he recounted some of the stories to us which were pretty accurate. Christer then went back to school and became a physical therapist from which he is now retired. Karin taught school and is now retired also. She is a very accomplished musician.

Now for the present story. Christer and Karin invited Mom and I, Bengt and Inger Höglund (whom we talked about in an earlier post when we were invited to dinner at their home), and two member sisters whose husbands were working out of the country to have lunch and to spend the evening playing games with them at their home. Below is a picture of Bengt and Inger Höglund.

The Österlunds took us for lunch in a private art museum called Artipelag. It was just opened this Spring on a beautiful spot in pine trees overlooking the Baltic Sea. It was a buffet with seating outside under the trees and sculptures around. We talked and enjoyed the setting. We then went through the art museum which had the theme of Life in Points of Time (this isn't a quote, but my interpretation). The paintings and art were interesting but the greatest "art" was the current and present beautiful nature that you could see through the large floor-to-ceiling large glass windows interspersing the art. My thinking was that there can be nothing as beautiful as our own current lives that God has given us right now. And, we are so thankful for all our children, grand children, wonderful people that Mom has been able to renew relationships with here because of her parents, etc., and the marvelous temple work that we are experiencing.

We then walked along the water's edge and later went back to Christer and Karin's apartment where we had wonderful strawberry, cake, and other fantastic desserts. We played dominos and a card game with true friends. How much better can that be! I can think of some, but this rates among the top as decades of relationships were reunited.

Nynashamn and Caj-Aage 8/6/12

It is Monday, a catch up and shopping day. We have been shopping so now it is catch up.

For some time we have wanted to take the train to the end of the line that goes south past our town, Vasterhaninge. So, Saturday was a beautiful sunny day, we jumped on the train and went about 40 minutes through beautiful country (all of Sweden is beautiful country) to Nynashamn. Other than being at the end of a train line, Nynashamn is one of hundreds of towns and cities along Sweden's coast. We didn't see any beaches but it is a boating town. Some excursion boats dock there, it has a major ferry to a major island called Gottland, and there are hundreds of sailboats.

So we bought a loaf of bread, smoked salmon, marinated octupus, and marinated oysters. We then sat on the dock, ate, and watched the waves and boats. A huge ferry from Gottland came in right at us then smoothly turned, docked, and let passengers, cars, trucks, and excursion buses off. There was a huge line of the same to get on but we didn't wait to watch those. Mom has put going and staying over night in Gottland on her to-do list.

Now back to Kari's Sunday School teacher mentioned in the last post. His name is Caj-Aage Johansson. Two weeks ago a temple worker from his ward gave us detailed instructions on exactly what trains and metros to take to get to his ward. The ward is north east of Stockholm. It took us about an hour and a half to get there. He was there and was sure glade to see mom. They talked and talked even in the hallway while I was in the Sunday School class listening to Swedish. We took several pictures of him and mom together. He will always be a great influence and memory in mom's life.

He was the only Sunday School teacher that she ever had. Each year they moved up together. She says that not only was he a very good teacher, but he was so humble even though he was one of the top people in Sweden's aviation and was a consultant to Canada and other countries when he retired from Sweden. One summer, he took the Sunday School class on a ten-day bike ride on Gottland (the island mentioned above). He is now 93 (very active physically). His wife is 97 and is mentally great but not too well physically. He invited mom to his 100th anniversay. He has had (and still does have) a very great influence on mom's life. (I guess I said that twice, but the emphasis is appropriate.)

Old Faces, 7/25/12

So much has happened that hasn't been recounted. Rather than starting some time ago, I'll just go back to yesterday with two events and then go back from there on subsequent blogs.

As one knows, as people get older their faces, hair color, and even women's last name change to the point that we no longer recognize them after a period of time. Well, mom was in the temple and was talking to a sister Swedish temple worker. After awhile the sister's face lit up and she threw her arms around mom. She is from southern Sweden and had known mom through regular Church activities and especially from youth conferences. Her name now is Gunilla Carlsson (mom thinks it was Ekelund back then). 

The even better part is that she now lives in Stockholm in the ward where mom's most favorite Sunday School teacher (and only one) now lives and whom mom has wanted to find in Sweden and to visit. He is now 93 or 95 years old. She gave mom times and directions and we'll go to his Ward next Sunday. He had taken their sunday school class on a 10-day bicycling trip to Gottland - a big beautiful island.

The other event was that as we were working in the Temple, a former Swedish missionary came in with his wife, daughter, son-in-law, and a wheel-chair bound member that they had reactivated. The former missionary's last name was Jeffs. When he was a missionary, Kari's family had him and his companion over many times to their home. When Anna went to America, she lived close enough to the Jeffs that they had her over to their home many times and did many other kind things for her. Also, Anna was able to provide companionship for his aging mother. He and his wife are now back in northern Sweden in the Branch Presidency and helping with Home Teaching and reactivation.

His wife told us that the member that they reactivated (she told us the details which I don't remember well like towns and time periods so I'll say generalities so as not to be incorrect). This member was away from his home town when he had a severe stroke. The doctors induced a coma which he was in for sometime. He hadn't recovered but they medically flew him home. He was given a priesthood blessing. The amazing thing to everyone was that the following Sunday he was in church.

His right side was paralyzed, but Sister Jeffs taught him how to use Family Search, etc. He can use his left hand. He is doing work for his family of which he could only remember his mother's birthdate. He didn't know anything else about her nor about his father. He is now doing their work for them.

How great is the work of our Father in Heaven!  ...on earth and on the other side!

7/8/12, Family Visits

Four families visited Sweden this past week. I will write this from the perspective of someone not familiar with the account.

The weather before their week-long visit has been rainy and cool all Spring. There was no rain during the week of their stay. It rained on Saturday and Sunday following their departure. We visited and did all the normal tourist things -- visited museums, took tours, and ate marvelous food. Now for the really good parts -- the extraordinary parts.

On Monday, we were visiting the apartments where mom lived as a child. We couldn't get into the building to see the stairway or courtyard, but as we were leaving, a tenant couple walked up, mom introduced us and asked if they would let us in. They were so kind and let us in. We saw the inside and courtyard which was more interesting than just the outside. Mom saw the name on an apartment of one of their neighbors. They were not home but mom and I will call them return later in the summer.

On Thursday and Friday, we travelled to Gavle (home of mom's dad and his parents), then to Dala-Floda where he and his parents spent summers and later where he built a cabin and spent summers with his wife and children (Kari and Jannicke).

Mom wanted to see some friends that she had spent the summers with (of course they would be a little older now). Well, the first "coincidence" happened when we drove up and mom went to a little souvenir shop to ask some questions. There inside was the first friend that she would meet. The extraordinary thing was the the lady was asked to cover for the owner for just that afternoon -- she had done so in the past but very rarely.

The second "event" happened when mom wanted to find another friend but only knew her maiden name. Mom and I decided Thurday evening to leave the "kids" and walk around. There was no one on the streets, but there was a family having a barbeque in their back yard. We walked up to them and described to them what we were trying to do. The young lady said that she thought that the friend was a singer and would be in the city church at a celebration. We went into the Church and finally identified her. When the celebration was over and Kari introduced herself, there was certainly a huge exclamation and big hugs.

We stayed in the hotel where her dad stayed as a child during summers with his family (they also stayed with different families during the summers as well). Mom swam in "her lake" and rowed a rowboat across it to the cabin that they had built across the lake.

The last day we wanted to take pictures of the cabin and decided to drive around the lake. However, there is no road directly to the cabin and we didn't know where to stop the car to try to find the cabin. So, here is the next astonishing event. You must remember that the cabin is in an isolated location with few neighbors and fewer people passing by. Well, as we where trying to decide where to stop and which hill and forest to walk over and through, a car stops and asks if they could help. You can guess, the woman was another friend that mom grew up with. More exclamations, hugs, and happy tears.

Last and certainly far from the least, Amy is now a certified Swede and a full-fledged member of the Kerr/Lindback Swedish clan. She found a grave stone with "Tillman" on it. (Also the name of one of mom's childhood friends.)  As you might suspect, Tony, Casey, and Nate all have declared their Swedish lineage. Of course Aaron claims his Norwegian heritage which mom's mom may say is the better half. Now we need to hear from Jim. Mom says that Hansen is Norwegian. What a GROUP!

One more memorable thing! How proud mom and I were as we stood on the train platform and said good bye to such marvelous people, and to know that there were still more of them back home.

We love all of you. Mom and Dad

Sweden 6/22/12 and 6/23/12

Time has gone so fast that I almost lose track of it. Here it is already Saturday night 10 pm in Sweden. Several things of interest:

Normally, we as volunteers would have Friday and Saturday off when the temple is usually open but we had a surprise of about 30 single adults from many countries including as far away as Britain and Estonia come wanting to go through the temple on Friday and Saturday. So, we were asked to work in the mornings which we did. I have done several ordinance already in English, Swedish, and Spanish. Talk about getting thrown in the middle of deep water and being asked to swim. However, it is very challenging and certainly fun.

Another thing is that it is Midsummer festivities. So, Friday afternoon we took the train to Skansen where mom got her to-die-for waffles and ice cream cones. We didn't make it in time to see the raising of the may pole, but we did see some dancing then we walked around while listen to the traditional music and songs. Of course as we walked around mom was humming and singing to the music. Little girl grown up.

Going to Skansen we past the grave site where morfar was buried and the church where the funeral was held.

There is a retired Swedish member couple here where the wife has a bad back and must lay down much of the time. Consequently they can't do much service in the Church.  So they do special things for the rest of the temple workers like take them shoping to larger stores in other towns where the prices are less for groceries, etc. Well, today for Midsummer, they threw a barbeque with all kinds of other good Swedish foods -  pickled herring, salmon, mackrel, meatballs, little wieners, fresh little potatoes (big deal at this time of the year) with sour cream and dill, cake, etc. Everything was delightful. It must of cost them several hundred dollars as food is very expensive. They are very good and gracious people.

Mom had a very special occasion in the temple today which could have made the whole trip worthwhile. Unfortunately, I can't explain the whole thing here. She wrote an email to Jannicke with a full explanation, but in Swedish so I can't forward it to you. In essence, when she was a little girl a member's wife got TB and had to leave town for treatment. They had two sets of twins. One set was 1 years old.  Mom's parents took care of one of those twins for over a year. Well, today mom was standing as host in the foyer of the temple when she saw somebody that looked very familiar about twenty feet away. At the same time, both realized who each other were. Needless to say there was a lot of joy. They lady was one of the older twins who had married an American and was living in Wyoming now. She was here in Sweden for the marriage of her son to a Swedish girl in the temple. Mom had no clue that she was here and could have been in another part of the temple and could have missed her completely. It just "happened" that both were in the right place at the right time - a tiny or a big miracle depending on one's perspective and involvement.

Talk to you later, good night from a long ways away!
Love, Mom and Dad

6/18/12 & 6/19/12 from Sweden

This is Tuesday night. But first let's talk about yesterday. Mom and I went to Stockholm to check out the train and bus lines, schedules, and prices - plus the hotel. Just remember that buildings in downtown Stockholm are old and are not the ritze Hyatt, etc. In other words, the Queens Hotel has "character" but is very doable and is nicely located - central to many things. I'll send an email with specific things to do in preparation for coming to Stockholm. The train got us there in just 30 mins - a car is over 1 hr. We walked about town and down to Gamla Stan (the old town). We had a late lunch on a side street. It was spicey vegetarian and we still don't know really what country the recipe was from.  Maybe from Pakistan.

We got back about 4 pm just in time to go shopping in the temple van with other temple workers who drive to another city to try to buy groceries, etc. and lower prices. Oh, did I say that food, etc. is very pricey is Sweden - especially for a couple of conservative like your mom and myself.

Today, a temple worker took us back into Stockholm to the immigration office to get visas. There are lots of people coming into Sweden. But mom says that she never saw homeless people when she was a kid. Apparently, the Swedish care system is being heavily strained and you see a significant number of homeless people now. We got back home after lunch. At 1pm, we went to the temple for the first time. We were set apart, shown around, and went through a session in Swedish. Yes, even me - the whole session.

Mom is calling to hit the sack. So, I'm listening. Too late! She is on her knees in prayer mode.

Good night. Dad

Arrival in Stockholm 6/16/12

I think mom and I are finally getting a little jet lag. It has been a couple of busy days. We were about 45 minutes late getting off the ground in Dulles because the plane had electrical problems and they had to "reset the systems." (Mom had a great bulkhead seat for her legs but she still got a cramp as she was sleeping on the floor with her feet up on the seat.) Then we got into Copenhagen late because of the earlier delay. Consequently, our luggage didn't get transferred to our plane into Stockholm (which arrived at 9:35 or thereabouts). SAS said they would have our luggage delivered to us between 1 and 4 pm but it didn't get delivered until 6pm.

The temple president and his wife picked us up at the airport and invited us to a party for temple workers that was being given by another swedish temple worker at his home at 4 pm. Obviously, we didn't make it to the barbeque at 4, but the temple president came back and took us over there. The workers were delightful. It looks like we will have a great time.

We hope that Bente is also having a great time at her reunion in Utah. I'm publishing this blog before I fall asleep.

Heading out again 6/15/12

Another day. But first a follow-up report on yesterday. It was Kaia's excitement day. The zoo was her most favorite place to go. She had been there last Friday but she wanted to go there again yesterday. Also, she got her ears pierced yesterday which got her extremely excited. Golden Corral also proved to be a good investment as everyone pigged out on exciting choices.

Today, Mormor and Bente are out looking for flip flops for Bente's reunion luau. Then, we head for the airport at 12:00 where Bente will go West and we go East.

Just in case anyone is interest (or, confused) Svenska Tider is pronounced Teeeder and means Swedish Times, a very conservative title.

Next, we'll talk to you from the great country of Sweden - I suppose that for Kari, I should have used a greater superlative. Bye for now!!!

Stop over

Finally and happily we are four hours closer to being in Sweden. We stopped in at the UHLIG digs for a little R and R. Good food and great people.

Bente took Celeste to her Grandmas for the last time today. The family is a little sad, but it is working out as Bente is heading out to Utah tomorrow for her High School Reunion.

Today we went to a fantastic small zoo - a feeding and petting zoo accomodations with everything from prairie dogs to wolves and bears (those were the unfeedable and untouchable ones). Tonight we head out to our and the kids' favorite eating place - Golden Corral with a new chocolate fountain. Yum!

Welcome everyone!  We are excited to be leaving to Sweden!  I, Grandpa, am very tired of getting ready and think that we should go now.  Come Tuesday we will start blogging more!