Baby Lia

Hello, Hello, I am so happy to hear that baby Lia Skye Blake has entered the world! She is so cute and precious and I'm sad that I can't be there to see her in person, but I will see her next year!:) Man, it's great thinking about that only a couple of days ago, she was with Heavenly Father. There is such a strong connection to God when things like that happen. Glad to hear all is well there. Sorry to hear mom had a kidney stone as part of the trip. Hope she gets back in time for Stacy's graduation. Speaking of that, WHAT THE HECK! I was just there a year ago, that does not seem so long ago, yet it is. Man, lots of memories and flashbacks are going into my mind right now. But, Good luck Stacy! Goodbye to high school and hello to the rest of your life!:)

This week was very sunny and amazing and great! Lemme tell you about it!

Mån: Well, we got ourselves a lot of ukulele tabs and music so we could jam out. We met a new investigator at the church. He was a Muslim and as soon as he accepted Jesus Christ in his heart, good things were happening to him. He wants to become Christian and we are helping him find that way.

Tis: We met with B basically everyday this week and it was very spiritual. Because of his situation, he doesn't know if he will stay in Sweden for long. He told us he doesn't want to just be baptized and then lose communication with the church if he goes back to his country. (man, this guy is awesome!). We told him that we would try to help. We met with a few other people this day like S who finished the Book of Mormon completely!!! Wow! So we discussed what all that means and if he took Moroni's challenge. He had, and he knows it's true!

Sonic the hedgehog lives

Then, while we were walking from the train station to go meet J we see N! So we set up to meet her later that day and fika! (that basically means coffee break without coffee) So we come back and sit outside in a park with chocolate muffins and mango juice:)  As we were talking, I noticed something in the bushes. Lo and behold it was a HEDGEHOG!!! Sonic is real!;) no, but it was really awesome! We spent a couple of minutes trying to catch it and finally we did! We had a hedgehog in Sweden! That was cool!

Ons: We helped B move some things into her new apartment. We got done too fast (that's what happens when you put 2 young men to work) so we asked if we could read the Book of Mormon together in Swedish, so she could correct us on our pronunciation and we could sound like swedes! It was brutal but very helpful, and we are gonna do that every week now!  We had dinner at the K's. I was kind of not in a good mood earlier. I think that the Spiritual high from J's baptism and skyping the family dropped me off. It was just nice to be with the K's and get back into a good mood.

Tors: District meeting where we did role plays. As usual, it was a good spiritual meeting. We met B -talked about the celestial kingdom and that he can live with his family for ever (he wants to be there and knows his family needs to be there too); J -service in the church (she wants to become a visiting teacher); and S -we pushed back his baptismal date to June and moved B's up, he is progressing so well.  

A fun service opportunity

Fre: We met B and he gave elder S a great haircut! He did it in 10 minutes too!! He really is a pro! We then spent the rest of the day doing service at the K's. We got the garden in order, mowed and edged the lawn, painted the gates black among other things. After awhile the other elders had to go to sports night, but we wanted to stay and get the job done. Even in Sweden, after service we get pizza!:) It was a lot of fun doing service for them because they are always helping us. It is really hard to find service opportunities here in Sweden, so it is nice when it comes around. As well, we got some good life lessons and marriage advice, which I was grateful for haha:)

Lör: We met B and his 2 oldest daughters and watched Finding Faith in Christ. One of them said to us "Why doesn't everyone believe this?" I had to catch myself, That's a good question. That's what I ask myself every day haha! It was a really cool experience to talk to them the importance of Jesus Christ in each and every one of our lives. We asked them if they would be baptized like their father, but B said they had to wait until they were 18. What??? We are looking on how we can help him understand that his children can choose now to be baptized.   

Sön: B and his family came to church.  I did the translation again, and I feel like it is getting better. Plus it's also good for me to translate certain things and leave out a couple of them too ha. It all works out. His family really seems to like it here and already have good friendships in the branch!

Looking out over Strängnäs

We went down to Strängnäs to meet up with a new investigator who actually contacted us on the street. He took us to the top of a hill which overlooked all of Strängnäs. It was beautiful! That marks another spot of where I am going to take my future wife ha. Anywho, many of his beliefs matches with ours. It's just hard for him to accept new things because he is happy with where he is at. It'll come with time. We got some great numbers this week-22 lessons! Things just keep getting bigger and bigger here, I love it! 

We visit with H, I talked about how church went and the topics of the talks. What does it mean to be Christian? Really? It made me think long and hard about that. So many times on the street when we contact people and say "excuse me, we are missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ..." and they ask us, are you Christians. OF COURSE! The name of Christ is the name of our church. But then I was thinking, Just because I am a member does not make me a Christian. Being a christian is something very personal (see Mosiah 5). Are we doing things every day that lets people know we are followers of Christ? Have I shown others that I have Christ written on my heart and I have tried to follow him and do as he would do? Do I remember him every day and not just Sunday when I take the Sacrament? What is it that I am doing to bring me closer to Jesus Christ? I want you all to ask yourselves that. So many times we just get into the routine of life and go throughout our days, come to church on Sunday to renew our baptismal covenant. But do we understand what that means? That we are willing to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, to always remember Him and follow His commandments. I know I need to work on it, even as a missionary. But I know, through Christ, I can and will become better if I but try. I know and promise he can do the same for you. I love this work. I am so grateful for this wonderful opportunity and this sacred calling that I have to physically wear the name of Christ on my heart each and every day. But as well, I wear him on my heart spiritually. I love you all, have a wonderful week!

Med Kärlek

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