Trip to Denmark and an Accident

Dear ones...

I received a special gift in the mail this week. A ring made out of a Swedish Coin. Who else would have thought of finding a ring like that besides my wonderful mother... Thank you so so much mommy-- It is so cool. I also received a cute package from Grace with pictures from Ralph's wedding etc. Everyone looks so cute and happy--- Henry, nice suspenders. 

At the beginning of last week we were riding our bikes around the loop we normally do in the mornings for exercise and I turned the corner super fast and went down with my bike. I got a gnarly scrape on my knee and literally everyone we have visited has given me something to treat it- haha. It might not look that big in the pictures but it is pretty deep and has not stopped bleeding since it happened #battlewounds.

Torsten fixing me up

 On Friday morning we were on the train at 7 am with Isam on our way to Denmark. The train goes right over the ocean on a long skinny bridge. It was beautiful. We arrived in the Denmark train station and I really felt like I was in another Country. I was looking around listening to the people talk and I could not understand anything! I turned to Sister Swenson and said "Its so weird to be in a Country where we cant understand anyone!" And then I realized that I was living in Sweden. Hahaha- But it is weird how I am so used to hearing Swedish and how I am already adjusted to the Swedish Culture. It all seems normal to me now so it is funny to read my journal entries from when i first got here and everything was so unique. 

  We met up with the missionaries from Karls Corona and two of their newly baptized members at the Denmark Temple. As we sat in the waiting room all dressed in our white baptismal suits, listening to a Danish Temple Worker explain why we do Baptisms for the dead to these newly converted people, I was filled with joy. The spirit that I felt there was so strong but so familiar. It made me think about how amazing it is that our gospel is the exact same anywhere we go. All over the world we believe the same things, we do the same things in church and in the temple. It is constant. It is familiar. And it is comforting. I also was reminded of how important the process of "enduring to the end" is. We are here to convert others by baptism but even more so to help others continue on the path... to keep going and hålla ut intill änden. Endure to the end. 

 Splitting the area is a little harder than we thought it would be. It is hard to find out that pretty much everyone you meet on the bus lives in the Elders area... On the other hand it is has been a lot of fun to have the elders here. Our investigator Torsten has back problems and it is really hard for him to sit in sacrament meeting. So since I got here, we have been joking about getting him a special chair to sit in but this last week we really did it. We brought a comfortable chair from our apartment down to the church just for Torsten. Haha. He was happy about that. 

 On Sunday I spoke for the 4th time in this ward now but it was a lot easier than the first three times. I talked about Joseph Smith and my testimony of the Restoration. I read a couple verses from D&C 122 and again became overwhelmed with the love and appreciation that I have for Joseph Smith and his curiosity to know which church to join... And for all that he went through so that I can know that I have a purpose here on this Earth.

Our district in Kristianstad

Still doing headstands

 I hope Cali is treating you well. Send my love to the family. I love and miss you all so much but  I am so grateful to have the amazing family that I have.

Love you from Sweden to Utah to Sweden to California to Denmark and back a couple more times. xoxo Adelide

p.s.  Kristin seriously is so awesome. Please send my love to their family and all of the other cousins. I love that scripture and it is so true that we have to humble ourselves like little children, and that is why the gift of agency sometimes is so hard to understand because no one can control it besides ourselves. I have really seen that on my mission that the gift of agency is so hard to work with... but then again it is such an amazing gift and I am so grateful for my agency and that I get to choose to do good but choose to do it my way. I am excited to get your hand written letter this week. Thank you for writing me and sending me special little things. I am so lucky and blessed. I love you so much. Tell hen and lil that i love them and would love to hear from them!!! I hope they are having fun on the beach. xoxoxo

adelight hahaha