Kenzie becomes a trainer to Syster Sandberg this week! Kenzie will be the third "mom" to her, so I guess she's a stepmom of sorts.

My dearest friends and family. 

Yet, another week has come and gone. I know I say this literally every week, but time flies for me on my mission. Sure, some days are slower than others (especially days of only tracting), but I can't believe it is already Monday and time to email again. 

This week, I learned that I will be transferring to an area called SÖDERTÄLJE! (pronounced: Suh-der-tell-yuh for all of you Americans out there!) It is still in the Stockholm area, but farther away from downtown than I am right now. I am really excited to start working there this Wednesday, with my new companion, Syster Strandberg. She has been here in Sweden for 5 weeks, so I will be finishing her training. I am really excited to have a new companion and have a new area. I have heard from many that Södertälje has lots of immigrants, so I am looking forward to using my Arabic, Persian, and Serbian that I learned in Karlskrona that I haven't used once here. 

I also have had quite a lack of success with "Bro Fists" here in Täby. In my past areas, they work like a dream. But while being here in Täby, people just give me weird looks. But, on the other hand, that is how we found Josef. So at least there is a little success there.

 

Visited the WASA last week. It is a museum that houses an entire ship. It was a warship built in the 1630s and sank after sailing less than 30 minutes after taking off! They cleaned off the ship and then put it in the museum and it is HUGE! Really cool to see. 



 

Hej då, Syster Bass! Love and miss you, already.

 

This week, I learned how to fix the chains on bikes. Not because I wanted to develop talents for the future, but out of necessity. But know I can do it all by myself! I have already had to fix in three times within the past week. Boo.

 

I am crazy about everything and anything American.

 

Selfie. I blame Syster Anderson on my obsession with taking dorky selfies... haha.

 

I was a little bored, so I made our weekly Progress Record a little more... creative.

There is just something that feels SO good about being in the middle of nowhere with awesome members. Thanks, Familjen Wesemeyer. Puss o Kram. :) 

 

Service: Fires, Frogs, and Flower Salads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week was an incredible one! 

In a nutshell, I celebrated my Year Mark, went to a conference with Elder Teixiera, learned how to fix a bike, got the first haircut in a year, and had to wear a jacket for the first time since last Winter... still a little depressed about that. 

 

I am transferring in two weeks because Syster Bass is training here. Honestly, I am devastated that I have to leave. When I got the call, I just cried and cried. But I have faith that I will love the next place just as much as I love Täby. 

 

 

Beautiful Stockholm during Pday!

 

Celebrating our year mark with a Chill Box... overly priced frozen yogurt. 

 

 

I'm very immature... "Your Speed" in Swedish.

 

Just watching a lady pick mushrooms outside for her lunch.

This week I saw my WHOLE district from the MTC. Other than Syster Fawcett. It was so fun to see my best friends again only one day before our Year Mark!

Kenzie said, "I won't be able to send a general email this week, but just know that I am doing REALLY well and I am really happy. But here are some pics."

 

Do you live to work or work to live?

 

It can be a struggle translating messages... haha.

 

(From Kathy/Mom:  I got a handwritten letter from Kenzie in the mail, written all in Swedish, and I typed it into Google Translate, all excited to hear what she had to say to the fam.  When what she said translated into "meat embezzlement," I sort of lost the excitement.  Sigh...so, after that experience JUST LAST NIGHT, I'll let YOU translate it, if you'd like.  Best of luck, friends!)

A pic of Kenzie with her training comp., Syster Christensen

Miracle of the week in Taby - Also, shout out to Razzy (Elder Rasmussen)

Miracle of the week:

It was 8:30 on Friday night, and Syster Bass and I were exhausted. It had been a long day and we had talked to thirty people on trains, busses, and on the street that day. Suffice to say, we were worn out. We got off the bus at Täby Centrum and began to take the 15 minute walk home. We began to walk past this man and his two children and I knew that I needed to talk to him. It wasn't a strong feeling and I didn't think it was anything special, just the same desire to talk to people to avoid the guilt of not talking to them. If that makes any sense. So, as I walked by them, I couldn't think of anything to say, so I gave the three of them bro fists. The man was a little confused and wondered if we knew each other. We told them that we are just friendly and then began talking about why we are here as missionaries and invited him to meet with us. He agreed and suggested that we met on Saturday, the day after. We learned that the man is named Joseph and is from Syria. He is Christian from upbringing and can speak Swedish very decently for only living here in Sweden for a few years. We met with him on Saturday and invited him to church on Sunday. He said that he most likely couldn't come, but we still texted another invitation to him Sunday morning. We were in Sacrament meeting when a member got our attention and told us to come out into the foyer. (foier?) What a strange word! Who did we see? Joseph and his two adorable kids! They stayed for ALL THREE HOURS of church and they loved it. His kids had fun in Primary while Joseph was taught by a member and Elder Rasmussen (Shout out to Razzy). He felt the spirit really strongly and said that it felt so good to be there. We will be meeting him again today and we are SO excited. He asked us about baptism, and we feel so lucky that we could meet him.

Long story short, things are happening in Täby. It is a little tough to be really new to the area, but we feel so loved and blessed. 

 

 

Picking string beans while walking to church. Yummy. :)

 

Going to the temple. :)

 

I am loving Syster Bass.

 

Deer outside of our church.

 

Walking through forests to get to appointments. I love Sweden.

 

Cute moment of the week. We went to a member's house and she gave us a bunch of food from her freezer that she didn't need anymore. We appreciated it so much! SO MUCH FOOD.

 

With Elder Beck from the MTC and Elder James from Halmstad. It was great to see them again. 

 

Flashback to Syster Bass' Bday. Small cake, big candle.

 

Funny randomness:

The Secretaries are such dorks. Sometimes we steal their pictures for a good laugh. 

Ä Rasmussen and Ä Workman



 

Ferry time. 

 

Pday in Gamla Stan, Stockholm. Stockholm has got to be the busiest city I have been to. Everyone is running everywhere, trying to catch their busses and trains. I have been there twice, and every time, I feel like I will have a heart attack from second-hand stress. 



 

Seven missionaries in one ward! I think that's a record? 

A picture shared via facebook. I'm a happy mama, since Kenzie didn't include any pics this week.

 

I'm not sure who the two systers on the far left are, but the 3rd from the left is Syster Anderson, 4th from the left is Syster Christensen, Kenzie, and Syster Bass.  I'm not sure where this was taken.



Kenzie's phone and crepe mishap while celebrating Syster Bass' birthday!

Another week has come and gone! This week, unfortunately, was filled with even MORE unlucky mishaps. But those experiences were coupled with some funny memories, as well!
This week, Syster Bass celebrated her 22nd birthday. I woke up early to start her birthday off well. And this is where one of my blonde moments come in...
while washing my hands before making breakfast, the iPhone flew out of my Onesie pocket and fell on the ground. Not a big deal, we drop the poor phone daily. But this time
THE SCREEN SHATTERED! I gave out a typical ear-deafening, high pitched, "McKenzie" scream. I ran over to Syster Bass who was still sleeping, and told her. She was really kind and patient and told me that everything would be okay. I guess I will be buying myself a late birthday present to fix the phone. Boo. I had a little fit and then got back to work making pankakor (Swedish Crepes) and eggs. I found the recipe, whipped up the crepe batter, and made a pancake. But it just didn't work! It was a weird consistency and it wasn't cooking well. I double-checked the recipe to see if I had done anything wrong, but I couldn't find a mistake. I tried to make another crepe, but it was another fail. At this point, I am frustrated because I know that I am going to have to make another batch
of batter. Boo. But then, a light went off in my head and I remembered two frozen crepes that the Elders had left in the freezer. I then warmed up the crepes and prepared the
crepes with jam, peaches, and a "22" on her plate in pink icing. I make her eggs, and then delivered the breakfast to her in bed. Woohoo for backup plans! But shhhh. She doesn't know. She thinks that I am super talented at crepes... false.
Right after breakfast, I made Celestial Cake (Chocolate cake,  drizzled with caramel, sweetened condensed milk, whipped cream, and daim pieces. Yummy! That turned out better than the crepes. We went to the church for District Meeting and started by eating the cake and singing "Happy Birthday" in three languages: English, Swedish, and Spanish. Good times. The elders gave her a card and I gave her a pillow case with a bunch of memories I have of her on it.
We then went out for sushi, taught some lessons, and just had a blast!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SYSTER BASS! You are a great companion, and I am so lucky that I can be companions with you again.
As Syster Anderson would say every Sunday night, "It's going to be a finding week". This week was yet ANOTHER finding week. We visited more than a dozen former-investigators
and talked to literally everyone on the way. There is a very clear difference for me between the people here in Stockholm and the people in Halmstad or Karlskrona. The people here,
although still nice, are less willing to give you the time of day to talk. It is very interesting to see the change of culture between two cities in the same country.