Happy new year!

Godt Nytår! 

I think last weeks email was titled the same thing, but I'm not sure. I hope everyone had a good new year! :) My new year was kinda interesting. The church didn't allow European missionaries to be out past 9.30pm due to security threats, so we spent the new year inside. It was pretty fun though. We saw a bunch of fireworks and all that jazz, so it was pretty cool. New Years in Denmark is way better than July 4th in USA. The entire sky is constantly lit up for 20 minutes after the new year. It's really cool. You'll hear fireworks non stop from 8pm to 3am the next morning. The streets are littered with fireworks. It's really cool. Anyways...

This week, my companion and I gave trainings in the Odense districts, Esbjerg district and Fredericia district this week, so we had a lot of time out of our area. We were also on splits in Odense, which is the 3rd biggest city in Denmark. It was a lot of fun. Odense is a really cool place. It's where H.C. Andersen, Walt Disney's sidekick, is from. Pretty classy place. It was nice to go back to Esbjerg and see my old stomping grounds. I miss that place!

What else happened... Well, I don't really know. The 31st and the 1st were non-proselyting days and the 2nd, (today), was designated for apartment deep cleaning. I've never scrubbed a more disgusting shower in my life. At least it's over with. 

Since it's the new year, I'll send a scripture that I shared with my zone at the trainings. It's in Alma 60:23. It says, "Now I would that ye should remember that God has said that the inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also." This year, you can look around yourselves. What needs cleansed? What needs fixed? How can you change that? What can you do to affect the circumstances around you? What can you do to improve yourself? God himself has stated that the inward vessel (us) must be cleansed (or improved) then shall the outer vessel (our surroundings, circumstances, etc) be cleansed also. We must first be the ones to make the change. God knows better than we do. If we want our surroundings to change, the change starts with ourselves. One person really can make a difference, and that person is you. You can decide your destiny. :) 

Happy new year everyone! I love and miss you all tons! Happy 2017!

Love, 

Æ. Taylor Howes