June 25, 2018 Midsommar!

Making the maypole

Elder Bills and I 

in front of the maypole

Well this week I got my new companion, Elder Bills, who I'll be training! He comes from Peoria, Arizona, and before the mission he attended BYU for a year where he actually competed in swimming. He had to wait for his visa, so after finishing at the MTC he served in the Yakima Washington mission for a transfer. Despite any sort of jet lag, he's got a lot of energy and works harder than just about any missionary I've met, so we haven't slowed down a bit. It's been a lot of fun to share some Swedish traditions with him and get to show him around the beautiful city of Stockholm.

On Friday we celebrated the Swedish holiday Midsommar Eve. It's by far the most celebrated holiday in Sweden, and unique to the Nordic countries, so it was a lot of fun to participate in. The church started a yearly Midsommar celebration a few years back in Tyresta By, a national park about an hour south of Stockholm, which has grown into one of the

biggest celebrations in Sweden, and all the missionaries in the Stockholm area were in attendance, about 30 in total. Throughout the morning they have little games and activities the kids can do, and the adults make the Maypole. We actually got to assist in the making of the Maypole, which including stripping green branches off of trees they had cut down and tying them to the frame of the Maypole. After wrapping branches around the Maypole everybody goes into the meadows, picks flowers, and weaves them onto the pole. Around 2:30, they raise the maypole, after which everyone gathers around it and dances to traditional Swedish songs. After the dancing, they have a few more activities, the

Tug of War

highlight being a tug of war competition (or "dragkamp" in Swedish). You were allowed to make teams of ten, so naturally the missionaries assembled the dream team to represent. We had a good run, and made it to the semi-finals where we finally lost to a team that broke the rules by having 21 people on it... Let's just say they were determined to beat us. Although we put up a good fight, we ended up barely losing, which I'm convinced was actually caused by the bad footing created by wearing dress shoes.

Midsommar is in coordination with the Summer Solstice, June 21, the day with the most amount of sunlight for the year. June 21 was on Thursday, and being so far North, the sun rose at 3:31 and set at 10:08. Missionary work is pretty fun when the sun is always up.

Dancing around the maypole

On the way to church yesterday we had a pretty cool experience. We showed up at Stockholms Östrastation and were waiting for the train by track 4 when a member showed up. I was so focused on our conversation that I missed the fact that the train came in on the other track. It had said that it would come in on track 4, but it switched to track 5, and I had no idea. By the time I realized, we went to get on the train and the doors shut right as we got there and the train left.... I was kinda disappointed, but the next train would get us there just in time for Sacrament Meeting, so it would all work out. The amazing part is that when we got on the train, we told we told the member we were going to go talk with someone, so we sat down next to a girl and started a conversation. Her name is Cassandra, and it turns out that she lived in Thailand for 6 months and is now Buddhist. We asked a lot about her faith, and told her a lot about ours as well. We told her about the Book of Mormon, and she was interested, so we gave her a copy and a card. I know without a doubt that God wanted us to talk with her, and he truly directed our path, even though it may have seemed like an inconvenience at the time. I'm grateful that as we were willing to open our mouths, he truly filled them and made us His messengers.

Äldste Sirrine

Hiking to the coast to fish with a member

Fishing

We were getting off the bus when we 

heard the driver announce, "If you 

look to the right, you'll see a dog sitting

 on a motorcycle." He wasn't wrong.

June 18, 2018 It's an Elder!

The view from one of our member's apartment... 

They live on the 16th floor, right above Central Station in the heart of Stockholm.

I found out this past week that I'll be training a new elder these next two transfers! He will be one of three new missionaries coming into the mission this transfer, and I'll pick him up on Wednesday. We had a meeting last Thursday for the three of us who will be training new missionaries, and it was the first time this meeting has ever been held over Skype. Normally, all the missionaries travel into

On Thursday, the missionaries in the 

Stockholm and Stockholm South Zones 

planted  3500 flowers at the temple!

Stockholm to receive such training, but in order to save time and money our mission president decided to start doing it over Skype. God has one purpose, "To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39), and this was just one example of how the Lord has given us technology to further his work and achieve His purpose. The other two trainers, Elder Jarman and Elder Steele, are both currently serving in Norrland (northern Sweden) so both would have had to take a plan to Stockholm in order to attend the training. Being able to hold the training over Skype enabled them to stay in their areas, and gave them more time to proselyte and serve others there. In addition to this training, starting this transfer, all of our weekly district meetings will be held over Skype as well. This change will significantly impact the mission, as many companionships had to travel an hour or more each way to attend such meetings.

This last week I went on splits twice, one of them being with the office elders, in the mission office. As part of the work that day, we went through and organized records in the attic of the office, and we

While in the office on splits,  we had to unload

 a crate of boxes containing copies of the Book 

of Mormon. Unfortunately, it had gotten wet in

transport, so we were tasked with drying them.

 I never thought I would use a blow dryer on a 

Book of Mormon...

found some pretty interesting records that went back quite a ways. The church in Sweden has a long history itself, and the mission here was established in 1905, so there were many records to accompany such a rich history. One of the interesting records I found was actually a letter from 1963 announcing the addition of Thomas S. Monson to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. I was informed by Elder Lee that the oldest record he's seen in the office dates back to 1890, and it was fascinating to see glimpses of the history of the church in Sweden since then.

Our investigator Erik has taught himself yoga for the past six years, and is incredibly good at it, so we had him teach us a little this week. Not going to lie, it was probably one of the more painful experiences I've had in a while, but they say it's good for you, so I guess I just need to do it more? All pain is good pain coach... Anyways, as we did yoga, Erik asked us a few questions about missionary life, and he was both surprised and impressed by our "strict" lifestyle. I told him that for me, it all comes down to the Atonement of Jesus Christ which was performed for all people regardless of who they are or what they've done. Such a miraculous act of love enables Him to fulfill the

Doing yoga with Erik

marvelous promise we read in Mosiah 2:22, "All that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you." He desires to bless us, and all we must do to receive His blessings is keep his commandments. There is therefore no greater work to be engaged in than to make His commandments known to all, so that they might also experience the richness of blessings I have experienced.

Äldste Sirrine

Exploring Gamla Stan

 

We visited the Army Museum for P-day today

June 11, 2018 "Are you guys playing today?"

Wednesday was Sweden's National Day, so we baked a whole

bunch of cinnamon rolls with a member family and then

took them to people in the area.

Delivering the cinnamon rolls with our ward mission leader, Jerry.

"Playing what?" That was the question that ran through my mind when a man wearing nothing but a bath robe walked up to us in the middle of Central Station and asked me if we were playing.

Just the night before, we had promised to give the guitar in our apartment to the zone leaders, seeing as how neither Elder Baggett or I can play the guitar, and had decided to meet at Central Station where they would be transferring trains that morning. We were waiting for them in the middle of Central Station when suddenly we saw a man dressed only in a bath robe and a pair of flip flops walk by. Elder Baggett and I turned to each other and began speculating on what the cause of such an outfit could be, and determined that he probably lived in one of the apartments above the station and had come down to get a morning coffee or something similar. Right as we reached this conclusion, the man showed up right behind us and asked, "Are you guys playing today?" I was really confused, wondering what we were supposed to be playing, when I realized that Elder Baggett was holding the guitar in his hand. We began to explain that we couldn't play, that we were just giving it to a friend, when the zone leaders appeared. As it happens, Elder Strong can play the guitar really well, so the man asked if he could play a church song. He played and sang"I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus", after which the man suggested he play it again and we could all sing this time. Without skipping a beat, Elder Strong started playing again and there we were, four missionaries and a man wearing a bath robe, playing the guitar and singing "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus" in the middle of Central Station. Looks like I can check that off the bucket list!

The Stockholm temple is closed for the month of June for deep cleaning and renovation, so all the

Sweden Stockholm Temple

missionaries with and SL card (Stockholm Transportation card) were assigned different shifts to help clean. It was my first time going to the temple in Sweden, and it was pretty amazing. As we walked to the temple from the train stop, I realized that it has been about 10 months since I have even seen a temple, and coming from Utah that's not something I'm used to. It's hard to describe the feeling I had just by seeing the temple, and then to go in and serve within its walls, even while under construction. I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity we had to serve there, the beauty and peace that comes from the temple is truly a blessing.

Our investigator Erik came to church yesterday! He had gotten back from a road trip Sunday morning at 5 AM after driving all night, but we invited him to come if he was feeling up for it, and he told us he would love to. We had testimony meeting because they reorganized our bishopric last week, so I had the opportunity to bear testimony along with many others. Just before the meeting ended, Erik stood up and walked to the front to bear his testimony. He expressed gratitude for the witnesses that had been borne, and encouraged the members to continue pressing forward in faith. It was exactly the message we all needed to hear, and I was amazed that he had shared it. Honestly, if I attended another church's services, I would listen and appreciate, but I probably wouldn't get up and talk in front of everybody... His participation didn't stop there though, he stayed for the next two hours and contributed several comments in class as well, helping to strengthen and uplift others.

The greatest blessing of being a missionary is the privilege of seeing the Atonement of Jesus Christ work miracles in the lives of so many. He truly has the ability to make weak things strong unto us, to turn mistakes that might consume us with pain and guilt into sacred moments of instruction and strength. I have seen this power change and empower the lives of those who are willing to humbly follow Him, and I have felt it in my own life as well.


Äldste Sirrine

A car outside our apartment

Studenten. This is the Swedish tradition that accompanies 

graduation from high school. Everybody gets in the back 

of trucks with loud speakers playing music and more beer 

than they know what to do with. They then proceed to drive 

around the city drinking and spraying beer everywhere...

June 4, 2018 Livin' the summer life of Stockholm

Playing Kubb (a Swedish game) at the picnic

The Beach

This week we got to spend a lot of time serving and being with members. We helped two members move, and then we had a ward picnic at the beach! There were a lot of people at the beach, and everybody was in a swimsuit, so we felt pretty out of place in our white shirts and ties... The funny thing is that I have gotten so used to being out of place that I didn't even notice how weird we looked until one of the other missionaries said something about it. The good news is that we made it pretty easy for all those who came to find the ward because we were the only group with five guys in white shirts (the other companionship in the area is a trio). We were blessed with great weather, which I have been told is very unusual for this time of year. We have had the warmest May on record (it's been about 84 degrees) and yesterday was the first time it's rained since I got to Stockholm, so it's been about a

Hiking to the ward picnic

month. Apparently it's actually been warmer here in Sweden than anywhere else in Europe, including the popular vacation destination of Spain. We've definitely been enjoying the nice weather and sun while we have it! Currently the sun goes down at 10 pm and comes back up at 3:50 am, which is pretty crazy. Sometimes it makes it tough to keep track of time when you're out working at 8:30 and the sun is still up and bright...

Yesterday at church our bishopric was reorganized. We have fantastic members in the ward, and the new bishopric is absolutely amazing. The only way I can accurately describe how excited I am to be working with them is to say that they are truly the "Dream Team". I know without a doubt that the Lord has called each one of them at this time for a specific reason, and each of them has a love for missionary work that will truly help to build the kingdom of God here in Stockholm.

We had Zone Conference this week, and the highlight was definitely watching The Lion King. Yes, we watched the Lion King. To be fair, it was only a five minute segment, the part where Simba sees Mufasa in the sky, but we were asked to identify every gospel principle we saw and then to think how it applies to us. It was actually an incredible activity that taught me a surprising amount about the gospel, and I would highly recommend it to all.

Apparently Erik owns 

a samurai sword

Last week we got to teach a new investigator, Erik. We met him while contacting, which was a miracle in it's truest sense. We had gone out that day doing our very best to follow the guidance of the spirit, and were about to talk to someone else when we saw him sitting on a bench and felt the prompting to talk with him instead. We did so, and our conversation led to an opportunity to teach him this past week. We met him at his apartment, and it turns out he really likes yoga (he's taught himself for the past six years) so he taught us proper posture and we sat on the floor as we taught him. We were pretty surprised to find out he had already read the first two chapters of the Book of Mormon and said he had "complete faith in the book". He really liked our lesson, and yesterday we got a text from him saying he would appreciate to meet us again, so we're teaching him again tonight.

Äldste Sirrine

Grilling at one of the member's house

Fjällräven backpacks at Naturkompaniet. 

Fjällräven is a super nice Swedish brand 

that makes outdoor products...

The Stockholm Marathon that went right 

past our apartment on Saturday!

A few days ago this yacht equipped with a helicopter 

showed up in the harbor. We're still debating what

 it's used for...

May 28, 2018 Behold the Royal Army

The royal escort (there are many more horses than seen in the picture...)

 

The palace

The church inside the palace

This has been an amazing week!

Let me just start by saying it's more than a little surprising to turn a street corner while contacting and see an army of horses coming towards you. Quite frankly it's not something I ever expected to see in my lifetime, and certainly not in downtown Stockholm. As it turns out, they were escorting the royal carriage, and I must admit it was rather impressive. I'm not entirely sure how effective of an escort it is, but it certainly looks cool!

When I first arrived here in Stockholm, the bishop didn't seem very enthused with missionary work, and wouldn't respond to our efforts to contact him. I think many of the previous missionaries had accepted this, which is understandable because the bishop is certainly a busy person, but we decided we wanted to try serving him to improve our relationship. We asked the bishop's wife if we could

Serving the bishop's family

come do some service for them, and she said they were actually had a lot of yardwork to do in order to prepare for a party, and that we were "såååååååå välkommna" (soooo welcome) to help. We were able to go over to their house on Saturday and spend a couple hours helping them replace the tarp on their pool, trim the hedges, paint, etc. Perhaps the coolest part of serving them was the chance to talk to their neighbor as well. As I trimmed their hedge, I was standing on a step ladder, but the hedge was too wide, so I could only reach half of it. After doing the half closest to me, I saw their neighbor 

sitting in the yard, so I called out to her and asked if I could come on their side to do the other half. She was happy to let me do so, so I took the step ladder to the other side and was able to finish the top of the hedge. I then asked if I could even up their side of the hedge for them, and she said I didn't need to, that they could do it, but I persisted and she accepted the offer gratefully. After finishing the hedge, we began talking and after seeing my name tag she asked what it is I do. I was able to explain that we are here for 2 years to teach about our church, but also to serve, and I was able to tell her about some of the service we have done recently. I then asked if we could help her with any such projects, and she said that she had a few in mind, and would love our help. I gave her our contact information, and she said she will give us a call. Not only do we now have the chance to serve, and hopefully teach their neighbors, but it was amazing to see how our relationship with the bishop and his family has developed. We talked as we worked, and by the end it felt as though we were good friends. Certainly you can talk at church or at a dinner appointment, but you come much closer together as you talk while working side by side towards a common goal. It now feels as though he truly trusts us, and he has started reaching out to us, instead of us trying in vain to contact him. Service truly works miracles!

While contacting this week, we had a girl come up to us on the street and ask us if we had a Book of

Stockholm

Mormon. We were a little surprised, and asked her how she knew, so she explained that she had been an exchange student in Rexburg, Idaho, and had lived with an LDS family, so she knows all about our church. When we asked if we could meet and teach her more, she told us that she thinks what we're doing is amazing, but she isn't wanting to become a member right now, so she doesn't want to waste our time. I was about to give her a card, when I realized we could be friends on Facebook. She was more than happy to do so, and we told her just to send us a message if she ever had any questions. Sure enough, later that night we got a message from her asking if she could come to church with us on Sunday. She said that as she thought about it, she realized that she hadn't been to church in a long time and actually was interested in learning more. She was unable to attend yesterday because of work, but she is planning on coming this week.

Last Sunday we had an investigator come to church who has a hard time believing the Book of Mormon is true. She has placed a barrier in her mind between us and her because we grew up in the gospel while she did not, so we had a few members who were converts themselves speak with her and bear testimony. I bore my personal testimony to her that it is indeed true, and that the way I know is because I have tested the promises within the book. I explained to her that the way I see the Book of Mormon is as a collection of If-Then statements. For example, we are told that IF we follow His commandments, THEN we will receive His spirit. We are also told that IF

The Stockholm YSA

we come unto Him THEN He will make weak things strong unto us (Ether 12:27). She said she had never seen the book like this before, but was very intrigued, so she asked if we could meet this week and help her read it in that way. It was definitely a step of progress with her, and much of my personal study this week has been devoted to finding If-Then statements in the Book of Mormon and preparing to teach her how to do so herself. Much of the time we focus on helping our investigators know if the entire Book of Mormon is true or not. My own testimony of the Book of Mormon didn't come as a whole, but rather as I saw each If-Then statement fulfilled. Every time I have done the "If", the "Then" has always happened. As I have seen each fulfilled, I have come to the absolute knowledge that the Book of Mormon is true, and that our greatest happiness comes as we read and apply the principles therein.

Beautiful sunset on the way home from tracting

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May 21, 2018 Already week two in Stockholm?

On splits with the office elders!

It was Elder Berlin's (one of the assistants) birthday, so we had a birthday dinner for him!

This was at a members house for dinner!

On Monday we decided to explore Stockholm a little bit, so we went and walked around Gamla Stan (which means "the old city"). Gamla Stan is right in the middle of the Stockholm, and it's where all the tourists go, so it had some pretty fun shops and the buildings are all super old and incredibly beautiful. We also ended up going into the palace, which had a really cool church, and then we went into an assembly hall which had a throne. Upon seeing the throne, Elder Baggett turned to me and said, "The chair is probably worth more than my house." I wouldn't be surprised... While wandering around we actually met two guys, brothers, from Pocatello Idaho who called out to us and asked where we were from. We then ended up talking to them for a while and found out that they aren't members, but they're on a 12 week trip here in Europe, and coming from Idaho they're quite familiar with the missionaries, so they were super happy to talk with people from home... I've never seen non members so happy to talk to the missionaries!

This week we got to do some service by helping a member move a piano to her mother's house. We got a text asking if we could help, so we said we would love to, and then we found out that it would only be us and there were three flights of stairs... We were definitely a little worried about it, but when we arrived, we found out that it was just a fancy electric piano, so it was still big and heavy, but nothing like a real piano would have been, so we were pretty relieved.

At church on Sunday I played the piano for sacrament meeting, so I thought I was safe from translating, but then Elder Baggett needed to go talk with an investigator who came into the back of the chapel, so he handed me the mic to start translating. It's probably a good thing I didn't have any time to think about it before hand, because I've never translated in church before, but it actually went really well. I do have to say though, the chapel was already really warm, and then with a suit coat and the pressure of translating I was sweating pretty good by the end...

On Friday we had a lesson with our investigator Carmen. She moved here from Peru many many years ago, but her family is still there and are actually members. She's met with the missionaries for quite a while, but hasn't quite been ready to take the step of baptism. We taught her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and there have been few occasions when the spirit was stronger. We had a member with us for the lesson, and the three of us were able to bear humble testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and it's ability to cleanse us, as well as it's power to change us. We felt prompted to extend an invitation to be baptized, and said that her family has been wondering for years when the day would be. As she continued to ponder if it was right, the spirit witnessed that it is, and she accepted the invitation. I can't wait for her to continue feeling the power of Christ as she prepares for baptism, and to experience the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Such a blessing is truly one of the greatest gives us.


Äldste Sirrine

This one is a little bit late, but this was getting on the train to come to Stockholm.