Hey everybody!

Good news! I will be staying in Eskilstuna for another 6 weeks with Elder S! Thanks everyone for the updates, the love, the support, the prayers, the smiles, the everything! Thanks for being who you are -a child of God. Here's an early birthday shoutout to Brody! Whoo! 2 years old, man that's crazy! The weather here has been fantastic -it's a little too hot for my companion who is from Alaska; not for me. I was born in the desert sun, this aint nothin to me. You want to know what happened this week? Well let me tell ya.

Football (soccer) pitch

Mån: We played some football and helped the K family move some stuff, and then we went around contacting until it was time to go home.

Tis: During our church watch and family history time I learned alot about finding cousins from Puzzilla. I haven't found anyone YET, but I found out how I can get there! We met up with L and talked about the Word of Wisdom. It's awesome to see her strong desire to change some things in her life that she has done for so long! She went to the relief society activity and loved it! She told the sisters about herself and they took her right in and offered so much help!!! SO awesome! We met up with D and family for dinner and just to talk, play with the kids, and lighten their load for a bit.

Ons: We decided to fix our bikes. It was time. We then met up with someone Elder S (the first) and I contacted a while ago and had a great discussion on the Plan of Salvation. It really helped him to know where we came from and where are we going. He had a girlfriend that died and he knows she isn't just gone. She is somewhere but he didn't where, until we taught him. The Plan is God's Eternal roadmap for us in life to see that our time on earth is only but a short amount of time. When we have the perspective of eternity, our attitudes are different, the way we go about this life is different. There is peace and joy to know that we will see those who have gone before us again. 

E picked us up to go home teach B. She fed us Swedish pancakes (which are really just crepes -American pancakes are thick) and we got talking with her about the temple and Patriarchal Blessings. E had prepared a message for her, but was able to mold it to fit with the temple. It was cool to see him taking the Teach People not Lessons from Preach My Gospel into Home Teaching. It's so simple! He said that he uses the message as an excuse to go home teaching but home teaching is not about the lesson, it's about the people. You go in there and find out how they are doing, what it is you can help them with, and then do it. Messages are there to back up what you have to offer, it isn't the purpose of going on the visit. When people can understand that, I know that Home teaching will improve significantly.

Thanks for the package!

As members/missionaries we are to find, teach, baptize AND STRENGTHEN!!! Mosiah 18:8-10 rings true in my head about what we are to do after we are baptized. I encourage you to look it up and see what it is that you can improve on to show that you are a follower of Jesus Christ and not only a listener. 

I got my Easter package today and a happy Elder Johnson I was. :)

District meeting leg wrestle

Tors: I was having a hard time preparing for district meeting. I knew what I wanted to talk about but going through it in my head was not working. I got up to present the message and everything went so smoothly. There were no awkward pauses, no searching for what to say, nothing of the sort. Everyone was putting in fantastic insight and it was amazing! The spirit was there filling my mouth with words, it wasn't me teaching or speaking. It was one of the coolest experiences ever. I asked my district what they wanted to achieve on their missions. None of them had a specific number of baptisms or of people they want to change, but it was a sincere, honest desire of their heart to give everything they could whilst on their missions, and to say I have done my all. Elder S hit me really hard with the spirit when he said he looks forward to the day when our group goes home together. We will be able to go through the temple the day before we head home. He said I want to look across at each of us in the celestial room and say that we did it. We began this trip together, we have endured it well and gave it all we could, now it is only the beginning. We will also be able to feel Elder Bailey's presence with us in that setting. I can't wait.

We then went on exchanges, I with Elder S and the two juniors together. We got blåsted a couple of times and went tracting. We found some cool people while doing so. We then went on some visiting teaching lessons with Sister C in the which us missionaries sang a song to invite the spirit -that was a first for me, but it was powerful. We saw some significant improvement in some of the members we visited and their desire to go to the temple. Sis C thanked us thanked us for all that we do -there has been exponential growth in Eskilstuna and the branch is really loving it, loving us, and more importantly loving our investigators! It's fantastic to see! I'm so honored and grateful to be a part of it.

Fre: We switched back to normal companions. I made mac'n cheese with korv!:) It's a tradition with every companion to have that! We traveled up to sports night where we had great time playing volleyball. I was not doing so hot for a while, but I had a sweet block that put me back in.

Lör: Well, since we have been flying high on cloud 9 for so long I had some premonitions that sometime soon we would have a fall, to keep us in line and know that God is in control -not us. That happened this day and sunday. Many people blåsted us and were kind of mean, but it was expected, so no worries there. We just put our trust in God and find His will AND THEN GO DO IT. We did have some good lessons with some people and a good dinner -curry chicken and rice by yours truly. So it wasn't a bad day. Find good in every day!

Sön: Yesterday no one came to church from our investigator pool -tyvärr: toobad. But it didn't get us down. We just accepted it and realized that all we have is coming from God. He is in control no matter how hard we work or how bad we want things. I translated during church, with the sun blazing on my face. Sweden does not have air conditioning so I was a little hot. There was one window open that was giving me life, but a member got cold and closed it. no. It was sad. For transfers only elder S will be leaving down to Lund, and we will be receiving Elder C! I'm stoked about that. He lives right next to my aunt at home, so we know each other quite well! We went and did some swingbys and met with a man and his friend who both want to learn more about us and change their lives. They were a bit drunk, but their intention was very earnest and sincere. 

I wanted to close off by telling a cool experience that I had Sunday morning. First of all, I made french toast and it was fantastic because I had my PEANUT BUTTER again:) Anywho, afterwards, I was getting ready and had my music going when a certain song came on, Praise the Man by Jenny Frogley. As I listened to it, I felt with every fiber of my being that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that he did restore the Church of Jesus Christ in these last days. It was incredible. It came at the most random time, but I know now, it's not just a belief, but I know that he is true.  For all that he went through, and all that he did, and to seal his testimony with his life - I too, Praise the Man who communed with Jehovah. This church is true. The Priesthood is real, it is on the earth today. This is God's work. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity I have to serve Him and give people the message of the Restoration. God lives and loves. I love you all, have a fantastic week!

MVH

Äldste Johnson