Boden Week 11 - November 13, 2017

Hello Family and Friends!

On Friday, Elder Harris and I had 2 lessons that ended up not working out. Our backup plan was contacting. We were both feeling like not contacting. Its hard sometimes!! So we said a prayer that we could receive strength and comfort.

During the contacting stund, we saw one of our investigators, the mother in the Mongolian family we teach! She was so happy to see us and it was comforting for us to see someone who was happy to see the missionaries! She needed a phone to call her husband so it worked out very nicely that we ran into each other. I know that Heavenly Father puts the right people in our path and that he can give us the strength we need.

And now for the paragraph of things I want to tell you but I don't have time to write a paragraph about them all... We met with Gonzolo again this week! Super friendly guy and a really fun dad. We had dinner at Fern's house! The power went out but we got figured out! We missed the bus to Distrikt Meeting and the car wouldn't start for the systers! But we had distrikt meeting eventually. We saw the Northern LIghts SO GOOD this week! They were huge and covered the sky. Sorry we don't have pics for you :(  They were so pretty :)

Boden Week 10 - November 6, 2017

Hello Again Everyone!!

Well, another fantastic week here in Sweden has gone by! Every week has bright shiney moments and every week has less shiney moments... But Elder Harris and I are doing great overall and we are both learning and growing so much! My comfort zone is stretching and my Swedish is progressing and the Gospel has been true the whole time! I am so grateful to be a missionary at this time in my life!

Tuesday was the only full day that Elder Harris and I had in our area! We had a lesson with a man named Gunsalo in the evening. He and his wife have two little daughters, and Gunsalo is such a great dad! When we walked in to the apartment with him, his two daughters were hiding. When he found them, they said, 'Boo!' and gave him a big hug! They were dressed in their halloween masks and seemed so happy to see their dad coming home from work! The lesson with Gunsalo went really well and Elder Harris and I look forward to teaching him and his wife again!

Apartment checks! The apartment couple, Elder and Syster Anderson, came up from Stockholm and checked our apartment on Wednesday! We passed! We just have to defrost the freezer and clean the ceiling in one of the bathrooms. It was so cool to have other missionaries come to Boden to see us, a little reminder that there are people who care! I am so grateful for the senior couples in the mission! The Andersons are so nice and it reminded me of my Grandma and Grandpa Hunsaker who were the apartment couple on one of their missions! 

Boden Week 9 - October 30, 2017

Tack och hej Oktober and hejsan November!!

The first snow in Boden! It was great! We had Daylight Savings time this week, so now the sun goes down around 4! I am grateful to have Elder Harris as my companion, a continually happy, consistantly Christlike man!

While tracting, and older man let Elder Harris and I in! He seemed to know a lot about history, so Elder Harris asked him if he knew anything about the history of the Americas around the year 0. He admitted that he didn't, so we told him about the Book of Mormon! Olaf (that's his name) seemed interested said that we could come back this week.

Boden Week 8 - October 23, 2017

Hello!

Great week here in Sweden!!

Elder Harris and I had an 'English fast' this week! It was crazy! We tried to speak Swedish the whole time, inside and outside of the apartment (because we always try to speak only Swedish outside). Anyway, it was pretty tough sometimes and a few English sentences slipped out but I definitely improved with the language!!

Boden Week 7 - October 16, 2017

Francis och Harris

Hello Everyone,

The first transfer is over! Our district had one change, Syster Nelson moved to Västra Frölunda and was replaced by Syster Kunzler! Syster Kunzler is companions with Syster Ohler who is also from Centerville and they were best friends in junior high! Now, everyone in our district is from basically Salt Lake except for Äldste Harris! 

Tuesday was very rainy! Äldste Harris and I biked to the home of a nice old lady named Barbara and raked her leaves! Then her neighbor Harry came over and we had fika (Swedish tea time) together. It ended up that Harry invited us over to his house. He lives alone and he seemed quite pleased to have guests over. He showed us all of the cool paintings on his walls, a grandfather clock that has been in his family since 1780, a whole bookshelf he has with books about dogs, his stuffed eagle, and a family pedigree chart! When Äldste Harris and I saw the family history chart we just about exploded! We told Harry about how our church does lots of work for family history! He said to come by again sometime. Such a nice old man! 

Boden Week 6 - October 9, 2017

Hey Again!

I had splits again this week! Elder Harris and I traveled down to Skellefteå and stayed with Elder Barker and Elder Callor. I spent the whole day with Elder Callor which was awesome because we are both Greenies! We were able to say what we needed to say and go where we needed to go! It was so cool to see that I have progressed with Swedish! It was also so cool to be companions with Elder Callor, someone I have know for 4 years now! Who would have thought that we would be sharing the Gospel together in Northern Sweden someday?

It was the last district meeting of this transfer! The biggest change is that Syster Nelson, my mission 'mom,' is being transferred! So there will be a new syster missionary in Luleå. I will stay in Boden with Elder Harris, as we expected. It feels great to be at the beginning of another transfer! The last 6 weeks went by so quickly!

I love Boden! I always think of Baden when I see the Boden sign and I think of Autumn when I see the tree leaves! Right now it isn't raining too hard but there are always lots of rain clouds! We did get to see the sky yesterday, though, for a little bit! 

Boden Week 5 - October 2, 2017

Hello Hello!

Another week has flown by!

Conference! What a great opportunity to hear the inspired words of our church leaders! I have watched all but the Sunday evening session so far. What wonderful words to ponder and to apply. Elder Harris and I went to President Hugo Nässlund's home to watch the Saturday morning session. We got to have dinner with him and his family beforehand. It is so cool to see such a strong Swedish family! President Nässlund served his mission in Salt Lake City and he shared so many cool stories with us! I have gained a great respect for the president of this tiny branch of the Church in Luleå, Sweden.

One of the most amazing parts of the week... Elder Harris and I were just tracting along, and all of a sudden we came to the home of a lady who had been a foreign exchange student in Las Vegas! And had stayed with an LDS family! She was so excited to talk to us! The host family she stayed with has 3 grandchildren who are on missions right now! We were invited to come back and visit her, so Elder Harris and I will follow up with that this week! It was such a blessing to remember that we are truly directed with where to go.  

Another great story! Elder Harris and I were walking into stan (the city center) when we saw a man carrying a stationary bike on his back! We offered to help him carry it home and he gratefully accepted our offer. We were able to sit with him for a few minutes after being let in to his apartment and we will begin teaching him and his girlfriend this week! 

Also this week! Elder Harris and I visited a less active member named Brother Jensen. It turns out that he is from Cody, Wyoming and I have been to the same chapel in Cody and the Boy Scout camp nearby that he remembers going to as a young man! I know that there is no coincidence in me meeting him! We had a great conversation and lesson with him and my testimony was again strengthened that Jesus Christ directs this work and that Elder Harris and I are lead to those whom we specifically must teach.

Splits was on Wednesday! I had the awesome experience of being companions with Elder Harden for a day! Elder Hardin is the Zone Leader in Umeå with Elder Moulton. I learn so much every time I go out with another missionary. 

On Thursday, there was district meeting again! It is always so nice to discuss with other missionaries. Later Thursday evening, Elder Harris and I helped an older lady in the branch named Elin move to Harrads, a tiny town 40 minutes north of Boden. The Luleå systers and a few other branch members helped, too! It was great except for one thing... I lost my name tag. So somewhere between Boden and Harads there is a little black badge with my name on it! Hopefully someone will find it and start investigating the church!

Elder Harris and I taught Petrus again this week! He had some great questions as usual and still isn't sure if he can believe in God. We also taught some of our other investigators: Fabian, Jacinta, and Albert. The number one invitaton that Elder Harris and I extend to people is to read the scriptures and to pray. My testimony of these two simple yet crucial acts has strengthened as we have continually invited everyone we meet to read Mormons Bok and to pray to know of its truthfulness. I know that reading and praying aren't just for those interested in the church, reading and praying are for missionaries and members as well. As I have continually read and prayed about the Book of Mormon, I have gained a stronger testimony that it is the word of God! I hope and pray that those whom Elder Harris and I have the privilege of teaching will choose to gain that testimony of the book for themselves and change their life because of it!

I love you all and I am so grateful to be one of the Lord's missionaries!

Äldste Francis