May 13, 2018 Mother's day Skype photo

May 7, 2018 Björkö

Last night we had transfer calls! As expected, Sister Eriksson (the only Swedish missionary in the mission) will be going home this transfer, and Sister Heroldsen, another missionary in the district, will be transferring. As not expected, I will also be transferring. We definitely thought the zone leaders were joking, as we really thought I would stay another transfer, but it turns out I will actually be leaving the big city of Göteborg and going to the even bigger city of Stockholm! To make things even more interesting, Göteborg and Stockholm are the only two areas in Sweden with a YSA center, and somehow I am hitting both back to back! I think I am probably the only missionary to have ever managed serving in both, let alone one right after the other...

Due to the unexpected transfer, we decided to hit the biggest item on my bucket list here in Göteborg, visiting one of the islands, Björkö. We left this morning, and after taking a series of busses and a

ferry, we arrived on the island and then proceeded to walk across it. We eventually reached our destination, and as we traveled I looked around and was blown away by the beauty of Göteborg and the perfect weather we were blessed with. While the destination was certainly incredible, I would have to say that the journey there was actually the most enjoyable part, as it allowed me to see and experience such a variety of landscape. I thought of how our lives our similar to our expedition. While our destination is truly grand, we cannot let such future grandeur keep us from experiencing the joy in our journey there. There will certainly be hard times, but we must learn to look around and enjoy the moments that are ours. If we are always looking to some future day, some future event to make us happy, we will miss much of the joy that our Heavenly Father desires us to have.

On Tuesday, Elder Bringhurst and I decided we wanted to find a new investigator (preferably a Swedish family) so we decided to go tracting and thought of where we should go. We felt that we should tract around the house of one of the members in the ward, so we prayed and started biking in that direction. As we were biking, I saw a nice looking area and the scripture came to my mind "It is not needful for mine elders to be moving swiftly...whilst the inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief." (D&C 61:3) and that if there is a good area close to our apartment, we should tract there and not be afraid to divert our course even after just a couple minutes of biking. I stopped and asked Elder Bringhurst if we should tract there and he replied that he felt we should. The people in the area were incredibly nice, which gave us many opportunities to testify, and we found a lady named Linda who is interested in learning more about God and our message. She currently doesn't believe in God, but she wants to find out if He exists. We continued tracting the area, and as we walked past a house, Elder Bringhurst saw a lady in a basement window, waved to her, and she smiled back. We knocked on the door and there was no answer, so we knocked again. Still no answer. Disappointed, we continued onward and finished the street. After doing so, Elder Bringhurst said, "I really feel like we need to talk to that lady I waved at. Should we go knock again?" We decided to go back, and right as we approached the door, the woman and her boyfriend came out the door, going for a walk. We started talking to them and had an awesome conversation about faith. When we asked if we could meet again, they said that this is one area of their life they feel like they've got handled, so they weren't interested, but they thanked us for what we're doing. We asked if they had heard of the Book of Mormon, and he said that he actually has a list of books that he wants to read, and the Book of Mormon is on his list! He then added that he would move it to the top of the list because we had talked with him. We asked if he would like a copy, and he happily accepted one along with a card. I will say that there have been few occasions where I have felt more guided by the Lord. As we followed the spirit, we were literally sent to deliver His word to one who had been prepared.


Äldste Sirrine

Our Adventure to Björkö

The sign says "Whatever you do, have fun while you do it" Bj

May 1, 2018 Valborg

Valborg!

Our P-day was moved to Tuesday this week because Elder Renlund came and visited our mission this weekend! He held a devotional Sunday night for all members in Sweden which was broadcast from Stockholm to the other meeting houses, and then he held a meeting exclusively for the missionaries Monday morning. The missionaries in the surrounding areas were invited to attend, but unfortunately we are too far away, so we watched the meeting as a broadcast.

The meeting on Sunday evening was absolutely incredible and exactly what we needed to hear. Elder Renlund actually grew up here in Göteborg (we were hoping he'd come visit his home town, but he

Göteborg

didn't have time...) and served his mission in Sweden as well, so he gave his entire address in Swedish! It was amazing to hear an apostle of the Lord speak in a language other than English, and to be able to understand. His ability to speak the language and his emotions as he told the members that he felt like he had come home was truly special, and all the members feel a deep love for him as "one of their own". He spoke of remembering our conversion to the Lord. We all need to remember the feelings in our hearts and the conviction that was ours when we first came to know that the gospel was true. To have a question is not a problem, but to let our doubts consume us and steer us is. Instead, we must let our questions lead us to seek truth from divine sources. To Oliver Cowdery, who desired an answer to one of his questions, the Lord said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried

Äldste Bringhurst and I

unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?" (D&C 6:22-23) When Oliver Cowdery had a question, the Lord counseled him to reflect and rely on the witness that he had already received. Once we receive an answer, we should not longer doubt or question, but rather move forward with faith and act in accordance.

The meeting Elder Renlund had with the missionaries on Monday morning was even better. It was incredible to receive instruction from an apostle of the Lord regarding our mission. As one who has both lived and served in Sweden, he is well acquainted with the challenges we face, and was able to give us exactly the counsel we need.

Monday was also the Swedish holiday of Valborg! The tradition is to "burn away winter", so they gather a bunch of dead-fall from the forest and make massive bonfires. (Now that's spring cleaning done the right way...) We met with the YSA at one of the parks, had some food, and watched them light the fire. Naturally it was also pouring rain, so we were absolutely soaked, but this didn't deter them from lighting the fire anyways. It was probably the closest thing I'll ever see to Elijah calling down fire on the altar soaked with water...

Äldste Sirrine

 

April 23, 2018 Here Comes the Sun! And Technology...

Dome Kyrka. One of the cool churches in Goteborg.

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

Äldste Bringhurst using technology!

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

April 16, 2018 Everything The Light Touches...

In case any of you have ever wondered what my area looks like,

here's the great city of Göteborg! Everything the light(or in this case mist...)

touches is our area! (Plus a whole lot more you can't see)

 Today we decided to go through a part of town that dates back to the 1600's for P-day. There were some super cool shops and buildings we enjoyed looking around, and then we saw it: Skansen Kronan. Skansen Kronan is one of the old fortresses which was built in the 1600's on top of a hill that

was used to defend the port of Göteborg. Despite the looming staircase we could see leading up to it, Elder Bringhurst and I looked at each other, and without much discussion, knew that we had to go check it out. I lost count after about 13 stairs, but after a good while we finally reached the top and what was more impressive than the fortress itself was the view of Göteborg. I couldn't resist laying my hand on Elder Bringhurst's shoulder and saying, "Well Elder, everything the light touches is ours..." The truth of the matter is that our area actually includes a lot more that was beyond eyesight, but it was a good start.

Skansen Kronan

If there's one thing I have become convinced of while on my mission, it would probably be the power of fasting. This last Sunday I fasted that we might find a new, prepared investigator, and by the end of Monday we had found just that. As we were walking home from the tram stop, we walked along side a man, approximately in his sixties, and starting talking to him. In his words, "Jesus is the guy!", and he doesn't understand how there can be so many churches that claim to follow Him. Hmmm, that sounds like a question we have an answer to! We were able to show him around the church, which he really liked, and teach him about the Book of Mormon, which testifies of Christ. He has since started reading the Book of Mormon and has texted us that he really likes it, and wants to meet again so we can talk more about its message. Such an encounter is no coincidence, and is truly a manifestation of the power that is promised to us as we fast and pray.

We have been working with a less active guy in our ward, Love (yes that's a common Swedish name, but no it doesn't actually mean love in Swedish), who has a hard time coming to activities because he is quite busy participating in chess tournaments. We decided the best way to get to know him a little

A beautiful part of town called Haga

better was to play chess with him, so we did just that. Or at least we tried... As it turns out, Love is ranked number 5 in the nation for chess, and our skills were slightly less than number 5 in the nation... he pretty much annihilated my entire side of the board with only 3 of his own pieces. The good news? He actually taught us real strategy afterwards, so while I still stand no chance against him until the afterlife, maybe I can actually stand my ground against someone of normal ability now. We also had the chance to share Elder Rasbands talk from October 2017 with Love, in which Elder Rasband says, "Our lives are like a chessboard, and the Lord moves us from one place to another—if we are responsive to spiritual promptings. Looking back, we can see His hand in our lives." I have seen this principle time and time again in my own life, and I know that the Lord truly directs our paths, if we are responsive to spiritual promptings. In this last general conference, President Nelson reminded us that the Lord wants to make his mind known to us. If we seek his guidance, and act courageously on those promptings, we will receive the direction we so greatly need.

Äldste Sirrine

April 9, 2018 Follow the Prophet, He Knows the Way

One of the ports

 

One of the cool ships...and... a massive boat prop we found by the coast

This week we had some incredible experiences, among which was an opportunity to serve one of the members, Tyler Smith (who actually comes from LA). He has been renovating his apartment,

Serving Tyler

and had a bunch of scrap wood, concrete, and tile that needed to be carried down 5 flights of stairs and loaded into a trailer to be taken to a recycling center. It was wonderful to have a chance to do some service, and we got a little additional exercise as well, so the Lord was truly smiling upon us.

I absolutely loved general conference, and we were pretty busy this week so we didn't get a chance to watch the last session until Friday. During conference, I had the overwhelming feeling that President Nelson is truly God's prophet on the earth, and the changes that have occurred are truly inspired to help prepare us for the coming of Christ. As we traveled home from the church where we watched the last session, I found myself pondering the words of President Nelson and the message which stood out to me throughout conference; we need to minister, not just teach or share a gospel message. We got off the tram out our usual stop and began walking home when we approached a lady, about in her sixties, walking with three large bags of groceries. I thought of the message of ministering, and was looking for ways to serve people through small and simple means, so we greeted her and asked if we could help, but she quickly informed us that she was strong and didn't need any help. We continued talking to her, and throughout the course of the conversation we found out that she lived on top of the hill next to the square we were in. She

A nice glimpse of nature:)

told us that once you reach the top, there is a beautiful view of the ocean, and immediately the spirit put into my mind the words to say, "Wow! That sounds incredible! Could we help you carry these bags to the top so you can show us the view?" This time she agreed, so we each took a bag and began the trek towards the top. Along the way we had a wonderful conversation, learning a lot about her

family and her religious background as a member in the Swedish church. When we reached the top, we stood for a few minutes taking in the view. Without prompting, she turned to us and said, "I know there must be a God to create something so beautiful as this." We began a gospel discussion with her, teaching her about the Book of Mormon and it's message. As we talked about the Book of Mormon, she stopped us suddenly and told us that she had just gotten shivers, like a chill that ran from head to toe. We were able to testify that such a feeling is the spirit, through which she can learn the truth of all things. We helped her carry the groceries the rest of the way to her house, and once there, she thanked us profusely for our help, adding that she had seriously contemplated whether to take the tram home, but had felt that she should just walk. She said that just because she was capable of doing it alone, that doesn't mean she wanted to, and she

Waterway in town

didn't know if she had the energy to walk up the hill that day. She was overwhelmed with gratitude, and I was overwhelmed with joy. Such an experience has strengthened my testimony of the power that comes from following the words of the prophet. I have tried to offer to carry groceries countless times, but the response is always the same: an uncomfortable Swede who declines the help and seems slightly offended that we think they can't do it themselves. However, by pondering on, and applying the words of the Lord which we heard during conference, we were led by the hand of the Lord and were presented with an incredible opportunity to help and bless one of God's beloved daughters.


Äldste Sirrine    

We found a Tesla dealership...

naturally we had to check it out.

April 2, 2018 Volvos, Audis, and Bikes, Oh My!

One of the wonderful cultural customs in Sweden that has recently come to my attention this week is the validity of bicycles as a legitimate mode of transportation. Sweden is incredibly bike friendly,

Apparently bicycles are a big deal

with bike paths literally everywhere, and the right of way belonging to them. If there is one sure way to anger a Swede, it would probably be by walking in the designated bike lane of the sidewalk... As we were walking through a parking lot this week my eyes were met by the usual, European-style cars made by Volvo, Audi, and occasionally Peugot, when suddenly we came upon a bike taking up an entire parking stall... I believe it was at this moment that I realized just how big a role the bicycle plays here.

Well, after dropping Elder Harden off at the train station early Monday morning, I was left with the zone leaders until I got my new companion Wednesday evening. Hanging with the zone leaders definitely has it's advantages, mainly a car, that allowed us to explore the coast a little bit on P-day. We wandered around a little bit, enjoying the beauty, and marveling at the creations of God. One of the zone leaders, Elder Carter, was transferring to Växjö, so after spending some time by the water we drove into town and visited a few places he wanted to see before he left, making it one of the most eventful P-days I've had.

Wednesday was absolutely chaotic. As Gothenburg is the second biggest city in Sweden, many of the missionaries in neighboring areas who transfer end up traveling through it. As a result, we woke up at 4:30 am so we could help all the missionaries get to the train station and transfer our, worked all day, and then helped all the new missionaries who arrived at 6:30 that evening. Among the new

A cool statue in town

missionaries who arrived was my new companion, Elder Bringhurst, and I cannot adequately describe how excited we are to be together. Elder Bringhurst is from Pocatello Idaho, which is actually a lot more beneficial than you might think. Swedes consume an amazing amount of potatoes, and you wouldn't believe how excited they are when they find out that he's from the land of potatoes... Elder Bringhurst transferred here from Umeå, which is up North, so he's definitely enjoying the warmer weather, seeing as how the snow in Umeå was still waist high when he left. One of the things I am most grateful for is his willingness and ability to speak Swedish with me. Elder Harden and I decided at the beginning of last transfer that we would only ever speak Swedish with one another, which has helped my language ability immensely, and Elder Bringhurst has been completely willing and excited to continue the tradition. He only has four months left of his mission, so it's truly an incredible opportunity to learn from his experience in both the language and the work.

What a blessing it has been to here from living prophets and apostles this last week. We were able to watch the Saturday Morning session live (at 6 pm for us) on Saturday with some members. We were able to watch the Saturday Afternoon and Sunday Morning sessions on Sunday at the institute center with the YSA, which was an incredible opportunity to feel the spirit and strength of the rising generation as they gathered to here the voice of the Lord. We have not had the opportunity to view the Sunday Afternoon session yet, and will do that some time throughout the week. My mind was impressed by the scripture D&C 1:38 which says, "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same." This conference we have witnessed not only the calling of a new prophet, but also the Lord speaking to us and making His will made known through him. I testify that Russell M. Nelson is the Lord's prophet, the watchman on the tower, on earth at this time. If we heed his warnings and follow his counsel, we will find the joy, happiness, and blessings the Lord desires to bestow upon us.


Äldste Sirrine

P-Day at the coast