September 25, 2017 Weekly Update

A fountain/statue of Thor in Torshällas (Torshällas literally means "Thors Pouring" in English)

Inside the old church we visited

September 25, 2017

Last P-day Elder Wilkinson and I decided to go to Torshällas and explore a little. It was an incredibly beautiful little town, and we ended up touring a church that dates back to the 1100's. There were a bunch of super old artifacts that had been found which were in display cases, and the church was pretty amazing to look at. We continued to look around the town and found a nice windmill and walked along the river for a ways.

The train tickets for Handen(The machine went a little crazy)

On Wednesday I had my first Zone conference! It was in Handen so we had to take 3 different trains and about two hours to travel there. It was an amazing experience to see so many other missionaries, to learn together, and to hear of their successes. We focused on the importance of strengthening our testimony of Jesus Christ. As we do so, we are truly anchoring our testimonies in bedrock, and our focus is on that which is of the most importance. I also had the chance to talk with Elder Tingey, who was in my MTC district. It's pretty amazing how different our experiences have been, and yet as we spoke together it was clear how much the Lord has truly helped each of us.

Outside the old church

One of the coolest experiences experiences we had this week was the return of Hamid. Hamid is in his twenties, and is from Afghanistan. Elder Wilkinson actually found him this summer and taught him for a few weeks, but then he he moved to France because he didn't have tillstånd (permission to stay in Sweden). After living in France for several weeks he moved to Germany, and then found out he had tillstånd, so he decided to come back to Sweden. The day he arrived in Sweden we just happened to run into him on the street, and we were able to set up an appointment to teach him. We had a wonderful lesson with him on Saturday in which we set a baptismal date for Nov 4, and he also came to church on Sunday. Hamid used to be Muslim but  gradually stopped believing, and after meeting the missionaries he knows that our church is the true church of God. It's been amazing to hear his life story and how much the gospel has blessed and improved his life.

The town square

As I have turned the focus of my studies this week to the Savior my love for Him has deepened. I know that Christ is truly the Son of God. He came to Earth and suffered all things. Despite having all power, He allowed men to mock him, scourge him, and crucify him. He did all this because He loves each of us more than we understand, and all He asks is that we follow him. As we do, we are able to receive the blessings he has in store for us, and he is able to make our burdens light.

Äldste Sirrine

September 18, 2017 Toto, we're not in Sweden anymore...

I get to walk by this several times a day and it never gets old...

September 18, 2017

Okay first of all, I am still in Eskilstuna, Sweden, but it pretty much feels like I am in the Middle-East. The majority of people we teach and talk to on the street are actually from Iraq, Iran, and Syria, and this week I realized that they are pretty much my favorite people ever. Last Monday we unexpectedly went to Alan's house (one of our investigators) to teach him and he fed us this Syrian food he called Fatia. The food was amazing, and as we taught him we had him read out of the Book of Mormon. The problem was, we can't exactly read Arabic to well, so as we opened up to the scripture for him to read we would have to ask him what book/verse we were pointing at to make sure we had him read the right thing. After doing this for a little while he ended up teaching us how to count and read numbers in Arabic, as well as how to say a few basic phrases. Let's just say my mouth does not want to make those sounds, but It was actually a lot of fun to learn! He was a really good teacher, and whenever we would actually get something right he would get super excited. So here I am in Sweden, and now I have learned how to greet people and count in Arabic, who would have thought? The lesson went really well with him. He loves reading the Book of Mormon, and learning about the gospel, and is making real progress. It's amazing to see how much hope and comfort the gospel brings him at this time as his family is having really hard times back in Syria and Turkey.

We have been trying to work with the members, and this week we visited several of them. Throughout the lessons we would ask them to share with us their testimony of how the gospel has helped them in their lives. It was amazing to hear such powerful testimony borne by people who had not always had the gospel in their life. To hear the contrast of how their life was before, and how it is now, was incredibly powerful. Their faith is incredible, and while many people think the missionaries are the ones teaching, in all reality I was the one being taught. Our goal with visiting the members has been to get five referrals from each member. We helped them think of five people who would be blessed by the gospel, and then we helped them create a plan of how they can prepare them to meet the missionaries. Many of the people they thought of are not ready at this point, but as each member strives to share the light of the gospel, they will become ready. While we as missionaries look forward to opportunities to teach these people, the best part has been watching the members grow stronger as they do this. As they consider what the gospel has done for them, their desire to share that message has grown. As they have made plans and goals to share that message, they have gained a greater knowledge and understanding of the gospel, and their faith has increased.

Lunch at Fariba's 

On Saturday we were invited to Fariba's house for lunch. Fariba is a member who has recently moved in, and she has been one of the greatest blessings to the branch. She is from Iran and speaks both Persian and Swedish fluently and can translate for the Persian members in the branch. We have a ton of Persian members and investigators, and while they come to church, they have a hard time understanding. To have someone who can translate has been such a blessing. Fariba invited the sister missionaries, us, and about eight other Persian members (all from Iran) in the branch over for lunch and

The Persian food we had at Fariba's!

made a ton, like a ton, of authentic Persian food. This may or may not have been one of the greatest things that has happened to me on the mission so far... Okay not really, but I cannot express how good the food was. Even better than that was the chance to meet with the Persian members. They are the kindest, most giving, happiest people you have ever met, and they are super fun to be around, especially with the language barrier. There we were, a bunch of Americans and Iranians all meeting together in Sweden, trying to speak Swedish to each other, and it was one of the funnest things I have ever done. We read from the Book of Mormon together, in Persian, and gave each of them a copy to share with someone they know. While at times we struggled to communicate, Fariba was able to translate when needed, and they accepted the challenge to share the gospel with others. I pray and hope that as they do so we will bring even more Persian members into the branch, because they're seriously the best. Fariba has been such an inspiration to me. She used to live in Iran and her husband passed away from cancer, and shortly after her son was killed in Iraq, so she came to Sweden and has since blessed the lives of so many and is the happiest person I've met. I hope to have the same strength she has to meet adversity in my life.

After church on Sunday we had a lesson with Omar and his little brother Mohammed. They're both Muslims and it was interesting to learn a little bit more about Islam as we taught the Restoration of The Gospel of Jesus Christ. They committed to read the Book of Mormon, and I know that as they do, they will receive a witness of it's truth. Right after teaching Omar and Mohammed, we had our first lesson with Zain, who is in his twenties, and his from Syria. He was also Muslim, but not "active". He has seven siblings, who are all in Turkey right now, and his father passed away a few years ago. He is concerned for their safety and well being, and hopes they are able to make it Sweden. It was an incredible experience to teach him how the gospel blesses families, and how the Lord can help his family. We asked him to pray, and at first he didn't want to, but eventually he did so in Arabic. I couldn't understand the words he was saying, but it was the most powerful and sincere prayer I have ever heard. I know the Lord will answer him, and I am so grateful I was able to be part of the experience.

I am so grateful to be here in Eskilstuna, and for all the people I have had the chance of meeting. They have blessed my life more than I can say, and I love them with all my heart. There is a wonderful video on lds.org titled "Is there a place for me?" that has really touched me, and I would invite all to watch it. I know the Lord lives and he loves all of his children. What a blessing it is to be able to share his message of love with the world.

Äldste Sirrine

A really cool church we visited on P-day

In case you didn't think the other picture was real...

September 11, 2017 Yet another great week!

The view from our apartment

September 11, 2017

It has been an amazing week! Last Thursday I got to go on Splits with Elder Dean so I had the opportunity to work in Södertälje (about an hour from Eskilstuna) for a day. Elder Dean goes home this transfer and it was really cool to learn from such an experienced missionary. We did a lot of street contacting and tracting and not too many people would listen to us, but Elder Wilkinson and Elder Malone had some good success back in Eskilstuna. On Friday, after switching back to our normal companions, we got to go do service for one of the people they had found the night before. The man's name is Conne and he had just sold his house that he had grown up in, but he is completely remodeling the inside, so we offered to help. He said he didn't need help, because there was a crew of guys from Iraq who were working there, but we persisted, and eventually he had us help move some lumber and other junk out of the attic and into a van. We did so for about an hour and during the course of our service he would teach us Swedish words as we taught him English words. When we had to go he shook our hands, almost in tears, and said, "I learned something from you two today. I really did. And it feels good." He finally gave us permission to call him and set up a time to meet in the future, which he was opposed to earlier that day. As we do as the savior did and "go about doing good" the Lord will pour out his spirit and give us opportunities to spread his gospel.

A cool bridge

This was also an incredible week for our investigator Nadia. She is about 22, Swedish, and has been meeting with the missionaries on and off for about a year, but lately she has been making real progress as she has been praying and reading the Book of Mormon every day. On Tuesday we taught her the importance of keeping the Sabbath Day holy. When we told her that meant not shopping on Sunday she was very concerned. She told us, "You guys don't understand, like I have given up alcohol completely and I'm living the Law of Chastity, but Sundays are my day to shop! If I had to choose between giving up alcohol and giving up shopping on Sunday, I would choose giving up alcohol hands down." This was a little shocking to hear, but we asked her to try it and we promised that she would be blessed by doing so. We told her that by so doing she would show her gratitude and commitment to the Lord, and would receive greater strength for the coming week. Eventually she committed to keeping the Sabbath Day holy, and on Sunday she successfully did so! We haven't had a chance to ask her about it yet, but I am confident that she felt the spirit as she did so, and that she will find blessings throughout this week. She also had the coolest experience on Saturday. She is applying to BYU, and the last thing she had to do for her application was take the ACT. She has been preparing for it, and it was on Saturday in Göteborg (which is about 3 hours from here). Friday night we texted a bunch of missionaries and almost everyone in the branch to pray for her. Yesterday, when we asked her how the test went, she said it was really hard but she had a really good feeling about it, which she thought was strange. She then told us that she arrived to the test a little early and the doors hadn't opened yet. There were about twenty people waiting to go in, so she went to a bench and sat down next to another girl. They began talking, and the girl, Johanna, asked Nadia if she was applying to college in the States. Nadia said yes, and then explained that she was going to a school in Utah. Johanna then asked if it was BYU, which surprised Nadia, but she confirmed that it was in fact BYU. Johanna then expressed great excitement and told Nadia that she too was applying to BYU! Nadia asked if she was Mormon, and Johanna confirmed that she was, and then said that she was actually just about to read from the Book of Mormon and asked if Nadia would like to join. Nadia thought that was probably a good idea, so they read together until the test started. As Nadia was telling us this story she said, "I guess that is probably the sign I should be looking for." This whole experience has strengthened my testimony of the power of prayer. There is no other way that would have answered our prayers with more clarity, and testified that God was there to help Nadia. If it had happened any other way, she might have been able to brush it off, but she knows that God's hand was in this, and she cannot deny that.

Selfie

I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. He knows each of us personally, he loves us, and he will help us. All he asks is that we ask him in faith. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission, and for the chance to be here in Sweden. I have learned to rely on the Lord and that as I strive to do as he directs, he gives me the strength and ability to do so.

Äldste Sirrine

September 4, 2017 Hallå från sverige!

The river and a cool church

The view from a member's balcony. It's a little foggy so you don't get the full affect, but it is a stunning view.

 September 4, 2017

Well, what a week it has been! I don't really know where to start... so I guess I'll start from the beginning. We left the MTC at 3:30 AM on Aug 28th, went to the airport, and left at about 8:30. I have to say, travelling to the airport was the first time that I really felt like a missionary, carrying my suitcases and all, and it was really weird to think that I was going to another country for two years. We had a layover in New York for a grand total of 20 min which was super exciting when it came to finding the next flight, but we made it! The flight to Sweden was long, but it was super cool. My companion Äldste Radford was supposed to be sitting next to me on the plane, but since he is waiting for a visa, his seat was filled by a 22 year old girl from Korea named Jane. We began talking, and it turns out she has lived back and forth between Korea and the States, so she speaks really good English, and she has been doing an internship in Sweden for the last six months. As we were talking she asked why our whole group was dressed up so nice for such a long flight. I told her that we were serving a mission and began to tell her about the church. She asked a lot of really good questions and was totally open, so I ended up teaching her the whole Restoration. Looks like my first real lesson as a missionary was actually on a plane, somewhere over the Atlantic, not in Sweden. She also asked about prayer so I taught her how to pray, and the whole time I was talking about prayer she was tearing up. I know she felt something, and I hope she continues to act on the feeling and impressions she received.  It was one of the coolest experiences I've had though. It was the first time I had ever felt the kind of love that missionaries feel. I had never met her before, yet I wanted her to accept the gospel so bad because I knew how much it would bless her life. I wanted to do everything in my power to help her, and it just made me sad that after we landed I would never have the opportunity to teach her again. I didn't have a book of Mormon on me, so I turned around and asked Äldste Moss if I could give her his. He actually wrote his testimony in the book, and we gave it to her along with a pass along card and information on how to contact the missionaries where she lived. I invited her to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, and I hope with all my heart that she does so and has a desire to know more.

President and Sister Youngberg

When we landed in Sweden at 7 AM we were met by the Mission President and a few missionaries who took us to the chapel in Täby to have breakfast (seriously the coolest church ever.... and it's surrounded by forest and wild raspberries which are still in season), and then we went to the immigration place and did some paper work. It was actually really funny because we were all so tired at this point that one of the Elders fell asleep leaning against a wall. After taking care of all the fun legal stuff, we got a tour of Stockholm, and I have to say, it has to be the most beautiful city in the world... All the buildings are really old, but they are really colorful and they just seem to fit together like a work of art. After the tour we met some missionaries who have been here a while, We each got a companion to go with, and I got to go with Elder Jämsä who is one of the Assistants to the Mission President, and we got to go street contacting. Not going to lie, that was one of the most stressful things I have ever done. .This was about 2:30 PM, the most busy time of day, in downtown Stockholm. I went up to the first person and had barely said "Ursäkta" (which means "excuse me") before the person immediately said "Nej!" and kept walking... This happened about ten more times before we met a really cool guy from Chile who actually gave me a hug when he found out it was my first day in Sweden. We met a few other people who were willing to talk to us, and we eventually gave out a Book of Mormon. After this experience I was a little concerned about what the next two years were going to be like, but that was truly the hardest conditions we could have been in. Every day since then has been much more successful and it has actually been fun to go out and talk with people.

We spent the night at the mission home and the next day we got our trainers and our first areas. I have been assigned to Eskilstuna, with Elder Wilkinson as my trainer! As it turns out, Elder Wilkinson was trained by Elder Jämsä, so my very first experience contacting was with my mission grandpa as they say. We even got a nice three generation picture together :) After getting our assignments and having
a very Swedish lunch of meatballs and potatoes, we hopped on the train, and traveled about an hour West of Stockholm to Eskilstuna. Eskilstuna is a really cool town, and it seems that almost half the population are immigrants which is super awesome. After we arrived and dropped my stuff off at apartment, we went to the church where we helped set up a lesson in Persian over Skype. We skyped a lady in California who is a member and speaks Persian, so she teaches people from all over.

My trainer Äldste Wilkinson and I.

The next day was my first full day in the field, and one of the best so far. We had a lesson with an
elderly man, Peter, who is a Jehovah Witness, and he invited his friend over who used to be a Jehova's Witness. We didn't really know what to expect going into the lesson, but we walked in to his house and he immediately gave us sandwiches and cake. We had a good lesson and while Peter didn't seem too interested, his friend Järgin seems interested, and we hope to teach him again. The best part of all this is that I was fed by a Jehovah's Witness before I was even fed by a member! We went to a member's house for dinner that night though, so it wasn't too far behind. We also had a lesson that night with Allan. Allan is from Syria and has been living in Sweden for three years, which means it's super fun to talk to him because he speaks a mix of Swedish, English, and Arabic, so translating get's interesting. We were originally just dropping by to see how he's doing because he used to be an investigator, but he's been out of contact for a couple months. We had planned to share Alma 36:18-20 with him, but when he read it he didn't quite understand it, so he asked if he could read the whole chapter. We definitely weren't going to object to this, so there we were sitting on his couch listening to him read Alma 36 in Arabic while we attempted to follow in Swedish (most of which I still don't understand anyway). It was actually really cool, and he absolutely loved the scripture. He loves Christ, and we extended a Baptismal date which he accepted with enthusiasm! We hope he works towards his baptismal date of October 28th with diligence, and we are going to do everything we can to help him.

This whole week has been awesome, and I have loved serving here in Eskilstuna. People are more open to us on the street, which is truly a relief after Stockholm, and the feeling I get when we talk to people and teach people is indescribable. I truly love being able to go out and share the gospel with people every day.

A really cool little road

That's about all I have time for, and I wish I could share more than this sliver of what has happened over the past week and a half, but just know that I love it here and the work is amazing. The people I have met are wonderful, and Sweden is absolutely beautiful. There is no place I'd rather be, and nothing I'd rather be doing at this time :)

The District! After district meeting we went to Folket's which is right by our apartment and has some amazing shawarma.