Norrland District Meetings and finding the Swedish blue dräkt

On our way back from Norrland, we drove to Bollnäs to check out a Blocket ad for the Swedish National dräkt. It was a perfect fit and we loved it. It is one of our best finds for Syster Johnson's wardrobe.
We traveled at night in stress,
On winding roads, must confess.
As dark as it was,
We kept going because;
I wanted that Swedish blue dress!
--Syster Amy Johnson

Sundsvall has a beautiful view from Södraberget, where we had a wonderful room for the night, which was actually an upgraded suite. We felt so blessed, being the tired missionary travelers that we were that night.

Sundsvall District consists of Äldster Holland and Barlow, Äldste Johnson och Syster Johnson, Sisters Porkka and Hegstrom. We loved the bean soup and Swedish pancakes they fixed for lunch.

Sundsvall Chapel is beautiful and well cared for. The grass is still green in the North.

Our view from the Högakust bro Hotel. We have stayed here before on our last trip to Norrland.

Umeå District consists of Äldster Hanes, Loomis, Kroff, Bennion, Arko and Adamson. We loved being with this great group. (Loomis and Adamson were former secretaries in the Office)

Umeå Chapel is beautiful and clean. It was fun to see former Office elders at the District meeting and give the group some information about driving in our wonderful Mission cars.

The wonderful world of Skansen

Riding the busses and tunnelbannen on a Saturday afternoon to Skansen proved to be very crowded, as Stockholm's population was out on one of the last nice days of the season. We loved it!

The glassblowing house was a top "see" in the village. We are happy we are finding our treasurers of glass at the Lion's Club Loppis and SecondHand stores. They were very expensive here!

An overlook from Skansen into the Stockholm harbor is a beautiful site.

The Sami (Lapplander) house was built almost like a teepee only with logs. It was warm and cozy with the fire going and the Sami women doing handicrafts. Syster Johnson was honored to have her photo with them, sitting on the reindeer hide benches.

We found a Great Grey Owl, just like the ones on Harry Potter! Beautiful!

Domesticated reindeer provide the living for Lapplanders and Sami peoples in the North.

A domesticated moose enjoyed chewing his cud while people admired the big rack of horns.

The big brown bears were roaming through their tunnels and back and forth close to the glass for viewing.

Skandinavian black bears cubs played on the logs at the delight of the spectators.

A typical Viking "rune stone" is positioned along the well-walked pathway.

These homes are hundreds of years old and still standing, much like they were when constructed. They are sturdy projects!

Note the great ventilation underneath this home. No mold growing here!

Skansen is an open air Skandinavian animal zoo and museum with many historical styles of homes. They were moved here piece by piece and put together on site. It is amazing at the types of homes the Scandinavians erected for dwellings. Elders Lumerto, Edmunds, Johnson, Espinoza, Langston and Tomyn stopped to enjoy the sunshine.

Area Seventy Elder Paya comes to Sweden

Elder J. Michel and Sister Paya from France (and Spain) were wonderful to hear at our Zone Mission Tour. They are great missionaries and gave us the formula to be more effective in our Mission. We loved meeting with them and sharing stories.

Elder Johnson teaches the Office elders the technique of "wax on, wax off" as they do their Saturday car chores. Edmunds, Tomyn, Langston and Espinoza (back)

Elders (Sir) Edmunds, Lumerto, Langston, Tomyn and (birthday boy), Espinoza

join Elder and Sister Johnson at their apartment table for Friday Lunch festivities. (Okt 2)

Where those little wooden horses are made

See story below of Vasa Loppet,

Ingemar Åkerström is a likeness of King Gustaf Vasa in his (Vasa's) 60 pound armour, which protected him in battles against the invading Danes.

Elder Johnson stands next to a 500 year old weapon of mass destruction....28 notches on this wild looking spear and sword combination.

1540 copy of the Holy Bible is told to be the oldest of its kind in Scandinavia. It lies under protective glass in the old log museum.

Another highlight of visiting Darlana was to visit the area called Ornässtugan (see inside information above) where elderly Borlänge Ward members are curators. Brother Ingemar and Sister Ann Åkerström were our guides with the other missionaries in the district. They are truly amazing being so active in their '80s. We want to be like them when we "grow up." He kept saying that they have been trying to "poison" the missionaries for many years, and they haven't succeeded yet. What a sense of humor!

Chickens are also on the painting tables and are almost as popular as the hästar. This one is particularly nice, and LARGE.

The shelves are now being filled for another season of tourists. Colors range from orange, gamla orange, white, off white, navy blue and black. Roosters come in similar colors.

The painting room is small but the women are expert toll painters, each sitting at a station doing their specialty. It looks like "gold" ones will be coming out next season. It takes weeks to finish just one piece.

The wooden cut-outs are whittled by hand into smooth wooden figures, ready for priming and painting.

One man is at a jig saw station cutting away. He can keep a crew busy doing the finish work.

At Nils Olsson's hand made wooden horse factory, we witnessed first hand the entire process. It takes many hours and days to make one of those little works of art. Naturally Elder Johnson had to check out the herd of nearly full grown horses. No feeding, no horse shoes and no training. I like that!

The real intention of our trip was to be present at a district missionary meeting. After the missionary gathering, we were, however, privileged to a private tour of the ancient museum. In the early 1500's, King Gustaf Vasa stayed in this old log building waiting for a chance to garner troops and drive out the attacking Danes. He was forced to flee ( he actually escaped through the backroom privy) the building as the aproaching army neared. He raced with his small army toward Norway....on skies. Several days later, he was convinced to turn around, gathered a much larger army and drove the Danes into the lakes. His moment of glory had arrived. One can read about the Vasa Lopp (on google) which is celebrated every year in memory of the rousting of the invading Danish Army. The Vasa Lopp is the largest sky race in the world, consisting last year (2009) of over 17000 skiers in one race....40,000 total for several days of racing!

Transfer Week is complete

With Äldste Brock Jackson going home with his parents, we treated the whole Lunch Bunch to a Friday big spread in the autumn sunshine. New elders Espinoza, Lumerto and Tomyn join Edmunds and Langston as Office elders. Äldste Johnson kept the sun out of his eyes with his newly found Sweden cowboy hat!

Äldste Johnson directs new missionaries to re-set the chairs in the Täby chapel after orientation. They are so willing to help!! We love them already.

Sister Johnson helps carry out the food from "Home Made Catering" in Täby for Thursday's orientation. It was the best we have ever had!! Lax and beef dishes with salad and fresh bread --we topped it off with our own lingonberry cookies.

Five elders and two sisters are here from the MTC. All are from the USA, except one Finnish sister. We finished the Office paperwork and took a moment for a photo on the Office steps.

Elder Johson is thrilled to know Brother Eriksson again

Elder Johnson is reaquainted with one of the "young men" he baptized in 1962. Hasse Ericksson, from the Gubbängen, attended Täby Ward and recognized Elder Johnson right away as the "elder that baptized him!" It was a wonderful reunion.

Our Public Relations couple, Rex and Vicky Lewis, have finished their missions. They are on their way home to buy a new car and find a new home. We will be excited to see them in the States! We are all Idaho-Montana kids.

We live in the second story of this building. The mission office also shares this floor. The elders live upstairs and the pizza parlor is in the lower floor. What a busy place....day and night!

It's a zoo!

Sweden's growing on us

Friday lunch was sad and glad. Elder Edmunds turns "20" and the Lewises prepare to leave us.

A traditional Swedish dress. It would be nice, but can we afford it?


Syster Bente Karlsson made a surprise visit to the Mission Office, along with her grandson, Oscar and his mother, Anna-Linda. It was so fun to see her!

Täby Ward R.S. gathers at the Mission Home for a missionary activity and barbeque.

Another trip to the Ancestor farm

We made a stop in Borås on the way to Jönköping for a quick look at the chapel that is scheduled to be replaced due to serious mold problems. It is a shame, because it is a very nice brick building.
Systrar cousins--Amy with Liz Rosevear
We are always prepared for rain. The old chapel is as beautiful as ever.

Aerial view of the farm on the wall at Gunnar Gustafsson home.

Rainbow appeared over the farm. Definitely a photo moment.
Cousins Gunnar Gustafsson and Steven. Äldste Johnson shared Church videos and missionary information with Gunnar and Inga Lill (housekeeper).
We loved the neighbor's sign on the lane next to the old farm. We wondered if Gunnar would someday put out a marker on the lane leading to the homeplace.

Another road trip to inspect an elders' apartment. Karlstad was windy and rainy. In fact, the whole trip was in torrential rains, off and on. But, the whole of Sweden is beautiful in any kind of weather. Elders Scoville and Humphries were ready to greet us and show us their apartment. It was an orderly flat, with only a little deep cleaning to be done. We appreciated them being in their white shirts and ties. Banana cake was their reward.

The next stop was the Johannes Svensson farm where Grandpa Gustaf grew up. Gunnar Gustafsson and his friend, Inga Lill Strömberg, were there to greet us with a little saft and sandwich. While we were there, a beautiful rainbow appeared over the farm. It gave us a special feeling. After the visit to the farm, we stopped off at the community Church were the family attended. We couldn't spot the gravestone, but will ask Gunnar if it has been moved again.

In Göteborg, we followed our Brit GPS all through the town before finding the Rosevears (Single Adult Center couple from Bountiful). At least, it took us there eventually. We spent an enjoyable evening sharing stories and becoming better aquainted. We surprised them with the Darlana Häst silver necklace we purchased in Gamla Stan and a crocheted name bannner. I had to finish it after we had dinner, wash it and let it dry overnight. They said they loved it. Sister Liz (Terry) Rosevear is a distant cousin to Sister Amy, having the same g- g-great grandfather, Otis Terry.

Sunday morning, we drove to Jönköping for ward conference. It was a wonderful meeting and we saw the Nelsons, Sister Ribbert and other members we had become acquainted with before. After the meeting, there was a ward picnic for everyone. Wonder if we could do that in our home ward someday? After being in heavy traffic into Stockholm for a few hours, we made it back to our humble apartment. It was a wonderful time, but hard to sit so long in the car. We went 1300 kilometers in a short 36 hour time.