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

Reminiscing

Hello family and friends!

What a great week it has been! Something random, I dislocated my pinky by playing..... nah just forget it. I was pulling an April Fools joke on you! The weather has been quite wonderful here -it's finally looking like spring! The sun was out shining bright most of the day long (nights are still chilly), I finally switched from my thick jacket to my thin rain jacket! Now it is time to pack up all of the winter clothes och spara dem för nästa vinter (and save them for next winter). We had a light drizzle rain yesterday, one of my favorite things ever. The smell brought back so many fond memories and moments of reminiscing.

Mån: We were having apartment checks this week so we spent a solid 3 hours of cleaning, deep style: I was on the floor getting the back corners, on the wall like spiderman making sure things were good. After it all, it looked nice, really nice. We met a less active and his investigating wife later on in the day. We got to know them and their situation -they are really cool. We had a little testimony meeting and the spirit was strong.  It was cool to see the strong desire she had to find the truth.

Tis: We met with M. who has been reading the Book of Mormon and we answer his questions and bore our testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know he felt the spirit. He accepted our challenges -but he didn't make it to church. We went to D's for dinner and she was very grateful because Elder S kept the kids occupied while I had a good chat with her and her husband. We reminisced about the good times, back when we were young and crazy and just growing up. Talking about the things we used to do, the stores and shops we used to go to, talked about favorite foods we missed from back home in the states -it was nice. We ended with a mormon message called Moments that Matter Most. It's about enjoying everything that is going around us now: kids playing on the swings, family going on a nice drive, spending quality time together with those you love. That's reminiscing. Stopping to realize all of the good that you have in your life right now: a job, a loving family, church, etc. It helps you through the day to see the bigger picture in life, to not stress about little things, to take time to enjoy the everyday moments that are happening now.

Ons: E met us at the church to do Family History. It took some time to find family and whatnot, but once it happened he had a big smile on his face and just loved it! I could see that the Spirit of Elijah had touched him. It's something I have yet to experience for myself, though I truly want to. It's hard to testify/teach someone family history if you haven't had your own personal experience with it -so that's what I'm looking for. Family History is reminiscing of the life and stories of those who have gone on before us. We see what they went through in their life and the courage and determination to keep pressing forward gives us hope that we can make it through our trials.

There is a guy we met with and it seriously felt that there was an evil spirit inside of him. It's sad to see that happen, but you just have to forget it all and move on. We met up with a street contact we had 2 days previously who is interested in talking with us. We will see how he progresses.

Tors: We had district meeting -honestly, it wasn't my best, but I will plan better next time. We talked about the Baptismal interview questions along with Extending the Baptismal Commitment. If people haven't been taught the significance of the questions they are not ready for baptism. If we do not extend commitments we are not asking people to repent/change, or come unto Christ. We met N about her preparation for baptism -things are looking good! We went over the Restoration and it seriously felt like she was teaching us! The spirit was strong. It didn't feel like we were speaking at all. The spirit is the teacher -we are just the instruments in allowing him to testify. We went over to give M a blessing. The branch president came with us and he asked me to give it. I don't remember what was said, but I do distinctly remember the feeling I had as I was speaking from the Spirit. I felt calm for him. That everything would be ok. God is watching out for him, and knows him personally. I am so grateful to be able to bear the Holy Priesthood of God and help other people feel the blessings that God is waiting to give.

Fre: We went down to Södertälje to have interviews with President. We may or may not have gotten on the wrong bus because of me...I will not say, haha, but we got there in time. I wasn't feeling like I needed to talk to President about anything in particular. But I guess there was, mainly still stuff about Elder Bailey death. It has been getting better but every so often it's just hard. But God makes it worth it. He knows what I'm going through and what I need, in this case to talk with President. I know he is inspired of God. We got to escort him to the train station- we felt pretty cool.

Helpful note to burglars.

We made it back in time for volleyball which was a lot of fun. Making relationships with the people on sports night and just having a good time, not caring if people are good players or not, has been really great for me.

Lör: We had a good visit with D and told him to pray to know if what we have said is true. Later we ate pizza with this potential  friend who seems awesome. He said if we were ever needed anything we could call him. He wants to come visit us in the states in the future. We talked and testified about what we do and the book of mormon. He is very interested in reading it, so let's see where that goes.

Sön: Talk about a crazy day! First it was daylight savings, so we lost an hour of sleep. We got a call from N (who was trying to come to church) who said the train didn't leave till after 11! I was so upset, I was not going to let this happen. I wasn't going to let her miss out on church! So I called the branch president, who usually goes to Strängnäs to pick up some members, and I asked him if he could pick her up along with her sister daughter. He came through. Whew! I am so happy and grateful for the branch president. He really helped us out big time with that! We showed N around and the members just went right to her :) I did the translating in church -still having a fun/hard time figuring that out. Oh, Prof D came to church as well!! He was so awesome! The other elders took him and taught him the Restoration with F, while we took M with us to teach N and go over her baptismal calendar for lessons. She loved it and is so excited!!!! We met later with A who takes in everything that we teach and wants to find out if it is true or not. We met M and later on B and talked about how they were doing as well as their plans of listening to general conference. We bore testimony of living prophets and apostles and how we can receive answers to prayers and questions through them. CHALLENGE: come to conference with a question and I promise you, you will receive an answer!!!

I thought back to growing up and watching conference. We were lucky enough to watch several sessions live in the Conference Center. I love the spirit that is there as soon as President Monson walks in and we all stand up in reverence. I remember the traditions that we have. After Priesthood session the boys would go out to Iceberg and get our massive shakes and save half of them for the next day. Then Sunday morning we would have waffles:) Mmmm. Thinking back to these great times, and planning ahead to the future of continuing those traditions, makes me pause and reflect on how much I have been blessed. I am grateful for my family who loves me and puts up with me. I'm grateful for the personal relationships that I have with them and know that they are doing well, though I am far away. I am grateful to grow up where General Conference is a priority. Listening to the Prophet of God means something, we listen and act on his council. I know that my prayers and questions have been answered several times through conference, and I know it can do the same to you. These are moments that I cherish and remember, watching conference as a family and having a good time. This is what I mean by reminiscing. I love you all and pray that you have a fantastic week! Love you all

My backpack is now officially Swedish

Elder Johnson  #4

I want to live on a street named this:  Dragon Shield Street

Dearest Family and friends!

Thanks for all of your letters, emails, updates, greetings, prayers, love and support. It means a lot to me, and I truly -don't know how but I do- feel the power of your prayers. They strengthen me. Prayer. It is such a wonderful gift that God has given us. I'll share my thoughts I had about prayer later on in the email.

It has been fairly decent weather lately, seeing more and more of the sun. We had a random snow storm on the day of transfers and the next day the snow was completely gone -tyvär (too bad). Any who, I went from one Elder S to another -that was pretty funny. I still have the 2 most stereotypical missionary names-Johnson and S -men det funkar (but it functions-works).

Mån: We met up with our district to play soccer but it was rather windy and cold. So what did we do instead? Go eat some Asian food of course!:) We also played some Scum for a while before heading back home to get ready for proselyting. We re-ran into some investigators on the street whom we had met before but somehow lost their numbers, that was great. We then met with Bro C and had dessert and deep doctrinal discussion. My favorites:)

Tis: We met with our friend at the church and went over Alma 32 (faith) with him. We have to take small steps with him, but he is improving! We had a going away party for Elder S at the K home and had some great dinner, dessert, and discussion with Pres K.

Goodbye Elder S.

Ons: I dropped off  my comp at the train station and the other Etuna elders came and picked me up so we were a tri-panionship for the day until my new comp came in. It was a lot of fun being with Elders S and B for a day, seeing their area and people that they work with. We met with a less active who is making his way back to church slowly but surely, an active woman (who we also taught some Swedish), and a new convert who comes to the church when we are there. 

Both Monday and Wednesday we taught English class at the Somalia-Swedish society. We are moving the English lessons to our church where it is safer and more can come. We met up with a sister in the ward who took us on her visiting teaching visit. It went a little long and I almost missed getting my new comp. I sprinted down the train station entrance and then back up to his line and luckily got to him in time! Elder S is from Alaska, is a really cool guy. We are very similar with interests, hobbies, music, movie quoting and getting work done. I'm very excited about this transfer!

District Meeting.  My new Elder S.

Tors: I held my very first district meeting (oh yeah, I was made District Leader this transfer). After getting to know each other I focused on the reason for being out on a mission and the expectations we each have. Each of these elders has a strong testimony of this gospel and it was powerful to see and feel it. I read through many of the prophecies about the Second Harvest from the prophets and apostles, and what President has said "we are a part of the 2nd harvest now! I told them it starts now, with you. You can choose to be apart of it and lay the foundations and start to harvest the ripe fruits, or you can just mozy on through your mission expecting little to happen." Be a part of it, full heartedly and miracles will happen. The spirit was strong, powerful. Next it was helping my comp learn our area and get him familiar with things before we headed out the door to do some swing-by's and lessons.

We got down to Strängnäs to meet with an investigator with the intent of setting up a baptismal date. We talked about the Atonement and that no matter what we've done, if we have faith in Jesus Christ we will be clean. We talked about how the Sacrament is like symbolically being baptized every week . We bore solemn testimony to her and gave the baptismal commitment and she accepted! However, she asked if we had a group of people waiting to be baptized (if only. if only:))- so we actually moved it up two weeks earlier (that's when the other Etunas investigators are being baptized!)!!!! I was so excited, I couldn't breathe!!! We mapped out a plan to meet her 3 times a week every week up until her baptism -because there are lots of things we still need to teach her and prepare her for this. She wants to involve her family in on this too!!! So excited for her!!! Talk about a great first day for Elder S, coming in and getting a baptismal date with one of the most prepared people ever! She gave an amazing prayer afterwards, and things just feel good. We called President right after to tell him about it, and I was just so happy-still am! I was freaking out a bit, because this has never happened to me before! It is nothing at all that I have done, all of God's preparation and the Spirit bearing testimony, I'm just here to help in any way! I'm so excited for her to be baptized and to make that first step through the gate on the path back to our Heavenly Father!

Fre: We met our friend again and talked about authority and Restoration and testified of our living day prophet. We taught another friend about the Plan of Salvation. He's still searching for the truth and praying about the book of Mormon -reading beyond what we assign him to read. He's so close, I can feel it coming soon! Sports night was a lot of fun. We had a good game of volleyball going on. I really just enjoyed being in a good environment playing games.

Lör: Z sent a text that he couldn't see us today so we called him and found his health is not good. We offered to help clean his place -he was very grateful for that. Hopefully that opens him up to our message just like Ammon serving King Lamoni. We met D at the church and showed him some family history. He was very excited about that and knows his mother and aunt are very interested in it! (he didn't come to church because of previous arrangements, but is still moving along). We met with a potential -R- he's interested to talk about religion but said he wasn't going to be converted when we gave him a BoM, but then said "well you never know, God works in mysterious ways." Yes He does...:) I had the other Elders go into our apartment to make a cake because it was Elder S's birthday, and we wanted to surprise him and have him feel loved. When we got home and walked through the door -I was recording the whole thing- both elders jump out and scared him! Hahahaha it was so funny! He had absolutely no idea what was going on!:) He loved it!

Sön: We went to church and our friend was there! We taught her about how even though society changes, Gods laws never do. She is seriously still looking into our church (we believe she already has her answer that it is right) but doesn't want to be shunned or ridiculed by people close to her. We told her the church is a family. Even though we are all not directly related, we are family. We care for each other and look out for one another -help people feel included. I think that really helped her as well as some personal stories I shared with her. We met M later on in the day, he's still struggling and my heart just aches for him. We met with A for a little bit and gave him a Book of Mormon in Lithuanian. He really wants to know answers to soul searching questions. We then finished out the day contacting (one really cool guy) and visiting Sister K for the Sacrament. Doing numbers as a District Leader for the first time was very interesting. I've realized I have a lot of responsibility. My companion is still very new to the language and the mission life, I have new paperwork and phone calls, and I am watching over my district as well. I'm very grateful that I have this chance to learn and grow and especially rely more and more on the Savior for help and guidance.

This is what I thought about Prayer today. Think about these two situations: 1) You come home from school, and you just had the very best day ever! You were first pick on the sports team, you were first in line for lunch, everything was going your way. You come home and of course you want to express to everyone how great your day was! 2) You come home from school, and things just weren't going your way today. You were last pick in sports, your lunch fell on your clothes, not good. You come home and all you want is someone to listen to you and help you feel better. In each situation you can guarantee that your parents are waiting there for you to tell them about your day. They share with you your joy for the best day ever, they mourn and comfort you when you had the worst day ever. The same goes for our Heavenly Father. He waits for us to come home -through prayer- and tell him all about our day; he is so happy when you are happy, and he is sad when you are sad. He helps you feel better as you talk it out to Him. If people understood that relationship between God -our Father, and us -His children, prayer would come instinctively. He is waiting to bless you and help you feel better. Just open up that line back home through prayer, and He will always hear you.

Thanks everyone, I love you all and this work. It is amazing! Hope all is well and that you have a great week!

This is what we consumed the last 6 weeks

Love Elder Johnson

ps today is my half birthday:) September 24-march 24. it makes sense ha

Hallå allihoppa!

I deeply thank and appreciate you for the many prayers you have given to me and the mission through this trying time. I truly have been strengthened by you and things are getting better. With time, more understanding comes as well as acceptance. I think about a quote that goes along the lines of "Lord, give me the patience to deal with the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to tell the difference." This quote has helped me a lot throughout my mission. This week has been quite wonderful, to say the least. Words don't give justice to the many amazing experiences and blessings that God has given to me.

Mån: Most of the day we spent walking around Eskilstuna trying to find museums and domkyrkans (cathedrals) to visit. Unfortunately they were all closed and or were not opened on mondays:( However, we took the time to look at the beauty along the way and capture the fun moments. Eskilstuna is one of the prettiest cities in Sweden during the summer time, and even now it looks amazing! We finished up our day with a practice teach with some members. They asked random questions they thought investigators would ask haha. It was nice, we had dinner and a good time.

Tis: We had the church watch and one of the branch's new converts came into the church and chatted with us. We renewed our bus cards and went out to go find this less active and ended up getting lost...for a little bit. Later we went out on exchanges with our home teaching companions. I went with the Stake President (now thats pressure.) We swungby 2 less actives who weren't home, so I was kind of nervous because i was leading the way tonight. A thought came to mind to go visit this other less active. So we drove out there, knocked on the door and chatted for a while. She wasn't too excited to see us but after President talked with her and connected with some interests she was eager to let us in!

We got talking and getting to know each other, her daughter is a olympic gymnast and will be competing in the next summer olympics!! Thats crazy! Her son and I connected with soccer and had a good chat about that. President pulls out his ipad and shows a mormon message and gave a little testimony about that. They liked it so much that we helped them download gospel library app on their ipads and pull up more mormon messages! It was amazing! At the beginning she was not wanting us to come in or anything, but as we continued and as the spirit worked came in, it opened her up to letting us in and connecting more! She said that we are welcome to come back!  Later that night my comp and I contacted someone in the similar fashion: first glance -not too interested, but as we continued, taught a little bit and bore testimony, the spirit was able to open up his heart and accept what we said and give us his number! The spirit was definitely in control this day!!

We seem to always be getting lost these days

Ons: We planned for a lesson in the morning, but ended up in the wrong place for our lesson, ha. Getting lost and confused has been happening a lot recently (that is a foreshadowing to future events). We met L and talked a lot about Agency. We really focused on right and wrong, happiness or misery: there is no middle ground. We taught that everything good comes from God. He is still unsure about the existance of a God and even an afterlife but we bore testimony to him that if he prayed about it he would receive his answer. 

We had our church watch and met up with a potential investigator -W.  We met him 4 weeks ago at the bus station -he actually talked to us first, but we left without getting his number or anything. Last week we saw him riding his bike and stopped him to get his number. Later that night, the other E-tuna elders came to our place for a sleepover-because torsdag we had zone conference and would head up together. We made some hamburgers and Elder B and I stayed up pretty late talking and having a bro sesh. We are very similar and it's pretty funny. He is excellent at quoting movies, so needless to say we get along great.

Tors: We left early in the morning for Västerhaninge for combined zone conference of Södertälje and Stockholm South zones. We had to go through Stockholm central and then go back down to Västerhaninge. As we were going in and out of STHLM, i was getting very nostalgic. I was back in my home! I loved being able to see all of my first area and point out things to the other elders. I miss it. 

The meeting started out with a memorial video of Elder Bailey. It was a bunch of pictures compiled together and I was in a lot of them, because we were in the mtc together. It made me cry a lot again; I had forgotten a lot of great times in the MTC with elder Bailey. However, through all of that, I think I really found peace. President Newell said something that really hit me. "Elder Bailey is fine. He just had a transfer. He is continuing the work with just as much vigor and enthusiasm as he had here, if not more. However, he cannot baptize there. He is counting on us to do that. What we do now, should be for the same cause that he died for. He needs us." That hit me. He is fine. We are not. We have bodies that are subject to disease and all sorts of things. He is fine. But he needs us -all of us. To baptize. That right there, has helped me comprehend what I need to do. That I need to keep going forward, go out and find, teach and baptize. We all need to do family history work to baptize. This has given me great peace to know all is well with my fellow brother, but also a sense of awakening and determination to go out and serve more fully.

Figuring out the I-phone and all the apps

Just before we left, the secretaries announced that we were all getting IPHONES!!! Everyone was ecstatic. It will make things easier: never get lost, access to mormon messages for lessons, visual aids right there, etc. . So that was a big shock! We have iphones, and it's really cool ha!

We got back into Strängnäs and met up with N. She loved everything we talked about and the daily scriptures we have been sending her. She still has some concerns but we promised her that if she continues to read and pray about the book of mormon, she would get an answer that she should be baptized!! SO please pray for her!

Interesting doorknob

Fre: We met up with an older investigator. He is very knowledgable about the bible and knows that it has flaws. He has a lot of questions but he is very positive with us. We had our weekly planning and then headed to sports night. It was only us 4 missionaries, plus two others but we made it fun. 

Lör: We received the transfer call.  So my Elder S will be going and I will be receiving a new Elder S. hahahaha so I am going back to back S's! What are the odds?:) He just finished his 12 week greeny program, so i will be greeny busting, is what it is called in the mission slang. It'll be cool. I'm excited. We had a busy day today as well. Met with J and W and had great lessons with them. 

We met up with Y, the most respectful, coolest guy I've ever met. He has the strongest belief in his religion. I could feel how much it meant to him. He obviously doesn't agree with some things that we believe in, but he didn't shoot them down. He analyzed them and tried to accept it and see why and how we believe this way. He is very open and just a great guy. We gave him a book of mormon, and he is planning on giving us the koran (pretty cool right). Super cool guy! We had planned other lessons in the day, but they were cancelled. That actually helped us get some breathing room and focus more on our lessons with these 3 than worry about being late to the next appointment. God was watching out for us on that.

Sön: It was Elder S's last sunday here, so he gave his testimony. We had 4 investigators show up to church!!! I did the translating from swedish to english for my first time -so that was scary and fun ha. I dont think I did so well, but I made it through ok.:) After sacrament, we elders split up to teach them. One of them actually knows one of our members and so that was cool for him to have a friend already in church!! Miracle! We had a branch council afterwards then went to take the sacrament to a ward member and I used the peacock feather for an object lesson -went really great, thanks mom!

We went down to Strängnäs to teach A , gave a book of mormon to S and he accepted the soft baptismal invitiation!!, met up with N for a short time for E. Smith to say goodbye, and then we went to B's. We had a very busy, just fantastic day! Everything went according to plans, and the spirit was so strong, and it was top 5 best days of the mission. I wish I could explain more, but I don't have too much time!!! SOOOOO AWESOME!!!

We ended up having 20 lessons this week! We had 4 investigators in church! We have really just seen the Lord's hand in this work this week, and he has shown us the fruit of our labors. We have worked really long and hard with little happening, but this week was a testimony to me that the Lord holds onto his promise that he will bless us if we are but faithful, diligent, and obedient to Him always. I'm so happy right now, and things are just going really good. I can't even describe how much we have been blessed this week, and see so much success! Many people are making the steps closer to Christ. I am so blessed and grateful for this amazing opportunity I have to be a missionary here in Sweden. It is amazing. I love this work and know it is true. I love this people and desire their happiness just as Enos, and the Sons of Mosiah for the Lamanites. I love you all, and I especially love my Savior who has been there every step of the way with me. And has carried me when times have been hard. He is always there. He lives. It is my prayer that you all always remember that He is there for you. He waits to bless you if you but ask. Have a fantastic week!

Love, Elder Johnson