Land of the Midnight Sun. Closing the Beachfront Apartment at Halmstad

Right after the Midsummer celebration we travelled to Halmstad to close down an apartment that we no longer needed in the mission.  See an earlier post from September 2013.  This is the luxury condominium on Tylosand Beach that we have had Sister Missionaries living in since last September.  The owners were so happy to have our missionaries live in it for the winter that they gave us a great deal on the rent. Part of the deal was that they would move back in for the July and August months.  We went down and spent a couple of days enjoying the beach while cleaning and moving out of the apartment.  It happened to be right after the longest day of the year, so pay attention to the MIDNIGHT SUN.

This picture was taken at Tylösand Beach near Halmstad at midnight on June 22, 2014.
The camera is pointed almost straight North.

Lovely evening for a walk at the beach.

We saw a few other sights at the Tylösand Beach.

An old Swedish Church from the 1500's
located on the Beach

Beautifully preserved and ornate inside

We also learned that for about two weeks right around Midsummer that the Lupine plants blossom in beautiful purple and white and various shades.  They are everywhere along the roadsides and are absolutely beautiful.  Apparently they are so prolific and plentiful that the Swedes consider them more of a weed than a flower.  I absolutely love them.

And a few last pictures from the Beach

WE CELEBRATE MIDSOMMARSAFTON WITH OUR FRIEND ERIN HOWARDSON

Midsommarsafton (Midsummers Eve) is probably the biggest celebration of the year in Sweden.  It is held on the longest day of the year, June 21, and has all the traditions and fun of dancing around the Midsummer Pole, good food and outdoor fun. Dozens of the missionaries serving in the Stockholm area were there, and we were especially happy to have a visit from a friend and former colleague from Flathead Valley Community College here to visit us.  Erin Howardson is embarking on a backpack/cycling tour of Europe and started her trip here in Stockholm.  We were happy to have her visit us and we took her to the midsummer celebration with us.

We introduced Erin to our Duck collection

She thought she was hiding behind the flowers?

 Woman in traditional costume who called out the steps to the dances.  Erin wanted to meet her.

We had to go to our favorite ice cream store

The missionaries helped to build and erect the "Midsommarsstången" and then the dancing and music started.

Up, up , up

a little more......

not quite there....

We got it !!

We had a wonderful time in the National Park just South of Stockholm.  Over a thousand people were there, and a large number of the missionaries were there.  A nice break from the busy schedules that we keep.

several of our MTC group were there.
Sister Tolley, Anderson, Elders Tolley,Taggart, Christensen,
Hanson, Cushing,Ward
Johnson
Sister Taylor sneaked in the back...........

Sister Gambles with the traditional flower wreath
Sister Tolley and Erin Howardson
See the beautiful smiles on all three of them!!!

Sister Tolley with Fru Lindquist 

Grandma Brooks visits Sweden

On July 1 Wendy's mother arrived in Stockholm on a flight from Chicago. We greeted her at Arlanda Airport (Stockholm International).  How exciting to have her come.

We will have her here for 25 days and have done a whole lot of activities. Started by attending the WORLDS LARGEST CLASSIC AMERICAN CAR SHOW in Västerås.  Who'd have thought that  so many American cars would be restored and driven in SWEDEN?  Over 2000 cars dIsplayed at the annual "POWER MEET". Here are a few of my favorites

We immediately hit the road and have travelled the entire country with "Sister Brooks"  The office Elders made Grandma an honorary missionary with nametag and everything.  We went from Stockholm to the south tip of Sweden to Malmö, where we set up a newly renovated apartment then up the West coast to Göteborg,  Back to Stockholm, then off to the far North all the way to Boden and back.  Total trip over two weeks was 3500 kilometers with lots of work done all the way.

Lunch at Cafe Skåne in Göteborg

great little Bed and Breakfast in a Stuga at Docksta where we stayed

Pizza with the Elders in Umeå.  Elders Hitch, Barker, Ward and Packer

Mom and Daughter at the old Stone Church in Old Luleå

Grandmas bed at the Hotel

Lots of pretty flowers.  Note the nametag

Dinner with the Holmdahl family in Västerås.

More beautiful flowers.  This was taken in
Boden, which is just outside the Arctic Circle.

And the highlight of Grandma's stay was the celebration of her 81st birthday (about a week early) with a number of the Sisters and Elders from the Stockholm area.

Happy Birthday with frukt tårta.

Elder Niemenen, Sisters Taylor, Gambles, Clouse, Bass, Pieksma, Hauglid, Elder Tolley
Sisters Sjöblom, Brooks, Swenson, Spencer, Tolley

Hey Blog Readers! Sorry for the long wait.

Hello Blog Readers!
So sorry that we have not blogged for a long time.  Lots of excuses, but mainly we just haven't taken the time at the end of our long days and old tired bodies.....
I will be setting up a number of blogs in a row, starting at the latest and going backwards for a few months.  Lots of pictures and exciting things have happened.  So here goes.  Go to next blog.

One of the biggest sacrifices of serving a mission is missing events with our family back home. It is so comforting for us to know that our children and grandchildren are all doing well and making good choices in their lives. I would like to share with everyone a most wonderful family event that took place in January 2014. Our very first grandson was born. We now have 5 granddaughters and 1 grandson. These grandchildren are most precious to us and we are so grateful for technology so we can see them grow up while we are away.

Baby Ross Winton Tolley, born Saturday, January 25th, 2014 at 5:16 pm, weighing in at 9 pounds, 10 ounces and measuring 21 inches long.

And to top off such a blessing our new baby will be coming to meet us the end of May. Ross's dedicated parents (Dale and Alana) are willing to travel all the way to Sweden so we can have the opportunity to meet him while serving our mission.

A Tragedy of Losing a fellow Missionary - Elder Mason Lewis Bailey

On March 2nd, 2014 we lost a dear friend and one of the most amazing missionaries we have met.
Elder Mason Lewis Bailey was in our group of missionaries at the Mission Training Center in Provo, Utah when we all started our missions together in July. He always had a smile that could light up the whole room and make you want to smile too.
Elder Bailey was serving in Västerås and had just had a most wonderful day. He had baptized a dear lady who had a wonderful story of how she found the church. (She had bought a beautiful white leather covered book in a second hand book store and went home to read it. As she was reading what was the Book Of Mormon she felt the spirit tell her that what she was reading was true. She also found a card with the missionaries' phone number and called them. Elder Bailey and Elder Barnes were the ones to be able to teach her and baptize her.) After such a special day, they were walking home to their apartment from a dinner appointment. It was after dark and they were crossing the street at the crosswalk when a car came speeding towards them. They realized that the car was not stopping for them and both missionaries jumped in opposite directions to avoid the car. At the last second the car swerved and went the same direction as Elder Bailey and hit him, knocked over a road sign, and ended up hitting a very large rock on the side of the road. The reports say that his death was quick and so we hope that he did not suffer. It has been so very hard to lose someone so dear to all of us in the mission. Elder Tolley and I were asked by the President to go and collect his belongings from his apartment along with the assistants and the other missionaries that shared the apartment. That was hard to do. We all helped each other by talking and sharing our joys of having been a part of Elder Bailey's life. While at the apartment we got a call from the Church members in Västerås to meet them at the accident site to place candles and flowers and pictures in a memorial to him. I hope that all the wards and branches of the Church here love their missionaries as much as this branch loved Elder Bailey. He was especially loved by all the children and they placed pictures that they had lovingly drawn for him on his memorial rock by the side of the road. It is fitting that there is a picture of the Savior as we all know that Elder Bailey continues to be a missionary on the other side, as he goes home to his Father in Heaven. Since Elder Bailey's passing we are still helping to teach and baptize people whose lives were touched by him.

  




Our group from the MTC

 



One of the things we try to do daily is go for a healthy brisk walk in our area. We have made friends with the local ducks and they love it when we bring them bread to eat. |Lately the seagulls have also been showing up and are very aggressive. They will dive for the bread while it is still in the air in order to steal it away from the ducks.