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| All the missionaries in Södertälje |
Hej hopp in Lingon skogen!
This week has been absolutely incredible even though it was really tough to leave all of the people that I had the opportunity to meet in Utby its exciting to see some of the new people that I will be getting to work with now.
We got together with Azi and Elaheh and Fehresta and Michael and had a Persian dinner with them before I left! They are absolutely fantastic people and are so good at living the gospel and sharing it with absolutely everyone that they can. I have seen the light that has spread because they are willing to learn and grow and understand more about their Heavenly Father´s plan for them and how they can grow closer to him. It was pretty sad to leave but I know that they will do a lot of good in that ward and in the area there.
I was also able to say goodby to brother Cammans who is the ward mission leader in Utby and it really has been an honor to work with him and to learn from him. He and his wife are such good examples to everyone and I hope that you know what kind of influence you can have on the people around you and even to the missionaries. Everytime that you LIVE the gospel it helps other people to know how they can do the same things in their lives and what everything means in the end. The gospel really is simple and they have shown me some of the most amazing ways to live the gospel and to help other people as much as they possibly can.
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| Before the Phone Call |
I came in to Södertälje on Wednesday to meet Elder Featherstone there!! He is a fantastic missionary and we knew each other from the MTC so it was a lot of fun to get back together and to set up our vision for this zone and for the area and the ward here in Södertälje. It was so cool to be here with him and we just started contacting and talking to as many people as we possibly could. When you open your mouth you really see the miracles and the people that God wanted you to see. I have seen that as you just do the things that the Lord wants you to do you are able to see the blessings and the results of that service. We spoke to quite a few people this week that were "not interested" but were curious enough to give us 5 minutes to explain just a little bit about the Book of Mormon and the restoration. That message has more power than anything else that I know of. We have really had some powerful experiences on the street from just testifying to people of what we know to be true. Every time it is a powerful witness to me of the truthfullness of the message that we are explaining to people.
There are some fantastic members here in Södertälje and investigators that they have been working with and that I was able to meet with this week. One of them is Amin who is a referral from a family in the ward and she is looking to be baptized on the 2nd of January so at the beginning of the new year and everything is looking really good for her. Elder Featherstone and I had an appointment with a man that investigated before but has not for a really long time whos name is Kent and we went over there and he has read the Book of Mormon probably more times than I have and knows that it is true so we will be liking toward the 9th of Januari for him to take the step of being baptized! Really cool lesson with him it really is amazing how much God has a hand in our lives and prepares us to take steps in our lives if we let him.
We have been really busy with getting things ready for the zone and the conference this week and with the ward as well. We had a ward Christmas party with a lot of traditions and investigators and less active members that ate a lot of food and sang a lot of swedish christmas songs. It was a lot of fun and I have had a couple of extra opportunities to meet the ward and I think that I am going to need them because we got a call on Friday...
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| After the Phone Call |
Something weird has happened with the transfer and elder Featherstone is being sent to Utby (the place I was just from) and I will be staying here and getting Edler Larson who is a district leader in the zone that will be coming to Södertälje. So the companionship of Israelsen and Featherstone was short lived but I am looking forward to getting to know elder Larson and the area with him.
I hope that you all know that I know that this church is true and that the things that we do in life can have an effect on us and on the rest of the people around us. If there are some of you thinking about going on a mission and aren't sure if you should serve I just want to say that you will never have a better experience in your life and you will never regret going and serving and you will find that, in the end, the biggest change that was made was in you :)
Have a fantastic week!!
Äldste Israelsen
1,2 before and after the phone call
3. all the missionaries in Södertälje
4. Persian dinner
5. Kirk!! (brother Cammans)
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