Day 418 - Transfer Time!

Hallå hallå mina vänner! 

It's that time again! Transfer time! This week has been crazy but also amazing! It was my last week here in Utby so I wanted to give it everything I had. We worked really hard and have been blessed so much this week because of it. 

Soooo, if you haven't already figured it out, I will be transferring! I know it doesn't mean much to a lot of you who read my emails because to you, I'm just going to another city with a weird name. But -  it's big news here! So right now, I'm serving on the west side of Sweden, a little bit south in a place called Göteborg, or Gothenburg in English. But I received a call this week from the mission president telling me that I would need to pack my bags cause I would be heading north! That's right folks, the place I've been wanting to serve for a long time! The northern part of Sweden. The whole northern part of the country is called "Norrland". So I am super excited. I am heading up to a city called Umeå (oo-mee-oh). It is supposedly a beautiful city with a great ward and it will be super fun and a great experience. I was also informed that I will be a zone leader over the Norrland zone. I am super excited and ready for the challenges and opportunities that will come. I know this will be a good way to help me stretch and grow and I'm thankful for the opportunity I have as a missionary to do that. I am nowhere near perfect and in a way I feel a little inadequate for the job. I know this will be a good and humbling experience and that the Lord will help with my weaknesses and flaws.I really look forward to helping and inspiring the missionaries in this zone. I am super excited to head up there and get to work!

So this week, we were able to go on splits with the zone leaders. I was able to spend the day with the legendary Elder Featherstone! I was able to welcome him back to the grind since he has been sitting in his cushy car for the past couple transfers hahaha jk but it was honestly such a good time and I learned so much from him! I consider him one of my closest friends and it was so fun to work with him again! We were able to just go out and hit the streets and talk to everyone! We talked to so many awesome people and taught some amazing lessons on the street. It is such an amazing privilege to be able to go out everyday and bear testimony of the restored gospel with all my heart!

Elder Featherstone and I were able to meet with one of our investigators that we've been struggling to meet with during my time here in Utby. His name is David and he is from Africa and just an overall stud. Elder Featherstone and I taught an amazing lesson and the spirit was so strong. We taught about the restoration. We put a focus on the priesthood authority that has been restored back to the earth through Joseph Smith and how it is only our church who has that authority. It was actually pretty cool because that morning, when I was studying, I read how Christ gave priesthood power to His apostles. It hit me that priesthood power and authority is something that is given. It says it right there in the bible. There are so many people and churches who claim to have power to heal and to perform ordinances, yet they haven't received that power from anyone or anywhere. So it is so important that the true priesthood power of God is given to man by the laying on of hands. We brought that up with David and he really liked it and agreed. Anyways, he loved the Book of Mormon so much and the lesson went so well. He agreed to read and to pray to ask God if it was true. The spirit hit me so strong when I recited the words from the first vision. I also invited him to be baptized with boldness and I know he felt he felt the spirit strong because he accepted. Afterwords we had a kneeling prayer together in his apartment and you could just feel the power of the spirit in the room so strong. It is such a blessing for me to be able to take part in this amazing experiences and to watch people accept and learn about the restored gospel. I am so grateful to be able to testify and bear witness of the truthfulness of our message which brings so much happiness and peace to our lives each and every day. I know that Elder Williams and his new companion will take good care of David and help lead him to the waters of baptism.

Sonyaa is doing awesome. She is very sincere about finding an answer and we are helping her along the path. She came to church and we met with her this week as well. She is definitely progressing, but slowly. I know that the spirit is working inside of her. We are just really helping her recognize her answer. She has prayed a lot about the Book of Mormon and hasn't really felt an answer. We are helping her recognize the promptings and answers that come from the Holy Ghost and how she can best understand them. I think that is the hardest thing for her. We will continue to help her out. She said that God hasn't told her that the book is not true and that this church could very well be Christ's church on the earth. She is so amazing and I know she will eventually be baptized!

Well my friends, it's time for me to bounce. Next time you tune in, I will be up in reindeer country! I am so blessed to be a representative of my Savior Jesus Christ and to be able to go out and give him my all every day and serve him with no regrets. Thank you for everything guys! Know that you are in my thoughts and prayers! 

Strength and Honor

MVH

äldste Bailey