October 30, 2017 A Day to Remember

Church in Strängnäs

Last Monday Äldste Wilkinson and I decided to go explore Strängnäs, which is about 45 min away. We have been there several times to visit a member family, but they live on the edge of the town so we had never actually been into town before. Upon arriving there the most obvious landmark in sight was a massive church, so we decided to check it out. It turns out the church dates back to 1200 and it was a pretty incredible sight. We explored the church for a while and then went down to the river which was absolutely beautiful.

On Tuesday we had a great lesson with Nadia. She applied to BYU but found out a few weeks ago that she wasn't accepted which was super sad. We had been waiting to find out on the admission decision to extend a baptismal date for her, and that was the goal of our lesson on Tuesday. We talked about recognizing the promptings of the spirit and extended a baptismal date of Dec. 9. She told us she needed some time to pray and think about it. I'm so glad to see that she understands the importance of the baptismal covenant and the need to prepare, but I hope she doesn't let that scare her away from making the decision. She seems to have had a great week and really enjoyed church yesterday and we plan to meet with her tomorrow to follow up and re-invite her to make the commitment to be baptized. She has been in our prayers unceasingly, and I would ask all of you to keep her in your prayers at this important time as well.

Friday was definitely a day to remember. We arose and exercised as normal and then Äldste Wilkinson showered while I ate breakfast. Our apartment has a European style shower which means that there is no tub or retaining wall around the shower, so the floor of the bathroom gets wet when you shower. Normally it's not too much of a problem and you just squeegee the water up when your done, but on Friday the drain decided to plug... Äldste Wilkinson didn't realize the water beginning to rise as he showered, and before we knew it there was about an inch and a half of standing water in the bathroom, and it had run out into the entry way and kitchen of the apartment. I was in the other room eating so I didn't realize what had happened until I heard Äldste Wilkinson finish showering and it sounded like he was swimming laps as he tried to squeegee the floor (I'm still not entirely sure why he was attempting to use the squeegee when there was an inch and a half of water throughout the whole bathroom....) When he emerged from the bathroom he began to tell me what had happened when we both noticed the water that was throughout the kitchen and entry way. We weren't exactly sure what to do, so we did the only thing we could. We grabbed two towels and used them to soak up water, wring them out, and repeat. After about an hour of this we had successfully dried the kitchen floor and entry way, but we hadn't even touched the bathroom. The water still wasn't draining, and unfortunately we had to leave right then to catch a train by 9 to go to Södertälje for district meeting. (Thankfully the floor and walls are sealed, so there wasn't the risk of water damage in the walls by leaving the bathroom flooded) We went to district meeting, which was incredible, but we couldn't get a train back for a few hours so we didn't get back to Eskilstuna until about 4. When we returned to the apartment we were greeted by the pool of water still in the bathroom which we had hoped might have somehow resolved itself while we were gone. Normally we would only do shopping on P-day, but we decided that this was probably something we shouldn't wait until Monday to fix... So we went and bought a drain unclogger which we used to successfully fix the problem. After the water drained, we finished mopping up the residue with our nifty towels, and I have to say, our floors have never been cleaner. You know, we talk about how important the family unit is to God's plan, and I can't say how true that is. I'd like to take this time to thank my 5 wonderful sisters and their hair, which has a tendency to clog drains. Without knowing it, that hair has prepared me for my mission. It has given me so many opportunities to unclog drains that when the moment of need arose I was already well practiced and prepared to handle it. God works in mysterious ways...

On Saturday we had the chance to visit a family from Iran who were baptized a few months ago. It was really cool to hear about their experience with baptism and how much it means to them. It gave us the opportunity to talk about the Sabbath and how important it is to partake of the sacrament each week to renew that covenant. As we do so, we are renewed and strengthened for the coming week, our thoughts are turned to Christ, and we remain focused on the things that matter most in life.

The river in Strängnäs

Quick update on the sun: The sun is now setting at about 3:50 which makes contacting pretty interesting. There are fewer people out on the street after dark, but at the same time they can't see who we are from a distance so they can't avoid us as easily... I say that somewhat jokingly, but it is actually so true. I have to say it's super weird to have the sun set so early, and when it's up it stays really low in the sky so it always feels like late afternoon/evening.

It's been another great week as we have invited others to come unto Christ. Helaman 5:10-11 says (italics added), "And remember also the words which Amulek spake unto Zeezrom, in the city of Ammonihah; for he said unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins. And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance; therefore he hath sent his angels to declare the tidings of the conditions of repentance, which bringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their souls." The Lord desires to save each and every one of us, but he will not violate the agency he has given us. If we choose to remain in our sins, he cannot save us. However, if we choose to leave our sins behind, to turn to Christ, he is waiting with open arms to receive us unto salvation. 

Äldste Sirrine

A super cool wall in the Church

Inside the Church

October 23, 2017 Weekly letter

Pretty fall colors

Well it's been another great week here in Sweden! We found a lot of really good potential investigators on the street, and we look forward to hopefully meeting them in the near future. This week we went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders, so I was left here in Eskilstuna with Äldste Pack. It was really cool to see how he approached thing and it gave me some ideas that I can try in my efforts. We had done some street contacting throughout the day and we were at the very end of our last session, heading back to the church, when we ran into a man named Tommy. He began to tell us that he had family who had emigrated to Salt Lake, and were members there. He said that he had met missionaries once before about three months ago, and had a Book of Mormon in English, which he had been reading, but it was going a little slow and was hard at times because it was in English. He told us that he wished he had one in Swedish, which was music to our ears, but unfortunately we had distributed all the books we had on us... We told him we had one at the church we could give him and said that if he had time we could take him there right then. Much to our surprise he looked down at his watch and said, "Yeah I've got time. Let's go!" Just to clarify, we were in downtown Eskilstuna where just about the only thing people say to us when we try to talk to them is "Jag har inte tid!" (which means "I don't have time!"). We ended up walking to the church with him which was about 10 minutes away, we took him inside, and gave him a Book of Mormon in Swedish. He was so grateful for the book and promised that he would come to church on Sunday. Yesterday he did indeed come to church and seemed to really like it! We look forward to teaching him because he already values the Book of Mormon so much. Anybody who values the Book of Mormon as he does, studies it's principles, and prays to know if it's true, will indeed receive a witness that the Book of Mormon is true.

On Saturday we had a chance to do some service for one of the members here. We did some weeding for her, and it was the first time I had worn civilian clothing outside of the apartment which felt really strange... I loved the chance to serve her, and it was a great opportunity to get to know Sister Hill's new companion, Sister Eriksson, better. Sister Eriksson is the only native Swedish missionary in the mission right now, and it was super cool to get her perspective on Sweden and to ask a bunch of questions about the language. She is super helpful, and I feel so lucky that she happens to be serving in Eskilstuna this transfer!

On Saturday we also had a few lessons planned that got cancelled, which was a bit disappointing. However, as we continued to work we ended up having an unexpected lesson with a lady named Janette and her fiance. Elder Wilkinson had met Janette once before and had given her a book of Mormon, but was having some difficulties so she hadn't been able to meet for a couple months. Janette believes in Christ "more than 100%" (which is apparent by all the pictures in her apartment) and she knows that the Book of Mormon is true. It was a wonderful lesson, and one that we would not have had the opportunity of having if our others had not been cancelled. At times our life may seem hard and we may not know why we are going through certain things. I testify that God has a perfect plan for each of us. As we continue to have faith in Him and diligently seek his help, we will find opportunities far greater than we could have imagined.

I am so grateful to be here in Eskilstuna at this time. So many wonderful things are happening, and there are many more coming in the next few weeks. As I have reflected on the progress of our investigators, it has all come down to the Book of Mormon and prayer. Each investigator who is making progress right now is reading the Book of Mormon and praying daily. No exceptions. I testify that as we read the Book of Mormon and pray daily, we will find the answers we are searching for. I have seen this in the lives of others, and I have, without a doubt, found it to be true in my own. We cannot neglect these two actions and hope to maintain or build our faith in Christ. I know that Christ has provided a means for us to return to Him. He lives today and beckons to each of us with open arms and the simple words "Come, follow me." May we all strive to lay aside anything that would keep us from heeding his voice, and may we follow the path he has shown us is my hope and prayer. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Äldste Sirrine

Some Syrian food that Janette's brother made us. I have to say, Syrian food has to be the best food in the world...

October 16, 2017 "Abosus"

A beautiful sunrise from our apartment

This week we spent a lot of time finding people in an effort to build our teaching pool. We met a lot of really cool people on the street, including a guy from South Sudan, who we met yesterday. He thought we were Jehovah's Witnesses (Of course...There are so many Jehovah's Witnesses here, and everybody thinks we are part of missionaries from their church). After explaining that we were not Jehovah's Witnesses, he talked to us for a little bit but assured us that he already knew everything about Jesus Christ so he didn't need to know more. He then proceeded to reenact, with great energy I might add, John 21:15-17 when Christ asked Peter three times "Lovest thou me?". It was pretty entertaining, and he even would switch voices and character. The best part was that he thought it was Matthew instead of Peter, which we thought was pretty funny coming from someone who claimed to know everything about Christ. Hopefully we will be able to meet with him in the future and teach him the truths found in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

The branch president Rolf Lundkvist

One of the interesting things about Sweden is how interested people are in family history. I suppose this makes sense in a society whose history goes back so far, and where records are made easily accessible to all. There is a lady here who is not interested in the church right now, but will give the missionaries food all the time, and is extremely interested in family history. I have heard how much the missionaries have touched her though, and I know that someday she will be ready to receive the gospel. She has been doing a lot of family history work lately and was very curious where the last name "Sirrine" comes from, so she started investigating and doing family history work for me. Apparently she found out that "Sirrine" means "to the mystery" in Azerbaijani.... She hasn't found anything else yet, but hopefully she is able to find something that can bring greater understanding to the great mystery of where the name Sirrine comes from.

Last Tuesday we had a lesson with Ibrahim and taught him the Word of Wisdom. This was definitely a concern we had for him due to his use of tobacco. As soon as we had finished teaching him that the Lord would have us refrain from smoking and using tobacco he told us he that he knows this is truly from God, and that he could feel within him that it is right. He committed to stopping his use of tobacco and showed his faith in the Lord by throwing out his tobacco right then. As he has continued to rely on the Lord for strength through daily prayer and scripture study he has successfully been able to refrain from tobacco since that day. We have been visiting with him and supporting him in his efforts, and I will say that it has not been easy for him. In one of our visits he said it was so hard that he would "kill for a cigarette right then". However, I can testify that he has received strength beyond his own through prayer and a sincere desire to follow his savior Jesus Christ. He is a wonderful example to all, and the change this has made in his life is truly miraculous.

On Sunday we had stake conference which was being broadcast from Stockholm. Alan and Ibrahim both came and were so excited to be there. Unfortunately there were technical difficulties in Stockholm so the broadcast didn't work for any of the branches they were broadcasting to. We felt really bad that they had come and weren't able to watch stake conference, but thankfully they were both very understanding. After church they invited us over to their apartment for lunch and we had Syrian breakfast food. It was basically beans, lettuce, onions, tomatoes and olive oil that you would literally just grab with a piece of pita bread and eat with your hands. Not only was it some of the best food I have ever eaten, but there was something so satisfying about sitting around a little table and eating Syrian food like a native. To go along with the experience I officially received an Arabic nickname, "Abosus" (Which means Father Sirrine... I think... the explanation was half in Arabic so it was kind of hard to understand). Apparently the name Sirrine is not something Arabic speakers are capable of pronouncing, so after trying every other way of pronunciation possible, Alan gave up and had to use the nickname. Interestingly enough, Ibrahim is able to pronounce my last name because he learned how to speak English (extremely well) from watching "How I met your Mother" on TV. The whole visit was pretty great, but the only problem is how much food they make you eat. I have learned very quickly that in Arabic culture you have accept what they give you, and they expect you

Doing a little service

to take more. If you don't, it's seen as a sign that you don't like them or their house. As a result, no matter how hard you try to tell them you're full they somehow just keep adding food to your plate. Now being forced to eat so much delicious food may not seem like a problem, but let me say that you seriously regret it when you have to go out and start tracting or street contacting right after... It really was a great visit though, and we had the opportunity to read 2 Ne 31 with them. Jesus Christ truly came to earth and showed us the way. Even though he was perfect he was baptized to fulfill the will of His Father and to show us the way through which we can return to his presence. All he asks of us is to do the things we have seen him do. He wants us to turn from anything that would keep us from Him and to come unto Him. I testify that as we have faith in Him we will receive the strength and ability to do so, and we will receive the blessings he has promised us.

Äldste Sirrine

October 9, 2017 Winter is Coming!

 A time lapse of the 45 min car ride from Södertälje to Eskilstuna!​

October 9, 2017

Well this week the weather turned pretty cold. The whole week has been really cold and rainy which makes it interesting to talk to people, especially on the weekend when it seems to turn into a ghost town here. It's hard enough to find people, and then they don't exactly want to stop and talk in the rain which is understandable. I would say one of the greatest differences in weather so far between Sweden and Utah is the rain. It doesn't usually rain as hard, but it lasts all day and is often just a misting rain which is really weird because it doesn't feel like it's raining but everything gets soaked. It's also notoriously windy here in Eskilstuna which makes things pretty fun when it's cold and wet. On the bright side, the trees are turning colors which is absolutely beautiful (sorry I don't have any pictures of that). On the not so bright side (literally) it's starting to get dark here, and you know it's starting to get dark when the mission president instructs everybody to take 2,000-4,000 IU of Vitamin D each day. The work still goes on, and it's an absolutely amazing time to be here in Sweden! I am really grateful that we have been working with the members to get more referrals and that we are starting to see the fruit of the labor as winter sets in, so we can teach more lessons when it's not quite as fun to be outside.

We didn't have to many lessons this week, so we spent a lot of time finding. We did have a really good lesson with Nadia about fasting though. She fasted yesterday, and said it was a really good experience. What made the experience even better is that she had to be in Stockholm this weekend so she couldn't come to church here in Eskilstuna, but she found a ward in Stockholm to go to! We were so thrilled that she would make the effort to go to church even while out of town which is not something she would have done a couple months ago. What a great example she is of faith and keeping the Sabbath Day holy.

 

The Church Building

On Saturday we had an experienced that strengthens my conviction that the Lord truly hears and answers our prayers. Two of our investigators, Alan and Ibrahim, live together (in the same apartment complex that Elder Wilkinson and I live in) and we have been working towards their baptismal date of Nov 11. Elder Wilkinson started teaching Alan a couple months ago, and Ibrahim was present during a couple lessons, but he wasn't interested and would always be doing something else while we taught. The biggest problem for Alan is that he works as a photographer in Stockholm on the weekends, so he hasn't been able to come to church. About a month ago Alan had to go Greece to meet his mother who was fleeing from Syria, and he was helping her make it to Germany. He has been gone ever since, but one day we went by to see if he was back and Ibrahim answered the door. He informed us that Alan wasn't home, but he said we could come in. This was a little surprising, but we just sat down and started teaching him. We have been teaching Ibrahim ever since, and I have previously shared stories about the amazing progress that we have seen him make. Unfortunately, Ibrahim works as a technician at a theater in Stockholm on the weekends so he has been unable to come to church. For the past couple weeks Elder Wilkinson and I have been very concerned about both of them. They love learning about the Gospel and they want to be baptized, but they are unable to be baptized if they work on the weekends and can't come to church. We have been praying with all our might in their behalf, that their situation might change. Telling someone that they have to quit their job to join the church isn't exactly the easiest thing to do, but we had planned to teach Ibrahim about keeping the Sabbath Day holy this week, and saw no other way around the problem. On Saturday we were on our way home and took a slightly different route so we passed by their apartment. We glanced in and saw Ibrahim, who also saw us and beckoned us in. We were pretty shocked because he is normally in Stockholm working for the weekends, so we weren't expecting him to be home. We went in and  began to teach him, but as we talked with him we found out that his job had changed so he know works during the week instead of the weekend so he can now come to church, and that he was excited to come on Sunday! We couldn't believe what we were hearing, and just then the door opened and Alan walked in. Let's just say we were more than a little surprised at the appearance of Alan, who has been in Greece and who we haven't seen for about a month. The lesson kind of went out the window at the point as we began to catch up with Alan and we asked him about his trip. He said he had just gotten back the day before, and that he was planning on coming to church on Sunday without telling us so he could surprise us. As we sat and talked with Alan, Ibrahim mentioned that he was going to church on Sunday with us which shocked Alan because he had no idea that we had been teaching Ibrahim. At first Alan thought we were joking, but when he realized we were telling the truth, he was overcome with excitement. Alan then told us that he too was going to come to church because his job is done for the winter (apparently nobody uses photographers in the winter...). I can't tell you how overjoyed we were to hear this. We have been praying for weeks that their job situations would change, and right before we go to teach Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy, the Lord answered our prayers and their jobs changed so they can attend church, come closer their Savior, and are eligible to be baptized. I testify that our Heavenly Father answers our prayers. He cares about His children and wants each to return to him. As we pour out our hearts to Him in prayer, he will hear us and he will answer in his own way and in his own time.

Äldste Sirrine

I don't think I ever sent this one, but this is my MTC group at the airport the day we arrived in Sweden!

October 2, 2017 It's Official, I'm a Missionary

 

Sörstrumming prepared

A 2000 year old tree

Last P-Day my companion and I borrowed the bikes from the sister missionaries and rode a few miles south along the river. It was absolutely beautiful. We eventually found a nature reserve so we hopped off the bikes and decided to take a look. We had just started down one of the paths when we turned the corner and ran into the ward mission leader and his wife, Johan and Amrita. We were more than a little surprised to see them there and it was really nice because they were able to tell us a little bit about the area and even showed us a massive tree that's 2000 years old. We parted ways and we continued to walk through the woods which was really nice, but it also felt a little weird to walk through the forest in dress clothes... We plan to revisit the area when we have more time and can dress appropriately.

FHE

Monday evening we had FHE with the branch. It had been several months since the last one, but the branch presidency liked it so much that we will start doing them once a month. We played "spoons" and then the the missionaries shared a message about coming closer as a branch and growing in love and unity. It was an incredible evening, and two of our investigators, Ibrahim and Nadia, came. They both really enjoyed it, and it was such a good chance for them to develop new friendships with the branch.

On Thursday we had dinner at Johan and Amrita's house, and I had Surströmming! I can now say that I'm a real missionary. Surströmming is basically fermented fish, and is renowned worldwide as one of the worst smelling

Sörstrumming

substances on Earth, which I can confirm wholeheartedly. Surströmming comes in a can, and you have to open it underwater because the liquid inside shoots out, and if it touches anything you pretty much just have to throw it away. As soon as it was open I seriously started to question my commitment to eating it. The best way to describe the smell is rotted fish that smells so strongly it kinda smells like gasoline and burns your nose. The only good news is that we at it like Swedes, not like missionaries. The missionaries eat it plain, but Swedes think the missionaries are crazy, and always eat it with something else. We took a piece of flatbread and put potatoes, onion, sour cream, and surströmming on top, and then rolled it up and ate it. I wouldn't say it tasted particularly good, but it definitely didn't taste as bad as it smells, and it really wasn't too bad (at least when kind of covered up by everything else).

Godisland

On Friday we had district meeting and afterword we had a very important general conference prep experience. We went to Godisland. Godisland is one of the many, many candy stores throughout Sweden. It is an entire store filled with bins of candy and you just go around and fill a bag with whatever you want and then pay by weight. It is a tradition of the missionaries in Sweden to buy godis to eat throughout conference, and missionaries have been known to buy two kilos of godis for conference weekend. 

Conference was absolutely wonderful! Saturday morning pretty much felt like Christmas because I have been so excited for the past couple weeks. We're 8 hours ahead here, so we watched the Saturday Morning session live on Saturday at 6 PM, and then Sunday at 11 we watched Saturday Afternoon as a branch, then we got to watch Priesthood Session, and then we watched Sunday Morning Session live on Sunday at 6 PM. We still haven't seen the Sunday Afternoon session, and I can't wait to do so. Conference was a wonderful time and I feel like conference messages have never felt so applicable to me. I found many answers to my own questions, and I was able to find answers to help my investigators as well. Nadia came to the session we watched as a branch and had a wonderful experience. We had invited her to prepare questions, and she said that she definitely found answers to her questions, and loved the spirit she felt there. Ibrahim was able to watch one of the sessions with us as well, and he seemed to really like it. It amazes me how applicable every message is to each of us. Regardless of where we are in live, we can learn principles of truth that can help us improve our lives. I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn from men who are truly called of God. One of my favorite talks was from Elder Ronald A. Rasband. If there is one thing that has become apparent to me as a missionary it's that there are no coincidences. The Lord has a perfect plan and he places people in our path for a reason. When this happens, He expects us to follow the direction of the spirit in helping that person as he would have us do. As we do so, we will gain the Lord's trust and he will continue to place opportunities in our path because he knows we are willing to act. I am grateful for the Lord's plan, and for the hope and joy I receive through knowing that it is truly a perfect plan.

With the sisters at Johan and Amrita's house

Äldste Sirrine