Week 2

So, week two. Seems like things are still going well. Mom, your Easter basket was at the mission office the first night I came. It made everyone sick and they exclaimed how typical it was that I would have mail. Not in the least, my friends! I didn't actually get that many packages in the mtc, thank you very much. It's ok. They won't make fun of me for it any more because they are gone. All over Sweden that is. Not home. I got your first letter to me grandma and, mom, your two. This weekend was Easter weekend, so the libraries were closed and there was no post. Yes, I said 'post' to be cool. They celebrate Easter here with witches, trick-o-treating, and decorating with feathers and birch branches. I saw Elder Dean who was in the MTC with me at conference on Sunday. He said they saw a girl dressed up as a witch dancing on top of a felled tree in the center of Västerås with feathers everywhere. It has to do with Easter chickens and the coming of spring, but I don't know what the witches are all about. We were out tracting a little on Friday and people kept coming to the door with treats and we had to skip a floor because there were kids going around with faces painted like they were cats (I think--mice maybe?) Mostly we had to deal with people being gone and busses and trains that ran less than normal. We bought and drank some Påsk Must which gave me a headache, but it was good. Luckily we had conference this weekend, so we didn't have time to do much finding work. So the way conference worked here was they broadcasted it to a few stake centers in the area in Swedish, English and Spanish. There were actually more people in the English because so many people understand it and I assume they preferred listening to it in the original language. We watched the Sat morning session live at 6pm then went home. The next day they watched the taped priesthood session at 10 or 12 I think. Then we came and saw the taped Sat afternoon session at 2pm and waited for the live Sunday morning session at 6pm. We didn't watch the Sat. afternoon session at all and will have to catch it in the Liahona next month.

So, we have had a lot going on besides that. I think I mentioned last week that we have a few investigators from Africa (Nigeria and Cameroon) one (we hope) from Russia and one from Peru and a Swedish lady. There are some other people we are working with (less actives and recently baptized) that are from Chile and Peru. So, we don't seem to speak Swedish very often and it still freaks me out and I still have only a slight idea what people are saying to me. I still do silly things when I teach, but I know that when I bear testimony of the important things, the Spirit is there, so that's a plus. I've gotten over the first week of feeling lost and wondering, "Is this really what a mission is like?" We seem to spend a lot of time on busses which Sister Wood says is not typical, but we have to because our area is so large. The church gives us a card that works all year in the Stockholm area, so we don't have to worry about paying or having enough money for busses and trains. It's fantastic!

I still get freaked out by stopping and talking to people mostly because my Swedish is so bad and I feel awkward. Sis Wood reassuringly told me that a mission really is one long awkward moment. Great. I feel ok about it though because we are out to talk to people that want to talk to us. If they aren't interested, they aren't interested, and we find people who are. A few times people are interested in chatting about religion, but not hearing about ours, so they will spew their (oftentimes cynical) viewpoints all over us and we smile and let them go in peace. It's fun because I get to just listen and nod knowingly. I love that! I usually have to ask Sis Wood what the heck they were talking about, but I usually get the gist.

So, the style for young women here is no pants. We as sisters have the tights part down, but the long skirts really set us apart :)

Anyway, I think that's everything. Baptism on Saturday. Everyone is still nice. Elders are awkward but funny. Running for 15 minutes in the morning really doesn't cut it. Oh, and it snowed yesterday, but it's lovely today.

I'm starting to like this. I love sharing my testimony with people who are eager to hear it and truly seeking the truth because I know how and where to find it. I love that!

Love,
Syster Maxwell