3 Nephi 13:33 - June 5, 2017

13 For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Everyone,

Due to the public holiday in Denmark yesterday we had p-day moved to Tuesday. It was also Father's Day here, so Happy Fathers Day!

Aalborg is an exciting city. My area is Nørresundby which is on the other side of the fjord. It is about a 15 minute bike ride from our apartment, and there are only two ways to get to it by bike. We cover the lower half of Vendsyssel, and Frederikshavn covers the upper half. We bike everywhere because nothing is close to our apartment, but it is enjoyable.

Jan is one of our investigators who was a referral from Jimmi. He knows what is right, but doesn't have the will power to do it. We have had two lessons with him on faith and the Spirit. He is constantly on our minds because he wants to follow God, but there are a few things in the way.

We wanted to have a spiritual finding session, so we pondered on where to go. I am new, so I didn't really know too many spots. I thought of a road, but Elder Smith took off biking. I followed him directly too the road that I had thought about. First door we knocked was a girl named Benedikte who accepted a Mormons Bog, and expressed interest in coming to church soon. Both of us were thankful for the miracle.

This ward has many Norweigen and Swedish members in it. Their accents can be hard to understand, but they have been in Denmark long enough that many of the words are said in Danish.

Congratulations to all the graduates. I loved seeing the pictures of everyone.

Elder Francis

D&C 58:3 - May 29, 2017

Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation.

Everyone, 

Well, we had some big news on Saturday. I am now in Ålborg (Aalborg) with Elder Smith. Last transfer and a new area, so it is going to be great. It was sad to leave Elder Merrill, but his new companion is really going to help him. Elder Smith has been out a year, and is from California. He is the district leader here, and we have Frederikshavn and Randers in our district. Hopefully I will be able to go on splits to both of these areas.

We had a great training by Elder and Sister Andersen and Elder and Sister Kearon. We learned about how no effort is wasted (PMG 170). The importance of finding. ALL missions are HARD. There are more here who are ready for the gospel. Because of what we learned I am going to do what I can to help this area even though it is only for 6 weeks.

Irma is still doing well. We had a great lesson on baptism with him. At the end we invited him to baptism, and he accepted. He says that there are still things that he needs to repent of, but I know that he is going to make it.

Hanne was sick on the day of our appointment, so we were unable to meet with her.

Other than that last week was great.

Elder Francis

Alma 48:12 - May 22, 2017

Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.

Everyone,

Irma met with us this week, and we had a great lesson with him. We talked about the Book of Mormon, and how we can know that it is true through prayer. He understood what we were telling him, and I could feel the Spirit in the room. At the end he asked us about how we came to know, and then started asking about baptism. He is so prepared for the gospel, and is excited to regularly meet with us now.

We met Hanne a few weeks ago while knocking, and met with her on Friday. She told us that missionaries met with her several years ago, but then stopped after a few meetings. She said that now she wants to find out if the church is for her. We had a wonderful Restoration lesson with her, and learned about a few concerns she has with the Book of Mormon.

We met Thomas Blackman on the train, and he interviewed us about the church. It was an incredible experience for Elder Whitaker and I. Both of us got gift cards afterwards!

Alma 26:15 - May 15, 2017

15 Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work.

At the Copenhagen Temple with good MTC friends Elder Curnow and Elder Magleby

Everyone,

We had a wonderful skype call yesterday for Mother's day. It is sad that this is the last one, and that my mission will be coming to a close in a few months. All of my siblings are big now. The biggest change is with Nic, and how big he has grown. I loved seeing everyone. The kids are all grown up. . It was fun to hear what everyone was and is doing right now.

We had a fun week last week. Most of our week was spent in København getting trained. Lots of sitting, but at the same time lots of spiritual growth. The biggest highlight was the home cooked meals we got. I'm really looking forward to those when I get home. Elder Merrill had fun seeing his MTC group, and I had fun at the MYPlan meeting seeing my MTC group. The overall point of the meeting was to keep working hard for the last few weeks. They showed that Christ did almost all of his important work during his last week in Jerusalem.

Training in Copenhagen - May 9-11, 2017

 

Ben was in Copenhagen for his "30 days in the land training" as a trainer, and then stayed over for his "My Plan" training to return home in 2 months.

His Mission Mom, Sister Janna O'Bryant, posted wonderful photos and details from the three days of training. Ben looks happy and involved. I cried when I saw the photo of his MTC group, now the missionaries about to head home. These 12 elders have crossed paths and served together many times during the past two years. I feel like I know most of them!

They attended the temple for possibly the last time on his mission!

Here is the description from Sister O'Bryant:
http://cop-den-mission.blogspot.com/2017/05/thirty-days-in-land-and-my-plan.html?m=1

Alma 21:17 - May 8, 2017

And it came to pass that the Lord began to bless them, insomuch that they brought many to the knowledge of the truth; yea, they did convince many of their sins, and of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.

Everyone,

It was a big week for us here in Horsens. We went on two splits back to back. One was with Sønderborg and the other was with Esbjerg. It was lots of fun, but we are glad that it is back to the two of us here in Horsens.

Elder Merrill is still doing well. He seems to understand more and more every day. We are working harder and harder each day, and he is keeping up. This week is the 30 day meeting, so we will get more training on training, and get him caught up on all the past zone conferences.

Doctrine and Covenants 5:24 - May 1, 2017

Behold, I say unto him, he exalts himself and does not humble himself sufficiently before me; but if he will bowdown before me, and humble himself in mighty prayerand faith, in the sincerity of his heart, then will I grant unto him a view of the things which he desires to see.

Everyone, 

We had another great week in Horsens. Elder Merrill is an incredible missionary, and is learning the language quickly. We have had lots of fun this week working in our area together, and trying out some new finding ideas.

We had a lesson with Søren who was contacted by Elder Gardner and I. He lived down the road from the church building in Skive. Turns out he is trying to quit using tobacco right now, and he is a little stressed about it. He accepted a Mormons Bog from us, and committed to read Alma 32. He has asked us to wait a few weeks until he has overcome his addiction before we can come back, so that is a little sad. This lesson did help Elder Merrill when we talked about it afterwards.