This is a shout out picture to my friend Paco.

Howdy errbody!

Hope y'all had a great week! Thanks for all of the love and support and the updates and just everything -it really helps! The weather here has been absurd this week. In a matter of 5 days the weather went from sunny with snow melted, then cloudy and rainy, then snowed 10 cm, then cloudy and rainy, and now sunny with all of the snow melted again. CRAZY!! We have had a good week contacting and working hard, we got 17 lessons in on the week and sometimes in this area they've had only 3 lessons in the week! So things are progressing!

Mån: On pdays we now wake up and immediately run to the church to do our emailing, then run back. We play soccer as well, and its soooo much fun! AHH, i feel so good when I play. It really just takes all the stress away! I love it! We played a little 1 v 1 and I won 10-9:) Im still about the simple game, but I got away with some tricky sneaky stuff, and did some work ha. We also always clean on pdays to keep the place tidy. After pday was over, we did some less active swing bys and gave out cookies. With one of them -she has 2 jobs and is super busy but has a strong testimony- we were able to set up a meet for the next week! Cookies bring miracles:)

Tis: We met up with our investigator and walked with him to the church because we wanted him to see how great it is! We talked about his concerns. He has to go back to live with his brother in a couple of months so that doesn't help. He still hasn't come to church though he knows and has told us that he believes the book of mormon is true and that we have the only true church. Its been frustrating but we are continuing to work with him. We met up with some TU's-tänkbara undersökare (potential investigators) and gave out some copies of the book of mormon.

Ons: We went by a TU's music store and checked it out. We ended up buying harmonicas to be nice and because it was cool! We were able to teach him the plan of salvation, in which he was very intrigued and liked it! He wants to meet up again! (He definitely belongs to the viking clan:) ) We contacted a guy on the street and ended up teaching a lesson for 20 minutes. Its amazing that just walking up and talking to people about the gospel, you can find people who will talk to you and accept your message! We felt like we needed to swingby on an investigator. When we got in, he just broke down for a solid 5 minutes of crying. He was thinking about dying because no one cared about him. He told us if anybody else had knocked on the door, he wouldn't have answer. But he knew we cared about him and came at the time because God guided us. It was such a tender experience to be a part of, to be the means of God saving one of his children literally. Since then, he is doing a lot better. It really was just an amazing experience. I still can't believe it. How he first met missionaries was amazing. He was having similar things go on -very hard life, when he knelt down and cried "jesus help me." Not short after that, missionaries happened to knock on his door and offer the help of jesus. It was incredible!

Tors: We went on down to Katrineholm (this was the snow day) for district meeting. We made our own title of liberties for our companionship with a scripture. We decided to choose Alma 26:12 "in His strength, we can do all things!" Its helping us humble ourselves and realize that all we have and do comes from God. That if we get any success, it comes from Him. Through His help, we can accomplish a great work here. I then went on exchanges in Katrineholm with Elder J, a greeny. We taught some less actives and investigators and had a good time. It's a lot of fun going to areas that aren't mine and seeing how the work is going there. I shared some personal stories and just really connected with the people there. It was a lot of fun allowing Elder J the opportunity to take control of plans and lessons and see his testimony and courage grow. 

We met this awesome Persian family of recent converts and could see how much they loved the gospel with being members for only 2 months! We had some trouble with the trains and almost got stuck out in the middle of nowhere, which seems to happen a lot with me hmm, but we made it safe and sound back home.

Fre: Weekly planning session. Went to sports night. Not a lot of people showed up but we had a lot of fun reguardless. I shared Jacob 6:12 for the spiritual thought:) I love that one so much ha!

Lör: We headed out to Strängnäs for some swingbys and lessons. A lot of people blåsted us, so we did a lot of walking around. We did get a lot of returned appointments however, so that was good. We met up with a less active and her family and had some good cake. She is bundled up with all of this gospel knowledge and it all comes out when we meet with her, so we are spiritually fed to the extreme. Its pretty crazy and awesome all of the knowledge and thoughts she has about life and the gospel. We cleaned the church afterwards to finish up our hard, blåsty day.

Sön: No investigators came to church :( Our branch president had all of the missionaries over for dinner afterwards with his family. We had some chicken curry and chocolate cake that was oh so good:) That helped, ha. We then met up with B and met a lot of his friends, haha. Thats the best. When you meet with a group of African people there is almost always a guaranteed person there that likes the good word of God:) Such was the case. We tried a little bit of couscous and their special african peanut butter/broccoli sauce. 

We started teaching the 7 day stop smoking program the church offers to a new investigator. Its a 15 step course to cleanse the desire to smoke out of people and train the mind to not want it. It is very successful and is amazing! He soaked in everything in we were saying and is doing everything that we asked him and wants this so bad. It was really cool seeing him absorb it all and promise and commit to stopping. Im excited to see how it works!

I love you all and am so grateful for you. I love being a missionary and spreading the Good word of God to everyone:) I hope you all have a fantastic week, I know this is the work of God

Love Elder Johnson

Grattis på alla hjartans dag - Happy Valentines day!

Eskilstuna at night

Hej på er! Direct translation - hey on you all!

Wowee! Sounds like it has been a fun week! I would first like to give Pops a shoutout for tomorrow Happy 52nd Birthday! Hope You have a good time in Palm Springs! I am going to get into golfing when I get home. I need to work on my old man's game:) Anywho, hope y'all have had a great Valentines Day, because I sure didn't...Hahaha just kidding!  It is kind of hard being a missionary and seeing all the young birds in love. There were literally thousands of birds outside our apartment complex that were flying all over together on Valentines day! Well I guess I can start with my week. Nu kör vi (new, sure, vee) directly translated is now drive we, but it means lets do it!

Mån: After emailing, cleaning and laundry when 6pm hit it was time to go missionary mode. This was probably the craziest day ever in just such a short amount of time. We still needed to get our 10 contacts in for the day even though it was pday. We saw this port-coded building just barely open, so we immediately run to catch it before it closes. You can't ever pass up an opportunity when a port-coded door opens. Elder S wanted to swing by this family that had previously been tracted into. We knock on the door. Who's there? A nice Muslim family. Luckily they invited us in after hearing we had a special message that we would like to share. We were very shocked because no one invites us in! Already we were so happy!

We asked if we could start off with a prayer. I explained how our prayers usually go and when they heard God's son and Jesus they told us that Jesus was only a prophet, not Gods Son. Hmmm. so that got ruined...We listened to their beliefs and told what we believe in and tried to say something that would want them to learn more. I seriously have never prayed so hard in all of my life than I did at that point. My companion and I were saying prayers in our hearts, begging, pleading to know what we could say. When there was a pause, I got so scared and was like 'you (my comp) need to say something!' and then he did, and the same back to me. And once, neither of us said anything and luckily the dad spoke up. Whew! We kept praying and praying with all of our might that we could say something to help them. Finally, the Book of Mormon came up! Yes, the life saver!!! You can always rely on the BoM! They were very interested in it and said they would love to read it! Unfortunately we did not have an Arabic copy with us (the daughter was translating swedish to arabic with her father the whole time!), but that was also lucky because we could then set up a return appointment with them! We left and my comp and I just stared at eachother and were like "What just happened????" We were both freaking out and saying how hard we were praying in there and hoping that God would help us with that! And sure enough, He did! Wow, that was so intense. I can't breathe just thinking about that, ha! Awesome! But the day wasn't over yet...

We still needed 9 more contacts so we decided to go to Magbull and talk to everyone on the way. After reaching 10 people who weren't so positive, things just started happening. People were prepared and their hearts were just open to our message! We ended the night with 14 unplanned contacts, 4 of those people gave us their phone numbers, and 5 of them wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon!!! Unbelievable!! Elder Ballard promised us that if we contact 10 random people every day, numbers would go up and we will find the prepared who are willing to follow the Savior and be baptized. I have a very strong testimony of this. 

Tis: A guy walked into the church building while we were there. He had seen our church and wanted to know what we believed. We talked with him for an hour answering his questions and bearing testimony. Without us even asking he said he was going to come on church on sunday! How awesome! We next taught our investigator with a baptismal date and realized we need to go really slow with him. That means putting back the date but thats what it takes to help people enter in the gate and stay. He loves reading the Book of Mormon and can feel a difference in his life! It really has the power to change people! We also swung by a potential investigator who studied at NYU and is very intelligent. He told us all of his beliefs for a long time then said we could come back and talk about our church! Hopefully despite all of his logical thinking, he can accept our spiritual message.

Ons: We had the family history consultant come and teach us missionaries how to do family history. It made me even more confused. I really want to feel the Spirit of Elijah so Im hoping one day I will understand it. We are supposed to do it at least once a week for 2 hours. We met up with a potential investigator who is interested in the book of Mormon. Second hand smoke is killing me here. I know that God is blessing me and helping me to withstand that when I can't escape it.

Tors: We had a zone training in Södertälje. We missed the stop and had to backtrack but we made it. We talked about #102021. Numbers that President wants us to remember. 10-contacts daily. 20-lessons a week will lead to 2 (double the baptisms) and 1- baptism monthly with companions. It is such a big goal, but I know that we can do it. Although we are coming out with more and more electronic ways to preach the gospel, contacting and meeting people face to face is more personal and you truly develop a love so quickly for that person and can see how much potential they have and how the Gospel will help them.

You find the strangest things in missionary apartments

After eating kebab and walking in the rain we made it back home and we went on exchanges. I went with Elder S to his area. We taught a teenage girl. It was crazy but when I first saw her I had this distinct impression that she is going to be baptized. I don't know how or why or when it will happen, but I know it will. It was awesome! She is cool and her family is genuinely interested in the gospel. We then met up with some members who are preparing on going to the temple to be sealed. Elder S and I had a good time together just catching up on the past 6 months and talking about the good things in life and the mission. 

Some graffiti for Valentines Day

Fre: Grattis på alla hjartans dag-Happy Valentines day! I opened my valentines package from mom and loved it! We went on a walk with one of our eternal investigators and had the drop talk. She has been going to church for a long time and been taught everything by the missionaries, now she just needs to act. She needs to figure out for herself and trust in God. That was hard, dropping someone, but it is the best thing for her.

We made cookies today so we could distribute them out to our members and more especially the less actives, to break the ice with them. Triple batch man, that is a lot of cookies!! We then had our sports night and had a great time playing volleyball! (I miss those days back home getting together with my boys and going to the sand courts and challenging the college kids and beating them! Good times:) We saw lots of people going on dates and doing all that Valentines stuff - it was weird ha.

I live here, its called Gotham - Perfect for a Batman guy like me

Lör: We helped a family move some furniture then went to Strängnäs (an outskirt type of city part of our area). We met up with some less actives and had an exchange of treats. We gave them cookies and they had us come in and eat some cake. Dang good cake too! It was chocolate peanut butter middle inside of a banana bread cake with vanilla frosting on top! Mmmmm. 

We met up with our branch mission leader. He is a convert for 2 years and is from Iraq. (He fought AlQueda and helped the US a ton. He is an ex war general and has the craziest war stories!) He has a great conversion story and loves the church so much! We had a good time talking and figuring out what we can do together.

Sön: I gave a talk about how we can invite the Holy Ghost into our lives and what the blessings from that. I mentioned that the best way I invite the spirit is by singing a hymn in my head. I got emotional when I said that singing "I am a Child of God" helps me remember who I am and who I can become. Its simple to just sing a hymn, but it makes a huge difference. Think about what you are doing to invite the spirit into your home throughout the week. What can you improve on, what can be taken out. Fill your life with the Holy Ghost for He will teach you the truth of all things.

After church we did a lot of swingbys, then played some soccer with some teens we were walking by and got their numbers (that was awesome-balling up kids in our white shirts and ties:)) Then we walked home after getting 24 contacts on the day to reach our goal for the week. The last guy was Cambodian and I spoke a little bit of that with him! He loved the idea of living with his family for ever! People are prepared!

It has been a long week but a good week nonetheless. It is hard, but its worth it. I know that the Lord is preparing people all over the world. Even wherever you are. There is somebody in your path that needs your help, pray to be open to know what to do and what to say. I love you all and love being here! Have a fantastic week!

Love Elder Johnson

Eskilstuna

I successfully landed into the big tank-the tuna! Eskilstuna to be exact. It really isn't too big of a city, it's working up to 100,000 inhabitants. I already love it here a lot, though I'm not too sure where everything is yet, ha. Crazy thing, today marks exactly 7 months that I have been out on a mission! Holy cow! Slow down! Man, it's crazy how fast time flies when you're having fun serving the Lord.

Mån: We met up with the H family for my final visit with them. They are so awesome. They made us a nice steak dinner, made me a cake, and a painting/poem thing that is so amazing! It was really hard for me to say goodbye, as it was for them. They want to keep in contact, which I do too!, but they also said they want to

meet the family as well -they said that we are always welcome over there! Man, I hated leaving. That was hard. I know deep in my heart that one day they will be an eternal family. Later that night, we went to home evening where I learned how to knit from a member- I hope I still remember how to do it ha. I got started on a beanie, so hopefully it turns out ok!

Tis: Pretty much spent the day doing laundry, cleaning, and packing. Guess who stopped by? THE G'S!!!!!! (from Stockholm). Oh man, it was such a sweet reunion. They were passing through Linköping and wanted to stop by and say hi, as well as give me something that I left in Stockholm (anytime I pack up to go somewhere I forget 1 thing. That's it, just 1. It is the weirdest thing!). So they took me and Elder L out for some THAI food. J is already working on his mission papers and could be out by July! Hopefully he gets called to St. George and then we can have him over all the time!! That family, seriously is the best. Man, I have just met the best families ever! I want my family to be like that -where missionaries feel right at home, still do the work, but have a place and someone to look to for help, love, comfort, etc. That's my biggest desire in life.

Elders Smith and Johnson - easy to remember

Ons: We barely made it to the train station on time -there is so much unnecessary stress when it comes to travel, moving! ahh! haha. Nevertheless, I made it  and headed up to Eskilstuna alone. ...2 hours later I arrive and meet up with Elder Smith. Johnson and Smith. Hmmm, that doesn't sound too typical for missionary names...ha. He is from Sandy, Utah. He plays soccer; did ODP, club, highs chool -alta, etc. Needless to say, we have hit it off really well. He is one group younger than me, but is fearless. 

We immediately we went right to work. Rode our bikes, for my first time on my mission its a regular basis here, so Im stoked about that. I love riding bikes! We started by contacting everybody we pass by, which is interesting and fun, and thats how we get new people to teach. Seriously, I could not stop smiling the whole day here. Just everything was awesome! I don't even remember if we taught anyone, we have had a lot of people blåst us, but I couldn't even care, ha. We were both working hard together.

Tors: Our district contains some elders and sisters from my same mtc group! and one greeny who loves to quote movies!! finally!! Someone to quote with. Elder K is the DL and is a stud. I swear he could be an apostle, just the way he talks and his conviction when he bears his testimony. He used Elder Holland's talk from conference. Christ says " I need someone who will feed my sheep." Christ asks him 3 times, "peter, do you love me?" How are we showing Christ that we love him if we are not feeding his sheep? That's how we show our love to Him. When you see the eternal perspective of things, it makes it easier to contact people on the street because you want them to have the same joy and peace that we have.

Elder K said that sometime on our mission, there will come a time where the Atonement of Jesus Christ will become so personal and powerful that it will carry with you throughout the rest of your life into eternity. You will never forget it. That's why I take this time now to challenge all of those who are thinking about missions or not. Go on a mission. Even if you don't have a full testimony of the church, go. The atonement will become the greatest strength in your life. I know that it will mean so much to you personally as you go throughout your mission. It will stick with you throughout your life and in eternity. Go.

Later that day we headed to Strängnäs, an outlying city in our area, where we met up with E. It was the first teach with him and it went really well. He previously had a book of mormon given to him 10 years ago, he just lost it but found it when we met with him. He was very accepting and loved the restoration. Its so cool, being able to come into a new area and see something like this; see someone accept the invitation to find the truth. We met up with some members and less actives that we work with. One of the families we are helping prepare for the temple: He's American, shes swedish...they got married and got baptized later. Super cool story.

Fre: We got blåsted several times, and rode our bikes a lot- my rumpa (bum) hurts really bad ha. We had sports night, where our investigator B (who has a baptismal date) came. He is living here with a sibling for awhile. He absolutely loves the Book of Mormon and can already see a big difference in his life when he reads it!! He hasn't come to church yet, but he's super sick. He doesn't have papers here so he could leave soon, and if he were to get baptized and not stay here his life could be in danger back home. So hopefully he can stay and be saved, twice.

A much needed haircut

We had a great turnout for our sports night here which is put on by the branch members and anyone is invited. we had about 20 show up and we played some volleyball! It was pretty awesome, I blocked our Stake President who is 6'8"!!! I am not even joking even a little bit!:) That was legit.

Lör: So far I've been just going with the flow but I need to get familiarized with everything so I can share the load with my comp. We met up with member D, who has grown up in this branch and knows a lot about missionary work and all that good stuff. He fed us dinner and talked with us about how we can work smart, find the elect and strengthen the branch. He is the #1 fellow-shipper for the missionaries when they teach investigators so he knows lots of stuff. He's a really smart guy, and he likes talking deep doctrine with us as well ha. We also visited the Stake President and his family who live right next to us and they love to feed us! They have 3 young daughters: all are so cute, especially the youngest who loves the missionaries! I love it! SO many great people here, everywhere! I feel so blessed!

Sön: I shared my testimony and led the music in church. We only have 2 hours for church. The second hour I sat and talked with the member who is preparing his family to go to the temple. He has had some amazing spiritual experiences. Two investigators came to church. That was awesome.

Things are looking great here. We are doing a lot of finding, contacting, teaching, swingbys, you name it! I've really enjoyed it and I am excited for what the future brings! I'm not too worried about anything, just trying to be patient and have faith on the Lords timing. I am so grateful to be here and doing the Lord's work in His way. I love this work, and I am so happy! Only the true and living church could bring such happiness and peace to my soul. I love you all and hope you have a fantastisk alla hjärtans dag (all hearts day-valentines day)!

Med kärlek

Äldste Johnson

PS: I saw these two things in the mall.  Anyone want them for Christmas next year?

Hey family and friends! I need to make this snappy because I am being transferred!!

Tis: We met with some members and less actives who fed us and we got to know them. One of them, the wife is American and her family actually lives in St. George now!! Small world! They are way awesome! Our investigator cancelled on us because of school and then he had to go to a funeral-so I guess that's a good excuse ha:)

Ons: We missed a bus that goes to the outskirt area only 4 times in the day. We missed it twice, by exactly 30 seconds (remember that I HATE being late!) ...Needless to say, I was pretty upset, ha. We did some swing-by's and tried to find stuff to do-I ended up writing thank you notes to people. I have never felt so confused or lost for something to do after missing the bus twice like that. It was a very weird experience, but I did share my feelings with My Heavenly Father. He let me choose for myself what I should do. It was interesting, because He was putting a lot of trust in me to handle the situation on my own and it caused me to do some searching. I know God does this to us quite often to try us. He asks that we pray to Him for help and guidance so He can bless us. But it requires a lot of work on our part. We might have to go wandering in the darkness and make our own decisions before He will let us know if it is right or wrong. If it be wrong He will let us know, and if it is right, more likely than not He won't say anything to us until later. It shows a lot of trust He has in us to make our own choices and we trust that He will guide us back to the path if we go astray. 

Trying to stop nose bleed

Improvising to stop nose bleed

We later did our Branch Pres. ex-changes which went pretty good. I randomly got a bloody nose. I thought I was safe here in Sweden with a wet cold climate, but no, it just goes to show it can happen anywhere. I kind of laughed at the situation and had fun with it - hahaha. Oh well.

Tors:  I can't help but repeat that the best way for us missionaries to find people is through the members. We try to find people on our own and talk to EVERYONE!! To all you members, it really makes a huge difference.  We did swing-by's and then met up with a potential investigator at his church. He said he would come to our church if we came to his (which he didn't ha) -so we of course couldn't pass up an opportunity like that. I really enjoy seeing other peoples worship service to become better acquainted and understand other religions. It was a very interesting service -one I will not forget. Many churches are pretty similar to ours, but then there is one always something you see and you're like "ahhh, that's not right." I am just very grateful to know I have the knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and that I am a member of His true church. I desperately want to share this message with everyone because they are so close to the truth. 

Fre: Not too much happened this day, sadly. We are near the end of our goal/plan of getting to meet all of the members on our list, so this week we have been dwindling with numbers. 

Lör: We got to meet up with L (the contact Dad gave me) and his family, they are sooooo awesome! We ended up just talking, getting to know everyone, clarifying and explaining what we missionaries do and all of that good stuff. His wife is Swedish, and came to the U of U to compete in cross country skiing, met her husband and got married. She would have been in the Salt Lake City Olympics if it weren't for blowing out her knee. We had a really good time together. L is still open to taking some things back to the states for me this summer and dropping them off to my family because his dad lives in St George. So I will be keeping in contact with him (and that's how the cheese slicers will come to you mom:)

So we were waiting all day to see what was going on with transfers because there were so many rumors going around. President called, and we found out that I am transferring to Eskilstuna- same zone but 2 hours north. I kind of felt it coming on even though I have only been here for one transfer. I get to serve with an Elder who is one group younger than me -my first comp that is younger than me! It'll be a good one. 

The Linköping branch

Sön: Fast Sunday! I bore my testimony for the last time here and the members were sad and told me they want me to come back before my mission is up, ha! They are so awesome; We had dinner with some members and got to walk across the frozen canal and kind of ice skate on our shoes haha. This time I didn't fall through the ice. Oh just det, the weather has been getting warmer and warmer:( so now we have perfect packing snow for snowballs.....4 missionaries......nuff said.

This transfer in Linköping is one I would never want to trade. I have grown a lot and struggled but it has been a good ride. I feel like a lot has been accomplished here in the short time and there is a good foundation to build from. I'm excited for a new adventure in Eskilstuna with Elder S.  Sometimes I still can't believe that I am actually serving a mission. I've grown up all my life waiting for and preparing myself for a mission, and now I am! I relish the fact that I am His servant in His blessed land of Sweden. No greater calling I can think of that would make my life more meaningful, and being able to tangibly wear my Saviors name on my heart everyday. I just can't even begin to describe the emotions and feelings I have for it. I love this gospel with all of my heart, and I am trying to give it my all and know that my efforts are not being wasted. I love my trials and tribulations that I go through, I love the opportunities to get torn down so I know how to continue to pick myself back up and be lifted up by His always outstretched hands. For when I am weak, than am I strong. I love you all and hope all is well, continue to be great and rely on the Savior for help.

Love Äldste Johnson

Whoosh! The feel of a door slamming in my face!

Frozen lake in Motala

Aloha! Oh wait, I won't be able to say that until I get to college (at BYU-H) but anywho! Hey, howzit goween? Wowee wow! Thanks to everyone who wrote this week. I love and appreciate all that you do for me, and all the prayers in my behalf. I truly feel the power of your prayers for me, and they help me go through my day with peace and with courage. 

This giant slide is fun!

Mån: I played my uke and just tåg det lugnt (took it easy) for the rest of Pday. We then got ready and set up for FHE. Not too many people showed up, but it's to be expected for the first week starting it. We had a spiritual thought, lesson, played a lot of fun games together, sang hymns, had some prayers and then had some fika (dessert/treats). It was a big success, and I feel like this activity will grow and will help the branch unify and bring less- actives back!

Tis: I have been reading in the Pearl of Great Price- or Den Kostbara Pärlan- in my personal studies, and boy, there is some deep stuff! Whew! The best thing that I get out of it is how many times and how important it is that God calls and says to Moses and Abraham, "you are My son". That's so amazing to see that God wants us to truly understand that we are literally his children. "You are my son (or daughter)" brings the most peace in this life to know that we truly have a Loving Heavenly Father who has prepared a plan for us to follow and return to Him.

Playground stuff is unique.

Two members took us out to lunch- obviously we had kebab pizza! The pizza guy was a Catholic and was very respectful to us "church people". The 2 members bore their testimony to him and it was so awesome to see haha.  We found a park nearby and decided to play around as part of our lunch break. 

We did a lot of swingbys afterwards, met up with an  investigator who does not want to change his habits but then we also ended up with 15 unplanned contacts on the day! President is really stressing that we contact as many people along our way, never plan them, because when we get at least 10 contacts a day, it will lead to 3 new investigators on the week, and 20 + qualified lessons, which will lead to baptizing monthly! So that was really cool for us to break that 10 barrier for the first time! A lot of people were coming up to us after we talked to someone who rejected us, because they heard we had something great to offer! It just goes to show, that when you are doing what the Lord has asked and go forward with faith, he will bless you!

Ons: We did some swingbys and got prepared for our exchanges with the branch presidency. I went with a brother who originally comes from Denmark and he's such a stud! He is so funny and awesome! He is always so eager and willing to help us with our work and goes out and contacts with us on the way! He gave me a lot of good advice for the mission, and for life -especially marriage! To quote him, he says, "Marriage is the best! I definitely recommend it!" hahahaha!

With one of the less actives we were going to swingby, this elderly lady opens the door and sees my nametag with the church's name on it, and grasps hold of her door and slams it shut with all of her might! WHOOOSH! I literally felt the wind blow my hair up because of how powerful she had slammed the door. I have never experienced that before, but it was very interesting to get slammed so hard -it was pretty sad. I mean sure you don't want to have contact with the church, that's your choice, but at least be civil about and respect us for trying to do our job. But, oh well. Definitely a good story, haha.

Tors: We had district meeting here in Linköping, instead of going up 40 minutes to Norrköping, so that was nice- getting more study time for me, and more sleep for the others. I actually love the schedule a lot because it helps me balance out my day and helps me do what I need to do to be most effective. I will definitely need to keep or make some sort of schedule for when I go home. The lesson was about "Pray with Faith". If we have no faith when we pray, what do we benefit from it. If we don't think God will hear us, why talk to him? If we don't think he will help us, why ask? If we don't think something good will come from it, why bother? We don't ask him for help in our lives knowing that he is not going to help us. NO! We ask him for help because WE KNOW and BELIEVE that he will help us.

On the way to Mantorp

We did some outskirt swingbys in Mjölby and Mantorp (20-40 minutes away from linköping, but still in our area) and didn't find too much stuff. We always find success, that's something that I have been trying to see more, is that anytime we do something we find success. If someone isn't home, we leave a note- success in trying to get contact with a less active, for example. Always be looking on the positive side. God is always giving us little successes here and there, we just need to open our eyes to it.

Fre: Weekly Planning! Always good stuff! Out of the blue, I asked my companion "How much faith do you have elder?" He was a little surprised, but he knew what I was talking about. There are only so many days left in the transfer, yet it was still possible to baptize someone. We knelt down and prayed whole heartedly and honestly pleading and asking God what His will is for us, and that if it is possible to baptize before the transfer. Now, I cannot begin to explain the incredible feeling that we both felt after closing the prayer and pondering. We both felt it and knew that we could do it. We don't know who, but we know it's possible! We were both so excited and just breathless because while we didn't know what to do, we just knew we needed to have faith in the Lord! I know what I felt, and cannot deny it. Though I have no clear direction with seeing someone be baptized soon, I am putting my whole heart and trust in God to let me be an instrument in his hands. The Lord can do mighty miracles in a matter of seconds!!!

I tried the ice (again) and had my shoe go in (again).  I guess I will never learn.

Lör: We were up in Motala (1 hour north) for most of the day, getting in contact with less actives and investigators-having some interesting discussions- and just having a good time. We made it back home to the H's later that night for dinner. We tried teaching a lesson but they have a lot of questions and are so awesome and happy with their lives that they don't yet see a need for our message. They still love having us over and they are interested in FHE, so we will teach that. We will just keep being a good example and build that strong relationship with them. The spirit was strong as we bore our testimonies. Oh just det, they fixed our bikes and drove us home with them! That was really awesome of them and now we have working bikes!

Sön: I made breakfast burritos- the hash browns didn't turn out so good...oops ha.* The people we were hoping for didn't show up for church yesterday so it made us begin to doubt the goal that we have. However, there was no way we could doubt that strong conviction that we had received that we can baptize before the transfer is up. We had a different investigator come to church on sunday, and it could be him. We just don't know. But we know we need to follow the Lord in complete faith. He had a very good experience and loves the spiritual unity of our church. He is very scientific and sees things in that sort of way, but he is very open and willing to prove it for himself if it is true. 

Even if we don't get a baptism this transfer that doesn't matter. We have received a conviction that we can do it, and if we work for it with all of our might mind and strength and show the Lord we have all Faith in Him, that's what really matters. It's not fair for someone to be pushed/forced into baptism, and we don't want that, but as long as we are working for that goal and progressing, that's all that we can do. So that was a really cool thought that came as I was thinking about it last night.

Press forward with faith, and trust in God, and we'll see if something miraculous happens this week! I love you all so much and pray that everything continues to go good! Brady shared with me a Mormon Message "Mountains to Climb" and it made me cry. You all should look it up. I'm grateful for the chance I have to be a missionary and get to serve God and His children. Things progressively are getting better (we had 13 lessons!) and the future looks bright! Ha det så jätte bra den här veckan! Jag älskar er!

MVH

Äldste Johnson (# IV)

Hey y'all!

Lost his earmuffs

Sounds like everyone has been having a crazy awesome week! Well it has continued to snow for a good week and a half here, so I have been loving that! But I lost my earmuffs somewhere so my ears have been cold. . The work has been about the same as last week, though we are putting a lot of effort into it. 

Monday, we just took it easy on Pday after buying 800 krowns worth of food for the week!

Walking in a blizzard

Tuesday, we got cancelled a couple of times But we got things updated, planned and ready for home teaching. Elder L and I made a trip out to Mantorp We walked all the way in a blizzard, and all the way back -though stopping in an adjacent store that was opened to rest and grab a quick snack. We met a teen at the train stop who we ended up talking too for a long time. He was not too interested in the gospel, but loves sports. The train actually got cancelled for the whole night so we thought we were stuck out there forever, we had already been waiting an hour in an outside station. Luckily, a bus came to our rescue a half an hour later, and we made it back home safe and sound.

Wednesday, we spent the day looking all over town for maps of the little outskirt areas where we have less actives and investigators that we could swingby. They had NONE! We did our home teaching splits. We met with a less active who is pretty much home bound. She is very nice, has a strong testimony, but can't afford to get to church because she lives 40 minutes away and she has a wheelchair. It's sad that we can't really help her, but we are thinking about bringing the sacrament to her. Everyone deserves to take the sacrament.

Thursday, We had our zone training up in Södertälje. We have the biggest zone in the whole mission, and we were packed into a small hot building ha. It was pretty fun. It was about the Atonement. That Christ did a hard work in going through so much pain and suffering for us. He did it because he loves us so much. It made me want to go out and work even harder.

A little wet after going through the ice

We met up with a less active who absolutely loves animals! The place was crazy with animals, but it was really cool!  She loves missionaries and said we can come over whenever we want. 

I tried to test the ice water by the path and fell in a bit. Woops.

This is where I went in

Friday, I finished the book of Mormon after 3 months and had a really cool experience. Now I have read and prayed about the bom plenty of times, but I wanted to continue to test it. I prayed whole heartedly for a very long time, (almost an hour) about if it was true. I felt an overwhelming sensation throughout my whole body that was testifying to me that it is true. It has been true, is true, and forever will be true. It was a really cool experience to say the least. The only way people can know if it is true is to try it. Its as simple as that. So thats what we do-invite all to try it, to come closer to christ. The honest seeker, when trying it out, will 100% guarantee know that it is true.

So, here's a crazy story - my dad gave me a referral. Crazy, right? Yes! My dad, in St. George, Utah, met with a guy who has a son who lives 20 minutes away from where I live!!! Insane! Dad sent me his phone number so I called him up and spent a good hour talking with him about his family, how he came to Sweden (he grew up in salt lake but doesnt know too much about mormons or missionaries...hmmm) and just things like that. He is really cool and said his door is always open whenever I am in the area. We are planning to go meet him in person this week! Way to do member missionary work dad!

Walking our bikes on this path to get them fixed

Saturday, We met up with the a nonmember family who are fixing our bikes! We ended up eating, playing games, playing the piano (I fixed their guitar by ear!) and just strengthening our relationship with them. They are very open and ask us anything they want to know about us, they think family history work is super cool and that we do baptisms for the dead in the temple! They are just awesome! We keep the gospel in mind when we are there and we just continue to have a good time and build our relationship.

President Newell came down to do interviews with us -this was my first interview since I had that 2 minute one right off the plane. It felt really good. He knows me, and we were on a very personal level as we talked. I know he is an inspired man called of God.

Sunday -yesterday! We made a big breakfast together before heading to church. We had a good meeting, I love the sacrament! Its great to look back on the previous week and see what we can change in the upcoming week! I am so thankful for the chance to renew my baptismal covenants and be clean again. We had a really good meeting with the branch presidency and are planning on doing activities to strengthen the branch and bring less actives back. Also, we want to come up with a date in the future for this branch to become a ward. It probably be after my time here, but I want to lay the great foundation of getting there! It would be so great if we could do that, truly see the Lord's Kingdom in Linköping grow and expand.

Outskirts of Linköping

We had a member dinner and got to have a really cool talk with the Relief Society president, who is also responsible for young women, and primary (though we have none so far)-talk about busy schedule! She talked with us and helped us be smart with all of our plans. Sometimes missionaries run around with all of these really good goals and plans, but aren't too realistic with the setting and background of the area. So that was really good for us. She is an amazing person and we need to help her out!

Well y'all, its time to close. If you are going through a hard time, don't give up. Please don't. If you can only see one step ahead of you, take it, and look ahead to the next step. Though you may not see completely, go forward with faith that the Lord will guide and help you. I love Him and this work. I hope you all have a fantastic week and try to help someone come closer to Christ. I love you

Love

Äldste Johnson

It finally snowed!

Yes, it has finally snowed!!! I'm so happy about this! Its what I've been waiting for!! In just one day it dropped from 7 degrees celsius to -7 degrees celsius. Crazy!!! I love it though! I almost got frostbitten, but then I remembered I can be smarter than that so I put on some gloves and a beany, haha. 

I would like to thank all of those who have sent me christmas cards: Blake, Craig, Tony, Greg, Nichole, Wilkinsons, Flakes, Terrys, Andersens, Gunters, and the young women and men of the ward! You guys are all so awesome! I have all of the pictures and cards hanging above my desk! That means a lot, thanks so much!

Mom- I will definitely try to find more cheese slicers - I'm glad you liked it. I love those as well as the long shoe horns! Im planning on buying like 10 of those before I come home because they are the best!! I realize more and more everything you have taught me: being clean, cooking, respect, laundry, everything. I should have paid attention and done it more because now I realize how important all of those things are and I'm really OCD about them now, haha. So thanks for that:) Well I guess thats all I wanted to talk about, have a good week, love ya bye! Ha, Tricks (are for kids).

This week has been an improvement, not quite where I would like to be, but hey I'm working towards that. It doesn't just change overnight that we meet all our goals, it takes time and work to progress up to that point. That being said, it still was a pretty low number week, though that is not because we didnt work hard or put in the time. Thats the only sad thing about numbers is that it doesnt measure how much work you actually put into a week. But you and the Lord know, and thats all that matters, eller hur? Right? Right.

Perhaps I'll have a room like this someday (?)

Mån: Went to Ikea as a district and had a lot of fun going through the maze! You literally have to hit every single point in the store before you can go out, and it is a HUGE warehouse! So we had fun with it. We went through every room seriously contemplating and planning out our future lives and houses we wanted to have. It was the funniest thing ever! We were totally serious, testing certain couches, asking employees their opinions of cabinets, bathrooms, and discussing our future families. Awesome! We ate some kebab afterwards-I love kebab, but man it is a giant curse. It tastes soooo good, but then 2 hours later you immediately regret it (aka, you destroy the bathroom as well as your stomach hahahaha).

The package from the ward YW 

**A big thing we have done this week and probably do next week is get in contact with less actives, so we have been doing a lot of swingbys this week. Not a lot of people answered the door-so we left a note, but then others had portcodes-worst things ever! But thats where a lot of our time was spent this week.**

Tis: Met up with a contact who was busy during the holidays but is now available. They both study religion and are very interested in how people worship and why people worship. They have previously received the Book of Mormon. He says he feels something different when he reads it, than when he reads any other book-(Thats the spirit testifying of it's truth!) It was so awesome when he was talking about that, the spirit was very strong! They were supposed to come to church, but got sick, darn.

Ons: We did home teaching and I went with the Branch president- we got to know each other really well. He has a great long conversion story and how he got to Linköping. I love when people share their conversions, especially when its a long story, because thats how it really is. It doesn't just happen over night, usually, the Lord is mindful over his children and their development over a long time. Its amazing seeing the Lords hand over all. I love it!

Tors: District Meeting! I always feel the spirit so strong! I feel like it is always so personal and just exactly what I need, so Im greatful for my district leader(s) for that. Diligence was talked about a lot. This month has been perfectly set up for me to work on this attribute- continually doing good and working hard. D&C 58:26-28 says you shouldn't have to be commanded to do everything, take some responsibility and do good of your own free will even if no one else is doing it. Continue forward. Kämpa på! Fight On!

The Domkyrkan Cathedral - 2nd biggest in all of Sweden

Later that day, we contacted a referral from a member in Luleå that Äldste L knows. We knocked the wrong door and were confused for awhile, but then we found the right address. We knocked and the family invited us in! They are members of the Svenska Kyrkan church, but seriously were the best people I've ever met!! They had no idea who we were, but because we knew this family in Luleå, they had us in for dinner, talked about what we are doing as missionaries and getting to know each other, and touring their house, oh and offering to fix our bikes (i have still yet to ride a bike on a mission). This family is the best! They are so awesome and so talented in sports, music, art, everything! They are really outgoing fun people. I have never experienced anything like this! They are sooooo awesome! Yes they belong to another church, but we have started a really good relationship with them. They asked us how we continually believe that our church and our missionary work is the truth. We both bore our testimonies of it and the spirit was strong-SO COOL!

Fre: We met with an investigator who smelled strongly of smoke and that transfered to my clothes (I had to get them cleaned because I'm allergic to smoke). He has a strong testimony of Jesus but his other beliefs are interesting. Today marks 6 months on a mission!?! Wow, time goes by fast. I took some time to reflect on that and see what I can do better in the future months ahead of me. In honor of getting over the bump, we burned a tie. Dont worry, it wasnt any of my own.

Lör: I went on exchanges with Elder S. We hit up some swingbys and walked at least 10+ miles, or I guess you could say 15+kms the whole day. Wow! And in the snow!

Sön: I taught priesthood today in Swedish -very challenging. It was a great discussion on who God is from chapter 1 of Pres JF Smith's teachings. I had a good time studying and learning more about My Father in Heaven. God wants so much for us to be happy. He's given us our agency in hopes that we choose to follow his son back to Him for everlasting happiness. I think about now, me being on a mission, being separated from my earthly father, and how much I miss him and want to be with him. Then I think about thats how Heavenly father must feel about us, we are separated from Him on earth. And he wants us so bad to come back to him, and I feel the same way. I want to be with My Father in Heaven again. Its something very powerful that hit me. 

I had a really good heartfelt prayer with him this night. I was feeling stressed out, worthless, and that non of my swingby or efforts were counted for. It took a long time of me just opening up and telling Him all of the thoughts and concerns of my heart and how much I want to do to help him and his work. I can honestly say that I have come to know that there really is someone there who is listening to me, who is always there for

me with outstretched hands waiting to bless me if I but only ask, someone who can change how I feel in an instant, someone who knows me by name and wants what is best for me. I have a strong testimony that God lives. He lives and is there to bless me in times of need. He loved me so much that He sent His beloved Son Jesus Christ to come to earth and to sacrifice His life so that I might be able to return to Him. I love Him and am so grateful for him. I promise that when we truly humble ourselves, and pray to God in real relation to talking with our Father, he will bless us. He is waiting to. Don't cut off that line. I love you all and hope this week blesses you with all that you stand in need of. Go to the Father in prayer, and you will be helped.

Love, Äldste Johnson