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Church in Strängnäs
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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.
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| 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
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| A super cool wall in the Church |
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| Inside the Church |
