Newspaper article in the works for Syster Hosenfeld and Syster Anderson - exciting!

Wow. This week had many highs and many lows!

 

We'll start with the low. Right now, we don't have many investigators to teach. It is a frustrating feeling to be working hard and talking to people everyday, and not see much success come from it. We feel very "underwhelmed" right now; the stress that comes from not having enough to do with all the time we have. We have been talking about how to use our time effectively so that we can have more success and teach more people. It is a good lesson to me to have patience. Things don't always go the way that we want them to go- it is a lesson that I know I need to learn.

 

 

 

Some of the branch!

 

 

Funny Story:

 

This week, I tried Surstromming. A swedish "delicacy". Esentially, it is rotten fish. YEP. Swedes BUY fish that has rotten. It has to be opened under water to keep the smell "under control". We ate it at a member's house and it stunk up the whole area. I am not being dramatic when I say that it smells and tastes like poop. It truly does! I tried a filet of it on potatoes, and I could NOT choke it down. But I tried, and that is something that I am proud that I can say. But holy cow!! It is HORRIBLE! The experiences one can have on a mission...

 

 

Conversation between Syster Anderson and I:

 

Me: We need to do something different. Something fun, but effective.

Her: I completely agree. But what...

Me: Hmm.

Her: Hmmmmmmm.

Me: HHHHMMMMM. Wait! I got it! Let's talk to the newspaper and see if they can do an article on us!

Her: Awesome. Woot woooottt!!

 

So, we went to the local newspaper and they agreed to write an article on us! They also took some pictures of us contacting people on the street. We feel really blessed that they were willing to write on us. We feel like it will help the people in this area less terrified to talk to us... haha. More news to come. :)

 

 

We went to a birthday party of our favorite gypsie this week! It is interesting to see the change of culture between entering into the house of a Swede and entering the house of a Slovakian. Completely different worlds!

 

And meeting a friend in a church's cafe. I think we need to be better at explaining to people that we are here to teach, not to just fika... even though fikaing is nice. :)

 

 

 

 

 

Karlskrona now has a car for missionaries! It is an incredible help because some members live more than an hour drive away. Syster Anderson and I took the car and drove to Kalmar, a city about 60 minutes away. We visited members and drove EVERYWHERE. And guess who drove? Yep- this girl. I would be lying if I told you it wasn't terrifying to drive in a foreign country... 

 

 

My Swedish is getting better every day. It is still very difficult for me, but I am slowly getting better, and that is all that matters. But seriously, Swedish. You are a crazy language!

 

My favorite part of the whole week was teaching a dear investigator. He is the man from Bosnia that I wrote about last week. We had a fantastic lesson with him yesterday when he told us that he felt a "happy feeling" in his heart when he read about the Restoration from a pamphlet. He is such a genuine person and we have such great hopes for him. He also says that he can stay in Sweden for at least two more months. :D

LAST week's pics - okay, I'm a slacker. She's been out 8 months already! Whaaaat...?

Best moment of the week:

We have an investigator who is from Bosnia. He is just visiting his mother who lives here for a few months. But while tracting, we knocked on the door of a lady who speaks ONLY Bosnian, so we brought him with us next time we talked to her. He translated the whole lesson! It was incredible to hear him speaking this crazy language with her. It was a tender mercy that we knew someone who could translate for us. Who would have thought that there would be so many language barriers on a mission? 

 

 

Crazy chicken hats in church!

 

My companion is majoring in photography... She is more creative than I am. haha.

 

Ice cream with some of the kids in our branch.

 

Helping a member move ALL books into her attic. Hundreds  upon hundreds of books! 

 

Pday fun. Trying on ridiculous shades in TGR.

 

The week began with Ping Pong on Monday. Some investigators came and some of the branch. I lost. Again. One of these days, I will be pro at pingis.

 

Tuesday was soccer day! Some of the branch came and so did a few investigators. So, I am not the most sporty girl in the whole world. Obviously. I played soccer for a few years in my childhood and hated it. But I ran around with everyone and had fun. The rain made everything more interesting... there were many falls and dirty bums.

 

The kids here are the cutest!

 

 

What I look like through a peep-hole. I wouldn't answer, either. ;)

 

Easter in Karlskrona... perfect! 

Thanks to those of you who contributed to the Easter/testimony package. She truly appreciated it!

Shout out: Thank you to everyone who had a part in my Easter package. The testimonies from all of you were special. I am so appreciative. :) 

 

Another week down; it is mind-blowing how quickly time passes by. I cannot wrap my brain around the fact that it has already been seven days since I sat at this computer last. Time is a strange thing- I feel like it is never constant. Time is either going by too quickly or too slowly, never at that perfect speed. I have learned this week to take advantage of the time. It is something that I have never been good at: I never appreciate the amazing times in my life until they pass. As my home-boy, Andy Bernard from The Office would say, "I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them." This week I have tried to enjoy the time here in Karlskrona and appreciate it for the amazing place it is.

 

This week was full of traveling. As a district, we went to Malmö for Zone Training. Zone Trainings or Conferences are a PARTY. They are so fun it feels like it's against the rules. I got to see my old Halmstad district: Syster Hill and Elder Hewitt. I have missed them so much and it was good to catch up on how my home is doing. (Home being Halmstad.) I got to talk to Elder Beck and Syster Christison, who were in my District in the MTC. It was just a good time to learn, feel the Spirit, and have a BLAST with them after, by playing Ninja. Life is good, but Ninja makes it even better!

 

Side note- trains. They are the best way of transportation. They are just like a plane, but 10,000,000 times better. More leg space, food options, restrooms that are bigger than a cubicle. Also, the views from the trains here in Sweden are amazing. They seriously look just like the pictures on postcards.

 

We also travelled to visit a young woman in a city nearby, and also visited an INCREDIBLE FAMILY. They are from Bosnia, but speak Swedish really well. They are gypsies and are the nicest people I have met in Sweden so far. I am not even kidding. As we walked up to their apartment, they opened the window and all of their family was waving at us and screaming with excitement. When we got to their door, they opened it really quickly and all of them gave us HUGE hugs and had dinner waiting. We all talked and had a great discussion on their faith in Jesus Christ. They are genuinely caring and I instantly felt loved when I walked into their home. They invited us to Easter dinner and to their daughter's birthday party. They are seriously the cutest family. I am excited to visit them again.

 

Being a missionary has been a huge blessing for me. Many times, as I look through old pictures, I don't think that I have changed very much. But as I have been reading through my journal from only two months ago, I have already seen my testimony strengthened. I know that God is real. If I didn't know that before, I definitely know that now. I know that He loves us and that we have PURPOSE. That our lives aren't a mere coincidence made by a big explosion. That we have a loving Heavenly Father who loves us. He created us and He knows us personally. It has truly been a privilege to tell people here in Sweden about God. I am grateful that I can spread the message of Him.

 

I love you all! Have a great Easter!

Also, threw a javelin. Haha.

Jimmy, Adam, and I.

 

Semla! Swedish treat.





Morning jog.

 

 

We planted a bunch of onions.

 

Lots of traveling- We went to Malmö and Röddeby this week. I never would have thought that I would have to use the train so frequently on my mission.

 

 

  

Spring has arrived in Sweden!

Hej!

 

First, I am happy to hear that everyone saw the video of me embarrassingly try to shred wood. I know that I look ridiculous and I sure am happy that it is on the internet... SIGRID. ;) Love you!

 

General Conference was this week. Is it really already April? The talks touched my heart, especially Elder Holland's talk about standing up for beliefs. Even as a missionary, it can be hard to stand up for what we believe in when we are made fun of. It was a perfect reminder to me that God is real, even if no one believes in Him.

 

The sun has been SHINING in Sweden! It is finally Spring! I have been taking advantage of this opportunity of Vitamin D and have been having Personal Study outside... in a way. We live on the top floor of an apartment building, so when it is eight o'clock, I gather my scriptures and study materials and read sitting on the window sill with my legs hanging out. I love reading in the sun and occasionally looking at the city below. And don't worry, Mom! It is completely safe. ;)

 

We met a man named Gabriel this week. I have forgotten where he is from- possibly India? We taught him about the nature of God this week, and said a prayer at the end of the lesson. I prayed that Gabriel would be able to be safe and that he and his family would have happiness in their life. After the prayer, he told Syster Anderson and I that he appreciated the prayer and that it made him feel good. I always forget about what a huge blessing it is to pray until I talk to people who don't believe that God hears our prayers or even exists.

 

A little update about Morgan: We have been staying in touch since I left Halmstad a month ago. He emailed me last week that he has received the Aaronic Priesthood and has been blessing the sacrament! I am so excited for him. It has been a huge blessing to me to see him progress and change. Halmstad will always have a special place in my heart because of the loving members who became my family, the personal growth as a missionary, and my ability to meet Morgan and see him accept the gospel.

 

Life is amazing and the gospel makes it even better!

 

 

Okay, a funny story!

 

We were contacting people in Hoglands Park when we saw a man taking pictures of the beautiful flowers. We walked up to him and Syster Andersson jokingly said, "We are ready!" and hit a pose. He started taking pictures of us and it was hilarious! We gave him our email and he sent these pictures to us. There are so many random and funny experiences that happen as a missionary. Haha.