Hallå evrybody!!

This week has been up and down and up and down...and up....and down. It is really weird!!! But you know, you just gotta smile and work just as hard. Thanks everybody for the birthday wishes and greetings, it means a lot being that I'm 5,000 miles away (8,000 km). Yes I am using the metric system and let me tell you I am mad that America doesn't. It is so easy, but my brain is still set on the imperial system and its so hard to jump back and forth with everyday calculations. I officially hit my 1 month mark in Stockholm on Thursday which was really cool. This last week has been raining quite a bit, but as you all know, I LOVE THE RAIN!  It is crazy that I have been alive for 19 years tomorrow. It seems like yesterday I was running around in just my diaper dancing nonstop with my chubby self. Now I am on a mission??? How did that all happen??? How am I in Sweden?? I wake up everyday and think about that. 

We found out yesterday we are moving to Lidingö which is going to be so nice for us. Right now we travel for about 45 minutes there and 45 minutes back everyday which takes up a lot of precious teaching and finding time. Now we are going to be living in the place we are assigned to, next to our favorite members who love feeding us, and right next to a soccer pitch so we can wake up and go play in the morning!!! I'm so stoked about this move! 

For language study I read out loud to hear myself.  It already has helped. I am pretty good at understanding people talking but it is a very slow process from understanding to being able to actually say what they said or respond so that is tough. I still am very positive and I can only go up from here (because I am at the bottom ha). We have had a goal to baptize someone before general conference so please pray for us! I am confident that we can do it, but it requires a lot of work.

M: I received my b-day package so thanks for that. It was all the necessities I needed. [I sent him Reeces' puffs cereal, peanut butter, mac and cheese, and ranch dressing. Necessities???] 

Tu: My spiritual thought for District Meeting was from 1 Nephi 17:41. Lord has all power and makes a way possible for his children to be saved. Nephi recounts the story of Moses and the brass serpant and it amazes me how people had to do such a simple thing. Look at the staff and be healed. A lot of the Israelites were too proud to do such a simple task. What would you have done? 

That night we met up with one of the many K families in Stockholm. We had a good time with them and left a message. The father is big into golf and sports. The conversation he had with his wife about the importance of sports reminded me so much of mom and dad that I was laughing so hard haha. He also said that if you guys come out to pick me up, he would like to take me and pops golfing to a really nice course here in Stockholm! So there ya go dad!

W: We taught 6 lessons today so that was really cool! That meant we walked about 10 miles all day, but it was very fun! I had been struggling with opening my mouth in lessons and trying to say something because its hard to follow when they talk so fast and get off subject sometimes, so by the time I have something to say, the conversation is gone. I prayed really hard and this week I have been a lot better at opening my mouth when I wanted to say something. Also, something I have noticed is that testimonies need to be nourished. It really is like a seed if it isn't growing, it's dying. People have testimonies on the basics like God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost, but that's just the roots, you gotta expand and let the flower grow from that. It is constant care, nurture, sharing every day for your testimony to stay active to keep growing. 

Th: We had a special fast for the day for some people and help in our work. Though nothing immediately came from that, it was a good experience. Sure I was hungry during the day, but it really didn't bother me. I had a purpose for my fast and thought about that all day and it strengthened me to not worry about the temporal things and focus on the spiritual. I felt really good all day. 

Sports nite at the YSA center was great because there were a lot of investigators from the different areas and we played bball, soccer and volleyball (so much fun!). Even though we had a good time with that, it can be very distracting to the work. I honestly could play sports for days at a time, but I need to remember the reason why I am here, not for sports time, but for helping others Come unto Christ.

F: Happy Birthday to PJ! I thought about my long lost cousin on the other side of the world the whole day ha. Hope everything is going good with him in the Phillipines! We had a really good day contacting and teaching new investigators!

Sa: Weird to think that homecoming was going on back at DHills that day and I got a little homesick, I know weird right. Eller hur? (the literal translation is "or how" but the meaning is "right?"). We taught someone who has been off and on with the missionaries. We got him to really understand the difference of our church compared to all of the others and it really seemed to re-spark his interest! Hopefully things go good with him. (I think he could be the one who will be baptized before conference.)

Su:  ZL's suggested that I take a small notebook and right down words from sacrament meeting that I hear a lot but I don't recognize. Then I could look them up later and try to apply them in my teaching. It is super helpful and I can see that I do understand more than I give myself credit for. 

2 friends from another country are here on a scholarship.  But both of them are super cool, very humble and open to everything we have to offer.  We met one contacting on the street and she led us to the other so we are grateful for that.

This week we had a lot of opportunities to give blessings and use our Priesthood. It has been really cool for me to do some of them in Swedish (anointing the oil). I really rely on the Lord for help on that, but it has turned out great every time. It makes me realize how amazing it is for me to have the Priesthood. That authority from God to act with His power. Wow. He trusts me with this and I want to do all I can to always be worthy of it to show Him that he hasn't wasted His trust on me. When you truly understand how great a thing that is, you want to do all you can to not let him down. I am so honored to be able to hold this Holy Priesthood, and I challenge all of you males to live constantly worthy of it. It is amazing. God trusts you. Don't let Him down.

I love all of you so much and am so grateful for all that you have done for me, do for me now, and will do for me in the future. These 19 years have been so wonderful and I am so privileged to know all of you, thank you so much. Continue to strengthen your testimony and share it with others. Have a fantastic week!

Med Kärlek

Äldste Johnson