November 22, 2014 - Syster Hosenfeld's Thanksgiving gratitude list...and another bro-fist story

Happy Thanksgiving to all of the people who I love so much!

A couple weeks ago, I started writing down the things that I am grateful for. It started like this:

-Ryland

-Dad

-Mom

-Syster Hoke

-Sweden

-Cousins

-Grandparents

-Aunts and Uncles

-McKell

-Hannah

-Rick

-Friends

-My missionary friends!

-Syster Anderson

-Syster Bass

-Syster Christensen

-Syster Carlson

-Syster Squishy

Then I started thinking more:

-Stars

-Snow

-THE SUN!

-Chocolate

-America. (Seriously, though)

-Tights

-Temples

-Christmas

-Sleep

-Swedish

-English

Then I started thinking of mission things:

-Halmstad and the people I love there, Senja, Bishop, Karin, Elin, Maria, Morgan, Lena, little Matilda, Kristina, Källbergs. All of them.

-Karlskrona: Pedja, Sigrid, Robert, Juzinskis, Lucia, Adam, Jimmy

-Täby: Joseph, Maggie. The members who were so nice and left me a great impression after 6 weeks.

-Södertälje! Schiazzanos, Andersons, Nylunds, Öystilläs, Garcias, Andras.

I just am so extremely blesssed! I am grateful for my life. I am given too much. 

I love you all, and I am grateful for you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

I think that half of my mission is spent waiting for busses...

 

 

"Chinese Pavilion"

 

P-day Adventures from last week:

We went to Drottningholm Palace! It is the residence of the Swedish royal family, although I believe they only live there during Summer. It was built in the 16th century and is the prettiest palace I have seen so far. 

 

The front of the palace. Could you imagine having water as your front yard?  

 

America. I love you.

 

It is officially Christmas in our cozy apartment. Thanks for the letter garland- I cannot wait to start opening them up on December 1st. :)

 

There was SUN this week! We took the opportunity to do a little bit of sun-tanning. (neck up)

 

"What do you need today?" 

 

 

We had another funny language study this week. Syster Hoke and I always keep our eyes open for new things to do for Swedish Study to keep things exciting. I'm not a huge fan of just sitting in the apartment, reading a grammar book. This week we found a free Jazz performance that was being hosted by the city. We were so excited! We showed up at kl 12 and all eyes turned toward us. It didn't affect me because I have been used to being stared at for the past year because of my skirt and tag. But as we sat down in the back, I realized that they were staring because we were the only people under the age of 60 there. The whole auditorium was full of old folks! It was a good break to listen to some American music and learn Swedish at the same time. 

 

 

 

 

 

It hasn't been so long since I emailed last, but a few things have happened!

And it all started with a Bro-Fist:

 

We met a man for the second time this week. We will call him Finn. We met Finn at a train station. It was cold, he had his headphones in, and I was feeling courageous; I gripped my fist and extended my arm. The "Bro-fist" was initiated. He gave me a Bro-Fist back and then he started talking to us. He asked which church we worked for, and we barely had time to say "Jesu Krisi Kyrka" before our train came. We quickly exchanged information and jumped onto the train before it took off. We called him and met with him last week and this week. He is a stud! He is around our age, Swedish, and Christian. 

We talked to him last week about the Book of Mormon, and he had read the chapters we had given him when we met with him this week. We are so grateful for Finn because he is the first person in months who we have taught twice in a row. He is very positive and described the Book of Mormon as "powerful" when we asked him what he thought about it. So, keep him in your prayers, people. Snälla. :)

And please put on the general email somewhere: "Elder Ahlström and Syster Bass- get off of my blog! ;)"

November 17th update - better late than never!

 

Last P-day, we went to the Swedish Palace and watched The Changing of the Guards. It is a military event that lasts about ten minutes and includes marching, screaming, and translation for the tourists who come and watch. 

  

 

 

 

Then we climbed up hundreds of steps to a beautiful lookout point over Stockholm. Beautiful!

 

 

 

Jul is coming! The stars are beginning to be placed in windows. Ginger cookies are on sale in the stores. Åhlens in Stockholm is overflowing with lights. We have decorated our apartment with Christmas decorations that we found in storage. We have begun listening to Holiday music. I am so happy.

  

 

I read this while looking through the paper last week- the article goes something like this:

The Atheist Swedish Shock The Pastor

In the TV series, "The North", an American Pastor visits the Northern Countries and meets the secular people who live there. Pastor Marty McLains usually expresses her thoughts using: "Wow."

The Pastor is from the state of Georgia and believes in The Creation instead of Evolution and a hell where people can end up for their sins. She went around Stockholm's streets to meet religious people.

The pastor finds many who believe in God but, for the most, these are immigrants.

While reading this, I couldn't help but think to myself: 'Welcome to my life.'  

 

 

Me and my little purple backpack. :)

 

This week I was able to see some of my favorite people at Sisters' Conference. 

Syster Carlson is going home next week! :( 

 

Andy. Will always love that girl. 

 

And my first baby!

 

And... Blueberry facial masks while watching The District. Again, training is hard. ;)

 

 

This week was FULL of traveling. On Tuesday, we had District Meeting in Eskilstuna, which is about 90 minutes by train. Unfortunately, the trains going to Eskilstuna are not running currently, so we had to take busses there and back. We left at 9 and we got home at 5. The majority of the day was spent on a bus. 

Then on Thursday we had Sisters' Conference. We had to travel 70 minutes to get there and 70 minutes to get back.

 

Saturday and Sunday was Stake Conference that we traveled for, as well. My rough estimate of hours spent travelling this week is 20 hours. My life is spent on a train. 

 

BUT, I had a really cool experience this week. While on the bus to Eskilstuna, I sat by a woman who looked sad. I began talking to her, asking about her day. She told me that her mother had just passed away. I apologized and we talked for the hour bus ride about our beliefs. She is a Christian who moved here thirty years ago for schooling. She told me that she knows that God is real because he made it possible for her to come here and have a better life. We talked about heaven, God's plan for us, and Jesus Christ. As I had to get off the bus, I thanked her that we would talk, and gave her our card with our number. She thanked me and said, "You know what? I am really glad that you sat by me. I feel that God just blessed me with someone to help me feel better today." It was a good day. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First snow of the season and a week full of blasts (not a good thing)

 

 

Photo: Third blåst of the day; I am amused. Syster Hoke is broken... haha.

 

The week was a KILLER! But I first need to describe the frequently used missionary-word here in Sweden- BLÅST//verb: to be blown off; the action of when someone fails to follow up with meeting obligations. So, being blåsted is fairly common- investigators get busy, sick, uninterested, etc. But usually it happens a very few times a week. This week I hit a record of blåsts in a week. 10. TEN. TIO! Ten people who said they could meet didn't show up. It was seven days of waiting, praying, calling, and crossing fingers. We also had quite a few people tell us that they are no longer interested in meeting. It was a hard week- but that just means that next week can only be better. :)

 

We had a fun fika before going to the Culture Night in the Södertälje Library for our language study. The gospel choir, hipster band, and African tribal dancing were my favorite.

 

Always knowing who the Crazy Cat Ladies are because of their door decorations...

 

Using the GPS as if our life depends on it. Because it does. (We don't want to be stuck in sketchy areas for too long.)

 

Planning for the upcoming days

 

Little peeks into our daily lives as missionaries.

Knocking doors.

 

 

Training: The District marathon with popcorn. It's a hard life. :)

 

We had the first snow of the season! It was the biggest surprise. We had gotten ready, had personal study, and then Syster Hoke opened the blinds and there was white everywhere. It was super exciting and fun to be with Syster Hoke for her first Swedish Snow. :)

 

 

 

Making a run to a member's second hand shop with things to donate. This time, an old painting we found. I got a good laugh when a man told me, "Good job on the painting" as he was walking out of the bus. I wish!



Comp Unity- Spa Night. Nothing like inflicting a little pain to settle arguments. ;)



 

Maybe laughing a little bit too hard when Syster Hoke slipped and fell on the mud.

 

Leaving Mormon.org everywhere. Even on the bus stops. :)

On the way home after a long day of blåsts, I was having a little pity party for myself. I just kept on thinking to myself how sad the week turned out to be, despite our best efforts. Then two people sat by me, a brother and a sister. I talked to them for a little bit about the weather, his mask that he was wearing (still don't understand why he was wearing it. Halloween was last week.) The younger syster remained quiet during our conversation. After a minute, they quickly said bye and hurried off of the bus. The older brother went first, helping his sister down to the curb. As we drove away, I noticed that she couldn't walk without the help of her brother. It really touched me how patient he was with her. A wave of guilt rushed over me as I recognized my ingratitude. Was I really upset that people had blåsted us and overlooked the COUNTLESS blessings that I already have? When I got home, I immediately started writing a list of my blessings. Here were a few on the list:

-My ability to communicate.

-Warm coats.

-The ability to change through the Atonement

-Loving family.

-Freedom to worship

-A church being so close

-The members who are so loving who I have met

-People I have been able to teach, whether they accepted  the message or not.

-Funny memories that happen everyday. (Awkward conversations in broken Arabic, Swedish mistakes)

-NOT getting lost in the middle of the forest this week.

-Education!  

-Swedish chocolate. A killer. Too good.

-The Book of Mormon.

-The ability to read.

The list could go on and on, because blessings are continually being added to this list. Long story short, I have WAY too many blessings to feel discouraged after a week like this one. I am blessed!

 

Syster Hoke has been pointing out that I say many phrases incorrectly. These are a couple that she noticed this week:

When relaying the story of getting lost in the forest to members, I would say, "It was PITCH quiet when we were out there!"

 

Another one was when I was complaining about Atheists getting mad with us talking to them about God, I said, "I just don't understand. What do they have wrong about God?" (instead of with)

 

Miracle of the week:

Syster Hoke and I have been working out of the Area Book a lot recently. Calling and contacting people who have once investigated the church. So far, we contacted many, but no success out of it. But this week, we called a family who was really interested in having us come over. When we came for the lesson, they had cookies, chocolate, and hot cocoa ready for us! They are from Iraq and are very willing to learn about Mormons Bok. We are very hopeful for them! Good things come out of working hard. I also think it is a cool opportunity to teach people here in Sweden who wouldn't have been able to learn about our faith in their native country. It is very special to me. :)

 

Most used quotes recently: 

 

-"The both of us are engaged!" Is this true? Absolutely not. But I swear that Syster Hoke and I have to say this daily! Men, why are you so creepy?

-"That is a made up word." Syster Hoke uses the most intelligent wording. She says words that I have never even heard of before. So I always accuse her of making the words up, but I know that in reality, I have lost a lot of vocabulary on my mission! :( BUT, I have gotten very good at speaking "immigrant English"

 

 

Inside.

 

We had another interesting Language Study this week. We have been looking in the paper for fun language activities when we saw an announcement of a choir concert in a Swedish church. We thought it was a great idea. We invited the elders to join in the adventure.

 

It wasn't a choir concert! It was a Morning Mass! Those little sneakers did false advertising. Once we realized what we had signed up for, it was too late to bail out. So we had an hour of signing Swedish hymns, reading from the Bible, and listening to a sermon from the priest. Yes, there was a choir involved, but it was much more than just a "concert". Why do we always get ourselves into these situations?? But on a positive note, it was beautiful and I loved learning about the culture. 

 

 

We went to a graveyard by our apartment to see the lights that are placed for Alla Helgons Dag. (All Saints' Day) It was beautiful! I really like it is more common in Sweden to celebrate October 31st with candles on graves instead of masks and candies.

 

 

Jet Lag still has its hold on Syster Hoke:

On a train.

 

 

During dinner time.

 

 

During Open Hours.

 

 

During language study.

 

 

Following the crowd. I loved listening to someone tell us about Stockholm in ENGLISH. Something that I learned: Stockholm had a witch-hunt similar to Salem. A young boy condemned his mother to death by fire at the stake because he told the village that she had set curses on her neighbors. Then more children started to accuse their mothers and women in their villages until more than twenty people had been burned at the stake for Witchcraft. They later confessed that they were lying and they were too, burned at the stake. Things you learn on a tour! haha. 

 

 

Pday from last week! We ran into a free Stockholm tour and saw  beautiful sights and sounds of the big city.