Hej då (BYE), ELDER MUIRHEAD, NEITHER OF US ARE FROM UTAH OR LUCKY NUMBER 13, 4-DIGIT CODE, WE WOULDN'T WANT THE COPS CALLED ON US---WOULD WE? IT GREW FEATHERS, IT'S COLD,THE NEW CHAPEL

 Hej då (BYE)

Saying hej då to Elder Richardson

ELDER MUIRHEAD

My new companion, Elder Muirhead.

NEITHER OF US ARE FROM UTAH OR LUCKY NUMBER 13
He hails from Calgary, Canada. The tallest of my companions, and the first to not come from the US of A. It really gives people a shock when neither of us are from Utah, and one is even not from the US. It gives us credibility. At least for some people. I thought Canada and the US were almost synonymous, but I've found several differences in culture and language as we speak. He just got here from Uppsala and is excited to be in a ward as big as Handen's. He's lucky number 13 of my companions, but that shouldn't be a problem, eh?


4 DIGIT CODE

You need a 4-digit code to get into the building.

WE WOULDN'T WANT THE COPS CALLED ON US, WOULD WE?  
Almost every apartment door in Handen has a port code. Which means you need a 4-digit code to get into the building. We had someone we were trying to reach who lived in this building. My companion suggested that we guess the code. I wasn't too sure, but when I saw this paper, I decided it was probably better we didn't. Apparently other people have tried breaking in, and we wouldn't want the cops called on us, would we?


IT GREW FEATHERS

IT'S COLD
I like to think that even the snow is getting cold, so it grew feathers to try and gain some warmth. Either that or the humidity in the area has condensed and frozen on the blankets of snow. Personally I think there's only one explanation. It's cold. 


THE NEW CHAPEL

The new chapel being built here in Handen.

THESE TWO BOOKS HERE, A FAMILY WITH SO MUCH POTENTIAL, BAPTISM ON SATURDAY, THE GOSPEL IS BEAUTIFUL IN ALL IT'S SIMPLICITY, MAKING SIDEWALKS AN ADVENTURE, THE LAKE

JANUARY 18, 2016

THESE TWO BOOKS HERE

My only disappointment in seeing these two books here, was that they weren't checked out to someones home.

A FAMILY WITH SO MUCH POTENTIAL

Each week, we plan. However, things don't always go according to plan. In fact, they usually don't. This week was no exception.  On Wednesday, we were visiting Jodie and her family. We had our plan, and we went ahead with that. As we finished up our lesson, everything felt great. I always leave their place with a smile on my face. But this is when plans began to be changed. She told us that she had been dealing with a lot of opposition towards baptism. She wanted it, but there has always been something holding her back. She asked for a blessing, and what came next was an even bigger surprise for us. She asked to be baptized that Saturday. Elder Richardson and I looked at each other, thought about it, and then realized the rest of the week would be much different than expected. We began going over the logistics of it all, and we made some calls. The next few days were spent organizing everything for her baptism. Long story short, she was baptized this Saturday. Her husband and children were there, and it was a wonderful time. We had great support from the ward. But the next day was even better, as we found ourselves with the whole family sitting in church. I couldn't help but smile as I looked down the row. A family with so much potential. It's exciting. 

BAPTISM ON SATURDAY

Alex, Jodie, Elder Richardson and me

THE GOSPEL IS BEAUTIFUL IN ALL IT'S SIMPLICITY

I got another surprise as one of the speakers began his talk with baseball. I've seen two baseball fields my entire time in Sweden, and they had not been used. So it was a pleasant surprise when he acknowledged the simple gospel truths that can be seen in baseball. He talked about how the Pros, each year, always begin training with the fundamentals. Back to the basics. No matter how good they are, they always go back to the basics. It's a simple message, but one of great import. It's exciting to teach people the simple truths of the gospel, because you get to rediscover the simple basics. Over and over again. The gospel is beautiful in all it's simplicity.

MAKING SIDEWALKS AN ADVENTURE

It went from below 0 to rain in one day. The next day it dropped back below 0 again, making the sidewalks an adventure. 

THE LAKE

Ice skating on the lake.

CONTENT WITH A VIEW FROM THE SHORE, COLD SPELL, BEAUTIFUL AND COVERED IN SNOW, IT'S AN EXCITING TIME TO BE A MISSIONARY IN SWEDEN, STOCKHOLM, SEED OF FAITH---DESIRE TO SHARE THE FRUITS

JANUARY 11, 2106

CONTENT WITH A VIEW FROM THE SHORE

With the cold spell, the lake froze up. They have the snow scraped off on the other side of the lake so people can go skating. We wanted to walk out on to it, but then we decided that we would be content with a view from the shore.

COLD SPELL 
On Wednesday this week, we experienced our first cold spell. It was not something that I had expected. At least not at this point on my mission. I have now had two green Christmases, so I just decided Sweden wasn't that cold. However, this week proved my wrong. I got bundled up in my thermals, a sweater, my coat, gloves, a hat, and my scarf wrapped snugly around my neck, and the cold managed to find me anyways. It was brutal, as I found myself fighting a losing battle. Our plans for the day were trying to speak with as many people as we could. Surprisingly, it went quite well. Despite the cold, we had people stopping to talk with us. Perhaps they were curious to why two kids would be out in this cold, or maybe they felt the warmth of the message. But the cold wasn't enough to keep them away. 

BEAUTIFUL AND COVERED IN SNOW

The other side of the water. It was almost all new fallen snow here, so everything was beautiful and covered in white snow.

IT'S AN EXCITING TIME TO BE A MISSIONARY IN SWEDEN

We recently got a new Ward Mission leader in this area, and he has been great. His job is to help us help the ward in the best way we can. We talked about some things we could do, and our biggest focus is The Book of Mormon. We've talked to the ward about what it means to have The Book of Mormon. We talked about the ways we can share The Book of Mormon with other people. And now the ward is taking the step to share it with their friends, to actively look for opportunities. It's been cool to see this shift in the attitude of the members with the New Year. It's not about the missionaries and the work they do, but it's about the direction this ward is taking. I have been impressed with the enthusiasm so many of these people are putting into the challenge, and it's an exciting time to be a missionary in Sweden. 

STOCKHOLM

Gamla Stan in Stockholm

SEED OF FAITH---DESIRE TO SHARE THE FRUITS

On Thursday, we took two of the youth in the ward on splits. They are both preparing to go on missions, soon, so we are showing them what we do. As we went along, I thought back to when I was preparing. I had no clue what it was like to be a missionary. I had never taken an opportunity to go out with the missionaries. He asked me what my advice was to missionary preparation. I had to pause and think about it. I told him I was impressed with what he was doing already, and explained that this is one way to prepare. The only other thing I could think of was to have a testimony. The words, to have a testimony, have always seemed like an abstract way to simplify why people do what they do. But I have begun to understand it a little bit better. I've been doing this for 20 months now, and I know that my testimony is far from complete. However, it is also a living organism. It grows and wilts depending on the care I put into it. The stronger that seed of faith has become, the greater the desire to share the fruits of it.

SHORT ON WORDS, MISSIONARIES, MAMA B., NEW YEAR'S EVE, TAMALES, CAROLING, KALLE ANKA---AKA---DONALD DUCK, AFTER SWEDISH JULBORD..., A LITTLE FACE SMILING BACK AT ME, GLIMPSES OF HANDEN

SHORT ON WORDS
I was going through my pictures, and I couldn't pick the ones I wanted to send, so I decided to send all of them. It'll be short on words this week, but I think I illustrate my point: Christmas was wonderful and I'm looking forward to the New Year :)

MISSIONARIES

Missionaries in mass movement.

 MAMA B.

We opened our presents with Mama B. A great start to Christmas day.

 NEW YEAR'S EVE

New Year's Eve -- Our President gave us permission to enjoy the festivities with members until 12:30. We welcomed in 2016 with great celebration. Also, just a side note -- the drink is non-alcoholic. The cool thing about New Years is that everyone lights off fireworks everywhere. We had fireworks exploding right outside of the balcony, and they pick some good ones too. I'd dare say that the citizens of Sweden can almost match a 4th of July celebration. But we won't make any drastic comparisons. It is sufficient to say that it was a good night filled with rumbling anticipation and joy of a New Year.

 TAMALES

When we arrived at Jodie's house (one of the people we work with), we were surprised with tamales. During that meal I even whipped out a few Spanish phrases. I surprised myself with my memory. 

 CAROLING

Caroling as a Zone.

 KALLE ANKA---AKA---DONALD DUCK

This is a part of one of the biggest Christmas traditions in Sweden. It's a program called, Kalle Anka -- better known to Americans as Donald Duck. Every Christmas Eve, at 3:00 p.m., the show starts. It is the same thing every year, with a collection of segments from Disney movies and other shorts. There are two segments that are switched out each year, which introduce the new Disney films. Other than that, it is the same thing each year. Luckily, this year I was able to understand the whole thing.

AFTER SWEDISH JULBORD...

After Swedish julbord, we were presented with this beautiful dish. I didn't have words to describe my joy. So I took a picture and started eating.

 A LITTLE FACE SMILING BACK AT ME

After our Christmas of stuffing our faces, we were invited over for breakfast. There were some many beautiful colors as vegetables kept being placed in front of us. Next thing I knew, there was a little face smiling back at me. (I even added a few more veggies to make it even healthier).

 GLIMPSES OF HANDEN

Handen Train Station

The entrance to a park in Handen.

My main bus stop wait.

ROBERT BAKER AND ELDER RICHARDSON

A few of the members of our district, and then
Robert Baker on the end. He was the first Swede I talked to when I was in the MTC. That was over Skype. Now I get to serve in his ward. He said my Swedish has gotten better. ;)
Elder Richardson is my new companion. He is the one to my left. Together we terrorize the streets of Handen. 

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST WAS ONE OF WORLDWIDE IMPACT
One of the treats we had this past week was our Zone Conference. The Beckstrands put together a conference with a focus on Christmas and why we celebrate it. They added some fun twists, and we even had a white elephant activity. But one of the focuses I really liked was on the birth of Christ in The Book of Mormon. His birth was reverenced by shepherds and wise men in the East --  a humble birth. But it was also rejoiced over on the other side of the world. His birth was one of worldwide impact. One that is not bounded by time. No other man who has ever been born into this world has had more of an impact than Jesus Christ. 



CAROLING ISN'T A THING IN SWEDEN

This past week we went caroling twice. Caroling isn't a thing in Sweden. But as we stood in tunnels out in the cold, people bustling past, we were able to reach out to people. We had people walk past and give us a smile, tell us good job, and pause to listen. We even had a few people who joined in. It was fun because we were able to touch people in the simple testimony of song.

MORE WONDERFUL PEOPLE TO BECOME FRIENDS WITH
Walking into church Sunday, was a crazy experience. There are three wards that meet in our meetinghouse here, and each ward is quite large. As people began filing in, I kept feeling overwhelmed by the number of people there. We had close to 150 people, which has been the biggest ward I've been in. I found myself feeling completely out of my element. No longer in the close company of our little ward in Kungsbacka, one can easily melt into the congregation. But the awesome thing is that each person I talked to had their own personality. It's a huge ward, but that just means more wonderful people to become friends with.

ELDER ROWLEY'S PAGE TURNER

One of the cool things about moving to Handen is that I'm around Elder Rowely again. 

He needed a page turner, and he knew the skills I have in that field. 

I was sight-read page turning. 

But it ended up sounding great. 

ALREADY A CHRISTIAN

Later that night, we were out tracting. We didn't have much luck as many were out of town, with friends, or just not interested. But the last door we knocked on, we met a friendly face. Already a Christian, she was happy to see two young boys out spreading the beautiful message of Christmas. She explained how every morning she listens to the radio. And about a week ago, they had a two hour talk show about Christmas. In the entire program, there was not one mention of Jesus Christ. And then we came along. She had us wait at the doorstep and came back moments later with a box of chocolates and two mugs to say thank you for the message we share. She was just as excited about the message as we are :)

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

President and Sister Beckstrand read us The Night Before Christmas with a little missionary twist.

SHOPPING AT IKEA, BIG CHANGES, WONDERFUL DAY, 24 HOURS LATER---HANDEN, PERSONAL NOTE FROM THE EDITOR, PHOTOS FROM HOME

SHOPPING AT IKEA
It's been quite the week. This last Tuesday we began preparing for the two new missionaries that would be moving in with us. The apartment is spacious and quite luxurious, but we were missing some of the necessary furniture, like beds. Naturally, we wanted a place for them to sleep when they got there, so we went shopping at good old IKEA. It was pretty fun being in Sweden and shopping at IKEA. Almost as fun as the next 8 hours that it took for us to figure out and assemble the bunk bed, desks, dressers, and chairs. But long story short, when they stepped through that door, everything was ready for them. We spent the next few days adjusting with all the changes that come with having two extra people in the apartment, and it was a good time.  

BIG CHANGES
Friday night, about when we felt like everyone was getting settled in, we got a call from President Beckstrand. My first thought was, what did I do wrong? That thought was quickly pushed aside as I realized I'd been a trying my best to be a good boy so Santa Claus will bring my some presents this year.  As he began to talk to us though, I realized some big changes were coming. So it was then that I found out that I would be moving back to the Stockholm area in a city called Handen. Elder Chugg would be sent to Katrineholm. And all the work we had put into that apartment to make it the 5-star living quarters it is, was for nothing. Regular transfers were a week before, so it definitely took us by surprise. 

WONDERFUL DAY
The next day we spent with the new Elders teaching them everything they needed to know about the area -- the people they should meet, where to shop for groceries, and everything. We had a wonderful day together, and we got in contact with many of the people we planned for.  Sunday came around, and we had to let the ward know. This was probably the toughest part of it. We had planned Christmas with the families I had been with last year, and we were all excited. But that was all pushed aside as we explained that there was a change in the plans this year. 

24 HOURS LATER---HANDEN
I was lucky that I could play my violin with the choir for our last Sunday there, and 24 hours later, I'm sitting in Handen typing up this email. Missionary work can often fall into a monotonous cycle, but there are definitely curve balls that can come our way. I was so glad for the chance to return to Kungsbacka, and I thank the people there who have had an impact on my life. But I also look forward to my new adventure here in Handen. 

P.S. Sorry, no pictures this week. My hard drive is deep inside my suitcases, and I haven't had time to unpack yet. :)

PERSONAL NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Since Aldste Sweat wasn't able to send photos, I will add some personal photos from home.  Merry Christmas!!!

PHOTOS FROM HOME

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, missing our 2 missionaries this year.

Denzel, the youngest in our family.

Giovanna, our oldest child.

Dominique, our oldest son.

Dante, our 4th child, at BYU Jerusalem.

Elder Sweat, far right, our 5th child currently serving a mission in Guatemala.

Arianna & Tiana, his two younger sisters.

Denzel, the baby, sitting on Santa's lap.

Terrell and Becca, the wonderful parents of Aldste Sweat!!!  

Flashback photo from the good old days of watching our boys play baseball, eating seeds together, and giving the refs a hard time!  

VARBERG

The Swedish coastline in Varberg.

THE WORST OF THE STORM HAS PASSED

On Friday, we had Elder Roosendaal with us. His companion traveled to Stockholm for the day to attend meeting, and he would be back later that night. However, there was a huge storm around Northern Europe that created a change of plans for us. Elder Roosendaal stayed the night with us and his companion was left to fend for himself on the streets of Stockholm. Trains were cancelled and there was quite a bit of damage done. For me, though, it was just another rainy day. Although, the gusts of wind did make it slightly unpleasant as I found myself assaulted by rain that found its way into my ear hole. That was a first for me. But the next day, Elder Roosendaal's companion made it home safe and sound. And as far as I know, the worst of the storm has passed. 

IT'S BEGINNING...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO ME?

If you haven't had the chance to check christmas.mormon.org, I would recommend it. This has been one of my favorite videos that I have seen in awhile. The story of the birth of our Savior is a reason to rejoice! But why? It's a question I have taken time to think about. Why is it important to me? And now, I extend that to you, discover why. 

THE FIRST CHRISTMAS

Joseph and Mary hold the baby Jesus on the night of His birth.

THE YOUNG CHRIST CHILD

A portrait of Mary and the young Christ child at the time the Wise Men brought gifts.

THE WISE MEN

The Wise Men present gifts to the child.

KUNGSBAKA FOR ANOTHER TRANSFER

This Saturday, we received the calls for transfers. Elder Chugg and I will be staying in Kungsbacka for another transfer. We will be receiving two new missionaries this week in our apartment. There are a lot of changes this week as we are receiving around 25 new missionaries to the mission. There will be many eager faces drinking in all the novelties Sweden has to offer. 

THE WARD CHRISTMAS PARTY

The bishopric dressed up to do a short sketch at the Ward Christmas party. As you can see, the kids are all mesmerized.