Week 24...Janky Milk and Snow!

November 24, 2017

Week 24...Janky Milk and Snow!

Tjena!!

We had 8 lessons that either got rescheduled last minute (last minute being 5 mins after we were supposed to meet) or blåsted (meaning they just don't show up and don't contact us... it comes from the verb att blåsa which is to blow so it's like we got blown off, it's missionary slang). That was a total bummer though, so a lot of the week was doing our back up plan which usually isn't as effective as the first plan we come up with each morning. Så är det! (So it is!)

We traveled to Sala early this week which is like a 20-min train ride to meet this guy named P. Classy dude, he's maybe 50 and is a preacher with Missionkyrkan (kyrka=church). He took us out to fika (like a midday tea time/eat pastries because we don't drink tea, we enjoy hot, steamed milk) and we talked about the Book of Mormon and why our church is different than his. It was a solid conversation of just comparing religions and teaching him why we believe our church is the church of Jesus Kristus.

We met this one dude in his small apartment named M (red sweater in the pics). He asked if we wanted coffee or tea and we said just milk, so he scrubbed out this janky tea pot that had been sitting on the stove and boiled up some milk for us ha ha I had to chase it with water and just chug it because I don't know what was in that teapot before, but it was some rank milk ha ha

We got snow this week! Always fun to have a little bit of snow on the ground, it feels more like the Sweden I pictured now. I went out last Preparation day (Pday) and got a nice big winter coat with the classic fur on the hood and all, so now I fit in with the swedes and their winter coats, next goal is just to sound Swedish.

We met an investigator named Leif who I started teaching about 3 months back. We met in stan (downtown) and then he took us to a gym where we could sit and teach him ha h, a sooo we taught him with workout music blasting, but it was actually a solid stund (session in Swedish) of reading Mormons Bok (book) together and teaching about prayer. He's changed so much since we've first started teaching him it's been awesome to see. He was kind of unpleasant to be around, would push people out of his life, he said he was bitter and disappointed with life, but now his family has said he's like a new person; thoughtful, happy. It's cool to see how God and the gospel changes people for the better.

We had Stake Conference this weekend (basically all the church members in the Stockholm area go to Stockholm and have a conference) so we had it broadcasted here to Västerås.

Transfers are this week but I'm staying here with good ol' Äldste Young at least another transfer (6 weeks). It's been awesome being comps with him, he's picking up the language fast and teaches me a lot about missionary work and listening to what the Spirit, God's spirit, tells us to do. I'm stoked for another 6 with him, he's a great guy.

My spiritual thought this week comes from a scripture in Alma 40:11. It says:

“Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are

departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken

home to that God who gave them life.”

I like the last line which says that we are taken home to that God who gave them life. Heaven is our home. God is our father. It's a cool thought for me to think that no matter how bad or good you were/are during this life, everyone will be welcomed home by a loving Father in Heaven. It helps me remember that we are all God's children, and that we are all a big family here on Earth.

A spiritual experience I had this week was with our investigator Hashim. He finds out Dec 1st if he's approved for tillstånd (Permission to stay in Sweden,perhaps residency) and he had brought up baptism this last week and we told him we would talk about that on Sunday. We fasted for his meeting he had on Thursday with his advocate and it went really well he said. We also felt like we needed to reemphasize that he can't be baptized until he has tillstånd, so we prayerfully planned out that lesson and explained that it was for his safety and he took it super well. He was appreciative and understanding that we had thought about that. That showed me that prayer and fasting really works, that God recognizes when we do those things and blesses us and those we fast for.

Happy thanksgiving to everyone this week! Jag är tacksam för er!! (I’m grateful for you!)

Ha en bra vecka allihopa! (Have a great week everyone!)

Äldste Gordon