Det Finns Orsak Till Stor Optimism

Email written: 8/27/18

Kära vänner,

It's been another good week here in Övik! The weeks continue to fly by and apparently, according to everyone else, the time doesn't ever slow down from here, so I need to enjoy my time here while it lasts. On the mission, nothing is going to last forever. By that I mean, we're going to get new companions, move to new areas, meet new people all the time, and so we need to be grateful for the things that we have now, for the experiences we have now, because I'll probably never have these opportunities again! 

We ate surströmming for my second time today, the first one being about 6 months ago in Uppsala. It was just as awful as the first time. Also, we had district conference (which is basically stake conference but when you're in norrland everyone is branches and so it's a district) and a total of 3 people showed up!! It was probably an all time low for me at a church service, but I was so amazed at the faithfulness of those 3 people to come to the church to watch the broadcast of the conference. 

This past week was another zone conference held in Umeå and it was such a great conference, mostly because I got to see on of my old companions Äldste Lewis who is serving in Skellefteå. We talked about quite a few things, the biggest thing sticking out to me being that we as a mission need to increase our faith. We need to have the faith that we will experience miracles. We have to have the faith that we will meet the people ready to hear our message. It definitely was a type of 'call to repentance' as I realized that I really do need to grow my faith and be more optimistic. I need to remember the words that Äldste Dale G. Renlund said to us just a few months ago: 'There is reason for great optimism about the church in Sweden. There has never been a time in Church history when we could be as optimistic as we should be now.'

After zone conference, I had a strong resolve to have faith and to follow the guidance of the Spirit more in the work, as did Äldste Thompson. On Saturday, our plans fell through with a lunch with a less active that lives with someone we are also teaching. After that fell through, I felt strongly we did not need to be in that area and that we were needed elsewhere. We thought about it, and Elder Thompson received a strong impression we needed to swing by a lady we met a few days prior to do some service for her. The impression wasn't just to offer service, it was basically, bring a change of clothes in the car, you are going to do service for this lady today. We got in the car later in the day and then drove out to serve. When we pulled up, she was in the middle of mowing the lawn and so we thought, PERFECT! We can mow the lawn for her! We talked for a bit, and she then told us about 100 other unfinished jobs that she needed help with, so we were able to get 2 of them done with her... Building a door frame for her green house and support system for her firewood. As we were drilling in the door frame, I felt impressed to tell her that God was her Heavenly Father and that He truly does love her. She was thankful for the words and let us know that was a truth she already knew deep in her heart. We were able to give her a Book of Mormon at the end of our time together and set up another time to finish the 98 other unfinished jobs and also to teach more about the gospel. In getting to know her, we actually found out that when she was our age, she lived with members in Switzerland and had received an English book of Mormon at that time. She's slowly been prepared over these years, and with a few rough patches in life recently, it feels as if her humility has prepared her even more for the gospel. I'm so thankful that we were able to follow the spirit in helping someone in need that day. It's amazing how this small little miracles happen all the time on the mission, and it just has grown my testimony of God and that not only does He exist, but he is very mindful of each and every one of us. 

At zone conference, I felt impressed to get up and share the most simple testimony that I have ever given. I just stood up, and said 'I know that God lives and I know that I am His son' and then I sat down. Our testimonies don't have to be these long, eloquent sermons that get a whole crowd riled up. Our testimonies are just declarations of things we know to be true and that's exactly what I did. It was actually kind of cool how much power was felt just by saying one sentence.

Hope you all have a great week. Vi hörs! 

Pictures:

1) greenhouse building

2) Arnäs Kyrkan

3) eating surströmming the 'proper way'

4) skuleberget

--Äldste Steele

1) greenhouse building

2) Arnäs Kyrkan

3) eating surströmming the 'proper way'

4) skuleberget

Well Done, Thou Good and Faithful Servant

Email written: 8/20/18

Hej!

I'm pretty much at a point of training where it doesn't even feel like I'm training anymore. It's just me with another missionary putting in work here in Övik! Äldste Thompson has learned so much since he got here in June and I'm a proud pappa! Training is honestly a 10/10 experience and I'm glad that I've had this opportunity to learn and serve.

We had a pretty crazy week, mostly becuase we went to the farm on Wednesday and farm days are whole day adventures, becuase we have to drive our to Junsele and then take on huge projects that they give us. Last time, it was shoveling hay into a machine, but this time it was building a cover/roof for a section of a building they own. The building apparently used to be Junesle's market place.

So, we were told what to do, given some tools, and then it was up to Äldste Thompson and I to figure out the rest. We did a whole lot of sawing and hammering, and by the end of the day it felt like our forearms were going to fall off. We really weren't experienced at all in what we were doing and we felt like we were just doing a terrible job and that they were just going to re do it anyways after we leave becuase we did such a poor job.

But, just as we thought our arms were going to give out, and as the sun began to set, Brother Karlsson pulled up to take us back to the house. I thought that he was going to get out of his car and just say wow guys you really messed this one up didn't you... But he didn't. He was so grateful for the work that we had done and he even told us that it was a great job and now the rest of it is super easy. He was so grateful for us to have labored so hard to build something for them. The way he reacted to us, is how I feel like the Savior is going to react when we get to meet Him one day.

We are going to feel like we didn't do that good of a job and that our efforts weren't really valuable, but Christ is going to look at us, and let us know how great of a job we did for Him, His Father. Pretty cool thought!

This past week, we also started teaching an elderly lady that Elder Hansen and I actually contacted a few months ago. She felt the spirit so strongly in our lesson that she knew she needed to read the Book of Mormon. She described the feelings she had as a result of our visit: "It feels as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel so peaceful now". 

The work continues to move forward, and I'm glad to be a part of it. Life gets stressful, life gets hard, I tend to miss home every now and then, but I know it will be all worth it in the end.

Have a great week everyone! Vi hörs. 

Pictures:

1) yoga

2) cool lake shot

3) farm work 

4) more farm  

-- Äldste Steele

1) yoga

2) cool lake shot

3) farm work 

4) more farm 

Norrmalmstorg och Centrum

Email written: 8/13/18

Tjabba Tjena Hallå!

Earlier today this woman reached out to try to feel my biceps but then I just took off running (Genesis 39:12)

Well, summer is now on the decline, people are starting to come back home from their 2 month semesters, and the cold is on the way back. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually looking forward to the cold again. I'm tired of sweating so much in this white shirt and tie haha! This summer has just absolutely flown by and a lot of the people that we talk with ask us if we had any time for our own semester (trip). We tell them, nope, it's 2 full years of serving, and then we can get our semester and it just absolutely blows people's minds that we don't get a break. I'm just thankful to be out here serving and learning and improving every day. 

I was able to go on splits this past week in Umeå with one of my zone leaders, Äldste Simmons. He's the first ever person that I've met that comes from Wyoming. He taught me a lot of great things that I can apply in my leadership calling as district leader and we put some good work in Umeå that day!

This past week, we were out visiting this one member that is going to start helping us with arabic translation in certain lessons we plan to have in the future. At the end of the visit, we asked him if he had any suggestions of people we should meet and he then pulled up his Facebook and was like visit these 2 people, and so he then gave us the address of one of them, and went to go knock on her door. After we knocked on the door, this small kid, that looks a lot like Terio, opens up the door, and just starts talking with us. He's such a sweet little kid and he starts telling us about all the movies he likes and then he asks us to come inside to watch the movies with him. We then ask him if his mom is home and he just said no, and so we just said that we could come back some other time. We then find out that the kid is 5 years old......I'm pretty sure when I was 5 years old we all knew never open the door for strangers, so I am just shocked at this point, but we let our little friend know that we'll back tomorrow, but just as we leave the apartment building, we run into his mom, that invites us right back in and told us of how much she missed the missionaries and she started showing pictures with missionaries.....and as we look at them a little closer, we realize they are baptism pictures, and we have just run into a member that kind of had fallen off the radar! So happy to begin helping her and her family come to church and take part in all the blessings of the gospel. 

This past week, we also had a youth activity for the youth of the branch, and we decided to play monopoly after talking about the doctrine and covenants in preparation for seminary next school year. I learned something really interesting when we played Monopoly, because in the end, I teamed up with one of the youth, Poominh, and we owned both Park Place (centrum) and Boardwalk (norrmalmstorg) and had built hotells on both properties, but no one ever landed on them, and we ended up losing the game. I feel like so many times in life, we are focused on the wrong thing and we end up missing the mark. We were so focused on the most expensive property that we stopped caring about everything else. We need to take time in our lives to find out the things that actually matter and then set our focus on that-which is Jesus Christ and our familes. 

I look forward to all the miracles and laughs to come this next week, including another day on the farm! Miss you all, but I'm happy out here. Life is good. Take care everyone! 

Pictures:

1) det nya distriktet

2) the new whip

3) a bench where you can meet someone

4) from last week's p day

--Äldste Steele

3) a bench where you can meet someone

1) det nya distriktet

2) the new whip

4) from last week's p day 

Vad saknar vi?

Email written: 8/6/18

Tjena!

Another week down and things are still in full swing here with Äldste Thompson! We continue to teach and invite others and there really isn't any other better work that I could be doing right now in my life.

We had lots of different training meetings this week, plus interviews on top of that, but we still had plenty of time to visit with our good friends that our progressing in and learning about the gospel.

Sometimes, we teach people that speak Swedish as their second language. We started teaching a lady that speaks Tamil as her first language and it is very hard to understand her Swedish. We gave her a Book of Mormon in her native language and we invited her to read it. We started reading in the Book together, her in Tamil, us in Swedish. But, as I listened closer to what she was saying, it was just her saying 'Jesus, Amen, Christian' over and over and over again instead of her actually reading the scripture, so that was an interesting experience. Not sure how much we can help her haha.

We also had the chance to teach this one family this week that just couldn't seem to accept the Book of Mormon. We are such good friends with them but in the end it just came down to you believe that, we believe this. The mother just held her Bible in her hand, told us how important it was to her, and then just asked us, what even are we missing?

Immediately, the wheels in my brain started going a million miles an hour, thinking of just one thing that I could share with them. It needed to be something that meaned a lot to me and I also needed to think of our end goal of anyone that we teach the restored gospel to. I thought to prophets, Apostles, the plan of salvation, but the thing that mattered most to me in the end and the thing I shared, was Temples and Eternal Blessings for families.

I know that in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we can be sealed together as families for time and for all eternity, and it is only in this church, that we have that authority to perform that! I'm so thankful to be a part of an eternal family, and I hope to find the ones here in Sweden that want those same blessings that I experience, and will experience in the future.

Until next week, ha det så gott!  

Pictures

1) Övik hamn

2) Örnparken

3) this morning at skeppsmalen

4) skeppsmalen 

5) surströmming museum 

6) man eating surströmming on a video display   

-- Äldste Steele

3) this morning at skeppsmalen

4) skeppsmalen 

5) surströmming museum 

6) man eating surströmming on a video display

1) Övik hamn

2) Örnparken