January 30, 2011

Kære familie,

 

We had a pretty good week this week.  Nothing too exciting.  We spent most of it out contacting since our investigators can't meet, but there is one cool thing that happened.  When I first got here, we were knocking before an appointment and we accidentally knocked into some members.  It just so happens that this member has a non member wife.  The member is one of the sons of one of the coolest families in the ward.  All of there sons have served missions and are just way funny people!  The first time we knocked on their door they let us in and we shared a short spiritual thought and they said that we could come back.  So a couple weeks ago, we tried back to see how they were doing and they set up an appoitment for last Thursday to come and eat at their house!  They are so cool.  When the member opened the door, I was a bit surprised.  We hadn't met him yet.  He had always been gone, when we came by, but he comes to the door and he's a big guy with a shaved head and his right arm has a sleeve of tatoos.  We had a really good evening with them.  The husband is inactive, but it is one of the weirdest inactivites ever.  He served a mission in Scotland and was actually a fantastic missionary.  Then he came home and met his wife, who isn't a member, and got married and went inactive.  But he was quick to tell us that he still has a testimony.  He loves the church and said he would give anything to come back (and also go on another mission).  My personal thoughts are that he doesn't want to press his wife with his religion and thats why he's inactive, has tatoos, etc.  But he's a way cool guy.  The wife was an investigator about a year ago, but stopped when she felt that the missionaries were forcing baptism on her before she was ready.  The husband acknowledges that he needs to be a better example if his wife is going to get baptized.  Interesting though that he still isn't doing anything, but we're going to work more with them. 

 

We went on splits down to Nykøbing on Tuesday as well.  That went really well and we were able to help them out alot.  It was super cold and super fun to be with those guys. 

 

It snowed a bunch on Saturday night and now theres about an inch of snow on the ground.  Not super fun, but better than last year at least. 

 

That was basically our week though.  Sorry this one was so short.  Tell Laine and Evelyn congrats from me!  Love and miss you guys tons!

 

MKH

William

Jan 24, 2012

Hej guys. 

So it was a pretty good week over here.  After we emailed last week, we went to CPH and walked around a little bit and had to pick up Elder Sorensen, whose companion was going home the following day.  He is a way cool kid.  I hope I get to be companions with him.  He played quarterback in high school and got a scholarship in track to BYU.  We spent literally hours just talking about BYU sports, it was so fun!   The next day, we ended up driving everyone for transfers.  We were driving to and from the train station from 7am to 12pm.  I don't know what the APs were doing, but they were just sitting in the office when we got a back. 

On Wednesday, we went on Splits to Allerød.  That was fun.  The greenie there, Elder Larsen is a cool and funny kid so it was fun hanging out with him for a little bit.  It was also good, because Bailey was able to visit some of the people that he had taught there a few months ago. 

Most of the week was spent contacting.  I really enjoy doing it.  It's way out of my comfort zone, but I just think that I've found some good ways to make it fun.  Bailey and I have started contacting on either side of the street so we can talk to more people.  It's really rewarding when you have a lot of success.  So that was our whole week basically.  I met this one guy from Manhattan in Hellerup and we talked football, for a little while.  He then called Mormon missionaries the best ambassadors to the world!  Well gee thanks!

Anyway, there was a quiet week here too.  But this week, we've got Splits in Amager and Nykøbing and we're playing volleyball for pday!  Have a great week!  Love ya!

MKH

William

Elder Bailey, Josh - who baptized Nicolai, Nicolai and William at Nicolai's baptism on Jan 14, 2012

Elder Veach having too much fun!

President Anderson's Transfer Board with William and Elder Bailey as ZL's

January 16, 2012

Kære familie,

 

How was your week?  Here things were pretty good.  Most of the week was devoted to the zone and Nicolai, who got baptized on Saturday!  I don't have a picture, unfortunately, but one will come next week.  On Monday, we had an appointment with President Andersen and his family.  That was way fun to be at.  President is alot more relaxed when he is around his family than when he's "on the job".  So we enjoyed that alot.  We were there for three hours which was fun, and then he heckled us about transfers coming up.  It was funny, because he always tells us not to think about transfers too much and then he's the one bringing it up and kidding with us that something is happening.  Bailey and I luckily are staying together.  Elder Poulsen, who I've been in the same zone with my whole mission, is finally moving.  He's heading up to Frederikshavn, the northernmost area. 

 

On Wednesday, we had a district meeting in Roskilde and went contacting with the whole district in the city for a few hours and then went and ate some Mexican food. 

 

Thursday, we had a zone conference which was just like any other.  Went fine.  Said good bye to my favorite senior couple, Elder and Sister Ray who are going home tomorrow. 

 

Then on Friday, we went to the temple with the Copenhagen district and had a work day in Frederiksberg in the heart of the city.  It was really nice to go to the temple.  I am a big fan. 

 

Then on Saturday we had the baptism in the evening!  It was so good.  So many people came to it and Nicolai was so excited after it happened!  The next day he got the Aaronic priesthood.  Wow, the feeling of getting a baptism will never get old!!!! 

 

Well, that was that in a nutshell.  Love ya guys tons!!!

 

MKH

William

Jan 9, 2012

Kære Familie,

So this week was pretty good. On Monday we had an appointment with our baptismal date, Nicolai.  He is getting baptized on Saturday.  He is super positive and super excited for his baptism.  We worked really hard with the members for this one and got one of Nicolai's new home teachers to baptize him.  That will be a great oppurtunity for his new home teacher, who is also preparing for a mission.  So that'll be a perfect thing for him to baptize somebody and home teach them while he's getting ready for a mission.  On Tuesday, we were on splits with Amager. 

Then an interesting set of events happened starting Wednesday night.  On our way home that night, President calls us and asks us to go by the hospital and give a blessing to this girl from California who is here on vacation.  We get there, only to find out that she's left 10 minutes earlier.  Her mom kept calling President cause she was so worried.  Finally, things worked out and Friday morning at 7am we got to the hospital to meet her.  We found out that she was going to be getting an unltrasound of her kidneys, so we went to that department only to find out that she wasn't coming for another hour.  So Bailey and I got to just sit and chat with President that whole time.  It was very interesting.  Finally, she came down and it turned out that she had gotten a kidney infection while she was here.  Her flight left in three hours and she had to be to the airport in one.  So she did the ultrasound and we went back up to the room with her and gave her a blessing.  So the family she was with ran to the airport with her and she was cleared to fly home that day.  It was fun to be with President.  He is very different when its just us and not a big group. 

Thursday, I had my first Zone Leader Council.  It was good.  We got some good ideas, how to help the zone be better.  The mission has a goal for 86 baptisms for the next three months.  The difference here is that we're going to focus on specific people.  All 86 are people that the missionaries feel can be ready by that time.  In the past week we have gotten 2 more baptismal dates in our zone.  So I don't think we'll get 86, but I think that we can get alot! 

That was the week in a nutshell.  Hope you guys are doing well.  Say hi to the new cousin from me!  Love and miss ya'll tons. (Elizabeth Jane Burns was born on Jan 3, 2012 - SV)

MKH

William

First Letter of 2012

Kære Familie,

 

How are we doing?  Did you guys have a good week?  New Years sounded very boring in comparison to mine. ;)  So we started out the week in Roskilde on Splits.  That went pretty well.  Of course, these past two weeks have been pretty hard to get anything going, but the splits went well.  We then had two days to work in our own area.  Didn't go so hot.  You know sometimes you work and work and work and you just are fried and need a break and I'm really glad that we've had these two weeks to kinda take it easy and recoop.  On Friday we had Leadership training.  It's weird to think that I'm ZL and have never been to a leadership training while you have sisters that haven't even been here a month who are going (all sisters are allowed to go for some reason, probably just so they can feel included).  Oh well, that's ok.  

 

Day after, we had Specialized training.  Back to back days of just sitting is no fun!  We also had to give our first training.  It went ok.  It became really easy to tell whether President approved or disapproved by whether he was nodding or scowling respectively.  Afterwards we went to the senior couples for the New Years celebration.  Copenhagen is a crazy city at this time!  Fireworks get fired off randomly, and the sounds make it sound like you are driving through a war zone in Europe during WW2.  It's so crazy!  We are not allowed to be on the streets at all after 9pm that night because it's so dangerous.  We played games, ate food and watched 17 Miracles.  The movie about the Willie handcart company.  It was good, except extremely sad.  It was fun because there was a member of the old Ballerup ward that played a Danish immigrant and he spoke Danish in the film.  It was the same guy that played Jesus in the Testaments.  Elder Poulsen and I then went and watched the 4th Quarter of the BYU bowl game with the senior couple.   That was so much fun!  First football in a long time.  We then went to the roof and watched the whole city fire off fireworks.  This year nobody got hit.  I'm sure you've forgotten about that, but last year, it was me that got hit by fireworks in the face and the coat.  hahaha.  Now that we don't have it again you don't have to worry!   But yeah!  This New Years was a lot more fun than last year I thought!!!!

 

Hope you guys have a good week!  Love you and miss you tons!

 

MKH

William

Fireworks Across the Lake

New Years Fireworks in Copenhagen

Elders Koop, Brown, Stoffey and Veach

Sjælland Zone

The AP's with a Firework behind them

Christmas Eve with Elders Bailey and Veach

Dear Bailey and Veach Families,  (We received this email Sunday night and thought you all might enjoy it as much as we did.  Pictures on the bottom. - SV)

A lot of things have happened over the Christmas holidays and around New Year, and therefore the picture of your two sons has not been sent until now.  We just wanted to say thank you to you for sharing your sons with us.  We had them in our home on Christmas Eve, and tried to help them experience a true Danish Christmas Eve. It was wonderful to have them with us, and to feel of their spirit.  You can truly be proud of them.  They are great missionaries.  I get to have the honor and blessing of working more closely with them, as I was called as the ward mission leader of our ward in December.  It is a great calling to have, and we look forward to great successes in the new year with the Lord's help.

In the other picture you see our family.  From left it is Maria, Christian, my wife Anette, my mother-in-law Kirsten Fisker, myself, and Thomas.  Our son Mikkel is missing, as he is in Utah right now, where he has just finished up a semester abroad at the University of Utah.  He will be back home on January 10th.  All our four children attend the business section of the University of Copenhagen.

We wish you all the best during the new year.  We will do our best to take care of your sons while they are serving in our ward and help them to have success.  I look forward to getting to know them even better, as we get to serve together in the ward within missionary work. 

Kærlig hilsen.

The Engbjerg Family

Elder Bailey and William