October 2013

Oops! I thought I posted this a couple of weeks ago. Just found it saved as a draft.

Ok, I'm being a slacker. It's already the middle of November and I haven't posted anything for October. I need to remember to do these updates sooner, as I get older my mind seems to not remember as much. Ok here it goes for a quick update.

On October 1st 15 missionaries, that had been been reassigned while waiting for their visas, arrived to the mission. We were so excited to get them here in Denmark. Now that leaves only 1 elder that is waiting for his visa. 

Mission leadership council was held on the 4th. We have always held this at the mission home but this month we had it at the church. An Iceland elder usually joins us via Skype, this month he flew to Copenhagen and joined us in person. There are 11 elders and 4 sisters that attend this meeting every month. 

What a wonderful opportunity we had on the 5 & 6 to watch general conference with lots of missionaries. It's always so great to hear from our prophet and apostles and feel of their spirit. It made it even better that we were surrounded by missionaries. 

3 senior couples and 2 senior sisters arrived to the mission on the 11th. Elder and Sister Madsen, Elder and Sister Middlemas, Sister Swena and Sister Hamblin will all be serving here in Denmark  and the Freeman's will be serving in Iceland.  We just love our senior missionaries. 

Jarom and Heather had their fall break for school so we all went to Iceland with Shawn on the 12th-16th. We attended zone training, a farewell dinner, church and Heather had the wonderful opportunity to get her patriarchal blessing while we were there. We said goodbye to Elder and Sister Paulsen, they returned back to Utah on the 17th. The saints were truly blessed by having the Paulsens serve in Iceland.

A specialized training was held for the missionaries that have been in the land for a month and their companions was held on the 24th. They are all great missionaries. 

We love serving along side of such wonderful missionaries. What an example they are to us.

New missionaries and their companions

Iceland missionaries

September 2013

September has come and gone, the weather is starting to become colder. Where did the summer go?

On September 3-5 the 3 zones In Denmark held their trainings  It's always nice to attend these meetings and a feel of the spirit that is there. 

On the 4th, President Sederholm set apart a missionary from Iceland, Elder Gudnason, that is on his way to England to the MTC for 2 weeks and will return to Denmark to serve his mission with us. President also had the opportunity that day to release a missionary that is returning from his mission in Poland. He is from Iceland and the 2 Elders just happened to be cousins. They were able to see each other before going their separate ways. 

President and I attended a mission presidents seminar in Versailles, France, on the 10-13. We had the opportunity to hear from Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder M. Russell Ballard, Elder Richard J. Maynes and all three members of our Area Presidency. What a wonderful few days we had there. Our meetings were held in the hotel room where the treaty of Versailles was drafted. The hotel is right next to the palace, which was beautiful and we were able to take a tour of it and go the the hall of mirrors where the treat was signed ending the First World War.  We also were able to see the Eiffel Tower. I guess you could say by the time those few days were over our tanks were over flowing.

Zone conferences were held in Denmark on the 17th-19th. In Denmark. The missionaries always enjoy seeing one another at meetings where we can all learn together.

We were expecting 18 missionaries to arrive on the 24th, we received 4. Yes, we are still waiting on visas. I'm sure the missionaries are as disappointed as we are. The 4 that came were; Elder Guthnason, Elder MacBeth, Elder Hooper and Elder Zalewski. We are excited to have them here in the mission with us.

On the 27th President and the assistants, Elder Whitlock and Elder Elsbury, travel to Iceland for the zone conference there. 

When we left for our mission we knew there was a possibility that 3 of our children would get married. What we didn't expect is that they would all 3 get married within a year. Yes, we are going to have another wedding, Hilary got engaged to Jens Jespersen on the 28th. They have not picked a date yet more details will come later. We are all excited! I just love seeing our family grow:)

Jarom and Heather are doing well, they love school or should I say love being with their friends at school. Jarom is enjoying playing soccer even though is team does not have the best record, he is also swimming.

Elder Sederholm is doing very well. He just got transferred back to Tacoma where he will be serving as an assistant to the president. He loves his mission, he was very sad to leave Chehalis but happy to serve where ever he is needed.

What a wonderful September we had here in Denmark. We are looking forward to many more great months to come.

The Hall of Mirrors

Versailles Palace

Eiffel Tower

Our new missionaries and their companions

Jens and Hilary

Elder Sederholm and Elder Clifford

August 2013

August has already come and gone in a flash just like the last few months. On August 2nd we held a mission leadership council at the mission home. It nice to have all the leaders together to discuss the mission and enjoy a lunch once a month.

On the 4th we had an open house at the mission home for less active members, new members and investigators. I think we had the biggest group in attendance. Everyone enjoyed the message and of course the time to visit.

Elder and Sister Hicks arrived on the 6th after a long wait for their visas. They are going to be member leader support missionaries in the Randers area. We are very excited to have them here with us. They are very excited to serve.

On the 7th Sister Vige arrived from the MTC in England. She is from Norway so she didn't go to Provo for language training and was only in the MTC for 2 weeks. And then on the 13th we received 9 new missionaries, Sister Packard, Elder Madsen, Elder Call, Elder Parry, Elder Taylor, Elder Holbrook, Elder Warner, Elder Tuckett and Elder Talbot. 18 were scheduled to arrive but only half received their visas.

August 14th was a big day for Jarom and Heather, they started school. Jarom started his last and final year of high school and Heather is a sophomore. I've decided that I'm not happy with all my kids growing up. I would go on strike but I don't think that will help. 

And then to top that off, 12 missionaries, Sister Guesne, Sister Christensen, Elder Hansen, Elder Sorensen, Elder Broschinsky, Elder Wooden, Elder McDonnell, Elder Arts, Elder Singleton, Elder Dunshee, Elder Wright and Elder Richards, departed for their homes on the 15th. We are getting new missionaries all the time that I consider family and after 18-24 months they leave me and go back to their real families. It makes me sad but I'm happy for them.

I had the opportunity to fly into Salt Lake with a couple of missionaries returning home. What fun it was to see them reunite with their family and friends after being away for 2 years. 

I even had a warm welcome back to the states by Hilary and her boyfriend, Jens. 

Jared and Dallas were sealed for time and all eternity in the Mt. Timpanogos temple on the 16th. What a beautiful wedding. The room was filled with family and friends. That evening, at the wedding dinner, Shawn, Jarom and Heather were able to Skype in to give some fatherly advice and visit with family. We all had a wonderful time.

On the 17th Jared and Dallas had a reception in Provo at Dallas's aunts home. The decorations were beautiful and the food was delicious. I think a good time was had by all that attended. I even had some return missionaries from Denmark drop by for a visit, Elder (Brian) Bailey, Elder (Garrett) Jones, Sister (Kendra) Arbon, Sister (Sydnee) Taylor, Elder (Jens) Jespersen, Elder and Sister Nielson. What a treat!

I also attended an open house in Tulsa and one in Arkansas. It's always fun to see friends that you have not seen in a while and spend time with family. 

A senior couple conference was held here in Denmark on the 21st. Shawn was able to be with some of the great couples that are serving here.  And then on the 23rd he made him monthly trip to Iceland. 

Shawn had a special treat on the 26th. One of his companions, Marc Traasdahl, from his mission 30 years ago stopped by for a visit. Marc had picked up his son in Norway after completing his mission and stopped in Denmark to visit his old mission. They had a nice visit.

Jarom and Heather, along with the youth from our ward here in Denmark, have been working really hard to raise money this summer and had the opportunity to go to England. They attended the temple and saw a few sight in London. They left on Friday the 30th and returned on the 1st of September. What an opportunity they had!
Elder (Jacob) Sederholm is doing great. He is serving right now in Chehalis, Washington. He is a Zone/District leader and is serving with 2 companions. He loves missionary work, he said he cant believe he is saying this but" he loves knocking on doors." Got to love it!
What a wonderful, busy, crazy month. We are looking forward to many more!

Arrival of Elder and Sister Hicks

Arrival of Sister Vige

Arrival of 9 missionaries

Departure of 12 missionaries

Dallas and Jared at Mt. Timpanogos Temple

Returned Missionaries that served in Denmark

Marc Traasdahl's Family

President Weaver and Elder Sederholm

July 2013

Another month has slipped away. Here's a quick update.
 On July 4th we said goodbye to 4 wonderful missionaries, Sister Arbon, Sister Taylor, Elder Anderson and Elder Gowans. We are going to miss them.

On the 5th the Assistants, Zone leaders, District Leaders and Sister Trainer leaders all attended a meeting here in Copenhagen. We had the opportunity to all attend the temple together. It's wonderful to be in the temple with a group of missionaries.
Shawn and I traveled to different missionaries apartment for apartment checks and Shawn did individual interviews. Some were very worried when they found I was the one doing the apartment checks, I guess I should have shown up with a white glove. It was nice to visit some of the missionaries in there own domain.
All the missionaries in Denmark went through a media training to learn how to respond to the media. There were 3 different trainings in different areas, Sjaelland zone on the 9th, North Jylland on the 11th and South Jylland on the 12th.
Jarom and Heather stayed in Arkansas with Hilary where they attended our home stakes youth conference. They traveled to Nauvoo with about 300 people, they left on the 12th and came back on the 15th. They had a wonderful time visiting with friends. They came back to Denmark on the 17th.
On the 22nd Shawn and I along with the zone leaders, Elder Richards and Elder Petersen, traveled to Bornholm to do an apartment checks and interviews. The missionaries that are serving on Bornholm, Elder Sorensen and Elder Mortensen, and the zone leaders did some service for a family while we were there.
Hooray! On the 24th we received the last 2 visa waiters, Sister Rigby and Elder Ludlow. We are so excited to have them here in Denmark with us.
Jarom, Heather, Shawn and I spent 5 days in Iceland. We attended a zone training, did interviews and apartment checks and spent some time with the Iceland Elders and Couples. On Saturday the 27th we celebrated Heather's 15th birthday. She wanted to go to the blue lagoon and visit some water falls for her birthday. She celebrated her 14th birthday in Denmark, her 15th in Iceland, I hope we aren't starting something.
Elder and Sister Severe arrived to the mission on the 30th. We are so excited to have them in the mission serving in Iceland. They visited here in Copenhagen for a couple of days before heading to Iceland. We had the opportunity to attend the temple with them, what a wonderful time that was.
We are all doing great! We enjoy being with the missionaries and love seeing the miracles that are happening here.
Jacob celebrated his second birthday in the mission on the 19th. He is doing great and is seeing lots of miracles in Washington.

Departure of Sisters Arbon & Taylor and Elders Anderson & Gowans

Mission Leaders at the temple

Sjælland Zone Media Training

Service in Bornholm

Arrival of Sister Rigby and Elder Ludlow

Iceland Elders

Elder and Sister Severe

June 2013

It seems to me that the months are getting busier and busier. In June it seemed like there was something going on almost every day. So here we go.

On May 31st we got the first 4 sisters of our long awaited visa waiters. Sisters Briscoe, Bishop, Peterson and Pearson. We are so excited to finally get them here in the mission. They went off to their assigned areas with their companions on the 1st of June.

On June 3rd, we got an early morning wake up visit at 6:30 am, by a group of wonderful missionaries coming to wish their Mission president a Happy 50th birthday. Got to love it!

That evening Shawn and I enjoyed dinner with Dennis and Lana Hadley (Shawn's bishop from way back when) from Taylor, Utah. They were here on a cruise, it was fun to visit with them. What a treat! 

On June 4th, we had a Sjælland zone training in the morning and then we went off to the airport  to welcome 9 more of our visa waiters, 2 Sisters and 7 Elders. Sisters Orgill & Bartholomew and Elders Earl, Metcalf, Peterson, Wawro, Walch, Redd and Swan. They were excited to finally make it to Denmark and we are excited to have them here with us.

Jylland had a zone training on the 6th for their last training before they split into 2 different zones. And then on the 7th Shawn was off to Iceland for seminary gradation, zone training and Nordic Stake conferences. He returned back to Denmark on the 10th.

At stake conference on Sunday, here in Denmark, we got a surprise visit by one of the Elders that had just returned home. It was wonderful to see Elder (Espen) Earl again and his family. 

Sisters Hadley, Hall, Handley, McVey, Murray, Ripplinger, Rogers and Sheridan along with Elders Eisert, Jensen, Christensen and Madison all arrived to the mission on the 11th. Wow! In less then 3 weeks we received 27 out of the 29 missionaries that we have been waiting for. What a blessing to have them in the land with us. They are all excited and willing to serve. 

Before we left on our mission, a previous mission president from Denmark, Dee Jacobs, got in contact with us and we meet up with him in Provo. Come to find out he is actually related to us from a line of genealogy that comes from Denmark. He was over here serving in the Copenhagen temple for a couple of months this summer. Before he and his wife went back to the states we had them over to the mission home for dinner. He was the one that helped purchase the mission home that we live in. It was fun to hear about the mission when they were serving here. 

On Saturday the 15th, Jarom attended the CIS prom. It was a little different then the prom he attended in the states but he had a good time. Using public transportation to go to prom makes it exciting. He had a cute date from Norway.

Sjælland's zone conference was held on the 18th. It's always nice to have a big group of missionaries together. What an amazing spirit!

Jarom, Heather and I left for the states on the 19th. We traveled to Arkansas to help get ready and attend Josh and Jaela's wedding. How exciting!

North Jylland held their zone conference on the 20th and South Jylland held their zone conference on the 21st. Their 1st ones since they split zones. We are loving how the mission is growing!

Shawn along with Elders Wooden and Simpson traveled to Iceland on the 26th  to a zone conference and to attend the 160th anniversary of the 1st branch in Iceland. The celebration was held on the Westman Islands.

Josh and Jaela were married in the Kansas City temple on the 28th. It was a beautiful day. We are so excited to have Jaela join our family. My mother along with 2 of my sisters (Lana and Susan), Jared , Dallas (Jared's fiance), Hilary, Jens (Hilary's boyfriend), Jarom, Heather and I all traveled to Kansas City to be there with them. We were excited that Kevin and Kelly, Shawn's bother and wife, could also join us. After the temple ceremony we traveled to Tulsa for a reception and then on the 29th we attended an open house in Arkansas. What a wonderful weekend!
Elder Sederholm is doing great in Washington. He is loving what he is doing and learning lots.

We really did have a busy but great June. What a way to celebrate 1 year of being here in Denmark!

Sisters Pearson, Bishop, Briscoe, & Peterson

Happy Birthday Surprise!

Elders Swan, Wawro, Metcalf, Redd, Walch, Peterson & Earl
Sisters Orgill & Bartholomew

Iceland Elders

Sisters Murray, Handley, Rogers,Ripplinger, Hadley,McVey, Sheridan & Hall
Elders Christensen, Madsen, Eisert & Jensen

Jarom with his Prom date, Kristine

Josh & Jaela

May 2013

Wow! May is over already, the months are just flying by. So here we go on our adventure in May. On the 1st Shawn traveled to Iceland with the 2 missionaries that had just arrived and got then settled with their new companions. He returned back to Denmark on Saturday.

On Thursday the 9th we had a departure dinner for Elder Stoffey and on the 10th we took him to the airport and he returned back to his home. 

On Sunday the 12th we picked up Elder and Sister Steven E. Snow and Elder and Sister F. Kent Richards from the airport and took them to their hotel. They toured the mission attending 3 different zone mission conferences. The first one was in Aahus for the Jylland Zone, the second one in Copenhagen for the Shælland Zone and then they traveled to Iceland for the Iceland zone. All three of them were fantastic. They complimented the mission on what a good spirit all the missionaries had and how much they enjoyed their time here. We had the opportunity to have both couple come to the mission home for a dinner and had a wonderful visit. Elder Snow was not feeling very good the next day, it must have been my cooking.

Shawn traveled to Iceland once more on the 17th to be with the Snows and Richards for the conference there. He traveled back to Denmark on the 20th. 

Jarom went on a biology field trip on the 13th-15th. He went to different bodies of water and got samples and then did tests on water. I'm still trying to figure out why it took 3 days.

On the 16th Heather traveled to Bonn, Germany with her soccer team from school to play in a NECIS soccer tournament. They played 4 games and took 3rd. Heather scored 3 out of the 7 goals that was scored by her team. I would say that is pretty impressive. She definently did not get her skills from her mother. She returned home on the 18th.

On the 21st we received 29 new missionaries. Oh wait, that is not right let me correct myself. We should have received 29 new missionaries but only 2 of them got their visas so the rest them have been temporarily reassigned to different areas until their visas are approved. We will have patience! 

On the 22nd we had a departure dinner for Elder Earl. We sent him on his way the next day. 

Heather attended a NECIS track meet here in Copenhagen on the 24th and 25th. She competed in 5 events. One of them, the triple jump, she had never done in her life. What an adventure! 

Shawn and I attended a district meeting on the 28th. We went to companionship study with a couple of sisters on the 29th. It's nice being able to be with the missionaries in small groups so we have the opportunity to get to know them better. 

Elder (Kyle) Pierson came back to tour the mission with his family. We had dinner and visited with them on the 30th. It was great to see his again and meet his wonderful family. 

We had our mission leadership council on the 31st in the morning and then, Hurray! Four sisters visa we're approved, we were off to the airport to pick some long awaited missionaries. We are so excited to have them here and to know that there are lots more to follow.
Jacob is doing great in Washington. His mission is getting ready to lose 2 zones to the Federal Way Mission the 1st of July but he will not be effected. He is serving as a zone/district leader right now and loves his mission.

Departure of Elder Stoffey

Mission Conference in Jylland

Mission Conference in Shælland

Elder and Sister Richards & Elder and Sister Snow

Mission Conference in Iceland

Jarom on his Biology field trip

Arrival of Elder Child & Sister Lantos-Swett

Departure of Elder Earl

Heather at track meet

District Meeting

Kyle Pierson's Family

Heather, Kyle Pierson& Jarom

Mission Leadership Council

Elder Fisher & Elder Sederholm