Elder Kyle Steele: First Round of Zone Conferences

Email written: 11/19/18

1) our office

Hej ni fina!

This week has been absolutely incredible with all the different zone conferences that we had this week. It's really interesting to see how all the zone conferences differ and the different impressions President Youngberg gets for each individual zone.

Elder Derr and I had the chance to lead a training on enriching our personal studies. We came up with our one-liner to end the whole presentation and it was 'When you read, you'll count the pages. But if you study, you'll make the pages count.' It's gotten a lot of good responses from the missionaries and we have heard from a few missionaries that their personal studies have become so much better over the past few days! Studying the gospel is so amazing and I've been able to learn and understand so much since being a missionary. It was kind of cool to talk to Elder Derr about it as he complimented my scriptural knowledge and understanding, and it's honestly just come from the past year and half.

After the Stockholm south zone conference on Wednesday evening, we were all just socializing in the foyer, when this man just walks into the church. I just assumed that the missionaries in the area had set up a lesson with someone and so we didn't really know what to think of it. But no one was coming to talk to him and he's just like um could someone show me around? And my mouth about dropped...a 23 year old Swedish man just randomly walking into a church to learn more. The elders in the area hopped on it immediately and we went out to the car to load up before we headed home. We got in the car but Elder Derr felt we should go back in and introduce ourselves to this man and make him feel more welcome in the church. And so, we came back in and joined the Haninge Äldster right there in the chapel.

We found out that the man's name was Tony and that he had met missionaries once or twice a few months back but had been too busy to meet but he felt like he needed to check out the church that evening. What a miracle it was that the exact evening he wanted to go there, we had just finished zone conference. Also, a big topic of our zone conference was short and powerful statements as well as the Book of Mormon. And as we were standing in the chapel teaching Tony, he asked each of us to give one powerful sentence about the importance of the Book of Mormon and so it was cool to see things come in full circle. To top it all off, we taught him how to pray and before we left, he said a prayer with us and it was a special moment for all of us there! I'll never forget it.

We also had the chance to have stake conference yesterday. 3 of the wards that I have/currently are serving in were there: Gävle, Stockholm, Täby. I felt so much joy to see my good friends from all the wards, gathered together for an uplifting conference this past weekend. One of the speakers at stake conference, was someone that was baptized into the Stockholm at the beginning of the year....a Swedish mom that has 4 very young kids. She shared such a powerful testimony and everyone at the conference was touched, including our mission president that had the chance to interview them for baptism and now he gets to see them prepare for the temple. Miracles continue to happen even here in Sweden people!

Other than that, the work continues to move forward. The Lord is hastening His work and giving us the opportunity to see big changes happen in the lives of the Swedish people. Doesn't get any better than this. We'll be catching a plane this evening and heading back to Göteborg to continue our zone conferences there. There honestly never is down time here in Täby. Makes life interesting :D

Pictures:

1) our office

2) I've been on way too many flights in sweden...

3) the sun came out in Stockholm this week

4) Dessert at a member's yesterday

5) MTC companion

6) BONUS PICTURES from other missionary mommas!

-- Äldste Steele