I left Copenhagen early this morning and flew one hour to Brussels. I had a one-hour layover in Brussels and then a two-hour flight to Madrid. Based on what I had read online about the requirement to fill out a COVID-19 vaccination form to gain entry into Spain, I complied with the guidance and upon arrival to Madrid I quickly found out none of it was necessary. The Spanish government needs to update its website. I simply walked to baggage claim, grabbed my bag, and went to the taxi line. No inspections whatsoever. The taxi driver, however, asked me to put a mask on before entering the vehicle. After a quick 15-minute taxi ride I arrived at the Madrid Temple complex, which is much larger than the small, but intimate Copenhagen Temple complex. The Madrid Temple operates all day long Tuesday through Saturday.
I had a good reminder today. I read Boyd K. Packer's talk from the April 2000 General Conference entitled, "The Cloven Tongues of Fire." That was the first time General Conference was held in the massive, new, beautiful conference center. At the beginning of his talk Elder Packer said this: "Do you think it possible for those of us who are called upon to speak to draw attention away from this wonderful building long enough to focus on the purpose for which it was built? Perhaps it can be done with a parable: A merchant man seeking precious jewels found at last the perfect pearl. He had the finest craftsman carve a superb jewel box and line it with blue velvet. He put his pearl of great price on display so others could share his treasure. He watched as people came to see it. Soon he turned away in sorrow. It was the box they admired, not the pearl."
It was a good reminder for me not to get too caught up in taking pictures of a temple (I love a good picture for my temple calendars!), and to remember "the purpose for which it was built." Do I care more about the superb jewel box (the temple and temple grounds) or the pearl of great price (the teachings/covenants we make) inside? I care about both, but one must be careful not to place too much importance on the former at the expense of the latter.
Erected in 1999
The offices for the Madrid Spain Mission are located on the 4th floor of the temple housing building. I talked to a missionary from Hawaii, another from Sweden, and a few from Utah. One Elder, from Salt Lake City, after we chatted for a few minutes asked about my age. I told him I'm 43 years old. "Whoa," came the reply, "You're my Dad's age! I never would have guessed you're 43." What is age but a number. I'm a spring chicken in God's time.
👶
History of the Church in Spain. My dear Mother served her mission in Spain from 1973-1975.
Translation: The first missionaries sent to Spain after the adoption of the Religious Liberty Law and the dedication of Spain for the preaching of the gospel (from left to right): Elder Clark Hinckley, and you can read the rest of the names. 😁 I met Clark Hinckley (President Hinckley's son) when Dad and I went to the Tijuana Temple. Brother Hinckley and his wife were president and matron of the temple at the time.
Translation: R. Raymond Barnes, first president of the Spain Mission. He served from 1970, the year Spain separated from the French Mission, until 1973.
The view from a few floors up on the other end of the temple housing building.
My favorite tree on the temple grounds.
If you ignore my reflection and a bit of dirt on the window, it's a great photo.
At about 8:30pm this evening the temple lights had not yet been turned on. I asked the brother at the temple housing office why the lights were not on. He called security to find out. The security brother said due to the war in Ukraine and the fact that Russia cut off gas supplies to much of Europe, the Spanish government recently issued a nation-wide decree telling people to conserve energy. For many establishments, including the temple, that means not having the lights on all night. The lights came on shortly after our chat, but the brother told me they would only be on until 10pm.
Tuesday, 20 September:
Today I participated in three proxy endowment sessions (investidura vicaria) and one sealing session (sellamientos). Despite the th th th th th th th th in the Spanish spoken in Spain (those of you who know Spanish know what I'm referring to), I very much enjoyed hearing and speaking a lot of Spanish again during these two days.
That's all, folks! Tomorrow I fly back to the United States. So, "adios" to my European friends, for now.
I took a break from work in Washington, D.C., used some of my airline miles, and flew overnight to Copenhagen, Denmark, to deliver a package, attend the Copenhagen Temple, and explore.
Tuesday, 13 September:
I arrived early this morning and had a few hours to kill before I could check in at the hotel. So, I rented a car and drove over to take some pictures at the Copenhagen Temple. Once again, the Lord (and the good people who maintain the property) set the scene and I simply pressed the button on my phone to take the pictures.
Unbeknownst to me (I didn't know about it when I planned this trip), one of the Lord's modern-day apostles, Elder Cook, was scheduled to speak to the Danish members of the Church the night I arrived in Copenhagen. I received the above invitation from a missionary currently serving in Denmark.
And there she is! The missionary I referenced above. This is Søster Elsie Morgan (that's Danish for "Sister Elsie Morgan"), my next-door neighbor in Utah. Sam and I taught this amazing young lady in Sunday School when she was 14, and now she is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the people of Denmark. She used to babysit our children. I met Søster Morgan and her missionary companion (Søster Lauren Heath), and probably 1000 other people, at the chapel where Ældste Cook (that's Danish for "Elder Cook") spoke this evening.
The two songs we sang during the meeting with Ældste Cook. The one on the left is a traditional Danish hymn which is not found in our English hymnbook. The one on the right is "The Lord Is My Light," in Danish.
Wednesday, 14 September:
On my way to deliver a package to Elsie from her family.
Søster Heath, Søster Morgan, Me
Here's a video message from Søster Morgan to the kids. You'll have to click on the link if you want to watch it, because sometimes YouTube doesn't let me embed some of my videos, and this is one of those times. I think I figured out why. If I take a video with the front-facing camera, I can't embed it. Am I wrong? Anyway, here's the link:
This was one of three signs I could hang on my door at the hotel. I took it with me to show it to the missionaries.
Meet Leonid, two-year-old Mia, and Alina. As I was standing in front of the temple this morning talking to Søster Morgan and Søster Heath, Leonid walked up and asked if they were missionaries and if the temple housing was nearby. Yes and yes, came the answers. We found out Leonid, Mia, and Alina are refugees from Ukraine and members of the Church. Leonid served in the Baltic Mission. Alina served her mission in Siberia, Russia. Leonid is originally from Ukraine. Alina is originally from Russia. They were in Copenhagen on a one-day layover on their way to their temporary residence outside Ukraine.
I felt like this was no coincidence. You see, for the past couple of weeks I have been agonizing over whether or not I should go on this trip at all. How could I justify taking eight days to go play in Europe when my dear wife, who is home with our children, still cannot see well enough to drive the kids to their various activities? She has been relying on family and friends for help. In the days leading up to this trip I pleaded with Heavenly Father to give me opportunities to serve during my time in Europe; to make the trip more meaningful than mere tourism. Our not-so-coincidental encounter with Leonid, Alina, and Mia was an answer to my prayers. When Søster Morgan and Søster Heath drove back to Aarhus, the city where they are currently assigned, I decided to make sure Leonid, Alina, and Mia were taken care of until they had to go to the airport for their flight this evening.
We loaded up in my rental car and drove to the Church of Our Lady - Copenhagen Cathedral, home to Bertel Thorvaldsen's original statues of Jesus Christ and the 12 apostles (with St. Paul replacing Judas).
This Christus is a beloved symbol in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From Wikipedia:
Side note: In order to park in downtown Copenhagen during the week, you must download a parking app, input your license plate number, and pay online. I didn't have the app and I didn't have internet. So, I borrowed internet service from a nearby cafe, downloaded the app, paid, and off we went.
After visiting the Copenhagen Cathedral, we walked over to see Nyhavn Harbor, an iconic spot to see Copenhagen's colorful houses. Here is little Mia standing next to a wide variety of bicycles. Mia has been sick for a few days, but she still provided some cute smiles for me throughout the day.
Nyhavn Harbor
Next we drove back to the hotel so I could check out. Leonid, Alina, and Mia were able to rest in my hotel room and get some food before we drove back to the temple housing. During our drive I took this photo of one of the many tuk-tuk-like bikes on the streets of Copenhagen. Do you see the two Ukrainian flags waving in the background. The Ukrainian flag is prominently displayed throughout Europe to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people in their fight to maintain their freedom.
We arrived back at the temple housing this afternoon and Leonid and Alina shared some of their Russian cheese with me. We rested in our separate rooms for a few hours and then I drove them to the airport for their onward flight. God bless you, Leonid, Alina, and Mia. You are wonderful people and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations today.
Note: Another reason I believe my encounter with Leonid and his wife and daughter was no coincidence is the fact that I wasn't initially going to be in Copenhagen today. My original plan was to spend two days in Lisbon, Portugal before flying to Copenhagen, but on the morning of my travel I changed my flight in part due to a large storm that would be dumping rain over Lisbon the entire two days I would have been there.
Thursday, 15 September:
Allow me to introduce you to the Copenhagen Temple Housing. See the food bins on the shelves? Each bin corresponds to a bunk bed.
I am assigned to bunk bed 1B. You put the food you brought in your assigned food bin or in one of the two refrigerators.
I'm on the bunk bed on the bottom right. Last night the brother who was supposed to share the room with me didn't show up, so I had the room to myself. [Update on Sunday, 18 September: I only had to share the room for one night, and that night the brother, a Young Single Adult visiting from London, didn't come into the room until 3am.]
I have the middle locker and some space underneath the bed to store my luggage.
Here is a short video tour of the temple housing:
I attended an endowment session at the temple this morning. I wore a little tag on my shirt that said "Engelsk" so that everyone would know I was doing the temple work in English. One other brother wore an "Engelsk" tag on his shirt. In the locker room after the session he asked where I'm from. I told him I'm from Utah. "Because you look like a local," he replied. Wahoo! I can blend in here in Denmark. I stick out in most places I visit. I found out later that brother and his family are here visiting from Sweden. They are originally from Russia. He and his wife served missions in Russia. They eventually moved to Slovakia and spent 12 years there, and one month ago they moved to Sweden. The Copenhagen Temple is only 90 minutes from their home in Sweden, while the Stockholm, Sweden Temple is four hours away from their home.
This afternoon I washed a load of laundry. I wasn't sure which setting to use on the washer. So, I picked "Uldvask," started the washer, and went back to my room to ask Google what "Uldvask" means. Google told me it means "Wool washing." Good choice! The washer did a good job.
The dryer, on the other hand, could use an upgrade. I used the 20-minute "varm luft" (hot air) setting. 20 minutes turned into another 20 minutes, followed by another, which is where I'm at in the process as I type this sentence. The air is definitely hot, but my clothes remain damp. This is the type of dryer where you have to empty the water container after each cycle.
This afternoon I did one hour of Olympic speed-walking to go from the temple to a little-known, but significant (for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) statue. I took pictures of various things I found along the way. This piece of the sidewalk says, in Arabic, "The Ground Bears Your Mark."
This is what I tell myself every day. I'm in denial.
In the U.S. we have places where people park their cars before getting on the metro/subway. In Denmark they have the same thing, for bikes. These people are in shape! Biking and walking all over the place.
Søster Morgan gave me great directions and I was able to find the statue - Kristina.
A bit more from Dennis Smith's website:
Kristina was modeled as a homage to my Great-grandmother, who immigrated to America from Denmark in the 1800’s. She stands on the west coast of Denmark looking out to sea, pondering the realization that soon she will be leaving all that she has known. At the same time, she knows that a new life awaits, new hope and new possibilities for her and her loved ones. Six castings of Kristina have be issued. One is located at the Alpine Art Center in Utah and another in the sculpture garden of the BYU Museum of Art. In 2001, a casting was placed at Amerika Kai Harbor in Copenhagen, where for several decades, emigrants from Denmark to America departed by the thousands. Kristina was created to represent the many emigrants who left their homes to search for their dreams in America. Looking out to sea, she realizes that soon she will be leaving all that she has ever known. At the same time, she knows that a new life awaits, with renewed hope and new vision herself and her loved ones.
On my way back to the temple, I passed through the anti-Israel neighborhood and purchased a shwarma.
I thought I would practice my Arabic inside, but there were two employees, one from Turkey and one from Afghanistan. No Arabic.
Meet Mariann and Jens Ole Frederiksen. I rested a bit after my walk to and from the Kristina statue, and then I attended a sealing session at the temple this evening. I met Mariann and Jens there. I introduced myself and told them my reasons for coming to Copenhagen. When I mentioned I delivered a package to my friend and neighbor, Søster Elsie Morgan, big smiles immediately filled the faces of Mariann and Jens. They told me Søster Morgan lived in their home for six weeks and she is their favorite missionary.
We had a lovely sealing session (all in Danish) and I had the honor of being proxy for Mariann's deceased father as he was sealed to his parents. Following the session, Mariann and Jens took me out for a "Ristet Hotdog," a traditional Danish hotdog, and a bottle of Danish chocolate milk. The food was excellent and the company even better.
The Frederiksen family was featured in Elder Stevenson's October 2021 General Conference talk entitled, "Simply Beautiful--Beautifully Simple," in which Jens relates an experience about following a prompting from the Holy Ghost. I'm including below a link to the talk. If you scroll 1/3 of the way down you will find a section called "Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ," which includes photos of Jens, Mariann and their children and home village. Wonderful people!
I should say something about the baptistry in the Copenhagen Temple. Sister Ann Robins, who is most recently from Irvine, California and is currently serving a three-month temple mission with her husband, Dan Robins, offered to take me to see the baptistry after our sealing session tonight. "Stunning" is the best word I can think of to describe the murals on the walls that circle the baptismal font. I Googled "pictures of Copenhagen Temple baptistry" to see if I could find some images to include here, but I could only find photos of one of the murals. That particular side is impressive, but the other side is even more impressive and it contains the faces of prominent figures from Danish history and other religious figures. I'm not sure I've ever seen a mural with so much meaning in it. Joseph Brickey is the man who painted the murals. Sister Robins told me that when President Hinckley asked Joseph Brickey to paint the murals, he told Joseph, "If [famous Danish artist] Carl Bloch were still alive, he would be painting the murals. But you're my second choice." I found this neat, short article from 2002 (the top one) about Joseph Brickey and his commission to paint some murals for the Copenhagen Temple:
And how about that three-month temple mission?! That sounds like a dream to me - bouncing around to various temples helping to fill the need for temple workers. Brother and Sister Robins told me the Church doesn't advertise the three-month missions. They usually want people to go for six months or more. But here in Denmark, in order to avoid paying the 2000 dollars for a religious visa (which the Church pays for each full-time missionary serving here) and taking the mandatory democracy test, you can get a 90-day tourist visa and do a three-month mission. Other countries also have the no-cost, 90-day tourist visas.
Friday, 16 September:
This morning I woke up early to drive to the LEGO House, which is located three hours west of Copenhagen in the small town of Billund. There was a mixture of rain and sunshine during the drive, and you know what rain and sunshine make. Rainbows!
A long toll bridge must be crossed to get from Copenhagen to Billund by land. See the next imagine to understand why.
You can take the northern route via Aarhus, but it's longer and you have to take a ferry. I chose the shorter, southern route in order to make it back to the temple for a 6pm endowment session.
I passed a Ferrari and a Porsche on the way out, but I did it in a construction zone, which is kind of cheating. 😁
They both passed me after we left the construction zone.
The LEGO House. Did you know the word "LEGO" is an abbreviation of the two Danish words "leg godt," meaning "play well"? They took the first two letters of each word to make LEGO.
Mini sinks and toilets for the kids.
I didn't pay to enter all of the LEGO House areas. I would love to bring the kids back here someday. But I did pay to make custom LEGO figures for each of our three children.
On my way back to the temple I filled the car up with gas. After converting Danish kroner to U.S. dollars, and liters to gallons, it works out to about $7.40 per gallon.
I also stopped in Odense to visit the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen, the author of many beloved fairy tales (The Emperor's New Clothes, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Pea, Thumbelina, etc.).
I had a little embarrassing moment as I approached the home of H.C. Andersen in my rental car. Apparently, some of the area immediately around his home was recently turned into a car-free zone. My GPS didn't know that. I ended up driving in a bike lane and when I started getting strange stares from the locals, I knew something was amiss. I stopped the car, rolled the window down and said to a man standing on a corner, "I'm not supposed to be driving here, am I?" The man smiled, nodded, and pointed me in the right direction. I quickly made my way across what felt like a large sidewalk, waving at the people and apologizing until I found myself back on a road for four-wheeled vehicles. Ah, the joys of being a gringo in a foreign land.
This evening, an older sister at the temple housing asked if I already had a card to take to tonight's endowment session. I did, but I told her I would be happy to help her if she had extras. She told me that her elderly friend, Frank, got sick in February. Frank asked her to help him complete the temple work for some of his deceased ancestors. Frank passed away in March and this sister is determined to honor his request. So, I get to help complete the temple work for a few of Frank's ancestors.
When I walked back from the temple to the temple housing this evening, Sister Gitte Sørensen was sitting in her wheelchair in the lobby. She told me that she and her friend, Anja, had come from Aarhus to spend the night at the temple housing. But there was a problem. The elevator in the building stopped working two days ago. Everyone had to climb up the six flights of stairs (three floors) to reach the temple housing on the top floor. Was this another answer to my earlier prayers for opportunities to serve? Of course it was! I spent over a decade taking my wheelchair-bound friend, Dustin, up and down stairs and all over the Washington, D.C. area. Surely I could help this smaller, older lady reach her temporary residence on the top floor. I explained to Gitte and Anja that I had a wee bit of experience taking a wheelchair up and down stairs. We decided it would be easiest if I carried Gitte, and up we went!
Saturday, 17 September:
Anja Rossau, Gitte Sørensen, Me, and Jesus in the lobby of the temple housing. This morning I carried Gitte back down the stairs and we all walked over to the temple for yet another neat experience. Today was Anja's first time in the temple (she was baptized almost one year ago). Anja participated in baptisms for the dead and I had the honor of baptizing and confirming her for various deceased individuals, most of whom were Danish citizens. Following our time in the baptistry, Anja and Gitte went outside to enjoy some time on the temple grounds while I participated in an initiatory session with a brother from Lehi, Utah, who is here in Denmark with his family discovering his Danish roots. This afternoon I drove Anja and Gitte to the train station for their return trip to Aarhus. I feel blessed to have spent time with them.
I know there are many more interesting things to see and do in Denmark, and more wonderful people to meet, but I think I'm finished for now. I'm exhausted. I haven't slept well during my nights here. Jet-lag is partly to blame for that. I've been running on adrenaline from meeting so many amazing people and having so many neat experiences. Tomorrow I will attend church right here in the temple housing building, put my things together, do some cleaning, and prepare for my early Monday-morning flight.
Sunday, 18 September:
As I said yesterday, today is a day of rest. I experienced the shortest commute to church that I've ever had as I walked downstairs to attend the church meetings this morning. It took me approximately 15 seconds to get to church.
With Elder Steele (left) and Elder Johnson (right). Elder Steele is from Gilbert, Arizona. Elder Johnson is from Provo, Utah and like me, he graduated from Timpview High School. He lives near my parents' home.
With Dan and Ann Robins, the couple who are nearing the end of their three-month temple mission.
After church, I cleaned up around the temple housing and sent this video to the kids.
My rental car during the week I spent in Denmark. It's a Kia hybrid. Good gas mileage. I asked National (the rental car company at the Copenhagen Airport) for a small car, because I wanted something easy to park. They ended up giving me a longer vehicle, which turned out great for transporting my Ukrainian friends and their stroller to the airport, and Anja and Gitte and her wheelchair to the train station.
An interesting way of tracking how long someone has been parked in the free, timed parking. The locals told me I could give myself an extra 10-15 minutes each time and I wouldn't be penalized for it.
I cannot end this post without sending a huge "MANGE TAK" ("MANY THANKS") to Josefine, the girl at the temple housing office with whom I exchanged quite a few emails in preparation for this trip; to Søster Morgan for helping me with ideas of places to visit and directions to said places, and for spreading the good word among these delightful people; to the Copenhagen Temple workers for helping to make my time in that charming edifice so uplifting and enjoyable; to the bikers for staying away from the front end of my rental car (I didn't kill anyone! 😁); and to the rest of the Danish people. This country is beautiful, in large part because of the people.
And of course a huge MANGE TAK goes to my dear companion, Sam, who continues to let me feed the one pet that will likely be with me throughout my life - the travel bug.
