Hello Everyone!
HAPPY 2010! I cant believe its already the new year! It is seriously insane how crazy time flys! I swear it was just yesterday I was celebrating 2009! Anyways I have had a crazy week and happy way excited to tell you about all my crazy experiences this week. Seriously, so much went down, I am not sure where to start... um...decisions, decisions.... I guess I will start at the beginning.
After an amazing 3 Day Christmas (I think I can get used to that, haha) New years came around the corner. On New Years eve, President told us to end our day at 5:00. He says its just safer. So 5:00 did find its way and we headed back to the apartment. On our way up, we see these people on their balcony about 3 floors up from the ground. They were talking/yelling at somebody on the sidewalk in front of us. They had wine glasses in their hands and were already drunk! haha. Oh boy I said to myself this is going to be an interesting new years. We were fortunate enough to be invited to a members home for new years and whats great is President said we could wear our Normal clothes! Hoooray! No church clothes... So I was able to wear some Jeans, and a hoodie! That right there made the evening. haha.
We went over to the members home. They are an awesome family. The are called the Noregaards. They have kids my age, and one is actually leaving on a mission to Denmark on Friday. Hes going to the London MTC for 3 weeks, then he flys back to Denmark. who knows, I may be able to serve with him some day. Anyways it was a fun group as all of them were older. We had a great dinner and snacks and you name it, we had it. Then we went over to the TV to watch the Queen give her new years speech. Apparently its a big deal. It was cool to watch. Before the Queen speaks they have the soldiers come out and raise the flag outside and solute the building where the Queen is. The soldiers basically look like the soldiers you see in England. Anyways, the Queen gave a great speech (They had English subtitles, so it was nice for me, lol!). Shes a funny Queen. Shes nothing like the Queen in England. Shes really just a normal person that's Queen. So shes always acts herself. I think that's why the Danish people love her so much, because she doesn't try to act like shes better than the people. In her speech last year apparently she said at the end of her speech, lets Make the year 2008 the best year in Denmark! The problem with that statement she made was, it was the year 2009. So she messed up last year. So this year she said, lets Make the year 2009 the best year in Denmark! Then she looks at the camera and gives a giant wink and a smile, Acknowledging she error she made last year. haha. It was kind of funny. After the Queens speech we played a game called Matador. Basically the game is Monopoly. It was an interesting game, as I dont speak danish, lol! But hey the good news at the end of the game was, I WON! haha. Go figure, right! Who would of guessed the new guy would of won. So that was a lot of fun. Then midnight came around. Everyone stood on their chairs and when 12:00 hit we jumped off of them, as to hop into the new year. Then everyone grabs a glass and drinks. Normally this is done with Alochol, but since were LDS we used soda. haha.
After Midnight, we had to get back to the apartment. President said we could be out til 1:00 AM. So we go outside and holy cow! It was insane! There were fireworks going off ever where. I mean everywhere. The fireworks they were using are the gigantic Illegal ones! haha! It was like Stadium of Fire, Fireworks except at every house on the street. It was insane! I felt like I was in a war zone! I could barley hear my companion speak as we were walking home. The Noregaards were with us too, walking us home. They said its safer to travel in large groups as Fireworks and Alochol don't mix well. I am glad they did because on our way home we had people aim fireworks at us. If one were to hit us, I would be hurt big time. lol! There were people everywhere, all drunk. They were way nice though, yelling, "GODT NYTÅR!!" (or Good New Year). We had this crazy lady from her porch wish us a Godt Nytår, however she screamed it really loud and high pitched. We just smiled and said, you too! haha. Finally we got back to the apartment. I was no longer worried about my life being in danger, lol! I was way tired and headed straight to bed! What a crazy night. However their Fireworks are so much better than our 4th of July fireworks. I think Denmark has us beat there. Then New Years Day, President told us not to contact as people are probably still drunk or in a hangover, so it wouldn't be the most productive of time to do missionary work! So instead the entire mission as a big cleaning day. This is where we do a DEEP, DEEP clean of our Apartments. We spent the entire day cleaning. It was nice as having a clean apartment is always good.
Then on Saturday, I think Jan 2nd, we had a some new members move into the area. Its a young couple and they moved from Germany to Randers. They Guy he is Danish and used to live in Randers. His wife is actually American and from Texas. It was wonderful to have them as we got another priesthood holder in the ward! Heck its just great to have more members. We helped them move in and they introduced me to a new danish food. I am not sure whats its called but it was way delicious. As you know Dairy products are way better in Europe than in the United States. So I am not sure how good it will be if you try it... Anyways, what it is is Bread. They made homemade bread so it was hot out of the oven. They put cheese on it (Not Cheddar) and then Jam on it. So Bread, Cheese, and Jam. I was a little worried at first to try it, as it sounds completely gross! However it was delicious! Its a great snack and really easy to make. So right now I am obsessed with it, as its so easy to make. I have had it like almost every day, lol! I should probably stop as I might get sick of it!
Then a few days later we decided to travel to a town called Hobro. This town is in our area. Its about a 20 minute train ride. We have some members that live their and a ton of inactive members. We thought it would be good to go over there to stop by and say hi. What was also great was we were able to schedule an appointment with an investigator. So the day was planned and it sounded positive! So we woke up and too our dismay it was snowing. This wasn't just a little slow, it was a ton of snow! Apparently its the most snow Randers has gotten in 14 years. There was about 2 feet of snow outside. I wouldn't believe how much snow there was. I felt like I was back in Utah! However even with snow, we are still missionaries and still have to work. So we headed out and began the difficult walk over to the train station. Denmark isn't used to this much snow, so none of the roads or sidewalks were clean. We got the the train station and the trains were still running. We boarded and headed to Hobro. We got there and crazy enough they had even more snow than we had in Randers. Oh boy, I though this is going to be an interesting day. So we went by each inactive member, and former investigators. We thought the snow was a blessing in disguise, because of the snow everything in Hobro was closed. Thus meaning everyone was probably home. Unfortunately they were all home but not interested or they were busy. So we were not successful at all. Then the appointment we made fell through. He wasn't home. We contacted people in Hobro and did our best to make the most out of the day. Unfortunately we had little success and it started snowing again. We decided to head back to Randers before it snowed too much. It was just crazy how much snow there was. They even had News crews in Hobro interviewing people and stuff. This snow has just shocked the Danish people.
Well we headed back to Randers, unfortunately a little depressed. We were cold, tired, frustrated, and in short just not very happy. Luckily we had a dinner appointment with a member. Her Name is Eva Logan and she feeds us every week. Shes an awesome member and absolutely loves having the missionaries over. We got to her home and she made us an amazing dinner. She even had American tasting diet coke! It wasn't the actual stuff but it tasted just like it.In short I had an amazing meal (Shes an awesome cook), and my favorite soda to top it off. Then as we were eating, Eva Logan had the TV on and the News was showing. I looked at it and realized that was the lady that was in Hobro interviewing people. We left the table and went over to the TV and began watching. Then something amazing happened.... I WAS ON TV!!! As the lady was talking the camera panned around the street and their I was with my companion walking on the stree. I was on Danish Television! haha. It was really fun to see! I was so happy! I was like their I am! It was only for a few seconds but it was just way cool to see me on TV. That completely made my day! I had a great dinner and was on TV! It made the tuff day, a lot better! Its amazing how something so simple can bring so much joy! I emailed the News company to see if I can get a copy of that news broadcast. I know it seems silly, but I want a copy! haha! I will let you know what happens.
Then we had compnanion splits again with the APs. (APs are the Assistants to the Presidents). Their names were Elder Stacy and Elder Kleisler. Elder Stacy is actually from Alpine. His sister and my brother are friends. Anyways it was a lot of fun to hang out with him. We contacted a lot of people and talked and just had a good old time. Elder Stacy served in Randers when he first came to Denmark, so he relates to me very well. We decided to go by a former investigator he taught when we was here. We went to the apartment and knocked on the door. She was home. Her name is Etta! Shes an older women but way sweet. She invited us in and we talked to her. She said she was grateful we came as shes been wondering what to believe in. She knows she needs religion and Jesus christ, but not sure what to do about it. I was glad we came too. We didnt have much time to talk to here, but we were able to schedule another appointment. We did tell her to read the Book of Mormon again and pray for help and guidance from Heavenly Father. It was a good appointment and a good lesson. We didnt have much time, but I think she felt something while we were there, as she got kind of teary eyed as Elder Stacy spoke to her about prayer. We left and she thanked us for coming by. Anways splits went good. It was nice having 4 missionaries in Randers. We got a lot done, and it just helped us out a lot! We were able to schedule a few appointments for next week.
Well, I think I have talked enough, lol! This is a long email. Have a fantastic week!
Your Denmark Missionary,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
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