A Parking Mishap and more

Hey Mom and Dad and everyone else,

 

Thanks for the letter and everything. I really like hearing all the stories and just how everything's going. It's kinda strange, I thought I'd be homesick and thinking of home a lot, but when I'm out as a missionary everyday I don't even have time to be homesick and miss everyone, but every P-day its really good to here how Things are and know that home will still be there in two years. I had a pretty good week this week. It started out pretty badly to be honest, but then it ended pretty well. I don't remember when it was, I think it might have been Wednesday, but we got a parking ticket for 600 Kroners (almost 100 dollars) just because we forgot to set a time thingy on the front of our window called a P-skiv. So we we're both pretty mad about that and then one of our really positive investigators that we thought could be baptized within the couple months stopped answering our texts and calls. And then we had no appointments because some other people couldn't meet. So we were a bit discouraged at the beginning of the week. But we actually ended up doing some really effective planning this week and we have more scheduled appointments this´coming week than I think I've ever had on my mission. So that's really exciting, and we're going to have an amazing week. We did have some good experiences this past week though. We had lots of time, so we ended up spending a lot of time contacting on the streets, knocking, and stopping by members that are less active. I think it was on Thursday, we we're out knocking on doors and having no success, and honestly pretty much no one seemed to be home. Then I saw a random apartment and thought, (or heard ha ha) we should try that one. So we went and knocked, and the third door we knocked on, before we had even said much the man invited us in. He and his friend that were there were both from Iran and one of them was Christian and the other said he was Humanist (Which is kind of Ironic because his name is Human ha ha). But One of them spoke a little bit of English and the other spoke a little bit of Danish, but neither of them spoke too well, but they told us there language was Persian, but that they'd both come to church 100%. Neither of them did unfortunately, but we were able to get them both Persian books of Mormon and went and visited one of them on Sunday after Church. We just talked to him and tried to communicate and be his friend. While we were there he opened up his new book of Mormon straight to 2nd Nephi 29 where it talks about there being more Words that God gives to his children than just in the Bible. I'm not sure if he understood a lot of what we said to him, but he just kept saying "this is a good book" in his nice broken Danish (it reminds me of when I first got here). So that was a really cool oplevulse and I was really glad that we were able to find them. We also met a really nice girl named Sophia while contacting this week, and I think if she reads Mormons bog she could really become an extremely positive investigator for us. So that was exciting too. Hmm... oh also we decided to try a new way of contacting this week. We just went to parks with lots of people and brought an American football and tried to look extremely American and passed the football a bit (ha ha people think Americans are really cool for some reason). We actually ended up playing catch with a bunch of immigrant kids for about 20 minutes and we just had a good time with them and getting to know them a little bit. It actually reminded me a lot of Africa for a little while. Next time we do that though we're going to have to try to find some older people to play though ha ha. I do think one thing that's really important to do as a missionary though is to just be nice and friendly to all the people we walk by and talk to. If we just act like robots that can only do missionary Work and talk about the gospel I feel like no one would ever want to talk to us. It's actually kind of crazy, here in Denmark there are a Whole lot of Jehovah's witnesses, but pretty much everyone hates them because they're rude when they talk to people and just don't act like they're there to be friends. Unfortunately we get mistaken for Jehovah's Witnesses a lot here, but when we tell them we're not, lots of people will get super relieved and be happy to talk to us for a little while. I feel like if you're not careful though, you could easily end up being the same way as them, and not realize that one of the most important Things about being a missionary is being a friend.

       I think that's about it for today, but I just want to say thank you for all the prayers and support and for everything you have all done for me. It means a lot, and now that I'm out here I regret not showing and expressing my thanks more often. I already feel like the person I am is changing a ton. I just feel happy almost all the time (sometimes not so much though ha ha, missionary work can be a bit depressing at times), and I feel like I'm beginning to be able to recognize the spirit more and realize that in life we really can't do everything. We have to trust in God and follow him, and if we do our best he will make up all the rest, and when you feel like you can't go on any longer he'll send you one of his tender mercies and you'll be able to carry on through the rough times.

     Haha I was going to try to end on that spiritual note, but I have to tell you a story ha ha. I remember when you were asking if I couldn't go into public parks or beaches because of topless women, and a few weeks ago we were on a train in the country and there was just a random farmer working in his field buck naked haha, so I think parks and beaches are the least of our worries haha. Denmark is a strange place. I'm having a great time though and I know that with God's help I'll always be fine, through the good and the bad, and anything that comes my way. Have a great week :)

 

Oh and no I didn't get transferred, I'm still in Roskilde with Ældste Metcalf having a great time. And the weather has been pretty good lately. It's starting to get a little chilly sometimes, and believe it or not a few trees are starting to have their leaves change colors already ha ha. I've heard from all the missionarys here that the winters are miserable though ha ha, but I'm kind of excited for winter. It'll be something new, a fun adventure in a country halfway across the world.

 

-Ældste Redd

A New Companion and New Apartment in Roskilde

Hi Mom and Dad and everyone else,

 

     I know he's a good person, just... yeah. Ha ha I'm doing great now though. I guess first I'll answer all your questions.

 

1. I actually only have one companion. I'm not sure how you thought I had two because I went back and read my email and I think it was pretty clearly said, but I only have one companion Ældste Metcalf and we're covering both of our areas. In two or three weeks we're going to get new companions though when the new missionaries get there visas. So once that happens Ældste Metcalf and I won't be together anymore and I'll be back in my old apartment in Tåstrup. Right now we live in the Roskilde apartment but we go to Taastrup every once in a while so I can check my mail then. I got the letters and pictures from the family reunion though and I really enjoyed them, so thanks a ton for that.

 

2. My companion Ældste Metcalf is from Salt Lake City Utah. Actually neither of us are senior companions though, because we've both been out for exactly the same time ha ha. Ældste Metcalf is really awesome though, he's a really hard worker and super funny. He's super spontaneous too which makes thing fun all the time. I'm a little worried I'm going to die in a car accident driving with him though, so you might want to send that driving record of mine sooner than later ha ha.

 

3. I'm still in the same area, it's just combined with one other area that is much larger so I have a lot more than what I had before. I'm going back to just my small area when more missionaries get to the mission though. I think after that I'll stay for another 4 to 10 Weeks, or possibly more, but I think it's going to become a zone leader area eventually so I doubt I'll be there for too long.

 

4. I didn't have any especially spiritual experiences this past week, but I've felt like I've had the spirit helping me a lot with Danish. I've been able to understand a lot more than I thought I could (it's still not all that much ha ha) this week and I've also been able to speak better than I thought I could as well. I actually gave a talk in church on Sunday (in Danish ha ha) and I was able to speak much better during the actual talk than I had when I practiced, and I think everyone understood me and I got lot's of compliments on my Danish and my talk afterwards. So that's been pretty cool to see. Hmm... I've had lots of funny experiences this week. Lets see, one funny one is while we were knocking in an area, some kids walked by and asked hvad lave i? (what are you doing), and we said we're missionaries and we talk to people about God, and a seven-ish year old girl just yelled well then F... you and they all took off running ha ha. Then when we were walking back to the car we saw them playing in a playground and when they saw us they ran away again, and we pretended to chase them for a little bit ha ha. I don't think a lot of people understand what American swear words mean though because little kids seem to use them a lot ha ha.

 

5. Well technically I'm not allowed to read that book because its not in the missionary library... but I read it ha ha. It was pretty good. There were some things that were really good in it but there were a few things that were a little ridiculous ha ha, but it was good.

 

6. Hmm... one thing that I think would be good to sent to me would be a pair of fairly good winter gloves that you can still do things in (not ski gloves, but leather or synthetic material would work). I've looked for gloves here and the only ones I've found weren't very good but they were over fifty dollars. how much does it cost you to send stuff though, because I guess it might be cheaper to buy them here even if they're expensive though. My feet are holding up fine though, and I really like the new socks you sent. My trainer actually left behind a pair of Ecco shoes that were too big for him, so I have two pairs of nice Ecco shoes now and they work great.

 

Thanks for everyone's letters and emails and support though. And tell Erik thanks for his as well in case I don't have time to reply. I'm doing way better now and I'm really having a blast with Ældste Metcalf. I feel like we're actually working hard now and we're having tons of fun and learning the language as well. So pretty much things are great. We've been teaching a lot of lessons to great people and helping out those that are less active. I'm going to send you some pictures now and figure some other things out too, so I hope I have time after to send more, but if not, have a great week.

 

-Ældste Redd

 

 

Short email- Changes coming

 I found out that for the time being I'm going to be serving with Ældste Metcalf and our two areas are combining. It's only for a few weeks though until the new missionaries visas get here and then Ældste Metcalf will train and I'll get an older companion from somewhere. I'm really excited to serve with Ældste Metcalf and I know well get along well. We're already good friends (we were in the MTC together) and he's a really fun person to be around. We both don't speak a ton of Danish Either, so that will be an adventure as well haha. I'm really excited for a change though. I've had a tough past two months, but I've done my best and I think better times are ahead. Now I'll finally try to answer all your questions.

1. Yes! I did get a package. I didn't think it was from the Young women though. I thought it had letters from a Sunday school class because some were from boys too. Haha, they were pretty much all the exact same and asked me if it was cold. They made me smile though. I also got two pairs of socks, some articles of faith cards, a little book called how to be an extraordinary missionary, and some candy. So that was great to get, and thanks for everything in it and say thanks to the other people that contributed to it for me.

2. Either a USB stick or CDs work fine I can play them both. Sorry though I actually have to go now, but I'll send you a better email next week.

I am a Legal Resident of Denmark Now!

Hey Everyone,

 

Thanks, this week was even better too. Yeah it is pretty funny, although I really don't eat that much, I guess I can just eat large quantities and I eat more on average than other people. I've lost about 6 pounds since getting here though, so I can't be eating too much haha. Yeah it was pretty crazy that they lost all that info, but I got my cards today so I am now a legal resident of Denmark, so I'm pretty happy about that. And well, I've been in quite a few public parks and to a beach or two, and I've never seen that, and no one here says missionaries can't go to public parks. My companion did tell me in some areas they were in they saw people doing that though, but I guess it was unavoidable to see that, so depending on where I go in Denmark I might have to get good at checking the time on my watch haha. I haven't seen two many Danes soaking in the sunshine to be honest, but then again I'm kind of in a small town area and I don't spend too much time in public parks. There are a lot of really grossly tan Danes in the summertime though, and there are tanning salons everywhere. I'm glad the family reunion went well too. It sounds like it was pretty fun. And I look forward to those letters and I'll definitely email James too. I'm surprised uncle Mike beat Dad in sock wrestling too,  getting old eh... haha.

OK now I'll answer the questions of the week.

1. My companion is leaving the area on the 15th of August. He's spending a week all over Denmark with his family then before heading out.

2. We haven't had anything much happen. We talk to her and we're definitely friends, but its not like she wants to be taught the lessons. We're planning on inviting her to church this week though.

3. Hmm... good question. I'll give you two good experiences I had this week. The first was I think on Tuesday. We were in Hedehusene and had tried to meet with some people there and had knocked previously for an hour or two, and we were both pretty tired. we still had 45 minutes before we needed to go home though. Neither of us really wanted to do much more especially if it involved knocking on doors, but I felt like we should go knock an apartment building I saw in the distance... so we did. One of the first doors we knocked on belonged to an older lady named Lyna. It so happens that she had been to an LDS church a few times before and even met with a senior missionary couple for a while. She agreed to meet with us this week and we have an appointment on Thursday. So that was a good experience for me. When we were tired and kinda just wanted to go home, I followed a prompting and kept working hard, and we found someone to meet with that has a lot of potential.

    I think my other good experience of the week was I went on companionship exchange with Ældste Strong. We just had a really good time. We didn't have tons of missionary work success, but I just had a lot of fun, which I unfortunately haven't had in awhile. I think that's why I've had a hard time some weeks honestly, my companion and I don't talk much or have fun. But I'm doing my best and some days are still great. I'm glad to be here though, and I'm excited for the coming weeks.

4. Hahaha we went to a conveyor belt sushi place and you pay a set price and then you get to eat as much as you want. So we had a little extra money for the month and went there.

5. Yep. From what I've heard it's extremely easy though. The only reason they have it is because there are a bunch of immigrants that come to Denmark never even try to learn Danish and can't communicate well. So its pretty much just to prevent that from happening.

6. Not really anything specific right now no.

 

I do still have the name brother Bigelow gave me though, but I'd have to be in that part of Denmark to contact them. I was thinking about giving it to the office as a referral, but I thought brother Bigelow míght want me specifically to contact her. Oh and another random thing. Have you heard about all the changes they mad recently for the missionary dress code? The most annoying thing is we're no longer allowed to use backpacks. We have to by shoulder bags. I bought one for 10 dollars at a Genbrug (Danish thrift shop) but wearing it at all even when I have very little in it kills my shoulder haha, so I'm a bit annoyed at that change. We can also wear lighter colors of pants like khakis now, so that's kinda sweet. There are a decent number of changes though, so you should look them up sometime. I think that's it for now though. Have a great week.

 

-Ældste Redd