This week went by fast and was a great one! Again, we worked really hard this week and have seen many blessings and success from our diligence. We found quite a bit of people who were interested! We are excited to work with them. I am doing great here in Katrineholm. I am happy and safe. Transfers are coming up in a couple weeks. It is so crazy how fast time is starting to go! I might leave Katrineholm but I hope I stay one more transfer because I really do love it here. I still also feel like there is something more I need to do here before I leave.
On Monday we had another great FHE with Pia and David. Pia made really yummy Indian food and then we had a great lesson centered around a talk in the Liahona from June called 'Seeking Rescue'. It was about 33 minors who got stuck in a mine in Chile I think. They were trapped for a really long time but they had to trust and rely on the rescue plan of those rescuing them. Like these men who were trapped in this mine collapse, sometime we can feel trapped by our weaknesses, setbacks, sins, and trials. But through the plan of salvation, we can find hope of a rescue. We also have to trust in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We need to each choose to surrender our will to trust in the Lord's. The Savior cannot take our will away from us. We our free to choose. The Savior stand beside us waiting to heal our wounds and to lift us up and bear our burdens, but He can only do that with our invitation. We have to choose Christ! It is through his atoning sacrifice that we can find rescue. He suffered everything, all pain and heartache, to be able to rescue us from ours. I promise all of you that no matter what you are going through, you will find peace, guidance, and comfort if you turn yourself to the Lord and apply His atonement into your life. I am so grateful for Christ's atoning sacrifice in my life. That I can begin each day new. That no matter how hard life gets, I can find strength and purity though Jesus Christ. I have such a strong testimony of the Atonement. I would not be standing here as a representative of Him without it. I love my Savior. I know He lives!
On Tuesday we went to District Meeting in Eskilstuna. It was a really good meeting and we talked about teaching people, not lessons. We went into depth about how we can become better teachers, and not informers. I learned a lot. After District meeting, we went to eat as a district, and then I stayed in Eskilstuna for splits with one of my best friends from the MTC, Elder Carrigan. Elder Carrigan talked his companion, who is the District Leader, into doing 2 day splits haha. I don't know if that is legal or not but he agreed with it so whatever. I wasn't complaining. Elder Carrigan and I worked really hard and gave out tons of copies of the Book of Mormon in a lot of different languages! We also taught both of his progressing investigators. One of them told us that he talked to Jesus and Jesus told him that he didn't need to be baptized. So that was funny. And then we taught the other one the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was such a great lesson. The spirit was so strong. We invited him to be baptized and he said yes, he just didn't want to choose a date yet. That was a really cool feeling that I hadn't felt in a while. Seeing someone decide to take the step of faith and follow Jesus Christ's example to become baptized. The spirit really was so strong. And It was also a really cool experience to teach a lesson with one of my best friends who I started this journey with, who the last time we taught together, we could not speak Swedish at all. Now here we are in Sweden teaching a real person together. It was a great lesson and the Spirit was really strong. The rest of splits was super fun! We did a lot of fun stuff! We played chess at night and Elder Carrigan thought he could beat me.. big mistake. And we went running in the morning and he thought he could keep up with me.. bigger mistake ;) haha love you buddy!
On Friday we went out to another small city in our area called Flen. We went to drop by the people that were interested when we were tracting there a week ago. We went down the same street that had the house that Elder Johanson opened to door to (walked at a brisk pace passed that house) a house with a lady that accepted a Book of Mormon and said she would read. Sadly, she had not read but said we could come back this coming week. So we ended up tracting for a few hours there and tracted into a super nice old couple who we talked to for about 30 min! They took a Book of Mormon and said we could come back this week! They were so funny haha. They husband was pretty proud of his gardening and went and got us tomatoes for us to try. For those of you who know me really well, know that I am not the biggest fan of tomatoes. Especially raw. It's crazy because there are so many foods that I hated before my mission that I love now, but raw tomatoes are just not one of them. So this guy wanted us to try them right there. So I took a huge bite out of the tomato and chewed it and pretended it was super good and smiled and told him he gardens a fine tomato. Then we left and I gave the rest of my tomato to Elder Johanson. Anyways enough about tomatoes haha I don't even know how I got on that subject.
On Saturday we had a lesson with Becky and Cat again. Becky is Cat's neice and is investigating the church. The lesson went really well. We talked about the Atonement. We had given her Mosiah 3 and 4 to read and she read them and loved them! We discussed a lot about those chapters. We also talked a lot about Joseph Smith. Becky kept saying how much she loves Joseph Smith! Neither one of them has seen the film Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration before. So we are going to watch that this week. Becky is doing awesome and came to church this week!
On Sunday we met in the school for church for the last time. It was bitter-sweet. For the last 3 months I have been meeting in a schoolhouse classroom for church. But we now have a chapel to meet it! Well it is a space above the city library. But I just realized how blessed we were to have a place to meet while this new chapel was being built, and how we now have a place to meet that we can call our own. I never realized how nice of a feeling it is it have your own chapel. A place to worship that is yours. My whole life I have been blessed with a meetinghouse to go to church in and that is such a huge blessing!
Well I am about out of time! I want to again thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and emails. They are much appreciated. I just want to quickly say that a mission is the best decision I have ever made and that a mission has changed my life. I love you all and I hope you have a great week!
MVH