June 2012


A man in the branch that we helped to get names of his parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles prepared to take to the temple was in the temple when he suffered a seizure.  We were notified that he was in a hospital in Stockholm.  We had been wishing that we could go down to Stockholm to visit him in the hospital and for Dick to give him a blessing, but it seemed impossible.  When ''out of the blue'' we got a call from the mission president saying he wanted us to come to Stockholm to a zone leader's council and would be flying us down on the 3rd of May (our 49th wedding anniversary).  We asked him if we could go to visit Ivar while we were down there and he agreed.  The Lord had opened a way for us.  So, after the meeting, we went to the hospital and Dick and another senior elder administered to him.  This was on Thursday.  He didn't know how long he might be in the hospital.  On Sunday, we were sitting in Sunday School just before Sacrament Meeting was to start, and the door opened and in wheeled Ivar.  We were so surprised.  Come to find out, on Friday they were able to fly him to Skelefteå in an ambulance plane.  He has since been back in the hospital for more tests and for medication.  They are trying to adjust the medication for the seizures and they are still giving him antibiotics for the blood infection.  However,  weekend of May 12 and 13 he attended the district conference down in Umeå both days.  We questioned him about the temple.  He only remembers turning in the papers we had prepared and getting the pink and blue cards.  So, I guess he didn't get the work done.  When he goes on line, it just says, ''In progress'' by the names.  So, now his goal is to get well enough that he can go back and do the work.  We would like to be able to go down to the temple at the same time so we could help him do the work and act as proxies for him to be sealed to his parents.

See the Update

 

Äldste Jeffs standing near the Byske Älv where we liked to walk--this is summer time

As we move to a city called Växjö in southern middle Sweden, we have been thinking about the wonderful people in Skellefteå and the eleven months we spent there and thought we would just post some of the treasured memories we have.




This is how they build their fences

Here I am standing at the same place where I was in front of a huge pile of snow in a previous posting.  Notice the little bit of dirty snow left from the pile still in the background.  This picture was taken the last part of April.

Zone Conference April 24, 2012

Me with Distrikt President Stegeby

Äldste Dunn (l) and Äldste Ross (r) at Zone Conference in Sundsvall

On Monday evening, April 23, Dick and I took the bus down to Skellefteå to pick up the car from the elders, so they wouldn't have to go north to pick us up in the morning in order to go south to the zone conference.  Dick and I got up at 3:00 a.m. the next morning and left at 4:00 a.m. and drove down to Skellefteå to pick up the elders.  They then took over the driving duty.  They each drove half way to Sundsvall.  We arrived at 10:15 a.m.  They had fruit, nuts, and sweet rolls for us when we arrived.  The meeting started at 11:00 a.m.  Around 1:00 p.m. we had a break for lunch and then continued our meetings and interviews.  It was a very good conference and we were well fed spiritually.  About 7:00 p.m. we headed back to Skellefteå.  We dropped off the elders and drove up to our apartment in Byske, arriving at about 1:30 a.m.  By the time we got to bed, it was 2:00 a.m.--23 hours after we got up.  Needless to say, we slept in a little.  It was a marathon trip but it was worth it.

Pictures taken Sunday, April 29, 2012

This is a shot looking into the town center (centrum) in Skelleftea

Here I am with Ulla Ehnmark (left) and Fern Girdlestone (right), two stalwart members

This is President and Syster Solbakk (and their dog)

This is the chapel

This is one of the double decker buses we ride on

This is the state church in Skellefteå located not too far from our chapel

Last Friday we took a long, pleasant walk to the Gulf.  They actually have some beaches there and a little resort with a couple of restaurants and a water slide.  Of course they are not open now.  Then yesterday it started snowing AGAIN!  We had to wear our boots AGAIN!  We got between 5 and 6 inches of new snow.  At least the snow is melting this afternoon on the sidewalks.  They are slushy.  It will probably turn to ice tonight, however.  This morning as we were walking from the bus station to the chapel, I had my hood up over my head as it was snowing and blowing.  I held on to Dick's arm and let him lead me.  I was just concentrating on putting one foot ahead of another until we could finally get to the church.  I thought about the pioneers.  Here I just had a few blocks to walk, they had to walk forever it must have seemed to them.

On our way to the bus station from the chapel, we were stopped by a newspaper reporter who wanted to ask us what we thought about the weather.  Then she took some pictures of us.  They are supposed to appear in the Skellefteå newspaper tomorrow.  We'll have to try and get a copy of the paper.

Recognize this couple?

Easter in Sweden

This is a picture of the branches with colored feathers on--one of our neighbor's balcony

Here is a little about Easter here in Sweden.  They actually have holidays for several days in a row--Friday is Good Friday, Saturday is Easter Eve, Sunday is Easter, and Monday is the second day of Easter.  They celebrate everything but the real meaning of Easter.  A few people attend church, but not many.  The little girls dress up like witches and go around with baskets trying to get candy, similar to our Halloween.  The people decorate with colored feathers tied onto branches, flowers, and colored eggs.  The week before Easter we had a hard time visiting anyone--they were all too busy with preparations for Easter.  A lot of families do get together at this time for dinner, etc.