President Youngberg letter - June 5, 2019

 June 5, 2019

Dear Brother and Sister Francis,

Sister Youngberg and I consider it a great blessing to have associated with your son, Elder Samuel Joseph Francis, as we have worked shoulder to shoulder in inviting the people of Sweden to come unto Christ. His work and service in this great land will conclude on       July 4, 2019.

Elder Francis’ mission has been a success as he has worked valiantly in hastening the “Second Harvest” by helping others live the ‘Doctrine of Christ’ here in Sweden. He has seen the reality of prophetic vision fulfilled.  He has served faithfully in his assignments with great diligence and obedience. I think of your son with great respect, admiration and love.  You can be proud of him, his achievements, and his growth while serving in the Sweden Stockholm Mission.

A missionary is released after an interview with his stake president. We have found it helpful if you schedule this appointment so it takes place shortly after your missionary returns home. At the conclusion of the interview, the stake president will present a “Certificate of Release” to your son. Please inform your bishop of your son’s return date so an invitation to speak in sacrament meeting can be arranged.

Thank you for your faith and prayers on behalf of your son and the work of the Lord here in Sweden. We appreciate everything you have done, and we know you will recognize the blessings of increased spirituality, maturity, and personal development in your son.


Sincerely,

Michael J. Youngberg, President
SWEDEN STOCKHOLM MISSION

Växjö Week 20 - June 3, 2019

Hallåååååå! Happy June!

One of our companionship goals this transfer has been to "pray to find people who have recently began believing in God." It has been humbling to see the experiences Elder Olson and I had this week because of that! On the way home from family home evening last Monday, we stopped to take pictures of a huge double rainbow. After taking the pictures, we stopped to talk with two ladies who were also looking at the rainbow. It was one of the best conversations we had all week! One of the ladies has recently started believing in God (!), and she and her friend were both excited to accept copies of the Book of Mormon! On Tuesday, we were waiting at a bus stop and a lady walked up to wait at the same stop. We started talking to her and found out that she also recently started believing in God! We had another fantastic conversation with her. I know that the Lord is answering our prayers!  

After district council in Malmö this week, I was on exchanges with Elder Burns!! It is always memorable to be together. During the splits, we were able to teach a person named Chris. I met Chris last week when Elder Olson conducted his baptismal interview. The lesson we had with Chris was the last one before his baptism last Saturday! Elder Burns and I mostly went through details with him about how the baptismal service would play out. We read in 3 Nephi 11 towards the end, and I testified to him that I had felt the Holy Spirit as we read. Chris asked me how it felt when I felt the Spirit. I described the feeling I had as a calm assurance that the person who had written the words we read had written the truth. The member that was with us on the lesson then asked Chris how he felt when he felt the Holy Ghost. He said, "det är så här att allt rädslor försvinner och allt blir tyst i sinnet." I was shocked with Chris' description of the Holy Ghost! I have pondered it over the past few days and love how true his description is.

This is of a white copy of Mormons bok. Elder Callor and I talked with a man a few weeks ago who said he had one but couldn't find it. When Elder Olson and I returned this week he showed it to us! 

We went by Love (LOW-vey) again this week. We got to his house right as his mom pulled up in the driveway. She was just as friendly as Love and as Love's dad, and it turns out that she visited the Church's old chapel here in Växjö when she was studying religion in college! We will go by again this coming week.

Växjö Week 19 - May 27, 2019

Fantastic week. This is going to be long, jag ber om ursäkt.

Elder Childs packed up his bags and was off on Wednesday. 😢😢 I waited with him at the train station for his tåg to arrive and we said our last goodbyes as it pulled in. These two transfers with him were truly the fastest 12 weeks of my life!! I loved them. 

When the train pulled in, I helped my no-longer greenie lug his huge bags up to the door of the passenger car and then helped to situate them in the isle near his seat. As I was walking back to the door to get off of the train, guess what happened?!?!? The train started moving! It couldn't have been stopped for more than 60 seconds! I was in panic mode. I didn't have a ticket for this train, and the fine for riding without a ticket is way too high! I was quite nervous for a few minutes, but luckily the train stopped in a town after ten minutes and I was able to hop off before tickets were checked. It ended up that Elder Olson had to switch trains in the town where I had gotten off, so I was able to meet up with him there and ride back to Växjö. Close one!

Not having Elder Childs at my side was strange! But Elder Olson is awesome! He is most from San Antonio,Texas and has served in Boden and Jakobsberg as I have! After taking his bags to our apartment, we got to the church and had a fabulous lesson with Mats. President and Sister Stokes skyped in and they were a huge asset to the teaching. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love Mats!!! He is super honest and it makes it easier for us to teach to his needs. Thank you for praying for him. After the lesson with Mats was another great teaching appointment with Ilir. We had invited our friend Diego to follow along in the lesson, but because he was unsure if he could make it we also invited a member named Thomas. Diego was able to come in the end, so Ilir's lesson had many guests. Ilir is also doing well, he loves feeling the Holy Spirit and learning more about the Restoration of Christ's Gospel. 

Växjö Week 18 - May 20, 2019

What a week!

During a lesson at the church on Wednesday, a man walked into the Church who we didn't recognize. The lesson was soon over and we got the chance to talk with him. It was so cool! He was taught by missionaries here in Växjö about two years ago and said that he wanted to start leaning about the church once again. We sat down and had a lesson with him right there and he mentioned that he felt the Holy Spirit really strongly last time the missionaries had taught him about Joseph Smith and the Restoration. He said that he felt the same Spirit as we talked about it again. We got to teach him again on Saturday and then he came to church on Sunday! So cool! 

I wrote a few weeks ago about a mother and her two children who Elder Childs and I met on the bus weeks ago. We taught them one time in their home but hadn't had great contact since. We saw them on the bus again, then invited them to church. And they came! The kids' names are Mateo and Angela and they are hilarious. Our branch has one primary student and one sunbeam, so Mateo and Angela doubled the numbers. Unfortunately, we didn't actually have primary yesterday because we watched a broadcast of a branch in the stake becoming a ward. Hopefully Mateo, Angela, and their mom come again next week! Please pray for that :)

Transfer calls!!!! Elder Childs is moving on. He is done being trained! I am done being a trainer! Elder Childs will be headed to Halmstad, about an hour and a half west of here. His new companion is Elder Cummings from my MTC group. My new companion is Elder Jake Olson! He has been in the blessed land of Jakobsberg this past transfer and was trained in Boden like I was. So we will have three of the same areas! He will take my place as district leader and will be my final companion.

One of the most spiritual experiences of this week for me was at a lesson on Friday morning. The day before, two girls from a local junior high had called Elder Childs and I and asked if they could meet with us to ask us questions about our church for a school project. We accepted their invitation and invited a member named Marvin to come as well. We met in our church and had a really great time responding to their inquiries. We shared a video of the Rome, Italy temple at the end of our conversation and both of the girls were shocked at how beautiful it was. One of the girls seemed especially intrigued by everything we talked about. She said that she believed in God but was unsure of anything else regarding her faith. Marvin did a perfect job of talking about how he found himself in her same situation 10 years ago before joining the church. His testimony of prayer, the Book of Mormon, and prophets was really powerful. I know that God gave us that opportunity to teach those young women about this true message, and I really really hope they remember how they felt as we talked. We have contact with them via text so hopefully we can continue teaching them!

Ha det bra!

Äldste Francis

Växjö Week 17 - May 13, 2019

Växjö week 17! Wow.

Well, it was another awesome week!

Elder Callor and I were on what we believe was our seventh splits together. I love Elder Callor!! We had a great day of missionary work. We had a lot of fun conversations with each other and others. One cool thing that happened was that we were knocking doors next to the coolest stream and forest ever. One man that lived on the banks of the stream was not interested at all at first. We kept finding new ways to bring up the Gospel while we talked to him and by the end he promised that he would read the copy of Mormons bok that he had inside. He claimed to have a copy with a white cover instead of the classic deep blue. 

Mats is awesome. We gave him a "triple combination" (a book that includes the Book of Mormon as well as the Doctrine and Covenants and the Peal of Great Price) and at church yesterday he showed me the "small amount" he has read in his new copy of the scriptures. He's at 1 Nephi 19!! I think that's like 10 chapters since last Sunday. This man inspires me. He even made his own bookmark out of a fancy red ribbon! Mats brings his own little cushion to put on his chair at church each Sunday. We had the idea of just having him leave the cushion at the church during the week so that he doesn't have to lug it to church with him each week. Brilliant!

A miracle happened with Björn. Elder Childs and I have been talking a lot over the past few weeks about how we can help him become friends with members. One obvious solution is to have members on the lessons we have with him, but as of last week the lessons we had with him were never planned in advance. We only ever taught him if we happened to be at his house when he had time. Our plan was to invite him to get a tour of the church so that we could invite a member to the tour and they could meet Björn. But guess what?? When we went by his house this week he said, "Wow, I am glad to see you! I was going to text and ask if I could get a tour of the church this week. Would it work for me to come on Thursday?" We were thrilled! So Björn got a tour of the church and met a member. It was a way good tour thanks to the member. Björn asked so many questions and seemed pleased with how things work here. He mentioned, "it seems like my church is very influenced by 'tidsanden' (the spirit of the time/age) but I love how this church places emphasis on following den Helige anden (the Holy Spirit). 

Another cool thing is  that Björn worked up in Umeå for a while doing something with Swedish records (the kind used in family history), so when we showed him our family history center he already knew a ton. One last miracle with the tour was that both the member who we were with and Björn grew up on the same street in the south of Växjö! They know a ton of the same people. The final part of the tour was an idea that Elder Childs and I had toghether. We decided to play a version of "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" while we all read the Swedish text to that song. It was powerful! We weren't sure what Björn thought about that at the time, but he texted us yesterday and asked for the link to the song! I know that the Spirit is real. I felt it as we listened to that hymn together during the tour and I am grateful that we place an emphasis on den Helige anden in the Lord's Restored Church. Thank you for praying for Björn. 

Yesterday, Elder Childs and I had some great time to find people to teach. We went to an area called Frövägen, and on the way to visit a person who we want to teach in the area Elder Childs said that he felt like we should talk to people in a specific building. As we climbed the stairs to the top floor, I had a neat thought about what it means to take upon ourselves the name of Christ. My thought was, "Christ has many different names, like the Prince of Peace and the Light of the World. Taking his name upon us can have new meanings with each new name." It was cool because of a poster that was behind the second door we knocked on. The man who answered wasn't interested, but the poster on the inside of his door listed "names of God and their meanings." He explained that the poster belonged to his wife and that we could come back later to talk to her about it. I don't think it was just by chance that I had the thought about Christ's names right before seeing that poster and talking to that man!  

Love you all!

Äldste Francis

Växjö Week 16 - May 6, 2019

Hello!

A great week!

We had zone conference! How is it so good every time?? My favorite parts were when we talked about language study, thriving vs. surviving, and ordinances of salvation. The zone leaders presented about how important it is to have a "language study plan". I had language study plans for maybe the first year of my mission but after that... nothing. So now I have one again! And the zone leaders were way right! It has helped a lot. Part of my study plan includes memorizing scriptures, and I already have two down! I feel really motivated to continue improving my Swedish, I am thankful for the zone leader's inspiration. 

Sister Youngberg talked about thriving vs. surviving. She shared many amazing and wonderful things, one of them came from 2 Nephi 5:27. The verse talks about how the Nephites "lived after the manner of happiness." Sister Youngberg referred to earlier verses in the chapter and talked about how happiness comes when we are "industrious." I think that is a wonderful principle, one that I have been applying since then. President's section in zone conference about ordinances was extremely enlightening and faith strengthening. He based a lot of what he said off of a talk Tad R. Callister gave at BYU. I'm not sure what it is called or anything but I will try to find it and include a linc sometime. Basically, each ordinance in the Gospel helps us to become more like our Father in Heaven! I loved realizing that.

We taught a man named Gunnar this week! We talked with him at the door a few days ago and then he let us in when we returned a few days later. He met with missionaries in 1949!! The two elders he met were Americans that had both served in the war. We told Gunnar about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, probably just like those elders did so many years ago. We left a copy of Mormons bok with him and will be returning soon. Gunnar showed us a Swedish Bible he has that was printed in 1845, see the awesome picture below. The ancient book has been in his family since it was purchased new. Please pray for Gunnar!

Mats read in the Book of Mormon on his own!!!! And he read a lot! He was asking me all about Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life at church yesterday. He thought it was so so strange that some of the people who had eaten the fruit left the tree. It was cool to discuss that with him. 

We ate dinner with Diego (one of our friends who we teach), his mother, and his mother's two friends. One of the friends is visiting from El Salvador, and while she is not a member of the Church herself, her son is. He served a mission in Utah, and she has two nephews that have also served missions. How cool! Diego just got a new phone and he took some rather high definition photos of Elder Childs and I. It was so fun to be there!

I love you all! Happy early Mother's Day! 

Äldste Francis

Sorry about the pictures again... Drive is still full. 

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!