Missionary Week #15 December 24, 2018 – December 30, 2018

Missionary Week #15  December 24, 2018 – December 30, 2018

Merry Christmas to you and your families!  We had a great week.  We had Monday through Wednesday off from work.  So, we had quite the vacation! 

We decided that we would spend Christmas Day at home and enjoy the warmth inside!  So, Monday we ventured out to find my Grandmother’s residence when she was a baby.  In her birth record it gave an address of Östermalmsgaten 19.  So, we put it in Google maps and off we went.  When we got out of the train station, we had to walk about 4-5 blocks.  The sun was shining, and it was a beautiful day (other than COLD!)  The street signs here are on the side of the corner buildings. We knew we were close when the sign said Östermalms 17-21.  

We found #19 and it is a nice building – made from bricks.  We didn’t go inside the building as there was a keypad but once you go in the entrance, there are a few steps up and then you go to the different apartments and floors.  

Östermalms 19

Full view of the building

The neat thing is, at the Archive where we work, they have the building plans for all the buildings – so in the near future we will be able to get a copy of the original floor plan and any changes that have been made through the years.  We tried to do that Thursday after work, but those maps and records have been packaged up for a move to another building.  So we will have to go to City Hall next week to find them or wait until later when the new building is finished and up and running.  Stay tuned!!!

Engelbrekts Church

We walked around a bit before going back to the train.  Right across the street from Nana’s building was a beautiful church with people going in and coming out since it was Christmas Eve Day.

 We walked further and came across a park where families were sledding down a hill.  Lots of people out and about.  We watched for a while at the little kids having so much fun on their sleds.  It was about 24* F (-4*C) We walked back to train and headed home.  Got warm and watched Christmas Movies for the rest of the evening! 

 Christmas Day, we watched videos about Christ’s birth and life in the morning, then more Christmas Hallmark movies in the afternoon waiting to call all the kids to see how their Christmas’ were going.  It was great to see the “tornadoes” in everybody’s house and the kids happy with their gifts.  New bicycles, guitars, legos, baseball hats, dolls, scooters, books, pajamas, bows and arrows, etc.  We love that we can stay in touch with our family.  The Junior Missionaries – get to call home only at Mother's Day and Christmas.  So, they were happy to hear and see family this day.  We had a ham dinner that was pretty tasty.

Wednesday Dec 26, we relaxed and watched more movies, worked on the computer (genealogy) all day and enjoyed our last day off! 

Thursday, we went in to work and had a great day – seemed to go by fast.

On Friday we stayed at work until 12:30-1pm and headed to the Temple.  It was pretty with the snow all around and had a Manger scene out front.  After our Temple trip we walked back to a little shopping area and found a Chinese/Thai restaurant and it was very good – headed back home in time to do laundry!  Our laundry room is in the adjacent building’s basement.  Our parking lot is a skating rink, and John tried it out!  It works really well – he slipped, and it was like slow motion but down he went.  We try so hard to be careful – in public places they put little rocks out so you step on them but in private areas nothing is done. 

Closeup of the Poster by the gate 

Map of the Royal Stables

Saturday, we headed out back in to Stockholm and went to check out some museums.  We walked by the Royal Stables – it was closed but we will go back in January – they have tours in the afternoon.

Royal Stable Entrance

This was taken from the window in the Preforming Arts Museum of the Stables

Right next door was the Preforming Arts Museum – Dance, Music, Theatre, Puppetry, Music

Skating Rink, music playing and pretty lights above the skaters

On our way to go to the National Museum we came across this park with a skating rink.  There was music playing and a lot of families skating and having fun.  We made it to the National Museum but the line was out the door and down the sidewalk – so then we walked to the Hallwylska Museum. 

Hunting Rifles

Swords

Billiard Room

China & Statues Collection - The Whole room had cabinets like these

Crakow Nativity Scene - that were on exhibition from the Historical Museum of the City of  Cracow

Fireplace

Hallwylska Museum.  This is a house that was built between 1893 and 1898 by the Count & Countess Hallwyl.  It has 40 rooms in 2,000sqm = 21,527.82 sq ft.  They had 3 demands for the architect, it should serve as their home, but also be both for the business and for the wife’s “growing art and handicraft collections”. 

They had a stable and garage but in 1908 they bought their first car and sold the horses!  It was very pretty, and I thought looked more like a palace then the palace!  Her collections were china, and figurines, there was hunting rifles, bows and swords.   I guess they left it to the government to use as a museum after they died.  There was a long wait to get in, as people left, they would let the same number go in.  But it was worth the wait.  We were home by 5pm. 

Sunday – Off to church and found it was only one hour!    We are off work Monday & Tuesday so another short week.  But then they tell us “It’s all over until Easter!”        

We are Happy and Well, We treasure the new experiences that we've had and look forward to many more.  Be Safe and Keep Warm with your family beside you!  We think of you often and We wish you Happiness, Health and a Prosperous New Year!   

John  / Linda Richardson

Missionary Week #14

Missionary Week #14 ~   December 17, - December 23, 2018

We went to work Monday and Tuesday, had good productive days – it didn’t snow more but the snow was still on the sidewalks – we made it to work without falling!   

On Wednesday, we attended the Zone Conference and we were happy to see our 2 Elders and 2 Sisters from our Ward there!  We had a great morning of music talent from Elders and Sisters. Devotional by the Mission President and Wife and a wonderful luncheon of Swedish Meatballs and potatoes and wonderful desserts.  Then after lunch Sister Youngberg shared some traditions from their family.  She read one of their favorite books “The Christmas Oranges” about a little girl in an orphanage. It was a great story, one I’d like to share with our grandchildren.  Then for a treat we watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.  It’s a classic!  They passed out popcorn too!  We had a great time and enjoyed seeing all the awesome Missionaries together.  Each one of them being away from home either for the first Christmas or maybe even their second Christmas.  They will be a little homesick, but they were told to make sure they told their families about everything they were doing here. 

We went back to work on Thursday and worked until 5pm and decided to leave early.  That was a mistake – all the trains were packed!  We just sat and waited for 30 minutes until the crowds died down and we could actually get on a train! 

Friday we worked until 12:30pm and walked into Stockholm and went to lunch and then back home.  It has been snowing and getting a little colder – it gets down to about 24*F or -4*C that’s another thing we are learning – Celsius and metric measuring system!  It’s coming along, but I still have to look things up.

We’ve had 2 more birthday’s this week – Avonlea turned 4, and Tatum turned 16 and takes her driving test next week!  We wish them both a Happy Birthday! So glad to get some Marco Polo’s to see their pretty faces and hear from them. 

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and enjoy your family and friends and traditions.  We think of you often and miss you.  Love to All!   John & Linda

Missionary Week #13

Missionary Week #13 - December 10 – December 16, 2018

Monday December 10, 2018 – We got a little snow today and it is getting colder.  We worked a 10 hr day again… We really like getting off early on Friday! 

Tuesday December 11, 2018 – We worked until lunch and headed to the little Pizza Place right by our work.  It was great pan pizza. This time we actually got a seat!  Last time we tried it there were no seats left in the little shop so we took it back to our cafeteria!  Tonight we went to the grocery store and we spent about an hour – finding all things on our list…again – finding the right isle and then the right item that you need is a real challenge.  We marked off the last item and headed for the check outs.  The guy said, “well we’re having trouble, we don’t have internet.”  So some cards are working 50-50 chance your card will work – but if it’s international – it probably won’t work.  So John tried all 3 cards he had – and none of them worked.  So we said “what do we do now?”  and he said – “You can pay cash”   (we’ve never needed cash – so we didn’t have any!)  So we told him we didn’t have any and he said Well I’m sorry for the inconvenience you can just leave the basket and we’ll put it all back for you.”  So I forgot to tell you about most of the stores here – you have to bring your own bags and you bag your own groceries.  We couldn’t leave our bags that were already packed- so we unpacked them, and you also have to put a little plastic “key” in the grocery carts to get a cart….then when you put the cart back in the parking lot you lock your cart into a cart that is already there – and it pushes out your plastic key.  Hard to describe. But I’ll show  you a picture. 

Anyway, we needed to get our keys back too.  We went home with nothing!   

We got a Marco Polo from Janell and Jennifer that Janell made it to Phoenix and they were headed home to St. Johns for all the happenings this week in our family!

Wednesday December 12, 2018  We went to work and went back to our pizza place – since we didn’t have bread to take our own lunch again!  We then walked to a bank to get cash! We worked until 6 pm and came home and headed out to the grocery store again.  We were prepared, and we had already had a dry run, so this shopping trip was done in record time!  And the card worked and we got to go home with food for the week!  YAY! 

About 4pm our time, JT (our grandson) was on the radio station in Show Low, his middle school choir was singing on the radio!  So because of the internet – we were able to go to their sight and listen live!  The Host of the morning show had each child introduce themselves and what they wanted for Christmas!  The kids ranged from 4-8^th grade.  It was J.T.’s turn and he said “I’m J.T. Richardson and  I want a Golden Retriever” The Host said – “do you think you’ll get it?” and without hesitation he said “Nope!”  Everyone laughed.  They sang 3 songs and they sounded GREAT! 

Thursday, December 13, 2018  We went to work and after lunch we sent a Marco Polo to Lily (our granddaughter) and we sang Happy Birthday to her!  She turned 8yrs old today.  Then we sent a Good Luck Marco Polo to our son Jaylen, who was going through all the final tests and physical tests this week.  Big week  for him and the Academy has finally come to an end and He Passed! 

Friday, December 14, 2018  - We went to work and worked until 10:30.  Then we headed to the place where we register for a “Person Number”.  This is kind of like our Social Security number – it identifies you and you are legal to be in the country – it’s only needed if you’re going to live here over one year.  We waited for an hour but it went pretty fast – we had to have all of our documents in hand and completed a questionnaire on their computers and that was then printed and the lady that helped us said that we would hear in 3-4 weeks if we passed!  Hopefully! 

We then rode the train to Kista – and found a movie theatre!  It was the Premier of Aquaman and we got popcorn and soda.  No ice – they don’t believe in Ice here!  I can’t figure it out.  But the popcorn was great and it was a good movie. Oh! Bonus it was in English with Swedish captioning It was in a huge mall and after the movie we ate at their food court.  

We got home and waited for 11:30pm – to watch the Graduation of Jaylen and his classmates on Facebook Live!  It was fantastic!  They had several speakers and a video of all the training that they gone through – book work-articles-statutes, physical, driving, pepper spray, tazers, everything that they did as a team.  Then they called them all up, one by one in alphabetical order.  He was presented his Certificate & Badge by his Chief of Police Lance Spivey and Jaylen’s wife Blaire was able to pin his badge on him. 

 Jaylen and Blaire

Jaylen with Family - 

Jonathan, Janell, Officer Richardson, Jennifer!  Oh and Titus!

With all of the Lei's that were made for him!  Candy, drinks 

We were so thankful we could watch it and feel like we were apart of the ceremony.  We are sure proud of him and the hard work he’s put into all the training, for Blaire helping him to have the time to get his assignments done, dress shirts and pants ironed and shoes shined    EV E R Y N I G H T  for the last 18-19 weeks!!!! They are quite the Team.  This was a neat ending to our eventful day.

Saturday, December 15, 2018 – All of our kids got together for the Family Christmas Party in St. Johns and for Lily’s Baptism!  We got a lot of Marco Polo’s of before and after the Baptism – Lily talked to us and told us about her day, it was great!  Then later that night we got Marco Polos from the “Fire Wagon” Caroling trailer – Dinner and the Kids opening presents from Cousins and then the Adult’s have a White Elephant Gift exchange…..Glad we got some pictures because I don’t think we would have believed or understood some of the presents!  Pretty funny!!!  We are happy that Traditions were kept and that brings us JOY! 

During our Saturday, we got on our train and rode it to the end of the line and back home!  We got off and walked around in Brommaplan and it was cold!  Later in the afternoon we went to our Church’s Ward Christmas Party.  It was nicely decorated, and we had ham, cheese, bread and a rice pudding and treats!  Candy, marshmallows, Pepperkaka (gingerbread cookies), little cream puffs and Jul Must – a soda they only sell at Christmas and Easter.  Then we played “Name that Song”  you had to name the song first and your table had to help sing a few phrases!   It was fun and everybody then helped clean up.  It was a great evening.

This brings us to the end of our week.  It has been snowing most of the day.  It’s beautiful. We were able to use the car to go to church today and we had safe travels. 

We hope that your week has been a great one too and that you will have safe travels always!  We wish you a very Merry Christmas and hope that you feel our Savior’s Love for you on a daily basis! 

Elder & Sister Richardson   

Missionary Week #12

Missionary Week #12       December 3, 2018 – December 8, 2018

Our Monday started out by going to work, we got into our room to turn on the big lights for our cameras, and a Fire Alarm went off!  So, we filed back outside, and waited for 10 minutes or so and another girl came to work and wondered why we were all outside!  She then remembered it was a planned drill, so she told us to all go back in!  Whew!  We wished our daughter-in-law a Happy Birthday and she said that her day started out with a bomb threat at her daughters High School!   Everything turned out o.k. but still scary. We worked late again and got home, I fixed dinner and John trimmed our Christmas Tree!  It’s a little table top, live tree we got at IKEA!  It’s pretty cute!  Then we watched the Christmas Devotional from Salt Lake City for our Home Evening. 

On Tuesday we worked long again – since we are having Christmas Events for the rest of the week we decided to work as hard as we could!  Our Granddaughter Lucy was to tell her class about Christmas Traditions in Sweden.  We had heard of a neat tradition over here, so we sent the info to her Mom and called to make sure she had received it.  I’ll share it with you, back in 1959 Sweden aired on their public T.V. channel a Donald Duck cartoon.  **Walt Disney Presents Christmas special, "From All of Us to All of You." Or as it is known in Sweden as Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul: "Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas."** Everyone loved it, they had never seen animation like that before!  So every year since they have aired this same program at 3pm on Christmas Eve afternoon, and everyone sits down to watch it again.  They also get previews of what new movies from Disney are coming out for the New Year.  The people we talked to said “It is a must nobody goes outside – you sit down and we all know the lines by heart!” The country tried to change this tradition, but the top official said “No we can’t! There will be an uprising!”  I hope we get to see it!  The Google articles say 40% or 50% of the population, says it is their tradition.  They call it “Kalle Anka” for short. 

Wednesday, we went in an hour later than normal – and worked until 1:30.  That is when our Archive Christmas Party began.  We took two trains and then walked to Pier 7, where we boarded a Ferry boat.  It was all decorated for Christmas, and all 105 of us workers from the Archive sat down at tables and were treated to dinner.  First you get your choice of drink – soda, non-alcoholic and alcoholic types of drinks. We chose “Jul Must” The Swede’s say it’s like Coke – only better! We thought it was good – but it did take a bit to get used to!  Then they served a hot drink called Glögg (pronounced glug) and they had almonds and raisins to put in your cup.  It was delicious – it was like a warm cider, dark in color.  Then they brought out a tray with 6 types of different herring in different sauces.  They were actually pretty good – none of the fermented stuff that we had heard horror stories of.  Then you went to the Buffet table – or Smorgasbord and had your choice of bread, cheese, salmon -fresh or smoked, sausages made from Reindeer or Elk, meatballs, salads, beets, the list goes on!  Then dessert was down stairs.  While you are eating and chatting, they are taking you around the passages around Stockholm and back to Pier 7. This took about 2 ½ hours!  It was beautiful – of course it was day light when we started and then turned dark and we could see the houses with Christmas lights and décor as it got dark – it was just Beautiful.  We then walked back to our train station and headed for home. 

The Smorgasbord 

This was the menu for the herring

Warm Glögg with Almonds / Raisins
Don't mind the beer bottle - they had all the drinks available on the table!

Jul Must - Only sold at Christmas & Easter

On the way back to the train station we walked past an area where these Moose were! 

Thursday was the beginning of our Senior Couples Retreat!  There were 11 couples that came in from all over Sweden to be apart of this.  We all met at 1:00pm at the Mission Office and all drove to Vaxholm Castille which is a Fort that protected Sweden from Russia – way back when. 

The Sun was actually shining and we could see it!  So I took a picture of it so we could prove there is a Sun in Sweden!  This was close to 2pm.

We boarded another ferry boat to take us just a little ways to the Fort.  





When you got off the boat you were ushered into a line for a warm drink – Glögg!  We were glad to have it because it was chillllllllly out there!  You drank and then put your cup in a fire that was by either side of the sidewalk – it was nice and warm by the fire too.  Then inside the fort it was all tables and chairs and it was crowded!  We were taken up a huge flight of stone stairs to a room all to ourselves.  The room was all in brick with a rounded ceiling.  Really pretty.  Then we all went back downstairs – for the food and back up to your table.  We all had a good time trying things – it was basically the same types of food we had on the boat but had more variety.  Then the desserts were set out and you had your choice of fudge, brownies, crisp waffle, candies etc.  They let you stay as long as you want – however we had to catch the ferry boat back to shore but we didn’t lose anybody!  Then we all gathered back at the Mission Home for a devotional with President Youngberg.  He asked us to share one favorite Christmas traditions that we had from our family.  It was fun to hear all the stories.  Ours was John’s Dad reciting Christ’s birth from Luke. With all of our children around the fire listening to their Grandfather.  We had taped him on VHS – and later put it on DVD, and now we still watch him and our grandchildren get to hear their Great Grandfather who they don’t remember or some never met.  Then we had dessert and went home.

Friday – we all met at the train station “T-Centralen”. After we found everyone, we took the train to Gamla Stan – the island that has the Royal Palace – and we had 3 or 4 groups that went to different places.  We went to the Vasa Museum.  This is a ship that was built in 1600’s for the King as his Flagship – war battle ship.  It took the 400 workers 2 years to build and they launched it and it didn’t make it one mile – it didn’t leave the harbor!  A gust of wind made it list and the gun ports were open, and another wind gust came up and it sunk right there.  They tried to salvage it at the time but gave up and only recovered most of the canons to be used on other ships.  In 1962, it was found and recovered, and they spent may years preserving it and putting it back together.  They built a museum for it and pulled the ship into the building.  It’s an amazing story and amazing to see!  It’s huge – We will be going back.  

This picture was taken from the 2nd story

We had lunch with our group and then headed next door to the Nordic Museum – didn’t have enough time for it – we only got through 2 floors of it so we will be going back to that one too! 

This is the back of the boat, covered with sculptures - amazing and when it was new it was painted in vibrant colors.

Then we met back at the Mission Home for dinner and sang Christmas Carols – President and Wife played the piano for us, separately and then a duet!  It was so fun.  Then we had a white Elephant gift exchange that was also fun.  More dessert 😊  And home. 

Saturday, We met for breakfast at the Mission home.  Then we separated, and some went back to Gamla Stan for the Christmas Market or other museums – we had to come home and do laundry or we wouldn’t be going anywhere next week!  Then Saturday evening we met several of our group at Storkyrkan  a church that held a St. Lucia Celebration. (Side note the current King and Queen were married in this church – it’s close to the Royal Palace)  It was a beautiful ceremony – singing children walk in holding candles and they sang for one hour.  We recognized Jingle Bells ad Carol of the Bells, the rest were in Swedish but it was beautiful.

This is a little off center - but you can see the white risers where the children stood up front. They walked right past us - as you can see we were in chairs in the isle.

 If you get a chance go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLycexat2xk  to view one of the shows.  (There is a narrator that speaks Swedish – but not for long -stay with it!)  This is not the one we went to but it’s still a good representation.  Our choir had no instruments except one song they held glasses of water and “played” the glass while they sang.  It was one of my favorites.  Then we left and had dinner with 2 other couples and headed home!  It was a great retreat and we look forward to next years!!  There were no picture taking allowed, so we only got pictures before and after! 

Saint Lucia 

As we get closer to Christmas, our wish for you is to have a Merry Christmas filled with your traditions and family.  Take the time to enjoy and remember the reason for the Season is the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ!  Love you all and think of you often!  Until next week!

Missionary Week #11

Missionary Week #11    November 26, 2018 – December 1, 2018

Monday, Nov 26 -   Worked our 10-hour day again, It’s still dark when we go to work and when we get off work. The air felt like it had a little more chill in it this week, some wind helped that too.  We do notice that some mornings it is lighter – because the sky is not covered by clouds!  Tonight we went to the Whiteheads (our other Senior Couple that we share the car with – there are 3 of us that share the car) We rode their two trains to get to their apartment, had dinner with them – she is a great cook!  Then we went to the grocery store by them and it was an amazing store! It was large.  That just means more variety to choose from and I actually found cream of mushroom soup – in a can!   

On Wednesday – we were done with the last box of the military records by 3pm and we thought we might get to come home early…..but the Archivist from the Military Archive had just arrived with 39 more boxes, so we got back to work!  I will tell you again – in case I haven’t told you, I’m sad I can’t read the information because it is so interesting – some I can guess but if I could read it I KNOW I wouldn’t get anything done fast!  I really like what we are doing.  Some people ask if we get bored click, click, clicking all day – but because the records are all different it is not boring! 

Thursday – After we got back to work after our lunch break, we got a phone call on Duo from our son Jaylen who is in the last 3 weeks of Police Academy.  He was headed to the academy in Snowflake, and reminded us that today was the day the recruits would go through the pepper spray test.  The day before he had gone through a driving course.  It is so interesting to hear what he has learned and what he has left to do.  So, we waited until Saturday to hear how the pepper spray day went.  Luckily one of the guys from our Police Department was there and taped him going through the test.  So we got to see it off of his phone.  Next week is getting tazed. 

Friday – We did get to leave by 10:30 early and we got a lot done.  Errands and shopping and planned out the weekend.  But when Saturday came – we had rain and decided it was not a good day for sight seeing and went and got what we needed and came home and were glad to be inside and warm! 

Saturday – We are so happy with the Marco Polo app – because our kids can take video’s of our grandchildren and we can watch it when we are awake.  Sweden is now 8 hrs ahead of AZ/11 hrs ahead of Hawaii.  We got to watch our 14yr old Grandson – JT win his 111 lb. wrestling matches.  






It was the Regional finals for White Mountain League.  Our little Middle School took first place also.  They had a good day – and it was the last meet with their coach that they’ve had up until 8^th grade so it was a little sad for all of them but a great group of boys. and coaches. 

Jon, JT and Rachel with his Bracket!

 Then we got to watch our soon to be 8yr old granddaughter, Lily play at her piano recital.  She is doing so well, she reminds me of her mother at that age.   We also got to see our other Granddaughter Avery, who is 13 – she is learning the music theme from Pirates of the Caribbean – it sounded great – they say she’ll take a year to do the whole piece!

Sunday – we were able to drive to church!  We picked up the other Senior Couple and got to church early in about 35 minutes!  The trains take us 1 1/2hr regularly. On our way home there was a bad wreck on the freeway – and it took way longer to get home.  

If you are interested in some beautiful music for the Christmas Season try this link https://www.youtube.com/thetabernaclechoirattemplesquare  And this one https://www.mormonchannel.org/radio/music-247 we are enjoying listening to this at work while we are clicking away! 

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Merry December, enjoy the Season, enjoy your family and continue making traditions and memories!   Have a great week!  We will be working about 2 days – the rest of the week, we have Christmas parties and activities!!!      

Missionary Week #10

Missionary Week #10  - Nov 19, 2018 – Nov 25, 2018

Happy Thanksgiving Week – Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, and really gave some thought to what you’re Thankful for!  We came home after work and fixed a meat loaf in the shape of a turkey!  It turned out pretty good, with mashed potatoes and mandarin oranges!  No pie, no stuffing, No Turkey, No Rainbow Jello but we got to see the ones who made it at home!  It was a different Thanksgiving for us since Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Sweden.  (However they did pick up on our Black Friday Holiday!!!)  We are grateful for our Family and Friends!  We are grateful to be on a Mission in Sweden and that we have a roof over our heads and food to eat.  We have been blessed in so many ways.  We are grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ. 

I enjoyed not having the hustle and bustle of getting food ready for a whole week for one day.  But I also missed it!  It is a chore to shop and prepare and hope everything turns out all right = edible.  But there is also a measure of love in each dish that is prepared, that I did miss.  Then the biggest thing that was missing this week was getting to see our Children and Grandchildren.  It is a full house when we all get together, but it is a joy to see.   I hope that all of you got to spend time with your loved ones and had a safe holiday. 

Our week was filled with work!  Monday we were capturing big thick books, but later on Monday we were told to change to the Military Records.  So for the rest of the week it was pretty smooth sailing.  They are flat cards with info on each person.  On Friday we worked until 11am and left for some shopping in downtown Stockholm.  It snowed this morning so we thought we better get serious about getting clothes for the cold.  Scarfs, gloves, hats etc.  Then this afternoon we left to go help with the Young Single Adults group activity (ages 18 -30)that is held once a year called “Soul Night” . They rent out a high school and we had to move tables and chairs so the kids could sleep on the floors in class rooms, stock up all the bathrooms with paper products and get the kids all registered in.  We helped for about 2 hours and then we headed for our Ward in Jacobsberg to sit in on a lesson for a man who speaks English with our young Elders.  We were on our train headed there when we got a text message that the man said he couldn’t make it.  So we were able to get off our train and find the right train to take us home.  The Swede’s transportation system is amazing!! You just have to know what you are looking for! 

Our weekend was full of volunteering at the Soul Night – we were there Saturday morning from 9-2.  We were assigned to sit at the information desk……with not much information – but we got good at finding out who did have the answers that the kids needed!!! They had workshops like, Dance, Choir, Motivational Speakers and they could also go to the Temple which was only two train stops away.  Then on Sunday we headed out again and got there in time for their church services.  We helped in the cafeteria making sack lunches for everyone to take with them on their way to where ever they were headed.  It sounded like the majority of the kids loved it and look forward to coming again next year.  These kids were from the Scandinavian countries, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark and then they open up the tickets to the world, so we had kids from Spain, Chile, Mexico, Germany, France and I’m sure more from South America.  Total was about 300.  It was a lot of fun to watch them all.  Side note: They all speak English.  So, some speak Spanish and English, some speak Swedish and English so most of the meetings/classes/workshops/Church services were held in 

English because everyone spoke it!!!!  Good for us!  So glad we were able to help. 

We hope you are having a wonderful Fall Season and enjoying the beauty around you.  Stay Warm and know we are thinking of you.   Elder & Sister Richardson

Missionary Week #9

November 12, 2018- November 18, 2018

Hello everyone!  This week seemed to go so fast!  Hope you are all having good days, good weather, fun times with your families!

We had an adventurous week!  We went to work Monday and Tuesday and are learning lots about how to capture good images.  We worked 10 hour days again.  Then on Wednesday we went to Handen for Zone Conference.  Zone Conference is where several “Districts” of the younger missionaries are put together and they receive training and information.  It was very enlightening.  The Mission President and his Wife spoke but most of the training was put on by the Young Missionaries and what a job they did!  They even had several musical numbers that they threw in!  It was an all day activity.  My favorite was how do you enrich your personal studies of the gospel.  You first have to have a strong desire to learn.  Have real intent.  Hunger and thirst.  And focus on what do you want to learn today?  Give yourself time to Ponder.  Anyway, such good teachers. 

We then helped our office couple with getting the luncheon ready, served lunch and then cleaned up!  There were 13 sets of missionaries.  They were so grateful for the food, which was huge slice of lasagna, salad, green beans, rolls and apple pie and ice cream! (and some went back for more) They all thanked us all for being there.  Lunch was at  11:30-12:00 or so, then they had an afternoon of devotionals and testimony meetings.  By the time they left, I heard the boys planning on getting hamburgers while they were waiting for the trains!!!  Where do they put it?  

We were back to work on Thursday and Friday.  We had our hours in so we got to leave about 11 on Friday.  We went to “Gamla Stan” – the old part of Stockholm that hasn’t changed much from the olden days. Still has the cobblestone streets and old buildings.  

Changing of the Guard - we got there just as they had relieved the Guard at the door and then they left.

This is the entrance to the Treasury (Guard to the right
in front of the Guard Shack)

Just inside that front door was this Huge entry room

We found the Royal Palace and spent the afternoon there.  There were 3 parts we got to see.  Open to the public is The Treasury – which houses the Crown jewels. Then there is a history side where you see how the palace was built over the years and clothing, tools, stone work, cooking utensils etc.  Then there are the Apartments.  Which was living quarters.  They still use them today, for the King and State dignitaries and guests.  It was a great afternoon.  I’m pretty sure this is where my Great-great Grandfather Carl Johan Karlsson was a Trooper at the Royal Horse Guards for 4 years from 1883- 1887  I still want to learn more about them.  I wanted to take pictures so badly, but there were signs In every room – no cameras.  But how many people did I see taking Pictures!?!?!?  A TON. 

Saturday was wash day, grocery shopping and we went to Stake Conference tonight.  They gave us headsets– but no one was translating for the first half!  Then they got a translator and we got to hear the final talk!  We went back for Sunday Morning Conference and they had the headsets all worked out and we heard everything today.  In our Stake – Stockholm Stake – they have 600 people that are actively coming to church.  There are approximately 2,000 that are not active. 

It is getting colder here, but St. Johns is colder than Stockholm!  We are at 5.2 C tonight – which is 41 F, and St. Johns was 18!  So we are feeling pretty lucky! 

We want to wish our Granddaughter Evanna a Happy Birthday – last Thursday she turned 11!  So glad for Marco Polo, she played a song for us on her new Ukulele’ !!

We wish you a happy week and keep warm and safe!
Elder * Sister Richardson