Haninge Week 11 - November 26, 2018

My last email was only a few days ago, last Wednesday! Elder Burns and I have had a wonderful past few days and some unforgettable experiences. 

Thanksgiving was great! We were blessed to have two Thanksgiving feasts. The first was with a Canadian and his Swedish wife, they had invited us and another couple over (the wife is American). It was great to eat turkey and stuffing and cheesy beans together. We were invited to come over to the Vendelsö bishop's house the next day and enjoyed more Thanksgiving foods including sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Although there were few here in Stockholm celebrating this happy holiday, many of our friends expressed to us that Thanksgiving is a holiday Sweden should adopt. It is wonderful to have a day dedicated to being thankful. 

Our good friend Isabelle was baptized on Saturday! It was an amazing amazing experience. It seemed uncertain that the baptism would go through up until the last few hours, and I thank Heavenly Father that it was able to happen. As I witnessed the baptism, the thoughts going through my head centered around how pure Isabelle looked as she covenanted to keep the commandments and to take upon herself the name of Jesus Christ. I can't think of a more beautiful symbol than that of dressing in white and being immersed in water. No wonder this is the way that God has provided for us to begin our journey on the covenant path back to Him.  

I have recently been studying about the names of Jesus Christ. Numerous conference talks in the most recent General Conference focused on taking upon us His name, and I find it fascinating that Jesus Christ has so many different titles. Each title represents another role that He fills, and I think that each title reveals for us another aspect of us taking his name upon us. One of the names I have been pondering is Prince of Peace. I love this name of the Savior, and I think that it is a fitting title. I love the peace that I testify Jesus Christ can provide for us. I've felt it as I have had questions regarding my faith, day to day struggles in missionary life, and as I've studied from the scriptures. 

I love you all!

Äldste Francis

Haninge Week 10 - November 19, 2018

Hello! Preparation day on Wednesday! Elder Burns and I attended the temple today, so our p-day is today!

We had the most amazing zone conference last week on Wednesday. One of my favorite parts was when the assistants gave a presentation about how we can make our personal studies more meaningful. "PMG is the key!" and "don't just count the pages, make the pages count!" were specific messages that I needed to hear and have tried to apply since the conference. I wish that I could just give all of you my notes from zone conference, it was so uplifting! Unfortunately, the file somehow got deleted from off of my phone... I've been trying to remember everything I had written down over the past few days. Oh well. One other cool part of zone conference was that Elder Burns, the elders from Hägersten (Elders Lance and Fortuna), and I were in charge of the musical number! We performed, "Savior, Redeemer of my Soul." It worked out pretty well, I felt the Spirit and I hope that the other listeners did as well. 

Zone conference was held here in the Handen chapel, and right after we ended a man we didn't recognize walked in. Around 10 missionaries were in the foyer talking, and all of us somehow sensed that he wanted a tour. Elder Burns and I started showing him around with the Assistants and the Visby elders. It ended up being a really, really neat conversation where we were able to teach about prayer. It was powerful to be teaching with six elders, especially after such an uplifting zone conference. I think that a person being taught by six others would have normally felt overwhelmed, but it seemed like Heavenly Father had prompted this man to come to the church when he did so that he could have the unique experience that he did. We have his address and will be following up soon! After conference, I was able to go on splits with Elder Bills again! We had a great time going around Haninge and ministering to our syskon who live here. 

Haninge Week 9 - November 12, 2018

Hello!

We have had the most interesting weather this whole week, the sky always looks like it wants to rain but the clouds never quite open up! It has been fun to remember how this time of year feels in Sweden.

We have had some great experiences with the recent converts in Vendelsö and Handen! On Thursday, we were able to teach Eddy about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Elder Burns and I decided to use a Bible video for teaching each point of the Gospel: faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, enduring to the end. It was neat to discuss each point and then see a clip from Jesus' life where he taught or emulated it. When talking about repentance, we watched the video Go and Sin No More where Jesus is confronted with the woman accused of adultery. It was amazing to watch and to remember that the Savior is always willing to show compassion. He understands that we are imperfect yet also that we can improve and become more like him! I encourage you to watch the clip.

Haninge Week 8 - November 5, 2018

Beautiful week! We went running and found a cool trail through a forest close to our house. The municipality we live in, Haninge, is quite close to central Stockholm yet there are forest and nature reserves everywhere. This area was used by the Swedish military for practice exercises, thus much of the forest was left untouched and is still here in Haninge today. 

We had our one District Council of the transfer where all three areas come together in person! It is so fun to be with the district. A large part of our council this week was learning more about the #ettLjusförvärlden (#LightTheWorld) initiative from the Church which begins in December. It will be so exciting to participate in and especially helpful in missionary work, there are some really great resources coming out for us to use. After the council, I was on splits with Elder Shwitters! He is from California/Idaho. This is his last transfer here in Sweden. (That is so strange because that means that a previous companion of mine, Elder Petersen, is also leaving in a few short weeks). It was fun to talk to Elder Shwitters and to do missionary work together.