Week 7

Hej hej allihopa,

So, I feel a little nauseated at the moment because we were outside in the cold for a while, I tried to write letters on a bus, and we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and apples. For me, a deadly combination.

Well, Sis Wood said today that she was not going to have much to say to her family because she talked to them yesterday, "but you still will because you didn't say much to your family." She didn't mean anything by it but that you all did a lot of the talking. She talks a lot because her family talked a lot and she had to speak loud and often to get anything said. I took the opposite tack. Speak when spoken to. It's easier that way.

So, the weather this week has been cold and gray which means the 50s and spurts of rain every now and then. One woman said she thought it was because of the volcano. Maybe, but I don't know.

We are having to do a lot of finding this next week because all of our investigators disappeared. George went to Kiruna. Michael has "been busy". And Zebedee's family is more interested in shopping then hearing about the gospel. Ana likes social issues instead of doctrinal issues. And Francis disappeared after Sis. Wood broke his heart. So, we continue to hope for more people to teach.

We went to Drottningholm today which is where the Royal family lives. They have half of the downstairs to themselves and then the rest is open for tours. That would be so bizarre. I can't even imagine living in a place where half of it is open to the public. I also can't imagine living in a palace. We went with Elders Ahola and Edmunds. It wasn't supposed to be just us four, but the Stockholm elders bailed. The palace is being fixed up for Princess Victoria's wedding in June. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but it's a big deal. There are commemorative postcards, table settings, chocolate, t-shirts and so much more. The rags here are like shammies (I know it's French, but I really don't know how to spell it), and I even used one at Yvonne's house which had a picture of the lovely couple on it and the word 'kitsch' in the corner in case anyone was wondering. The palace was wonderful and it was weird being on a tour with a tag on.

Also, on Thursday we had a conference with half of the mission because Elder Teixeira was here for Stockholm's stake conference. He was a great speaker and his wife was so cute and sweet. They are both very accomplished and can speak a number of languages. The APs said that his presentation was different from the one he had given the day before. They sat with us (the sisters) during lunch and asked us about what we were planning on doing after our missions and how long we had been out.

Later that evening we went out on splits with the sisters from the Norrland zone since they were flying back up to Sundsvall the next morning. I led the way for Sis Porkka, who is Finnish and lived in the UK for 5 years while earning her undergrad and Masters in Art. She liked me immediately because I mentioned 'This American Life' which she loves and hasn't found anyone else here who loves it. So, we had a good time, but first of all, she took her time getting off the bus, so the bus driver drove off before we could get off. She said they would have waited for her up north. Welcome to Stockholm! We had to catch the next bus back at the next stop and then I got turned around finding the place, but we made it. We talked about the armies of Helaman and their mothers with a new convert and her catholic, teen-age son. I explained it in such a way that she thought it was weird. "So, because I and my husband have been baptized, we should encourage our son to do the bad things we have promised not too?" Ummm....oops. We tried to explain, and I think they got it, but it was funny (afterwards).

Anyway, off I go. I like it here. I think I'll stay. I feel like my attitudes have changed quite a bit and it's interesting thinking about things I valued before my mission and how they don't matter as much anymore. I'm sure that happens to everyone. Elder Wright, at stake conference said, basically, "Youth, if you feel yourself in the middle of a tug of war between the world and the Lord, just let go of the world." It's difficult for me to still care about the world while I'm here. I just want people to realize I'm not a weird-o. I don't want to suck away their souls or free choice. I'm a person with feelings and interests and education too! But they don't usually see me that way. I just have to remember why I'm here and why I believe. Well, the church is true. The Book of Mormon is still amazing, and I love the New Testament more and more.

Syster Maxwell