Week 6: First Week In Denmark

September 23, 2019

Week 6: First Week In Denmark

Until we meet again Elder Jaursch and Elder Jensen!

Jeg er spent at være her i Denmark nu! Wow, what a ride this week has been!!! I went from being comfy in the MTC to being thrown WAY outside my comfort zone in the streets of Denmark. My first area is called Rødovre (have fun pronouncing that), which is basically a suburb of København. My trainer is Ældste Ogden. He's from Gilbert, Arizona, he's very good at playing the guitar, he raced bikes in high school so he's FAST (I have a good time trying to keep up with him), he's a wonderful example of patience and diligence, and he's the first of his siblings serving a mission. I'm SOOOO grateful that he's my trainer!! Another interesting fact about him is that he went from the smallest ward in Denmark to the biggest ward in Denmark. That's quite a drastic change and will definitely take a bit of adjusting. I guess we'll be doing that together!

We're both completely new to our area, except the fact that I've been here once with my grandparents last summer. We have no clue where anything is, except a Netto store (kinda like a miniature Walmart) close to us, the church building, and the church office. We've gotten very good at wandering around without any idea of where to go, and somehow we just end up exactly where we need to be every time. Oh, and I forgot that we obviously know where our apartment is cause that's an essential thing to remember. The apartment we're staying in previously had sister's living in it so there's a bunch of tampons and other girl products there with a few pictures of sister missionaries. Hopefully no one just randomly comes in cause I'm sure they'd ask us if we're doing okay. Fun times!

Præsident Olsen and Søster Olsen are the best!! They made our first night in Denmark one that we'll never forget. We got into Denmark Tuesday night and fumbled into the mission home, where we read John 15-18 with the Olsens. After reading these chapters, Præsident Olsen reminded us that Jesus Christ lives and is pleading for us right at this very moment. Søster Olsen told us of the love that had been placed in their hearts the instant that we landed in the airport. The Olsens are so uplifting and cheerful!! They had prepared a tasty dinner for us and let us play foosball and ping pong for about 2 hours before we crashed into our beds. We woke up to classic Danish breakfast with pølser (sausages), brød (bread), ost (cheese), og saft (a nice Scandinavian drink). The food here is similar to Sweden so that means I automatically LOVE it!!! We went off to the church building and had our first official meeting - that we actually were fully awake for - to find out where we were going and who our companions would be.

I've already said where I am and who my companion is but I'll also say who's in our district now. Our district consists of four elder companionships, Ældste Farr & Ældste Madsen (Amager area), Ældste Nielsen & Ældste Cook (Taastrup area), Ældste Friedbaum & Ældste Modersitzki (office elders in København), and Ældste Ogden and I (Rødovre area). And as of our previous district... my previous companion, Ældste Jensen, was sent to Aarhus and my favorite German, Ældste Jaursch, was sent to Fyn. Søster Duckworth is currently in Odense and Søster Nielsen is currently in Nykøbing. We have frequently heard the question, "Who thought putting eight elders together was a good idea?" It's actually a legit group of Elders. We always have a good time together and we help each other out a bunch since we're all going through the ups and downs of the mission. We always stay positive though and look for the miracles of the week!

One miracle was that we got to go contacting with some recently baptized members. Alma and Helene were both so excited to talk about the church that they came along with us cheerfully and stopped just about every person we saw on the street. A lot of people here tend to say that we believe what we do because our parents taught us it and it was nice to have Alma and Helene, who hadn't grown up in the church and could bear powerful testimony of their conversion. It was something else!! I don't think I've ever seen people be more bold then these amazing sisters were! Although we didn't find anyone who was interested while we were out contacting, our spirits were lifted by the joy that Alma and Helene expressed as they shared the gospel, or good news, with those who truly need it. I learned from them that I need to be bold when I approach others and not let doubts or fears get in the way!

Another miracle was that we found someone who showed interest in coming to church!! His name is Sebastian and he told us that he doesn't believe in God, but has had many experiences in his life that have led him to desire to believe in God. He's very grateful for his life because he always has had a nice, simple life without any major problems. He just wants someone to thank for all the blessings! Ældste Ogden and I invited him to church and he said he would come. We called him the night before to make sure he would come and... he didn't show up :( I was pretty sad about that, but I realized that we did bring him closer to Christ. He may have chosen to not attend sacrament meeting; however, he started to think about the possibility of God's existence. The key word here is think because a lot of Danes never even consider that.

I also got to contact in Nykøbing with Ældste Hogge on Saturday because the zone leaders, Ældste Nielsen & Ældste Ogden, had to attend a training meeting. It was pretty good, although there was one time I was contacting and I said undskyld mig (excuse me) really slowly so I sounded like I was drunk. I got a laugh out of it and the miracle that I saw was that I now understand the importance of humor, especially because I'll be making loads of ridiculous mistakes and there's no point in dwelling on them. Ældste Hogge was also very encouraging and kept telling me that I'll be one of the best missionaries in the mission. I was shocked when he said this because I barely spoke at all when we were out talking with people. He always looked for ways to compliment me and that made it easy to see how wonderful he is!

Even though I've seen that I have a lot to work on, I know that I can become transformed into a whole new being through the atonement of Jesus Christ. This week, I've prayed the most, studied the hardest, and thought the most about my Savior. I've seen how much it impacts me! I've never been so joyful or happy in my entire life and I owe it all to God. He's carving me into a masterpiece that I can't wait to see! For those of you considering a mission, please do it!! There are so many people who need you and God wants to use you as an instrument to bring others unto Christ. I love every second of my time here in Denmark and I still got a good amount of time to let the Lord work through me. All I've got to do is invite others unto Christ and help them along the way if they chose to follow through. I love this work!!

Hav en god dag,

Ældste Moore

P.S. Here's some important information that you might want to remember if you either want to send me letters/packages!!

Borups Alle 128, 1.Tv

2000 Frederiksberg

Denmark