SENIOR CONFERENCE

Each summer the mission holds a 2-day conference just for the Seniors.   It is a time to meet new couples, renew acquaintances and get some training by the president.  Since we just received 3 new couples, we decided July would be a good month for the conference.  My first question was, "So, who is in charge of this?"  Well......good question.  No one seemed to know the answer, but had a lot of good advice from last year.  Long story short and by process of elimination, (couples too new, couples too far away, couples out of town ) we won the honor.  Our first plan was to get on a cruise ship to Norway and stay two nights.  Lots of space there for conferencing.  Lovely meals.  Relaxing. The mission president's response:  "Great idea.  But you better buy one-way tickets."  Taking that as a "no," we came up with an alternate plan.

The first day was play day.  We met and drove to Kronbørg Slot in Helsingør to tour the castle and catch short scenes from Shakespear's Hamlet.  This castle is know as Hamlet's Castle or Elsinore, because it is believed that Shakespeare used Kronbørg as the setting for his play.  Hamlet, if you recall, is  the Prince of Denmark.  Well, for the 400th anniversary of Hamlet, the castle celebrated by producing short scenes in the very rooms where they took place in the play.  Duels,  murders (half the cast dies) a crazed queen and even a ghost.   Between scenes, the actors strolled about and interacted with the tourists. Here is our favorite:  Polonious.   True to form, he's self-absorbed, long winded and comical - like the kind of dad you don't want your friends to meet.  He was appalled at our slaughter of the Queen's own English and tried coaching us with no success.  Funny guy. Booming voice.

Forslunds, Polonious, Buxtons

We strolled around and caught whatever scenes we could.  The times were posted, but some overlapped.

Confrontation in the King's Apartments

Halmet's mother meeting her demise with a drop of poison in her wine

We climbed  the tower ( the Danes do love their circular stairs) and took a picture with our backs toward Sweden.  After weeks of rain, the weather actually cooperated for us.

Kronbørg Slot from the roof

Tunnels under Kronbørg

We took the President down in the maize of tunnels to see Holgar Dansk.  It was so dark in one stretch that he hit his head on a low doorway.  Ouch.  Apparently, the soldiers were quartered underground in caverns which open up from the tunnels you see below.  Hardly any light and the floors are not cobble-stones, but ankle-breaking rocks.

The legend is that someday Holgar Dansk is to wake and rescue Denmark

We stayed  until the castle doors closed, then walked  to a Chinese Buffet and stuffed ourselves full of sushi and shrimp, and pretty much cancelled out any calories we burned climbing up and down castle steps.

The next day, we ate breakfast and held meetings until lunchtime.  The good news was that there is a handy-dandy conference room in our apartment complex just two doors from us.  The bad news:  it was way too easy to talk ourselves into making the food for both meals.  No one wanted to haul catered food from miles away.  Marathon cooking  after the castle trip, but lots of help.

Much to President O'Bryant's surprise, senior missionaries are not given training in the MTC on how to interact with young missionaries.  So we talked about big things like, "Do not mother too much or a missionary will leave the mission still needing a mother," and "Don't be too quick to solve their problems.  Let them figure it out by going to the Lord," and "Don't give counsel opposite from the President and APs even if you think missions back in your day did things better,"  and "Marriage after a mission should be on the Lord's timetable, not some arbitrary time period suggested by you."   We also talked about little things like dignified hand shakes (one hand) and calling them Elder and Sister instead of  'you guys'...... guilty.

We also received inspired council about what we are "becoming"  as missionaries.  We get so tied up in "doing" that we quit "becoming."  It is ultimately what we become, not what we do that will exalt us.  Here's a good thought:  we are all like Peter - we start out a little rough but can grow to become strong witnesses.  We should see all missionaries and ourselves as the Lord saw Peter.  Remember he was named Peter the Rock early in his ministry and grew into that name.

And a final thought:  "A testimony of Christ has the power to remove fear and change the world."  We need that today, don't we?

Ended with a temple session and a picture on the temple steps.  Couples left to right (new couples in bold):

President and Sister O'Bryant, Elder and Sister Michaelsen (Iceland), us, Elder Bryner (behind us) front: Elder and Sister Ottley, back:  Elder and Sister Shurtliff; front:  Sister Johnson (Bornholm, husband not here) middle behind her:  Elder and Sister Larsen, back: Elder and Sister Yates.  Front: Sister Warnsdorf (husband not here), middle:  Elder and Sister Brookes, back right:  Elder and Sister Forslund.  The Shepherds from Iceland were also not here.

JULI I KØBENHAVN and BORNHOLM

July.  You know that hot, blistering month back home in Utah?  Burning sidewalks, overheated, sweaty bodies and sweltering bar-b-ques?  Fourth of July parades?  Well, you'd hardly recognize summer here in Denmark. Since the middle of June, we have had rain nearly every day.  Buckets of rain.  And warm? If the temperature gets up to 72, it's a heat wave.  Yesterday, the high was 57.  Rule #1:  Always take a jacket and an umbrella, even if the sky is pretending to be cloudless.  For warm bodied-people, this is heavenly.  For the rest of us, brrrrrr. We have had a few days of nearly 80, with sun, and it is definitely warm and sticky.    Humidity runs the show here, and is the weather boss.  It can make or break your comfort zone.  Not complaining; at least the lawns are green with no effort at all.  Apologies to Hayden and Jackson, our gardeners back home.

I mentioned in the last post our fellow senior missionary, Elder Johnson who had a mini stroke.  He is doing well, by-the-way, and he and his wife are actually headed home in August.  We escorted them back to Bornholm a few weeks ago for two reasons.  First of all to make sure he got home alright, and secondly, to speak in church.  Bornholm has a very small branch and Elder Johnson is the branch president.  One of his counselors is a former missionary, and the other counselor is a current missionary.  The missionaries generally bless and pass the sacrament, and often speak, as well.  Let's just say that there is a lack of priesthood brethren here, so missionaries are vital.  The branch has a tiny, stage 1 chapel and you hardly need a sound system.  Some older members insist on it, however, so they can hear you well enough to  correct your faulty Danish when you are at the pulpit.   Bless.  Currently, there is 1 set of Elders serving on Bornholm along with a missionary couple.  The Elders consisder Barnholm to be a plum assignment, but few get the opportunity.

Bornholm is a pile of rocks located off the coast of Sweden.  Getting there involves driving across the bridge to Sweden, driving about an hour across to Ystad, Sweden then hopping a ferry to Rønne, Bornholm. The ferry holds over 100 cars plus buses and runs like clock work.  If you are late, you are left on the pier.  After swiping your ticket, you drive in to one of 10 or 11 lanes for boarding.  Then, it's up the ramp and attendants point you to your spot.  There are two layers of vehicles.  After the first layer is full, it is raised up so the second layer can drive in. Crazy.  If you suffer from claustrophia, you will hate this.  Cars hanging over your head and bottomless ocean under your feet.  Nice.  You then crawl out of your car, and go up to the sitting area.  Huge windows line the sides and if you are first to board, you can snag one.  They go first.  Lots of areas have tables and there is food and drink and souvenirs to buy.  Pretty plush.  Before the ferry maneuvers into the Rønne pier, everyone scrambles to get back in their car.   You'd best remember where you parked because when that ferry docks, you better have your motor running.

The harbour at Rønne, Bornholm

Some lovely branch members, the Mogensens (their son is serving a mission here currently) escorted us around for sight-seeing.  One stop was an old medieval village with costumed "inhabitants"  near Gudhjem.  As you can see they really get in to it.  Even had a friar admonishing his congregation, old muskets and cannons booming, and smoke from open fires and the artilllery rounds hanging in the air.

The padded and buckled knight on the far right is a recent convert to the church.  First baptism on Bornholm in 8 years!!  He blessed the sacrament for the first time while we were there.

The main attraction on the island is  Hammerhus Slot.  A huge, crumbling fortress strategically placed on a rocky cliff with breath-taking drops to the sea below.  The wind was blowing a bit, but instead of producing white caps the wind pushed the water into shifting, corrugated ridges and grooves.  Mesmerizing. Green bushes tumble wildly down to the sea and tiny, purple flowered vines cling between the bricks of the old walls as if holding them together.  Elder Sakurada is modeling a wreath made from this spidery vine.

Bornholm is a rocky island

Hammerhus Slot

The stories this place could tell of scores of years protecting this little, rocky, island, of people living and dying, of battles won and lost.  Bornholm has been coveted and fought over by many monarchies because of its strategic location off the coast of Sweden, and is fiercely proud enough to have its own flag.

Typical white round church on Bornholm

On the way back, we toured the coastline (just takes just a couple of hours) and stopped by this white round church.  These are distinctive to Bornholm.  Beautiful grounds, as usual.

We hope to visit Bornholm again.  The members there are close-knit, but warm and friendly to guests. The spirit is the same no matter how large or small the congregation.  How wonderful for the Elders there to get the experience of running a branch.  On this last transfer, we lost most of the experienced leadership in the whole mission.  But, younger, eager missionaries step right up and fill the positions and the mission carries on without a miss-step.  Impressive.  Being on a mission is truly a workshop for life.