Week 70 Elder Jones! Stake Conference, Boras, Baptism and 3rd Nephi 19:9.

 Elder Jones!! 

Wow this week was absolutely full of miracles and exciting things I am just not really sure where to begin. So this week we have had the opportunity to be interviewed by some masters students doing a report and a project on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and we just came into contact with them on the street. This week we were able to have a couple of members in the stake with us that are preparing themselves to go on missions but are just some of the YSA join in on some of their questions. We also had another with just Äldste Brown and I and the interesting thing is that it doesnt matter in what context we testify of eternal truth the spirit always accompanies it. I love to be able to testify of the things that I know and the experiences that I have had to help other people. They also came to Stake Conference where we had about 1000 members there in a big conference center in the middle of Göteborg and they reorganized a stake presidency so they are really in the right place at the right time!

Picture outside of stake conference

I also had the opportunity to go on splits with Äldste Sahlin who is one of the assistants in the mission and is actually from Göteborg so it was super cool to have him with me and it felt good for him to be back in his city (but a different ward so he didnt run into anyone he knew haha). While we were on splits we went to a man who had referred himself to the church and who probably knew more about mormon culture and theology than I do. He has been studying it a lot and is actually almost done with the Book of Mormon so it will be really interesting to teach him. When it comes to anyone the only thing that we can teach them is how to feel the spirit and to know that something is true and to me it doesnt matter how much information someone has but they need the spirit to testify to them personally otherwise it doesnt mean anything.

We were also in the beautiful city of Borås to do some workovers with Äldste Stoeltzing there. It was super good and we got to do a lot of service and talk to some recently returned missionaries and see if we cant get that ward excited about missionary work through those two.

The weekend was pretty hectic we had President and Syster Beckstrand come down for the stake conference and President went and interviewed Lennart who is now cleared and ready for baptism on this Saturday!! We are super excited for him to take this step and be a part of everything that we have been talking about for so long. In 3rd Nephi 19:9 The people asked for the thing that the desired most and that was the gift of the Holy Ghost. We take it for granted so much what that gift means to us but it makes such an amazing difference in someones life and it always feels good to be able to help them on their way to recieving and keeping that gift. It will also be Äldste Browns last sunday that Lennart is confirmed so it will be an amazing experience for everyone... Stay tuned for pictures.

I just wanted to say that in seeing the reorganization of a stake presidency it is interesting to see these brethren who are called to these positions and imagining how inadequate they must feel to be standing in front of all of the members of the church in the surrounding area and knowing that it will be their responsibility to help and serve them. I  know that the Lord qualifies the people that he calls. We are never going to be perfect or even fit the call that we are called to but I do know that the Lord magnifies the things that we do and as long as we are willing and do everything that we can to fill the shoes that have been given us that he will take care of the rest that we just cant do or think that we cant do. That doesnt even just apply to church callings but what we do with our friends and family and how we can affect the people around us. Trust Him that He knows what He is doing and I promise that it will work out.
 I love this gospel and I am so grateful to be in Sweden to be able to share it with all of these people here. It means everything to me!!

Ha det Gött!!
Äldste Israelsen

P.S. Hope everyone took the Book of Mormon challenge to read it in three months!! I know that I have grown because of it and have learned so much!!

Week 69 Getting Cold and Dark in Sweden, Books of Mormon, Contacting with Luggage and Seize the Day!

Alingsås lights!!

Tjena!

Such a crazy/good week this week we had so much going on it was fantastic!! I swear every time I get down to write an email about the  week I think that the things we did at the beginning of the week were about a month ago but that I just wrote a letter yesterday about the last week.... weirdest feeling ever but that is ok. It is now officially getting cold and dark here in Sweden, the sun rises about the time that we start doing personal study which I think its harder to wake up when its  dark outside but Im ready for this winter. Bring it on :) Where should I start? We have been meeting with Minraj about every day and teaching him little by little the Plan of Salvation and the gospel of Jesus Christ and he just loves it. We were at the YSA center with him at an activity and a lesson and he just chimed in with this amazing answer about the Plan of Salvation and how it is the plan for everyone and even though it isnt always easy its always worth it. That was amazing to hear!! Its cool that the things he is learning are starting to become a part of his own personal testimony. He might not be able to see how far he has come yet but he will be soon and we are excited for his baptism coming up in a couple of weeks keep us in your prayers!

Jimone and Joyce!

We also met with Elaheh who is a new member in the church and she speaks mostly persian and some english but the lesson that we had was so cool. She had a couple of friends there, her friend and her friends husband and we were able to teach them for the first time. We had a translator on the phone who was just another friend of Elahehs because our translator couldnt do it last second. This guy on the phone said that he was atheist but he sould lvoe to translate for us...(most promising thing said ever ;)) But we taught the restoration and the Book of Mormon to them and they said that they felt so good about it and the peace and comfort that was there was pretty amazing. The man on the phone asked us after if there were any church buildings in his area because he wanted to know more so we got him in contact with the missionaries there in his city and the address to the church. You never know what is going to happen :)

I was also priveledged to go on splits in Alingsås with Äldste Roosendaal who is our district leader. He is doing great and we were just able to go hard with contacting people and teaching and finding new investigators for that area I loved it! Alingsås is beautiful and the people there are ready and willing to hear the message. We gave out like 5 Books or Mormon that day and got some new people for the elders to work with. One miracle was swinging by one of there old investigators and when we knocked on the door another guy living with him answered the door and the old investigator wasnt home but he wanted to hear our message so he let us in and we were able to teach him for the first time! That is always the best feeling to teach someone who is eager to listen and wants to know. I hope that they continue to work with him.

The miracle to end splits was that we were on our way to the YSA center in the middle of Göteborg (not my area) and im just carrying my suitcase with all my stuff and we stop this couple right outside and talk with them a little on the street. Turns out that they have heard about the mormons and always wanted to know more about them. We were able to just tell them right there on the street the message of the restoration and gave them a Book of Mormon and they wanted to know more and he lives in our area! Just on a visit in the middle of Göteborg so we got a new investigator there also contacting with luggage!!

The coolest part of the week had to be church. We had 5 investigators in church and all of them were friends of new members! They are the best at sharing the gospel with other people and getting them to come to church. It was super cool and we taught three of them right after with the help of the friend who translated a bit of it to persian and invited them to learn more and we should be teaching them tonight!! So excited about that. The work is going well here in Göteborg and I am loving it!!

Last thought, sorry this is so long but we have been reading a talk all week this week as a zone called "Today" from April 2008. this talk has made me think about a lot of things but I will just share a quote,
 I was profoundly grateful for the Redeemer of Easter morning, who grants us life, whose descent below all things makes possible our rising above all things—Tomorrow, if we but seize Today.
I know that is true and that if we take advantage of the atonement today then we dont have to be worried about tomorrow because we will be the people that we need to be for the challenges ahead :)

Love you all!! Ha en fantastisk bra vecka!!
Äldste Israelsen

Week 68 It has been amazing here in Zion! Mission Leadership Council, Potato Bar and We Can Always Be Better!

the district

Hej!!

Hope everyone has had a fantastic week!! It has been amazing here in Zion! This week we had an activity on Monday with the YSA in the city and let me tell you they are the best missionaries!! Having things to do and taking friends with you is all that you need to be an awesome missionary! But we had one of our investigators there whose name is Minraj. He is the one from Nepal and we have been teaching him for a week or so. But on Monday he committed to working towards the 31st of October to be baptized so we are super excited for him!! He is a really good guy with a lot of desire and he wants to change his life and part of that change starts in the YSA Center.

On Tuesday we had a 3 hour train to Stockholm for Mission Leadership Council or (the Jedi Council) for short ;) But they instructed us all on working with members and working with the Ward mission leader. It is so key to work with the ward not only for finding but in teaching and in having people come to church. If the ward isnt involved then nothing happens. So for all of you mission leaders, Be creative and excited!! The ward is affected so much by what you do and so is the missionary work in the ward just by one person. It really is an amazing thing. But it is always good to be with President Beckstrand and Syster Beckstrand. They are so good. And we had a potatoe bar and I literally havent had one of those in probably close to 2 years so needless to say I was pretty excited.

ice cream boats?

We spent a bit of time preparing for the training that we were going to have on Friday. But on Wednesday and Thursday we had quite a few people that needed to be taught as well so time was a very precious resourse this week!! So Emmanuel, one of our investigators, was told by someone to just go to the Swedish church and to stop meeting us so he did that... but we had ordered a triple combination for him earlier so when that came we were able to get in touch with him and give it to him and talk for a little bit. He said that he would read it but nothin else came out of that conversation. He read in the Doctrine and Covenants and said that he knows that its true and that it is our church that he wants to be in! So it has been a little up and down with that situation but hopefully he will be baptized in the next couple of weeks so we will see about that.

On Friday we had a training that went really well. We trained on a lot of things that we had seen happening in Göteborg that were good and  a lot of things that needed improvement. Like everything we can always improve even if they are doing a fantastic job in these areas. It is really cool to be able to see the growth in areas and in individual areas here in Utby. The biggest blessing of being a missionary is being able to see the miracles that come every day and the growth that you see in yourself and in the ward and in the people you serve. Its always a good feeling.

västra frölunda indians

On Sunday we had 3 people in church that we have been teaching or that we have met recently on the street. So cool to see them come. It was also the Primary Program which is always the best Sunday ever!! They were super good and It was fun to hear all of those songs in Swedish that I have sung in English my whole life... sometimes they dont translate so well but thats ok still super söt. We had a girl named Mai that was baptized this week in the other ward but wehave been able to see her throughout the whole process with the YSA and at the center. She has such an amazing story and it just goes to show how much power and influence the YSA people have on their friends and others that come into the church. Such a good week!! I hope that everyone is safe and is having a good time!! We are super excited for General Konferens and I cant wait to be able to hear from the prophet and the apostels and it is such a good opportunity to invite people to watch and to come and see. So for everyone that hasnt seen it, you should it will be an amazing experience.

love you!!

Äldste Israelsen
1 ice cream boats?
2 västra frölunda indians
3 the district

Week 67 One For the Books, Chinese Food, Fellowshipping and a Bad Cold

view right outside of the church

Hej Everyone!!

This week has been one for the books!! It is the beginning of the new transfer so we had all of the new members in the zone come in and everyone is excited and ready for another transfer! It will be elder Browns last transfer which is super weird for him and it doesnt feel real which is totally fine with me becasue that means he isnt trunky!! We are having a good time here and the elder that cut his hand got instructions for physical therapy and everything should heal fine and he should have 100% function in his hand which is pretty remarkable because he cut striahgt through that tendon so he is a lucky one!

We had a cool experience this week with one of our investigators. We just talked to this lady who is from China on the street and she was able to come to family home evening on monday. fellowshipping is a real thing and there was a YSA from a ward in Göteborg from China and they got along so well!! It was pretty perfect and she wants to come more and meet with us and be taught which is super cool and we are excited so we will see what happens with that this next week. We are really excited for everything that is going to happen.

Speaking of chinese things, we were priveledged to have lunch with Sister Falk and she made chinese food for us. it was so good!! brought me back to those memories in China a couple of years ago except for the fact that I got some sort of food poisoning there and I did not get that here!! so that was a good improvement :)

Distriktsmöte

We took Emmanuel to a members house this week to have lunch and, by the way, invite the missionaries to bring investigators to meals because it just makes everything go super smooth and they feel so much more comfortable. Then you also have the chance to share your testimonies with people that are also searching for something bigger in their lives. So go for it!! So worth it and it will make the missionaries lives much easier.

I got a little sick towards the end of the week but we were still able to teach some of these new investigators that were found last week and they even came to church!! We are seeing a lot of success with some of the less active members of the church and our investigators are coming more often. Its pretty awesome. The whole city of Göteborg is on fire with investigators and people that want to change their lives. its so cool to be here in Sweden and to see these people that have a desire to know more about why they are here and what their purpose is. The same thing is with members of the church, if you always search you will always find the answers we need! Keep reading in the Book of Mormon!! That cahllenge is almost up and I really hope that Umeå hasnt forgotten to do that.

Love you all have a fantastic week!!

Äldste Israelsen.
1. Distriktsmöte
2. view right outside of the church

Week 66, Tea Bag On Fire, Trollhättan and Miracles

The District

 Hej!!

Hope that everything is going really well for everyone it has been a good week here in Göteborg  and we have begun to see the area expand and see the growth start to happen. We have transfers coming up this week and I will be staying here in Utby for Elder Browns last transfer!! I am actually really excited that I can stay and work here because I feel like you get to a point after the first transfer that it begins to feel like home or you start to really understand what is going on and who is who and it feels really good to be here.

This last week was just super busy with everything that happened. First off, Emmanuel is doing really well!! He has been meeting with us and quit everything that has to do with the word of wisdom and he is progressing super well. Thteis week in church he couldnt believe that we would have meetings that we could discuss and talk about ideas that we have and get others input and teach by listening and by discussion he absolutely loved that. Our ward is also starting to jump in with invitations to dinners with us and him and I think that does so much for someone new to the church to be invited over by the member to their house or for dinner. It shows them more love and a feeling that they belong and honestly that is what everyone is trying to feel whether they have been a member for their whole lives or not.

In the middle of the week we had a dinner that was a little bit of a drive to get to but it ended up being on this beautiful island so we went across this big bridge and saw the sunset (because the sun has started to set earlier) and went to dinner. But while we were there we gave a lesson on faith and hope and used their daughter for an object lesson. We used the good old "tea bag onfire floats in the air" trick. She said she would be fine with it but when we lit it on her hand she decided that she did not want anything to do with that so she blew it off her hand and I had to catch it in my hand before it landed on the ground and it is a little hotter when you grab the flame part of it haha. but it went well.

On Saturday we had a day that we had planned a 3 hour block to do weekly planning and then had a bunch of lessons later on in the day. However, the Sisters in Trollhättan called because the Elder that was not going to be able to come and no one else could in their ward at short notice. (take note of the elder missing). So they asked me to perform the ordinance and we had interviewed her earlier in the week. So we drove up to Trollhättan to take part in it and it went beautifully and everyone was really happy and Alima "the lady baptized" was so thankful and everything was good. But we had gotten a call on the way up that the elder had cut himself pretty bad and couldnt just stay at a local hospital but needed surgery to repair the tendon so he was taken into the middle of Göteborg. So we needed to go down there and make sure everything was ok and see him off to surgery and then had 3 lessons that night before we could come back. When we got back he was out of surgery and so they cleared him to go home and we took them to our apartment to sleep because it was too late to take them back to their area. Everything went well in the end and everyone is alive and well. but our weekly planning didnt get done until Sunday haha.

Göteborg

Another cool thing that happened was teaching Minraj. He came to church by himself last week and we talked to him and set up a time to teach him. We taught in the middle of the city in the YSA center which is super nice and convenient to teach in. Its like a hang out place for the YSAs and they hold semenary and institute and lots of meetings there. Really cool place. But anyway we didnt have a lot of time to teach him but we taught a really simple and powerful lesson about the Book of Mormon and he was so genuine in saying that he wanted to know. He doesnt have a background in Christianity but he says there is a different feeling in our church and he wants to know if what we say is true. We are so excited to keep working with him and see where it goes.

outisde the sjukhus

The last thing was a Sunday night miracle. We had just taught a less active and had a few minutes to knock some doors so we started knocking with no one really wanting to listen. But we felt like we needed to turn and get a row of 4 houses before we started to head back (typically around about 8 o klock its just too late to knock on peoples doors) So the first three just stopped us pretty hard and we just knocked on the last one and before we could even get out who we were he just let us in the door. We were able to explain about the message of the Book of Mormon and what we did and he said that he wants to hear more and wants his wife to be there as well. SO we are going later on this week to see them!! It was an amazing reminder that the Lord is always involved in His work as long as we involve him in it even if it is just which doors to knock.

Love you all I hope you have a great week I will keep it movin here in the great white north. The work is real and the church is true!!

Med Kärlek,
Äldste Israelsen
1 the district
2 Göteborg
3 self explanitory
4 outisde the sjukhus :)

Week 64 It's Always Bigger in Goteborg

Morning Exersize, check out the shirt. Thanks MARY!!

Hallå eller?!

This week has been a huge weeks of ups and downs. Sometimes things just have to be set to the side and other things have to get done. And sometimes investigators do what you know that they should and other times they definitely do not. I think that one of the biggest points in life though is just to learn how to move forward and try to work  around what you have been given. It was a really good week though with a lot of miracles.

On monday we went and played volley ball with most people in the Götreborg area which is like 16 people or so. It is super cool to get to know some of these people a little more and to work with them. These are some of the most inspiring people that I have met in my life and I think the thing that I have learned the most in the past couple of weeks is just that people always have something to teach you and some of the most valuable lessons are the ones that we can learn from the people that we are with all of the time. 

recently baptized member Elaheh

Så I will tell you the worst and coolest experience that happened this week. So Emmanuel who is an incredible guy and super cool investigator just dropped contact with him right before a big institute activity that we had been working to get him to. We didnt know what was up and so he just didnt show up for that and we couldnt get ahold of him. Then the next day there was a couple from South America that came to the church and we went to see what was going on and they are from Panama and are some really cool people but they had no place to stay and had come a long way to get where they were. The bishop was out of town and they asked us to ring around to find them a place to sleep... So we did and fed them and about 5 hours later got a place for them to sleep. Then we had to get a ride to the place and it just seemed like everything was working against us. So Elder Brown and I didnt have the most fantastic day, however. On Sunday, we had Emmanuel that got back in contact with us and came to church!! As well as two other investigators that just showed up out of the blue! It was amazing to be able to show them what happens on Sundays and the meeting was exactly what we needed and what they needed as well. It was so cool. 

After church, Emmanuel said that he felt a feeling that he had never felt before there and that he felt like he was free. Like the life that we have can actually change and it can be the life that we want it to be. It was one of the more speciall moments while I have been out here. We are working with him right now to be baptized at the beginning of Oktober. I have decided that the absolut coolest thing that we can be a part of is helping other people to feel and recognize that God is there. That is why missionary work is so amazing and why people love it so much.

elder brown och jag

I also went on splits twice this week, one in Västra Frölunda with Äldste Adams who has been out for just a couple of weeks. It was really cool to go out with someone really young in the mission again and there is always so much that you can learn from them!! Also went with the other elders in Utby and I was with Elder Nillsson who is in the same group as Elder Adams and so it was a little extra studying this week but it was a lot of fun! The work is moving forward quickly in this part of the world as well as everywhere else. The trick is to just jump on board and do it. Try to give someone you know a Book of Mormon or just talk with them about it. It can change their life and it will change yours as well. 

I hope that everyone has a fantastic week and thank you for the support it means the world!!

Gud var med er tills vi möts igen

Äldste Israelsen

1. Morning Exersize, check out the shirt. Thanks MARY!!

2. elder brown och jag

3. recently baptized member Elaheh :)

Week 65 Rainy Göteborg, Stellar Zone Conference, Splits and Just Knock

Fmailjen Ludwig och couple from Panama

Tjena!!

How is everyone doing?? Everything is going amazing here in rainy Göteborg... but seriously it is super rainy here and it is the first time I think I have used an umbrella in probably my whole life.. I guess it is one thing when you can go home and dry off and another when you are out all day so staying kind of dry should be a priority. We had a stellar week with Zone Conference and fast Sunday and splits in Borås. The week went by so fast I thought i just wrote this letter yesterday when we were in the church last week to write. But the work is definitely moving forward and we are seeing that all over the west coast of Sweden. 

On Monday we got the opportunity to eat dinner with the Ludwig family who have the couple from Panama staying at their house!! They are going to stay for a little while longer to try and fix some things here and then I think their plan is to move here at some point. They just had some problems with money when they got to Sweden because the system is way different here so it has been tough for themm to make the banks cooperate and everything else. But it was really nice to be there and broder Ludwig was one of the first missionaries to be moved into east Germany when the wall came down so we were able to learn some of those stories from him and they were super cool. 

splits with borås

I have to tell you a few miracles this week and the first is the miracle of members. This week, we have been able to find interested families through the members of the ward. One family just told us to knock on the neighbors door because they had been talking and discussing with them for a little while now and so we did and they were curious about us and what we did and what the church stands for. so we will be back this next week to answer some questions and see what happens from there!! Then on Thursday we only had about a half hour before we had to be at another appointment but we had felt very strongly all day just to knock the doors that are right next to the member that we live with and we had done it before but no one was there. We knocked and on the second door we had found someone that did have a lot of questions just because they had lived so close and watched the Gerund family and he wanted to sit and talk. We were there for about a half hour and taught him the restoration and answered some questions about the family and what our church stood for and why we were there. So its amazing to see the influence that members have even when they might not even know it. So look around to your neightbors and make sure that you are en example and think about ways to start a conversation because the influence that you have is a lot bigger than you think. 

The next miracle on the week was with Emmanuel. We came to his house to have a lesson and he was just having a terrible day. I dont think he was feeling super good and people were being really rude so I dont think he was in the mood to talk so I just thought that maybe we should just leave him with something short and take it another day. But, there was something that told me just to go with the lesson that we had planned which was the restoration of the church. We ended up outside because the room we normally use was taken and we just kind of went for it. The spirit was so strong and by the end of it when we told him about Joseph Smith and everything his eyes lit up and his whole dimeanor changed. He was so happy and he told us that he could feel something that he couldnt describe but that it was the coolest feeling that he has ever had. When we were able to tell him that it was the Holy Ghost it was just one of the best moments on my mission so far. In his prayer at the end he said "jag tycker att... nej jag tror eller jag vet att vad de har sagt är sann." or "I think that.. no I believe or.. I know that what they have said is true." Super cool and we are so excited for his progression and we will see where everything goes. 

Universum last Pday

We also had a day that the assistants were supposed to come for workovers but it didnt work out that day so we had a day set up for 4 missionaries and now we just had 2... so with a little rearanging and divine intervention we were able to teach everyone and get everything done that was needed in preperation for Zone Konferens the next day. I would say that day in and of itself was a miracle I dont know how we managed it actually. And the conference was really good we had a member of the district presidency in Norrland Hokam Palm come and give us a presentation about missionary work in Sweden and what has happened and give us a little motivation and it totally worked!! We are all super jazzed about getting up and going thsi next transfer. 

From there I went on Splits with Borås with Äldste Blackburn which was really cool we got to do a lot of finding work and had a lot of success doing that. We found a couple of younger swedes that have had a tough time in life the past couple of months that have been looking for something and we gave them a book of Mormon and said that we would love to teach them. It went super well and Äldste Blackburn is a fantastic missionary and he has been in Sweden for about 2 transfers from California who is also a swimmer!! So that companionship went well. :)

Church was great becasue it was fast and testimony meeting and we found two new people that are interested in the church because they came!! Best place to find investigators is in the church that is for sure. 

We have had a stellar week and I am glad to hear everyone is doing well. Thank you for all that you do and all of the letters that I get!! I am working on responding to them :)

Älskar er!!

Äldste Israelsen

1. Universum last Pday

2. Fmailjen Ludwig och couple from Panama

3.  splits with borås