March 26, 2018 Well that was unexpected...

Sometimes you have to take a shortcut through the woods to get to the church...

So last week I sent a picture of Elder Harden and I with Elder Lee, one of the assistants to the mission

Dropping Elder Harden

off at the train station

president who is going home. It was no surprise that he'd be leaving, but we were shocked when we discovered that the new assistant would be none other than my very own campanion: Elder Harden. I feel incredibly blessed for the time I've had to learn from, and grow with Elder Harden. He is an incredibly dedicated missionary who has taught me through his example what it looks like to serve and love others with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. I truly can't say enough good about Elder Harden, and the fact that he has been called to serve as one of the assistants testifies to the kind of high-caliber missionary he is. We both expected to be together this next transfer, and I can't tell you how much we were looking forward to it, so I'm going to miss him, but I look forward in learning even more from him as he serves in this new capacity.


Missionaries transfer on Wednesday, but because President Youngberg wants Elder Harden in the office to help with the transfer process, we found out last night at 8:30 PM that his train to Stockholm would leave at 8:30 AM this morning... Let's just say there was a lot of scrambled packing, a very late night, and an early morning. I'll be working and staying with the Zone Leaders in Utby until Wednesday when my new companion, Elder Bringhurst, arrives. As it turns out, Elder Bringhurst and Elder Harden were companions in Umeå as Zone Leaders right before Elder Harden came to Göteborg, so I will be getting another "retired" zone leader as a companion! I feel incredibly blessed to have such experienced, amazing missionaries as companions, and I look forward to serving with Elder Bringhurst this transfer!


The transfer chaos at the end of the week was just the finish of another great week. I was able to go on exchanges in Alingsås, where I got to meet and help one of their investigators, Alex, who got baptized on Saturday! It's incredible to see the unity and happiness that has been brought into their family as Alex has followed the Savior Jesus Christ, and he and his wife are now working towards getting sealed in the temple of the Lord.


We have been working with a man, Christopher, who was baptized many years ago, but hasn't come to church for several years. He invited us over for dinner on Saturday, and together we studied the scriptures and talked about the restoration of Jesus Christ's church to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith. I testify that the Lord truly has restored his church, and He has called a living prophet to lead it today. We have an opportunity this weekend to hear the prophet and apostles of the Lord teach and testify of His reality, and I would invite all to prepare to hear their message. All the prophets since the foundation of the world have testified of Christ. Those before him testified of his coming, and I add my testimony to those who have come after Him that He is risen. He has triumphed over sin and broken the bands of death so that we might stand spotless before him if we choose to follow Him.


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Helping with the primary Easter activity!

March 19, 2018 Coincidence? I think not.

One of the many waterways in Goteborg

 This week we had an incredible zone conference in which we received several hours of training on how to use technology. Our mission is one of two missions outside of the US and Canada to be receiving smartphones at this time, and it's truly an incredible opportunity. Each missionary will own his or her own smartphone, which will aid many aspects of the work, and we will begin using social media such as Facebook to proselyte and communicate. The mission is very excited to have such an incredible opportunity, and we will be receiving phones (and additional training) at our next zone conference in six weeks.

On Wednesday we had a member, Tyler, take us out to lunch. It was super nice of him to do that for us, and it gave us a wonderful opportunity to get to know him better and to help him set goals and make plans for missionary work he can do as a member. After lunch we had some time to street

Elder Lee, one of the Assistants,

at zone conference. He is heading

home this transfer, and it's sad to

see him go.

contact, and we had language study scheduled for 4:00 at the Institute Center. We found some wonderful people who we look forward to teaching in the future, and we found ourselves standing outside the door to the Institute Center at 3:58 pm, one person short of our goal of potential investigators for the day. Determined to reach our goal, we decided we had two minutes to do so. We started walking down the street and you better believe I was praying as we approached the first man we saw. No sooner could we say hello than he very abruptly stated he was not interested and kept walking. We continued down the street and had this happen two more times before we decided we needed to head back and start our studies. We were on our way back and were directly across from the Center at exactly 4:00, about to cross the street and enter the door, when we stopped a lady who was was walking very quickly, carrying several bags, and had headphones in. She stopped to talk with us, and it turns out she is from the Philippines and Christian. We had an awesome conversation with her about the church, and she eagerly exchanged phone numbers with us saying that not only would she be interested in a message about Jesus Christ, but her boyfriends dad would be as well. I add my testimony to that of Elder Rasband who stated, "Our lives are like a chessboard, and the Lord moves us from one place to another—if we are responsive to spiritual promptings. Looking back, we can see His hand in our lives." and Elder Neal A. Maxwell who said, "You and I may call these intersectings ‘coincidence.’ This word is understandable for mortals to use, but coincidence is not an appropriate word to describe the workings of an omniscient God."

We saw the hand of the Lord guide us yet again on Saturday as we taught our new investigator Christopher (50 years old), who we received as a referral from missionaries in another area. We had received his phone number from the missionaries, called him, and set up an appointment to teach

We were trying to find a

members house at the same

time the clouds decided to

come down and embrace

the earth. This made it rather

tricky to find the house, as we

had no idea which way we

were walking...

him. As we talked with him, we discovered that he broke his leg about two months ago and is in the process of physical therapy and recovery. He explained that the two people he trusts most in his life is his physical therapist and his mother, and that both had told him within the same week that if he wanted to get his life in order, he needed to start praying more. He pondered on this, deciding they were right, and started to do so. The very next day we just "happened" to call him. He knew there was no possible way that this was a coincidence, so he decided to meet with us and made a plan to meet us weekly and come to church in order to find greater happiness and fulfillment and life.

"You and I may call these intersectings ‘coincidence.’ This word is understandable for mortals to use, but coincidence is not an appropriate word to describe the workings of an omniscient God."

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We found a teeter totter while searching

for the address of someone we were

visiting. Naturally, we couldn't resist.

March 12, 2018 Frixon can bring us joy?

Me and Elder Harden

 Upon boarding one of the trains this week, I saw an open seat across from a middle-aged woman and decided take it. I was slightly disappointed to find out that she was on the phone so I couldn't talk to her, but eavesdropping is usually a really good way to practice the language, so I decided I would see

The street we live on. We live in the

basement of a house, and it turns out

the owner who lives upstairs is

Muslim. What are the chances that in

Eskilstuna I lived above a Mosque,

and now I live below a Muslim?

what I could learn. I began listening, and it took me a good two or three minutes to figure out what language she was speaking. I was pretty sure I was hearing some Swedish words here and there, but I couldn't understand 70% of what she was saying... After some time, I realized that she was speaking Skånske, a Swedish dialect that's spoken in southern Sweden, which is notoriously hard to understand (and all the other Swedes make fun of). Due to the close proximity of southern Sweden to Denmark, the languages have mixed, resulting in a dialect that sounds like someone is speaking Swedish with a few cotton balls in their mouth. While trying to overcome my stupor of amazement that what I was hearing could be considered Swedish, the woman ended her phone call and began writing a few things in a planner. At this point I knew I had to talk to her, as a missionary you can't afford to miss any opportunities, but I was more than a little scared to do so. Sure I could start a conversation with ease, but what happens when she responds and I have absolutely no idea what she just said? I noticed that she was using a Pilot Frixon pen, which are super cool erasable pens I've seen used by a few missionaries. I decided such a topic could make for an interesting conversation, so I took the leap of faith and asked her if the pen was truly one of the erasable pens I had seen and heard about. All of a sudden she got super excited and started talking quite rapidly about her pen. Somehow we had an entire conversation about a pen (a good portion of which I didn't understand at all, but it's amazing what smiling and nodding can do for you), and then out of the blue she gave it to me and insisted that I keep it. I was blown away by her kindness, and our conversation continued, during which was able to share with her my purpose as a missionary in Sweden. By the time we got off the train, we had had a wonderful conversation, and I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day. I couldn't stop thinking about how much a small act of kindness, the giving of a pen and a friendly conversation, had brightened my day, and it's my hope that I am able to help others experience something similar through my words and actions each day.

The Lord answers our prayers. This principle has been confirmed for me time after time, and we had

The streets of Göteborg

(or Gothenburg for all those

English speakers out there)

an experience this week that was no exception. We met a man, Bobak, on the tram who had given us his address and asked us to come by, but we had no other information. It took us quite some time to find his apartment, and when we finally arrived we found ourselves face to face with a port-coded door. We used the port-telephone to call the building manager, and a woman answered and then hungup after we told her who we were. Not wanting to waste the time it had taken to find the building, and desiring to meet Bobak again, Elder Harden and I offered a prayer together that we might be able to meet him. After praying, we called again and this time the woman answered and let us right in. After getting in the building, we were able to find Bobak's apartment and he invited us in. Our visit with him was filled with the spirit, and we were able to testify of the power of prayer. I know that the Lord hears and answers our prayers, whatever they may be. If we humbly turn to Him and seek his help, he will reach out and guide our paths.

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An old church we decided to visit on P-day.

The REAL church. This is the meeting house

for the Västra Frölunda Ward.

March 5, 2018 The Stairway to Heaven

The stairway

(maybe not quite to heaven...

though that would be nice)

This week was incredibly cold, and I had many Swedes assure me that this was the coldest it's been in Göteborg for many years... I don't know if that's supposed to make me feel better or worse, but at least it should only get warmer from here!

On Sunday we were invited over to a members house for dinner, and they live right in the middle of town. As we were trying to find their house, we came upon the longest staircase I have seen in Sweden. I'm not entirely sure what the Stairway to Heaven really looks like, but this gave me a pretty good idea. Unfortunately we got to the top of the staircase just to find out that we had to go down a different staircase (just as long) to reach the members house. It was fast Sunday, so I'm not sure if the stairs were harder before we had eaten, or after the members had fed us an unbelievable amount of food...

This week we had an awesome lesson with a man named Omar. As we began to teach him the plan of salvation, he told us that he had read about us on the internet, and really likes our beliefs on the family. His family is incredibly important to him, and he's noticed that the family no longer carries the same importance within society, so he's intrigued by the emphasis we place on them, and the belief that we can be with our family for eternity. It was incredible to teach him about God's plan for him, and the truths that have been restored through the power of God. He wants to be baptized, so we look forward to helping him take the necessary steps to get there.

We also had the opportunity to teach a man by the name of Victor, who's from Nigeria. We had an awesome lesson about the commandments with him and read a chapter from the Book of Mormon together. We had just planned to read that chapter, but when we finished, he asked, "Can we keep reading?". We did just that, and Victor accepted the invitation to be baptized as well. Unfortunately

Exchanges with Elder Hansen

Victor was unable to come to church this week because he was in Denmark for a meeting that was coordinating efforts to help refugees from Africa. As far as excuses for not going to church go, I have to say that his was pretty good. As he explained the meeting to us, he said nothing in the world makes him happier than helping these refugees and seeing them receive clothes and shelter that they wouldn't have otherwise. As he said this, I couldn't help but think that that right there is a true disciple of Christ. Anyone who feels that way, and finds such great joy in serving others, will come to know their Savior and will recognize that this is indeed His church restored to earth.

One of the scriptures that had the greatest impact on me this week was John Ch 13. We were looking for a way to teach members to love and serve others, and I feel that there is no better chapter to do so. In John 13, Jesus washes the feet of his apostles. It amazes me that Christ, the highest of all, was willing to do such a lowly task. I think of how gross my feet have become on the mission with all the walking we do, and I can only imagine how nasty their feet must have been after walking such great distances everyday through the desert, in sandals. Despite being the lowliest of tasks, Christ was willing to wash the feet of ALL the apostles (including Judas, who would later betray Him). I am grateful that He gave us an example of what it looks like to love and serve one another, which leaves no room for doubt regarding what we must do to obey his command to love and serve one another.

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Michael, one of my all time favorite members

The streets of Göteborg

February 26, 2018 The Land of Miracles

A glimpse of Goteborg

I'm not entirely sure what the groundhog saw this year, but it must have been pretty frightening because winter has returned in full force after a few weeks of taking it easy. The good news is that while it was certainly cold, the sun has seen fit to shine upon us in greater length as summer approaches, which makes for some beautiful days in the streets of Göteborg.

It's been pretty fun getting to know the city a little bit over the last week and getting used to the train

Our train-track adventure

and bus system here. On Friday we went to teach our investigators Victor and Sandra, but on the way there the train shut down and we had quite the adventure of walking along the tracks a fair distance until we could get to the road and take a bus instead. Needless to say, we were a little late for the lesson, but it went really well anyways, and Victor came to church on Sunday, so it all worked out!

On Saturday the stake had a youth activity that they asked us to help set up for, and the rest of our day was completely full. As we planned for the day and thought about how we would reach our goal for new investigators we thought about Gabriella. We had met Gabriella the Saturday before while tracting, and tried to meet her again the next day on Sunday, but she wasn't home. We really wanted to meet her again, but we didn't have her phone number and it was a long way to walk just to find out she wasn't home, not to mention we didn't really have time because our schedule was full. I found myself thinking, " I wish I could just know the best time to go there so we can catch her at home and have the chance to teach her." I then realized there was a way: the spirit. I knelt down and offered a prayer in which I explained to the Lord that we had a lot to do and not much time to do it, so I needed to know when the best time to visit her was. As I prayed, a story my mission president once told us came to mind, and I felt strongly prompted that we needed to go that morning. We had to contact the stake and tell them that we would be a little late to help set up, which was a little awkward, but we felt strongly that we needed to visit Gabriella first. Upon arriving at her home, she answered the door and we talked for a bit. As we talked, her mom came up to the door and explained that she was baking some bread and asked if we had 30 minutes to come in and talk so that we could try some. Astounded, we gladly accepted the offer and had the opportunity to teach both Gabriella and her mother about the Book of Mormon and the restoration. They're both Christian and have strong faith, so they couldn't believe that they had never heard of the message contained in the Book of Mormon. They took a copy of the Book of Mormon and want us to return again this Saturday so that we can continue teaching them about Christ.

In addition to teaching Gabriella and her mother, another miracle took place on Saturday. Katerin got baptized in Eskilstuna. I can still remember the first time we met her, she had earbuds in and was walking very quickly towards the train station while towing a suitcase behind her. My first thought

Katerin's baptism

was that she must be trying to catch a train, so she probably wouldn't want to stop and talk, but we decided to try anyways. To our surprise, she did indeed stop, and the conversation that followed revealed that she had once belonged to a church and she had recently felt that she needed to come back to God. She was intrigued that at a time of such feelings we had come into her life, and she wanted to learn more. Her desire to follow the spirit led her to make the changes necessary to follow Christ and has led her to the small and narrow path of discipleship. We must never let ourselves believe that someone is beyond reach. Even when someone seems to have absolutely no interest in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we must not let that stop us from sharing its message. It's impossible for us to know everything they have or will go through, and the seed we plant by sharing the gospel may someday sprout and grow into a magnificent tree.


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Kebab Pizza. This is a classic here in Sweden,

which is interesting seeing as how Kebab actually comes from

the Middle East... One way or the other, it's definitely good.