Day 302

Kära familj och vänner,

Another awesome week here in Hoop-sala! Things are going great and Elder Blackburn and I are going hard. We had some fantastic experiences this week! I am doing so well and loving my mission with all my heart. I don't have so much time today so I am going to jump right into telling you all about the week!

Well, as said in my last email, transfers were this week! We dropped off Elder Johnson at the train station Wednesday morning. Elder Johnson was a great missionary and I'm going to miss him. And then Elder Walker came in with his greenie a little later that day. His name is Elder Muirhead and he is super cool! He is from Canada and basically a mini Elder Walker, so they are going to get along great. On Elder Muirhead's first night, we all went contacting in the middle of the city. Elder Blackburn and I talked to a lot of people on their way to a concert at the huge cathedral here in Uppsala. So we decided we would stop by for a second and listen. When we got there, we randomly saw the other Elders there. They said they had talked to people about the concert too. So we went inside for a sec. It was actually pretty scary, haha. It was dark except for some blue lights that were shown up on the pillars. And then there was a little girl singing in the front. She was singing a creepy song, haha, but apparently it's from Les Miserable or something. And then they switched the lights to red and it kind of looked like hell, haha. It was kind of cool. So that was Elder Muirhead's first experience in Sweden. We also lit candles and put them up in the church. It was a cool experience.

This week, we were able to meet with a new investigator named Klara. She is Swedish and about 24 and is really interested in the church. She had met with Elder Johnson and Blackburn two times before I was able to teach her. She is great and definitely prepared. We met her 3 times this week. Each time was such an amazing experience. Klara has so many questions and is really searching for the truth. We brought along a member around her age named Gabriella. They hit it off really well and they are great friends. She is a great influence on Klara because she is a convert herself of about 1 year. She has a strong testimony of the gospel and is really helping Klara progress. Klara doesn't know too much about the Bible or the Book of Mormon. So there is a lot of teaching that goes on during the lessons. On Friday, we were able to meet with her and teach her the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is Faith, Repentance, Baptism, The Gift of The Holy Ghost, and to Endure to the End. She had so many questions that we were only able to get through faith and repentance, while touching a little on baptism as well. The spirit was so strong in this lesson. We also had the opportunity to spend a lot of time on the Atonement. It is a special privilege to me to be able to teach someone about the doctrine of the Atonement of Jesus Christ who has never heard it before. I felt the spirit so strong as I expressed my gratitude to the Savior and what he did for us. We had such a great lesson and at the end, we invited her to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized. She said she would! We set up a date for November 28! She is awesome and we are excited to continue teaching her.

This week, I was able to interview an investigator in Gävle named Rickard for baptism. It was truly an uplifting and spiritual experience. Rickard has such a strong testimony and I am blessed to be able to have listened to his feelings and thoughts. He is truly ready for baptism and is going to be an amazing member. I felt the spirit so strong as I bore my testimony of the covenants of Baptism. It brought me back to my baptism and the feelings I had then. I am so grateful that I am able to renew those covenants each week. I am excited for Rickard.

A funny thing that happened this last week that was actually spiritual as well was just yesterday actually. We were on our way to the cemetery to see all the candles for this Swedish Holiday and we contacted this African lady. It started out really positive and then she snapped. haha She was saying how we were wrong about everything, how we are going to hell, saying all this weird stuff. CRAZY. After a while talking to her we realized she knew nothing about what we believe or teach, and that she was some sect of a Christian church. We tried sharing with her but she was just not letting us talk. She said that Christ only died for those who accept him. She then said she wanted "pray" for us. She said after she prays for us, we will know that we need to get out of mormonism. We chuckled and said that we highly doubt that, but she can try. She first prayed for me by grabbing my hand and just started yelling gibberish. I thought it was some voodoo curse at first but then I realized after a second that she was praying to Jesus so I let her continue. She said that she was speaking in "tongues" but was really just shouting a mix of Swedish/English/nonsense. It was pretty funny actually. Saying "set this man free from mormon religions!" and "save this man Jesus!" I was just sitting there staring at this lady and thinking about my own faith and the knowledge I have. I had such a burning feeling in my chest that I knew without a doubt was the Holy Ghost. She then finished and did the same thing to Elder Blackburn but touched his head and was saying the same kind of stuff. She then finished and asked us how we felt. I looked her in the eye and said, "You know, I really felt the Holy Spirit while you were praying, testifying to me that what I believe in is true. That Jesus Christ suffered and died for each one of us and he did that because he loves us more than we understand." I am so grateful for the knowledge that we have about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful to be a part of this church. I was thinking about it, out of all the different religions and churches and faiths there are, our church is really the only religion that makes sense. It just works. I am so blessed to be a member of this church.

Last night was a holiday in Sweden called "Alla Helgons Dag" or "All Saints Day". Alla helgons dag in Sweden is a day of remembrance when lighted candles are placed in cemeteries to remember friends and loved ones who have passed away. It is pretty much Sweden's Halloween. It was so cool! There were candles everywhere! So we were able to go walk around the cemetery last night at it was really cool! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and I'm kinda mad that they barely celebrate it here. I hope everyone had a good Halloween back home!!

Well I need to wrap this up because I'm totally out of time. But I just wanted to let you all know that I am doing great and that I am happy. I love my mission so much. It is the best decision I have ever made in my life. I have been changed in so many ways. I am becoming the person I have always wanted to be and that I know Heavenly Father wants me to be. I am seeing lives change for the better. It is amazing. If you are worthy and contemplating whether or not you want to serve a mission and you don't, you are making the biggest mistake of your life. Serving the Lord for two years is honestly the biggest blessing I could possibly ask for. I love being a missionary!

Quote of the week: "If you want to punch Satan in the mouth, open yours and preach."

Have a good week and know that I love you!

MVH

Äldste Bailey