January 29, 2018 The Light of Sweden

Syrian food with Alan and Ayham

Contacting on the streets of Eskilstuna after dark (which is effectively all day during the winter) is hard enough due to lack of people, but when you have about ten other people who are also contacting, it only gets more challenging... This week there was a group of about ten people who were going around town stopping people and attempting to get contributions for a program that rescues kids from war-torn countries in the middle east and brings them to Sweden. It's pretty hard to be upset about a cause like that, but I have to say that it did make it a little harder to stop people walking through town when they had already been stopped by someone else.

I suppose the Lord made up for harder contacting by taking this opportunity to answer the prayer and fasting for missionary work that took place earlier this month throughout Sweden. We had a guy by the name of Mahdi call us this week and told us that he had heard about the Mormons and wanted to know more. We happily agreed to meet him, and had two lessons with him this week. He's in his early twenties and came to Sweden from Afghanistan two years ago. It's been awesome to teach him as he is Muslim, but asks a lot of really good questions and is receptive to our answers. He was able to come to church on Sunday, and we look forward to teaching him again this coming week.

Yesterday I learned how to make Syrian food with Alan and his friend Ayham! After eating, we watched "The Restoration" film (in Arabic) and they liked it so much that Ayham asked us if he could borrow it for a week so he could watch it again, because it's so important and hardly anyone knows about it. We gave him the disc, which had the added benefit of them inviting us over for food next Sunday so he can return it to us... Honestly I'd be more than happy if he would keep the disc, or even better, give it to someone else, but I'm also not going to turn down Syrian food anytime soon...

This week we had a few sunny days which was nice after a several really cloudy, dark weeks. In addition to having a few sunny days we have also gained about an hour and a half of light since Dec 21, which makes a significant difference. With the increased sun has come a certain rejuvenation and renewal of energy that is truly wonderful. I find it interesting that as winter set in, the amount of light decreased almost imperceptibly, and you didn't even realize just how dark it really was. Now that it's getting lighter again, it's amazing to see that we were ever content with how much light we had, and we rejoice in every sunny day. The same principle applies to spiritual darkness. Through our actions and choices, we may start to slip into spiritual darkness so slowly and gradually that we don't even recognize it's happening. When others speak of the joy and light that comes through righteousness and living the gospel, we may observe our lives and conclude that we are doing reasonably well, and nothing is amiss because we have adjusted to a lower level of light. Unfortunately, it is usually only after we choose to repent and seek more light that we realize that we were indeed in darkness. This should not come as a surprise, as Moroni teaches us in the Book of Mormon that "faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." (Ether 12:6) I would invite all to consider the level of spiritual light we currently have, and to act in faith by identifying one way in which we could improve to better follow the savior, the source of all light. We may not consider that we are in darkness, but I promise that as we act in faith, we will indeed gain more light and experience the joy that comes with it.

Äldste Sirrine

January 22, 2018 Another Week in the E-Tuna life!

Snow!

 This week I had one of the greatest contacts I've had for quite some time. As we were walking down the street I spotted a Swedish guy about our age and immediately went to talk to him. He was apparently listening to music, so as he pulled his earbuds out I asked him what he was listening to. He took a quick glance at my name tag, laughed a bit, and then admitted that he was listening to "Highway to Hell". We had a pretty good laugh about that, but then somehow effectively had a really good conversation and basically taught him the Restoration on the street until he had to catch his bus.


We got quite a bit of snow this week which led to some really good service opportunities, as well as 

Snow shoveling service

the need for Elder Cotton to buy new shoes today. Here in Sweden they don't use salt as ice melt, instead they spread gravel on top of the snow and ice to add traction. (I just can't wait to see how they clean it all up in the spring, but apparently they have a really good system) ​​This idea may seem good and all, but it definitely does a number on the shoes... Elder Cotton's two pairs of shoes have reached the end of their lives, and with snow and slush I guess he decided it's probably more comfortable to not have holes in the bottom of his shoes that let the water in...


We had the opportunity to go to a member, Annika's, house this week for dinner. When we walked in, she turned to me and said, "So you met Magnus on the bus this week!" I immediately started racking my brain trying to remember a Magnus, because I have talked to a lot of people on the bus this week. I had to admit that I couldn't remember a Magnus, and then she explained that Magnus was a good friend of hers and that he had told her about how we met on the bus and had a really nice conversation that left a really good impression on him. After a few minutes I remembered who he was, and I realized that while we had a good conversation, I didn't have the chance to share very much about the gospel before he had to get off the bus. I can't even begin to describe how many contacts I have had just like that, and all you hope is that you have planted a good seed. I am so grateful that the Lord would show me that my efforts do indeed have a greater impact than I understand by placing him in my path and guiding him to say something to Annika about our encounter. Because of the seed that was planted, we now look forward to reaching out to him through Annika, and we hope to have the opportunity to teach him.


On Saturday we took Mekonen, a member, tracting with us by suggestion of the Stake President. Mekonen has expressed to both us and President Karlsson that he wants to serve as a missionary, and before he was a member of our church he actually went door to door teaching about Christ back in Ethiopia... While he is unable to be a full-time missionary right now, we decided to teach him how to tract and then invited him to come with us on Saturday. Despite the difficulty he has with the language, I was blown away by how well he did, and the love he had for the people. His love and sincerity was absolutely amazing, and it was well rewarded by an old Finnish lady who invited us in and let us share our message.


What a cool opportunity it was to watch the announcement of President Russel M. Nelson as the Lord's newly called prophet on the Earth. I cannot express the gratitude I feel that we have living prophets and apostles to guide us today, and I testify that they are truly called of God. As we follow their counsel, we can receive the answers and joy we seek after.


Äldste Sirrine

Swedish ice melt substitute: gravel

January 15, 2018 The Power of Fasting

We had an incredibly thick fog that froze and left some crazy ice crystals everywhere

Julgran Plundring

With it being mid January you might be able to imagine my surprise when we walked into the town square on Saturday to find Santa Claus, several of them, in fact, along with a large crowd gathered around the Christmas tree and Christmas music. I was fairly certain Christmas was already over, but we definitely checked the calendar just to make sure... Not wanting to waste any excuse to talk to people we got to work investigating what it was all about (and sharing the gospel with all the unsuspecting bystanders as we did so). What we discovered is that it was 21 days after Christmas Eve, so it was time for Julgran Plundring (Christmas tree plundering). This is a tradition here in Sweden where the kids dance around the Christmas tree to "dance Christmas out" and then strip everything off the tree and put it away. Honestly this seems like a great idea, and I for one would have been a whole lot more excited to put Christmas decorations away as a kid if it was a national holiday...

Last Sunday all the members and missionaries in Sweden participated in a nationwide fast for missionary work. The Lord's people have often united in mighty fasting and prayer, and the results

The river may be frozen,

but I have yet to see someone ice fishing...

have always been miraculous. I'm here to tell you that the Lord is already answering our prayers and blessing the work here in Sweden according to the faith the members and missionaries have shown. This week we had a family, the Newells, move into our branch here in Eskilstuna! Sister Newell grew up here in Sweden but went to BYU, and Brother Newell grew up in Utah and then served his mission in Sweden at the same time Sister Newell was in the States. After his mission they somehow met and got married, and they now have four daughters between the ages of 6 and 12. They moved here from Provo, where they had lived for a year and half, but before that they lived in Sweden where he was a branch president. We got to help them move in and set up their apartment, and it was incredible to watch them move to Sweden with only one suitcase each and the faith that the Lord wanted them to move here... Having another family in the branch has brought excitement, strength, and friendship which has been a wonderful blessing.


Another way the Lord has been preparing to answer such mighty prayer and fasting is through our investigator Katerin. We have been teaching her ever since Äldste Wilkinson and I found her back at the end of October, and she is super excited for her baptism which will be February 10. The Lord has truly prepared her and to see a baptism just one month after a fast for missionary work is pretty incredible. I am continually amazed by her faith and willingness to follow the commandments of the Lord, and as we recently taught her about the Word of Wisdom she completely gave up coffee and tea because she felt the spirit confirm to her that the Word of Wisdom was truly given through a prophet of God.


It has been incredible to watch the Lord answer our prayers through both large and small means. As I have thought about our schedule since last Sunday I have seen an increase in small opportunities and positive people we have met. The work is going well, and we have been blessed with many opportunities this week as we have diligently labored to share the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.


Äldste Sirrine

Our makeshift ping pong table at the church

January 8, 2018 Hallå och Gott Nytt År!

Christmas Eve at Rolf and Rita's

Wow it's been a while! Sorry it's late, but thought I would give a quick update on how the holidays work here in Sweden!

Branch President Rolf

as Santa

Christmas here in Eskilstuna was absolutely amazing! We spent Christmas Eve with our branch president Rolf and his wife Rita. Here in Sweden they actually celebrate Christmas on the Christmas Eve instead of Christmas, and it is tradition to watch Kalle Anka (Donald Duck) at 3pm and then open presents right after the program finishes. Seeing our branch president dressed up as Santa Claus totally made my day...We also had a giant Julbord (Christmas dinner) which included all the classics: meatballs, potatoes, ham, sausage, deviled eggs, sil (pickled fish), and a

Typical Julbord foods

dish called Jonsons Frestelse, which is basically a potato/anchovie casserole that's super Swedish. Other than that we spent the day playing games and enjoying each others company!

Christmas Eve is the big day here in Sweden, but we got to spend Christmas day with some other members who have lived in the states, so it was basically a repeat of Christmas Eve for us! We also got to skype home which was definitely the highlight of the day!

The week between Christmas and New Years isn't exactly prime proselyting time as everybody is either on vacation or huddling indoors, so as I mentioned before, President Youngberg challenged us to read the

Typical Swedish desserts

for Christmas

entire Book of Mormon between Christmas Eve and New Years day. He gave us an additional two hours of study time each day to do so, but it was still definitely a challenge for me because I decided to read it in Swedish. I did indeed finish it, and it was one of the greatest experiences I've ever had. On the surface level, it was incredible to see how my Swedish improved as I read. At first I had to look up quite a few words, but the words I had to look up became less and less until eventually I was able to read and not even consider the fact that I was reading in Swedish. On a deeper level, I couldn't believe the connections I made and the insights I had as I read it faster than I have ever done before. The thing that stood out to me the most was the character of men such as Alma, Ammon, and Moroni throughout the Book of Mormon. They didn't just show their faith in one miraculous instant, but rather they lived an entire life of faithful service and constantly testified of Christ, even in the midst of extreme adversity. They never once compromised on their beliefs and gave up comfortable lives to serve God with all their heart, might, mind, and strength.

On New Years Eve we had permission from our mission president to stay out until 12 if we were with members, so we spent the night with the Karlssons (the stake president and his family). We helped cook (and eat) a three course meal and played games until we returned home at 11:30, which definitely challenged my ability to stay awake, seeing as how it's been nearly 6 months since I've been up past 10:30... When midnight rolled around the fireworks outside were pretty incredible and did a nice job of lulling us to sleep.

Our plans with members for New Years day got cancelled, so the day was filled with reading the Book of Mormon and preparing for the coming week. Unfortunately one of the two computers in the church broke, so I was unable to email, but fortunately emailing on Monday wasn't in the original plans anyway!

This past Saturday we got to extend the holiday season a little bit by celebrating Ethiopian Christmas (I have no idea why the celebrate it on Jan 6th) with Mekonen and his son Abenezer who are

Ethiopian food!

members here! They had made a whole bunch of Ethiopian food and invited us, our ward mission leader Johan, and the Karlssons over to celebrate. They taught us the proper way of eating Ethiopian food, with your hands, and then had a pretty good laugh as we struggled to do so... The food was also pretty spicy, which I loved, but Swedes do not eat spicy food (at all) so the Karlssons and Elder Cotton where dying the whole time.

Transfers have come and gone, and I am blessed to still be here in Eskilstuna with Elder Cotton for another transfer!

Trying to describe the last three weeks gives me a whole new

Abenezer showing us the proper way
to eat Ethiopian food...
much harder than it looks by the way. 

appreciation for the prophets in the Book of Mormon who lamented that they could not write "but a hundredth part" of the history of their people. The last few weeks were absolutely amazing, and it's great to start a new year dedicated to spreading the gospel!

Äldste Sirrine

A beautiful sunset

December 25, 2017 Skyping on Christmas day!

December 18, 2017 Jul kommer!

We saw a great dane in town...

pretty sure I could ride on that thing.

Swedish houses and snow...

doesn't get much more beautiful than that.

What a week! On Monday and Tuesday we got quite a bit of snow here which gave us some wonderful opportunities to serve! On Tuesday we were heading out to go contacting and I felt prompted to go see if we could help the Karlssons (The stake presidents family who lives in our branch). I mentioned this to Elder Cotton, but it was prime contacting time so we decided to go contacting and then go see if we could help later. After walking about 10 steps I got the feeling again so we turned around and went straight to their house. Upon arriving we found their neighbor, and e

Swedish snow plows

lderly man, shoveling his driveway. We went over and asked if we could help, which he gratefully accepted. After shoveling his driveway we were able to have a really nice conversation and share Light The World with him. We then went to the Karlssons and knocked on the door. Sister Karlsson answered the door in an apron and we asked if we could borrow their shovels to shovel their driveway. She was overwhelmed with gratitude and said that she was sick and her husband was at work, so she was just about to call us for help when we knocked on the door. We were able to shovel their driveway as well as three others that night. I am so grateful for the guidance of the spirit which gave us opportunities we would have missed otherwise. I testify that the Spirit truly guides us to that which the Lord would have us do. We must be worthy of it's companionship and strive to act boldly on its gentle promptings.


On Wednesday we got to celebrate Santa Lucia with our ward mission leader and his wife, Johan and Amrita Persson. Santa Lucia (the actual person) was Italian, but for some reason it is a Swedish holiday... Churches throughout Sweden have a program for Santa Lucia which includes singing Christmas songs and a whole lotta candles. We watched a program at the Persson's home that was broadcast from a church in Stockholm and had a big fika with them (Fikas are probably the one of the most Swedish traditions I can think of. They're basically what you think of when you think of tea party. There's usually tea, coffe, hot chocolate, etc. along with cake, cookies, or pretty much whatever sweets you want.) It was awesome to participate in the celebration of Santa Lucia and I love the focus it has on light. As is well known, Sweden get's pretty dark. Here in Eskilstuna the the sun currently comes up at 9 and sets at 2:50... It's definitely interesting because you feel like you should be heading

Centrum. They set up a massive Christmas tree,

present, and an ice skating rink!

to bed and then look at the clock and it's only 3 PM and you still have 7 hours to go! Fortunately it will only keep getting darker for 3 more days before it starts to get lighter, slowly but surely!


On Friday we had our Christmas zone conference in Handen! We actually traveled to Stockholm the night before where we stayed the night with four other elders so we didn't have to travel so far in the morning. Zone conference was actually our zone combined with the Norrland zone and it was

Some of the lights that are throughout town

right now.

absolutely amazing. As always, it was a wonderful time to receive instruction and ideas to help improve the way we work. We also received instruction regarding our proselyting during the holiday season. The biggest surprise we got during zone conference (and what I consider to be the greatest gift I could have this year) is that our Mission President wants every single missionary to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover between Christmas Eve and New Years. To do this, he has instructed us to use all of our personal study, companion study and and additional two hours of study every day to read the Book of Mormon. Most of the other things we talked about at zone conference were somewhat expected, but no one ever saw this coming, and I can't tell you how excited I am to have this opportunity. President Youngberg told us of another mission president who did this with his mission and he said it completely changed the mission. I can't wait to see what it does for ours.


I am so grateful for this Christmas season and the chance we have to celebrate the birth of Christ. We celebrate his birth, but remember that Christmas would not be possible without Easter. It was the Atonement of Jesus Christ that made everything possible, and without it all would be lost. Whatever our plans for this season, let us always remember our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for us. Christ always went about serving others and we learn in Mosiah 2:17 that "when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." As we celebrate the birth of Christ, let us give Him the gift he asks of each of us, that is, let us find ways to love and serve others. As we do so, we will find the joy, happiness, and peace that each of us desires.


Äldste Sirrine

The river

The river... again. Too pretty not too send.