The Denmark Copenhagen Mission

Hello all! I hope you've had a fabulous week! I hope you enjoy this week's letter :)

 I really enjoyed Zone Training last week, and I can't wait for next month! I've been thinking a lot about what the Elders were talking about at Zone Training - what our calls mean to us. I know for a fact that I am already very attached to the Danish people and mission, and I love that! I can't really think of anything particular to write about this week, so I thought I'd just share my mission call experience with you all :) I apologize if it's a bit choppy - two hours doesn't feel like nearly enough time to write a concise message, and all the feelings of my Heart are just exploding as I write this! I hope you can understand it!!!

In the time leading up to puting in my mission papers , little snippets and inklings kept making me think about Denmark and my Danish ancestry. My Grandpa served here when he was younger, and he and my Grandpa served here again in the late 90s. I grew up in a military family, and we were always living far away from extended family members, so I have to sadly say that I don't have very many memories of my Grandparents. But I know how important Denmark was for my Grandpa, and I know how important it is for me. If it wasn't for my Danish Great-great grandparents, I have no idea how my family would have come in contact with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have a soft spot in my heart for whoever those missionaries were that found William Karl Soelberg and Dagmar Johansen, and actually acted as match maker for them! Hahaha, but I love those missionaries and the hard work they put into their missions in Denmark.

I have always wanted to somehow help people, and a mission came to feel just right, and looking back now, I just knew that I would be called to Denmark. I think back on experiences in school where Danish would just pop up - either something would be said and my ears would perk up, or I'd be listening to a list of different languages, and my heart would pound a little faster as I heard Danish words. They were all strange experiences for me, and at the time, I really didn't think much about it.

After puting in my mission papers and during the wait for my call, I would think of all the places I thought would be a real adventure to experience. Those few, short weeks were full of excitement, but anxiety, and every possible mission was running through my head! I got to the point where I tried telling myself that if I was sent to a specific mission, that meant that I would have other certain opportunities in the future because of it. Totally over-thinking Things! But all this thinking was stressing me out, so I finally sat myself down, and decided that I wouldn't think any more about it.

I had been going out with the Sister missionaries there in my branch, and I had come to experience the love for the people there in the Baltimore, Maryland mission. I realized that anywhere and everywhere in the World, there were people who needed to hear the message of the restored Gospel, and to experience the joy that I have recieved through living the way that Christ wants us to. I prayed, and I felt the comfort of knowing that wherever I was called to, which was still a mystery to me, was where I needed to be.

The day finally came where I could open that large, white envelope! I was nervous,  but not at the same time (if that makes any sense), as I opened it. When I read that I was called to serve in the Denmark Copenhagen mission, I knew right then and there that it was where I needed to be. My mom later told me that she didn't believe me the first time that I said Denmark, and had to come over and check the letter herself! Emotions were high, and waterworks were happening on my face, for sure!! But all in all, it just felt completely natural!

Not long after receiving my call, I started to try and study some Danish on my own, and while it was strange for me, I felt that it was the most beautiful language I had ever heard! I didn't learn hardly any Danish in that short period between June and October, though! And that was very frustrating! But I was able to be more interested in my own Danish Family history, and I enjoyed learning more about my Great-great grandparents and their experiences of conversion! My heart was most definitely turned to my fathers! The Spirit of Elijah is real, my friends!!

I find it interesting that even after receiving the confirmation that Denmark was where I needed to serve, it still took me a long time to accept the confirmation that I needed to serve a mission. But with study and prayer and fasting, I finally realized my reservations, and gave them all up to give my life over to The Lord. I feel like this is absolutely the best thing for me to be doing with in my life, and I know that as I devote myself 100% to the work, I will be able to do what I ultimately strive after- which is to help others recognize that they are loved and are important.

I have truly been blessed on my mission, even if it has only been a Little over 3 months that I have worn my missionary nametag :) I have come to better understand my relationship with the Savior, and I have come to love Him even more, and also love myself. I have come closer to my ancestors, and I am eternally grateful to have this special connection to my Grandfather. It Means a lot to me, since before I felt I never really knew him. My experience in the MTC was incredible, as I felt the Spirit working in me as I worked hard on the Danish Language, which I still know to be the most beautiful language I have ever heard!! I know that there is no way I would be able to communicate this shortly after begining to study a language if it hadn't been for the blessing of Divine Aid! I hope to continue to develop myself into the missionary, and person, that my Savior and Redeemer knows me to be. I hope (in the true sense of the word) to become a powerful influence in someone's life, and I know that I can through the Savior.

I am eternally grateful for this opportunity to devote myself entirely to the Lord, and to serve the people of the Denmark Copenhagen mission. I know without a doubt that this is where I need to be right now :) It Means a lot to me, and I will never forget it!

I invite you all to experience the same joy and happiness that I have felt from studying about our Lord and Savior every morning! And I especially invite you all to read ''Jesus the Christ'' by James E Talmage! My testimony and knowledge has grown even more as I have devoted myself to prayerful study, and I want you all to feel that, too :)

Have a fantastic week!! <3 I wish I could give you all a big hug, but that's just not physically possible right now, hahaha. But the next hug you receive, imagine that it's from me :)

Med kærlig hilsen,
Søster Morgan B Soelberg

<3

​Found this guy checking out the living down below on the streets. I wish I could grow a mustache like that. But then again, maybe not...