Holiday Greetings from the Ensign's

Dear Missionaries:

We are sending you all our Holiday Greetings from the land of our forefathers here in Sweden where we are serving a full time mission in the Stockholm Sweden temple, and we are loving this service. Sweden is where Sister Ensigns Capson family came from and where the missionaries held the first meeting in Sweden in their barn in 1852. That was in southern Sweden and we have enjoyed visiting the homes and special places of interest where the Church received its first roots in this beautiful country. My grandfather and grandmother on my mothers side came from a small village [Julita] in central Sweden in 1879 where they were baptized and immigrated to Richmond Utah. Wonderful stories of lives filled with the Gospel for which we are so very grateful. Now we look forward to spending a Christmastime here in fond remembrance of three I spent here over 60 years ago as a young missionary. But the fondest memories of Christmases spent was in the Hartford Mission with you! So often we remenince those never to be forgotten times with new found loved ones with whom we shared so many personal experiences. You were the faithful ones then and when we have heard from you we know you are the faithful fathers and mothers of a new and rising generation. Bless you for all your goodness.

We are beginning to celebrate this holiday time with special concerts and programs furnished by the Lutheran church and civic associations. Its about the only time the Swedes enter one of their churches during the year and we noted with the special advent celebration, it was only the elderly that bothered coming to the tradtional service. There will be one other time they will come attended by a hearse, flowers and pealing bells they most likely will not remember Anyway there is a special holiday spirit present and the children are looking forward to the coming of the Jul Tompten, the Christmas elve, to bring them gifts. Christmas eve is the time of the main celebration when gifts are opened. Early the next morning some folks will attend the early Christmas church service. We will enjoy our own Church services and then will leave on Christmas day for Barcelona for a few days of warmth. Most importantly we are so very grateful for the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and for his redeeming sacrifice for us. Our testimonies of his life and existence have never been stronger. We also seem to have more appreciation of Joseph Smith and for his amazing contributions in restoring the Gospel and the true Church to the earth during his short lifetime. We are grateful for good health and for a blessed family who have been so supporting of us. We pray the blessings of the Lord upon you and yours during this special time of celebration and for the coming New Year. May you enjoy the peace and goodness that Christ brings and which you so deserve, is our prayer.
 
Love to you each one,
The Ensign's

HELLO FROM SWEDEN!

Beloved Missionaries from the Hartford, Conn. Mission.,

HELLO FROM SWEDEN!

We are now living in the country where my husband served his mission 62 years ago. It has always been his dream to return here to live. We are serving in the Swedish Temple and it is just wonderful to be in the Lord's house and serve with such spiritual people.We are tired at the end of an eight-hour day but live close by so we don't have to commute.

We were disappointed to be away when the reunion was planned and had hoped that it would go forward but we understand that it was postponed. We are sad that some had made plans and we missed you and hope everyone received the word.

We think of you often and today when we greeted the missionaries here we remembered our treasured days with you. We frequently tell others of our great experiences in Hartford, of the miracles, the tears and the laughter.

I was thinking of you when our temple president told us that the "Tree of life" is to be found in temple work, that that is indeed the door to Heavenly blessings. It makes sense to me. And that the three missions of the Church, namely: perfecting the saints, missionary work and redeeming the dead are all accomplished in the temple.

So I recommend in your futures you consider, along with missions, to be ordinance workers. As one friend in the temple in Bountiful said, "It's the best kept secret in the church".We will be here a year or a year and a half depending on our health and family considerations.

It has been interesting to me to learn how many of you have had autistic children. We have a grandson who is now sixteen and austistic. Of course they are celestial people and choice spirits but represent alot of prayer and sometimes expense. Also there are those of you who have handicapped children who are also celestial. Some have even lost children.Would you be interested in communicating with one another? To share successes and challenges and ideas? These children have been given to very choice parents who bless their lives.

Our love goes out to each one of you and how we are blessed to have you as our other family. We have never prayed, laughed or cried as much as we did on our mission with you. As we read your names and look at your faces I wish we could tell you each one that we still remember and love you and pray for you. I hope that in the next world we can mingle one with another.

Hosting, China and The Isle of Man were unusual in their own way. Sweden is a modern city, very clean. So there isn't anything much to tell you, nothing funny. Lots of water and islands and Ikea, blonde hair, red houses with white trim, funny language and lots of Swedes. The Gospel is true here as well as there and testimony meeting was very spiritual today. What a marvelous thing this Gospel is in our lives. It is and will be our life-line in days to come. Hold fast to it's principles, be patient with your children and with yourselves and know you are dearly loved

Love always, The Pres. and Sister Ensign

Reunion Update

With President and Sister Ensign being gone on a Mission to Sweden we have postponed/cancelled the Reunion in June. We are sorry for the sporatic information and how late this official word is.

We are also looking for feedback on whether or not we should plan a reunion while they are gone. Please voice your opinions. We have a group set up on Facebook specifically for the Ensign's. There we have a discussion question specifically for this. Please let us know how you feel.

Twitter

In an effort to get word out to everyone possible. We have set up an account at Twitter for the Ensign's. You can follow them at http://twitter.com/EnsignCHM.

Sweden

Our Beloved,       Thinking of you and would like to bear my testimony before we leave for Sweden.      We have been working in the Bountiful temple and have enjoyed it more than we can say. Over the years we have been on missions and have had many spiritual experiencesbut working in the temple has added a new dimension to my testimony.        I was thinking that it reminds me of schooling in higher education. Colleges and Universities often invite prospective students to visit the campus, see the environment, and above all determine if they can achieve their goal of being educated and graduate successfully.        Well, the temple certainly represents a Higher Education, a house of learning with a goal in mind-that of obtaining the Celestial Kingdom. There we receive instructions, make covenants, receive marvelous promises in glorious surroundings equally dressed in white. It is to me the opportunity to experience Heaven, as we feel the love, the reverence and the -Spirit of the Lord. It is truly His House. And we work to receive a degree in a Kingdom.        Now we are planning to go to Sweden to work in the temple there. Some people say we are great, noble and all that but to be truthful we are going because we are the happiest when we are on missions. At home our time is fragmented as we keep busy doing busy work. On a mission we are focused on the Lord's work and it is a wonderful experience  for couples. We have always gotten along very well but there is something about serving together, without demands from children or anything else that brings a sweeter relationship and stronger bonds.        As for the family, they seem to be more greatly blessed when we are away. We have had miracles pronounced upon our children, and they rely more on each other.        I've never been happier; I feel such peace and have the faith that we can put our trust in our Father-in-Heaven come what may. While I think I am all-wise and have all the answers at 76 and continue to impart them to my children, nevertheless I know they will be alright, all because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and because of the atoning sacrifice of our Saviour Jesus Christ. I know that He is mindful of His children and is there for us to comfort and bless.        Of course we will get homesick for our family and good neighbors but look forward to the temple there. I am working on my Swedish that of course my husband is proficient in. He is encouraging but nonetheless I'm not that great.        Could be that something could happen to one of us while we are away but there again I feel peaceful about the whole thing. I would consider it a graduation and would get my report card. I don't think the Lord grades on the curve.          So grateful for all you mean to us and pray the Lord to bless you always. My husband joins in sending our love to each of you.   Broder och Syster Ensign

Our Beloved Missionaries, Sisters and Elders,

It has been awhile since we have communicated with you. We had hoped to spend alot of time finding all of you but we have been extremely busy with family, ect. I'm convinced it will be a lifelong work as you move so much. This is surely the busiest time of your lives but remember, they are some of the best.

We are making plans for the reunion June 20th. If you email me I will try my best to find the contact info to find your great former companions and try to meet up with them then. It is so very important to hold close to each other and stay strong in the faith. These surely are the last days and will be the best for the strong but tough for the world in general.

Recently our grandson returned home from his mission and we felt his missionary zeal and loved it. He told us about a woman who had joined the church and years after had refused to move in case her missionaies tried to contact her. It was sad for her and also for them that they had lost contact. Sister Uckjdorf? told us how important it is to keep in touch, how her missionaries still communicate with her. We are sure you are very busy but if possible try to find your families duals you taught. Our phone number is 801-2942672.

With regards to the reunion, we will have a get-together Saturday, March 28th here at our home in North Salt Lake. We hope to haave several here so the preparation will be divided among many. We will have juice and donuts. We have our temple work on Saturday afternoon so we will meet here at 10;00 am until noon. We will need to contact, some for the program, some to plan activities for children, ect. The blowup worked well for the children last time I understand, so we will do that. The drink and icecream will be provided. We should have activities for two or three days and attendance at our ward the next day if you wish, we have an incredible ward starting t 11:00 a.m.

We know you are the greatest missionaries ever and remember you and will always love you. We are so very blessed to have served with you and to have benefited from your shining example to us. We are very excited to see you and yours.

We are thinking about going on another mission because that is REALLY living.

Love to you, each one.

Pres. and Sis. Ensign

Reunion Info

The 2009 Reunion is coming soon. The Ensigns are looking for those who would like to help. There will be a meeting on March 28th at 10am for those interested. If you need directions contact the webmaster on the mission website.

Here is what we have planned so far

June 19th - Temple Night (Temple TBD)

June 20th - Lunch in the Park

Pass the word! Lets get everyone at the Reunion this year!