Monday, October 20, 2014

Autumn in Slagelse


Autumn it beautiful here! All last week it was completely gray and rainy, but today the sun is out and it is just lovely. I love the rain too though, I've decided that when the weather is bad it's kind of a test. It's easy to be happy with the sun's out, but it's a choice to be happy when it's rainy or cold or miserable. I like choosing to be happy! It makes the days better.
 
I need to find the fun things to do in Slagelse - otherwise Sister Hadfield and I will spend every p-day either window shopping or taking naps! ;)
 
Speaking of sleeping, last night Sister Hadfield and I had a really funny experience. The alarm on our phone went off at 6.30 as usual, so we got up but were SOOOO exhausted. Seriously. I felt like I was going to die and so did Sister Hadfield. We went about doing our morning routine - on Monday mornings for exercise we clean the apartment and do laundry. Sister Hadfield took a shower. I was finishing cleaning in the kitchen and had to sit down in chair because I was so exhausted. I looked down at my watch and it was... 3:30 in the morning. What? At first I thought my watch was way wrong. Then I looked outside and realized that for 7:30 in the morning it was certainly dark outside. Then sister Hadfield checked her watch, and it said 3:30 as well! 

My first thought: "The Elders pranked us!" But then we remembered... Yesterday the phone fell and the battery fell out. When the battery falls out on our phone, the clock resets to midnight.  Apparently we forgot to set the time again, but the alarm was still set for 6:30 in the morning. The alarm went off alright, at 2:30! We were up for an hour before we realized what was wrong. Oh it was so funny, and we laughed for quite a bit before we were able to get back to sleep. It was a relief though - no wonder we were so dang exhausted! But hey, we got a lot done this morning in the apartment before it was time to start studies. ;)
 
Every time I remember it I laugh - our neighbors below must have been so mad! We had the washing machine going and everything.
 
Our key indicators this week were pretty great! ;) We didn't meet all of our goals, which was a little disappointing but we're going to do better this week and we'll be in our area most of the week so we'll have a lot more time to work in our area! Exchanges were amazing, I am seriously so amazed by the sisters we have in our mission. I went out on Friday with Sister Reed, who's been in Denmark for one week and is serving in Frederiksberg. She is so motivated and the Lord has definitely prepared her to be here! She actually lived here for a few months last year and when she was eighteen, and has an impressive grasp of the language. One of her friends she met last year is investigating the church in Århus. Isn't that awesome?
 
And on Saturday I was with Sister Ripa, who's been out for 3 transfers. She is also a wonderful missionary. She really set an example for me of being "anxiously engaged in a good cause" - she and Sister Perkins are working on memorizing the Living Christ in Danish, and she has it hung up in the shower in a sheet protector to practice while she's in the shower!
 
Ah it was so great. Sister Ripplinger and I had a lot of fun planning what we would share with the sisters and getting to know them. I learned SO much and came back to Slagelse so motivated and with new ideas, so I'd say it was a success! Sister Hadfield was with Sister Reed (there are two sister Reeds) in Gladsaxe 1 area. 

I guess I should explain how it works - because there are so many new sisters, the sister training leaders have to train instead of being companions with each other. Sister Ripplinger is the other Sister Training Leader, and her companion Sister Reed is brand new just like Sister Hadfield. When Sister Ripplinger and I go out on exchanges, Sister Reed and Sister Hadfield stay in one of our areas and work together. They were in the other area (Gladsaxe), and Sister Hadfield said it was lots of fun! They only got lost twice, which is awesome, and they had a lot of good experiences.
 
How neat is it that Sister Hadfield's family was in the same stake you're in? Dad said that he met Sister Hadfield's dad one of the first Sundays you were there. All I have to say is... wow. There's meaning in everything. And let me tell ya, being companions with Sister Hadfield is the BEST! We are rockin' it here in Slagelse. All of the new missionaries and their trainers set a goal to find 10 potential investigators in the first 10 days of the companionship, and we did it in the first 7 days (and then we were on exchanges so... we found potentials in other peoples' areas!). 

And we continue to find, and teach. We met with T and F yesterday and F has so many good questions. He's really opened up in the last few weeks, and he's really starting to progress again in the gospel. There are so many good people here in Slagelse, and the ward is just amazing. M still comes to church every week and is opening up to us more and more.
 
Church was great yesterday. B, who was baptized in June, gave her first talk! It was so cute - she did awesome. Last week when we came to visit her she practiced her talk for us. We're going to her house for dinner this week, and when we told her that there will be four sisters here (Sister Ripplinger and Sister Reed are coming here - haha I feel like by the end of the transfer we're going to all be semi-companions with each other), she was even more excited to invite us all over.
 
And today we're going to hit up the genbrugs! AKA thrift shops! We're looking for backpacks because we looked like bag ladies with our shopping bags full of clothes on our way to exchanges, and an æbleskever pan. I forgot my camera cord so I can't send any pictures, but I promise I will next week and we're going to take lots of pictures in the beautiful fall weather while it lasts!
 
I really like your "be a little nicer" plan. I LOVE that talk from President Monson, I think it's from April 2014 General Conference right? It's interesting to think that every single person we meet or run into is someone the Lord has put in our path to help. It's very motivating as a missionary, because talking to everyone possible can be intimidating or hard or sometimes I just don't want to do it. And sometimes you get into this pattern of having a conversation with someone and trying to bring up the church as soon as possible to find out if they're interested in learning about it, while forgetting to have the pure love of Christ and finding what that person needs to come closer to Christ today. Just because people aren't interested in the gospel doesn't mean we can't brighten their day in some way. I want to be better at being a little nicer to the people I meet, too! As well as the missionaries around me.
 
It just sounds like everything is going well there! Go Emily with getting first chair, I knew she was a musical genius. :)
 
This week we're going on exchanges with the sisters in Roskilde, and then like I said, Sister Ripplinger and Sister Reed are coming here. We've got a lot of great appointments set up (M! L! K hopefully! J and R, T and F, D, S and B, the list goes on. I love it.) and some potentials to follow up with! Tomorrow we're meeting with 2 new investigators we met while walking with our flat-tire bikes (hehe they're in the shop right now, but if they never went flat we never would have met R and M!).
 
I have to go. I love you so much! I am thinking of you and praying for you! You're the best Mom. Tell the søskende (vocab test!) that I love them!
 
På gensyn. Jeg elsker dig! Husk at bede, og husk at du er virkelig fantastisk.
 
Med kærlig hilsen,
Hannah
 
PS I love you!

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