The (bittersweet) final P-day and email of Kenzie's mission!

 

 

 

Happy Late Valentine's Day to my favorite people who I love so dearly. I hope you were able to celebrate it with the people you love, whether your boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife, friends, family, or cute cats. hehe. 

I have ADORED this week I have had here in Södertälje. It has been a bitter-sweet last full week for me. Terrifying thought, right? But it's been a really good time to reflect on my time here in Sweden. I have been reminded of an experience I had many years ago when I was at a Young Women's activity in church. All of us were sitting down together and chatting with a leader when she looked at me and said, "McKenzie, I think that you would make a good missionary when you are older." I was confused. Me? A missionary? Nah. That's not my thing. Now... 6 years later, here I am, not being able to imagine my life without being a missionary.

The lessons I have learned, the people I have met, and the experiences I have benefited from are life-changing and worth every second. I am grateful to be a missionary- a privilege that many are not given. And reflecting on that gratitude, I want to finish this letter with a list of gratitude from my mission.

1. I am grateful for the experiences I have had that have helped me come closer to my Heavenly Father. People tend to only speak of the happy experiences on their missions- baptisms, miracles, growth, etc. I am the first one to tell you that I have been the most blessed missionary in the whole world. I have seen countless miracles and progress in people I have taught. But I also won't sugar-coat it: a mission is challenging. Along with those amazing experiences that we have as missionaries, we also have trials that come our way. While I have never felt so happy on my mission, I have never felt so depressed. I have never felt so close to my Heavenly Father, yet have never felt so isolated from Him at times. But both happy and challenging experiences initiate GROWTH. 

2. I am grateful for the family I have found here. Sweden is a gold mine for amazing people and I have found the best of the best. Whether members, investigators, or just random people I have met on the bus, I have such fond memories with these people. They have been so kind and giving to me when I didn't have any one else to turn to. Like getting rides home during a hurricane-warning storm and having to cut a path through a tree to drive through. Or giving us comfort over ice cream when we lost a good friend. Or letting us Skype at their house and making herring sandwiches. Or not only inviting us over for Christmas-Eve, but ALSO Christmas-Day. Or sparking with us and trying to "reach the sun". The memories are endless and my love is so huge for the people here. My family has become a LOT bigger since being here. I have lots more siblings like Alice and Freddy and Elin. I have a lot more funny uncles like Göran and Jani. And I have a lot more wonderful women who have been my moms while being here. Senja, Sigrid, Nina... I am grateful for my family here. 

3. I am grateful for my testimony of the gospel. I know I have had a strong belief in God for many years, but it pales in comparison to the devotion I have to Him now. There is a God who loves us and hears our prayers. As illogical as it sounds, it is true. He cannot be measured through the microscopes and telescopes of the world, but that doesn't change the fact that He is real. That he is active in our lives. I have felt His love and peace when no one else could comfort me. I have felt the love He has for others while teaching His children. There is no depth that we can fall that is too far from His reach. He loves us and I believe that with my whole heart. Because He has helped me up. 

Thank you for your prayers and your support. I am so grateful that I have been blessed to have the family and friends I have. Thank you for being there.

I will see you all soon.

With my warmest love,

Syster McKenzie Hosenfeld 

Homeward bound, NEXT WEEK!

 

We got a LOT of snow this week!

 

Selfies on the spark! haha.

 

We were able to go over to the Wesemeyers again this week and we used the Spark! I love that little thing. Nina LOVES nature so we sparked to the edge of the lake and watched the sun set. It was beautiful and it was also fun to stand on the frozen lake. 

 

 

Hi, my dear family and friends!

Syster Hosenfeld here, sitting at a church computer all the way in Södertälje, Sweden. I have come to the scary conclusion that I am going home next week, whether I like it or not. And with this being my second-to-last email before I am back at home again, I want to first thank all of you for all of your support. I have felt such love from all of you back in the States. Thank you for the letters and emails and prayers. They mean the world to me and they really have helped me while being here. It is so much easier to be happy when you know that you always have someone who has your back. Thank you for being there. :) I love you all! 

I'll just start out with my favorite highlights of the week:

Tender Mercies.

I feel that my theme of this week is that God really knows us. This week, we taught quite a few lessons about the nature of God. We heard many different beliefs about God: that He is an energy, that He isn't involved in our lives, that He is just the compilation of all of the Love of the world, etc. But I find comfort in my belief that God is a Perfect Person who loves us and cares about us. He is our Heavenly Father and He is involved in our lives. That being said, I have seen little blessings this week that have come from Him. Here are a few small but significant examples that I have noticed during this week:

- This week, Syster Hoke and I received a referral from a member. She gave us an address. We decided to go last night when we went to the address and realized that it was a portcoded building. THEY ARE THE WORST. There is no way to get in them unless you have a code or someone lets you in. We stood there for a few seconds when a man just happened to come down the elevator and let us in. It was such a "coincidence"! We were able to leave cookies and a card to the referral, who wasn't home at the time. We hope that he will call back soon! 

-Yesterday in church, the Stake Presidency came and spoke. I feel that every lesson they gave was made specifically for me. One of the counselors spoke of having Fear before Faith. Another spoke of my favorite General Conference talk by Elder Uchdorf, "Lord, is it I?". But I especially adored the talk of the Stake President who spoke of the small but significant nature of change. He gave the example of a missionary who daily learns to depend more upon the Lord. He then said of the EFFORT that is required to change. When he spoke, it really affected me. I feel that a fear I have at this point about going home is that I will "lose" my growth once I step foot on Utah soil again. But this Stake President reminded me that we can always change and become better if we are willing to put the effort. It was an answered prayer that gave me a lot of comfort. :)

-I have enough Shampoo to last me until I go home! God is too good to me! :D

 

Warm Fuzzies

Yesterday we were waiting to take the bus home when an older lady with a walker sat down on the bench with us. I complimented her mittens, (which she made herself) and talked about how her day went. She noticed our American accents and asked us what we were doing here in Sweden. We told her that we volunteered for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (which is a mouthful in Swedish). She replied back, "Oh! I knew that it must have been for a church. All of you stand out compared to everyone else. There is something different about you young people." She told us of little experiences she has had with Mormon Missionaries in the past and said how impressed she was with how kind they were to her. It made me so happy inside to be reminded that we are different than everyone else. We are! Imagine it. We are here in a foreign land learning another language working as missionaries 24/7. People think it is crazy that we don't have days off and that we don't get paid. I am grateful to be a missionary and share what I believe with others.

Random Thoughts of the Week:

This week I feel like I have been given so many opportunities to reflect. Reflect on my memories here, the people I have met, the lessons I have learned, the trials I have grown from. I just feel such gratitude that I am here. This has been a life-changing experience for me and I know that it is a privilege that I am here. 

Thank you for everything you do. I will see all of you soon! :)

Love,

Syster Hosenfeld

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A service oriented week for Systers Hosenfeld and Hoke

This week we did TONS of service. I feel like every week gives us more opportunities to help people out.

First, we visited an elderly couple in the ward. Gunnar is 92 and is such an active man. He takes walks every morning, remembers our names, and always asks us if we need help with anything. Then there is his German wife who is a few years younger, but has so much responsibility. Although Gunnar is healthy and still does the majority of things on his own, she still has to keep the house in working condition and be there for Gunnar. When we visit, we always ask if there is something we can clean or move for them. This time, Ulrika said, "nothing to move, but I want to go for a walk". So we did. It was really nice talking to her and hearing her experiences from the war in Germany. 

We went by our dear new friend with four boys. She has been feeling better recently, but we still went by to visit, clean, and share a little message. She is such a fun mom with such patience! There is such love in her home. You can tell that she really cares about her children and is willing to put them first. Reminds me of my mom. ;)

Then we had little opportunities to help people out through delivering meals and small things like that. It feels good to help.