Hej from Lund

I loved spending time in Southern Sweden. Farm country was a nice change from the hustle and bustle of the city. It was great meeting all the families in the Lund Ward. They were so kind and loving. They loved showing us their town and giving us tours of their homes (a very Swedish thing according to Matthew). It was great to get to know these people and see how much they appreciated Matthew as a missionary.

Here is a rundown of what we did in the city of Lund and the small towns around it

Day 6: Caught a super early train down to Denmark • 5 hour ride south of Stockholm • Arrived at Copenhagen Airport • Rented a car got upgraded to an Audi • Couldn’t figure out how to start the car for the life of us • Couldn’t understand Danish in the car manual • Had to finally ask someone in the parking lot • They read the manual and were able to help us • There would have been no way to have known how to start that car • Hard to explain how but we all had a good laugh about it • Matthew got used to the stick shift pretty quickly • Drove back into Sweden and checked into our hotel (Scandian Star) in Lund • Went to a Swedish BBQ that three families from the ward Matthew served in threw for us • I loved the salads they made • It was great to meet the families and hear stories from Matthew’s mission days • Stopped by the apartment Matthew lived in • Back to the Hotel around 11 • It was finally starting to get dark • You don’t realize how late it is when the Sun is still up

Day 7: Attended church in the Lund Ward • Matthew served in this Ward for 10 months • It was an incredible experience for me • It’s great to see the Church is exactly the same in this small town in Sweden • I wasn’t able to understand anything being said and just felt with the spirit • Hearing the hymns being sung in Swedish was just amazing • We visited the Bjoraklund family • Cutest little girls • They were so welcoming and excited to have us over • We then went to dinner at the Wiklof’s home • The main dish was Salmon and the wife was kind enough to make Swedish meatballs for me when she learned that I don’t eat seafood • We had a great visit with them • Heard more stories of Matthew • The people in the Lund Ward really love Matthew and so ecstatic to have him there • Got back to the hotel late • It was another great day

Day 8: Quick visit with Larsson Family • Bishop Wiklof took us out to lunch and drove us around Malmo (another small town next to Lund) • Walked around the water looking out at Denmark • Dinner with the Nilsson’s • Visited with Mattisson family • Back to hotel

Day 9: Left Lund and headed North to Kalmar • About a 4 hour drive • Said hello to M. Nilsson along the way • Drive to Kalmar was beautiful • Checked into our hotel that was right along the water • Grabbed dinner at an Italian restaurant • Walked around the small town of Kalmar • Such a fun and quaint little town with cobble stone roads • Loved this little town

Day 10: Checked out of our hotel • Visited the Kalmar Castle • Drove to the crystal country • Visited Boda, Orrefors, Melarose and Kosta • Watched demonstrations of blowing glass • Very interesting to see • Spent way too much money • Drove to Copenhagen Airport • 5 hours • Said goodbye to Sweden as we drove across the bridge • This was a very sad moment for Matthew • Checked into our hotel (Hilton) • Returned the car • Had dinner and called it a day