What doesn't last forever isn't real

Wow. What a week, actually what a month. I finally have a chance to fill you all in, so here goes :) 

I've been very sick the last several weeks, I hope the worst of it is over but basically I had an infection in my intestines that caused me to drop around 15 pounds and the stress it was putting on my body was causing insomnia... No bueno. The infection is gone, they think, and I have my appetite and sleeping back for the most part so it should be good from here on out. The members in our branch found out that I have been sick and decided that the solution is to feed us so much that I can't even walk... Love them. 

Russia invaded Ukraine, so that's fun. Good luck Conner! One of your old areas (Simforpol right?) Is now under Russian rule I believe. You're in my prayers. 

My friend from Sweden has been gone for a week now. Doesn't quite feel real, not sure if it ever will. He baptized a lady into Christ's church the day that he died. It was one of the last things he ever did before a car going two and a half times the speed limit hit him. Thank you to everyone for praying for him and his family. He was a great kid and I think this only strengthens my desire to grow my testimony and to help others have the comfort of knowing that there is something more after this life. 

Congrats to Emily headed to the Dominican Republic! Also shout out to my cousins getting in to BYU and Christian Wendleboe headed to Russia and Dallin Zibetti headed to Peru! So awesome for you guys!

The weather here is starting to get warmer. I don't have to wear thirty eight pounds of clothes to go outside anymore. I get to look forward to the sun at night instead of the moon at lunch time now! My companion is pushing to go to a tanning booth, we'll have to see on that one. We have had our March zone conference already which was way fun, I got to sing in a double quartet while we had a bunch of lessons about how the mission is going to start using Family History as a tool to get people interested in the church. Many times people shut you off right away on the street when they here the words God, Church, Faith, or Missionary... but if we offer help with something they love like their own family the results can often be very positive! Wish us luck with that. 

As far as news that actually applies to what I've been doing here in this beauty of a town

we have been doing as much work as we're able to, but we've been traveling a lot. We went on splits in Horsens and had some great conversations with people just out and about on the street, and were able to attend Stake Conference in Århus. I think my favorite quote of all time came from the Temple Presidents wife. ''What Doesn't Last Forever Isn't Real''. Think about it. All my life I have been concerned that if nothing happens after death than literally nothing I do here matters at all. That's why our message is so important. That's why the fleeting pleasure that comes from breaking the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity is never able to stand up to the real joy that comes from a loving eternal family. Sometimes I wish I could just get the Danes to understand that one idea. It's hard to help someone quit smoking when they don't even want to! They can't see past the immediate future for two seconds to think about what really matters. A hope that things will just work out isn't good enough. I'm trying to love the Danes here but it can be frustrating when they slap away what will really help them. Oh well, I serve for the ones that will listen :) And hey, my testimony is better for it.

Just for example of the mentallity I see here sometimes, I was walking down the road and saw that a tree had fallen in the path. Instead of doing something about it a worker just put cones on top of it and called it good. 

It's like they didn't think people could already see the tree... 

Anyway, I hope we can all realize what really matters in our lives, because if it doesn't last forever, is it really that important? Is some temporary issue worth throwing a wrench into the happiness of our families? 

We were out knocking some apartments here and when we came to the last door there was party music blasting behind the door. We decided we probably didn't want to knock it but Elder Lawless reminded me of a quote me and Elder Ludlow used to have as a motto - It's better to live a life of 'oh wells' than 'what ifs?'. We knocked it. A drunk dude answered, and told us to come on in and join them... They turned off the music and before we knew it there were three super attentive drunks begging us to tell them why we were here and dying to tell us their own thoughts about God. They even took a picture with us haha! We hope they remember something when we go back cause I left a note with the Book of Mormon that they took. We also had a chance to teach a young man from Africa who has going through some rough times. He wants to make a change though and get closer to God. He's been in and out of jail and told us he wants to work towards maybe coming to church, which would be a big step for him. These are the more entertaining people to work with, but we also have a few others who are very positive.

In conclusion, I've been through the refinery, and I think I'm better for it. All the trials I've mentioned in the past few weeks and a few others as well have really really helped me. And although I may be dying to see people back home and to listen to some of my music, I know that what I'm doing out here will last forever, not only in my own testimony but in my future family, and that's what is real after all.

-Ældste Durrant