Örebro Part I

"O be wise; what can I say more?" Jacob 6:12
 

This town will always have a special place in my heart!  I served in Örebro for almost 7 months, over a third of my mission. I only had two companions during that time, Sarah Gambles (for a little over 2 months) and Camille Hauglid (for four and a half months).  I love these two!

Syster Gambles!  Right before she left Örebro to head to Malmö (more about that in a bit)

There were a lot of fun moments in Örebro and I certainly met people who changed my life. Since I was there for so long, it is most definitely fitting that I split up Örebro over a couple of different blog entries.  

Örebro was one of those transfer calls were I immediately just felt it was right and where I was meant to be.  It was certainly an immediate feeling of confirmation.  Since I was there for so long, it seems like someone agreed that it was where I was needed at the most (it might have been where I needed most as well).

I first got to Örebro on the 12th of June, 2013.  At the time we had four sisters serving in the city.  I was to finish up Sister Gambles's training.  Sister Gambles is one of those really funny people you meet... we had a lot of silly times to say the least.  She taught me a lot about writing better journal entries (which is why the quality of my journals increased dramatically during my time here and I thankfully held on to that for most of the rest of my mission--now if I can just keep that up now... but I digress).

I discovered the solar system while I was there:

Look!  It's where we are! We're here! We're here!

Sadly... This was made after Pluto was demoted, so it was not included.  But you can walk down one of the main streets of the town you can find all eight of the "actual" planets (the last one is on Svampen):

The water tower that you can actually go to the top of and see the entire city.

A couple of moments from my time with Syster Gambles:

"We found Cherry!  That is all."

We played SOOOOOO much football together (that it justifies the use of 6 o's believe me.  We played every Wednesday and Saturday with the ward and our investigators).

Our district was the four sisters in Örebro as well as the 2 elders in Västerås.  We went back and forth between the two cities for district meetings and they came for a p-day at one point (we went hiking with the other sisters)

Elder Tietjen, Elder Packer, me and Sister Gambles at the top of Svampen

We found one of the live action role playing stores and the elders had to try some of the equipment.

We had the opportunity to work with some wonderful people during my time with Sister Gambles.  We first met Moses and Frezghi while we were together and I got to meet Cherry and Balan during our time together.  Let alone all of the other great people we had the opportunity to work with.  I honestly cannot begin to truly name all of the wonderful people I met.  


My companionship with Sister Gambles came to an abrupt end on August 21st.  We had thought that we were missed in the transfer calls the previous Saturday (none of the companionships in my district had received a call), but things changed suddenly at 4 pm on August 20th.  We received a call from President telling us that Sister Gambles would become companions with Sister Miller (one of the other sisters serving in Örebro) and be opening a new area in Malmö, while I would become companions with Sister Hauglid (who was then currently Sister Miller's companion) so that a pair of elders (Elder Muirbrook with an elder from the MTC) could be whitewashing in to take over the new area, starting the next day.  Change was in the air...

Change

What has happened in my life since my last birthday?

I've lived in 5 (and a half) different cities in two different countries (I've visited 3 other countries--though I'm not sure if Ireland really counts).

I've learned a new, beautiful language.

I've met thousands of new people.

I've created friendships.

I've faced serious rejection and disappointment.

I've found a whole new meaning of the word love.

I've found out that there exists things that can absolutely terrify me.

I've found that those things can't beat me in the end.

I've seen people's lives change.

I've seen my own life change.

I've grown (and yet I'm still forever under 5'3'' haha).

I've studied the scriptures extensively and learned much that I will forever cherish.

I've come ever so much closer to God and Jesus Christ.

I've devoted nearly 11 of those past 12 months to Them.



In short my life changed.  It changed in almost every single way possible.  I am a different person than I was a year ago, let alone two.  And, I'm happy.  I am most definitely happy.  I wouldn't have said that three years ago or even four.  I am so glad that I can say so now.

There's a lot to look forward to in the future.  I anticipate the highs and lows and the sudden right and left turns.  I cannot predict exactly what might happen.  But I look forward to all of it.

Life is worth it.

The home of the trolls...

Trollhättan was my second area in Sweden!  I was only there for a short 5 weeks, (and extremely fast 5 weeks, let me tell you!)  The city is located on the middle western side of the country, south of the big lake called Vänern (I actually had the chance to serve near both of the bigger lakes of Sweden--both are gorgeous)

I became companions with Syster Land (the first of my "daughters" and my first "trainee").  

I think the thing I remember most about this area was just how much time seemed to just keep flying by.  We went down to Gothenburg/Göteborg almost every monday (as well as when we went down for mission tour with Elder Richards).  It was during my time in Trollywood that Elder Ballard came to Sweden and we had a mission wide conference with him, President Teixeira, and Bishop Causse.  That was a very good set of conferences. 

A few pictures to round out this rather short entry:

 

Västerhaninge - My birthplace!

 In mission lingo, we call our first area our birth place and our trainer is our parent.  So I was born in Västerhaninge to the lovely Syster Spjut! (The beautiful one on the left).


 The others are Elder Knecht, Elder Ririe and Elder Norr. :)

I'll be writing more about this holiday later in this post :)

I served in Västerhaninge for a total of 8 weeks, the entire of which I was serving with Syster Spjut.  We had to cut down the normal 12 week training program to 8 weeks because a group of 17 sisters were arriving at the end of the 8 weeks and almost all of the sisters currently in the mission would have to train at the end of that time. More about that next entry.



But Västerhaninge has a very notable feature to it, it is also the home of the Swedish Temple! 

Västerhaninge is in the general Stockholm area (southern part of the greater Stockholm area).  It has one of the bigger wards in Sweden.  I had the opportunity to visit Stockholm fairly regularly on preparation days.  It's a beautiful city.  I never had the chance to serve in the general Stockholm area after Västerhaning, but I was grateful for every chance I got to visit the area (thank you zone conferences and Mission Leadership Council!).

I got to spend my first General Conference, Easter and Valborg (a svensk holiday celebrating the arrival of spring).  Valborg is celebrated by having a big bonfire:

Most of the missionaries that came to the Handen/Västerhaninge celebration (some had to leave before this picture was taken).  
Back row: Elder Sanders, Elder Schwab, Elder Ririe, Elder Farley, Elder Halley, Elder Whitworth, Elder Haddon, Elder Knecht, and Elder Day
Middle row: me, Syster Spjut, Elder Zaugg, Elder Norr, Elder Larson, Syster Blomqvist, Syster Lowe
Front: Elder Leirimaa

I panicked a little bit about the idea of training after only eight weeks in Sweden (I was certainly a lot less confident in my Swedish ability), but I knew that I was willing to do whatever the Lord had in store for me.   Which led me onto my next area, Trollhättan!

A quote I referred to quite a bit during my time in Västerhaninge: "Every happiness and every joy that has been worthy of the name has been the result of keeping the commandments of God and observing his advice and council." - President George Albert Smith.

Flashback to the MTC!

One thing I learned while on my mission is how relative time can feel.

"The days are weeks and the weeks are days"

Time passed quickly and slowly at the same time.  While in the field, life before the mission seemed like a dream and eventually even my time in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) seemed like another lifetime.

For those of you that don't know, all missionaries go to the MTC for a period of 2 to 9 weeks before they head to the place where they will be serving.  I was a part of the first 6 week group headed to Sweden (before us there was a 9 week study period).  At the MTC you basically learned about how to be a missionary and you start learning your mission language.

I was part of a group that was nicknamed Legion... because we had 32 missionaries headed to Sweden!  It might very well be the largest group ever headed to Sweden at the same time!

Back Row:  Elder Beus, Elder Olson, Elder Higham, Elder Keele, Elder Farley, Elder Schwabedissen, Elder Gentillon, Elder Magum,  Elder Judd, Elder Richards, Elder Stafford and Elder Forsyth
Middle Row: Elder Bilodeau, Syster Lowe, Syster Sjoblom, Me, Syster Faux, Syster Swenson, Syster KKalt, Syster Larson, Elder Ogaard, and Elder Hills
Front Row: Elder Gray, Elder Simas, Elder Miles, Elder Miller, Elder Simmons, Elder Hanson, Elder Cahill, Elder Johnson and Elder Zaugg

My MTC district:

The Back Four: Elder Miles, Elder Simas, Elder Stafford and Elder Ogaard
Front Row: Elder Cahill, Elder Zaugg, Elder Hanson, Syster Faux, and me :)

The MTC as a whole is all a blur.  We had the opportunity to listen to Elder Ballard speak (As you will see later, Elder Ballard was a main figure of my mission).  The MTC was hard, but very worthwhile.   I learned a considerable amount about myself and I knew that I wanted to do everything that the Lord required of me, no matter how hard that may seem at the time.

Visas came in three waves with our group.  12 missionaries left on time, 9 left a week later, and the others a day later.  I was part of the middle group.  I arrived in Sweden late on 12 March 2014!

New layout and mission stories!

A little heads up on what to expect from this blog in the future.

I will making a series of my favorite mission stories as well as talk briefly about the different areas that I served in while on my mission.  Pictures and everything fun will be headed your way!

Expect an update every Friday!


My new background is derived from this picture of Jönköping my first Monday (1 July 2014) in town.

Elder Bailey - March 10, 2014

To quote President and Sister Newell: One of our own has fallen. As a lot of you may have heard by now, Elder Mason Bailey was killed last night in a pedestrian/car accident. Elder Bailey was and will forever be a wonderful person, who knows how to get someone to laugh, who is always a hard worker and just all around good person.

I had the chance to serve in the same district as Elder Bailey while I was in Örebro and I just remember always liking him and what he stood for. He is just continuing his mission in a completely different, but eternal fashion. He'll be just as great of a missionary on the other side as he was here. But if you could keep his family especially in your prayers at this time, that would be greatly appreciated. I know that they should receive all of the comfort that they should get at this time.

First of all, thank you for all of your kind words and thoughts for us. It's been a bit of a rough week, but life continues onward and I know that everything will work out for the best. I'm just working hard to keep going and do everything that I have left to do. D&C 78:18 "And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours," helped me a lot this past week. I know that things will work out in the end. It's like the Mormon Message by Elder Holland about "Good Things to Come". Here's a link for everyone to be able to find it quickly: http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=911029449001

As a side note, no, I was not able to attend the memorial service that they had for Elder Bailey (it was just too difficult to get all missionaries there, so they had all of the missionaries from the Stockholm and Stockholm North zones, all of his former companions and his MTC group there). I know that he has made an impact on the mission. They forwarded everyone a little bit about Elder Bailey and what had happened to him and I'll include a portion of it:

"Elder Bailey...was serving in the Västerås Sweden Branch of the Stockholm Sweden Stake at the time of his death. Following church meetings in the Västerås Branch on Sunday, 2 March 2014, he had performed the baptism of a new convert to the Church. The new church member had been found and taught by him, and his companions. A few hours later he died instantly when he and his companion, Elder Max Barnes, were crossing a street in a marked crosswalk, and Elder Bailey was struck by a speeding vehicle....

"Elder Bailey is highly respected for his discipline, faith, knowledge of the gospel, work ethic, quick friendship with others, and infectious happy disposition. He is loved in Sweden by companions, fellow missionaries, Church members and friends of the Church."

The last part is definitely true.

Mars is marching on - March 10, 2014

First of all, thank you for all of your kind words and thoughts for us.

As for my week, we've been in contact with a couple of investigators and even though they have been extremely busy this past week, they are still praying and reading and wanting to learn more. We also met with the wife of the family that came to church last week and the entire family is interested in learning more. We have to start with the basics, because they just have a base knowledge of God and Christ, but it will all be worth the time it takes to teach them.  I even got the picture book again, so that'll help. 

(I had the Gospel Picture book, a very well-made purchase from back in Västerhaninge, but it was misplaced last month, so I ordered another one, but I got it now and now we're all ready to teach! It's such a great help honestly.).

Another sister has been making significant progress. We've started working on family history with her and she loves it! It's just helping increase her desire to come back to church. It's fun to see how others can get so excited about family history. I've been working on ours a little bit, but I'll admit it's hard to find things when we're limited to just familysearch.org and other church sites as missionaries. But, I've notice how sometimes as we search for the names of missing parents, we can find the names of others that deserve just as much to be found and recorded.

I've already been in Malmö longer than I was in Västerhaninge (making it officially my second longest area even at 10 weeks haha) and it's just a little weird to think about. And since I've been getting multiple questions about it, my official end date is July 24th. And honestly that day will come extremely fast, just because time seems to go so quickly nowadays. Okay, I know it goes at the same pace as it has always done, but it certainly feels different while on a mission.

Pictures:

This is one of the more famous buildings her in Malmö.  It turns!  Like a turso!  And yeah... I just said that.

And one of me and proof that I am in fact in Malmö.

More additions to the random statues you can find in Sweden:

I love you all!

Allie

"One of our own has fallen." - March 3, 2014

To quote President and Sister Newell.

As a lot of you may have heard by now, Elder Mason Bailey was killed last night in a pedestrian/car accident. Elder Bailey was and will forever be a wonderful person, who knows how to get someone to laugh, who is always a hard worker and just all around good person. I had the chance to serve in the same district as Elder Bailey while I was in Örebro and I just remember always liking him and what he stood for. He is just continuing his mission in a completely different, but eternal fashion. He'll be just as great of a missionary on the other side as he was here. But if you could keep his family especially in your prayers at this time, that would be greatly appreciated. I know that they should receive all of the comfort that they should get at this time.

Last week was a little bit of a difficult week, but it was full of miracles along the way. The less actives that we have been working with have been showing some real progress. One sister was able to come to the fireside we had last Friday about family history work and she loved it! She wasn't able to come on Sunday though, because her husband was sick and she had to take care of the kids. Another member is starting to show a desire to come back and he is trying hard to read and pray, which is helping him a lot.

As for the others we work with, most of them have been busy or sick this past week, but we have confirmed appointments with them for this upcoming week, which is always good =)

As for a miracle that happened this week, we had handed a mormon.org card with the church address to a man at the bus stop, just really saying hi and inviting him to church. On Sunday, he brought his entire family with him and we are going to meet them this Saturday to explain how the church began. They are definitely really interested! We were definitely inspired to talk to that man, even if it was just for so brief of an instant.

For a funny story of the week: We had an interesting experience while contacting on Wednesday. We contacted this one woman who was smoking and asked her what she thought was the meaning of life. She said that we had asked the right person. She then starts explaining how she has dealt with a lot of difficult things in her life, when this other lady with her dog (waiting to pick up a pizza) comes over and asks if she heard right that we were talking about the meaning of life. We explained that we were and the first lady continues to explain how she has found the strength to continue living each day, even among years of abuse. The original lady had to leave (we were able to give her a mormon.org card before she left) and we kept talking to the woman with the dog. She was interested in learning more, but didn't want to give us her number--but she was really happy to talk to us.

And then she lets her dog off of his leash so she could show us a couple of his tricks. He was a little skittish because there were way too many interesting things/smells on the street. But he eventually cooperated and showed us his trick of jumping through a loop that she makes with her arms.

And then this guy on a bike with a trailer comes around the corner and the dog immediately starts running and barking. The biker starts pedaling faster and the dog follows him. Syster Vaarola and I start running after the dog to help catch him--we definitely felt that it would have been our fault if something had happened to the dog. So just imagine this guy on a bike, with a trailer, a crazy barking dog, two sister missionaries in skirts and backpacks sprinting after them, and an older lady speed walking down the street. Yep.

Thankfully after rounding the corner, the dog decided to come back and we were able to catch him. We just sprinted down the one block ha-ha. The owner was certainly grateful.

And in happy news, a member that we've been working with received her temple recommend yesterday! So now she can go and receive her endowment. She just has a new light in her life and she has been radiating happiness.

Pictures:

The ocean...you can kind of almost see Denmark in the distance.

A really pretty church in a town called Svedala.  There were plenty of birds!  Haha!

The bridge to Denmark.

Scripture for the day - D&C 101: 15-16, 35-38

"15 And all they who have given their lives for my name shall be crowned.

16 Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God.

35 And all they who suffer persecution for my name, and endure in faith, though they are called to lay down their lives for my sake yet shall they partake of all this glory.

36 Wherefore, fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full.

37 Therefore, care not for the body, neither the life of the body; but care for the soul, and for the life of the soul.

38 And seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life."

I felt that it was especially fitting in light of Elder Bailey.

I love you all!

Allie

Last week in February? Yes it is! - February 24, 2014

An update on the man who was going to get baptized, but disappeared.  We were able to get into contact with him. His sister had died unexpectedly (appendicitis actually, she was just unable to get to the hospital fast enough) and he had just found out right before the baptismal interview was supposed to happen.

He still wants to be baptized, but now he's in Paris. He wanted to meet with us before he left and we helped him find the address and times for several churches in Paris so he would be able to attend. The one thing that is good about all of this is that he will be able to hear everything in his native tongue.  Our thoughts and prayers are with him.

A couple of our other investigators are both still sick, so that makes things a little difficult to meet, but they are still progressing otherwise. One is starting to make connections about the essential role of prophets and the priesthood so that is definitely helping her understand. Another loves to learn more about the church and already has a testimony about the Book of Mormon; he is just starting to work though, so that makes it a little bit more difficult to meet with him. Everyone else is still makes steady progress which is just fantastic!

A picture of the picturesque town of Ystad. It's so cute! Totally what you expect when you think "Sweden".

And a picture of one of the ships you can find around town, a benefit of being a coastal city.

A picture of my latest big purchase, a truly Swedish backpack, a Fjällräven Kånken. It's really good quality, so it should easily last until after my mission as well. Looks nice, doesn't it? And nothing like what we have in the states. I like the color a lot.

A couple of other pictures. One of the skunk valentine I received from President and Syster Newell.... I didn't think that skunks would be a valentine choice, but I guess they are.

And proof that I am still the same person, a picture of some of the notes from a recent training meeting. Still doodle. A lot.

Scripture - Mosiah 27:35-36 " And they traveled throughout all the land of Zarahemla, and among all the people who were under the reign of king Mosiah, zealously striving to repair all the injuries which they had done to the church, confessing all their sins, and publishing all the things which they had seen, and explaining the prophecies and the scriptures to all who desired to hear them.

"And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer."

I liked these verses a lot because they display the true character of the sons of Mosiah and Alma the Younger. They were willing to do everything for restitution of the things they had done wrong.

I love you all!

Allie

Valentine's Day - February 17, 2014

I'll admit that this past week was a little on the rough side. We weren't able to get that many lessons and the man who was supposed to get baptized yesterday disappeared without any sort of notice or explanation. He didn't come to the appointment for his baptismal interview last Friday and we haven't heard from him since. I hope he is okay. BUT! The elders investigator was still baptized yesterday and that was a really good experience all the way around. The Spirit was definitely strong there.

Two of are other investigators were both able to come to church and they're feeling a little bit better (they had the flu) so if they keep recovering we can come visit them later this week and hopefully help them decide on a date to be baptized.

Other investigators are progressing. Three are all still reading the Book of Mormon and praying, they just haven't been able to meet with us because of school and work (their schedules have all been a little bit crazy these past couple of weeks).

Another is slowly progressing. He likes the Book of Mormon and when we showed him the Restoration Film he really liked it. He works a lot so it's a little bit difficult to meet with him, but we hope to help him keep progressing.

White Handbook - A funny thing that I've been thinking about is the whole don't have pets aspect (and how that is specifically mentioned). I don't know how anyone could really keep up with a pet while on their mission (maybe goldfish?), especially since I know how bad I can be with the plants in our apartment. I have to set in reminders in our phone to water the plants and they don't all die. I definitely understand why it wouldn't be a good idea to have a pet.

Love you all!

Allie

You know what... I realized I only have 4 transfers left. - February 10, 2014

Syster Vaarola is awesome! She's super cute and the ward loves the fact that she's Finnish =) I think she's going to be really good for Malmö!

A little about the people we're teaching:

One investigator is on track for his baptism this Sunday! He came to church and really seemed to enjoy it. We went through the interview questions and it seems like everything is in the clear. We plan on having his interview on Friday and then everything will be set.

We had family home evening with some investigators, and recent converts at the Bishop's home, and it went really well. None of them were able to come to church yesterday because they had the flu, but they seem to be doing well.

One investigator still wants to learn more. We're trying to help her understand the importance of the priesthood.

Two others both really like to read from the Book of Mormon. We're trying to help both of them recognize the Spirit working in their lives.

Another investigator is definitely progressing. She really likes the Book of Mormon and she has mentioned several times how she enjoys the spirit we bring into her home (of course we know that it is actually the Spirit). We taught her the plan of salvation last Friday and was definitely a spiritual experience.

A couple of scriptures from this week:

Proverbs 3: 5-6

"5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

Alma 31:5 "And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God." - Scripture Power! Ha-ha!

Mosiah 2:6 "And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple" -just thought it was good imagery of how we all need to have our own eyes to the temple. It is the ultimate goal of what we can do - prepare ourselves and prepare others and remain forever worthy of it.

Love you all! Sorry this was a little bit of a shorter letter this week!

Allie

February- the shortest month of the year - February 3, 2014

Transfers this week. Syster Eborn will be going up to Norrköping and I'll be receiving a Syster Vaarola as my new companion on Wednesday. Syster Vaarola is actually from Finland. She was companions with Syster Gambles before.

As for Malmö, Syster Gambles has actually served here before (when she left me in Örebro, she came down here) and Syster Faux and pretty much served in the same area (in a place called Lund, which is about 15 minutes away).

This past week I had the opportunity to go to the Copenhagen Temple to do baptisms with Michael and Angelica (two recent converts). So I've officially been to Denmark! It was an extremely good experience and frankly I just loved being at a temple again.

As for a random, small world moment. Guess who are the Temple President and Temple Matron of the Denmark temple? H. James Williams and Janet Christensen Williams, the parents of Chris Williams, who of course was my senior year seminary teacher. I got to talk to Syster Williams a bit. They're really nice! They started serving last November.

Maj-Elin officially received permission to be baptized! So that's extremely exciting news. We're hoping to help prepare her and Vanessa to be baptized on the same day. We'll be able to talk to them more fully later today.

Davide has had almost all of the lessons now and he's definitely very excited about his baptism. We're just trying to help him to be able to come to church. It's difficult because he doesn't have a bus card and it's a long walk to the church. We're trying to help him find a solution.

Rose and her family weren't able to meet with us yesterday, but we rescheduled for later this week.

Achmed is progressing and he's really doing well. He's continuing to pray about being baptized.

Arianna came to church and loved it! She really likes the Book of Mormon and we're planning to teach her about the Plan of Salvation later this week.

Scripture- Philippians 1:3 "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you". This scripture has been reverberating in my mind this past week. It's applied to many different people on my mission, for which I am incredibly grateful and well as for others back home, including all of you!

Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Allie

Sweden - January 27, 2014

It's been a busy week to say the least. We have had a lot of blessings this week, for which I am extremely grateful.

David decided on being baptized on the 16th, but he didn't come to church yesterday. It was understandable since he doesn't have a bus card and it's a 30 to 45 minute walk in the snow, but he said he would plans on coming next week. But it was a really good experience with him on the day that he decided to be baptized.

May-Elin and Vanessa both came to church again yesterday. We have family home evening planned with their family and the bishop's family tonight, so we think that would be good for everyone involved.

Alex has been gone out of the country visiting family, but his mom, Karen, was very glad when we came by and helped answered some questions about the scriptures. Definitely still positive!

Achmed is taking steps. Right now he's praying about whether or not he should be baptized. Even when he had a discouraging week, he's still praying and working at it.

Rose and her family are amazing. It's a bit of a complicated situation since she is the only one that speaks Swedish or English; her husband, sister-in-law, father, and children only speak French. We were in a bit of a crunch because we've been trying to find a French speaker in the ward to accompany us for half of last week. Everyone was either sick, out of town, or had to work. Then on Sunday, there was an American man visiting from Helsingborg and we thought that we should randomly ask if he spoke French and sure enough he had lived in France for several years and was quite fluent. He was able to come with us on the lesson and it was an extremely good experience all the way around. He was definitely inspired to come down to Malmö yesterday.

Bwen is progressing. We think activities such as sports night will make a big difference with him.

Arianna is making progress. She's definitely excited about learning more and we plan on teaching her about the Plan of Salvation next, which we're sure will make a huge impact.

Scripture - 2 Nephi 25:29- "And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out."

Love you all!

Allie

The year mark is approaching.... - January 20, 2014

It's been pretty cold as of late... lots of wind and a little bit of snow (it just snows constantly without it actually really sticking so that's good, I guess?). It's pretty windy down here since we're on the coast. I heard that they can have some big windstorms where they shut down all of the busses and trains, so we'll see if I get to experience any of those.

This week is my big year mark. As of Thursday, the 23rd, I will have officially been on my mission for a year. I have already been set apart as a missionary for over a year now.

It's been a busy week down here in Malmö! The first big news is with Rufeal who will be baptized on the 1st of February. It is kind of a funny story, because he first had contact with the missionaries about a month ago, where they just exchanged numbers and gave him a mormon.org card. He hadn't really seemed that interested. Then we finally got ahold of him last week and set up an appointment. He brought a friend with him to help translate (he's from Eritrea) just in case he needed it. We gave him a church tour. We then showed him the Restoration video and then he explains that he knows that it's all true, that he's read a lot about it and that he wants to be baptized. So we extended the invitation to be baptized... He really enjoyed church on Sunday, and we're going to do all that we can to help him feel ready for the 1st.

Maj Elin, Vanessa, Micheal (recent convert), and Angelica (recent convert) were all able to come to church for the first time in about month (they've been out of town) and it was wonderful to see them all there.

Achmed is still progressing (we plan on meeting him again today actually).

We've met again with Eva (less active) and she's definitely starting to like the Book of Mormon more with each visit. We think that will be the key in getting her to be able to come back to church.

We were able to reteach Innocent (recent convert) about the Plan of Salvation this week and it was definitely a very powerful lesson. I hoped it was able to help him as much as it helped me. There was certainly just a nice spirit there.

Otherwise we've been pretty much running around from one appointment to another...sometimes that is more literal than others.

In other news, Syster Hauglid was transferred out of Örebro last week (a mid transfer, transfer)... so all of those ties to Örebro are pretty much gone. I just hope everyone is doing okay there, since Syster Hauglid and I were there together for about 5 and a half months (including the bit before we became companions), so it's a bit of a change to have both of us out there in a relative short span.

A scripture that stood out to me this past week was 2 Nephi 5:27, "And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness." It was a simple phrase, but happiness is a way of life. It is just as much a decision as it is an emotion. I hope to do my best to live "after the manner of happiness".

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love,

Allie

Sweden - January 13, 2014

Howdy y'all!

Yes, Malmö has been a bit warmer (no snow, plenty of rain), but the last couple of days have been extremely windy. I do enjoy being able to see the ocean pretty much every day (sometimes we stay in the city...my area covers the main downtown area, so sometimes buildings are always in the way. I guess to clarify, my area is downtown Malmö and then the southern most outskirts of town in Skåne which continues to Trelleborg and Ystad). Because I am close enough, I might be able to visit the Copenhagen temple.

The ward is about 600 members, but only about 120 or so is active. So Malmö is technically the biggest ward in Sweden I believe. I wouldn't know for sure. My apartment here is about 3 times the size of my Trollhättan apartment and about twice the size of my Örebro apartment.

We've been pretty busy down here in Malmö trying to find new people to teach, getting into contact with the less actives that live in our area and teaching the investigators and recent converts we currently work with.

Two investigators came to church yesterday and they both seemed to have a really good time. Both want to come back again next week and they are looking forward to our next lesson with them. One is currently praying about the decision to be baptized and I think he will be someday. He definitely seems to be prepared (we still have to teach him pretty much everything, but he is most definitely very in tune with the Spirit, which is an extremely great strength that he has).

We've been having a several lessons with other investigators, trying to get them to the point where they are progressing. Some of our other progressing investigators have all been out of town because of the holidays (all coming back this week) so we haven't been able to meet with any of them.

Scripture - 1 Nephi 21:16 "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." We can't forget that we are never forgotten in our trials. It is interesting to note that the one man who is actually perfect is the only man that has an imperfect resurrected body so that it may serve as a reminder to the rest of us in our imperfect human states.

Another scripture D&C 108:7, "therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings," which to me sums up our purpose as missionaries (and members) rather well. We always need to realize the impact that we have on others.

Something that I noticed this past week especially is having inspired back up plans. We don't always realize how we plan things make a difference, but this past week I've noticed that whenever we had swing-bys as a back up, every time we found someone who wants to learn more and gave us their number so we could contact them. Syster Eborn is quite the example to me in regards to contacting. It is a great strength that she has, which I hope to build up. Syster Eborn and I have been having a lot of fun together; we are curious how long we will be able to remain as companions since she's been down in Malmö for almost five months now and the next transfer is at the end of January/beginning of February. But we'll see!

Love you all!


Allie