BYU NewsNet - BYU Young Ambassadors tour Europe, leave lasting memories

By Kevin Earl

The Young Ambassadors are currently representing the university, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the United States to government officials and citizens while performing in northern Europe.

The BYU group is touring the Nordic countries of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland presenting their musical show and performing at firesides. Before some performances, the group hosts influential and prominent citizens at VIP receptions.

Among the guests in Copenhagen was the priest who oversees the church that houses the original Christus statue by Bertel Thorvaldsen. He shared his experience of President Gordon B. Hinckley’s visit to the church with BYU group members.

“He was obviously deeply affected by his meeting with President Hinckley,” said Randy Boothe, artistic director for the BYU Young Ambassadors.

Bertel Haarder, Danish Minister of Education and Religious Affairs attended the reception and the performance and greeted the group during its green room meeting before the show.

Jordan Dickison, a student in the group who served a mission to Denmark, attended the receptions.

“I believe that probably 30 percent of all the good that was done in Denmark was done just in that VIP meeting itself,” Dickison said. “And then of course with our performances and of course with the host families but the VIP meeting was huge and without it we couldn’t have had the impact we did.”

In Odense, Denmark, the VIP reception included students from Denmark who had received scholarships to attend BYU. Their families also hosted members of the group overnight in their homes.

Skien, Norway welcomed the Young Ambassadors like stars with a crowd lining a red carpet. The performance followed a day of lectures and workshops. A Norwegian opera singer, Anders Vangen, attended many of the events and served as an emcee at the beginning of the show after singing two songs.

On the day of their performance in Oslo, the Young Ambassadors were hosted at the parliament building by Dagfinn Hoybraten, a member of parliament, the former Minister of Health and the current head of the Christian Democrat Party in Norway.

John Hadlock, a political science major in the group, was impressed by the host.

“He’s a good, good man,” Hadlock said. “I was touched by how much he wanted to do what’s right. His tactics may be different in a political perspective than me, but that’s his goal — to do what’s good, to do what’s right.”

While touring the building and learning about the history of Norway, the group was also greeted by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament. Hoybraten also attended the VIP reception and the performance. Both the Deputy Speaker and Hoybraten have spoken at BYU.

“I was just grateful to have that experience,” Hadlock said. “Walking through their parliament and through their building reminded me of my deep love inside for America … and then when the Deputy Speaker of the House came in, it’s not every day that you get to meet the Steny Hoyer of Norway.”