Hello,
Pretty uneventful week again. But we did get transfer news and because this area is so slow it will be closing which makes another area that I have only stayed in 1 transfer (6 weeks). I know it is hard to keep track of because I have moved so much but the new area that I am going to will make my 6th area in 8 transfers so pretty crazy. The area is called Södertälje and is only about 40 minutes from where I am now, so also just a bit south of Stockholm. But this one is actually a city rather than just a little suburb. From what I've heard all the missionaries that serve in Södertälje really really love it so I am looking forward to it. My new companion is from Australia but besides that I don't know much about him but he seems like a chill guy.
As far as the week only a few mentionable things. We found a few people who seemed extremely interested but two of them blocked us the next day and the other has already stopped replying. More confirmation to me that this area is meant to close😃.
On Wednesday I got an operation on my toe for my ingrown toenail so since then I have been wearing a sandal on one foot and a shoe on the other. Have definitely gotten a lot of comments from random strangers about it including a lady saying she thought it was a new trend haha. Unfortunately the toe is infected though so will be going back to the hospital before I leave.
On Thursday it was Swedish national day. If you read Zach's emails he talked about how in Norway the national day is like the biggest day of the year for them. In Sweden it isn't like that because there is midsommar which is a celebration on the longest day of the year in a couple weeks and they take that holiday really seriously. So most Swedes don't even celebrate the national day but there was a ward party with grilling and some lawn games and then we sang the national anthem. Nothing crazy but it was still fun.
That was basically it for the week. The members continue to be awesome and the finding continues to be too much🙃. Also gave a talk in church on Sunday and it seemed I was able to touch some people through that so that was nice.
One of the members we met with this week is a lady that is from Mexico that moved here because she married a Swede but her husband and kids are all not members. We thought our spiritual thought would be given to some of the family so we prepared something really simple, but it ended up being just her. It ended up being a good discussion though. We read some verses in Alma chapter 32 that explain faith in a simple way. We normally read a few verses before but then focus a lot on verse 21 because it gives a simple definition about what faith is. However she read verse 19 and had some good thoughts. "19 And now, how much more cursed is he that knoweth the will of God and doeth it not, than he that only believeth, or only hath cause to believe, and falleth into transgression?" We talked about this verse in relation to faith, how we all in our lives receive different spiritual experiences, big and small, that can help us build our faith and testimony in God. Through that faith we create a relationship with him, helping us realize that keeping His commandments and living His gospel are important. This means that we are more accountable and expected to keep following Him because we already know that it is something good for us. After determining this we had a discussion about the things that we can do in our life to make sure we do keep believing in God after we have received that testimony. I think of a quote from President Nelson that emphasized the importance of consistent scripture study. "With frightening speed, a testimony that is not nourished daily "by the good word of God" can crumble. Thus, the antidote to Satan's scheme is clear: we need daily experiences worshipping the Lord and studying His gospel." I think our prophet makes it pretty clear that daily experiences studying the gospel are vital to maintaining our testimony and our faith. I can definitely say that on my mission I have gained a love for the scriptures and I really have been able to see how they have deepened my testimony and faith and changed me as a person. I encourage you all to put in the effort required to have daily experiences with the Lord. Of course excuses will always be there if we want them to be but the Lord will bless us with His spirit and stronger faith and testimony as we put in effort from our side.
Have a blessed week🙏
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