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| Strandvägen |
Well we've been enjoying an incredibly nice fall here in Stockholm, but it looks like it's time to break out the winter coat and brace for the winter. Yep, we had transfer calls last night, and after 6 wonderful months here in Stockholm, I'll be transferring to Umeå to serve as a zone leader. I'll be leaving on Wednesday and will be taking a plane, yes a plane, an hour north of Stockholm to Umeå (Umeå is in the northern part of Sweden called Norrland) where I will be with Elder Simmons. What does this mean? Well, I'm going to be seeing a lot less sun and a whole lot more snow, like a lot. While it's certainly much colder, I've heard a lot about Umeå from two of my past companions who served there, and I can't wait to get there because it sounds incredible. We had a chance to talk with the Elders who are there right now, and they saw the Northern Lights about two weeks ago, so I should get a few opportunities to witness them myself :)
I also look forward to being with Elder Simmons, who I don't know much about, but we happen to share the same birthday so I'm sure he's a great guy ;)
Elder Radford will be staying here in Stockholm, and we found out that he'll be training a new missionary! I'm excited for him to have the opportunity to do so, because that was probably the best experience of my mission so far, and there's no better place to train than Stockholm ;)
This last week we got to teach a lady, Helene, with our ward mission leader at the family history/institute center in Stockholm. The lesson went incredibly well, and afterward our ward mission leader (who also happens to be the ward family history specialist) asked her if she wanted to try some family history work. She was really excited to do so, so they started doing that together while we left to go to another lesson. We found out the next day that she apparently REALLY liked it and ended up spending 3.5 hours there... We had also invited her to pray to know if Joseph Smith truly saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, and she later said that it went really well. We'll be teaching her again tomorrow, and I can't wait to hear more about her experience!
We were also able to teach Henrik about the plan of salvation this week, and he accepted the invitation to be baptized on December 8! The spirit that was present while we taught him was incredible, and Elder Radford's drawing of the Plan of Salvation was right up to par. Henrik has become one of my best friends here in Stockholm, and it will be tough to leave him, but I'm excited to hear about his progression as Elder Radford and his companion continue to help him work towards baptism.
One of the many things I've learned on my mission is the truth of the Lord's words when he said, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." (Isaiah 55:8) Each time I've left an area has been incredibly difficult, but I've been amazed to see that every area, every transfer, has gotten better. It has only gotten better up to this point, and I have full confidence that it will continue to do so as I follow the plan of the Lord. I'm not entirely sure what lies ahead of me, but I can't wait to see what He has in store!
Äldste Sirrine
Also, I came to the realization this morning that my two ward mission leaders I've had here in Stockholm have been named Tom and Jerry.... Coincidence? Maybe.
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| The Guerras (members) |
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| The Awishas (part member family) |
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The Reenstiernas (investigators).
Probably the only time an investigator has been
dressed nicer than me and my companion...
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