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| Riding Spark |
First off, I apologize for not sending an email last week. We had some members take us out to ride a "spark" on a frozen lake, so I wasn't left with much time. Riding a "spark" is a legitimate mode of transportation here in Northern Sweden, so we got it approved by our mission president to go with them :) It was quite possibly the coolest thing I've done.
This week we had transfers, and Elder Ellis and I are staying together! Elder Olson in Skellefteå (an hour and a half north of Umeå) was getting a new companion, but had to drive down to Umeå to meet
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Picking Elder Fuller up
from the airport at midnight
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We have had a fantastic week filled with miracles. We've been doing a lot of finding recently, and this week we felt the guidance of the Lord and saw his hand at work. We actually had two experiences that highlight the importance of talking to everyone and having faith that no effort is wasted.
The first experience began with a girl that checked us out at a store on P-day. While she was helping us, we began talking to her and told her about our work as missionaries here in Sweden. About a week later, we were contacting in Stan and stopped to talk with a girl who was smoking. When we walked up to her and began talking, we recognized her as the girl who had helped us in the store, and were able to bear our witness of the power of the Book of Mormon and invite her to learn more. She was eager to learn more about how it can help her personally, and we now have contact over Facebook messenger to find a time to meet.
The second experience was with a guy who requested a Book of Mormon from Mormon.org. A few weeks ago we delivered the Book, but he wasn't home, so we talked with his mom at the door. We've had contact with him on Facebook Messenger, but wanted to meet him in person, so this week we decided to swing by in person. Nobody answered the door, so we continued knocking doors in the area. We were in a neighboring apartment building knocking doors about 45 minutes later when we heard the door at the bottom open, and could hear people carrying something heavy sounding in. We hurried down to the bottom of the stairs to offer our help, and it was none other than the guy's mother and another man carrying in wind-sailing equipment (apparently they decided it was finally time to winterize?). We offered our help, and they responded that they were okay without it, but they didn't sound too decided against our help, so we said we were going to help anyway. We helped them carry the equipment into the storage in the basement, and they thanked us profusely for the help. We then got to share the gospel with them as they asked why we do such service and we taught them about the example of Jesus Christ. Later that night, we got a text from her son explaining that he had heard from his mother that we had helped, allowing for further contact with him. Tracting in that area was not our original plan, but through the guidance of the spirit over the course of several encounters, we were able to offer genuine service in behalf of the Lord. There is no effort wasted, and there are no coincidences. The Lord will guide us as we diligently follow the spirit in our labors, and this promise is not reserved for full-time missionaries. As you seek to share the gospel with others around you, seek the guidance of the spirit and you will be led in all your efforts, even if you don't see an immediate result.
Äldste Sirrine
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Our P-day adventure. That's the Baltic Sea we're standing on.
With temperatures the past week of -25C to -18C (-13F to 0F),
it's been plenty cold to keep it frozen :)
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| The biggest bridge in Umeå |
