my mark on Denmark: Brrrrrrrr

Life turned into a fairytale when we explored this incredible castle last monday...

Sister Hale and I got lost because we stayed behind in the giant ballroom and danced for at least twenty minutes. It was probably one of the top ten best moments of my life.... dancing and waltzing and twirling across the marble floor in this big fairytale castle while snowflakes were dancing and waltzing and twirling down from the European sky....

Speaking of those snowflakes...

Remember way back before I got my mission call and you guys would all ask me where I dreamed of serving, and I'd always say "somewhere cold"?

I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING.

My St George soul is lonnnnging for warm sunshine right about now.

This has been the coldest week of my life.

ok enough complaining lets count my blessings instead.

The Lord has really blessed me this week with experiences that have warmed my shivering heart!

One night Sister Hale and I were on our way to an appointment we had with a less active member. We got there about ten minutes early, and the idea of escaping the freezing cold by waiting in the lobby for a bit was reeeeally tempting. But we decided to toughen up and be diligent missionaries for ten extra minutes.

That's when I spotted a cute older man with suspenders and a bowler hat struggling with his umbrella at a bus stop a little ways down the street... We decided to go talk to him. He was so nice and friendly, and in barely understandable Danish he told us how he has been studying and reading about different religions for quite some years now. He said he would love to talk with us about our church and he accepted our card.

The next day..... He called us.

If your mouth isn't hanging open, it should be!

THAT NEVER HAPPENS.

Cute suspender umbrella grandpa called us and set up an appointment for the next day!!!

We decided to bring 2 of the elders along because it would be easier for elders to teach this older single man. Well it turns out that one of the elders had actually found and taught this man over a year ago! He stopped investigating because he wasn't ready to accept the gospel at that time... But when we met with Kim (the cute grandpa) he told us that he knew it wasn't a coincidence when we came up to him on the street the day before. So he had gone straight home and gotten his Book of Mormon down from the attic and started reading it again.

The elders have met with him a few more times since then. And guess what?!?! HE IS GOING TO BE BAPTIZED.

The cute little old man that Sister Hale and I decided to talk to among all the millions of other people on the busy Copenhagen streets is going to be baptized.

Its a miracle.

God is so nice to let me be a part of His miracles.

Another sweet experience was at the end of a pretty intense lesson with an inactive Polish lady. She is probably the happiest most positive cheerful person I've ever met and I absolutely love this lady! She left the church over ten years ago because of some doubts that she has. She has a LOT of doubts and concerns and a lot of things that she doesn't understand...

But don't we all? "There are few members of the Church who, at one time or another, have not wrestled with serious or sensitive questions." I LOVE what President Uchtdorf said.

Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.

It all comes down to faith.

I have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have faith in God.

I may not understand everything, but that's why I put my faith and trust in the only one who does.

At the end of our lesson, we simply asked our Polish friend if she knows if God is there. She said no, but that its something she would like to know. So we asked her to pray about it. And we promised her that He would let her know. Through feelings of happiness and peace, God would let her know that He is there and that He loves her.

She asked me to say the closing prayer, and so I asked God right then, to let His daughter feel of His love so that she could know that He is there and that the church is true.

After that simple prayer, she looked up with tears in her eyes and told us that she felt happy. and peaceful. and good.

My heart stayed warm throughout the rest of that freezing cold winter day.

One day we were walking down a busy street and we decided to stop and talk to a boy who seemed to be about our age.

(Side note: I HATE talking to boys... especially cute ones... ITS SO AWKWARD. Being a missionary automatically makes talking to boys mega aca-awkward. But we were actually told to focus on young men (Thats a weirrrd ironic thing to say to sister missionaries- "focus on young men" haha) because the church really needs some more of those. So Sister Hale and I have been trying to talk to more of them.... Or at least we've tried to stop avoiding them!)

Anyways. We started talking to this guy on the street. And we ended up talking for like 15 minutes. He was actually from Chile and was raised very Christian, and he was pretty interested in learning about our church. But when I reached into my bag to get a Book of Mormon for him, I realized that I'd just given my last Danish one away. All I had was a French copy.... dang.

"You don't happen to speak French do you?"

"Yeah!" says the boy who's mom is from Chile and dad is from Denmark. "I actually grew up speaking French because my parents met in France!"

NO WAY.

I've been carrying around a French book for weeks and wanting to give one away my whole mission!

I was so happy to give it to him!! dahhh. It even had a French testimony written in it from one of my friends who is on his mission in France right now.

That seriously made my whole week.

Tender tender mercy.

Lots of good things are happening in the mission field. Its been a good week! Even despite the bitter cold wind and snow and slush and rain. I've found that the best solution to being freezing cold is bearing my testimony. There's nothing like a burning testimony to warm you up from your toes to your nose!

Hot cocoa is a pretty good solution too :)

Elder L. Tom Perry said that

"This is the most remarkable era in the history of the Church. This is something that ranks with the great events that have happened in past history, like the First Vision, like the gift of the Book of Mormon, like the Restoration of the gospel, like all of the things that build that foundation for us to go forward and teach in our Father in Heaven's Kingdom."

So light your missionary hearts on fire and share your testimonies! Lets warm up the cold world.

Jeg elsker jer.

Have a GREAT week.

TTYL.

Sister Rogers