Happy New Year Danish Style- Godt Nytår! Søster Severson's Adventures in Sønderborg, Jan 4, 2021 Week 37

 Godt Nytår! Happy New Year to all the friends and family wherever you may be.

This week was a lot of fun. We taught some fun lessons, had a Mission wide conference, and met with some fun people for New Years Eve.

Our Mission Conference was good. We got to introduce ourselves and bear our testimonies in English. Mission wide conferences include the Iceland Elders, and their Icelandic is different enough they don't understand Danish. The APs did some training, President talked and introduced the incoming Mission President and his wife who will arrive June 30th. They are from Sweden. We are hyped to meet them! This is my 4th Mission President, so I've been through this before, but each couple has so much to offer. We are excited! A Senior Mission couple made us some great traditional Danish food as a District socially distanced. Then we got to watch the new Disney Movie Soul, which was absolutely precious!

Had a great lesson with Adrian, who will get baptized soon. Super excited for all his progress. Our friend Annabelle taught us how to knit the Danish way. She's really good at it, and we are not. But we will learn.

For New Years Eve we got permission to go to Esbjerg, our next closest area to be with our other Sostre. The town is still two hours away, but we adore Søster Clark and Søster Skousen two of my all-time favorite people. We had dinner with a recent convert Jonathan, then we played Harry Potter Clue. Great times with new games! We may or may not have stayed up really late, but fireworks were going off every 5 minutes so we felt justified. Fireworks are only legal between Christmas and New Years here, so the Danish don't waste time. 

We drove home the next morning, which was slightly painful but worth it. Fantastic New Years Missionary style.

No one wanted to talk to us this week. It was kinda sad. People just walked right past us, or crossed to the other side of the street, or started talking on their phones. Got to keep it real. But a nice older Danish couple did let us into their house after I asked the husband about a statue outside. I didn't know what they were saying. The husband proceeded to give us a whole spiel about the history, and his wife invited inside. It was fun!

Otherwise we've been doing the regular missionary thing. Studying, learning more Danish, and loving the people. Great week, great friends.

We're reading the Book of Mormon together as a mission in 90 days, and I love the discussions we've had. We get to take over the Facebook page this next week, so everyone can look forward to our input. 

This week's spiritual thought is taken from President Jeffery R. Holland's Instagram post forwarded to me by my Mom and Mission President. "During the New Year of 1412, in a small French village, a baby girl was born who would grow up to change her world. Through military's developments and a variety of personal religious experiences, Joan of Arc became a captain in the French army at age 16. Just three years later she was captured, tried, and put to death-burned at the stake-her life complete at 19 years of age.

As the fires ignited around the stake to which she was tied, Joan was given a last chance to save her life if she would deny her religious beliefs. She refused to deny anything she had said or believed about her faith.

Maxwell Anderson, who wrote a moving drama about this young women, has her say in his play as the flames begin to consume her: "One life is all we have, and we live it as we believe in living it, and then it's gone. But to surrender what you are, and live without belief-that's more terrible than dying-more terrible than dying young" ("Joan of Lorraine" [1974}, 80).

"One life is all we have," and our happiness will come from living a faith-filled life. As we begin this new year, may we resolve to live the right way for the right reasons-reasons that are eternal, reasons that matter in this life and in the next.

In scriptural terms, let us be "steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works" (Mosiah 5:15) so we can be "an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12).

May we strive to live our best life this year!

💛Søster Severson

1. Søster Severson and Søster Carter on the waterfront in Sønderborg

2. Søster Severson on the waterfront of Sønderborg

3. Søstre Severson & Carter with Adrien will will be baptized later this month

4. Throwback to the MTC and my wonderful teachers Søster Hansen and Søster Bagley, and my amazing companions Søster Clark & Søster Mackiling