Hey-Nonny

This week I'm guest-blogging on a blog my sister-in-law contributes to. Check it out!

http://www.hey-nonny.com/2011/10/21/lessons-in-assertiveness/

Winter and the amazing bread basket.

Every now and then I remember that if I have something I wish I could share with other people, I have a forum for doing that. The other day I walked out of my front door and saw the mountains for the first time since the rain-fat clouds had enveloped them the night before. Something about them was funny. I've seen mountains after the first dusting of snow before, but these were strange. I never quite was able to put my finger on it, but I think it might have been because the line was so uniform. My first impression of the gray and white trees and rocks topping the mountains was that someone was holding an "old-movie filter" up against the landscape. But it was stark gray, like the evil queen's hand in "Willow" when she catches the acorn, and it starts to turn to stone. It was like someone had come and painted a stripe across half of the mountain, leaving one half other-worldly. It was a fleeting impression, though, and today, the mountains look as they normally do in fall.
Well, late fall. I feel betrayed by the weather. Sweden did this to me last year. One more taste of the glory of summer and then winter comes and slaps me in the face the next week. Thank you for the adjustment period! It would have been nice to have.
But the point is, when I saw and felt all this, I wanted to write about it and have it be read. I realized that's just one more thing to add to the list of post-mission adjustments--there's no more audience. I no longer have my arena full of spectators cheering me on each week as I take on the evils of the world in a gladiatorial battle (as Kathy once described my weekly readership). So, maybe I'll take up blogging. I probably should. It'll help my academic ego take root.
Another triumph this week (if remembering that I have a blog can be termed a triumph) was finally being called an enigma. I've waited years for people to realize how mysterious and wonderfully nuanced I am. Sadly, I didn't expect it to be over my excitement about the bread basket at a restaurant on Tuesday. For me, the bread basket, when it is a quality bread basket, is one of the best parts of the restaurant-going experience. I had already eaten my appetizer, salad, and a few bites of my entree when I realized I had completely missed that the waitress had brought out a superb assortment of breads at the same time as the lightly fried calamari. I was so excited at the unexpected turn of events. Bread! My favorite! So, in an act that I saw as completely logical since I was already getting full, I declared my intention to save the entree for lunch tomorrow and just eat bread for the rest of the meal. I was just being myself, but this to my date (it was not supposed to be a date, but that's a whole other story) was mysterious and surprising. "You are an enigma!" he said in a wondering tone. Ah, the fulfillment of a dream. Funny how our dreams never turn out quite the way we want them to. At least he didn't call me a pig (that's my mom's story...). But, I don't regret it. The assortment of breads was the best I'd had in a long time, and lunch the next day was amazing.

Week 67

Subject: Signing off

Hi everybody!

So, the days of dominion have begun. Just kidding, but President Newell has already implemented some changes in the mission, namely changing transfer day to Wednesday instead of Thursday. We found out yesterday via text message from the assistants. Surprise! This is the last full day of the transfer, tomorrow's p-day, you're leaving on Wednesday! I was shocked and wasn't sure if I was happy about that or not. We were over in the tourist area of the city, actually, so we sat down and made some plans and quickly cleared our schedule. It all has worked out really well.
President called late last night to tell Sis Brown that she would be staying and getting a 2nd transfer missionary. She's very nervous, but I know she'll be ok. I packed this morning and because of the box I sent home and the stuff I don't want to take with me, both my suitcases are barely full. I don't really know what happened, but I'm not complaining! One of my suitcases' wheels are non-functional, ok, ripped to shreds, so I was able to pack that one lightly. It's great! The train ride tomorrow should be really fun. Elder Rowley is going to Sundsvall, Elder Olsen is going to Gubbängen, and Elder Alder is going home, so the face of our district is totally changing. I get to take the train with a ton of fun people. We have to be at the mission home by 5pm tomorrow and then on Thursday they have a whole day of activities lined up for us. Supposedly, the changes are so it makes it easier for the dying missionaries to adjust and for the new missionaries to get to their areas sooner. I think that sounds good. We'll see on Thursday. I hope the activities include being introduced to the king and queen. President Newell knows them pretty well :)

We had our combined Malmö-Göteborg zone conference on Saturday to meet the Newells. They are lovely people. Very real and sincere. We could tell they already loved us, and though apprehensive about everything, ready to do what was required of them. Amazing examples of faith. I've never had an up-close look into the life of an ambassador, but Pres. Newell described their experiences here in Sweden and they were amazing. 40-bedroom house, fancy dinners, meeting everyone important in Sweden and tons of foreign dignitaries. He's also had quite the career in the US it seems. Really cool to hear about. He of course is humble about it, but honest, so it made for a really fun couple of hours.

Right after we ran over to Utby's chapel for Kleber's baptism. It was absolutely beautiful. It worked out that the Portuguese member from our ward was able to come and speak. Her husband, Anders, did the confirmation the next day in Portuguese as well. Elder Webster did the baptism in Portuguese and I spoke in Spanish. I was so nervous because I hadn't practiced or anything. I had Elder Bednar's talk, 'Receive the Holy Ghost' in Spanish just in case I blanked, but the Spirit filled my mouth and I was able to say what I needed to. All the Portuguese speakers said they understood perfectly and complemented my clear Spanish. Anders even said that he understood me better than anybody in Spain. When I told him I'd learned in Guatemala, he said, "That's why!" It would have made Maria, my Spanish teacher, proud :) They always said Guatemalan Spanish is the best.

The baptism and confirmation made my life. It was so wonderful and Spirit-filled. K was so ready and expressed so much gratitude and sincere dedication to continuing to change his life. After the confirmation we went back to our ward for Sacrament meeting. It also made my life when the 2nd counselor thanked me for all my service and asked for me to come and bear my testimony. I said, "You like me! You really like me!" Just kidding, but I felt like that. Per G. Malm was sitting on the stand that day. That was a little nerve wracking at first, but maybe not so much since I know most of his family and love them. It also made my life when R got up near the end and bore a confident, sweet testimony about how the Spirit had helped him understand better the nature of God, something he'd been seeking to know for a year. He's normally very shy and doesn't say much even when we ask him direct questions. We could see that our baby was all grown up and feeling more comfortable. We were so happy.

Otherwise, we've been trying to wrap up and prepare for the changes ahead. I'm so grateful for my mission and the multitude of lessons I've learned along the way. See you in 3 days!!

Love,

Syster Maxwell

Week 66

Subject: Beginning the week of lasts

Hello family!

Dear me. Last week was kind of bad as far as numbers go, but wonderful otherwise. On Tuesday we started the week with 6 teaches at the Institute. 12 pm, 3:30pm, 4:30pm, 5:45pm, 7pm, and 8pm. We essentially said goodbye to each investigator and said, "Next, please!" It was amazing and exhausting! It made me feel a little like Aaron Lee, actually :)

We started and finished teaching a guy from India who was here on a business trip. We gave him a Hindi Book of Mormon and pamphlets and he said he'd love to have missionaries in India come visit. Also, M is leaving this week to go back to Colombia. We keep hoping he'll say he wants to get baptized before he goes, but we aren't sure how practical that is :) He's ready if he wants to. K is still on his way to get baptized on Saturday. He's so excited! We introduced him to a girl in the ward in Utby and really hoped they'd hit it off. Maybe... They both thought the other was funny. We've been making steps to transition him over to the other ward, but he went to church there this week and then called us asking why we weren't there and said he wanted to go to our church. No! Not allowed :) We felt loved, though. I asked him yesterday how it is going not drinking coffee. He said in his jovial broken English, "Fine! Great! But I drink some beers and smoking cigarettes. Ha ha ha!" I said, "What!? Are you lying!" He was :) It was really funny. You have to know him. Everybody loves him. He came to midsummer with us on Friday and had fun trying his hand at American Football and dancing around the midsummer pole.

Midsummer was awesome. It started out rainy and cold. We went first to a party in Utby with other members of the church and community and braved the rain. We had a small cook out after with the other missionaries and some of our investigators and new members and the rain started clearing. Later we headed over to Slottskogen for part 2 of the celebrations. We danced around the midsummer pole again, but this time it was led by people in traditional garb who performed traditional dances before hand. I was in heaven. I wished we could have stayed and watched longer, but the other missionaries and our friends had moved on to play football. We are allowed to participate in the dances, but there was one that caught me off guard. I don't think we danced it last year. It's one where you turn to your neighbor, shake his hand, and then give him a hug. Agh! I didn't know and then all of a sudden the kid in traditional clothes was putting his arms around me. It was funny to just me, of course. He probably thought my reaction was weird is all.

We watched the new version of the Joseph Smith movie online with C. It was weird in some places with the editing and chopping they did, but they addressed all of the concerns I had about the last one. He loved it, so it did its job.

We finished the week out well, and are on to the next. My last full week! It's crazy. This shouldn't be my last letter. I'll write again on the 6th probably and report on the new mission president and K's baptism if all goes well. I think it will. Got good feelings about this one. Well, I love you all. I'm excited about this next week and the hard work we've got ahead of us. Good luck getting ready for the family reunion. Save some of the fun until I get there!

Love,

Syster Maxwell

Week 65

Subject: 15 minutes!

Hejsan,

This week was really long. We had sharpening and it always makes the week seem longer to not have district meeting on Thursday. But, the week was just fine.

On Monday we went to a fort near Göteborg and spent a couple of glorious hours running around taking pictures, climbing on rocks, listening to Elder Bloomfield mimic Gregorian chant in the tower and having fun make believing we live in a storybook. I love Sweden!

Tuesday was Sharpening with President and Sister Anderson and my last one. It was very emotional and powerful and I felt that confirmation that my work here has been good and approved of by the Lord. I've done what I came to do (or am doing it still), and have learned a good deal. It's the beginning of something greater which I look forward to. I am so very grateful for President and Sister Anderson. I've learned a ton from their examples and the way they have dealt with challenges with consideration, care, and trust. They'll be missed, but more and more the missionaries and members here are preparing for really big things to come with President Newell. The work here will only go forward and I'm excited to be a little part of it, but sad to be leaving when it feels like the best is yet to come. It's amazing to see.

On Wednesday we set a baptismal date with K, our Brazilian friend. Elder Webster again happened to be at the center when we had our appointment. Coincidence? I think not. He should actually be here on the 2nd for a special zone conference where we'll be meeting the new mission president. We have dreams of him being here to baptize him. That would be so cool! K didn't come to church on Sunday because of work, so our plans for a big last baptism for me might be changing, but it doesn't matter. K was hesitant about the word of wisdom because he's a push over and is afraid of giving in when people offer him a drink and because he drinks a ton of coffee. He agreed to try though. He's really awesome.

E finally read! He's the guy from Iran. I was able to talk to him about baptism. It actually came up because Z called us on Thursday and said that he didn't feel like he could go through with the baptism because he has family still in Afghanistan and he realizes if he gets baptized he can never go back. There are also some issues with his residency here. I guess if he does something wrong, they can still send him back. He's also worried about his friends here jumping him or something. We, of course, respect that and have to let him do what he feels is right. We just hope he'll keep coming to church and being a part of things. So, I told this to E, who asked about the baptism, and he said that was also his concern. We talked about how we understood that and thought it was still good for him to keep meeting us and seeking it because it will bless his life in any case. Perhaps someday the situation will change.

We've had some good teaches with M who is interested in continuing to meet the missionaries when he goes home to Colombia in a few weeks. Yay!

I also received the compliment of my life this week from an American member who said that I have 'bomb Swedish' and that I'm a really good missionary and things have been really good since I got here. He said, 'You have a strong Spirit. Whatever you're doing it's right'. Made my week and life. :)

We also had stake conference. It was a broadcast from Salt Lake with President Eyring, Elder Bednar, Elder Malm (whose family is all in my ward), and Sister Beck. It was awesome! M loves Pres. Eyring. I do too!

Anyway, so I must be off, but those were the highlights. It's been kind of up and down, but lots of up. I know we are cared for and protected every day. I love the Spirit that we feel and just like mom wrote about it, I hope to be able to live worthy of it even at home even without the missionary mantel. It's essential. Hope everyone is being good and doing what you should be. I love you all!

Syster Maxwell

Week 64

Subject: the trunk-o-meter reading looks positive

Hejsan allihopa!

During district meeting this week, we made a scale of trunkiness, and it turns out I'm only a 4! Woo hoo! Well, this week continued as normal. We had teaches and rain. Lots of rain, but not so much rain. We went to a graduation ceremony for the girl who I've been helping with editing her thesis. I realized that I am going to be weirder than I expected when I get home when sitting in an auditorium for a graduation I was surprised there wasn't an opening prayer. Oh dear. Listening to them talk about their theses and all the hard work they put into them made me realize that that's my near future. The reality of next month hit me in the face. I remember the real world, and I'm not sure I want to go back there yet. Oh well. It's inevitable.

We met a couple on the street the other day from China who said we don't know much about God, can you tell us? But, you have to tell us now because we are going back to China tomorrow. Sadly, we had to catch a bus, so we did the best we could with the 10 minutes we had, her translating for him, and us leaving her with an English Book of Mormon and website. Those are the moments you wonder what the future will hold for them, but you know you'll probably never know.

We also ran into M on the street, the man from Palestine who doesn't believe in God and thinks we are brainwashed fools and liked to call us his angels. Because of cancellations and problems finding people to come along, we ended up eating with him twice once at a cafe and once at his house. He's always frustrated by how little time we have even though we explain it to him every time. The funny thing is that both times, he introduced us to Christian people interested in talking about God. He runs with an interesting crowd, for the attitudes he has. We really liked the girl who came to dinner yesterday. She is into praise dance and has a sweet faith in God. We were able to introduce her to the church and the Book of Mormon at least.

Otherwise, teaches have been wonderful. R is doing great, and so is Z. We taught him about tithing with the bishop on Wednesday and he said, well, of course! The bishop asked him some interview-like questions about his feelings about the Church and about Christianity and such and he bore a sweet testimony of Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, Thomas S. Monson, etc. He's awesome and has a fun, biting sense of humor. We're so grateful we found him again!

Well, the weather is nice again today, and I'm excited about the rest of the transfer. It's going to be great! I hope everyone is staying healthy and putting on sunblock. I love the gospel and I know the Church is the Lord's! Have a great week!

Syster Maxwell

Week 63

Subject: I swear the air in Sweden is fresher

Hejsan!

This has been a fantastic week. Summer is finally here and my sister missionary shoe tan is starting to emerge. Hurrah! We were getting ready for R's baptism, and were able to meet with a number of our investigators. We had some incredible, Spirit filled teaches and were overwhelmed with how prepared R actually was. The only thing he seemed concerned about was a living prophet. He wanted to make sure he wasn't some kind of a cultist leader. We had him watch some of his talks online and explained what his role really is and he was fine with it. Crazy! He told us he had a dream that angels were flying around the church building. He also entertained us this week with stories about his parents' matchmaking and how that really works in India (at least where he's from). I've always heard about it, but never from a person who has actually lived it. We also found him a buddy in the ward. He gave a talk and confirmed him and we hope he'll be a mentor to him as he finds his place among the members. He's going to be great. The confirmation was amazing. At the words, 'receive the Holy Ghost' the Spirit flooded the room and the blessing that followed was personal and beautiful. He was beaming the entire day and the members just took him in. It was wonderful to see. C (got baptized in April) came to the baptism and helped us fold programs. He even bore his testimony in church, reporting on the baptism and how meaningful it was. It was awesome. He's a great ward missionary without even trying.

We finally found a perfect member to follow along on teaches with our African investigator who knows the Book of Mormon is true. She's in her 40s and outspoken, so he listens to her and she can keep him on track. We finally got to teach him something! We found out that he in turn teaches his wife, who can't speak Swedish or English, and his son. When I heard that, I knew those people needed the Plan of Salvation, so even though we were short on time, we drew it out for him and gave him a pamphlet so he could start teaching everyone else. He wants so much for his wife to come around, but he says it's hard when she's illiterate and brainwashed (his words, not mine). We told him to pray that the Spirit would touch her heart. Hope it does!

We found out that the trick with H is that he needs friends for his kids so that they will come with to church him. We are really excited to have him come to an FHE with a family in the ward. It's all just hopes and dreams, but I can see it now. And then his wife will come around. And then they'll go to the temple together. It'll work!

Everything's been wonderful this week. Except for losing two of our favorite investigators. The 17-year-old Spanish speaker doesn't really want to meet with us and hasn't been making progress, and D, our miracle contact on the street, texted us and said that praying is going well and that he has decided our church isn't for him. Sad day.

Well, we found two women potential investigators yesterday. One of them was having a family barbeque. She asked for a Book of Mormon and said we were welcome anytime. Lovely! I was making the weekly report yesterday and was a bit sad that they were all men, so here's hoping that changes soon.

I also met a lady from Guatemala yesterday! She is from Huehuetenango. I'm pretty sure I've been there, but I can't remember. It was nice to hear that wonderful accent again.

Well, I think that's the news. We have so many wonderful things to look forward to this month, and I'm trying not to think about the weeks. I love you all and I love this work!

Syster Maxwell

Week 62

Subject: This is short.

Hey all,

It has rained all week. That always puts a damper on everything good that has happened, but we've had a great week nonetheless. We had a miracle with our Brazilian man. We couldn't get our Brazilian member to come with us this week, but we realized that Elder Webster, one of the assistants, was going to be at the Center that day for District Leader training. His dad was a mission president in Brazil when he was about 13-16, so we asked him to help out. I still get about half of what is said, but it was so good to have K be able to express himself and ask his questions to someone who understood everything. He's still moving forward and we have dinner and a teach set up with the Brazilian lady this week.

Everyone is just moving along wonderfully. R is overwhelmed learning everything so quickly, but he's still positive and happy about it. And Z is still really cool and more and more willing to take part in activities and church. Something really exciting that has happened recently is with the former bishop and his wife were made ward missionaries. They are such a big help mostly with their enthusiasm and willingness to help. It makes us feel like people remember us and love us.

I'm trying to think if there were any fun highlights this week, but I can't recall any. Oh, it's been gay pride week this week I guess. I haven't seen or heard anything other than rainbow flags everywhere. That was a bit of a disappointment. We also had fun on Monday playing football. Elder Todesco gave Elder Olsen a run for his money and we all had a really fun time. The both have played or will play for the U of U. Yep, guess you had to be there. I'm also in heaven because it's avocado season again. Yay! Well, have a good week everyone. The Church is true!

Syster Maxwell

Week 61

Subject: The blessings of consecration

Hejsan allihopa,

So, this has been quite the week. We saw so many miracles this week. We found a guy from Brazil who has a friend on a mission in Australia, so he was excited to meet with us. He hardly speaks English, but we can fill in the gaps with Spanish and we have a Brazilian lady who can help as well.

On Saturday, we saw part of the Göteborg half marathon. We were there when the first runners came by. They were mostly Kenyans and broke the course record with 1:00:02. They all looked so pretty like they could run that fast all day. It was cool to see live. They run the race all through down town Göteborg. There were maybe 45,000 participants and all the public transportation was closed down. Getting home was fun, but it worked out. I think it would be fun to run someday.

That evening we met a guy from Nigeria who seemed really positive at first, but then his questions got more and more accusing and pointed, until we were defending our faith and the fact that we actually do follow Jesus Christ. We couldn't get him to end the flow of questions and ended up getting home late. On the way home, the drunk who we'd met with once before (he was sober at the time), happened to be on the tram with his Indian friend who was also drunk. I decided it was a tender mercy. Put me in a much better mood. His friend told us all about Mormons, and the first guy told me how much he liked me, patted me on the head, and blew me a kiss as the tram pulled away when we got off. They made me laugh and the positive sentiments about our faith lightened my mood. I love the people we meet!

We also met, R, a PhD candidate from India. He didn't show up to an appointment on Sunday with us, but he came on Tuesday. The Spirit was so strong and he was so ready to hear and accept our message. He agreed to meet again on Thursday, and when he came on Thursday, we found out that he knows a guy who just got baptized in the Utby ward from cricket (they play on Saturdays. We're going next Saturday!). In the teach, the Spirit was again there in abundance and he gladly agreed to be baptized. The 4th felt like the right date. I didn't realize until after that it's really only 2 weeks away. Ah!

On Friday we had a nice chat with Z about everything going on in his life, and during the opening prayer, I felt prompted just to go ahead and ask about how he felt about baptism. He said, 'I was going to ask you about that. What does someone need to do to get ready?' We were overjoyed and he is enthusiastic about the idea. We are praying really hard he gets his driver's license the first go around because the classes are keeping him from coming to church. When we got home that night, as we knelt in prayer, I got a strong impression that these are the blessings of consecration. I want to continue to put off my own desires to help those who are here. This is my time to serve and I am so grateful for it. Love you all!

Syster Maxwell

Week 60

Subject: Donations gratefully accepted

So, this has been a good week. The weather turned chilly and rainy, but the sun is shining today. Well, it was. It looks gray outside again. Elder Olsen wants me and Sis Brown to wrestle today. I'm feeling very passive today, so I don't think it's going to fly. She'd probably kill me on any day. So, if I don't write next week, that's why.

Otherwise, life is wonderful. We had some really good teaches this week and people kept giving us stuff. Food, jewelry, small children, etc. It's been fun.

On Tuesday we started out meeting a guy I talked to on the spårvagn over the weekend. He told us how lonely he is and that he wants to hang out with us all the time. We finished teaching him which basically entailed giving him pamphlets and a Book of Mormon to read at home since his Swedish was worse than I'd initially thought. As we were leaving he pulled out a little package for me. I thought it was food, so I was going to open it later, and then later I realized it was a bracelet. It's actually pretty nice, so I was grateful. He brought one for sister brown the next time we met. That meeting was especially fun because we brought, F along, the new member who hardly speaks English. We really just wanted them to get to know each other (they both speak Arabic), so M would talk and talk and talk and then F would turn to us and say, 'it's good!' or 'I don't know... sorry,' and give us a big grin. It all cracked us up, and most importantly we found out M was mostly after money. Oh well.

On Wednesday we had another language adventure and a fun little success story. There is a girl who we've been helping with editing her master's thesis who is interested in the church once she's not busy anymore, so we've been waiting and helping her feel comfortable at the Institute. We had a stroke of inspiration which all worked out beautifully. I contacted another guy a few weeks ago who doesn't speak much English or Swedish, but he speaks Farsi. The first time we met him he brought his own translator, but we realized that M (the girl) would be a great help to us (she's from Iran), and it would be a way to start teaching her. We had Swedish class, so we got help from the zone leaders who's investigator the guy really should be. It all worked wonderfully! The rest of the story is that M and K (the guy) when to church on Sunday and really liked it! M is willing to translate any time for the elders and said that one day she will eventually be a part of this church. It was wonderful! There's again the whole being Muslim issue, so we'll see what happens in the future, but for now, I'm really happy. She's my social science buddy.

Otherwise, Z is making progress and has been responding really well to the men we've been bringing along (cultural thing?). He also really liked the whole women in the home value we've got. Sigh. He's really great, and once his driver's ed course is over should be able to come to church again...

We also met another lady who wanted to be our friend. She's really sweet and 81 and our 'teach' with her consisted in us listening to her for an hour and being able to teach her about the Book of Mormon. She's from Romania originally and is an interesting lady.

Ack! My time is up. I got a bit carried away, but to wrap up, my birthday was really fun. We had Thai food for lunch, the elders made me a cake, and they all sang to me at the restaurant. It was humiliating for me and the Finnish elder in the other district :) Well, hope you all are well. Have a great week!

Week 59

Subject: Short week. Nice weather.

Hey all!

So the weather is lovely and warm again, so all is well with the world. Transfers were surprisingly non-stressful. Sis Jenson was all packed before Wednesday and we had time for everything we wanted to do. It was lovely. On Wednesday night we got to see all the people who have been too busy or too sick to meet with us, but weren't able to teach them anything because they came to our 'goodbye everybody' ice cream social at the institute.

Thursday was really relaxed. We dropped all the people being transferred or going home off at the train station in the morning and then headed back to the institute to study, play games, and start working on the video Elder Olsen was going to put together for Elder Carlisle's parents when they came through. We had everybody say nice things about him. It was fun to try to find the classiest spot in the institute and get the perfect shot. The lighting was all wrong, but it was a good try. All the elders left about 4, so I spent a blissful 3 and a half hours alone. I'd forgotten what that felt like. Elder and Sister Anderson were around, but they were doing their own thing. I tried unsuccessfully to get members to our teaches and Swedish class and then wrote in my journal. Wonderful!

On Friday we had a busy day. The highlight of the day was probably the interview with the high school students that started out as 'Where do God's morals come from?' A delicious question, but half the discussion was really not what we should be discussing as missionaries. It was fun nonetheless and we got in the first two lessons. The best part was when the guy breaks and says, 'But there are so many religions! How do you know which one is right?' I love those moments. It helps me feel like our sociological discussions actually do some good and put some of these students on the right track.

Saturday we went to go do service for a less active and ended up having an afternoon barbeque instead. Merg. I was really excited to paint, so the unexpected leisure was unpleasant. That's the second time we've tried to do (outdoor) service on my mission for a less active Swedish woman and it completely backfired. Remember the snail throwing last year? Afterwards we got blåsted by a member, so we couldn't teach our Spanish boys, but we taught a lady on the street right after and gave her the Spanish Book of Mormon we'd brought. The Lord doth provide.

Yesterday was lovely. Sorry the phone call was weird with me being on the bus. It was really good to know everyone is hanging in there. Love you all!

Syster Maxwell

Week 58

Subject: Party week

Hejsan allihopa!

I can't believe it's May already. My birthday is next week! Last week was kind of a bummer week, but there were good things that happened as well. Last Tuesday was a really good day. We went by a lovely lady who was very open to us coming, but explained from the beginning that she doesn't want to feel like she's being taught or that her home is a school. She had bad experiences with Jehovah's Witnesses who came every week whether she wanted them to or not and she didn't like the learning environment they created, so now we can't teach her, but we're welcome to come and talk about Jesus generally :) Mostly she just needs a friend. We're still really hopeful for her because she really wants to come to church and be a part of a community. She was also a member referral, so that's a plus as well. She has a really hard background with years of abuse and being overworked. It's sad, but she's lovely.

We then had our first meeting with, H, an inactive 23 year old who misses the church and wants to come back but is afraid of the changes he will have to make. It was a really positive experience the first time and then he came to the Institute for the activity on Friday and then we met with him again yesterday. It was wonderful. It was one of those teaches where everything fell into place. Brick wall, brick wall, spiritual breakthrough. Sis Jenson was inspired to challenge him to pray. I was inspired to quote a song we'd been listening to earlier, and Sis Jenson had wanted to play him another song, so she'd brought her iPod. The song I had thought of was perfect. It all worked out in a way we hadn't expected and in the end he said a prayer for the first time in 5 years. It was cool to be a part of. Of course this description doesn't do the Spirit that we felt justice. That was the coolest part.

Last Wednesday we met with the drunk we'd met on the street. He was sober! I was pretty sure he wasn't when I made the appointment. We'll see how that goes...

On Thursday we were privileged to be a part of a baptism in Borås. I love being the only one that can play the piano! :) It was a beautiful experience. It was at a nursing home, so he was baptized in the pool. The water went up to their chests, so there was no question about if he'd gone all the way under or not. Every baptismal service is a miracle and I always come away feeling uplifted and grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary.

At the Institute activity on Friday we had 7 or so investigators come. Two of them were people I'd contacted 2 months or more ago and have been trying to get them there. Miracle of the day! There weren't that many members there at first, but they all trickled in. It was so much fun! We played kubb and then ate treats. The weather was beautiful and everybody had a good time.

Saturday was Valborg again. No bonfire this year, but we watched the parade the local college (Chalmers) puts on every year. It was wonderfully political with plenty of social commentary which we didn't get because we aren't Swedish. It was fun :)

Sunday was awesome because C got up and bore his testimony of his own accord and got the Aaronic Priesthood. We also remembered that our new bishop speaks French, so he can counsel with F, the one who doesn’t really speak English very well. We were really, really excited. We started tutoring F in English yesterday and it went surprisingly well. We were grateful to help him in some way.

Yesterday were transfer calls. I'm staying here! Sis Brown is coming. She was in sis Jenson's MTC group, and I'm excited about her coming. It should be an awesome last transfer!!!

Well, looks like this last week was not so bad after all :) I'm so happy to be here, and I'm so happy summer is coming. I hope you all are doing well. Happy Mother's Day! Love you all!

Syster Maxwell

Week 56 and 57

Subject: There are feathers in the bushes again

Hello all!

So, I wrote this a week ago and just found it in my drafts! I wondered why Dad said you hadn't gotten much. This week was terrible as far as numbers go, but we've had a good week. We've met a number of interesting people and the weather was terrible, but now it is absolutely beautiful. Therefore, we are happy again. We have loved being just two of us again. We miss Sis Lövgren terribly and often shed a tear or two when we put ketchup on our pasta or walk past the liver paté in the grocery store, but two is so much easier to take care of. It's been good for me and Sis Jenson to finally get to know each other. We also don't feel so self-conscious about our Swedish but have to carry a dictionary around again :)
I forgot to mention that we found a large American foods section at one of the grocery stores here (we were tipped off by a member in the ward. He's from San Jose, actually...). We bought Reese’s, Dr. Pepper, maple syrup, and black beans. I was so excited to find black beans. That's one thing I really did miss when I first got here. I also realized how much I didn't miss anything else. I don't really need to go home, actually. I'm perfectly happy here. I've even started using the deodorant. :)

Well, our week started off well with a visit to a man from Gambia who is Muslim by birth, but is seeking the truth with his grown up kids. He was a name left us by the elders, but he hasn't had time to receive visits. We went there, and he started off by talking a lot about his family and then told us that it had taken him a long time, but he'd finished the book they gave him and he thinks it's the right path to follow. Turns out he was talking about the Book of Mormon. His daughter in England has read it and he's giving one to his son as well. The funny thing was that he didn't even know who Joseph Smith was. We left him the Restoration DVD and set up a return appointment. He knows it's true but isn't in a hurry to be baptized. He said we could come once a month. We compromised with once a week if the visits were very short. :)

We met with the Rastafarian man from Barbados we met last week. Turns out he lives in the Elder's area, but he said he'd rather go to church in our ward because it was more acceptable. I'm not going to lie, I want to keep teaching him. He's awesome! He said that everyone has an inner Rastafarian, but many people are afraid to accept it. I was almost convinced to try dreadlocks when I get home :) He talked about how Isaiah 11 prophecies about the Rastafarian way of life. It was a really interesting interpretation and I'm pretty sure not exactly in keeping with what the Bible actually says. He was quoting stuff I've never read before.
We also met a guy contacting who is a member of the Exclusive Brethren. I hadn't heard of them I don't think, but their website is exclusivebrethren.com. He said there are only 400 members in Sweden. He seems to have a very strong faith in Christ, but they take the teachings of Paul about women and their role in church seriously. They have a role, he said, but they don't preach.

C is doing really well. He made a comment in the combined Sunday school yesterday at ward conference about Jesus Christ and asked me when he'd get his membership number because he really wants to pay tithing. He's so great!! He feels great and he looks great. Such a complete change is a miracle.

Well, life is good. We are rallying for the last few weeks of the transfer. We're actually both hoping we'll stay, but we'll see what happens. I hope everyone has a glorious Easter. I don't feel like I can put into words how grateful I am for this opportunity we have to dedicate a weekend to Jesus Christ and his atonement. I hope you all have an opportunity to reflect on it. Love you all!

Amy


Subject: A little sun makes all the difference

Hey all,

So there was a question about how many Swedish investigators I've had. I've actually had quite a few Swedes that I've taught, but most come from other places. C, who just got baptized, is Swedish through and through. Swedes are looking for truth too, turns out.

We had zone conference on Tuesday and it was lovely. I gave a surprise five minute talk (we do that every zone conference, but I hadn't given one yet). I had a feeling it was my turn the day before, so I was ready. I also played the piano and sang for the musical number. Elder Wood and I sang 'The Lord's Prayer'. I heard it for the first time at the MTC. It's beautiful! But the singing was a little rough because we weren't next to the piano and he got behind us, so I cut out on the high part. Oops! Surprise Elder Wood solo! I was also going to talk a little about our recent baptism and following the Spirit, but that got cut because of time. It felt a little like the Sis Maxwell show. I love that!

On Wednesday we went to eat with a part member family. The husband is Swedish and uninterested, but we started our little lesson and it turned into a 45 minute discussion about whether or not the wife could be sealed to the husband because she'd been married in the temple before to a man who didn't keep his covenants, but has since died. There seemed to be a lot of pent up bitterness about the whole thing and I kept wondering how we'd gotten in the middle of this. It worked out ok. We got the Spirit back and felt prompted to make some pretty big promises to him if he'd just try. It was cool.

It's actually been a pretty cool week. We've had some good teaches with a few people who are really positive, but just need a push to get their motivation in the right place.

This week was also a musical number week. I sang and played the piano at the double baptism the zone leaders had yesterday. I sang a Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief and Elder Rowley played the guitar. It was folksy and awesome. We were going to do a dramatic reading for one of the verses, but decided it was a little much. :) Our investigator, E, was there and said he felt a really strong, indescribable feeling when the baptisms were performed. He's our most positive investigator, but he's from Iran and might be moving back there, so he probably can't get baptized anyway, but we'll keep helping him prepare, I suppose.

Yesterday we had a lovely dinner with the Utby and Kungsbacka elders and Elder and Sister Anderson, the couple that work at the center. We felt prompted to go over and visit F, the one who got baptized a month ago. We made him an Easter basket and went to his apartment. He was alone, so we talked to him at the door. It turns out he'd been talking to his wife who wants to divorce him. We all cried together, and we wished so much we could help in some way. We took him with us to dinner and were really glad we had. We hope it cheered him up. He really respects the elders and I hope enjoys our company.

We also got a visit from the Brays!! That was surreal, but really fun. We went to a really nice Greek restaurant and Sis. Bray's re-enactment of your excited to see me hug was perfect, Mom! She did it justice. :) They came to the baptism Sunday morning and then to church and were on their way. It was perfect! Brother Bray said I have a lot of the same mannerisms as you, Mom, so I'm very pleased to know that I haven't totally lost my identity over the years. More and more I feel like I'm regressing to become a 21 year old boy. Yuck! :)

Well, that's the news this week. The weather is beautiful!!! Love you all!

Syster Maxwell

Week 55

Subject: Short note

Hey all!

This week has been wonderful. Right now I can't recall what has actually happened, but I remember Saturday perfectly well. It was an amazing day. We had a great teach in the morning with E where he said that every time he opened the Book of Mormon he got a good feeling. We then had a well-attended Swedish class with 5 priesthood holders at the center. The rules of the center are that we have to have a Melchizedek Priesthood holder here with us. We've been having a hard time getting one there, so we had all of them at once :) We thought it was highly ironic.

We then went to the sweetest baptism I've ever been to. C's son is a member of the church in Denmark and came up to baptize him. He was so happy to be there. He was so kind to him the whole time, leading him through the process. He helped him fill out the baptismal record and get changed and stay upbeat and excited. The baptismal service itself was amazing. The Spirit was so strong and everything was beautiful. I finally understand mom's experience as choir director with the angels coming and filling our mouths. Even though it wasn't the most musically pleasing musical number I've ever heard, it was one of the most beautiful. I was playing the piano for one of our zone leaders and the other 2 sisters. There was so much emotion after the baptism and C shared some words at the end and everyone was touched. I wish I could really put into words the experience. It was a wonderful day to be a missionary and I was so grateful that I could be a part of their lives. I felt that day that I really have done something special on my mission.

Sorry, I'm out of time. I love you all. Sis Lövgren left this morning. I'm really sad, but we'll see her again, hopefully.

Sys Maxwell

Week 54

Subject: Wonderfulness

Hello all!

This week was a great week filled with miracles, the Spirit, and great insights. We had our sister's training in Stockholm on Tuesday and Wednesday and then with General Conference, we had a week of uplifting experiences. We played Ultimate Frisbee for the first time this season last Monday, and it was awesome. I'm ashamed to say it took awhile for me to remember how to throw a Frisbee, but it came back fast and our team dominated.

We had a nice train ride to Stockholm and my first nap in two months. I sat beside the most talkative Swede I've ever met who cried a number of times and told me most of her life story (before my nap). She was really cool. I also realized how long it's been since I've been on a real train. The work here in Göteborg is so much faster paced than my other areas have been. I like it except for being more exhausted than usual. Sisters' training was so good. I think you had to be there, but there was a perfect mix of girliness, story telling, laughter, and good missionary work. (We might have had a hairy winter legs contest and I might have won...) My favorite part is going out with the elders to contact because we get to see a different style. They are always a lot more forward than I am. Go figure. I also want to say that I love President and Sister Anderson. The more I interact with them, the more I realize that they are perfect leaders/examples for me. They have taught me so much in the last year. I'm really grateful I've had so many opportunities to get to know them.

While we were gone, the zone leaders were contacting by the Institute Center and met one of our potential investigators on his way there. They got to know him a little bit and gave him the phone number to an Iranian member in Stockholm. They called each other and talked for 3 hours about everything!! On Saturday we had one of those miracle teaches where his questions were guided by the Spirit, and he recognized that what he was feeling was the Spirit. It's just incredible. I also was prompted to ask a member to come with us on the teaches who turned out to know him from school. Pure inspiration. He's the perfect fellowshipper.

C is also still really excited about his baptism next week. He smoked once this week, but said it was nasty. He loved Conference and had such a glow about him when we all walked home together last night. Wonderfulness!

I love this!! I hope you all remember to share the gospel with you friends just like we heard yesterday. It is possible if we just seek the opportunities and they may not come in the form we expect. I really hope I can continue to be a good example and missionary after my mission. I got really excited this last weekend about the future. It's going to be marvelous.

Love,

Amy

Week 53

Subject: Read this when you’re in the mood

Hi everyone.

So this has been a really good week. Not quite as good as last week. We were really busy. Spring is coming, and I'm starting to catch back up on sleep. We are looking forward to Sister's Conference tomorrow. I'm going to be leading one of the discussions with Sis Sumner, and everything else should be really fun. Especially the 3 hour train ride. It's been a long time since I was on a train. It's weird.

I have had a really interesting week and a lot has happened. I know the Lord takes care of His missionaries. I left home with nothing and am returning with so much. I'm starting to see what the future will really be like and realizing that it is all going to be ok. I know the daughters of our Heavenly Father have a special role to play. We are just as important. It's hard for me to see that sometimes, but I am understanding it more and more. I hope I can live up to the examples of the wonderful women who have gone before me. I have two wonderful grandmothers who are pillars of faith and hope and an extraordinary mother who seemed to learn it all on her own through her diligent study and self awareness and improvement.

I also have grown tired of doubt, pessimism, and fear. There will always be nay-sayers to everything. It's just up to us to decide what is most important and stick to it. In the end, it's the Spirit that we feel that determines how we should act. People always have an angle and can find 'facts' to back anything up. If you take everything that's 'true' and put it all together, there seems to be a mess of doubt and contradictions. I've heard a lot on my mission. Numbers of people telling me they know what they know to be true because of such and such a reason. They all make sense and they all are sound reasons, but I cannot deny the experiences I've had. If what we are doing today wasn't of the Lord, why all the miracles? Why the joy? Why the manifestations of the Spirit?

I just want to bear my testimony that I know that God lives. I know he strengthens His children when they turn to Him. He never forgets us. I don't understand how He does it, but I know that it's true. I found my Spanish speakers this week. Over a year of searching, and I've found them. They are three teenage boys that live below a Spanish-speaking member of the ward. I know the gift of tongues is real. The power in the room was tangible yesterday as we bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith in the language they understood best. It had been a long time since I spoke Spanish last, but it came back almost completely. I can testify that the hand of the Lord is in this work. I want you all to remember that. I am so grateful to be His representative. My mission just gets better and better. I'm so looking forward to these last three months, but I know that I will have a joyful return, knowing I gave it my all. I love you all, and I hope you have a wonderful Spring and General Conference Weekend. It should be glorious!

Syster Maxwell

Week 52

Subject: Our apartment smells like tobacco now

Hey everybody!

What a week it has been! I've been having some trouble sleeping and haven't had much of an appetite, but otherwise, I'm holding up just fine. There's always some kind of challenge... I woke up at 3:30 this morning and was wide awake, so I got up at 4:30 and cleaned the kitchen and bathroom. It helped to make our p-day smoother, so maybe it was a tender mercy in disguise :)

This week brought so many unexpected surprises. Our contacting miracle, D, the one who came up to us, came to FHE on his own on Monday and just joined right in! Everybody loved him, and the Institute president begged to come on teaches with him :) Funnily enough, after our teach with him on Thursday, he asked us not to bring a 'chaperone' who talks 90 percent of the time and doesn't let us fulfill our role. It was refreshing, actually. It's really frustrating taking members who take control of the lesson. I wonder, though, if he saw it as a male-female thing. Being dominated by the opposite sex and all... It was a good lesson though, and he stuck around for a long time talking to Elder and Sis. Anderson afterwards. He's played World of Warcraft professionally before and was in one of the top guilds. Not my thing, but that's pretty awesome.

We also had that surprise with C. We met him on Tuesday and felt impressed to just ask him how it was going quitting smoking. He said he had reduced his smoking, but wasn't quitting, per se. We asked him if he'd like to and he agreed to go on the program! It has been a really special week with him. He gave us his pipe, so I decided to keep it as a souvenir. We've got it sterilizing in bleach in our apartment. It's awesome! We went to clean up his apartment too, and absolutely scoured the place. It needed it. There was loose tobacco everywhere, and he was very grateful afterwards. Poor Sis Lövgren used an entire roll of paper towels in the bathroom and I took wads of tobacco, cigarette paper, and leftover food out of the old dish water in the sink. We hoped it would help him not fall into the habit again if everything was fresh. He helped us with the baptismal program for Fadi and then came to the baptism in a suit his son had bought for him!!! He looked so good, clean, and happy. He said that he had had one cigarette, but it was nasty to him. I was so proud of him. And then during the closing hymn of sacrament meeting, I felt like I needed to just go over to him and ask him when he wanted to get baptized. I asked Sis Lövgren about it, and she gave me the go. So, I did just that. I went over and said, C we've been wondering when you would like to get baptized. He said that he'd actually felt that at the baptism yesterday, that it was leading to that, and that he'd like to. So, we decided on a date! It felt so good and he was so excited! We've still got a little ways to go, but he's basically ready. He's made so many big changes, going from being anti-religion to ready to be baptized in just over 6 months. It's a miracle. He also has really awesome longish, shaggy hair that I half hope he doesn't cut.

Saturday was also a wonderful day. Everyone in our district had a baptism, so it was a full, fun day! We baked a ton of cookies and sang 'Be Still My Soul' three times. The last time was the best because we did it a cappella right in front of the baptismal font, so the acoustics were awesome. F's baptism was really sweet. I'm grateful we were able to help him get there despite all the texts about my beauty. It was S's first time baptizing and he just couldn't get the prayer right, so he had to do it three times. The Spirit was so strong the whole day. It was wonderful. The confirmation was done in Arabic and everyone in the ward thought that was really cool.

I have been so grateful this week for how much the Spirit has been with us, guiding us. I know more and more that the Lord really is always with us. I'm just so grateful for all the miracles this week.

I also made my first from-scratch layer cake for Elder Carlisle's birthday. It turned out really good! You would have been proud, Dad. Oh, I also decided that I'm going with the money, so I'll be going to Utah State for my master's program. I never thought I'd go back to Utah, but I dont' think it will be that bad :) Plus, I have mission friends who will be there, so I won't be as alone as I would have thought. Well, we have to go play some football now, so I best be off. I love you all! Keep me in your prayers, if you will...

Love,

Amy

Week 51

Subject: Decision time!

Hejsan allihopa!

So, this week was pretty good. It is light outside when we wake up now and the sun is starting to rise by the time we are getting home from our run. Härligt! It's also warm enough today that I didn't need my second sweater. Things are looking up.

We watched the Testaments with C on Saturday night and he was really touched. It was really sweet. He's the one who's son is a member in Copenhagen. He's had a really rough life and his turnaround the last few months has been a perfect example of the way the repentance process works and the power that comes with it. He is such a kind, sweet man, and we feel so privileged to be able to meet with him.

F seems to be doing really well. We're getting his baptism all planned out, but the ward has been really confused about the situation. They keep wondering why the elders keep showing up to church. Luckily, no one has really demanded a reason, so that's safe with us. We texted him a scripture today and are trying to be kind, but not too friendly so he doesn't get the wrong idea. I remember being told once that I give out mixed signals. I never thought that would come in handy on my mission, but I think it saved me from making a wrong move. I think it's all going to work out fine.

We had a really fun teach with M this week. After debating about expressions of gratitude and whether or not they were good or appropriate, we finally helped him understand that the prophet doesn't preach social commentary. He's preaching God's standard. M said, "But giving without ever expecting anything in return is humanly impossible. So what you're asking me to be is humanly impossible?" "Exactly!!" we replied. It was a funny moment, but helped us tie in the Savior and why he's important.

I forgot to mention last time that Sis Jenson is from Draper. Well, I'm sorry this is insanely short, but I must be off. I beat the Elders bowling today! I've still got it. I have finally reached the point where I don't want to got home anymore. Luckily, the Lord has taken care of me, so I can go back to something. I just have to decide where that something is. (I got into grad school...ask my mom). Well, I love this work, and I know it's the Lord's. Ha en bra vecka!

Sys. Maxwell

PS I heard about BYU's seed in the NCAA tourney. Not bad. Not bad at all...

Week 50

Subject: Three's company

Hejsan allihopa!

The apartment feels a lot more spacious with just the three of us, but that might just be because we got rid of all the clutter that's been accruing. It was such a relief to clean off the desk.

The last few days have been crazy trying to get everything organized for the other sisters' departure. We tried to make it as smooth as possible, but we called one of their favorite investigators yesterday and he gave us the, "We're really busy right now" line, so we asked one of the members in the ward who has had them over for dinner before to ask them over if they have a chance (in a polite way...). We've also been calling a lot of people who have no idea who we are :) We've also picked up Swedish Class and Saturday Innebandy (like floor hockey--maybe even the same thing), so that's fun.

We are really grateful that someone said the words 'splits' because that truly hadn't crossed my mind. We hope we can continue to work as four (as our mission leader said yesterday) if we get those who are preparing for missions and the young women involved. We already see the need for it because as it always happens, everyone wants to meet at the same time... With the combination of the sister's teaches and our teaches, we killed the zone in numbers last week. It was awesome! (and cheating, really)

On Friday, Sis Jenson's first day in Göteborg and one of the elder's first day on the mission, we did a chalk drawing of the Plan of Salvation by a local shopping center. I asked the elders if this was legal and they said sure. Elder Francis said they'd only had a problem with the cops once... That didn't do much for my confidence, but we went ahead and did it and it was the prettiest chalk drawing of the Plan of Salvation ever. (Sis Lövgren is an artist...). We'd been there about an hour when a guy came up to us and got really mad that we were there and that we weren't planning on cleaning it up. He said it was illegal. We saw him on the phone talking quite angrily and realized he was calling the cops. We all panicked and left. I realized later that the responsible thing to do would have been to stay and clean it up... oops.

On Saturday we finally had a teach with the guy who came up to us on the street. He's really smart (IT guy) and knows a LOT about the church already. We skipped over the restoration because he basically told it to us, but he missed the spirit world on the plan of salvation when he explained it to him, so we taught him that :) He loves the sense of community and thinks we're really interesting. He just needs to pray and understand the spiritual part. We had a very talkative member with us, who hijacked our lesson, but it went ok anyway. Saddest thing was that he said he requested a Book of Mormon from representatives 2 years ago on mormon.org and never received a visit or the book. He had another friend with the same story. If there's anyone out that that reads this and knows how to fix that, that might be an important thing to know. Maybe it was the missionaries' fault. I don't know. We are very glad he passed by us, though.

We met with Si, the other sisters' baptismal date, and found out he didn't realize he had a baptismal date or what baptism even was. So, that was too bad, but once we helped him understand he seemed ok with it eventually...

Sis Jenson is from Utah and likes math. She was studying Engineering and Technology Education at USU. She likes math. She's also really sweet and gives killer back massages. She says I have good posture. Well, that's all for this week. Love you all!

Week 49

Subject: Here’s our number. Call us sometime!

Hello everyone!!

So, we are at the institute center on this fine P-day. We had an amazing game of football this morning. Elder Olsen (who played football with Aaron Lee, and loves reading his letters. Thanks, mom!) was our quarterback and Sis Gotberg showed all the elders up. He actually throws the ball to me, and I made a few good catches today and a touchdown! Sis Gotberg then put everyone to shame by tying with Elder Olsen and the 6'7" Elder Carlisle. I kept up with them until 7, but when they hit 9 and I fell behind, I just lost the drive. I thought Elder Carlisle was going to cry at the end there, or just puke.

Well, the weather has been cloudy and colder the last week. Maybe it's warming up again...maybe? This week was up and down. Last Tuesday we met with Mo who was totally willing to pray, but insisted he start his prayer by addressing Heavenly Father as Energy, because that's his relationship to him. At the end of his prayer he said, "in the name of Energy, Amen." I told him he should say Jesus Christ's name instead, but he's pretty stubborn. We'll see. He agreed to pray and read from the Book of Mormon every day until we meet again.

The next day we had a lunch with a man who I think is Dad's age. I think I mentioned him last week. Atheist from Palestine. He likes to call us his angels and told us what he believes 'God' is this week. He explained that to find truth, you have to fight against your own soul, and if you are strong enough you can tear it away from your body and look at it. He said he's done it and has seen what is really in charge of us. He says there are legions of beings that breed our souls to feed off of us. Their relationship to us is like a herder to his cattle. It's quite a sad outlook on life. I asked him how he knew he wasn't being deceived, but he insisted he's seen it. At the end Sis Lövgren and I compared our reactions. I don't agree one bit with it, but if I had not been a missionary I would have asked a lot more questions. Sis Lövgren said she would have started an argument with him and walked out. We both agreed it didn't feel very good.

On Thursday we got 6 numbers contacting!! We were out for 3 hours in the wind and cold and by the end, my hands and feet were blocks of ice and I thought I was going to be sick from the cold. We got back to the institute and warmed up though. One of the numbers came when we contacted a guy and another man came up said, "Where are you from?" When he knew who we were he said, "Can I give you my number? I'm interested. Do you have a phone?" That got us pretty excited, of course, and helped the other guy we were talking to feel more willing to give us his number too! Little miracles!

On Saturday we had an appointment with a guy we were nervous was more interested in me than the gospel. Turns out he had no idea I was a missionary and when I asked him what he expected from meeting us said, "I'll tell you some other time." He looked just shocked the whole time. Poor guy. We tried to make it better by being nice and talking about all the great activities we have.

On a positive note, our miracle woman from 2 Sundays ago came to church and loved the Word of Wisdom! She’d even been wanting to cut back on green tea recently when she found out it has caffeine. She invited us to an organ massage (the instrument). I got confused and thought it was some kind of a mass or something. We found out later it wasn't, so it was good we didn't go. We almost did. Since the debacle on Saturday, we have been blessed with 2 new women investigators! We also found out that we will be staying here (of course), the other sisters will be leaving, and we'll be a trio with Sis Jensen. I'm really excited about making it into Indiana. I got the email, but the computer didn't have adobe to read the attachment. There was a slight moment of panic, but Sis L's had it, so I got to print out the letter and show everybody! Are you going to be leaving, Ted? That would be sad. How long will you be in St. Louis, Jeff? 2 more years? I have to hear back from USU and pray about it first, but it's cool nonetheless. Well, the pizza is starting to settle, and I should go play pool now. I'm so excited about this transfer! Spring’s coming!

Kram,

Sys Maxwell

Week 48

Subject: I want to touch me and you a cup of coffee

Hey all!

Time sure does fly by. We have transfer calls next week, but at our zone conference, President Anderson said he was planning on keeping me in one place for awhile. I told him I guess I'd unpack my bags now :) He also said he figured it would just be one set of sisters in Göteborg, so we can kiss the 4-woman apartment goodbye. We've had so much fun!! It's cramped, but a lot more exciting.

Well, the miracles are still flowing in. We really wanted to make our goals this week and we ended sunday one teach short. We decided to contact on the way home for weekly planning and the second person we talked to said, "I know a little about your church, but not much. What do you stand for?" We were able to give her a short first lesson there on the street. Though she wasn't interested, it was a positive interaction for her, and the Lord showing us again that He cares.

We also had a cool experience where we didn't know exactly where to go to contact on Saturday, so we just went to the spår vagn to see how we felt when we got there. We decided to take the first one that came and talk to those we felt we should. We got off at Marklandsgatan and took the first one that came again. We got off at another random stop and had 5 minutes until the next tram. We saw a few african ladies carrying a couple of kids, so we decided to talk to them in the meantime. They said they had been here for a week, were from Rwanda and on an exchange program with Gothenberg university and were looking for a doctor for the baby. Sis Lövgren asked a passing couple and we went with them to the emergency care. We sat with them for a good 3 hours and then went with them to get the prescription for the baby. He had some kind of infection. Sis Lövgren was able to give one of the ladies a Book of Mormon and teach her about the restoration and they said we could come over next week. The coolest thing was being able to help someone. It's so hard sometimes to find ways to be helpful to people here.

So, our zone got 9 baptismal dates this week! We were very excited. The saddest part about that is that one of them was ours (who really only speaks Arabic and French), but the next day he sent us a text that said "Hallo maxwell how are you i want to touch me and you a cup of coffee outside the church as possible? And at the same time i do not want to bother, and i hope that my call receptive, the spectrum of week, thank you" First of all, no coffee. Second of all, I have only met him once and he's a bit older than me. And third of all, I'm a missionary!!! We sent him a text back and said we didn't have time, but we'd like to meet next week, and had he read anything from the Book of Mormon yet? He texted back saying "Hi, i am for you and for your beauty saghere all the books and i did not asittie to sleep and i'm thinking of your beauty and the book. lol lol"

We had a good laugh over that one and so did the elders when we had to call and ask them to take our investigator. There seems to be quite the epidemic of this. Maybe it's because it's february?

Otherwise, I am happy and things are going really well. Sis Lövgren and I are starting to annoy each other by our similarities, but it's funny. We take it in stride. Well, the work goes forward. It's amazing to see. Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Love,
sys m

PS forgive the type-os! Ack!

Week 47

Subject: These boots were made for walkin’

Hejsan allihopa!

It's been quite an interesting week in preparation for Valentine's Day! With our investigator calling us 'baby' instead of sister and then the other Sisters' baptismal date expressing his love to Sis Gotberg, we've had quite enough of the Valentine's sentiment :) He told her he's going back to Africa this week, and wouldn't she like to go with him? When she said no in her usual Sis Gotberg manner (nicely and with a sense of humor) he followed up with a texted poem about his love for her. He tried calling over and over and after a lot of agonizing conversations with the rest of us told her that she wasn't practicing what she preached because Jesus wouldn't avoid people. That was mature of him. So, in the end we gave S to the other sisters and they gave M to us. We are trying to meet with M again to see what his real intentions really are and if he is interested in continuing to learn more and set up a new baptismal date.

So, it's been quite cozy with all four of us in the apartment. It seems to take forever to get out of the door in the morning, but we can run and be ready for study at 8, so that's been impressive. Otherwise, I can never find anything and all my clothes seem to be permanently wrinkled from being stuffed in half a closet. After 2 weeks, we've worked out the kinks. We haven't divided up the area at all--we just communicate to make sure we won't be at the same place at the same time. The other sisters have more responsibilities over the institute center and teach Swedish class and such. It's been really nice to have the center to teach people. No more sitting at the library! It always struck me as funny that we didn't have a good place where we could go to teach people. It feels much more professional to have a place of our own to meet (in Örebro and Sundsvall, the church was a bit out of the way).

In other news we've seen so many miracles this week. I have done this three times now it seems. Go to an area, find out there are 1-2 investigators and then spend the next two weeks working as hard as we can to try to build up the area. It seems that on that day where I just don't think I can contact one more person, the Lord blesses us so much. Last weekend we gave pass along cards to 2 people who contacted us either that night or in the next few days. We met with one man, M, 3 times last week and found a fellowshipper who clicked with him immediately! Even when I feel so inadequate, the Lord shows me that He's the one who's taking care of everything. We had another miracle. We'd had a really poopy day the day before and I was sitting on the tram pleading with the Lord to give me strength to keep going and I got the strongest impression to just get off the tram and start contacting. The first person we talked to was a man from Colombia (Spanish speaker!!) who has Mormon friends and a Book of Mormon at home! He invited us over :) These things happened over and over again this week.

Just one more really cool thing...Last night we went tracting and the first door we knocked on the lady said, 'jag vet vem ni är. kom in!' We were so shocked we didn't really know what to do at first, but we took our coats off and sat down. She gave us tea and kladkaka and we showed here the new translation of the Book of Mormon. She was really excited about it. She said she likes to open up the book at random and see what the Lord has for her that day. She demonstrated and the scripture she read at random was Alma 10:8-9. I just got chills. The Spirit was so strong, we tried to explain the story, but we don't know if she really got it. In any case, we got her number and an open invitation to come back. It was really cool. Another tender mercy was that I was feeling bad making Sis Lövgren work while she was sick. We got to have a nice chat and drink tea. Wonderful.

Well, I love Sis Lövgren. She's just fantastic. We are so similar that we laugh about our same quirks. We both have a tendency to micromanage each other. It's great. I also got to wear Sis Gotbergs new boots to stretch them out for her and she wore mine. It was nice to trade in my clunky boots for nice sleek ones for a while. They have no tread, so I would hold onto her backpack and she'd pull me along the ice. Who needs ice skating? Anyway, that's the news. Oh, Elder Olsen is my zone leader. He played football with Aaron Lee. I gave him all Aaron's letters. He was very excited. 30 seconds left! Have a great week!

Love,

Sis M

Week 46

Subject: 4 girls in a 1 bedroom apartment spells trouble

Hallå

So...It's been an interesting week. We've had a few miracles and lovely weather. It's been above freezing all week and we've watched the ice slowly melting. It also rained on Tuesday, making the sidewalks and roads a slippery icy mess. It was like walking on a bumpy ice rink. I haven't fallen all winter, but fell twice in two days last week.

The other sisters let us have one of their investigators, a lady who has been in contact with the church and coming to activities for 8 years. She's very chatty and nice and just needs to read the Book of Mormon because she thinks she knows what it's about, but turns out she doesn't really.

We also met a man from Jordan who is very Catholic, in his late 50s, and quite debonaire (I have no idea how to spell that). He's met the missionaries before who gave up on him after a couple times teaching him, but he came to church on Sunday and brought a friend, so we'll see how it goes.

We also had another miracle investigator pop up. The Utby elders called us and the other sisters and we were the ones who were available. He's from Nigeria and relocated here from Denmark 2 months ago. He was introduced to the church in Romania where he went to the University and one of his friends got baptized. He's really nice and really positive, but also looking for a place to live, so we'll give him some time to see what his real interest is. I also had to have Sis Lövgren start calling him and answering his phones so he'd stop answering the phone, "Hey, Baby" or "Hey, Sweetie". I had a feeling the other sisters should teach him, but they encouraged us to keep him. Hopefully it will be ok if we always have a member when we teach him...

He absolutely loved the center for young adults when we showed it to him. And so do I! The Stockholm center is really fun, but the Göteborg center is absolutely beautiful. It's in this old building with marble stairs and an elevator straight out of the 20s. The center is on the 3rd floor and out of every window you can see all the fun, architecturally wonderful buildings around it. It's on the same street as the main building of Göteborg Universitet. Vasagatan 46 if you want to google earth it, dad. There are also all these really fun cafes along the street beside it. Sis Gotberg and I went to one of them after we renewed our visas. It was empty and dark in the day but seemed like it would be a fun place to go in the evenings.

It's been fun having Sis Lövgren as my companion. She's been teaching me Swedish and I teach her the little English she doesn't know already. She also picks up on things I wouldn't hear or don't pay attention to. For example, when we got on a bus, I heard two kids in the back say, 'Controllen!' (The people who check that everyone has valid tickets). I stopped listening after that, but Sis Lövgren said that one of the kids was freaking out trying to get his card to work, touching it to the reader over and over. His friend asked him if he was sure it was the control, and he said, "Yes! Didn't you see their nametags?" They got off the bus before us and looked back at us to figure out who we really were.

Well, the work goes on and Sis Gotberg keeps talking about when we go home. I still have a good 5 months left, so it's definitely not time to start talking about it. Oh well. I'm excited about this next week and the new people we'll find and the creative brushoffs we'll hear. Well, I love you all, and hope you are doing well. Don't forget to get your last minute letters in! I promise I'll write back now. Love you all!

Amy

PS I had one of those moments this week where someone was praying for the missionaries and it dawned on me that I'm one of those and in Sweden. Strange.

Week 45

Subject: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east

Hello everyone!

I don't have very much time left to write today. I had to get a library card. I have a nice collection now. I have a library card from every area I've been in except Sundsvall, sadly. Well, the big news for today and the reason for the subject line from Amos is that I called president Monday night to make sure going on splits to Örebro this week instead of next week would be ok. He told me that it would be, but that he had a little wrinkle to the plan. There would be a short time missionary coming from Umeå and he wanted me to train her in Göteborg. We'd be living with the other sisters that were already there, Sis Gotberg (from my MTC group) and Sister Hedström, another short time missionary. I was of course really excited, but sad to leave Uppsala so soon, and Sister Dabb and Kiser were a excited but really nervous. They were in the MTC together and have been in Sweden about 4 months. They'll be fine, but it'll be an adventure.

So I spent Tuesday and Wednesday packing when we had free time and trying to keep my head in Uppsala for a couple more days :) On Thursday I went to Örebro to go on splits with Y, the member from El Salvador who had to come here because of problems at home and only sits at home all day because she can't speak the language and her sister works long hours. We picked her up on the way back from district meeting and I showed her how the bus system works and how to get a bus card and how to get to the church. We then went to go visit an almost investigator from El Salvador. They exchanged information and I told Y that they were now her project :) (The daughter only speaks Spanish). We met up with the other sisters and got Y back on the train. It was so much fun being with Sis Porkka again. It was like old times.

On Saturday, the sisters dropped me off in Stockholm with Sis Lundquist, the office secretary who was my companion for the day. I became the 2nd official sister secretary after Sis Wood who did the same thing before going home. It was really fun, but I was feeling really anxious to go out and work by the time I got to Göteborg with Sis Lövgren, my new companion. We stayed at the mission home the night before and that was really fun too. Sorry, this is all really vague because I have no time. We are really excited to be 4 sisters here. That never happens, especially not with two Swedish sisters, so we are excited for the next couple of months. They are both 19, and really excited to be here. Well, take care everyone, I'll tell you about the weather next week!

Sys Max

Week 44

Subject: Keep Jesus in Your Heart

Dear everyone,

Well, it's been a week. Quite a week. Everything has been picking back up again and we are feeling really excited about this next week. We have a baptism on Saturday for the Mongolian orphan who just moved up to our area. 'His people' as he calls them gave him permission to come to church on his own, and he is really excited about everything. The elders who taught said that when they found him, he had already read the Book of Mormon all the way through and knew it was true. They've been mostly teaching him with the pamphlets since neither his English nor his Swedish are very good. He didn't want translation in church, though, so he must be learning Swedish quickly.

We had a couple of crazy days last week. On Friday we met with two theology students. They were very respectful and open and have recently put their studies on hold because they are exploring the concept of discipleship. We didn't get to talk long about their new plans for the future, but they aren't sure the path they were on was right. More on that next week. We went from them to another Swedish kid who grew up in the Pentecostal church. It was cool hearing him describe the Spirit as that warm feeling you get when you pray sometimes. Also open and pretty cool. Right after we had a lesson on the restoration of the gospel and half of the plan of salvation with a group of mortuary students. Also open, interested, and respectful. 3 for 3! It was great.

On Saturday we went to go visit our new investigator from Cameroon and it went ok. He needs to think about the pre-mortal existence a little more. It was a little too much to swallow. But, when we were done, there was this guy who sat down and asked us who we were and what we were talking about. (We were in the kitchen of a dorm) After we told him he was still really interested in learning more and coming to activities. He and his friend both wanted us to give them a call the next time we'd be back. It was awesome! They are both from Pakistan. Then that night we had a really powerful lesson with another Muslim from Pakistan who wanted to know more about Jesus Christ. He felt something and knew what we were saying was true.

Well, as far as funny things this week, I think the only big thing was this guy who started preaching to us by the bathrooms in the train station. He said he was impressed with us because we were wearing skirts. He asked us if we had Jesus in our hearts and when I said yes started preaching to us about how important that was and how to do it. I told him we were missionaries and we gave him our card. "Keep Jesus in your heart!" He told us. I wanted to point out that I do that literally because I was wearing a name tag with His name on it, but I didn't. We saw him the next day on a train station and he said he wanted to read us a scripture that would open my heart in a new way. It was the scripture from Matthew about a man cleaving unto his wife and them becoming one flesh. I tried to show him a scripture from the Book of Mormon and he refused to even touch the book. He started preaching to us on a train full of people about how it was evil to practice polygamy. I asked him if we could do this later and he left us alone. I didn't want to be responsible for being another example to the Swedish people to support their views that religion only causes conflict. He told us he thought it was a sign he had seen us again that he needed to save our souls. Anyway, that's probably pretty standard other places, but i haven't run into here very often.

So, basically, a great week with lots of fun people. Today I'm sitting with Sis Waite, a sister missionary whose husband is gone for the day. She fell and cracked her kneecap on the ice. I hope everyone is doing well and that I haven't forgotten anyone or anything. Love you all!

Syster Maxwell

Week 43

Subject: The new normal

Hejsan allihopa!

Well, remember last week when I said we were looking forward to a normal week? Nope. We actually got a call that night from president asking us to pack our things and move to Uppsala. There were two sisters going home mid-transfer. One of them had been in a trio in Göteborg, but the other one would be leaving her companion, well, companion-less. I don't think having us double out of Sundsvall and have Elders come instead was really his plan until last minute. The assistants told the Uppsala sisters on Monday-day that Uppsala would probably be closing and Sis Dabb would be moving elsewhere. But last minute moves by a kid who has a date to be baptized may have helped him rethink the decision. Based on the miracles we've seen in the last couple of days, we think the Lord's hand was in it to keep the area open. I'm not going to lie, I never felt totally settled in to Sundsvall. I would absolutely love to go back there, but our first day in Uppsala felt like coming home. I'm back in the Stockholm district and have actually been here a couple times. Unfortunately we missed both the Stockholm and Norrland zone conferences, but President let us listen the afternoon hours of the Norrland zone conference on Saturday via speaker phone. It worked out really well and was so much better than nothing.

So, some awesome things about Uppsala...Swedish class! I love teaching Swedish class and they actually have people who come. Sister Dabb! She was MTC companions with Sister Kiser and is just top notch. 2 Baptismal dates! They had this really awesome kid walk into church on Sunday and ask how he could become a member :) The other one is a Mongolian orphan who was living in Hägersten and then moved up here. We haven't met him yet, but he sounds really nice. The Waites! They are a older missionary couple in charge of the missionary apartments and are living here in Uppsala. They are fantastic. Elder Waite knows a ton about Swedish history, so he offered to take us on a tour one day. Stockholm!!! I'm really excited to be back :) We live about an hour away. The sun! It was shining until 2:30 when we got here!

Anyway, double transferring out was really hectic. Sister Kiser hadn't moved up to this point, so packing took her all day. I packed and took care of everything else for the new elders coming in. I left as much info about the area the people we were working with as I could, but it seemed like we were missing something. It seems like they are getting along alright, though. One of them is Äldste Codling from my MTC group, so that's been fun. A couple in our ward were nice enough to come pick us up at 5:30 in the morning and help us onto the train at 6. The news was so unexpected that most people didn't find out. We went straight to Uppsala and then sent Sister Smith on the train to Stockholm. We've got a lot of work to do here still, but things to do and people to see are just popping up. Sis Dabb is excited to start over and find new people. Anyway. I am so happy to be here. We are going to have so much fun and do good work. I love you all and I know Heavenly Father is mindful of each of his children. His plan is perfect and he orchestrates everything to our best. I have seen that these past few weeks. Take care, everyone!

Sys M

Week 42

10 January 2011
Subject: The Lord giveth…and the Lord taketh away.

Hejsan allihopa!

Don't worry, no one was injured. But, we'll get back to that later. First, the weather. It's been absolutely wonderful this week with temperatures hovering right below 0. But, that means we've gotten tons of wet snow. The only up-side is being able to throw snowballs at Sister Kiser. And that I can go hatless again without feeling like my ears are being frost bitten. Down south I hear they've been getting rain and slushy snow, like Utah, right grandma?

We almost had the first normal week of the transfer without a holiday or something bad happening. We did a lot of tracting this week. And contacting. Everyone's trying to get pumped up during the post holiday let down, so we are having a zone Book of Mormon contest to see how many Book of Mormons we can give out. We are leading right now with 8.6. The .6 is one of those mini Book of Mormons that one of our investigators wanted for her baby. We'll only count it if it means not losing :) The prize is being able to eat at zone conference if we beat the zone leaders. The also said they'd be the winners' slaves for the day. I don't know what good that would do anyone. We've talked to some really nice people who I hope the missionaries contact again or that they meet a member at some point. We also got chewed out yesterday by a lady who thinks us going around trying to change everyone's religion is absolutely despicable. There's a lot I could say about that, but I won't. I told her we just offer what we have to people because it makes us happy and it's up to them to choose to accept it or not. Sigh.

We got some sad news on Thursday. One of the elders in our district has to go home for medical reasons. He has a really big infection and is only not in pain when he's laying down. He is on the plane home today. We were very sad as was he.

On Friday I was told by a member that the lady I contacted who was really positive and I could tell felt something as we talked to her was just being nice and nothing would ever come of it. (she didn't give us her number or want to meet). Thank you for you positive support. I am aware she probably won't just show up to church next week, but you never know what might happen down the road. The lesson taken from this is please don't pop missionaries' bubbles. We take what we can get and have faith the Lord will take care of the rest. Thank you.

On Sunday we had 8 investigators in church! Two in Hudiksvall with me and 6 up in Sundsvall with Sis Kiser. She didn't know what to do with herself. It sounds like everything went really well.

I guess the big news of the week was that we wrecked the car on Saturday. I guess technically it's my fault since I was driving, but if you go by the missionary driving safety video it was both of our faults. We were driving to Hudiksvall and about 5 km outside of it we both fell asleep. I had registered that I still had my hat and scarf on and that the music was turned off and that Sis Kiser was already starting to doze off, but by the time I thought to myself, "I'm getting drowsy, I should drink some water," I was already past the point of logical thought to do anything about it. We were very lucky though. There were no cars passing on the other side and none right behind. A metal divider started right after we hit the side, so we swerved to miss it and hit the back right tire on the sign that marks where it starts. Then we pinballed back and forth between the dividers a few times until we regained control. This was all accompanied by the sound of shattering glass which was actually the bottles of frozen water in the back of the car, so the damage wasn't as bad as it sounded. The car drove straight when the wheel was pointed to about 2 o'clock and it was difficult to get it to respond. It drove well enough that we were able to take the next exit which was where we wanted to get off anyway. There was a bit of body damage, but it seemed like most of the damage was with the axels and alignment. We called the mission office and then went to our teaching appointment. The irony is we were on our way to meet a man who won't let us come visit him when it's snowing outside because his first wife died in a car accident on a snowy day. The weather on Saturday was perfectly clear. Even more ironic. We left the car at the train station and took the train back to Sundsvall. The next day we came down of course for sacrament meeting and Pres. Stegeby from the District Presidency took one look at it and decided he'd drive it back (it's an hour and a half away). When he called later that night he'd said it's been really hard to drive. Anyway, that's the sad news. I'm still trying to figure out what the lesson really is from all this. I really don't know why it happened. Oh well. I know we were protected at least. I feel really bad about it still.

So, we are back to taking the bus for awhile. Well, it's been an interesting week. Maybe next week will be normal again. Or maybe this is the new normal? I love you all and I know the Lord is taking care of us.

Syster Maxwell

Week 41

3 January 2011
Subject: Narnia is lovely this time of year. All that snow.

Hello dear family,

I got the packet from Grandma Win this week. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! This was a good week. It was relatively warm--between -10 and -4 all week! Nothing much else exciting in weather news. We were driving to Örnsköldsvik on Thursday for District Meeting and the entire scene was shades of gray, blue, and white. It was beautiful. The sky was a light blue and fairly matched the landscape.

We've found a few more people to teach this week. One man comes from Greece, another from Colombia originally, and another from Sierra Leone. We also contacted a lady who was interested from somewhere else in Africa. We were very blessed. Hopefully our appointments will go through with them.

The stories this week are all sad it seems. New converts who are still without a home. I think I mentioned before about the one guy who was sleeping in the train station, but since has been moving from hotel to hotel, living off their charity while he waits for a job. The other recent convert whose apartment burned should be getting a place for the next couple of months, so that's happy. There's a less active whose kids we are teaching who is married to a lady in Colombia. He hasn't been able to get ahold of her for over 2 months. The last time he talked to her, she said there was no money for food and she'd have to sell her phone. He said I don't know if I have a wife left :( We finally met with a 14 year old girl who has started imitating her father's own apathy towards church right now. That seems to be so common. People are sorry after they come back and their grown children have no faith. I also met this girl who is a champion belly dancer of her age group back in Azerbaijan (sp?). She was really nice and I hear she was really positive about learning about the church, but we can't teach her because her dad doesn't like us. He's nice when we are just visiting, though. They got a negative on their application for residency and might have to move back soon. They made us 'juice' out of coke syrup. Flat coke. Yum!

New Year's Eve was really fun. We went home and did weekly planning. There had been fireworks going off sporadically throughout the evening, but about 9 they started going off all over town. We have a view of the city, so we could see a good number of them. The coolest thing we saw was these little bags with some kind of ignited something or other that would rise up somewhere in the city and float away to better places. We have no idea what they were still, some kind of mini hot air balloon contraption. We asked someone at church and they said they thought it was a Finnish tradition. We forgot to ask the Finns in the ward...so maybe I'll let you know next week.

Last night I was calling some former investigators and called one guy who said he was going to be getting married in Cuba this spring (which is why he can't meet with us now...go figure) and I asked him if he can speak Spanish. He said yes and I told him I could too. I was done and going to hang up, but he asked me about why I could speak Spanish, so we chatted for awhile in Spanish. It was fun. Maybe he'll remember that the next time the missionaries call him :)

This week I was told for the third time that I look like Princess Viktoria, the crown princess of Sweden, and the one who just got married, so I am accepting it as true. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but the first two times were both at Stake Conference. Elder Herrey, father of the famous Herreys, told me I looked like her and then later the assistants told me they had decided that I looked like her the night before. I was quite flattered. I'll have to buy one of her books.

Anyway, the work is picking up. The last month has felt like we were driving in thick snow (figuratively), so it's nice that the new year is finally here. I can't think of anything else. I love being a missionary and I'm grateful for the chance to be here. I love you all. Good luck going back to work and school. That's always the worst, but it'll be fine once you get your head wet.

Syster Maxwell