My Companion Stole Something?!?
I don't even know where to begin it's been quite the week and a half. Get ready because it was weird, fun, crazy, and dangerous.
Vietnam
If you thought I'd have a Danish Christmas in Denmark, you were wrong. Of course I have to experience a different culture... In a different culture. Let's just say it was a Very Vietnamese Christmas. We begin the night with an expectation that it would be us 4 missionaries (we were with the sisters), a Vietnamese woman that we call Mor, and her sister and maybe a few more people. So because it was Christmas, I brought my ukulele to sing some Christmas songs to the small crowd. Boy were we mistaken. We walk in and there is around 25-30 plates on this massive table. All surrounded by Vietnamese people, speaking Vietnamese with an occasionally Danish word thrown in. Now, we eat some weird soup, noodles, with duck and potatoes. Pretty good food, but I'm stuffed and we barely dented any of it. But before they clear the table, or stop eating, they start begging us missionaries to sing in front of this crowd of 30 Vietnamese people. That was pretty awkward because we totally didn't have anything prepared haha. Then this new guy shows up, also Vietnamese, with his children, and he brings out a massive speaker with an iPad and microphone. Oh yeah. You know it. We sang some good old karaoke music, a Vietnamese love song, some weird Ed Sheeran songs, Mary Did You Know. It was just a wild party. Next thing you know they have dessert, being stuffed already, I could barely down a bowl of risalamand (rice pudding with almonds kinda thing). And then they start passing around chocolate and candy and stuff. They wouldn't let me not take one hahaha. Just a crazy night, but definitely one I will never forget!
Ken Hall
I told you there would be a part two of Ken Hall. This guy is just an awesome guy. He refuses to speak Danish to us (rightfully so, he's way better at english than we are at Danish haha). He insulted me about my size and nerdiness too many times to count. He made some food that I was constantly fearing of eating laxatives (after talking to his children). But overall, we had a really awesome Christmas day with them. Some really good food, some games, and some really spiritual messages. He told us a story about his mission that really inspired me. Out here in Denmark it gets pretty rough, especially when you get rejected time after time after time. But he told us a story about how he was guided directly to a house, and found a person that needed the gospel. He said that it is possible, and that we can do it also, we just have to truly believe, having hope and faith that it will work.
Dancing Around the Christmas Tree
So while at Ken Halls house, he made us dance around the Christmas tree while listening to weird music. That was fun hahaha. But even more weird, or just maybe a Danish tradition I'm not used to, is we went over to another family's house and all together danced around the Christmas tree singing jul songs. We didn't really dance, except for the last one where we grabbed each other's shoulders and started running around the house. Danish Christmas is great hahah :) definitely a new experience.
Christmas Finding
It was a very interesting Christmas this year, because on Christmas we had to go out and at least find for one hour. Now, I wish I could say differently, but Danes are not at all wanting to talk on Christmas. Not on the streets, not at their houses, not anywhere. It was pretty awkward, but it reminded me what I was doing. I'm not here to have a normal Christmas. This is the one time in my life, where Christmas will feel just like another day, because throughout the whole past 6 months I've been soley focused on Christ. It's weird to think that it didn't feel super different from everyday missionary life, and in some ways it did of course. But what did make it different from Christmas' in the past was going outside and talking to strangers. Which sadly involved a lot more rejection than I would expect in this Christmas time. But the one thing that made every door, every person worth it, was the genuine smile I could give them, watching their entire demeanor change as we told them goodbye and to have a good Christmas. This simple and genuine action is the light of christ thst we can share throughout the entire year. John 1:9-13
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
As I go around Denmark, trying to share love, hope, joy, just as Christ did, I get to experience the sorrow for those that reject Him but the ultimate joy when we find that one person looking for Him, needing Him. I get to experience a small small portion of what Christ has gone through. Each time, even if they reject us, I'm eager to smile, and tell them to have a good day or good Christmas. It's ridiculously hard all the time, I don't know how the Savior did it, but sharing that little light, even if it's just a with a smile, is sharing a portion of the message of Jesus Christ.
The Bishop
The Bishop invited us over for the day after Christmas (also a holiday here) to eat lunch and go on a hike. After eating, we went to this absolutely beautiful area, and I got to hygge chat and feel a little bit like home. Their littlest son stole my phone and started looking at it, and then he wanted to take a picture with me hahah. His father then acted like he was going to throw his son into the water (classic) and the lil bro didn't like that so much, and began to cry and hit his father. Well while it was slightly funny to watch, he was pouting the rest of the time, so I tried to cheer him up a little bit. Then I realized my grave mistake. I can barely understand Danish children. I can definitely not understand Danish crying children. So I just said yes, occasionally laughed when he said something and then looked at me for a reaction. Hopefully I didn't agree to giving him money or anything...
Memorable Contacts
Our new friend this week believes that Disney is evil, prayed in an interesting way i wasn't expecting (said the whlle halleluja, amen thing, just a bit different than how we do it :), and said that her dog was a killing beast and that God gave her directions on how to not let her dog kill. While she was explaining this she began barking at us. My job is great hahah. Next up we have a Buddhist lady with a ton of pets talking to us about how she prays to God and asks to find her pets. I'm not saying that won't work if we try this, but last time I checked Buddhists don't believe in God. Of course you have the multiple woman that answered their doors, one was super anxious and scared when we answered and screamed nej nej nej at us. The other was just an angry woman who angrily slammed the door screaming nej as we told her to have a good new year. Some of the more pleasant experiences this week were a teacher who genuinely wanted to know more about our Church. We talked with her for a good 30 minutes about the things that make our church different. We then had a fantastic conversation with a guy that had no interest in our religion, but was willing to talk to us about Christmas, why we were here, the new year. Just a really nice guy.
Stealing
The art of stealing something while wearing bulky all black clothing, a massive backpack, and a nametag... Its rather hard. Somehow my companion pulled it off. We begin to leave the store after buying some materials for our new years dinner, as a man tells us to come with him, showing us a badge. He takes us into this small room, where he's talking to someone over a walkie talkie. I had no clue what was happening because I didn't hear why we needed to follow him. Ends up, my companion reached into his bag to pull out his wallet to make sure he had enough money. They saw it on the cameras and got worried and pulled him in. The guy just laughed and said, "they don't have any of our stuff, but they got a bunch of bibles if you want one."
Fireworks
Well I woke up today with an extremely sore throat and a headache because world War 3 happened over here last night. Looking outside our window at 12 (I swear we are good missionaries but literally there was no way I could sleep after hearing like 16 bombs explode, rattling the house), we couldn't even see out because it was so smoky. I've never seen so many fireworks, it sounded like it was literally raining outside. There were also people outside our window shooting flare guns and these bomb things and screaming allahu akbar. Drunk Danes are pretty harmless... Unless you give them explosives.
Reflection
This has been quite the busy year. Graduating high school, going on a mission, and I've been thinking a lot about who I want to be and what my goals are. I don't believe in New years resolution, but I do believe in new years reflections. I did a really simple paper.
2019 Review
Events/Accomplishments:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Goals:
It just showed me how much I've done, who I am as a person, and where I want to go. I love the idea of listing our weaknesses. A missionary in my mission gave me some really good advice, he told me to write down all the areas I feel I lack and then work on one single one at a time. If I lack confidence, put myself in situations that require more confidence. Pray for more opportunities to receive more confidence. There are so many ways, read books, ask others, observe others who are confident, but I've found that as I've focused on these weaknesses that sometimes in focusing on getting rid of them, I lose who I am. If I think I overthink stuff too often, try to change it, maybe I lose my thoughtfulness which is a good quality. So here's my scripture on this conundrum: Ether 12:27 - "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
Now the Lord doesn't say he will just remove the weakness here, instead he says he will make our weaknesses to our strengths. For my over thinking example, instead of getting rid of my thoughtfulness, instead maybe I change what Im thinking about, or worrying about. But in the end, the important part of it is that we humble ourselves and recognize our weaknesses and give thanks for our strengths. The most important thing is that God is in the process. We are nothing without our Heavenly Father and we need all the strength we can get from him to overcome these weaknesses. I've seen as I focus on keeping to who I am, keeping my talents and my personality, keeping to the Lord, that my weaknesses have become my strengths. And that they continue to change. His grace is sufficient no matter how weak, if we humble ourselves and present the Lord with our personal goals of overcoming, he will help us every step of the way.
Scripture: D&C 93:1 Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;
Word of the Week: fyrværkeri - fireworks!
Challenge: follow the year in review strategy above. Focus on the good, the bad, and be completely honest with yourself. Humble yourself and ask God to support you in the goals that you make this year.
Pictures: hike, hike, me and my new companion, church, Svendborg, hike, Svendborg at night
I love you all! I'm so sorry I haven't responded to all my personal emails, I've been really bad about that. I hope you all had a fantastic new years eve and day and a delightful christ centered Christmas. I love and miss you all!
Med kærlig hilsen,
Ældste Salisbury
Vietnam
If you thought I'd have a Danish Christmas in Denmark, you were wrong. Of course I have to experience a different culture... In a different culture. Let's just say it was a Very Vietnamese Christmas. We begin the night with an expectation that it would be us 4 missionaries (we were with the sisters), a Vietnamese woman that we call Mor, and her sister and maybe a few more people. So because it was Christmas, I brought my ukulele to sing some Christmas songs to the small crowd. Boy were we mistaken. We walk in and there is around 25-30 plates on this massive table. All surrounded by Vietnamese people, speaking Vietnamese with an occasionally Danish word thrown in. Now, we eat some weird soup, noodles, with duck and potatoes. Pretty good food, but I'm stuffed and we barely dented any of it. But before they clear the table, or stop eating, they start begging us missionaries to sing in front of this crowd of 30 Vietnamese people. That was pretty awkward because we totally didn't have anything prepared haha. Then this new guy shows up, also Vietnamese, with his children, and he brings out a massive speaker with an iPad and microphone. Oh yeah. You know it. We sang some good old karaoke music, a Vietnamese love song, some weird Ed Sheeran songs, Mary Did You Know. It was just a wild party. Next thing you know they have dessert, being stuffed already, I could barely down a bowl of risalamand (rice pudding with almonds kinda thing). And then they start passing around chocolate and candy and stuff. They wouldn't let me not take one hahaha. Just a crazy night, but definitely one I will never forget!
Ken Hall
I told you there would be a part two of Ken Hall. This guy is just an awesome guy. He refuses to speak Danish to us (rightfully so, he's way better at english than we are at Danish haha). He insulted me about my size and nerdiness too many times to count. He made some food that I was constantly fearing of eating laxatives (after talking to his children). But overall, we had a really awesome Christmas day with them. Some really good food, some games, and some really spiritual messages. He told us a story about his mission that really inspired me. Out here in Denmark it gets pretty rough, especially when you get rejected time after time after time. But he told us a story about how he was guided directly to a house, and found a person that needed the gospel. He said that it is possible, and that we can do it also, we just have to truly believe, having hope and faith that it will work.
Dancing Around the Christmas Tree
So while at Ken Halls house, he made us dance around the Christmas tree while listening to weird music. That was fun hahaha. But even more weird, or just maybe a Danish tradition I'm not used to, is we went over to another family's house and all together danced around the Christmas tree singing jul songs. We didn't really dance, except for the last one where we grabbed each other's shoulders and started running around the house. Danish Christmas is great hahah :) definitely a new experience.
Christmas Finding
It was a very interesting Christmas this year, because on Christmas we had to go out and at least find for one hour. Now, I wish I could say differently, but Danes are not at all wanting to talk on Christmas. Not on the streets, not at their houses, not anywhere. It was pretty awkward, but it reminded me what I was doing. I'm not here to have a normal Christmas. This is the one time in my life, where Christmas will feel just like another day, because throughout the whole past 6 months I've been soley focused on Christ. It's weird to think that it didn't feel super different from everyday missionary life, and in some ways it did of course. But what did make it different from Christmas' in the past was going outside and talking to strangers. Which sadly involved a lot more rejection than I would expect in this Christmas time. But the one thing that made every door, every person worth it, was the genuine smile I could give them, watching their entire demeanor change as we told them goodbye and to have a good Christmas. This simple and genuine action is the light of christ thst we can share throughout the entire year. John 1:9-13
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
As I go around Denmark, trying to share love, hope, joy, just as Christ did, I get to experience the sorrow for those that reject Him but the ultimate joy when we find that one person looking for Him, needing Him. I get to experience a small small portion of what Christ has gone through. Each time, even if they reject us, I'm eager to smile, and tell them to have a good day or good Christmas. It's ridiculously hard all the time, I don't know how the Savior did it, but sharing that little light, even if it's just a with a smile, is sharing a portion of the message of Jesus Christ.
The Bishop
The Bishop invited us over for the day after Christmas (also a holiday here) to eat lunch and go on a hike. After eating, we went to this absolutely beautiful area, and I got to hygge chat and feel a little bit like home. Their littlest son stole my phone and started looking at it, and then he wanted to take a picture with me hahah. His father then acted like he was going to throw his son into the water (classic) and the lil bro didn't like that so much, and began to cry and hit his father. Well while it was slightly funny to watch, he was pouting the rest of the time, so I tried to cheer him up a little bit. Then I realized my grave mistake. I can barely understand Danish children. I can definitely not understand Danish crying children. So I just said yes, occasionally laughed when he said something and then looked at me for a reaction. Hopefully I didn't agree to giving him money or anything...
Memorable Contacts
Our new friend this week believes that Disney is evil, prayed in an interesting way i wasn't expecting (said the whlle halleluja, amen thing, just a bit different than how we do it :), and said that her dog was a killing beast and that God gave her directions on how to not let her dog kill. While she was explaining this she began barking at us. My job is great hahah. Next up we have a Buddhist lady with a ton of pets talking to us about how she prays to God and asks to find her pets. I'm not saying that won't work if we try this, but last time I checked Buddhists don't believe in God. Of course you have the multiple woman that answered their doors, one was super anxious and scared when we answered and screamed nej nej nej at us. The other was just an angry woman who angrily slammed the door screaming nej as we told her to have a good new year. Some of the more pleasant experiences this week were a teacher who genuinely wanted to know more about our Church. We talked with her for a good 30 minutes about the things that make our church different. We then had a fantastic conversation with a guy that had no interest in our religion, but was willing to talk to us about Christmas, why we were here, the new year. Just a really nice guy.
Stealing
The art of stealing something while wearing bulky all black clothing, a massive backpack, and a nametag... Its rather hard. Somehow my companion pulled it off. We begin to leave the store after buying some materials for our new years dinner, as a man tells us to come with him, showing us a badge. He takes us into this small room, where he's talking to someone over a walkie talkie. I had no clue what was happening because I didn't hear why we needed to follow him. Ends up, my companion reached into his bag to pull out his wallet to make sure he had enough money. They saw it on the cameras and got worried and pulled him in. The guy just laughed and said, "they don't have any of our stuff, but they got a bunch of bibles if you want one."
Fireworks
Well I woke up today with an extremely sore throat and a headache because world War 3 happened over here last night. Looking outside our window at 12 (I swear we are good missionaries but literally there was no way I could sleep after hearing like 16 bombs explode, rattling the house), we couldn't even see out because it was so smoky. I've never seen so many fireworks, it sounded like it was literally raining outside. There were also people outside our window shooting flare guns and these bomb things and screaming allahu akbar. Drunk Danes are pretty harmless... Unless you give them explosives.
Reflection
This has been quite the busy year. Graduating high school, going on a mission, and I've been thinking a lot about who I want to be and what my goals are. I don't believe in New years resolution, but I do believe in new years reflections. I did a really simple paper.
2019 Review
Events/Accomplishments:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Goals:
It just showed me how much I've done, who I am as a person, and where I want to go. I love the idea of listing our weaknesses. A missionary in my mission gave me some really good advice, he told me to write down all the areas I feel I lack and then work on one single one at a time. If I lack confidence, put myself in situations that require more confidence. Pray for more opportunities to receive more confidence. There are so many ways, read books, ask others, observe others who are confident, but I've found that as I've focused on these weaknesses that sometimes in focusing on getting rid of them, I lose who I am. If I think I overthink stuff too often, try to change it, maybe I lose my thoughtfulness which is a good quality. So here's my scripture on this conundrum: Ether 12:27 - "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
Now the Lord doesn't say he will just remove the weakness here, instead he says he will make our weaknesses to our strengths. For my over thinking example, instead of getting rid of my thoughtfulness, instead maybe I change what Im thinking about, or worrying about. But in the end, the important part of it is that we humble ourselves and recognize our weaknesses and give thanks for our strengths. The most important thing is that God is in the process. We are nothing without our Heavenly Father and we need all the strength we can get from him to overcome these weaknesses. I've seen as I focus on keeping to who I am, keeping my talents and my personality, keeping to the Lord, that my weaknesses have become my strengths. And that they continue to change. His grace is sufficient no matter how weak, if we humble ourselves and present the Lord with our personal goals of overcoming, he will help us every step of the way.
Scripture: D&C 93:1 Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;
Word of the Week: fyrværkeri - fireworks!
Challenge: follow the year in review strategy above. Focus on the good, the bad, and be completely honest with yourself. Humble yourself and ask God to support you in the goals that you make this year.
Pictures: hike, hike, me and my new companion, church, Svendborg, hike, Svendborg at night
I love you all! I'm so sorry I haven't responded to all my personal emails, I've been really bad about that. I hope you all had a fantastic new years eve and day and a delightful christ centered Christmas. I love and miss you all!
Med kærlig hilsen,
Ældste Salisbury
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