Tjenare everybody,
Couple days late this week but we going with it anyways. Last week was a pretty solid week with a good amount that happened.
Tuesday and Wednesday were easily the two busiest days of the whole transfer (also the two last days of the transfer lol). Like usually happens we went around saying goodbye to all the friends in the area but definitely felt weird for both me and my companion to be saying goodbyes considering the area was closing.
We had lunch with our friend Yazan who I don't think I've talked about in the emails cuz he is Muslim and we haven't actually taught him anything but he is a fun guy who we've interacted with a good amount.
We met with the dude Hugo that we taught the Restoration to door knocking a couple weeks back and he was really cool and respectful just like last time.
We also met with our friend Rainmark, who if you have been reading my emails is the guy from like 3-4 weeks ago who has endless questions. He has had some personal issues so we hadn't seen him for a while but it was great seeing him and actually cool because he spent like the first 30 minutes of our conversation just expressing gratitude for me and my companion helping him increase his faith and help him on his spiritual journey. He then followed this by asking a bunch of super deep questions which we legitimately didn't have time for so we told him to meet with the other missionaries haha.
Another goodbye was our guy Bernard who is from Africa. Haven't really talked about him in the emails but he is a really nice and funny guy who ever time we calls him basically screams in the phone "HELLO…. HOW ARE YOU??" and then if my companion is talking he will say "How's my brotha from America???". He had a hard time understanding when we taught him but he always just called us his brothas and said he admires us for what we do. Awesome guy.
We also had a lesson with a guy Helge who we had only taught one other time in the transfer but he has been taught by the missionaries for a couple of years. Don't remember what I said about him last time but basically he has some of his own personal issues that hold him back from feeling the spirit and experiencing the gospel's blessings in their fullness. My companion said to me before that he feels like I am "Helge's guy" and I'm not sure why but I kind of felt like that as well haha. I think a lot of missionaries have a hard time being direct if there is a chance of it offending someone, but this lesson I just went in and kind of laid it out for him that he has a decision to make if he wants to change and keep moving forward on the path closer to God. That we can't expect God to help us progress if we aren't doing all that is in our power first to come closer to Him. I promise I said it in an understanding and loving way but of course still a little harsh and firm but I think that is what he needed. In both lessons with him I felt really strongly guided by the spirit with basically no lesson plan or idea of what I was going to say in advance.
And then of course we said bye to some members as well. The newer member Steven who we always spend time with, a kind of crazy old lady Birgitta who is also just really funny, and then some families as well. The members were definitely one of the top highlights of a rather slow and bleak transfer.
I feel like my attitude of the past transer wasn't the greatest because we didn't really see anything happen, but meeting with all these people in the last 2 days in Vendelsö (even if it's not that many people) gave me a gratitude for being able to meet all of them and left me with a more positive outlook on how the transfer went.
On Thursday we had transfers where all the missionaries who are either moving or getting a new companion gather in Stockholm before going to their respective areas. A lot of people moved this transfer which meant that my entire MTC district (group I was there with) was in Stockholm on Thursday, which was the first time all of us were together since the MTC close to a year ago (pic included). That was fun for sure as well as seeing some of the other missionaries I am friends with.
Since being here in my new area, we have continued to do a lot of street contacting (to my disappointment 🙃) . Don't have any cool experiences with sharing the gospel in this sense but I did have a nice interaction with this nice dude. It was raining pretty heavily outside and this dude walked by me who was carrying a bunch of grocery bags in each hand. He said no thanks but that was nice of me to offer and then kept walking. I ended up walking behind him like 30 seconds later and saw that he was trying to enter into a building with a pull handle but couldn't open the door because his hands were full. I just opened the door for him and by the tone of his voice I thought he was getting mad at me but he told me to go and get free churros at this churro food truck that was in the same square (he and his friend run the truck). It was really simple but still something that made me happy especially during the hours of street contacting we did that day. (pic included)
We have also done service for a few members (chopping wood and laying soil) as well as a few lessons. One of the couples that we did service for live out in the middle of the forest and try and eat most of what they can by things they have grown. Which meant that for lunch we got stinging nettle soup, which honestly wasn't as bad as it sounds (pic included).
For one the lessons we taught a cool lady from Bolivia about the Book of Mormon. Another was a lesson with a member from Romania who got baptized in January. She is an interesting lady for sure, and she also bought us chips, ice cream, soda, cake, and watermelon to eat during the lesson so didn't feel great about eating that haha. But she has a really cool testimony and conversion story. She met some missionaries in 2019 who gave her a card on the bus to come to church, but then her dad died and she had a lot of other things go on in her life, and then covid hit and all the churches closed. But she ended up making friends with a member many years later and eventually figured out about the church again through her. She still has the card those original missionaries gave her and she keeps it in her wallet.
We also had a lesson with one of our friends from Greece who is preparing for baptism. His testimony is so strong that he seems like a member already, but he is just trying to find a new place to live before he can get baptized which is exciting.
For the spiritual thought I wanted to connect back to the lesson with Helge that I talked about earlier in this email because I think it is a principle that can apply to us all. Like I said above I talked with Helge about how we can't just want things to change or be better without actually doing everything in our power to make happen what we would like to happen. Yes God is all powerful, but Him just fixing all of our problems would defeat the purpose of us being here on Earth. Things will happen according to His will and He will bless us in the ways that we need. But He also expects us to act and use our agency to try and solve our problems because that is how we learn and grow. The story of the Brother of Jared in the Book of Mormon is a great example of this. After he has built their boats in the way that the Lord commands him to, there is still some problems preventing the boats from being used. The Lord gives immediate direction for some of the issues, but in response to the problem of there being no light in the ships, He tells the Brother of Jared to bring Him an idea. The Brother of Jared brings him a simple idea, some stones, which the Lord works with and lights them up to solve the problem. This is how it often goes in our life. The Lord won't give us specific direction for every single problem, but will magnify our efforts as we put in honest effort through acting in faith. When I was talking with Helge I compared this to myself how I talk a lot about wanting to feel more joy in my life and pray to experience more joy, but sometimes I can get stuck feeling down and frustrated and not put in the little efforts that make a big difference. Of course the Lord wants me to feel joy, but what do I learn from just getting joy without doing anything to get it? As I have acted in faith and put in the little efforts to feel more joy, I have felt the Lord take those small efforts and help me feel great amounts of joy. At the beginning it can feel like our efforts aren't doing anything, but that is part of acting in faith. Continuing to put in the effort even when it doesn't feel like God is putting in His part. God will help us in His own will and timing in order to help us grow and become better. This really does apply to all aspects of life. As we all have our own problems we can act in faith, trusting that God is helping us the entire way.
D&C 123:17 "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed"
Sorry if the email was long/boring this week but I actually had some stuff to talk about so I figured I would tell about it:)
Have a good week❤️
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