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