January 2, 2017

Hej everyone!

Sorry that I have been M.I.A. these last couple of weeks - we have had a lot of silly things to take care of on Mondays. So hopefully this email will do justice to all of the things that have been happening! 

Update on Søster Acosta's English vocabulary: she has now learned the proper time and place to use the phrases "punch it, Chewy!", "M.I.A." and the word "impertinent". I don't know where she learned that last one... but I am having a lot of fun with teaching her the way that Americans speak. She likes it too :)

Christmas and New Years were so much fun here! People keep asking me if they celebrate them just as much in Denmark as they do in the States......... They put us to shame. Everything in the city has basically been shut down since 2 days before Christmas (they call that 'Little Christmas Eve'), and people just relax and hang out and eat and party and eat and relax and eat.... did I mention the eating? DANISH CHRISTMAS FOOD IS SO GOOD. We got to be a part of all the traditions that the Danes have - My personal favorite is lighting all the candles on the Christmas tree and then dancing and singing around it. It is just the Who's from the Grinch, but better. People also refuse to use too artificial lighting (it ruins the hygge), so they just put candles EVERYWHERE. Just imagine the coziest couch with a roasty fire and candles and little children gently playing on the floor, with gentle music in the background. Now multiply that by 500 and you will almost have how cozy it feels to be a part of a Danish Christmas.

 Also, New Years was insane. There were literally fireworks EVERYWHERE for hours on end. It is a hard night to be a missionary because it is just so loud that you can't sleep even if you want to. But it was gorgeous - people save up for the entire year just so that they can buy good fireworks. I was sad because all of our investigators told us that they couldn't come to church the next day (hmmm, I wonder why), but then when we got there, 2 of them came! It just goes to show you that there really are people who want to learn and want to get to know God better, even if they were up until all hours of the night. 

 

My last thought from today comes from D&C 10:4. Go and read that, and then apply it to whatever long terms goals/projects you have - just remember that is is important that we do what we can, and the pace that we can, and that we just keep swimming. The Lord has given you what you need to accomplish things, you just need to do what you can and rely on His help to do the rest. Keep working, keep being diligent, and keep going. The Lord is with us always, we just need to look for Him. I love you all and I hope that you have a great year. Happy 2017! Make it a good one!

Søster Ludlow