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