This week we got transfer calls! I will be transferring to an area called Örebro. It is Sweden´s fifth largest city, and is a couple hours directly West of Stockholm. So far I´ve heard a lot of good things about it so I´m really excited for it. My new companion will be Elder Williams, who I have talked to a couple of times but I don´t really know him that well.
This week we had a very eventful P-day. We met up with some other elders and went to a museum called the Vasa. The whole museum is set up around an old ship called the Vasa that sank in the river by Stockholm back in the 1600s. It was preserved really well under the water so they were able to restore a lot of it. It was really cool to see an old ship that close. To get to the museum we got to take a ferry to an island in Stockholm. It was really weird to be on a boat, haha. After that we hung out with some other missionaries at the Stockholm YSA center.
On Saturday we visited a place called Långholmen that is right by our apartment. It used to be a prison, so we visited a museum there. It was pretty fun, but super small. The prison is now some sort of hotel, and people are able to stay in converted prison cells.
This weekend we had stake conference. It was pretty good. We had one session on Saturday night that was in our chapel. Two elders stayed the night at our apartment because they live too far away to go home just for the night. It turns out that they will be in my new district when I transfer so that was cool. Also my MTC companion Elder Heiner will be my new district leader.
Yesterday we had the second session of stake conference at a conference center in Stockholm. It was pretty nice to have enough chairs for everyone. Afterwards we went to a member´s house to skype home for Mother´s Day. It was really fun, but also weird to see everyone again.
This week I got a unique new experience. Our ward mission leader´s daughter asked me to play piano for her while she sang at her grandfather´s funeral. The funeral was at a chapel in the middle of a giant cemetery near Stockholm. When we got there we found out there was no piano and just an organ. A guy who worked there helped us turn on the organ after a few minutes of searching for the power switch, haha. It was a cool experience, even though it was a funeral so it was a somber occasion. I got to sit up in the organ loft. Afterwards Elder Dickson and I walked around the cemetery and took a lot of pictures because it was a super nice day.
Something that I liked from Stake Conference this week was from a talk given by an area seventy who was visiting. He talked about how one of the reasons we come to church is to "fill our cup". He said that throughout the week we get caught up with life and stress and all the things that go on, and by the end sometimes our "cup" is nearly empty. But when we attend church we are able to be spiritually revitalized, and "fill" our cup so we will be able to make it through the next week. I thought this was a cool thought. Church is a time when we can take a step away from everyday life and focus on coming closer to our Heavenly Father and serving others.
I hope everyone has a great week!
Elder Smith
Pictures!
1) Me and Elder Dickson in front of the Vasa
2) The organ
3) They caught me
4) This is sort of a goofy picture. This is a fountain right by where we had Stake conference in Stockholm. There were bubbles in the fountain.
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