Elder Salisbury's Mission

I think I made my email last week unclear. 1. I'm not miserable, I'm not having the time of my life, as I think everyone is having to deal with new weird situations, but I'm enjoying the smaller parts of it. My point was to quote one of John Bytheway's books while putting my own insight into it, not a cry for help that I'm miserable. I am doing as good as it gets in isolation. I would say that I'm generally happy. :) 2. When I said that not much happened, that doesn't mean that not much was done. We are expected to keep a full 6:30-10:30 schedule. These schedules involve finding people to teach on Facebook, reaching out to members, teaching friends, studying the Gospel, learning the language, and serving others. We are quite busy, maybe even busier than we were before the isolation (crazy right?). The reason for not much happening was because, although our efforts, it doesn't always show with success. We reached out to around 28 members and got maybe 4-5

Hi everyone! Not so much happened this week not gonna lie. I'm still in isolation, relatively sane, and I have board games to play. How to Be Miserable Heres a little guide on how to be miserable, it's really not that hard. (inspired by a John Bytheway talk, John Bytheway's son, Elder Bytheway is in our mission) (By the way, John Bytheway gave another famous Bytheway talk that was by the way fantastic) - Don't go outside - Don't explore - Think about why you're miserable all the time - Stay away from religion - Stop laughing - Sleep, sleep to hide from the world - Worry a lot - Stop praying - Stop hoping - Don't talk to anyone - Don't read the scriptures - Don't believe in yourself - Don't try new things - Don't have a passion or a hobby How does religion have to do with this? Religion, for me, is hope. It's hope that this isn't the end. It's hope that there is so much more to life than just this life. It's a motivation. A des

Week 5 of isolation: we've ran out of food. The groceries stores are desolate, any shipments coming in are either stolen or plundered. If any food makes it into the grocery stores, which it rarely does, around 5 fights break out as if we are all running to a cornucopia. Because of the lack of actually useful weapons in Denmark, we've had to improvise our artillery. It's quite impressive what one can do with a toothbrush. Anyways, the other elders have been quite hungry and we've been conspiring against each other as to who will be devoured first. They've all teamed up with me, because everyone knows they would get maybe a few measly morsels if I were chosen. As I'm everyone's ally, I've pitted the others in a battle of wits, intelligence and strength. I don't want just the strongest to be my ally in the last days, I need someone with brains. I've decided we are going to play one game of slap jack and the loser is eaten. Fighting for food isn'

Transfers I am staying in Ballerup with the ZLs as we have been for the passed 3 weeks. It's been a great experience, not because the ZLs are that cool or anything, but just because it's better than living in an apartment in quarantine with just one other person. We all get along great and occasionally die laughing because Elder Harding has this amazing ability to say the funniest things at the best timing. We are doing great. EASTER Easter was great. Some sisters challenged the mission to create eggs and go egg peoples houses. The sisters brought down paper, which I was too colorblind to do myself, and Søster Hepworth made Todd, as her obvious inability to make a paper airplane. Attached is a picture of Todd. Todd has had a rough life as a duck, tormented and abused by me calling him a swan. I really did think he was a swan, but that's why you can't judge a book by its cover... (yes this is what my emails have come to) Be like Todd,  duck  out of vicious swan stereotyp

This week has been SUPER great! Let's get into it. Friends I've had the chance to share the gospel with friends which has been so important to me. I have loved talking to everyone from back home and telling them about what I do everyday. I would love to have a chance with everyone that's interested to learn more about what I believe in and who would be willing to read in the Book of Mormon. It is a fantastic time learning about each other's views on the world. Please let me know if you would like this opportunity! The Facebook Finding Hater Not gonna lie, this was me. I hated Facebook finding. I thought it was dumb and inefficient. I didn't think the church should be telling me what to do with my Facebook (and quite frankly they haven't, it's all suggestions). Well, I tried it. I gave it the best try I could and guess what?!? It actually works!!! It's been the most successful week of my mission, potentially. I have talked with a bunch of people about fai

This week has been another of isolation, but nonetheless good. Teaching I'm pretty sure while being in isolation I've had more lessons in a week than I ever have had before. I had one lesson with our friend in Amager. He is doing great, and he explained to us his relationship to Christ. He's a great guy and he loves to go off on tangents about stories of his past. He's definitely progressing, but he doesn't want to necessarily commit to changing anything yet, because he knows that knowing it is true will require a lot. As for others, I got to teach to of my amazing friends from back home! It was a great experience and I loved telling them about what I do everyday and what it means to me. If anyone has interest in this, please let me know. It's a great and probably a once in a lifetime opportunity. Switch Up I have been moved to Ballerup! I'm in a massive apartment with four other missionaries, it's great! As most of you have heard, missionaries are getti

Welcome to the weekly Covid-19 update brought to you by Den Danske Mission (and a lot of sarcasm). Let's start off with the numbers (as of 14:00 Danish United Military Time): People Found Positive: 898 People Tested: 5749 People Dead: 4 People in Intensive Care: 2 People in Hospitals: 28 Let's dig right into these numbers. From the reliable source of our mission leader, these numbers are FAKE. They are, from my interpretation, an attempt to diminish the fear of the people and coerce them in to an unknowing state, so they don't venture out and purchase all the necessary goods (or just... Everything... In every... Grocery Store). How are these numbers fake you may ask? Well, around March 13th, Denmark decided that they should only test those who are at a high risk of death or those with problematic medical issues that could complicate the virus. For all we know, Denmark could be just as infected as places like Italy or China. According to population to people infected, Denmar

Keep the miracles rolling. We had a pretty great week, despite our current odd and kind of worsening (more locked down than the USA, but they're getting to be about the same) situation. A little update: more people have the virus, 13 are dead (but may have not been due to the virus), gatherings with 10 or more people are illegal, all stores are closed down except for grocery stores, there are around 42 missionaries in the Danish Mission, we closed 3 areas in an emergency transfer. Our Friend Although we've had a week of Facebook contacting... (if anyone has any tips for doing this, much appreciated) we had a great week with our friend here on Amager. He's a British guy that loves to talk deeply. We had a great lesson with him that was a little thrown together because it's been a while since he was taught last so we had to gauge what he remembered. We talked about Heavenly Father's plan for us, and then we talked about commitment. He told us that he knows if he tries

I honestly don't have a whole lot to write this week. Not a ton happened this week, but I'm settling in to Copenhagen well and enjoying the time I've had so far. Amager Contacting Talking to people on Amager is a little like talking to people in Frederikshavn. Not super friendly, a little cranky, and always say they're busy. So I'm back to my first area, one might call this the "Frederikshavn of Sjælland," but I've been in Svendborg and Frederikshavn, so I'm sure I can handle one more... Right? The one conversation we did have this week was with an older lady was super short, but we gave her a card. 👍 Copenhagen I really thought Copenhagen would be a lot bigger, but it feels really really small. Think of downtown Boise, but less skyscrapers. It's like the Grove, but trashy. I wish I could sugar coat it, but it's a really weird vibe here. Tons of people smoking, no one really smiling, everyone just going to the next thing. However there is

Mor vs. Køsters In the first corner, we have Mor! *vietnamese people and anyone who has ever served in Svendborg goes wild* A middle-aged, vietnamese woman who, after being hit in the head, has gone a little bit off the deep-end. She believes that God is a woman and a man… at the same time. She is a member of our church but also believes in the trinity (how this works - I’m not quite sure). In the second corner we have the Køsters! They are a really outstanding senior couple who have dedicated pretty much their lives to the church. Very faithful members, who are all about cleanliness. Don’t let them inside, because they will destroy even the cleanest people. Got mold? Got kalk? Got one, yes, just one, unclean dish? This will be a quick match for you… They are infamous for taking our perfectly good couch and replacing it because it had a super miniscule, almost unnoticeable to the natural eye, rip in it. Toilet not clean enough? Don’t worry Søster Køster will get down there, basically p

I’m kind of embarrassed that this email is going out after Josh Henstrom has sent his… but it’s okay. It’s not a race. It’s a journey. Anyways, I have a pretty good excuse - I’ve been on a train all day! Amager I’ve debated whether or not to start the email with the big news, or not, because many of you might stop reading… BUT DON’T! I have had an amazingly powerful week this week. In fact, my last week in Odense has been one of my favorite weeks in the mission. As you might of guess, I got transferred. This transfer was bitter sweet, but I’m excited for another change. I am on Amager (the island), which is a good 15 minute bike ride from Copenhagen’s massive city. It’s super exciting and I’m excited to have finally made it to the promised land (sjælland). Many missionaries have spoken of copenhagen as a desired, loved, and maybe even longed after place of gloriful contacting, investigators, and members. We will see. I am with Ældste Millet, he’s a super awesome guy, wants to be a mech

This week was a lot of fun and full of experiences. We had a few successes knocking, gave out four copies of the Book of Mormon, and saw a few small tender mercies. (I tried a new spacing in this email, so hopefully it seems a little bit more readable… as Josh pointed out that his old man eyes can not read the massive maze of text)  Up to the Tower I was on splits with an Elder from Fredericia this week and we went out contacting for around 4ish hours. We decided to take a quick break in one of the huge Odense churches and found this volunteer there who showed us around and talked about the church. He told us that he did in fact have one of our books and read it occasionally, he liked it, but didn’t think it was for him. We got talking, became pretty good friends with him, and went back to talking about the church. I asked him if the church has any ways to access the massive tower. He said, “yeah, right over here, do you want to go up?” I was ecstatic. One thing I really wanted to do i

This week was a lot of weird fun that we had full of a 3 day splits with Ældste Cook, a weird tour around the church building, and of course, racism. Strap in tight, it's gonna be a good one. The Tour I've never had more of a mess on my hands than this tour. We had a group of about 16 students come over to the church, the Sisters took half and the Elders took half. My companion said he had it under control and that he's done it before, so it's no big deal. Well, I guess maybe he's done it before, but that was the most awkward time ever. We ran into the sisters' tour group twice during the tour (oops), we didn't know where to begin and we didn't know what to say or what would be of interest to them. They made fun of me for saying ping pong table instead of board tennis and grilled us about weird things they've heard about the church. I felt like a fish in a fish bowl while they observed me as some fat out creature they can't understand. Turns out

The Vision As much as I’d love to say this was about Joseph Smith’s first vision, it’s not. Instead, we went on splits with a really awesome, recently returned missionary. We went knocking, had some really good conversations where they talked so quickly to each other in Danish I had to ask them what they talked about after, and basically just had a good time. We were getting close to the end of our splits, but I decided that we should do this last row right before we leave. Well we do, and this guy comes out, I think he’s russian, but he starts telling us about his vision. Now, you never know, this man could definitely be telling the truth of what he saw, I don’t want to say visions and dreams don’t exist - because they most definitely do. However, you could see the hint of crazy in this guys eyes, and the fact that he began every single sentence with “Hmmmm, how can I tell you?” Well we went along with it, tried to relate it to Joseph Smith’s first vision, but he just wouldn’t let us

Mor We went over to mor’s house and had a really interesting time. Normally, we just eat food and get out of there as soon as possible. But it was much much different this time, instead she started crying because Svendborg shut down (which is still in progress), told us about her curious gifts like being able to see through walls and see spirits, also told us that her kids tell her she can’t say that kind of stuff to government workers, otherwise they will think she’s crazy, and showed us her patriarchal blessing. All of which was very awkward… and my companion just fed into her craziness by asking her more and more questions (not his fault, but hopefully he doesn’t do it the next time). Fun like always! Charles Charles is a really unique one of our friends… he has the missionaries go over about once a week to help him with his backyard. He is not a member of the church and desire, from what I can tell, to be a member. Yet, we still are in contact with him helping him out once in a whi

Well, I wrote one email this week and I decided that I was wayyyy too sarcastic in it… so I decided to write another one. I’m not going to go into a lot of detail here, but this week was pretty terrible. I was sick, had a little bit of a health scare, (I am COMPLETELY fine now), and had some just eh feelings this week… but that’s just how missionary work is sometimes. Sickness Being sick, I really haven’t been able to do a lot this week. I’ve been going literally insane inside of my apartment, and I’m sure my companion has been too. I’ve realized that my least favorite thing in the world is to be with someone 24/7, and being together so much stuck in an apartment made it so we got on eachothers nerves. It just showed me that one of the reasons I am on my mission is to learn, and learn I do. I’ve realized that it’s hard to live with someone else 24/7 and get along with them (and it’s probably even harder coming from an only child standpoint). But I also realized that if this is “trainin