MY LAST TRANSFER, CANADIAN WAY TO SING "HAPPY BIRTHDAY," A VOID IN THEIR LIVES,THIS IS ALL I'VE GOT

MY LAST TRANSFER
We received transfer information last Saturday, and I was relieved to find out that I will be staying in Handen for my last transfer. Elder Muirhead and I are staying together, wreaking havoc on the city. In a good way of course. 

CANADIAN WAY TO SING "HAPPY BIRTHDAY"

Celebrating Mama B's birthday. She's a Canadian, so Elder Muirhead taught us the Canadian way to sing Happy Birthday. It goes like this, "Happy birthday eh, Happy birthday eh. Happy birthday eh, happy birthday eh..." and on. and on. and on. It's quite a catchy tune, though.

A VOID IN THEIR LIVES

When I think back on the week, one experience sticks out the most to me. Over the past three months, I have reviewed the ward list over and over again. As I've done it, there has been one name that stuck out to me. Earlier in the week, we received a call from the bishop who asked us to visit that family. I felt really good about it, because this was a confirmation for me that this was a family we should visit. When we arrived at their home, we had a great discussion with them. We found out that there was a void in their lives, and this was the time that they wanted to make a change with that. It was cool to see the way the timing worked out with everything.

THIS IS ALL I'VE GOT

Innebandy last Monday with some missionaries from the zone. I wish that there were more action shots of me making some buzzer-beater shots, but this is all I've got.

WHAT I DO EACH DAY, "IS THE GOSPEL WORKING FOR YOU?" UNITED IN OUR DESIRE, OUR BOAT, CASTLE WALLS,

WHAT I DO EACH DAY

It's often hard to decide what I should highlight from the week. For me, I feel like the days are very similar. There are new developments and new people, but it is simply what I do each day. Then I hear families talk about how their son or daughter never tells them about what it's like to be a missionary wherever they serve, and I try my best to bring out what I felt was interesting with the week. Overall the week was normal. We walked the streets of Handen, taught some people, and tried to help as many people as we could.  

"IS THE GOSPEL WORKING FOR YOU?"

On Friday, we had a Specialized Zone training. This is a time where we receive extra instruction from President and Sister Beckstrand, and the assistants as  to how we can improve our work. Our training was focused towards what it means to be converted. It's a word I hadn't considered all that much. But it carries a lot of meaning. One can be converted to the church, a missionary, or a principal, but our goal is to be converted to the Lord.  They talked about the importance of each member in the work we do. It's interesting really. I have almost always seen missionaries and members as separate in their work, conduct, and everything really. However, we (missionaries) are meant to go in to strengthen a ward and build it up. The base is the ward, and we as missionaries, are a type of catalyst. It's the work of God, the work that we strive to accomplish as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And we do it because we believe it will help people. A question I like to ask myself is one I heard in General Conference. "Is the Gospel working for you?" I think it's an important question, because when it is, why wouldn't we share it? And if it doesn't work for us, is there a reason? It's not always easy to answer the question, but it's quite simple.

UNITED IN OUR DESIRE

After the Zone training, we headed to the ferry to travel to Gotland. We had the opportunity to work with some other missionaries in the district. The island is historic and beautiful, but it was a crazy weekend. Most of what we saw was through the car window, as we went to our different appointments. Most of my time was spent inside the 5th floor where the branch meets on Sundays, and we got the opportunity to speak for them as well. The branch is made up of 12 active members, but there is a lot of growth going on right now. People from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Africa, Sweden, and the USA, made up the congregation on Sunday.  There were more people, who were not members vs. members of the church in the meeting.  It's interesting to see this kind of growth. A small group of people trying to improve their relationship with God and follow the example of Jesus Christ. Each of us there with different seeds of faith, but we were united in our desire. It was a new experience for me. 

OUR BOAT

CASTLE WALLS

Downtown Visby (on Gotland) is surrounded by castle walls.

ABBA, A SMILE AND A HELLO, I WANT ONE, INDIFFERENT TO MY ADORATION, FLASHY CAR, SECOND STORY WINDOW

ABBA

The museum for ABBA.

A SMILE AND A HELLO
As I sit here and think about the week, I realized something. The week blew by, but I feel like it took my memories with it. This week, almost everything we had planned fell through. People got sick, other plans came up, work got in the way. Whatever the case, the week turned out different than planned. But it was good. We spent a lot of the week out on the streets talking to people. The funny thing is that I'm getting to the point where I recognize people and they recognize me. Just last night we were walking home and someone yelled out to us, and said, "Hello." It threw me off, because I think that's just about the first Swede to ever do it. But it's getting fun to see the same people, and they still may not be interested. But they do greet us with a smile and say hello, and that's a good first step in my eyes.

I WANT ONE

           I don't know if you call it an ABBA-kopter or what, but I want one.

INDIFFERENT TO MY ADORATION

They seemed indifferent to my adoration.
I guess when you become successful rock stars,
 the cheer of one fan gets drowned out by the masses.

FLASHY CAR

Just a flashy car.

SECOND STORY WINDOW

Check out the mirror on the second story window closest the right. Haha, that way when someone calls at the door, they can also see who it is. I guess we're not going to be able to pretend we're the pizza guys.

WE LOOK NEAT AND WELL KEPT, WE DIDN'T SAY NO, I AM CONVINCED GOD IS THERE,THE ENTIRE FLOCK EXPLODED AND TURNED TAIL, PRAYER---A SIMPLE, YET BEAUTIFUL PRIVILEGE, SPLITS WITH ELDER COX

WE LOOK NEAT AND WELL KEPT
This last Tuesday, Elder Muirhead and I were walking along the streets talking to people, when we ran into a gymnasiet student (high schooler). We were surprised when he asked US if we could meet. He needed to interview a representative from the Church of Jesus Christ, and we happened to talk to him that day. The interest level didn't go much further than his grade, but him and his friends brought up some interesting questions. One of my favorite things that they highlighted was the fact that we look neat. Just in general, as a church, we look neat and well kept. I think it's a wonderful compliment to each of the members. We explained, of course, that it is because we believe that we should respect our bodies and dressing in a modest way is part of that.


WE DIDN'T SAY NO

This Tuesday, we will be officially celebrating what is called Fat Tuesday.
 It is accompanied with these delicious rolls shown above. They are called semlor.
Inside is an almond paste topped with some homemade whipped cream.
It wasn't quite Fat Tuesday when we were presented with these delicacies, but we didn't say no. 

I AM CONVINCED GOD IS THERE

On Wednesday, we met with a guy named Fredrick for our first time. As soon as I stepped into his apartment, I almost died. It was like stepping into a small recording studio. I took a minute to admire his equipment, and he played us a few things. Then we moved on to a lesson and discussion on faith. He described the way he found God in a simple way. He did not always have the belief, but there came a time in his life where he had no one else to turn to. The interesting thing was that he when he described his experience, he explained that because of it, he is convinced that there is a God. We then talked about how we can have these experiences over and over again. It's not meant to be just a one time experience, and he agreed. When we left, I felt uplifted as I realized the experiences I have had in my life. And I can say, I am convinced God is there. It's definitely a comfort for me.

THE ENTIRE FLOCK EXPLODED AND TURNED TAIL

This is a screenshot from a short video we had taken.
 We came across a flock of ducks, and Elder Cox lifted up The Book of Mormon.
In that moment, the entire flock exploded in front of him and turned tail.
We are still not quite sure what that means.

PRAYER---A SIMPLE, YET BEAUTIFUL PRIVILEGE

On Saturday, we had our appointment with Martina, the lady who asked us to come back next week. Her friend, Kristina was there, and we had a wonderful discussion together. She described herself as the typical Swede. Not really a belief in God -- goes to church for marriages, funerals, etc. But to end our meeting, she offered a prayer. Her first prayer. One part stuck out to me, as she said I'm praying for my first time, and maybe I should have done this a long time ago. But it's never too later to start. Prayer is something that is meant to help us. A comfort that our Father is there for us. And it's something that is for everyone. Sometimes a prayer is sent from a pleading heart in a dark time, and other times a prayer is a song of joy as we thank God for the life we have. But a prayer is a time to speak with our Father who loves us. What a simple, yet beautiful privilege. 

 

SPLITS WITH ELDER COX 

A little playground that Elder Cox and I came across when we were on splits this last Wednesday.
 1 Nephi 13:10-13

FEBRUARY 1, 2016, RANDOM ART, FAMILIES CAN BE TOGETHER FOREVER, Västerhaninge Chapel, MESSAGE OF JOY, PERFECT EMBODIMENT OF SPRING, AS LONG AS THE STREAM CONTINUES TO FLOW...

 FEBRUARY 1, 2016

RANDOM ART

You can always count on Sweden to have random art wherever you go. I don't know that the significance of this sculpture is or why it is here, but at the very least, it breaks up the succession of apartment buildings.

FAMILIES CAN BE TOGETHER FOREVER
This week, we taught Jodie and her family. It was fun to see them all there, as a family. As we discussed how we received The Book of Mormon, I remember thinking how awesome it was that we were all talking about this together. The family is central to everything we do. The intent of the teachings of Christ is to lift each person. However, it is in a family that we can obtain the greatest joy and receive support that can always be there with you. I don't know what this family's future is, but as I meet with them, I hope more and more that they can share in the joy of knowing that families can be together forever. Each member of the family has been taking their own steps forward, and it is a delight to see the progress.

Västerhaninge Chapel

Västerhaninge Chapel. We actually meet in three different buildings, because there is not enough capacity in the building for the three wards that meet on Sundays.

MESSAGE OF JOY

One of the members we visited gave us the name to one of their friends they thought could benefit from the message we have. It's hard to talk about religion in Sweden, and it is almost taboo. So I think that the family was holding their breath as they waited to hear back from us. When we visited their friend, it was a smile that greeted us at the door. When we explained that this family thought we had something that could help her, she agreed to visit. Not that day, as we had come at a bad time, but we will be visiting them later on this week. When we let the other family know how it went, they got super excited. They are excited to share this message of joy, and we are too.

PERFECT EMBODIMENT OF SPRING

With the blue skies we have been having, and the birds singing in the air, I feel like this picture is the perfect embodiment of Spring. Of course, I realize Spring isn't here quite yet, but sometimes it sure feels like it.

 AS LONG AS THE STREAM CONTINUES TO FLOW...

With this week, we received an unexpected warm front. All the snow melted away, and at times I almost felt like the winter could be over. Unfortunately, it's unheard of for the winter to be finished in January, so I look forward to the month of February with great anticipation. However, when I woke up this morning, I found new snow covering the city. So perhaps my hopes are in vain. But as long as the stream continues to flow, I think it will be a manageable chill.