Week 22

Subject: They do exist

Hejsan allihoppa!

So this week was back to normal and filled with little miracles and awkward moments. Monday was a stressful P-Day. I'm glad it's not Monday anymore. Or rather, that Monday anymore. We went shopping for Sis Robinson's going home presents for her family (don't expect any from me, people). I did get to take a nap, though.

Tuesday we set a baptismal date with a guy from Uganda who is seeking asylum here. He doesn't have any paperwork, so I'm afraid he won't get approved. We'll see. The recent convert who is actually the other guy's roommate thought ahead and made a clean exit from his country. Sure, he only had a small bag and the clothes on his back, but he has good proof about why he needed to leave his country. They won't just take your word for it. Something I'd never talked to people about before. It's interesting. Well, we were very excited about the first man's desire to be baptized, but the problem is that he lives an hour or so out of Örebro and is currently dirt poor. The people who would be able to give him a ride can't right now or ever in the near future because they have a puppy who has separation anxiety, so they have to take him to church with them. They train sled dogs. It's a big puppy. So the puppy goes to church and the man with the good heart stays home....

Wednesday was one of those strange days. We had a kid teaching with us who is going on a mission to Salt Lake Central? North? in a month or so. Sadly, both were strange teaches where we dealt with a lot of concerns, so he didn't get to say much. Needless to say, he was out of there as soon as possible. He didn't even stick around for the fish pies we were given from another Ugandan friend. We ate them, though, after we had pulled up to the nearest patch of rugged wilderness. The ground around here is rocky and flatish for the most part. It's also very lake-y country. Is that glacial, Scott? Anyway, we had a nice lunch where we were attacked by mosquitoes and then angry yellow jackets. It was strange. For the most part they were normal--annoying and all over the food, but one of them got aggressive and came up and dive-bombed my face, commandeered my sandwich, and right in front of me while I was still holding my open-faced, vegetable-laden turkey sandwich, did a little dance in a circle and came away with a perfect little circle of meat which he rolled up and took away, almost crashing from the weight, but he managed. It was incredible. We started holding out little bits of apple and then when they were found acceptable by the nearest yellow jacket, we set them down on the ground and continued eating. Sis Robinson dubbed me the Wasp Whisperer and likes to call me Dubb Dubb from time to time. It was funny, but maybe you had to be there. And that's all I've got. Nothing else funny happened this week.

Well, that evening we were talked to by the Jehovah's Witness family who were all very frustrated that their logic and telling us over and over again that the Bible was complete didn't seem to stir us or sway us in the least. Sis Robinson is experienced at offering proof from the Bible, or what maybe could be termed by some 'Bible Bashing', but we didn't even want to go there. They asked for the evidence though, and promised that they were open and ready to learn, so she gave it to them. They could offer no logical response, and were obviously not open for rational discussion. They also completely misread Hebrews 11:1, but I can see why. Oh, well.

Well, I'm getting better at soccer (sort of), and we are going to teach a former investigator that doesn't want to be baptized, but her husband is basically making her (and making us teach her). The story is that there was a missionary here last year who came back for a visit. They actually named their baby after her and love her, so that's what prompted the change, it seems. We'll see how long that lasts, but we are being positive. Always positive. We met a really cool girl from China who when we set up the appointment said, "I'm Buddhist. Is that going to be a complication?" She's really cute.

I spoke in church on Sunday which is always interesting, but it went ok. We also found three Spanish speakers we will be meeting this next week. Yay! They do exist! We also talked to a guy who grew up Orthodox in Turkey. Hasn't really read the Bible, but he is sure that Jesus was born out of the left side of Mary, not in the normal manner because that is what has always been preached. Anybody know where that comes from? We also almost saw the king this week, but we got there late because we were teaching. Too bad! We stalked the castle a little and then went home for weekly planning. :)

Anyway, I hope my letters aren't becoming boring. It's a lot of the same. But Sweden is beautiful. It already feels like fall. I love what we have and I hope to continue understanding more. Have a good week and don't forget to write!

Syster Maxwell