Week 32: Ugly Breakup, Surprising Reunion

Artem's baptism 😇

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to announce that Roskilde and I have been through some rough times recently. We went through a hideous breakup that left us both crippled. She pushed me away and then, only six days later, she called me wanting to get back together again. I'm not so sure how healthy this back-and-forth relationship is, but we're still trying to make amends. I left Nykøbing behind and returned to Roskilde with a positive attitude. Good thing that I love this beautiful city! ;) 

I'm not so sure I can say the same about our basement, or man cave as we like to call it. It's a fine place to reside if we only need to do studies, eat, and sleep there. With our current conditions, we are advised to stay inside as much as possible. That is not too enjoyable in that moldy atmosphere so we basically live at the church now. Luckily, we still teach Mathilde and stay in touch with members using technology (what a huge blessing). We have replaced our finding time on the streets with finding in local Facebook groups of common interests. Some examples of ones I've joined are: a tennis group, a basketball group, and a service group. We communicate daily with ward and mission leaders. We are being watched out for and I'm certain that God has a hand in all this, it just might take a while to realize it completely.

Personally, I study scriptures fervently and watch many peaceful church videos. I play countless hours of different instruments (piano, guitar, voice) and meditate frequently in the empty chapel. I pray harder and more sincere than I ever have in my entire life. Long story short, this is a challenging time but I'm making the best out of it. With all the extra time to think and ponder, I've learned many lessons, three of which I want to talk about today. These lessons are: (1) God is in control, (2) His work cannot and will not be stopped, and (3) I have a wonderful life with endless blessings.

First, God is in control. I could never expect to witness such an outbreak in the world. I could never expect to be moved to Nykøbing Falster or even back to Roskilde again. I could never expect to perform the sacrament in our own house. I could never expect to do missionary work entirely online. I never saw any of that coming, but you know who did? God did! He saw this coming! I cannot believe that it was just a coincidence that He inspired President Nelson to remind us of the importance of home-centered, church-supported learning. This adjustment came right when it needed to and blesses us during this time.  

Second, His work cannot and will not be stopped. God has used the missionaries in Denmark as tools in His hands. In Roskilde, we organized a Skype group with the 10 local missionaries. We held a virtual meeting to discuss how we could best serve and reach out to each other during this time. We had three eating appointments that had to be cancelled, so we called those families briefly to share ways to #HearHim and invite them to act. We had a lesson with Mathilde, with Natasja and Gabi to help, about the importance of keeping the commandments. We explained, in detail, the Law of Tithing, Law of Chastity, and the Word of Wisdom and had Natasja and Gabi share examples of blessings from living these laws. Members make or break a lesson and this power couple did a fabulous job adding good insights! 

Adding on to the list of miracles, Ogden, Krueger, and I invited Artem, a man in Nykøbing, to be baptized on Saturday, March 21st. Ogden and I had already left on Thursday and we planned that he would be baptized in Roskilde, since Nykøbing doesn't have a font. We couldn't attend in person, though, so we were added to a group that witnessed the baptism via Google Hangouts. That event alone was a beacon of light in this dark time. Artem's dedication to go through with the baptism, despite the corona virus and family disapproval, inspired me to shift my focus to important, eternal matters. 

Finally, I have a wonderful life with endless blessings. I thought about that a lot this week. Sure, challenges will come my way. Sure, I will get frustrated and confused at times. Sure, my faith will be tested. Isn't that just part of life? I fell on my knees a lot more often this week because I just wanted to return to normal missionary work. I asked God to take this challenge away, but His answer wasn't what I expected or wished for. Instead, I heard a voice ask, "What did I say to Joseph while he was in prison?" 

My mind went immediately to D&C 121. I flipped open to this chapter and read verses 7-10, "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes. Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands. Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job." 

Those words are so true. This challenge will only be a short time and I have friends and family that support me. My situation is not even close to the lowest that Job went. God has promised to exalt all who endure this life well. What a glorious promise! Seek the Savior and He will bless you in your efforts!

Kærlig hilsen,

Ældste Moore

P.S. Thank you to all my friends and family that have sent uplifting and inspiring messages to me. You know who you are. I love you!! 😍😍

Uncle Seth Redd 😊

My chocolate milk broke open 😭🍫🥛