Växjö Week 15 - April 29, 2019

Hello!

Another wonderful week has come and gone!! 

The sun is shining brightly here in Växjö. I'm curious to see how warm it will be in the summer based on the temperature already!

We definitely saw a multitude of miracles this week... First, Björn! Elder Childs felt that we should go by his home on Wednesday. I was hesitant because we didn't have anything set up with Björn and I wasn't sure what we would do or say if he ended up answering the door. We chose to follow Elder Child's inspiration and swing by his house. I am so glad we did! He was home and happy to see us. He invited us in and we had another good lesson! Björn has deep faith in Jesus Christ. He has a wonderful family. He loves righteousness. I feel like God has blessed him abundantly and wants to bless him even more! Thank you for praying for Björn. Please keep praying! We invited him to attend sacrament meeting with us. He explained that he was busy but would "jättegärna" come another time. 

Mats is an ongoing miracle! He came to church again. He comes each week and greets each member before and after the meeting. During our lesson on Wednesday, we read the first two chapters of 1 Nephi together. Mats understood the story line really well and did a great job of summing up what was happening in a funny way. He said things like, "wow, Laman and Lemuel really thought their dad was coo-coo, didn't they?!" and "so basically they were super rich and they left it all." We want him to develop good personal scripture study habits

Another miracle man! Fredrich. Elder Childs and I were going to the home of a member who we hadn't met before to see if we could get contact with them. The member didn't answer, but we decided to do some finding work in her area. We knocked all of the doors on one side of her apartment building and then started walking away. But we turned back! It felt as if there was someone we needed to find. And there was! We met Fredrich, a super humble college student who we will be teaching again tomorrow. Hopefully the story will continue next week!

One of our focuses this week was trying to find younger people in Växjö who are prepared to receive the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We met a ton of youth! That prayer was answered! We talked to a ton who seemed really prepared. The conclusion that Elder Childs and I came to is that we need to pray this week not only to find the youth who are prepared but also that we will be inspired with a way to be able to find a way to teach them consistently... I am sure that the inspiration will come!

We played soccer at the weekly branch soccer game, and Vlad (one of our friends) came as usual. Afterwards, we headed to the church with member and Vlad came with us so that he could play the piano while the church was unlocked. He is an impressive pianist! At church yesterday, we found out that Vlad had ended up staying with Dallin (the member) for basically the rest of the day. They went to another sport activity at the university and then worked out together for two hours. Elder Childs and I were super happy, it is great when the people we teach become tight with the members!

Love you all!

Äldste Francis

I am out of room on Google and cannot attach photos! Plus I am out of time and I will have to figure it out next week! Sorry!

Växjö Week 14 - April 22, 2019

GLAD PÅSK! As you know, Sweden is awesome for many reasons. One of them is because people here basically celebrate Easter for four days! They have långfredag, Easter Eve, Easter, and "Påsk annan dag" (Second day of Easter, that's today). So lots of people here are still off of work and out of school. As our Sunday School teacher put it yesterday, "you should celebrate Easter for longer than just Easter Sunday - Christ didn't stop being a resurrected person, so why should we stop celebrating?" That's true! 

I was companions with Elder Burns for a day! We Working together again was way fun. Exchanges were on Thursday after our in-person district council, and the weather in Malmö was marvelous. Elder Burns and I had the funnest time contacting right next to a sparkling lake near central Malmö, it seemed like everyone was out enjoying the sun! We had many good conversations. Towards the end of our time contacting we walked past a man with headphones in. He looked back at us and we looked back at him then somehow made a mutual agreement to stop and talk. It turns out that he has a strong faith in Jesus Christ and was very curious to know our answers to some of his many questions regarding the Bible. It was great to teach him about the Great Apostasy and the Promised Restoration! I think the Malmö elders will be meeting him again soon. I learned a lot with Elder Burns, it's so cool serving with him again! 

For Family Home Evening on Monday, we made Easter cards with members in the branch and other friends of ours. They turned out really good, and they were a great resource for Elder Childs and I during the week. We wrote notes in the cards and placed a "#PåskenÄrKristus" card in each one before delivering them to returning members and other friends. It was a great project, and we saw a few miracles because of it! One member we dropped off a card to texted us later and thanked us. We've reached out to her many times in different ways but because of the cards we now have good communication with her over text! Progress!

Växjö Week 13 - April 15, 2019

Hejsan! 

Another wonderful week in the beautiful city of Växjö. Spring is here! Easter is right around the corner! One of my favorite Easter decorations here is a big bundle of sticks covered with colorful feathers. See the picture below! 

We were able to teach Björn! He's the man who we talked to last week at the door and he asked his wife if they wanted to find out that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. He let us come into his house on Tuesday and we had a good lesson focused on the Restoration. Björn has a beautiful family, I feel like they are so ready for the Restored Gospel! He had read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and also read some interesting statistics online about how members of the Church in America are more successful, happier, and live longer. Awesome! He seems sincere in his commitment to study the Book of Mormon and ask God if it is true. We are praying hard for him, I invite you to as well! 

A miracle happened! After teaching our friend Mats about the Priesthood with Branch President Stokes and his wife, Mats accepted our invitation to be baptized on June 1!! It was awesome! Mats came to church again yesterday and seemed to have a good experience. Please pray for him as well!

Transfers were this week, and Elder Childs and I are the only unchanged companionship in our  district. The new district is just as stellar as the old one. I love learning from the missionaries I get to serve around! 

Have a great week as we remember the Savior's final days in Jerusalem. I am so grateful for the Sacrifice he made for all of us and for His glorious Resurrection that gives us the assurance of living again. 

I love you!!

Äldste Francis

One of these is of Mats' phone background! We were so excited to see that he had changed it to a picture of Christ!! Also the tree thing with the colored feathers is the Easter decoration. I can't remember what it's called... 

Växjö Week 12 - April 8, 2019

Hello!

What a great week! I have even less time for this email, sorry! I saw miracles each day this week and we met amazing people who we hope are prepared to accept our message. One cool experience happened as we visited a man we had knocked into before. He had been busy during our past two teaching attempts but we were able to have a longer conversation with him this week. We were trying to teach as we talked and trying to be bold. One thing I asked was,"do you want to find out that the Book of Mormon, like the Bible, is the word of God?" He turned around and yelled down the hallway "Honey, do we want to know if the Book of Mormon is true like the Bible?" It was pretty funny, and after he talked a little to his wife he said it would be ok for us to come back and teach them! 

Transfer calls were this week, and luckily the weird dream I had about Elder Childs getting a new companion didn't come true! We'll stay here in Växjö for a few more weeks. There were changes in every other companionship in the district, though. I'll get to see Elder Burns again! He is headed to Malmö to be one of our zone leaders.

I know that the speakers at General Conference are inspired! I took some time over the past few weeks to consider and record questions that I have had and needed answers to. I paid close attention during the sessions of conference that I have watched, and I was humbled that every one of my questions was answered. 

Phrases from Sister Eubank's talk keep ringing through my head, and I can't stop thinking about when Brother Callister used the law of gravity to show just how strong the law of justice is and how wonderful the Atonement of Jesus Christ can be. I love conference, and I encourage you to study the messages from it so that your faith in Jesus Christ can deepen and your questions can be answered.

I love you all!

Äldste Francis

Växjö Week 11 - April 1, 2019

Hello! 

Another great week in Växjö. I don't have a time of time today so I will send extra photos! 

We had zone conference this week in Malmö. As usual, it was inspiring and quite helpful. I love the direction that the mission is heading right now. There is a huge emphasis on using time well by being creative, involving members in the work much more, and striving to use goals to help us accomplish more.

This week, we helped two people move! The first was a person we teach named Diego. It was a really great opportunity to serve him because we were able to meet his parents and a family friend. The Lord places prepared people in our path! Hopefully we can teach the family friend soon. She told us all about how she used to meet with the sister missionaries (in Växjö?!?) and about her two small daughters. Please pray for Diego, his parents, and this family friend! We also helped the brother of a member in Luleå move. The member in Luleå called us one evening and asked if we could help her brother, and I was surprised to hear that I had met him before! He lived in Stockholm when I was there and we had helped him with something there. He recently got a job here in Växjö so we were able to meet again! It's fun to have lived in Sweden long enough to have fun connections with people.

Otherwise, our week was full of teaching people (and having to stop teaching four people), trying to follow the Spirit and find the prepared in Växjö, making delicious meals with Elder Childs, visiting returning Church members, and studying the Gospel! Can it get much better than that? 

Happy April Fools day! We got here to the computers at the church and there wad a sign that said "out of order" on both of them. I had a mini heart attack but then remembered that it is the first of April. Very funny, Dallin! 

I love you all!

Äldste Francis