Morgan

Hej, min familj och vänner!

 

This week has been fantastic. Namely because Morgan was baptized! The Saturday that he was baptized, we went to the church early to prepare everything for the big day. The elders had begun filling up the font that morning to ensure that it would be completely filled before five. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough hot water to fill up the entire font, so the water was icy cold. Sorry, Morgan!

 

Morgan came thirty minutes early, and we watched a few Mormon Messages with him.The turnout from the ward was great. There was a short program, then it was time for him to be baptized. It was such a strange moment for me to watch Morgan be baptized. I thought about all of my mission in an instant. I thought about the MTC; saying goodbye to my family, learning Swedish, strengthening my testimony. I thought about of Halmstad; the struggles we have had, the rejection, the hard work. I thought of being a missionary; the sacrifices my family has made for me, the challenges that I have faced. But when Morgan was baptized, I couldn't remember those sadnesses anymore. I only remembered the happiness and successes. He came up out of the water and I realized that it was all worth it. Every door slammed, every dropped lesson, every awkward contact was worth it. And I would do it all again for him. He was given the gift of the Holy Ghost the day later, and that was that. He is no longer our investigator; he is now a member! He has such great potential and I am so proud of him for the decision he made to be baptized.

 

I wish that I could go back four months and tell myself that it will all be worth it. To continue working hard and not worry because everything works out with the Lord's help. It was the happiest moment of my mission to see him be baptized. I don't know how else to describe it, I just feel extremely blessed.

 

I love all of you! Thank you for all of your prayers.

 

I know that this church is true with my whole heart. It is very real. I have seen it change the lives of investigators, and I have also seen it change my life for the better. I hope that we can all remember what really matters and focus on those things.

 

Med Kärlek:

Syster Hosenfeld

 

 

Morgan's getting baptized this Saturday!!!

Every Monday when I write this post, I look back on the week and feel like it was the best week possible and that none other week could possibly beat it. But here I am again, thinking about the past seven days and knowing that it was the BEST week I have had here in Sweden. 

Morgan is geared up and ready for his baptism this Saturday. We had a special lesson with him this week on the Priesthood. The spirit was very strong and he expressed his excitement for his upcoming baptism. He also told us about how grateful he was that we were able to talk to him on the bus those many weeks ago. He said that it has changed his life and he was grateful for it. My heart is full of gratitude that we were lead to someone who was willing to listen to us. He is prepared for his baptism, and I know that he will be an amazing member of the church.

I have also realized that my mission so far has been a time of learning. Learning how to speak Swedish, learning how to survive on my own cooking (or lack thereof), learning to become a missionary, etc. Although all of these things have been enjoyable to learn, they are nothing compared to the satisfaction I feel as I learn of what really matters. Obviously, my priorities while on my mission are different than they are at home. Here, I don't have schooling, jobs, or dating to distract me. I have discovered more for myself what really matters to me.  It is a great experience to take a step out of the world's way of things for 18 months and think what I am going to focus my life on for the rest of my days on this earth. I have come up with a list of priorities that mean the most to me. (Not necessarily in order)

-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

-Family

-Education

-Service

-Culture

I am so blessed to be a missionary! It is challenging and overwhelming at times, but there are more happy moments than sad ones. 

How grateful I am to have you in my life. :) Please keep me in the loop of things going on in your lives. 

Love,

Syster Hosenfeld

And Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I can't believe the random holidays that Americans celebrate. haha.

 BEAUTIFUL SWEDEN



Helsingborg

Marcus and I! He is moving, so I probably won't see him anymore. Sad.



It snowed in Halmstad for the first time this year! Thank you, Utah, for keeping the snow there for as long as possible. :)  

 

Faith and hard work in Halmstad - sadly, no pics this week.

The past seven days have been the best of my entire mission.

 

I have been in the same city of Sweden for the past three months of my mission- Halmstad. When we first arrived here, we didn't have anything to work off and we didn't have any signs of success. The first month of my mission was really discouraging for me because I felt that I hadn't made a bit of a difference. If I left Halmstad at the end of October, it would have been like I was never there because nothing had changed. November was a better month. We had more people to teach, I was learning the language quicker, and I was more patient with the progress. December was even better! We met many of our investigators that we are teaching now, we began pushing ourselves to talk to more people, and there were good things that were happening. But January so far has blown all other months out of the water!! Syster Christensen and I made the decision at the beginning of the month to push ourselves harder than we had before; we decided to be exactly obedient in all of the mission rules, talk to everyone we come in contact with, and have more perfect faith that all of the goals that we set can be accomplished through the Lord's Hands.

 

That is what we have done. We have worked incredibly hard this month and we have seen the blessings:

 

First, Morgan will be baptized this month! He had chosen the date to be baptized in mid-February, and we were very happy with his decision. But as we began to meet with him three times a week, we soon realized that we would teach everything he needed to know very quickly. When we brought up to him that we wanted to move up his baptismal date to January 25th, he seemed hestitant and told us that he desired to push his baptismal date later in Feburary or March. We asked him to pray about it, and he accepted our invitation. We met with him the day after and told us that he would be baptized on the 25th after a calm feeling he felt when he prayed. We are so excited for him! Although we only met him a month ago, he has grown so much. He is no longer the same person who smoked 20 ciagrettes a day and drank 10 cups of coffee. He is a new person, and it has been a blessing to see how much the gospel can change someone. 

 

Second, the week we taught 20 lessons. This is the first week that we have hit this number! As missionaries, we are asked to teach 20 lessons every single week, and for the past couple of months, we have been working really hard to reach this number, and we finally hit it! We have blessed so much! :) 

 

I am extremely happy and grateful for everything I have been able to do on my mission so far. All of the lessons I have learned, the opportunities I have experienced, the growth I have made. Life is great!

 

I love you all! Please let me know if there is anything I can do for any of you.

 

Love,

Syster Hosenfeld

 

 

Gratitude

Hey, you guys!

Although I do not have many incredible experiences that have happened in the past couple of days, I do have things that I want to tell:

-First, all of our investigators are doing very well. Morgan has stopped smoking and is now working on overcoming his love of coffee. He is such a hard worker, and he is determined to quit. He is awesome!

-I am asked many times if it is snowy here in Halmstad, and my answer is an ecstatic: No! Thank you, Utah, for keeping all of the snow from drifting here to Sweden. I genuinely appreciate it. Feel free to keep all the snow from Sweden for the next two Winters. I won't mind a bit. :) 

-I have received the nicest letters this week from all of you. Thank you so very much!

Recently, I feel more grateful than I have in my whole life. I have been able to ponder over Christmas and New Year's on all of the blessings that I have in my life. How lucky I am to have my family and friends who are completely supportive. How cool it is that I was called to serve in the most amazing mission in the world, and how grateful I am that I am happy. Truly happy. A lot of people are not that lucky. Along with all the big things in life that I am grateful for, I am also appreciative for the small things. These are a few of the silly things I am grateful for:

-My body that is healthy and working.

-Being able to wake up and know that I have things to accomplish.

-My winter clothes that keep me toasty.

-Seeing the sunlight in the morning. (Seriously, though. I miss you, Sun!)

-Reminders of funny memories.

-Going to bed with warm blankets.

-Socks. Socks are the best.

-Sundays.

-Finishing up all the ink in the pen. (For someone that loses everything, that is a big accomplishment)

-Red lipstick.

-Getting replies from texts to investigators.

-Warm tights.

-Herbal Tea.

-Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

-Finding free restrooms. Score. 

-Getting a number from someone on the bus.

-Sitting down after a long day.

-Godis.

-Braids.

-Halmstad's artsy culture.

-Our ward here.

Okay, I could go on forever here, but I will stop now. :)

I am grateful for all of you. Thank you for your emails and letters. Your support means the world to me! 

Kram: 

Syster McKenzie "Dory" Hosenfeld

 



 

A heated seat in the heart of Halmstad.
 

 

A gate that once used to separate the city from unwanted visitors. Now it is just a beautiful reminder of the awesome Swedish history. 

 

Cemeteries here are very different than in the United States. Every single headstone is decorated with lanterns, pine branches, stones, etc. It is very beautiful.

 

Loving Sweden's weather! Not a bit of snow in sight. :)

 

Couple more pics :0)

 

From the crazy hurricane-warning storm!

Christmas pictures and investigator news!

 

There is so much to be said about my past week and a half! My life has been full of blessings and adventures, and I am so extremely happy to be a missionary. Now more than ever. 

My Christmas Eve was spent with my ward's bishop and his family. It was a really fantastic day- It was spent with delicious food, generous gifts, and many movies! It was very enjoyable to relax. Then I was at the Källbergs on Christmas. We had so much fun! We watched even more movies and played even more games. Then I was able to talk to my family on Skype. What a fun opportunity! It was so strange to think that my family on the other side of the world was just barely waking up as I was going to go to bed. I enjoyed talking to my family because it reminded me of how blessed I am to have them. It was fun to joke around, speak some Swedish to them, and smile for pictures- that was a funny moment. It was a perfect Christmas and I couldn't have wished for more. 

There was a possibility this past week that I would have transferred to another area of Sweden, but I am so relieved that I am staying. There are so many things that are going on in Halmstad right now, it would be the worst time to leave. We have progressing many friends of the gospel (investigators), people to call, places to go, excitement for the work. I am very happy that I am still here! Morgan is still meeting with us and he is learning very quickly. I like that he always comes to lessons with questions, because it shows that he wants to know for himself if this church is true. He is a great person and I am so excited for his baptism!

New Year's Eve was unforgettable. We were asked to go home at four to avoid the party scene, so we went to our apartment and relaxed for a bit. Then we took a nap and woke up at 11:30, when we went to the beach by our apartment with Marcus, a friend that we met on the bus. We waited for a bit until 12, when the firework show started. It was a very special moment to think about the year that just ended; the challenges and the blessings. Then I thought about the year ahead I have to be best missionary I can be. I cannot wait to make 2014 the best year of my life.

Thank you everyone for your sweet gifts and letters- I feel like the luckiest girl in the whole world. 

Wishing you all a fantastic beginning of 2014- a New Year to start off renewed.

MVH:

Syster Hosenfeld

 

 

My cute Christmas tree in my apartment. Thank you everyone for the adorable ornaments that reminded me of all of you. And thank you, Mom, for my Christmas-Eve Pajamas. :) 

 

What I helped make for the dinner. 

 

My Christmas dinner. 

 

 

This is Maria and I with a little stocking gift we gave her with some treats. 

 

The Acevedos and I

 

 

Maria with the CTR ring I gave her. 

 

 

Twin tights!

 

Fireworks on New Year's!

 

Båstad! A beautiful city near the ocean. We had a free day on January 1st, so we took a train to this city and spent the day exploring. Sweden is beautiful, holy cow. I am serving in the prettiest country in the whole world.

 

 

Båstad

 

 

An art piece in a pond. Halmstad is so artsy.

 

 

Me and Emma, an adorable girl in my ward.

 

The Swedish Cathedral

Christmas week email and pics! Woohoo...

This blog post will be short and simple because I have awesome stories to share with my family via Skype in two days. I am ecstatic to talk to them. I am even more enthusiastic that I have exciting news to share with them. Halmstad is looking up. :)

 

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas/ God Jul. This month I have been so blessed to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. It is a very special experience to be set apart from the world and notice what really matters. This Christmas time has meant so much more to me because I have been able to focus on Christ. I am so grateful that Jesus Christ lived and died for us. I am grateful that because of him, I can always be better.

 

I am grateful for my family now more than I ever have been. They mean so much to me; their sacrifices that they make for me are examples of Christ-like love.

 

Merry Christmas! I hope that you all have an unforgettable time with family and friends, remembering Christ.

 

Love,

Syster Hosenfeld

 

 

 

Christmas party!

 

Us with our flashing angel pins at a Zone Conference. :)  

 

 

Svenska Cathedral 

 

 

Castle in Halmstad

 

Mormon.org on a bus stop. :)