“Lindsi Norden of Vanersborg, Sweden,” Friend, July 1992, 40
Making Friends:
Lindsi Norden of Vanersborg, Sweden
When you meet seven-year-old Lindsi Norden, you could say either hello or hejsan. Lindsi speaks both English and Swedish and has been speaking them both since she was one year old. She especially likes to speak English. Her mother is American and her father is Swedish. Although her mother speaks excellent Swedish, Lindsi usually speaks English with her mom and Swedish with her dad.
Lindsi loves going to school and learning. When she was five, she taught herself how to read Swedish and her school teacher taught her to read English. One of her favorite things to read is Friends in the News.
The other two members of the Norden family are Vicki, 5, and Joey, 4. The family lives in Vanersborg, Sweden, a beautiful little town that lies on one of Sweden’s largest lakes. Lindsi loves to do things with her family. Last summer they went on an outing to the coast. Besides playing down by the water, Lindsi had the privilege of being chauffeured around in the limousine her father drives.
A favorite family activity for Lindsi is going to the forest and picking svampar (edible mushrooms). After they pick all they want, they take them home, cook them, and eat them in sandwiches.
Lindsi loves family home evenings, and she never wants them to end. Her favorite part is choosing games. Sometimes she makes up the games they play.
She enjoys helping her mom. Lindsi likes to fold clothes, and sometimes she likes to do the dishes. She really likes to help her mom bake. Taking care of Vicki and Joey is a big help to her mom.
Vicki is autistic.* Sometimes when she becomes upset, Lindsi sings to her. Vicki loves music, and singing makes her very happy. Lindsi really enjoys singing to Vicki and never complains about having a sister with a disability. Instead, she’s very loving and kind to her.
Lindsi enjoys going to church. Whenever she sees the bishop on Sunday, she runs up and gives him a hug. She especially likes Primary and has memorized the meanings of the Primary colors. She says that her favorite part of Primary is the games. When Joey started going to Primary, she helped him learn to love Primary too.
She knows that it’s important to learn about Heavenly Father and Jesus and to do missionary work. She asked her mom to “write down the time our church starts so I can give it to my friends.”
Lindsi is very active and outgoing. She loves to play with other kids, and she’d probably like to be your friend too.
Photographed by Peggy Jellinghausen
What beautiful scenery for biking!
“Substitute chauffeur”
Lindsi and Joey
Loving every minute of her swimming lesson
Lindsi and Vicki playing
The Nordens—Joey, Dad, Mom, Vicki, and Lindsi