Spring 2017 Couples Conference!!!!!!

Thursday, May 4, 2017, all of the couples in he mission met in Stockholm to begin our Couples Conference.  Elder and Sister Hales were to drive down from Ornskoldsvik and meet us in Dalarna at Nusnas.  We left Stockholm and began our 3 hour journey to Nusnas, which is where the Dalahast is made, all by hand.  An hour and a half into our journey, we stopped for a rest and took a photo op at the giant Dalahast, which is made out of cast concrete.  Pictured left to right under the giant horse is:  Elder and Sister Hurlbut, Elder and Sister Pettit, Elder and Sister Smith, Elder and Sister Anderson, President and Sister Beckstrand, Elder and Sister Hall, Elder and Sister Watson, and Elder and Sister Mitchell.  Not in the picture would be Elder and Sister Hales (driving in ffom Norland) and Elder and Sister Clouse (who have family visiting from the States).

Along our way, we got held up in traffic due to road construction.

Lake Siljan, which is in the heart of Dalarna.

We arrived in Nusnas and were able to tour the two little shops where they make the world famous Dalahast (or Valley Horse).  This is an amazing site to visit, to watch the skilled craftsmen cut, carve, sand, paint, and then hand paint each horse.  Tourist from around the world make this journey into the heart of Dalarna to see and purchase these wonderful souvenirs.  Needless to say, we all bought many of these little treasures to journey home with us.

Watching the skilled painters dressing up each individual horse.  Elder and Sister Hurlbut and Sister Beckstrand.  Look at the horses!!!!   Sister Beckstrand found her big horse to remind her of beautiful Sweden.  I don’t know how she is going to get this in her carry-on.

After Nusnas, we stopped to see the troll village.  Valbackens Stugby happens to be a fairy land of trolls and their homes, shops, and surroundings.  All of these items are hand constructed and are in small scale to fit the trolls.

Sister Hall and Sister Beckstrand outside the entrance to the village.

Elder and Sister Watson standing in front of the real home of the man who has carved and made all of this little troll village.

 President and Sister Beckstrand in front of the village home.

More pictures from the troll village.

President and Sister Beckstrand enjoying Valbacken Stugby!!!!

The old church in Falun, with the old church bell, and the grave site of “Fats Mats”, the miner who was preserved in the Falun copper mine.  Quite the story and one that Sister Beckstrand absolutely loves, in fact her is Sister Beckstrand kneeling behind the grave marker of Fats Mats.

On Friday, May 5, 2017, we were able to tour the Carl Larsson home and have lunch at the little café where he lived.  The Sisters really loved being able to see this incredible place and to view a lot of Carl Larsson’s paintings.

We had a wonderful time with the couples on this short retreat.  A big “Thank You” to Sister and Elder Hall, who arranged for the Couples Conference and put all the sites together.  Our couples are a great blessing to our mission and missionaries and we love them dearly.  President and Sister Beckstrand posed for one last picture and then headed back to Stockholm to speak at the Stockholm Stake Conference.