Boden Week 4 - September 25, 2017

Hej san! 

Sweden is so beautiful right now! The leaves turn brighter and brighter every day. Today, the sun came out! It has been pretty rainy/cloudy the past few days so it was nice to see some blue sky!

Tuesday morning was one of the most effective contacting times that Elder Harris and I have had yet. We didn't get anyone'e number or anything like that, but we were let into a house! A nice lady named Monica from New York answered her door when we knocked. After talking on the doorstep for a few minutes, she asked if we wanted any coffee or tea (we had water instead). She also invited us inside out of the cold! We told her all about what what we do as missionaries. In the end, Monica said that she and her husband were pretty busy and active with their own church, but it was cool to talk to someone with American English and cool that someone let us in! When we were done visiting, she said that she had let us in because she thought it was so great to hear American English again, but I like to think that she felt the Spirit. I know that Elder Harris and I are directed to the people we need to talk to everyday and that even if people don't turn into investigators, we are still spreading the light of the Gospel.  

Boden Week 3 - September 18, 2017

Hello again! 

What a week. What a fast week! 

Surströmming! I ate it! It was at the annual branch Surströmming fest! Surströmming is fermented herring, a Swedish delicacy. I had heard from other people that it smells really bad, and it does! Elder Harris and I walked into the church and had a little moment of shock! Ward parties in America don't usually have a smell... The surströmming tasted like super salty fish. It wasn't terrible but I don't think I will add it to my missionary diet! The fest was really fun. Quite a few people brought nonmember friends and I got to know some of the members in the branch a lot better! 

Boden Week 2 - September 11, 2017

Elder Harris and I in front of a Boden sign!

Hello again! Another great week in Sweden.  

A little description of Boden...

Boden is a town in northern Sweden with a population of 18,000. Someone asked me if the streets are cobblestone: They aren't but one cool thing about the roads is that right hand turns are not allowed on a red light like in America. Boden has about 10ish members that come to church regularly. It apparently doesn't get as cold or windy as Luleå because it isn't as close to the sea, so that's nice!

Our District!

Some common activities that I do everyday as a missionary...

-Tracting! We have been tracting in the little area a little ways away from Boden. Every single house looks like it came out of some design magazine. The houses are really nice and well cared for and the people are, too! 

-Contacting! We go into Stan, the city center/shopping area, most every day and talk to people. I usually stop the people and say what I can in Swedish and then Elder Harris carries on the conversation. 

-Visiting less active Members! We have been trying to focus on less active members this week. One person we stopped by was Linda who is from Brazil. She has two cute little kids and her husband is Swedish. He is't a member but we were able to share a message with the whole family!

AHH! This is real! - September 4, 2017

Saying goodbye to my cousin, Elder Shane Peterson, who flies today to New Zealand.

Dear Family,

Well what a week it has been! On Monday morning, I said goodbye to the MTC at 3:30am in the morning!I learned so much there, and 6 weeks feels like such an instant now! We flew all day from SLC to JFK then straight to Stockholm! 

I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw this beautiful land from the tiny airplane window! There was fog in the air and all of the farms and fields and little winding roads looked so picturesque! The plane landed at 7 AM local time, 11 PM Provo time. 

Mission Home dorm room.

We went to a little chapel in the city and had a great Swedish breakfast with yogurt and muffins and fruit! The rest of the day was great, too! But the best part was when I could go to sleep! 

The next day was Tuesday, the day I got my trainer and my area! I am with Elder Grant Harris from Pullman, Washington. 

Saying goodbye to Elder Butler and his trainer.

After eating a great lunch and traveling to the Stockholm main train station, I said goodbye to all of my MTC buddies and headed off with Elder Harris.