Glad Mors Dag!

Hello Hello,

It just seems like yesterday I was talking with you. Oh wait.:) I was. Skype and technology is so great! I am truly grateful for the opportunity that I had to talk with my family. I was the techy at the scene here: coordinating the missionary skype times, so needless to say I'm glad its done with now. It was a lot of fun and the family sure is changing and getting bigger.

Mån: We took it pretty chill the whole P-day. We met up with J,  we are to meet her every day up until her baptism. We watched the Restoration film and boy was the spirit there. I began to bear my testimony and I paused. In that moment, I KNEW the spirit was hitting her so hard and she could not deny it. With tears in my eyes I looked at her and said "this is exactly what you have been looking for. God is so happy with you right now as you are preparing for your baptism. That is why you can feel his spirit so strong." It was incredible. That's basically how it was every day this week with her,

Cinco De Mayo dinner

CINCO DE MAYO!!! Whooo! Yeah, it's not even celebrated in Sweden, but who cares! We celebrate it! I made some guacamole for the first time ever and it was pretty awesome. I made a Mexican feast that was to die for. I was very proud of myself for that.

Tis: We met S who has a strong determination and knows that Christ will help him. His countenance keeps changing more becoming brighter! We met with J and a member. Those 2 hit it off perfectly. Every lesson this week with J was so spiritual. I shared some personal stories and experiences, including Elder Bailey. I testified to her that I would see him again. There is no doubt about it. We helped A move into her new apartment. Her daughter is super shy so it was really cute seeing her open up to me and show me around. No, I was not using that as an excuse to get out of helping move:)

Ons: So on Monday we contacted a man, B. He wants to become a Christian because his brother is one now and is so much happier. He is living here with his wife and children. He has had a pretty hard life and literally had to leave everything behind in Albania. He lives in a one room apartment with all of his family. Today we met and started with a simple prayer, nothing out of the ordinary. B said he felt so much peace just after that 1 minute prayer. It was incredible! So after teaching we felt impressed to go straight to the baptismal commitment. He said yes and we set it up for the 7:e av Juni. That was awesome!

We met J with A in the library so the situation was hard to feel but nevertheless we were able to feel the spirit. She is so ready and prepared that it doesn't matter where we are, she feels the spirit. We told her Baptism is not the end, but just the beginning.

Tors: We had district meeting and the spirit was there, guiding the whole lesson. We did a role play that was wonderful and talked about how asking questions and listening can really help find out people's concerns. I was impressed to show the bible video of Peter and John healing the cripple in by the temple. It didnt seem to have any relevance, but i was mistaken. The man asks for alms when he sees peter, not addressing his concerns. But Peter says "gold and silver have I none, but what I have I give unto thee freely. In the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, I say unto thee arise." Now it could've been as simple as that and the story ends with the man getting up. But peter stretches forth his hand and helps the man receive his strength. We don't just ask people to resolve their concerns by themselves, but we reach out with love to help them back up. It was really cool how great it worked together with the lesson.

We met with D and immediately applied what we had learned in district meeting. We asked inspired questions, listened to him and let the spirit work. There were seriously long moments of silence (not an hour like Ammon but still long), enough for the spirit to inspire him and us. He really has no experience of any kind with religion so it is all new to him. The hardest part is helping him recognize the spirit. He has felt that so many times, we know he has. It is just completely new to him and he doesn't understand it but he offered to say the closing prayer! That was a first! J passed her baptismal interview!

Fre: We went to Stockholm to get Elder S's residency card. I had a good time seeing my old place and part of town. We had some time before our train took us home, so we visited some nearby places. We got back and met B and taught a lesson in a very different way than I have ever done but it fit his circumstances and met his needs, so that was great.

It's magic

A had J and us over for dinner before we headed up to sports night. At sports night, we missionaries had a good chat with her about Family Home Evening. She wants to establish it in her home. I told her my experience with it and how much it has helped me in my life. I am grateful for my family for making Monday nights a very sacred and holy night. Even though I would have 3 hour football or soccer practices, they always stayed up for me so we could have it. That meant the world to me. At the time, I was like "I'm tired lemme go to bed." But I know now how important it is. It is needed in this crazy life. Monday nights have seriously helped me and my family grow together in ways that I cant even comprehend. Thanks ma and pops. You done good:)

Lör: BAPTISM DAY!!!! WHOOOOO! I wrote some thoughts down in my study journal that were pretty awesome, sorry I can't share that with you. Today marks 10 months for me, it is the 10 of may, and today is my first baptism, pretty awesome right. We got to Västerås ok, and everything for the baptism was just great! B was able to come too! We did our weekly planning while waiting for the font to fill up. They actually take quite some time. The one in Gubbängen took like 20 minutes, but this one was like 2 hours! Good thing we were early!  Oh just det. In the morning I made Gma Johnson's recipe for cookies (for the baptism) and instead of chocolate chips, I used Reese's that ma gave me in my Easter package. I smashed them up and mixed them in and boy, they turned out AMAZING!!! Top 3 best batches I've ever made in my life:) Dang good.

Great day for this sister and me and my companion

Anywho, haha. The Baptism!! I got all changed in white, and it felt so great. (I remember my own baptism looking up at pops all dressed in white and then here I was all dressed in white.) I felt so much love and peace and joy. I can't describe it. As the service was going on, I could not stop smiling. It was very spiritual. We made our way to the water. I guess I was nervous -I didn't feel like it, but people thought I was. Oh well. I got her all situated and said the prayer. She went under and back out of the water. How smooth it was, I'm not gonna tell:) Let's just say I didn't have a good grip on my feet, but it all worked out ok. She's fine. haha. It was my first time, so it was something new for me, but it went well. We got changed and continued the meeting. It all was just so spiritual and fantastic! I loved it! We got home and headed straight to bed, i was so exhausted. But what a great day!:)

Sön: The confirmation!! It is just as important as the baptism! Elder S did a great job on that. Surprise, B came with all of his family to church! And they loved it! I did the translation for all of them so hopefully they understood what was going on. It was fast Sunday for us, not mothers day, that's in 2 weeks. We talked with J about us going to the temple this time next year, right before I go home. She said she would love that. Man, that is going to be so cool. End my mission with going through the temple with someone I found taught and baptized. That is something remarkable. I cannot wait for that. J is already such a great member and fits right in. Our members have already embraced her and taught her many things ha, so she is good. No worries about her.

We ate dinner with the K's and B's family. We had a great time together and watched the Restoration film. Right when we were about to start testifying, all of the kids came running in noisily. We just had to laugh about that.

Clay and Elder J - together again

We made it back to the church to Skype and that was so awesome. I love you guys. You are the best. Even though Nichole's baby isn't here yet, it was nice talking to all of you -including Clay!  I cant wait to see you guys at Christmas.

Something I shared with the family that I will end on is this. This week has been one of the best weeks of my life. Not just mission, but life. I have never felt the spirit more often and so strong than I have this week. I have never felt so happy than I have this week. As I was growing up I had thoughts and impressions on what the mission would be like and what I would be like as a missionary. For the first 10 months I felt like I was good missionary, but I wasn't who I thought I was going to be. This week was different. I began to see my potential. I feel like I finally became the missionary who I thought I was going to be. This is just the first step, but I caught a glimpse of my eternal potential. I've seen who I really am and who I am supposed to be. This doesn't mean that I stop trying because I have already reached a part of it, but it makes me so excited what more I can do and become as I continue to go throughout my mission and life. I truly feel honored and privileged to be the one to baptize J, as well as be a humble servant of Heavenly Father. I know that this work is true. I am so grateful that I am a part of it. The heartache, the pain, long-suffering, etc. hurts, but it is so worth it when you see someone enter the waters of baptism and take that first step onto the path that leads to eternal life. You cant describe it. My heart is full of love and joy. I love you all, and mom especially you. For putting up with me for these past 19 and 1/2 years, loving me all the way through to help me see my potential. I love you. Thank you for everything. Have a great week everybody!

Med Kärlek, Äldste Johnson

Big blue tractor on the city street

An odd week...

Hello everyone!

Wowee, sounds like things are pretty busy at this time of the year! I am glad to hear everyone is doing swell. I am really praying that Nichole's baby comes before I skype this Sunday! Wow, it literally feels like last week was Christmas and I was skyping home for that. Well, like the title says, this week was odd. The weather went on a very cold/rainy streak, people didn't answer, but it was fun nevertheless. Let me tell ya all about it...

Just like home

Mån: After emailing we rode our bikes to the grocery store so we could haul our stuff a lot farther because we went to Lidl the most cheap awesome store ever!! Seriously, we saved so much money from that and are planning to go again next week:) We did some cleaning, played the uke, wrote some letters, all that jazz. We had a farewell dinner for Elder S at the K's. They are so awesome. We went to go meet up with a potential investigator who ended up blåsting us, tyvärr-too bad.

Tis: We met with a new potential who Elder S tracted into on exchanges. We taught her the Restoration and she said she would be baptized if she knew it were to be true. We visited with J to follow up and she has completely overcome the problem she was working on! She has such a strong dedication and desire to follow God to the fullest extent. It is the coolest thing seeing this. We gave her some praise-  It really helps investigators, or anyone in that matter, to really go big on praising them for coming so far (my English is digressing, I don't know big words anymore). 

Ons: We said good bye to Elder S and inherited Elder B as a tri-panionship until Elder C came at 10 that night. We had a couple lessons with  investigators who wanted help with family history work. We then watched the chuch, made some calls, did some family history work, I played the piano (im actually not too bad, not good in any way, but not bad), and did language studies. 

Winter is burned away to prepare for spring

So this day, April 30 (happy anniversary to Ryan and Nichole) is Valborgs Afton -Valborgs Eve. This is the day where huge piles of dead trees and bushes and whatnot are gathered together and then burned in a huge bonfire to burn out the winter and welcome in the spring/summer. We got changed into regular clothes and met up with H and B -some potential investigators who had us over for dinner. We had something called

yummy raggmunk

Raggmunk which is potato pancakes with bacon and lingon berry jam. Oh man, it was so good. You have all of the different kind of tastes together which is awesome-you get salt from the bacon, sweet and sour from the jam and then the potato pancakes. It was fantastic! We then went to the forest gathering place to see the fire, sadly we missed the lighting of it and the people who sing and dance around it, but we got there to see the fire. It was really cool! We all walked back to the train station to pick up Elder C. 

The tri-panionship at Valborgs Eve

So funny thing, every Valborg it rains, and so it did this year. So there was a massive fire with rain coming down. We walked to the train station and got soaked. We were a little late, but it all worked out. We had a very interesting talk along the way about the meaning of life and all that -H is very scientific and likes to find historical finding, exact proofs of things. He knows that we belong to a higher power, but what that is- who can know? We can! 

Tors: We had district meeting on How to Begin Teaching. The first meeting we have with investigators are crucial. If you don't set up expectations saying that we help people come closer to Christ by trying these things for themselves, they are not going to do anything that will help them come closer to Christ. If baptism isn't talked about from the very beginning, people are gonna be really confused when it comes up later. We had lunch at burger king and headed down to Strängnäs. We met U and gave him a baptismal calendar -which he loved. He is already towards the end of Alma in the Book of Mormon! We went over the W of W again to make sure he understood it and said we were gonna do all that we can to help him out. He wants to come to J's baptism next Saturday and church if he has a ride! So we are working on that for him. Something that I noticed with him this day, well ever since the first time I met him, his countenance has changed, his face was glowing. It seriously was the coolest thing to see. I can't explain it. The spirit is really making a physical change on him as well as spiritual.  I love it!! 

Fre: We visited D at the church. We watched a film and the spirit was so strong and just emanating in the room. We know that he felt it, he just has never felt the spirit before so we need to help him understand that. We ate dinner with B and talked about Patriarchal Blessings. I have done my own personal study on mine, and have found some great insight from that.  The thing about them is they are eternal. They are not just for this life. These blessings last for eternity IF we are worthy of them and follow our Savior.

We went to sports night and had a great turnout -about 15 plus people were there! Things are picking up more and more here, it is so cool! Being in this side of the world, you really learn to appreciate the small things, the small successes here and there. By small and simple things great things are brought to pass.

I love the temple

Lör: Here was an odd day. We got up and left for Västerhanninge early in the morning for Stake Conference. We were told we were invited to all sessions however, that was not the case. The first meeting was a Priesthood Leadership meeting which we were not supposed to be at, but we didn't know. So we made the best of the situation, took pictures at the temple, got some food, talked with people on the street. 

The topic for Stake Conference was Sätt Din Hand Till Herren's Verk -Set Your Hand to the Lord's Work, (or Put your shoulder to the Wheel.) The speakers really hit hard on member work. An invitation is all that is required, and like elder Ballard said, an invitation needs a follow up. The speakers chose topics from this last general conference, which was perfect. I felt very refreshed from listening to the excitement and enthusiasm to carry the Lord's work forward. We caught a ride home with Sister K, or else we would have gotten home at 11 due to train times. She was giving us some motherly advice (yes, it was useful) and whatnot ha. She will be in Salt Lake over the summer (almost st. george.)  Their little girls just love us missionaries and don't like when we have to leave, ha. It makes me trunky for having kids and all that good stuff. But then I hear crying and I think to myself, eh, I can wait:)

Sön: Another odd thing: We were awakened by a marching band at 6.30 this morning. For what purpose, I have no idea. It might have been a part of the continuing Valborg celebration of welcoming in spring/summer. It was weird, I got a video of them walking past our street. We sat in the back at Stake Conference and as I was looking around I just thought, this is true. How great it is to gather together as children of God wherever you are in the world. Even with kids crying and running around, you can't help but just think this is the only true church. We as members aren't perfect, but the church is lead by the Savior himself. It was President and Sister Newell's last conference address as they are nearly done with their missions. I am so grateful for them. They have been so fantastic for the mission and for me. It will be weird when they leave, but we don't stop. We press forward. Put your shoulder to the wheel and move a long.

Going back home we felt inspired to stop in Strängnäs to swing by N. We called but no answer. We went to her door and but we forgot the port code. We were about to walk away when what do you know, she comes up from out of the cellar from doing laundry and sees us and opens the door! If that wasn't inspired I don't know what is. We talked with her for an hour. We gave her Mosiah 24 before we headed out, where the Lord visits Alma's people in their hour of need. He lifts the burdens, doesn't take them away, so that they may bear with patience and know that God is with them. God is with her at this time. She really needed to hear that, and I am so happy we decided to come by. Later we met up with D and had amazing homemade bagels. We made it home to give the Sacrament to Helena, and did some contacting. We headed over to the other elders apartment to sauna:)

This pic makes me look mad & chubby but I'm not

It was a rather odd week, but you know, you just keep swimming:) NAME THAT MOVIE! haha, I love you all so very much. I appreciate all that you do for me. I cannot wait to see you guys next week on skype, come prepared with some stuff to ask me. I love you. I love this work. I am seeing significant changes in lives including my own, and I could not be any more grateful to my Heavenly Father for that. He is with me every step of the way. I am excited for Kristina this weekend to covenant with Father. Be good, and have a fantastic week, and Mother's Day especially!:)

Puss Puss-kiss kiss (typical teenage girl thing to say here ha)

MVH

Äldste Johnson

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

He is Risen!

Hallå! Det är missionärerna! Vem? Missionärerna! Nej, vi vill inte...hahaha;)

Hey everyone! Special shout out to my best friend Clay for getting his mission call to Guatemala! I'm stoked for you man! Easter or Påsk was fantastic. The weather has been bright and sunny and we have had no need for jackets:) Lemme tell you about my week...

I made Swedish Meatballs!

Mån: We went to one of the millions of soccer fields and had a good match! We had a large group of missionaries and investigators and it was a lot of fun playing ball again!! I had a lot of sweet powerhouse shots that no one could block;) It felt really good to get out and play again for sure. Later we met with N to go over the Plan of Salvation and it makes so much sense to her! She was interested in what happens after this life. I made some potatos, gravy and swedish meatballs:) It tasted really good.

Tis: We met up with our less active who is teaching us spanish but as of recently, we have been having some good discussions and teaching her more about the Gospel. That is really cool to see! We went down to Strängnäs to meet with our investigators. We taught J the Restoration, she is moving right along perfectly! Then we met with N and Sister K told her about Relief Society!  That was nice to have her there to talk about that.

Ons: We had a district meeting on Praying with Faith. "Pray like everything depends on God, and work like everything depends on you.” It gives us personal responsibility and accountability as well by having us work our hardest for the things we desire. We met a guy who we contacted earlier in the week. Afterwards he asks if he could pray for us and that's when things got a little strange but we kept cool. We had a big review with N and she seemed ready for baptism! She said she wanted me to perform it! Needless to say, I was jumping for joy in my head. I felt so lucky and honored to be apart of it. Pretty awesome! We met up with the zone leaders and split up to our different cities.

I love to cook

Tors: After deep doctrinal discussions in the morning I made us a nice stir fry for lunch (I don't know what it was, but this week I was just in the cooking mood -and the food tasted good...ha!). Some plans fell through so we decided to do some contacting, and NO ONE WAS OUT! Seriously, we were out for 45 minutes walking around and maybe saw 10 people total. The weather was fantastic -as it was the whole week- so it didn't make any sense. We taughtan investigator who was supposed to be baptized this week but she needs more time. 

We met up with the sisters there (who are so funny and just the best!) and went to their ward mission leader's place to have coordination meeting and dinner. We then went home teaching with the ward mission leader and met some cool people before we had to catch the train back. Elder O and I got to know each other better. He's a good guy, I really like him a lot. The other elders told us about their day and a little about N's interview. She passed! And I was beyond excited for saturday! 

Elder T is going back to St. George next week!

Fre: I took a train all alone to Stockholm, where I met Elder C at T central to take the next train to Västerhaninge. I saw my pops, Elder M,and also saw Elder T who goes home to St. George next week!!  I told him all the people he needs to say hi to for me when he gets home. I then spent time with Elders from my MTC group. One of the Elders received a text from my comp back in Etuna that made my heart sink. "N says she is not ready for baptism." Noooooooooooo! I had to focus on the training with that going on and no real way of figuring anything out because I didn't have a phone. 

All alone for 3 hours - it was weird.

Time to go home and I had to haul home several packages...that was fun...Not, haha! I travelled for 3 hours all alone just because of the way things turned out. At first I thought it would be a lot of fun being on my own, away from a companion, but honestly it was sooooo weird! It was very discomforting ha. I can't really explain it.  I got home and my comp and I had a prayer together to find peace, comfort and understanding regarding N.  We are just postponing it but I was heartbroken, still am. 

Lör: It was really sad not having a baptism today but we've got to trust in the Lord's timing and help N through this. We went out and contacted a lot of people to get our spirits boosted up. We met up with a couple at a pizza place and talked about all sorts of things. He likes to talk so I figured the best thing to do was to listen and love. We did get to talk about family history work as well as how the mission process works and they were very captivated by that. It really was one of the greatest nights ever. They really like us and invited us over for Vallborgs -a Swedish holiday/tradition which I will explain later when it actually happens in a couple of weeks.

Sön: Sacrament meeting was phenominal, though not too many people were there -it was Påsk -Easter, it's a bit ironic. All of the speakers had great testimonies of the Easter season, the Atonement and Resurrection. We taught P the Restoration after Sacrament meeting and he loved it. He has been reading the Book of Mormon and wants to pray about it and see if it is true! J was taken care of by the Relief Society -they love her. Funny story: I asked if we could still meet with J at 5 on tuesday and all of the women turned to me and gave me the death glare of the century because that is when they are having the Relief Society activity! Whoa, man! Talk about scary! Geez, I didn't know that was going on! Hahaha, I love how close they are to her haha, so we set it up for earlier and everyone relaxed a bit. We had lunch with the L's with a testimony meeting about what Christ means to everyone. We then went over to another family for dinner (right after a big lunch...not too fun on my tummy!) where we played some easter games and had a good time.

Did I mention I gave a talk too? I had no notes and just testified from my heart what Easter really means to me. I remembered Elder Christofferson's talk from conference that was very helpful and powerful. I talked about the beauty and impact Christ's resurrection means. When Christ was with his apostles, he said ”Greater love hath no man than this, that a man layeth down his life for his friends. The servant knoweth not all what the master doeth, but as ye are my friends I have told you all that I doeth. Ye are my friends if ye obey my commandments.” I love that so much! We are His friends. What greater love is there? The angels said to Mary and the other women ”Why search ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but He is risen.” Christ has conquered the sting of death. He is risen. Other churches celebrate His death by wearing the cross around their necks, which is very important to remember of course. But we as Latter-Day Saints, we celebrate His life. That He lives today! How glorious and wonderful that is to know that our Savior lives and He guides this church. Like Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon's testimony ”He lives. For we saw Him!” Because of Him, all of us will receive our perfect resurrected bodies, never to be corrupted again. Because of Him, all will gain immortality. Because of Him, we have the opportunity to stand before God and be judged according to our works. Because of Him, He will be our advocate with the Father IF we follow Him. Because of Him, we will see those who have gone before us, waiting on the other side. Because of Him, I will see Elder Mason Bailey again. That's what Easter means to me. I know and testify of these truths. I am His friend because I follow Him. I love this work and this people. ”Oh sweet the joy this sentence gives, I know that My Redeemer Lives!”

May you always remember the Savior in your life and celebrate Him not just once a year, but all year long. I love and pray for you, have a wonderful week!

 Med vänlig hälsning

Äldste Johnson

Kära Bröder och Systrar!

The clouds look like mountains 

How goes it with all of you? Im glad you have had a good week and that you remember who it is you get your strength from. 

Mån: After P-day stuff we taught our english class. Not a whole lot more happened ha.

Tis: We met a street contact from the week before who is wonderful! This was our legit first time meeting with her and from the very beginning she was just so great. As we were talking and explaining our role as missionaries, she randomly just said, "I want to join your church.” WHAT? Ha, that threw me off guard! We hadn't really taught her anything, but she knows she feels really good about what we represent. She has had some trials in her life, and she is looking for peace and says she has found it now!:) Wow! Talk about prepared. 

The sign on this building says Odd Fellows

We met D again to do family history -which he very much enjoys. We also met with S later and unfortunately our lesson was not the best.  Elder S and I agreed we need to be more aware of where we want the lesson to go. Obviously be open and follow the spirit if we need to change, but it wasn't like that this time. Haha, it happens. But the thing to do about it is learn, analyze and be better next time. We ended the day on a great note with N who has come away from experiences in her life with her own testimony of keeping the Law of Chastity. Seriously, she already knows these lessons and has a strong testimony. B came with us to teach and she and N have become great friends -YES!! It seriously helps so much when you have investigators make friends with members! What a great day!

Ons: We had planned to have 7 lessons for the day (which would have been crazy-awesome!) then all but one cancelled and/or did not show up. It was upsetting so we went into the shopping center and both ended up buying a soccer ball ha:) It was a needed purchase because I have been unconsciously having withdrawals from not playing. So that helped with the cancellation day. Later we swungby this less active who was home and we had a good talk about general conference and got it set up for her to watch it in spanish. Then we met with X who is solid in his religion but wants to discuss the Book of Mormon together. It's really cool- just being able to understand and respect each other really goes a long way. So that was a great ending to the day. We got cancelled 6 times with those other people because God needed us to be with these 2 specifically. I'm learning more and more about God's timing on the mission. At times it is frustrating, but it helps me rely on the ultimate source of power and know that He is over all.

She helped pass the time

Tors: We were SUPPOSED to go to Södertälje for zone training, but things didn't work out that way. We received a text from the train service in the morning telling us no train was coming to take us. So I spent the next hour frantically trying to find different routes or busses or anything that could help us out. In desperation I called Sister K who was more than willing to help us out -bless her.

She drove us, with her 2 youngest in the car making funny faces at us (which lightened the mood ha), to the next train station.

Waiting for the train that never came

We sat waiting for the train and with each 5 minutes that passed, the train became more and more delayed. It was no use. We were not meant to be in zone training. However, the weather was absolutely gorgeous (train station is outdoors.)  An elderly gentleman walked up to us and started talking.  He said he had some family in the states that are Mormon and we had a good chat with him. He left abruptly and we were sad we didn't get any contact info, but right after that he popped up again so we invited him to church and do family history. Hopefully we see him again.

Never made it to Zone Conf

Who knows. Maybe that's why God didn't want us to be in Södertälje, because we were needed to talk to this man. We made it back home and listened to zone training on our phones and then went out to Max burger for lunch.

We went down to Strängnäs. We met L again (the street contact from Tis) and talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and set a baptismal date for May! We mapped out a plan of how we were going to help her prepare for that!  We then went over to S's, where we taught the same thing but adapted it to his circumstances. We talked about his baptismal date, also in May. We then met with N, who has a baptismal date for next week in April. 3 Baptismal dates!!!!! It is amazing! God is really blessing us, and I am so grateful for it. I can't even fathom it all. These people were put in our path. God had prepared them. We are just the instrument in His hands in bringing his children back to Him. We had a good lesson with N about the Word of Wisdom. Just as she starts to put a piece of chocolate in her mouth, I said ”Today we are going to be talking about addictions” she quickly put the chocolate down and looked super guilty -she says she has an addiction to chocolate- Hahahaha it was sooo funny! She took it all in very well but the tea is going to be hard because it is a cultural thing to offer tea to guests. 

We literally ran from N's place to the train station to catch the train back home. I needed to give B a baptismal interview -my first one! He is has been meeting with the other elders and is fantastic. There is a little language barrier (but I had a member translating for us.) We walked in, and the first thing he does is bear his testimony for 10 minutes! He said just walking in the room he feels so much light and positivity. An overwhelming sense of peace. That is something he has been searching for for awhile now. He and his wife escaped  his country and have been in several places. He has had some nightmares about some people finding him and killing him. But when the missionaries knocked on his door, and had a message about peace, he knew it was what he had been looking for. It was such a spiritual experience for me, even with the language barrier. He is so ready for this and wants it so bad. 

Fre: I finally got to watch the sunday afternoon session of conference and boy was it good! Back to back to back they were all phenomenal. Seriously, so perfect. When President Monson was speaking, I had this strong feeling in my heart that I know he is a prophet of God who speaks as his mouthpiece. I have a testimony of the reality of that. God loves us and speaks to us through President Monson. I know it and am so grateful for that knowledge. May we resolve to be better, until we meet again. That last line hit me hard. I thought of Elder Bailey -until we meet again. He is still in my heart, but I know we shall meet again soon.

View from a member's house

We met with a less active who made us Swedish pancakes! They were pretty darn good even without peanut butter (but I do miss that). We headed over to sports night and had a really good time. We had about 12-14 people there and played volleyball.  I played a bit with my hacky-sack.

Lör: We met with Professor D again! He had some really good questions to discuss. We showed him the Restoration dvd and gave him some copies of the Book of Mormon in chinese-mandarin, swedish and english. I love that man. 77 years old still going hard. That's really inspiring. We picked up M and showed him Elder Bednar's talk from conference and ate some ice cream. It was about "the load" -I really like that analogy he gave. Sometimes we need a load to help us get unstuck. Having peace doesn't necessarily mean there is no load, but understanding that you can make it through with the help of the Savior. 

Singing at the baptism service

We caught a ride up to Västerås for the baptism (we don't have a font in Eskilstuna.) The service went great and Elder S and I sang Abide With Me in our own arrangement -and it wasn't too bad. Elder B performed the baptism and it was so powerful! Man, I was so full of the spirit and just so excited for him to be baptized. N came and I was so grateful for B who sat by N and calmed her nerves about her own baptism next week! On the way home, one of the member's car broke down. So we sat out in the pooring rain in our suits trying to fix it. We didn't, but it was fun ending to the night ha:)

Sön: We got L a ride to church and it turns out she has a friend who is already in our church. Perfect! We had a packed church meeting -it was wonderful to see! We took part in the confirmation, the spirit was there. A  loved it and is ready to move forward in the branch. He told N that he was going to make her a cake for her baptism! She said, "I have a ride to my baptism, I have cake, God is going to be very disappointed if I dont go because He has put my 2 concerns at ease!" :) hahahaha so awesome! During SS we taught L who said it feels so good in her heart being at church, talking with us, and reading the Book of Mormon! Man, I cannot even describe my emotions or feelings! It is truly amazing! God is really blessing us! 

The L's had us over for dinner and I did the peacock feather object lesson for them (påfågel fjärder). After contacting that night, we went home to pack up to go sleep over with the other elders and sauna:) We ended up having 22 lessons and 3 baptismal dates!! The Eskilstuna branch is fired up and is so willing to help us out more and more! Things have improved tremendously since I first got here. The Lord's timing and the spirit's power have been shown greatly here. And I am so grateful to be a part of it. This truly is the Lord's work. I love being out here and serving my God, my brothers and my sisters. He lives. We have a prophet today. Follow his loving council. For that truly is the way back home. 

This is a Porsche with a add on top

I love you all and am grateful for everything I have in my life-especially you. Have a fantastic week!

Med Kärlek

Äldste Johnson

...with all the energies of my soul...

Hallå allihopa!

My my, what a great week it has been! The weather has been kind of cold, but spirits were high! Im glad all of you enjoyed conference-I did as well with much enthusiasm and desire to go out and apply what I've learned.

Fun Birthday Cake

  Mån: We went to Katrineholm to hang out with the elders there at a shopping center. Later we went to the K's place for their little girl's birthday/FHE type of dinner event. She is the cutest little thing ever! Ha, she loves having the missionaries over, and in every prayer she asks that the missionaries can come over again:) It's really fun hearing children speak swedish. I don't know why, it just is.The kiwi cake was so good!
 Tis: During our church watch, we were in charge of putting together the new modem and router to the church's computers and figuring out a lot of frustrating computer problems ha (didn't really get it fully figured out yet but it functions). We then met up with this investigator family and they made us this huge dinner! We got to know them and THEY suggested that we meet again! Because we were so long with them we missed the train down to Strängnäs to meet N! I was not going to let that happen! So we called a member and she pulled through for us and drove us down -I am very grateful for that. Sometimes it would be nice to have a car for such occassions. Anywho, we made it down there just in. We went to our regular spot at the pizza place (that's going to be a great story telling the posterity -we met every week with this woman at the pizza place, preparing her for baptism). We talked about tithing and fast offering. She loved how we as a church distribute the money to those in need and in building up the kingdom of God -just like the bible says. She was a bit apprehensive about fasting and told us how much she LOVED food. But after we explained it was for 2 meals once a month and the branch does it together (to strengthen each other), she committed to it.

Ons: We met D at the church to do some family history work with Sister L. It is fun to see the spirit of Elijah working with him. We started off with a little spiritual thought about family history then sister L went hard on temples, sealings, eternity, Elijah appearing to Joseph Smith (we hadn't gotten into anything of that yet, hahaha.) She bore testimony of it like it should be done -it was awesome.  We met up with M and her husband who are helping us with spanish and it is lots of fun. I am remembering so much and understand a lot -so that's nice. I was already planning on teaching myself spanish from swedish once I hit my year mark! We ended with a spiritual thought and both of them were really engaged.

District Meeting

Tors: We had district meeting in the morning where I felt impressed to talk about Chapter 8 of Preach My Gospel (now all of you are going to have one after Elder Ballard's talk right?) Using Time Wisely.  I feel like I was prompted to focus on these and other things before I heard that President wanted us to focus the same things. It's really cool to be inspired like that from the spirit.

On exchanges we tried to swingby some people after being blåsted, and contacted along the way. We caught a train to Strängnäs to meet with M.  We showed a mormon message from Elder Holland called Sanctify Yourselves, talking about the Priesthood. He is excited to get the Melchizedek Priesthood and we will work with him on that. We took a member with us to teach N and it was great. Seriously. They just connect on a whole new level with them. (Members, offer your assistance. Don't wait for the missionaries to contact you, you go contact them. They are busy with their schedule and really appreciate all the help they can get.)  He shared some personal stories that N connected with. It feels like after we share something or teach her she always comes back and teaches us things like how to be more grateful for life and find the joy in everyday. She is amazing! I am so excited for her! She is making plenty of friends in the ward, because she knows we missionaries leave so often.

I can do this stuff now

Fre: We set everything up for conference and hoped it would work on Saturday and Sunday (spoiler alert -it did:)). We then met with U and talked about conference. She asked us about prophets and we taught about their role and responsibility and how they truly are the mouthpiece of the Lord. God speaks out of love through his servants to help his children return to Him. We headed over to sports night and had a really good turnout. I made an analogy to sports and the prophet. God is our coach. We are all players on the field (earth.) He has one captain -the prophet- who is his mouthpiece. We all receive insight and instruction from the coach personally from time to time, but the coach uses his captain more to be the mouthpiece for the team: warn them of certain dangers, encourage them to keep pressing forward, and giving it our best until the end. We all had a great time playing volleyball, and I brought my hackeysack to juggle around for awhile too. Fun time.

Lör: We taught S about the Sacrament, and how it is like baptism every week. One thing led to another, and we set a baptismal date with him for May!!! WHAT??? Yes. It all happened so fast. But we are super excited for him and his goal of getting prepared for that day! 

We have been inviting everyone to come watch conference with us, IT'LL ANSWER ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS!!!! We got back to Etuna to do a run through of everything, get the food prepared for the next day and all that jazz. We watched the Saturday morning session (because it was night here.) I loved how Elder Holland set the tone for the whole conference. It seemed like everyone was testifying with all of their might telling us as members what we need to do -and actually do it! It reminds me of Nephi exhorting his brethren with all of the energies of his soul even unto pain. The general authorities are pleading with us with all of the energy of their souls that we follow the savior and do what he asks! No new temples are announced, but that doesnt matter. We are Temple ATTENDING members, not just builders! GO TO THE TEMPLE! Elder Holland said it is worth going through persecution, pain, trial, rejections, mockery, etc. to defend your faith because the alternative is desolation. It's not always going to be rainbows and butterflies. People will be angry with you for telling the truth. Live the gospel. Defend your beliefs. You CANNOT fall with Christ as your rock. How true and powerful that is. No matter what we go through in this life, it will all be worth it. 

Sön: This is how we watched conference: We watched the saturday morning session at 6pm on saturday live. Then Sunday, we watched saturday afternoon at 10am-12 the priesthood at 2-4 and then the sunday morning live at 6pm. We will watch the sunday afternoon session sometime this week. We provided breakfast, lunch and dinner at 9, 1 and 5. It was a lot of fun, but boy was it stressful! N came at 830 am to help us out!!!!! How awesome is that!  I carried on the tradition of having waffles for conference morning!:)

Waffles and eggs for breakfast with an assortment of fruits, make your own sandwich for lunch, and then the other elders provided spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. I think it has been the most I've been fed in a single day throughout my whole mission. Mmm. N and D were here for the first session and loved it! B and N and are great friends now! We got to meet N's mom -she is just as awesome!

A lot of people blåsted us for conference, but I was really happy with who was there. Everything was so powerful. Elder Ballard was probably one of my most favorite ones that I have seen. Follow up. Perfect. Amen to that with the follow up on his wife -persistance. As well as inviting everyone to invite someone quarterly throughout the year to come unto Christ. He knows his stuff, and he knows that we need to pick it up as members and missionaries coming together. It does no good having a lot of missionaries with no members helping us out. Honestly, we need both to work together if we are to hasten the work of salvation and not sleep the Restoration! Faith is the antidote for Fear. And that is Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Why do we choose to be disobedient when we know the consequence?? Why do we choose not to serve the Lord? If you are only worried about your own salvation you won't even end up getting it. That's not how it works. Love God and love your neighbor. You can't do one without the other. You have been warned, now go warn your neighbor. There is no up and down, it is either forward or backward with progression. What manner of men and women ought ye to be? EVEN AS THE SAVIOR. Wake up! We need to change. Realize your potential -you are not the person now who you can become. Smart phones doesn't mean you are smart:) Who will you be a hero for? Courage, not compromise brings the smile of God's approval. You have your 4 minutes- the time is NOW!

These are just a little bit of the notes I took during conference. My question has been answered through conference. I know it has been for you. Now, what are you going to do about it? I know this is God's work. We are all missionaries (and as such need Preach My Gospel -I'll be expecting some insights from that from you all) sent to gather the lost sheep. It may seem daunting or too hard, or inconvenient but this is Salvation we are talking about. God needs you. I know this to be true. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to be one of His servants and bring back those that were lost. I know with all the energies of my soul that you cannot fall with Christ as your rock. Take a leap of faith and reach out to someone in need. Look for opportunities everyday to serve. I promise you, that as you search and really plead with God for help, He will. He is our Father. We are His. I love this work and I love you all, have a fantastic week.

Med Kärlek

Äldste Johnson