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. 

We took a train to the airport and then flew to Luleå. It was a little chilly when we landed! But it is so beautiful here! 

There are no mountains but everywhere there isn't a house there is a pine tree or a huge lake! It is so cool! We are in the Luleå area and our apartment is in Boden, about half an hour northwest of Luleå. So exciting!! 

I am in the same district as my good friend Elder Callor! We see each other each week at district meeting.  The systers are in Luleå and we are in Boden! We have a car and an iPhone! I have had the most wonderful week.

My first week of missionary life has been really great. I can't understand too much of what people say yet but I bear my testimony in Swedish when Elder Harris turns to me during street contacts or tracting. We have a few investigators who speak English as their first language, so I have helped to teach them! One of our investigators is Vincente from El Salvador! We met him in biblioteket (the library) and talked about the Restoration in English. So many things happened this week and I want to tell it all but it's impossible! So if you want to know more details you will have to read my journal someday!

We went shopping today for food! That was an experience! It is funny because random things are in English but everything else is in Svenska. Elder Harris put this thing that looked like a sausage in his shopping basket but it was actually jam! Isn't that so cool? You just buy a jam sausage and use it to refill your old jam jar at home! Sweden is super good at being conservative.

We have a car! And an iPhone! It's a little hard to get used to again! We actually share the car with the Systers, so they have it half of the week then we get to use it. 

I went to church in Sweden for the first time yesterday! I got to introduce myself to the branch and bear my testimony. Afterwards was a fest for a couple in the branch who were just married. The branch is really close. I met pretty much everyone that came, about 45 people. I think people like practicing their English. Most people are pretty fluent but they have great accents!! I do too... Everything I learned in Swedish at the MTC is pronounced wrong so I am working on that every day! 

Elder Harris is the best! We were definitely supposed to be companions! He has been here for a year and is just the best. He comes from a family with 8 kids and we are pretty similar in other ways, too! It has been so cool to be a 'greenie' and to start to learn all of the wonderful aspects of being a missionary!

I am so grateful for this time I have to serve the Lord! Something I have already discovered is how crucial member missionaries are in this work! An older lady named Else is one of the few members who actually lives in Boden and she is so helpful to us! She is always helping Elder Harris and I and driving people to church. I challenge everyone to find some way to help the missionaries this week! Send them a referral, cook them a meal, be the member they need in a lesson, anything. Jag vet at Mormons Bok är sann och att Jesu Kristi Evangelium återställts!! 

Love,

Äldste Francis