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
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