21

That's right. As of yesterday I became the big 21. I'm legal! I don't really know what I'm legal to do, but I can do more than I could before! So that concludes the 20th year of my life, the one year I dedicated completely to the service of God and my Lord, Jesus Christ. I'd venture to say, the greatest year of my life.

This week has been nothing short than spectacular. You just come to love every second you have on your mission, especially when you're serving on the greatest little island in the world. 

Let's talk about some highlights from the week:

Last Tuesday we went to Østreskolen with S* to do our English presentation to the class. It was so much fun! But more importantly, they got to see that us Mormon Missionaries weren't intimidating people. We started off acting like we couldn't speak any Danish and all of the class had to ask us questions in English about who we were, where we come from, why we're here, and other such facts about ourselves. So they all got to learn that we were missionaries sent here for 2 years to talk about our church. They also had us sing a song and we sang "Come Thou Fount' of Every Blessing" for them. They thought we were superstars and by the end they all asked for our autographs, ha! But the best part was seeing how grateful Saskia was for our help. She's planning on coming to church this Sunday, so we'll keep her in our prayers that she'll make it!

Picnic with J*

We met with J*, and that always goes well. She wanted to do something special for us because The Middlemas's and I are leaving and it was also going to be my birthday in the next couple days, so she took us out to a picnic next to Safirsøen, and it was beautiful! It was also a way fun time, and by the end she committed to coming to church with us on Sunday, so we're praying for her as well! 

Our less active friend, E* is doing great as well. He is so appreciative of the missionaries. He's also been holding our commitments about reading in the Book of Mormon. I feel strongly that if he continues to read it will help him to regain his testimony which he's lost.

K* is the one we skinned the rabbits for. She owns the only shoe repair shop on the island, and she was so grateful for our help that she offered to repair my destroyed shoes for free! They look so much better than they did! It's amazing how some of these people you come to know and love can show so much charity to you. I've only met her a handful of times, but I already feel really close to her and her family. 

So, on Saturday we had planned to go out and do service for K*, but she got sick so it was cancelled. So we had a bunch of time on our hands, which we decided to use to bike to all of the people we could that lived too far away to reach by bus. So we ended up taking this bike tour which took us against the wind for what felt like the entire way, through the forest, up and down hills, off-road biking, to put it simply, we were all over the place! The ride ended up being about 45 km, it was supposed to be longer but we ran a little short on time. 

After a really long biking tour, we found a new investigator! He lives in Lobbæk and his name is N*. He's a way nice guy with 2 little dogs. He used to work in a prison here on Bornholm, Iceland, and Greenland, so he's seen some pretty nasty things in his lifetime. He knew the missionaries from when they lived in Lobbæk and really likes us. We found his record and decided to give him a try. He seems to be pretty open and told us we are always welcome to come back, and come back we will!

My birthday, as you know, was yesterday and it was so great! We first had church, but then we went up to Hasle to visit one of our investigators. We were supposed to be at the Mogensens between 6-6:30 for my birthday dinner, but we found ourselves out of our appointment with the investigator by 6:00! So Ældste Redd and I biked back to Rønne as fast as we could through the forest! 10 km. Off road. 25 min. I have to say, not too shabby!

Then we went with the Middlemas's to the Mogensen's house, and it was so great! They asked me what I wanted, so we had frikadeller with brune kartofler, it tasted so good! Then I got some awesome gifts from everyone which I am SO grateful for! Then, to top it all off, my own birthday cake! It was a great day, I must say - a great way to turn 21.

So, today, I must apologize for writing so late. But we had the funeral today for one of the members of our Branch, Inger Borgen. Inger Borgen had been a member of the church longer than any other member of our branch, and she just passed away a few days ago. Towards the end she was suffering pretty bad from dementia and couldn't even really talk. In the end, it was probably best for her to go at this time, she really couldn't do much at all and she finally is resting in peace. It was a great service today and we were glad we were able to participate.

We had a few other lessons on top of this all, so it really was a great week. There's just so much to be done in the next week, its crazy! But, there is nothing else I would rather be doing than this work here on Bornholm.

Expect a letter next week, I should be writing! I love you all sssssssssoooooooooooo much and look forward to reading your emails, and talking to you! Have a great week!

MKH,

-Ældste Wawro