Emigration to America took its toll, though, and in 1920
there were hardly any members left on the island. The end of World War II found six members on
the island. Since then the LDS population has vacillated with frequent move ins
and move outs.
Here are some pictures of the building we meet in. It also houses the courthouse. The members jokingly tell of how their
friends shy away from attending church because of the close proximity to the
courthouse.
That brown door in the middle of the builind is our entrance. The elevator says that we are on
floor '5' but it is a split level structure meaning that we are only three
flights up. Our windows are the ones on
the roof.
Visby is called the Walled City. You can see one of the wall’s
towers in the distance there. It looks more
distant than it really is. We are only two blocks away.
Below is a shot of the foyer.
Currently we have about five households that have been here
for more than a decade, though not all of them are active. In addition to them we have some staunch
members who have come to Gotland to enjoy their retirement. We have one college student attending
Upsalla’s satellite campus here in Visby.
The most exciting and challenging development is the recent
baptism of seven young men, refugees from the middle east. The refugee situation here in Sweden is
somewhat troubled. Up until recently,
Sweden’s borders have been open, but with the dramatic influx of immigrants
seeking asylum, the government has had to make some difficult decisions leaving
the refugees living in uncertain circumstances.
Because of this the missionaries have been instructed to not seek
investigators from among them.
But these men approached the missionaries. Disheartened by
the failures of their previous lifestyle, they long to learn about Jesus
Christ. Elder Madden, who preceded me as
the Branch President tells touching stories of how these men have embraced the
Lord and His Restored Gospel.
Language is a big issue among them. Only a few of them speak anything but
Farsi. Some of them are picking up
Swedish and even fewer have a little English under their belt. They all live in
a refugee camp (I believe it is a refurbished school campus) a half hour drive
south of Visby. The Elder’s Quorum President lives in the same town as the camp
and is able to keep tabs on them. But,
with little notice, government officials can relocate them from one camp to
another; even out of the country. This
makes it difficult to make sure their membership records follow them.
Very few of them have been able to attend church since I’ve
been here, simply because they have been assigned employment among the local
restaurants during the tourist season.
They are working seven days a week, 12 hours at a time. The season slows down mid-August. Working
such strenuous hours does demonstrate to the government that they can be
productive citizens and it is good they are bringing in an income. But once the tourist season is over who knows
what their future will hold.
Their new status as Christians gives them more than a little
trouble from the others living in the camp.
They keep their Sunday clothes in a closet at the church, because their
fellow refugees treat them poorly, sometimes roughly for their new
religion. When we or the missionaries
meet with them at the camp, we wait for them in the parking lot and meet in a
nearby park to help keep the peace. Most
of these men have been ordained as Elders, one is called as the branch mission leader,
and another is serving as one of my counselors. He initially felt inadequate to the calling, I took time to help him understand how much he is needed as
a priesthood link to his fellow LDS refugees. I also explained that he
is there to learn of the order of the church, so that he can both administer
and administrate the work of the Lord in the future.
Recently, Elder Scott and Elder Svensson met one of the managers of “Cirkus
Brazil Jack.” The Circus spends about a month touring Gotland, returning
frequently to Visby before they head back to the mainland. The manager, Trolle Rhondin, came to church
one Sunday and was kind enough to provide tickets for the children of some of
the refugee members.
In the shot below, the man sitting next us is the father all
but one of the children. I have never seen such an infectious smile as his.
In the meantime, what the branch really needs is a couple of
strong families to provide a generational foundation to the LDS community on
Gotland. We made it a point to include this need in our fast this month. Included in our attendance on Sunday were four
youth and four children under the age of three.
They were all visitors, of which we have a lot during tourist season. But
if felt as though God was acknowledging our fast. Now all we need to do is get out there and do
the work of finding some permanent families.
The work before us is great in a marvelous way, yet daunting
as well. But I know that it is the work of the Lord, and I know that he singled
us out for this position. We have no
other recourse than to press forward in faith and see what the Lord can do with
us.
We appreciate the support and prayers from family, friends
and the members of the Tempe Stake and Evergreen Ward.
Additional Photos:
These are some the Artistes we saw at the circus.
Quincy Azzario
Duo Costache
And … Rosi Hochegger & Scout
This is Trolle Rhondin with our group after the show. The Herrey’s helped with transportation and are a great asset to the branch. Brother Herrey actually trained with a circus in his youth..
This is the Kaiser Gate and its accompanying Kaiser Tower.
The sign to the right is an indication that the merchant
traditions of Visby have not dwindled.
It offers great deals on
clothing.
This
is one of the towers between the Kaiser Gate and the School Gate.
And this is the impressive Southern Gate.
We close with this nice shot of our Elders in Visby, Elder
Scott (from Australia) and Elder Swensson (from Sweden).
Your descriptions of your branch and meetinghouse make me nostalgic for Barnaul, except our age spread in that branch was reversed and we had mostly youth. The church leadership in my mission was so young that I always said things would explode in 10 years when they all finished growing up. Now that it's been 15, I wonder how things are going.
ReplyDeleteI love hearing about and seeing pictures of your experiences! I keep wondering if you have run into anybody you knew from your first mission, Phillip (not where you are now, but maybe in Lund?). I know this is a wonderful and enriching experience for you both....love you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the updates & photos!
ReplyDeleteI have run into a few, but none of them remember me. The most amusing encounter was with Terez Nilsson, who was fifteen years old when I was serving in Stockholm. I asked her if she remembered any tall missionaries from that time. She replied, "At age fifteen I didn't have the courage to pay attention to the elders."
ReplyDelete