11.25.13

A letter to Paul who asked for stories for a lesson

K I have a little bit of time to write some stories about our branch.

They have been amazing! They have been the perfect branch for missionaries. Before we came, they got our apartment all ready for us and left treats, and made sure that the second we came we felt welcome, and when it comes to missionary work they have been great. 

Right off the bat we got referrals from the members of people we could visit. They were excited about the work and always asking how things were going and looking for opportunities to help. You should have seen them the first time that we brought an investigator to church! I think you can remember the story about Frederick and Steven. As soon as sacrament was over, they ran up and introduced themselves and were just perfect as to how to welcome someone to church. My favorite part is how they treat the investigators. We have never once had to suggest to them to invite someone to their house, to a branch activity, or anything really. They just take the initiative! With Frederick and Steven that first day, for example, they brought up our branch activity to himmelbjerg and had rides offered to them before it had even crossed our minds. The branch is small, but they definitely pull their weight! It's great serving in Silkeborg because it doesn't feel like we are just missionaries assigned to a branch, but like we are a part of the branch. We don't have to call and make assignments or say we need help with missionary work, but instead its just like the missionary work is a part of the branch. They ask about it, offer their help, they know all of our investigators and ask how they are doing, and it's just really cool to see that branch work that way! And it makes us feel really good knowing that they talk to investigators and be their friends without any promptings from us, because then our investigators feel welcome and start to open up to the church when they see that people really do love and care and serve, and that its not just all by assignment. it's like our stake theme (at home. Crescent Ridge -  By love, Not by assignment!)  There's not really enough people to just make assignments or delegate. they see a need and they take care of it, and they love doing it! Pretty cool to see. Hopefully I don't get transferred haha! 

They were great with Knud, but I feel like you can't tell those stories because it kinda had a bad ending.

I'll try and get you more specifics next week (if you can still use them in your talk) just let me know if there is a specific topic you want stories on and i will get them for you! Love ya! good luck

11.18.13

Hej! 

Well it was a good week! We had our little thanksgiving activity with our zone this week! Well, it wasn't little I guess. It was way fun! We had a turkey bowl in the morning and our district took home the trophy for that!  It was so fun. Then we had a big thanksgiving dinner that was cooked by these members that had a restaurant and it was way good! It was weird not being with family, but it was fun just eating it with a bunch of missionaries and we had a really good time! After we had a little training and then a talent show! So It was a good Thanksgiving activity!

I don't really have any more cool stories this week... It was a good week though! We had a lot of appointments and were able to meet with a lot of investigators, and we also found a couple new people to teach, so all in all it was a pretty good week!

We get to go down to Copenhagen tomorrow for my language test for my visa extension. Hopefully I pass! Have a great week! I love you all!!

Don't forget to tell my Dad Happy Birthday!!!!!

-Conner

11.11.13

Hej!

Well, It was another great week! Last night was Mortens Aften in Denmark, which is pretty much a holiday so they can eat! And it was awesome! Our whole branch got together last night and had a big feast and then a massive dessert and it was the best! The main food was duck, and it was way good!! I don't know what they do to the ducks here but they are amazing. After the feast, we did a musical spiritual thought with our guitar and sang a bunch of primary songs with the branch. This branch that I am in is seriously the best. There aren't very many of them, but they are great! The church means a lot to them and they are all really close and are pretty much like one big family and I love being a part of it!

I don't have too many stories this week. It was one of those blur weeks again. Our investigators are all doing really good and we were able to meet with almost all of them this week which was way cool! So things are going great!

Hope all is going good at home! Sorry my last couple of emails have been kinda lame. I'll try and get some good stories for next week. Have a great week everyone! I love you and miss you all!

-Conner

Here is part of the food!  

11.4.13

Love you all!!! have a great week!!

10.28.13

Sent: Monday, October 28, 2013 4:54:25 AM

Hej!!

So I don't know what stories to tell this week... last week's was just way to amazing and I feel like everything else will fall a little short haha. It was a good week! We met with Knud twice and he is still on fire and loving everything we teach him! One of our members invited him over for dinner tomorrow and that'll be awesome for him to start getting some friends in the ward! We talked to a lot of people this week and found a couple new investigators and made quite a few return appointments with people that we just talked to on the street! It was awesome!

Holy cow! I ate so much this week. It was nuts. It was going good up until the weekend, good portions of food. We didn't have any  planned eating appointments, but then people just started calling and asking if we wanted to come over and eat! It happened for breakfast and dinner all weekend and it just destroyed us haha. You finish your plate and they just say 'spis!!'  Then they give you more food! It's so great though! Holy cow! Hopefully I can learn how to make some of the stuff so I can make it for everyone when I get back.

But yeah, it was a good week! Have a great Halloween!! Send me all the blue tootsie rolls!! And have a great pheasant hunt!! Don't miss em... send me some sagebrush!!! They don't have that here. Love you all and hope that you have a fantastisk week!

-Conner

10.21.13

Sent: Monday, October 21, 2013 3:41:54 AM
Subject: crazy

Hej!

So, crazy story of the week: We knocked on this door and a young man answered, quickly said 'nej tak' and shut the door. So we moved on to the next door, but then about the 30 seconds later the door we had just knocked opened up again and there was a different man there and he asked us who we were. We told him and he quickly took a card, told us we could come back, and then shut the door. A couple days went by and we felt like we should go back to this door and talk to that guy again. So we did. He opened the door and right off the bat told us to come in! We went in, but we quickly found out that this man had been drinking quite a bit and that he was drunk. Like way drunk. just totally gone. He wasn't really able to comprehend what we were talking about. He told us about how much he hates drinking, his addiction to alcohol, and how much he wants to change. We asked if we could come back another day and he said yes and we made an appointment, and asked him not to drink before we came. On the notepad on his desk we wrote the appointment down and a little summary of what we talked about haha, and that our message would be able to help him out, so that he could remember when we woke up. We came back for the appointment a couple days later... and he was drunk again. We didn't stay for very long, however he requested a Book of Mormon, so we gave that to him and again wrote down a little note about it so that he could remember what it was. The next day, as we were eating dinner, we got an SMS from this man, Knud, telling us to call him. I called him and he was really excited, telling us that we needed to come over and explain something to him and that he wasn't drunk this time. We told him we would be over in just a little bit and we left to go visit him. We got there and he was waiting outside on his balcony, when he saw us he yelled out to us, ran to the door, opened it up, and held up his hands and said "Look at my hands! They aren't shaking!' He quickly invited us in and we sat down and he excitedly told us how he hadn't had a drink since the day before, and that normally when he would go that long with out any alcohol his hands would shake and he would get a really big stomach ache, but none of those things were happening. He was explaining all of this really rapidly and he was just really excited and then he paused, and said, "It's because of that book you gave me!" haha That took us by surprise! He went on to tell us that he had woke up in the morning, saw the book and the notes that we had left, and decided to start reading the book. He read from the beginning all the way until 1 Nefi 19!!! What the heck?! That never happens! He told us that as he began reading the book that his desire to drink started to go away, his stomach ache died down, his hands stopped shaking, and that he started to feel this really amazing feeling. At the end of this story, he paused again and said 'there is something really powerful about this book. I know that what's happened is because of this book. I've investigated other religions, I've gone to different churches, but I've never felt this much power before. Will you explain to me what this is?' Æ. Nelson and I bore our testimonies about the healing power that this gospel can have, both physically and spiritually, and explained to him that what he felt was the Holy Ghost confirming to him that the book was true and that it really could help him. The spirit was super strong as we talked and he just kept telling us how he knew the book was true and powerful. We bore testimony that it was and invited him to be baptized and he said yes! After the lesson ended and it was time to go, he stopped again and said 'I know it wasn't a coincidence that I went back and opened the door and told you to come back. I don't know why I did that, but I know now that it wasn't a coincidence. I needed to find this book and this church!' hahaha Yeah I think I would agree with that!! Way cool story and we are way stoked!

Things are going good here! The Danish is still coming and it's getting really fun! The leaves are all starting to change colors and it is just crazy pretty! I love Silkeborg. Hope everything is going great with you all! Have a great week! I love you all and miss you all!

-Conner

PS. Shout out to Lia Ludlow! Don't worry I haven't forgotten you Don't worry!

PSS Shout out to all of my cousins! You are all the best! Love you and hope all is going great! 

Here's the pumpkin I carved. It's a missionary if you can't tell. haha and I had to take a picture with the honda sign! 

10.07.13

Hej!

So I'm possibly the worst trainer ever. I left my trainee on a train. Without a ticket. And without the Phone. On his second day here. haha Woops. Luckily though, he did still have a companion... who was also on his second day in Denmark... and also didn't have a phone or ticket. So to back up a bit: we were on our way to århus to watch conference and we are just about to step on the train when one of our investigators, Frederick runs up and he says "How do I get a ticket?!" all stressed out. So we pointed him to the ticket machine and he went over, and we got on the train. We sat down next to some other missionaries, Æ crank og Æ Zelewski (another new missionary), when I looked out the window and saw that Fredrick couldn't get his money to be taken by the machine, and he was stressing pretty bad. So Elder Crank and I were like "shoot, we have to go help him, we can't just let him get left!"   So we ran out to help him and left our trainees on the train. The train driver was leaning out the window and so we asked if he could wait just a little bit so we could help Frederick and he said it was fine. So we frantically help Fredrick out, got him his ticket, run to the train, Frederick slips in right as the doors shut, but they shut on us. so we press the button to get them to open again... but they don't... and the train drives away with our trainees, who have no tickets, phones and can't speak danish. hahahaha So we were like "Shoot! We just lost our trainees and they have no idea where to go!"  Looking back at it now it's pretty darn funny. haha It was funny when it happened too. For us at least haha. But we remembered that Frederick had gotten on the train so we just called him and gave the phone to our trainees and then told them what to do. They got off on the next stop (since we had the tickets) and then waited for us to come on the next train, which was about an hour later, and we made it to århus safe and sound. So it all turned out good. So that was definitely the story of the week. Pretty funny.

We didn't get a lot of work done in our area this week, just because we were in Copenhagen to pick up my trainee, Æ. Nelson and then århus for conference, so I don't really have a ton to tell. But it was a good week and I am really excited to be training! Æ. Nelson is cool and he's willing to work hard. Which is good because he will need it haha. So things are going great here!

Hope all is going great! Hope you all had a good time at conference! Love you and miss you!

-Conner

Metcalf and I with our trainees