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Dome Kyrka. One of the cool churches in Goteborg.
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Spring has finally arrived! On Friday we were able to go outside without our coats for the first time, and it felt wonderful. Due to our bright white shirts, we now stand out about as well as someone wearing hunter orange during the deer hunt, and it's definitely a lot easier for people to avoid us... The good news is that with the sun and warmth, people are much more friendly and willing to talk, and it's a lot more enjoyable to be out ourselves, so spring is definitely worth it!
This week our mission officially became a "technology mission"! On Tuesday evening we met at the church as a zone where we each received and set up our own smartphone. On Wednesday, we had our zone conference where we received training on how we can use technology in our proselyting
efforts, and I can't express how excited I am to do so! We are now able to use apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Skype to communicate with investigators, which has already helped us significantly. We have several investigators who are very busy and live about an hour and a half away, so the ability to video chat will help us to maintain contact, teach lessons, or read scripture passages when we are unable to meet in person due to schedules and distances. I have also encountered many people who are unwilling to exchange phone numbers with us, but are more than happy to friend us on Facebook, and communicate over messenger. A prime example of this was on Thursday when we met a group of teenagers, and after telling them a little bit about our message, they asked if we could be friends on Facebook. My first instinct was to say, "Sorry, we're not allowed to use Facebook as missionaries..." but then I remembered that yes, we actually can be friends on Facebook! Later that evening, one of the girls messaged us and said that she had heard about Mormons, but she doesn't really understand what we believe. She said that she is already pretty involved in her own church, so she's not interested in meeting, but she asked if we could tell her a little more over Messenger. The use of technology in missionary work now enables us to teach her, and many more like her, who seek to find answers through means that they are both familiar and comfortable with.
It's been incredible to see the Lord prepare people to hear His gospel and place them in our path. A while ago we met a girl named Gabriella, and had the chance to teach her and her mother about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration. We decided to swing by this week, and when we went by, her mother answered the door and said she wasn't home, so after talking to her mother for a while (who said that Gabriella had started to read the Book of Mormon!), we continued onward to swing by a few others in the area. One of the houses we knocked on was a man named Glen. We had knocked on his door two times before, but the first time they were too busy to meet, and the second time they were all sick, so it wasn't a good time. This time we knocked on the door and started talking to him, but they were heading out the door. As we continued to talk with him in Swedish, we mentioned that we come from the States, and he switched to English and said, "No way! So am I! I actually come from Washington." He was so excited that two Americans had showed up at his door, and as we talked, we discovered that he had grown up baptist, but had never really found a church here in Sweden (he's been here 18 years) that he likes, so he just stopped going. They were headed out the door, so they didn't have much time to talk, but he said that he is actually going to start parental leave for a couple months in two weeks, so he will be home all day and would love for us to come by whenever we have time! We can't wait to teach him, and we pray that the Lord will continue to prepare him to hear our message.
Äldste Sirrine
This week our mission officially became a "technology mission"! On Tuesday evening we met at the church as a zone where we each received and set up our own smartphone. On Wednesday, we had our zone conference where we received training on how we can use technology in our proselyting
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| Äldste Bringhurst using technology! |
It's been incredible to see the Lord prepare people to hear His gospel and place them in our path. A while ago we met a girl named Gabriella, and had the chance to teach her and her mother about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration. We decided to swing by this week, and when we went by, her mother answered the door and said she wasn't home, so after talking to her mother for a while (who said that Gabriella had started to read the Book of Mormon!), we continued onward to swing by a few others in the area. One of the houses we knocked on was a man named Glen. We had knocked on his door two times before, but the first time they were too busy to meet, and the second time they were all sick, so it wasn't a good time. This time we knocked on the door and started talking to him, but they were heading out the door. As we continued to talk with him in Swedish, we mentioned that we come from the States, and he switched to English and said, "No way! So am I! I actually come from Washington." He was so excited that two Americans had showed up at his door, and as we talked, we discovered that he had grown up baptist, but had never really found a church here in Sweden (he's been here 18 years) that he likes, so he just stopped going. They were headed out the door, so they didn't have much time to talk, but he said that he is actually going to start parental leave for a couple months in two weeks, so he will be home all day and would love for us to come by whenever we have time! We can't wait to teach him, and we pray that the Lord will continue to prepare him to hear our message.
Äldste Sirrine
