Always Teaching, Always Learning

Email written: 6/25/18

1) jag och äldste thompson

Hej på er! 

Well, I'm officially one week into training and so far it has been an absolute blast, yet so exhausting. My new companion is Äldste Thompson and he's spent the past 6 weeks in Washington, but he finally got his visa to come to Sweden and I'm glad that he is finally here. Äldste Thompson is such a prepared missionary and I'm glad that I get to be his first companion here in Sweden. As a trainer, I am always teaching something to help my new missionary learn what it's like to be a missionary here in Sweden, including that language. It's hard to remember how good/bad I was at Swedish when I came to Sweden, but I'll just say that I'm thankful for Äldste Harper for being patient for me as I learned Swedish, and I'm thankful that I have been able to study and develop the Christlike attribute of patience to help my companion learn Swedish :)

So 2 really cool stories.....the first is a story from the bros down in Gubbängen. 

Gubbängen is an area of the mission that is located in the south side of Stockholm on the other side of Gamla stan. When I lived in Stockholm, we would go on splits with the elders down in Gubbängen and the zone leaders as well. One time, I went on splits with my good buddy Äldste Winkel and when we first got together we sat down and had a really good companionship study on what we were going to teach one of their investigators. We prayed mightly to find out what we would teach and as we thought about we wanted to teach, we knew we needed to show a Bible video and as we thought more about which Bible video to show, we felt very strongly to show the Prodigal Son bible video. Well, we went through the day, having tons of great experiences, and then we came to the lesson at the end of the day. As we met up with the investigator, we saw that he had brought 2 of his friends along with them that were also interested! So, we all met with them in the church building and had one of the most spiritual lessons that I've had on my mission. After we showed the video, one of the guys that had come along with the original investigator started crying and mentioned that his mom had told him the story of the prodigal son when he was younger and now that his mom had passed away, it just felt really special to him to now see a video of the prodigal son. Well, time went on and the other 2 that were in the lesson kind of lost interest and weren't coming to church, but Ronald was, pretty much every week. And, to top it all off, he was baptized just a few short weeks ago, and after his baptism, he sent a text to the Gubbängen elders letting them know that the video that we had shared that day had impacted his life so much and was one of the reasons that led to his baptism. You honestly have no idea what impact you'll have on someones life, and I'm just glad that Elder Winkel and I were able to plan, prepare, and teach by the Spirit. 

The other story is about my new best friend, Max. Max is the 8 year old son to a family that we have begun teaching her in Örnsköldsvik. Max wants to one day become a author and so after a visit that we had one day, Max said that he was going to write a story for me and so when Äldste Thompson and I came to teach them this past thursday, Max had typed up a story and the story that he typed up was all about how he had met us and how interested he was in learning more, and he wrote all about our teaching visits and who said what prayer and what was taught and it was seriously one of the most special things I have ever read. Brought me to tears actually...but that's besides the point :) After we had taught them, we said that a new chapter needed to be written and so the story will just have to continue as the family realizes the blessings that the gospel of Jesus Christ will bring. 

Keep on keeping on! Always be an example and always be a light, because, like I said before, you never know when you'll touch someone's life, when you'll have a teaching opportunity, or when you'll have a learning opportunity. Until next week....ha det fint! 

Pictures:

1) jag och äldste thompson

2) in front of the may pole at our midsommar celebration!

3/4) right before bed time.....the darkest it gets up here in Övik 

5) jag och äldste bills, childhood friend now here in Sweden!!

-- Äldste Steele

2) in front of the may pole at our midsommar celebration!

3/4) right before bed time.....the darkest it gets up here in Övik 

3/4) right before bed time.....the darkest it gets up here in Övik 

5) jag och äldste bills, childhood friend now here in Sweden!!

Happy Father's Day (to Me)

Email written: 6/18/18

Kära Familj och Vänner,

WOW what a transfer it has been. This transfer felt like it ended before it even really began, but I am so thankful for the time that I had to work with Äldste Hansen up here in Örnsköldsvik. We really were able to accomplish some amazing things here and we know it was because of our desires to work hard and our dependence on God in all that we did. I'm going to miss Äldste Hansen, he's like a brother to me, but I know that he will put in some great work with another one of my really good friends, Äldste Wayment down in Handen. 

I, on the other hand, received my official training call Thursday afternoon on the way back from district meeting, and so that means....I'M GOING TO BE A PAPPA. I'm so excited for this opportunity to help out a new missionary get used to Sweden, the language, the culture, the work, just everything! It is such a humbling experience to train a new missionary and I hope that I can help the new missionary become the missionary I know that he can be, and more importantly, what the Lord knows that he can be. So, for the next 12 weeks, or 3 months, however you want to measure it, I will be here in Övik with my new companion who I will meet on Wednesday down in the Täby chapel. It feels like I was just in the greenie's shoes, getting picked up by my pappa, Äldste Harper. Weird how time works here...

This week really was a special one, as Stellan and Eva were baptized in a lake on the outskirts of Bjästa. We had prayed all week that the weather would be good for the baptism, but even after all our prayers, the rain started coming down Saturday morning. I was a little worried that the baptism would be postponed or even cancelled, but I decided that I just needed to pray even harder for a miracle, for the rain to disappear and for the sun to start shining again. We all met up at the church and began the services, where Äldste Hansen and I both gave talks, and then we all loaded up the cars and headed out to the lake for the baptism. When we got there, the cloud were still looming overhead, but then they all of a sudden started shifting and the sun began to shine just enough for our lake and shoreline. The weather was just right by the time the baptisms actually were performed. Stellan was first, and they walked out quite a bit since it took a long time before the water was actually deep enough. But then he was baptized, and then Stellan came back and took his wife, Eva, in his hands and then they walked out together and Stellan stood beside them, almost as if he was cheering on his wife, as she enter the waters of baptism. It was such a special moment for them, and it continued even till church when they were confirmed, received the Holy Ghost, and then Stellan was ordained a priest. 

The work continues to move forward and life couldn't be any better. This past Sunday, I was able to give a pretty lengthy talk in Sacrament meeting (25 minutes or so) about my personal conversion story and how the Book of Mormon is important to me. I remember my experiences of just over a year ago, when I read the Book of Mormon with my 3 best friends, Alanna, Sammy, and Tylene, and how we are now all on missions inviting others to come unto Christ. I know that the church to be true and I know that the gospel can change lives for the better. I've seen it happen in myself, in my friends, and for those that I have taught here in Sweden. 

Hope you all have a great week, and keep my new missionary in your prayers! Adjusting to a new country and language and missionary work isn't easy. Love you all!

Pictures:

1) hitting up a fancy restaurant with our good friend Vesa

2) My district haha (Sisters and Elder wilson will stay in the district, but Elder Beveridge will be AP now)

3) walking out together 

4) the clouds opening up

5) after church with Stellan and Eva! <3

-- Äldste Steele

1) hitting up a fancy restaurant with our good friend Vesa

2) My district haha (Sisters and Elder Wilson will stay in the district, but Elder Beveridge will be AP now)

3) walking out together

4) the clouds opening up

5) after church with Stellan and Eva! <3

"Vi ska döpa oss i en sjö"

Email written: 6/11/18

Hej på er!! 

Well, another week down, and another week closer to a baptism here in Örnsköldsvik! Our investigators, Stellan and Eva, were interviewed yesterday after church and are going to be baptized this Saturday! Since we don't have a baptismal font here in Övik, and Stellan and Eva don't want it to be huge deal up in Umeå, they decided they want to be baptized in a lake on the outskirts of Övik. It's going to be such a special experience and Elder Hansen and I will be giving talks on baptism and the holy ghost at the baptism. Believe it or not, they (or at least Stellan has) have been investigating the church for about 40 years now, and have just recently decided that they finally want to be baptized. I haven't really taught them much, just two times over the phone about the importance of the temple, but I still feel a lot of joy in seeing a couple enter the waters of baptism and prepare to be sealed in the temple in a year! 

MIRACLE ALERT: This week we were out tracting in Själevad. As we were about to approach the door of this one house, we saw a lady walk by and decided to try to talk to her. So, we quickly said something to her, along the lines of 'hur går det?' and she just said that she didn't have any time to talk, she was looking for a lost dog, and then just kept on walking past us. We yelled after, asking if we could help her find the dog and she just said no I think I can find it myself. And then that was the end of the conversation and we continued to knock on doors. We didn't have much success after that, just a younger guy that was eating dinner but wanted to talk with us more, and a lot of no answers or not interested. But, we continued to work hard and then we approached house number 18. We needed to walk around the garage and then up the porch to get to the door, but right as we rounded the corner of the garage, we saw two older people sitting down enjoying the sun. They were kind of surprised, as were we, but then we realized that one of the people was the lady that we had tried talking to earlier, but this time the dog had been found and was just playing around in the yard. Now, she and her husband had time to talk and so we just started chatting about who we are, where we come from, and the the husband said, hey grab a chair and sit down. And so we grabbed some chairs and sat down with them and then started getting really into religion, as they are strong Christians. We then pulled out a copy of the Book of Mormon and began explaining to them what it was. They had never seen the book before and had heard almost nothing about it, but they listened intently and we talked about how the book of Mormon coming forth was a fulfillment of prophecy, as they loved studying prophecies in the Bible. And so they gladly took the Book of Mormon and said that they would read a little bit of it then give us a call so that we can discuss it more. We then asked the husband to say a prayer before we headed home and in his prayer he said, 'Vi förstår inte riktigt denna Mormons bok men hjälp oss att förstå' It was such a powerful prayer and we really look forward to helping them learn more about the gospel after a summer trip they are going on.

A ton of things happened this past week, both good and bad. Elder Hansen and I saw a lot of miracles together and taught a lot of lessons to people interested in the gospel, but then at the same time we had a lot of setbacks. Looking back, it might've been one of the worst weeks that I've had on my mission. It's kind of hard to explain, but simply put, I acted really selfishly this week and lost my temper, and it really made me realize that I am human after all and that I do have flaws. None of us here on the earth are perfect, but we do know someone who is- Jesus Christ. It is through Him that we can change our weaknesses to strengths, anger to love, pride to humility. I know that I have a lot of things to work on, and I'm thankful that I have this time as a missionary to improve, but more importantly I'm thankful for this time to get to know Christ and learn to put all my trust in Him. 

Livet ruller på! Hope you all have a great week, don't worry too much about me. I'm having fun and learning a ton here in Övik. Time will just have to tell who is staying and who is going once transfer calls come around at the end of the week. Ta hand om er! 

Pictures

1) Splits with my zone leader, Elder wilson

2) They had graduation this week #tastudenten

3) greener than green here!

-- Äldste Steele

1) Splits with my zone leader, Elder wilson

2) They had graduation this week #tastudenten

3) greener than green here! 

Life of the Party

Email written: 6/4/18

Hallå!! 

Another week has passed by here in Övik and things are better than ever. It's been a really busy week, especially with our zone conference being in Umeå on Friday. It was weird not being in the Stockholm zone anymore, but I was still able to learn quite a bit, even if it was only 8 companionships of missionaries in the Norrland zone. Thankfully, one of those missionaries is my bro Äldste Lewis, who was one of my companions in Gävle!! It's always good to see him and talk about all the memories that we had together and how sad we were that our time together was so short (only 6 weeks), but I'm sure that both of us will be in this zone for a long time since I'm district leader here in Övik and he's the district leader in Skellefteå.

We learned quite a bit at the zone conference and even got to watch a clip of the Lion King (thanks President Youngberg!) The main focus was on how we can work better with members and how we can use the technology we now have to help the work move forward. When Äldste Renlund came to visit Sweden, he talked a little bit about the Second Harvest. He first said the following: 'Andra apostlar har lovat att det skulle bli en andra skörd i Sverige, i storlek och omfattning jämförbar med skörden av omvända som sågs i kyrkans tidiga dagar här i Sverige. Jag tror att de här löftena kommer att ske och sker även nu.' basically saying that many people are accepting the Gospel both here in Sweden and also on the other side for those that have passed away. He then said:  'Den här andra skörden beror på de svenska trofasta medlemmarnas trofasthet och deras villighet att stanna i båten och hjälpa i båten, dela budskapet om Frälsaren med andra.' It's all dependent on the members, and so we need to find out the best way to work with members and get the ball rolling here! 

It's a little more difficult for Äldste Hansen and I here as we only have around 12-15 active members, with this past sunday only 8 that came, but we know that little by little, this branch will grow and will continue to survive. There's several teenagers in the branch that we work closely with and hope to help one day serve missions. Plus, the Örnsköldsvik branch is about to get 2 new members, Stellan and Eva. They will be baptized in just 2 short weeks right off the coast of Övik in the sea. We look forward to that day and all the lessons that will lead up to it :)

Another thing that we talked about at zone conference, was being ourselves and finding our own personal way to do missionary work and not becoming like all the cookie-cutter missionaries. I've been able to think a lot about my own personal strengths and interests and how they can help me enjoy my time as a missionary. One thing that's really been evident for Äldste Hansen and I, is that we like to party, and yes I know that missionaries can't party, but like we can still attend events where lots of people are there and through that can meet a lot of different people. We've had a bunch of opportunites this past week to go to certain events and in turn got to meet some really awesome people interested in meeting us again. The first was a birthday party for a random guy named Jonathan right on the lake that we got invited to and so we went, ate some hot dogs and godis, sang happy birthday på engelska for the crowd, and just got to know the group there. Turns out there were 2 people there that really wanted to meet with us again, plus 2 other people that have met with missionaries in the past! The other events we went to, were Prom and then a worship song meeting, like we had went to last week. The prom here in Övik is a really big deal for all the kids graduating, and they all come up in old classic american cars, with the occasional tractor with a couch in the bucket haha. The community doesn't actually go to the dance, they just watch the kids pull up and walk down the red carpet they have, so that was a ton of fun to be there as part of the community, and we even saw one of our investigators there! The worship song meeting was just as good as last time and we even got to meet a new friend named Roger that is going to get me an African tribal shirt hand made for me and shipped here to Sweden, so I'm way excited for that!! 

Now a lot of you are probably wondering....am I even working hard?? Of course I am, when we're not at these events, we are opening our mouths and testifying as often as we can, at the door step, on the street, or wherever else we find ourselves. It's been a tough week for tracting and contacting as not very many people have been interested and even people that we have swung by told us very angrily to never come back, so we have our fair share of trials, but we are coming out on top and continuing with a smile on our faces. This is in fact the Lord's work and I know it's the best work that I can be doing. 

Hope you all have a good week! 

Pictures: 

1) Red Carpet

2) Our good friend Tea!! 

3) birthday party 

4) playing basketball on Pday 

-- Äldste Steele

4) playing basketball on Pday 

3) birthday party 

2) Our good friend Tea!!

1) Red Carpet