STOCKHOLM * CHRIST---THE FRIEND OF FRIENDS * PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION * IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, THEN TRY, TRY AGAIN * MY LAST CHANCE TO GRAB A PIECE OF HEAVEN * ELDER ROWLEY, THE PIANO AND THE VIOLIN

STOCKHOLM

A beautiful P-day in Stockholm

CHRIST---THE FRIEND OF FRIENDS

This week we had Zone Conference. It was my last one, and it was a great conference. The entire focus of the conference was on Christ. Who He is for us, and how we can gain a personal relationship with Him. It gave me a great opportunity to reflect on how I see Him and how He sees me. Christ is the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and the Friend of Friends. One who has the majesty of these titles is also the one that will stand by us no matter what. 

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Public transportation in Stockholm is taking a step up.
It's only a temporary setup, so we won't get this treatment for long.

IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, THEN TRY, TRY AGAIN

This week I also had the opportunity to go on splits with Elder Banks in Västerhaninge. We were down in Nynäshamn walking along a road, when I saw a guy coming down the other side of the street. This was a side road with no sidewalks and not much traffic, but it was still an awkward distance between us. I closed the gap and started to talk to him. He told me that he got stopped by us (I was in Handen) yesterday. I remember thinking that was too bad, but then he continued. He said yesterday he had no time to stop, but then it led into a great discussion on Easter. We gave him The Book of Mormon and talked about it's purpose, and he turned out to be very positive towards it all. If at first you don't succeed, then try, try again. 

MY LAST CHANCE TO GRAB A PIECE OF HEAVEN

                              I am holding in my hand, a cheese bread.

                       It doesn't look like much, but it brings joy to my soul. 

                  It's only sold in Lidl, so when I was on splits in Västerhaninge, 

                        I took my last chance to grab a piece of heaven. 

ELDER ROWLEY, THE PIANO  AND THE VIOLIN

The highlight of the week was Saturday. Elder Rowley is in the area just north of us, and a member asked if he would play at a retirement home. I got to come along, and he played piano and I played the violin. Some of the residents were very lively, and one even got up to do a jig. They asked us where we were from, and we got to talk a little about what we do here. Several family members were visiting their relatives in the home, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. But I think we enjoyed it the most. 

FIND NEW LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST, MY FAITH IN CHRIST BRINGS GREAT JOY AND PEACE, THE OUTDOOR PING-PONG TABLE

FIND NEW LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST




MY FAITH IN CHRIST BRINGS GREAT JOY AND PEACE
This week has brought the much anticipated release of the newest Easter video from the church. It is more simple than the other videos they have done, but it has a powerful message. Different prophets from the Bible and the Book of Mormon are quoted, personal testimonies are given, and Handel's Messiah is the closing statement. The challenge is simple: find new life in Jesus Christ. This is something I've considered a lot for myself. I have grown up with the teachings of Christ. But I think one of the big differences between having the knowledge and finding new life is in application. I find that I continue to discover new strength and possibility from my faith in Christ. And I find joy in knowing that I am not alone in this faith. Because it brings great joy and peace, and that is something that everyone needs.

*Note from the editor. Here is the link for the new video.
https://www.mormon.org/easter#share

THE OUTDOOR PING-PONG TABLE

This is part of the playground to an elementary school.
The outdoor ping pong table is usually untouched.

ENJOYING OUR SUNDAY, THE GOSPEL---IT BRINGS ME JOY IN WAYS THAT NOTHING ELSE CAN, THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE, THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO SPEAK UP

ENJOYING OUR SUNDAY

                                                  Church on Sunday.

             Elder Banks and Elder Smith who are serving in Västerhaninge. 

                Then one of the members (Alex), myself, and Elder Muirhead. 

                                                Enjoying our Sunday. 

 THE GOSPEL---IT BRINGS ME JOY IN WAYS THAT NOTHING ELSE CAN

Last Monday, we were teaching Jodie, Alex, and Camila. It was a wonderful lesson. We began talking about the blessings that baptism and the gospel has brought to Jodie and the others. They started listing off all the different things that have changed for the better. Alex talked about how his children have begun praying for him, because he has pain in his knees that makes it hard for him at work. Camila talked about how she has been improving in school. Jodie talked about how her whole outlook on life has changed, and she has become so much more positive. I was beaming the whole time. Everything they talked about, all the positivity, has come because of the changes the gospel can make in peoples' lives. And I have taken the time to reflect for myself. How is the gospel working for me? It brings joy in ways that nothing else can.

THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE

                                         We have been having a lot of fog this past week, 

                                     and it seems to envelope us with a chill that bites to the bones.

                                       However, it also gives us a little variety in the weather.

                                It also makes it harder for the people to make out who we are.

               So next thing they know, the two shadows moving towards them start talking about God. 

                       To be honest, I don't think we need the fog to have the element of surprise. 

                    People don't seem to notice us until we open our mouths, and that's what we do.

THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO SPEAK UP

An inspirational sign that we saw last P-day.
That's why we need to speak up.
Because otherwise the world won't be changed.

THE HIGHLIGHT OF OUR WEEK, WE GOT TO GO TO THE TEMPLE, IMPRESSED WITH MOM, WALK TO THE BUS, A GAGGLE OF MISSIONARIES, DELAYED BECAUSE OF DELAYS, THE FORGOTTEN DOLL

THE HIGHLIGHT OF OUR WEEK

This was the highlight of our week. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see it. :) 

WE GOT TO GO TO THE TEMPLE
Elder Richardson came in from Gubbängen, and we got to go to the temple with Jodie, Elizabeth, and her son, Victor. It's cool to see the progress people make. 

IMPRESSED WITH MOM
After we went to the temple, we made lunch for them in the church. We had three other people join us, so we were making food for 9. By the time we had lunch ready, I was beat. I've got to say, I'm impressed with Mom. All those meals. Countless breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for thankless children. I take this time to salute you. When Jodie and Elizabeth came into the kitchen and saw the mess we made, they began to laugh. Apparently we had pulled out every dish possible to make our food. I think they appreciated the effort. 

WALK TO THE BUS

The walk from our apartment to the bus stop. 

A GAGGLE OF MISSIONARIES

A gaggle of missionaries.

DELAYED BECAUSE OF DELAYS

Our bus was delayed because of delays...very informational.

THE FORGOTTEN DOLL

It's like in every sad scene from a movie.
 The forgotten doll on the side of the road.

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.