Jul: 12/26/15

Hej!

     I feel like I just wrote an email a few days ago, so I think I'll keep this one pretty short. We have P-day on Saturday this week. I think I'll write again on new year's day, but I'll have another P-day on the first Monday of the new year too so we'll see.

     So Monday was only a half P-day because we had non-proselyting days for Christmas. So after 12 we had a normal day. Our district leader and his companion came to Alingsås to do workovers for the day. I went with Elder Bailey, the district leader, and our companions, Elder Dean and Elder Burton, were together. Both of them are greenies so they had an interesting time being out on their own, haha. They did super well though. After we were finished we all got pizza together.

     On Tuesday we went to Göteborg and our district and another district did Christmas caroling. First we wrote our testimonies in a bunch of Book of Mormons, then we practiced a few songs and headed out. We sang right outside of a big mall called Nordstan, so there were tons of people walking by. We would sing and then a few people at a time would break off to contact some of the people who stopped to listen or people walking by. It was pretty fun, but about halfway through it started raining so we all got pretty wet. Afterwards we had hot chocolate at the YSA center.

     We spent most of Christmas Eve with a member family. In Sweden Christmas Eve is the big day for celebrating so we did a lot of fun things. We watched a show called Kalle Anke (Swedish for Donald Duck), which is a series of Disney clips that has been aired on Swedish TV every Christmas Eve since the 50's. Most of the clips are always the same. After that Santa visited and gave the kids, and us, Christmas presents. After that we just ate food and hung out a bit.

     On Christmas day we just hung out in our apartment and at the church a bit, then in the evening we went to a member family's house. We got to skype home, which was nice, and then we ate a good Christmas dinner.

     That's pretty much all that happened this week! I just want to share my testimony that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that no matter who we are or what situation we are in, the gospel and the Atonement can make a positive difference in our lives. I have been able to see it in my own life and I know that it is true.

I hope everyone has a great new year!!

Elder Smith

Picture!

1) I was pretty bad about taking pictures this week, so this is all I've got 

The Darkest Day: 12/21/15

Hi!

     Today is the darkest day of the year! That's not exactly good news, but at least it means now it will start getting lighter and lighter :) Since I'm farther south than last year it isn't as dark or as cold though, so that's good. We don't even have snow! All the members say we will probably get snow in January and February.

    Last P-day we went to Göteborg and ate lunch with some other missionaries in our district. Then we went to a dollar store kind of place to buy white elephant gifts. I got a little train set and some airplane stickers.

     On Friday we had a zone conference with all the missionaries from the Göteborg and Malmö zones, so on Thursday night we had 4 elders stay at our apartment. We didn't have so much extra bedding, so we had to go into our creepy crawlspaces and take out some bed sheets, pillows, and mattress pads. All of it was dusty so we washed what we could, haha. It was pretty fun though. Two of the elders that stayed with us were my past companions so it was fun be with them again.

     The zone conference was super good. We talked a lot about Christ and about our purpose as missionaries to help people come unto Him. At lunch we split into three groups and did a white elephant gift exchange. I got some chocolate bars and two creepy ceramic statues of a little girl standing next to a duck. When I got home I put them in the corner of one of the crawlspaces so maybe they will creep someone out in the future :) During the second half of zone conference we had a ton of musical numbers. I accompanied on piano while Elder Dean (my companion) and Sister Hall (a new missionary in our district) played violin. We played "Away in a Manger". It went pretty well.

     This week during personal study I was reading in Alma, and a verse really stood out to me that I haven't noticed so much before. It is Alma 26:20. Ammon is talking to the other sons of Mosiah about their mission among the Lamanites and talks about how they themselves used to be wicked. He says "why did he not let the sword of his justice fall upon us, and doom us to eternal dispair?" He then goes on to say "Behold, he did not exercise his justice upon us, but in his great mercy hath brought us over that everlasting gulf of death and misery, even to the salvation of our souls." We are hopefully not as wicked as the sons of Mosiah were before being converted, but I think their story is something true for all of us. God is just, but is also very merciful. We all make mistakes, but through the Atonement we have the chance to overcome our faults and be saved. This is why He sent His son Jesus Christ, so that we can use the Atonement in our lives.

By the way, I have P-day again on Saturday instead of next Monday, so I will email again then :)

I hope everyone has a great week and a merry Christmas!

Elder Smith

Pictures!!

1) A typical meal of meatballs and pasta

2) The creepy ceramic girls in the creepy crawlspace. This room is right on the other side of the wall that my bed is up against.

3) Poor city planning

4) The river in a town in our area

A Very New Companion: 12/14/15

Hej!

     This week was pretty good. Last P-day we didn't really do anything special, but it was still good. On Tuesday we tried getting everything ready to go since we both had to leave to Stockholm in the evening. A member took us out to lunch and got us pizzas. We visited a few people to say goodbye, then took two trains to Stockholm. We stayed the night with the zone leaders of the Stockholm South zone. In the morning all the trainers went to the Västerhaninge chapel, which is right by the Stockholm temple, and waited. All the new missionaries were brought in and had a meeting, but we were hidden downstairs. There were tons of missionaries there. There were 27 new missionaries, which meant there were also 27 trainers. It was fun to get to see a lot of people who I haven't seen in a long time. 

     Eventually they brought all the trainers in and we sat at the back of the chapel. One by one President Beckstrand called up a greenie and gave them a letter. They opened the letter, and read where their first area would be and who their trainer would be. Once they read it the trainer went up to hug them and they sat down together. My companion, Elder Dean, was third to last so I had to wait a while which was a little stressful.

     Elder Dean is from Auburn, Washington, and plays violin. He even brought his violin with him. He is super good at Swedish so far and has a personality that is a lot like mine. We get along pretty well.

     After the meeting everyone got their bags and went to travel to their areas. Almost all of us had to go through Stockholm central station, so there were TONS of missionaries on the train there, and all of us had suitcases as well. Luckily we had no problems getting back to Alingsås, and our ward mission leader gave us a ride to our apartment. 

     On Saturday we had a Christmas concert. It went pretty well. I participated in 5 different songs, which was a little hectic since we could have used a little more practice on a lot of them, but it worked out. I got to play guitar to accompany a member while she sang, and I sang in the rest. During the concert the Alingsås Lucia came and sang a few songs. Santa Lucia is an Italian saint, but it is a tradition in Sweden to have Lucia concerts, so every year there is one Lucia and a few other girls who go around and do concerts and sing three Lucia songs. So it was pretty cool to have the official Lucia at our concert. After the concert there was a TON of food for everyone.

     Church yesterday went well. Elder Dean gave his introduction testimony in Swedish and did pretty well. After church there was food for everyone because there was still a TON of leftovers after the concert. And even after that we were given a big bag of bread to take home haha. 

     This week I learned how personal scripture study can really be a blessing to us. We were teaching a part member family, and showed them the new Christmas video. We expected to have a short discussion, but then the nonmember husband started asking a bunch of questions about how we can know Christ is the Savior and about other stuff. A lot of the stuff he was asking about was things I had read about that morning in personal study, so it was easier for me to think of how to answer him. It was a really cool experience. 

     I hope everyone has a great week!

Elder Smith

Pictures!

1) Stockholm station. I don't know why it didn't load last week

2) Stockholm

3) Elder Dean and me in Stockholm station

4) The sunrise, at 9ish

Stuck in Stockholm: 12/7/15

Hi!

     This has been an eventful week! On P-day we didn't do too much, we just spent time with the other missionaries in Göteborg. On Tuesday we had an apartment inspection. We passed, although Elder Roosendaal had to clean out the shower drain (you have to clean the shower drains here once in a while and they are pretty gross). We also got a new toaster, which was nice. That night we had a dinner appointment with a member family. All their kids started showing us the instruments they play, and one of their boys is learning trumpet so he let me try it out. It's been a super long time since I played, but I managed to play a few notes, haha.

     On Wednesday we did splits with the zone leaders, so Elder Albertsen was with me in my area for a day. We did a lot of tracting and visited a few less-active members. At one point we were walking around and stopped to talk to an older woman. In the middle of the conversation she asked if either of us was wearing perfume and told us that we smelled too nice. It was an interesting conversation. We just barely missed the bus home, so we were stuck in a small town for an hour. We went and got pizza while we waited, which was fun. 

    The next morning I was making toast with our new toaster, and after like 20 seconds it popped the toast out. It was weird, so I pushed it back in. There was a small spark on the inside on one of the heating wires, and the toast wouldn't stay down. So I tried again, and the same thing happened. So after a few more tries, which maybe weren't so well thought out, I tried one last time. There was a big spark, and all the lights went out. Luckily only the fuse for parts of the apartment was blown out, so we could still see in the main room. After that we had district meeting. After district meeting we ate at a Chinese buffet to celebrate Elder Roosendaal going home. Then we went to go to the train home, and we realized Elder Roosendaal didn't get his bus card back after splits, so we had to wait for the zone leaders to come to the station and give it back.

     On Friday I went to a trainers meeting in the mission home in Stockholm. It was kind of weird to travel there all by myself, but luckily everything worked out fine. The meeting was super good, we talked about how to help our greenies learn fast and feel prepared to be missionaries. After the meeting we went back to the subway station and made our way to Stockholm Central Station for our trains back to our areas. When we got there, there were people everywhere and it was super crowded. We found out that there was a huge wind storm so there was power lines and debris blocking the railways. Everyone going north got out okay, but a few trains going south and west were cancelled or delayed. At first my train was delayed an hour, but then it got cancelled. So there were five of us stranded there: me, Sister Harkness (who is in my district), Elder Christley, Elder Hainsworth, and Elder Purkey. We had to go to the train company's office to see if we could rebook our tickets but it was super crowded so we walked around Stockholm a bit to wait until the crowds died down. It was really really windy outside, and some stores' signs were blowing over. Then we went back to the station and waited in line. We all got new tickets for free--for the next day. We figured out places to stay, but we had to wait a while for the sisters to come pick up sister Harkness since we didn't want to leave her by herself. We all got 24-hour subway passes and the elders went to stay with the Gubbängen zone leaders. They are both from my MTC group, so it was fun to see them again. 

     The next morning we had transfer calls, and luckily I had my companionship's phone so I got to listen to my zone's transfers. I am staying in Alingsås with my greenie. We met Sister Harkness at the station around noon, and our replacement train was also cancelled. So we got back in line and got new replacement tickets for a few hours later. We got a faster train though, plus 100 crowns to a store to buy food. While we were waiting for that train we were watching the information board and hoping not to see another cancel, and a member came up and started talking to us. His name is Paolo, and he was visiting Europe to learn English. He was pretty nice. Then our train got in and we got on. It was delayed half an hour, but we finally made it back to Göteborg. We went to pizza after that and then Elder Roosendaal and I took the train back to Alingsås. I was exhausted after all that. I am going back to Stockholm tomorrow, so hopefully this time it will go a little smoother :)

     Church yesterday was good. After church was kind of crazy, because there were multiple people who wanted to practice Christmas concert songs with me all at the same time, but it worked out.

     This week I strengthened my testimony of how the Holy Ghost can direct us without us even knowing it. When I was getting ready to go to Stockholm, I was trying to decide what to bring. I thought about bringing the phone cord, since sometimes there are plug ins on the train so I could charge it. Then after a little hesitation I decided to take the wall plug as well, just to be safe. I thought I wouldn't need it since it was only supposed to be a day trip. While we were trying to figure things out I had to do a lot of calling so it was really nice to have all the stuff I needed to charge the phone and stay in contact with people. 

     I hope everyone has a great week! Sorry for the long email, there was a lot of things that happened this week!

Elder Smith

Snow!: 11/30/15

Hej!

     Last P-day we didn't do too much. We hung out with the Kungsbacka elders and went to an outlet mall. Everything there was still super expensive so we were pretty disappointed. Then we went to the Kungsbacka elders' apartment and played card games. 

     On Thursday we had district meeting at the YSA center, and then the senior couple in charge of the YSA center prepared a Thanksgiving lunch for everyone! We had everything we needed for a proper Thanksgiving meal, although the turkeys here are not so big. That evening we had a ward activity where we wrapped up clothes as presents to refugee boys who came to Sweden with no parents or other family. 

     Yesterday there was a lot of choir practicing. First we had a choir practice before church. Then during Sunday school I practiced playing guitar while a member sang Santa Claus is Coming to Town. That went pretty well actually. Then after church someone else was practicing a song so I got a break, haha. 

     Yesterday it was raining super hard all day, then at about 10 o'clock it started snowing! It was snowing super hard and got to about an inch and a half. It melted by this morning though, because it's not cold enough outside. Also, last night President Beckstrand called me and told me I will be training next transfer!!! On Friday I will be going to a Train the Trainers meeting in the mission home, so that will be super fun!

     This week I have really strengthened my testimony of scripture study. I have been reading scriptures that I have read before a couple of times, but I am finding a lot of things that I never really payed attention to, and it makes it so much more interesting to study the scriptures! I know that they have to be the word of God, because they teach me about the gospel and I know they are true.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Elder Smith 

Pictures!

1) Our district and the Kungsbacka district on Thanksgiving

2) Thanskgiving!

3) A member had an app called face swap