The Book Is Always Better Than The Musical

Email written: 2/26/18

Hallå allihopa!

It's been a great week here in Stockholm and I'm glad to finally feel 'moved in' and not so stressed out about living in a new city. I'm really starting to get to know the Tunnelbana (Metro) Stations and I don't feel so lost now as we walk around the city and get from one appointment to the other. Last P-Day we were actually able to walk around Gamla Stan and go into a lot of cool little shops. After last monday, I felt right at home and while I miss Gävle quite a bit still, it's not longer a burden on the work here in Stockholm. 

1) Homies from last p-day

This past week, I went on splits with my dude Äldste Winkel, who I actually went 'greenie contacting' with my very first day in Sweden, so it was fun to see how far we both have come in our language and missionary skills. I went down to Gubbängen for the day, which is still Stockholm, but just a little further south from the city. We had a lesson planned that night, but had about an hour and half before we would meet the investigator, so we decided to go knock on some doors in the area before we met with him. We had a really good study together before going out and decided that we would share the Bible Video of the Prodigal Son, because Äldste Winkel knew that he liked the Bible, but wasn't actually sure if he was down about the Book of Mormon yet. So we decided we would ease into the restored gospel by first talking about how much we has Latter-Day Saints love the Bible and how we even have all these videos. 

Well, we went on our way and began tracting. We didn't really see any success, and had a few doors slammed in our faces, pretty common here in Sweden. Well, we decided that we needed to say a quick prayer before going any further. We held a quick prayer in the stairwell of an apartment building and then kept on going. The next door that we knocked on was a very old lady, at least 85 years old. She didn't have any teeth and it was absolutely impossible to understand, but we said that we had a message of hope and joy that we would like to share with her and she invited us in. We knew we wouldn't stay very long as we had a lesson to get to, but we were able to show her the Book of Mormon and read a quick verse with her. She kept saying that we were angels sent directly to her and that she really needed us. She then started to get really sad because she wanted to give us a gift but she didn't have anything to give us, but we assured her that we didn't need anything, just wanted her to try the book herself. She then looked at me and then started leaning over towards me......at this point I have no idea what is going on and neither does my companion. She turns her check towards me and is just like 'kiss me' hold up...you want me to do what? She just left her cheek there expecting to kiss me and I just look at Elder Winkel who is dying of laughter. We quickly stand up, put our jacket and shoes on, and then run hahaha. Probably one of the weirdest experiences so far on my mission.

Well, we then met our investigator to teach our lesson, and turns out he had brought 2 other friends with him, so we were able to teach 3 people in one lesson!! They were all from Peru, and his 2 friends could only speak spanish so one of them translated for the other 2. We showed the Prodigal Son, and all of them started to get a little emotional as all of their mothers had taught them that story growing up and it was the first time they saw a video of it. Elder Winkel and I were truly guided in our studies that we needed to share that specific Bible Video. They all accepted El Libro de Mormon and just like that taught one of the most spiritual lesson with 3 Peruvian homies. What a miracle!

4) sjukt roligt

After our splits adventure, I teamed back up with Äldste Baggett and we went to the China Theatre to pass out Mormons Böcker outside the Book of Mormon musical. We passed out a ton of books and it was such a fun experience!! Everyone was loving what we were doing and appreciated the book på riktigt! It was freezing cold that night and I thought that my face was going to fall off as we waited outside the theater, but once people started coming out and we were passing out the word of God, we all became instantly warmer and started to think more about the people, than we did the cold. We'll be passing books out again in about 2 weeks and I'm hoping that we can give even more books out next time. The book is blue and the church is true! 

Hope you all have a great week! Hej så länge

Pictures:

1) Homies from last p-day

2) City Hall

3) One of investigators who invited us to play badminton

4) sjukt roligt

5) Dinner with some members from Brazil! 

-- Äldste Steele

2) City Hall

3) One of investigators who invited us to play badminton

5) Dinner with some members from Brazil! 

Välkommen till Stockholm

Email written: 2/19/18

new comp

Well, I've officially moved to Stockholm to be companions with my boy Äldste Baggett! This city is INSANE with pretty much every person either from out of town, or they have a very important coffee break to get to, so we'll be setting up some good plans to find people to teach here in Stockholm. 

Not a whole lot has happened this week, just because a huge chunk of it involved travelling to a new city and getting used to the hustle and bustle of Stockholm. 

I'll definitely have more to say next week, but just know that I'm excited for my time here in Stockholm. Life is good (even if it's stressful haha)

Hej så länge! 

Pics:

new comp

super cool church right by where we live

-- Äldste Steele

super cool church right by where we live

Veronikas Dop och andra goda nyheter!

Email written: 2/12/18

Tjena Tjena!!

5) me and veronika

Wow, and just like that, another transfer is in the books. 4 whole transfers spent here in Gävle and these past 24 weeks have been some of the best weeks of my life. I learned so much here in Gävle and I'm so happy that I had the chance to serve here. The members here in Gävle are just the greatest people in the planet and it's going to be really hard to say goodbye to them this Wednesday. Yep, I'm moving from Gävle this week. I am getting transferred to the beautiful city of STOCKHOLM!  I am so excited for the next step of my journey here in Sweden. Stockholm is exactly where I need to be for the next little while and so I'm super pumped for all that I'm going to learn over the next few weeks after living in such a big city with so much going on. It'll be quite the change-up from Gävle when it was just me, my companion, and the city to ourselves. I also think that there will be 5 other sets of missionaries at church with us on Sundays, so yeah, a lot happens in Stockholm!

This past week could not have been a more perfect ending to my time here in Gävle. Veronika, our investigator that we've been working with since about the 3rd week I was here in Gävle, was baptized and confirmed this past week as a member in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! It all started on Wednesday when Veronika had her interview before her baptism. I was so so nervous, because 1.Our district leader was running late because trains are always running late when you need them to be on time and 2. I had no idea if the interview would go well because Veronika is a little shy and I don't know, there were a lot of factors that were making me super super nervous and stressed out. Well, there was no need to stress out about it, because Veronika passed with flying colors and was just so ready for baptism! 

2 days later, we were invited by Veronika and Araz to have dinner with them the day before the baptism. We were able to come over and teach the last few things before the big day, focusing a lot on the temple, that being Veronikas next step! Everything went super well, the food tasted amazing, and everyone was looking forward to the big day. It was kind of funny, because I said the prayer of the food and said something like 'vi ber att allt ska gå bra med Veronikas dop imorgon' and then Veronika was like 'oj just det...jag ska döpa mig imorgon' The week had gone by so fast, she didn't realize that it was already time for the baptism! haha Well, then at the end of the dinner, we asked Veronika if she could say a few words after her baptism, maybe about what she learned and what she knows to be true. At that point, she started freaking out not knowing what she was going to say, but we assured her that it would be okay and that even if it was 5 seconds it would be great. 

So, the next day, we all get to the church early to fill up the font and make sure everything is in order. Veronika shows up a little bit later and she is just nervous out of her mind that she's going to talk after she's baptized. She wasn't nervous at all for the baptism, but she was so scared to talk, but we assured her that it was all going to be okay.

A little bit later, Tage and Ingrid Wall showed up. I don't quite remember if I had explained this earlier, but Tage and Ingrid Wall are members here in the Gävle branch that took care of Veronika and her siblings when they were really really little. Veronika would come to church with them when she was 5 or 6 years old. So this was a really special day for them. It was almost as if one of their own daughters was getting baptized. Tage Wall was actually the one who baptized her, so how special is that! 

6) Tage, Veronika, Ingrid

The baptismal service went super super well, and Äldste Lewis, Eric Hodin , and I even had a special music number. We sang 'Oändlig nåd' which is Amazing Grace, and we sang that song acapella with only one hour of practice. I hope everyone at least felt the spirit, because we aren't the best singers. But overall, just a fantastic baptismal service. Both Tage and Ingrid gave talks and everyone was just crying their eyes out because of how special of a moment it was and even Veronika did such a good job with her testimony!

The next day at church, I was able to confirm Veronika, and everyone in the Gävle branch warmly welcomed her as the newest member! Veronika was just so happy and so thankful and she said that the whole time she just felt this warm feeling all over. I hope that Äldste Lewis and his new companion to do all they can at help her stay active in the church and never forget the feelings she felt this past week. 

I thought to end this week with a scripture in D&C 18:

15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!

I truly experienced joy this past week, and that was when my sister decided to follow God and enter the waters of baptism. Life is good, life is good. 

Pictures:

1) District Lunch 

2) Post Interview selfie! 

3/4) Dinner with Veronika and Araz! 

5) me and veronika

6) Tage, Veronika, Ingrid

-- Äldste Steele

1) District Lunch

2) Post Interview selfie! 

3/4) Dinner with Veronika and Araz!

3/4) Dinner with Veronika and Araz!

I Tried Everything....But Nothing Worked

Email written: 2/5/18

God dag! Det har varit en underbar vecka!! 

1) The Gävle Boyz (sorry it's blurry)

This week has been just a complete blur, as half of the week I was in other places besides Gävle. I was in Borlänge on Tuesday for splits and then we had zone conference in Stockholm (Handen) and so we stayed the night in Stockholm on Wednesday and were there for the conference all of Thursday until we traveled back. Our zone conference was fantastic and I really learned a lot about goal setting to help me achieve my full potential. We also talked a little bit about setting abstract and fun goals to help make the work more fun, so Äldste Lewis and I have set a goal this week to find an American in Gävle! Sometimes it feels like Äldste Lewis and I are the only Americans in this city, but we did meet a guy from the UK yesterday, so we're getting close to our goal. It has been a crazy week to say the least, but I like the stress and I like working hard, so it's been no problem at all. And to top it all off...I wasn't sick this week! Tack och lov.

With so much travel back and forth, it was kind of hard to get a lot of lessons taught here in Gävle this week. so that was a bit of a bummer, but on the bright side, we did have super good contact with our investigator Veronika. Veronika is going to be baptized this Saturday!! She has come such a long way and the gospel has truly changed her life. She's happier, she's more social, and she has remained so humble through it all, and never forgets to thank God for all the things she has in her life. We had a lesson this past Saturday about the church, and how we serve each other through the Relief Society, and visiting/home teachers. We had the help with Mihail and everything went so well. The spirit is felt so strongly every time we teach Veronika. The next day at church, we are sitting down waiting for the meeting to start and Veronika leans over to me and tells me what happened right after we left her apartment. She said that right after we had left she started to get the worst headache and she did not feel good at all. She said that she tried sleeping, laying down, taking medicine, pretty much everything you can think of to ease a headache, but nothing was working. She was so frustrated and just wanted the pain to go away, but at that point she had done all she could do, so she just sat there not knowing what to do. Well then she had a thought...maybe I can read the Book of Mormon and I could feel better. We had always testified of the power of The Book of Mormon, so she decided varför inte (why not?) she said that the moment she opened the pages and began to read, her headache immediately vanished and she felt instantly better. The words of our newest prophet Russel M. Nelson apply so perfectly to what Veronika experienced this past week:

'When I think of the Book of "When I think of the Book of Mormon, I think of the word power. The truths of the Book of Mormon have the power to heal, comfort,

restore, succor, strengthen, console, and cheer our souls.'

The book is blue, the church is true!

Äldste Lewis and I are having a great time together and always laughing. Some funny things that happened this week:

• We met a guy from Norway who spoke straight Norwegian to us, but claimed he was speaking Swedish. Elder Lewis kept nodding his head making it look like he was understanding this old gubbe, but we both had no idea what that man was saying haha. 
• I tried talking to a guy on a subway train in Stockholm and he mumbled something in Swedish, and I had no idea what he said, so I asked him another question and then he just turned to my companion and said something along the lines of is your friend deaf. What a guy...
• I ran into my ex at zone conference

Life is so good here in Gävle! While it hasn't been easy, I've loved every minute. It's very possible that this is my last week in Gävle, as transfer calls are this week and I've already been here 4 transfers, but I know at least I can say that I gave this city my all. I'm going to leave this city better than when I came. I hope to say that for every area I serve in. 

Until next week! Ha det fint :)

Pictures:

1) The Gävle Boyz (sorry it's blurry)

2) We got tons and tons of snow this past week and this is a little snow mountain right outside of our apartment

3) We were outside with one of our new investigators named Sephera, who has 3 kids. The kids were all making snow angels and they asked Elder Lewis and I to make one with them. 

-- Äldste Steele

2) We got tons and tons of snow this past week and this is a little snow mountain right outside of our apartment

3) We were outside with one of our new investigators named Sephera, who has 3 kids.

The kids were all making snow angels and they asked Elder Lewis and I to make one with them. 

Äldste Steele sent another group of pictures later in the day... Enjoy! (Sorry, no descriptions):