Hej Familj!!
Well, here is how things are going as of now. We wrote our letters to the President and other e-mails earlier this morning, and left to go catch a train to our p-day activity. We were planning on writing the family e-mails when we got back into town. So, we left the library this morning and went to the train station. There we printed out our tickets and looked at them. We both kinda freaked out. We had thought that he train left at 9:11 AM, however, the train left at 9:00 AM. We had missed it by two minutes! ugh! So, we went to the SJ Desk (SJ = Train Company) and got new tickets for an hour later. Sad. That also means that I will not have much time to write when we get back from our trip. So, now is it! And I only have a few minutes! I should be able to write a good e-mail anyway... So, the p-day activity today is in Helsingborg with all of the other elders in the Malmö Zone. It is our last p-day all together, and Äldste DeBaltzo's last p-day EVER!! sad. So, in Helsingborg we are going to play volleyball on the beach and have a bon-fire and also a BBQ!! yay! It is going to be a really fun time! Okay, now what you all have been waiting for.... TRANSFER INFORMATION!!! President called yesterday and informed me that I would be staying in Växjö for the next two months (time of one transfer). This was quite predictable. Most Greenies stay in their first area 4-6 months or 2-3 transfers. However, President informed Äldste Barlow that he will be moving to Jönköping (Yun-shup-ing) and become the District Leader there! He is very excited because it is his first time as a District Leader. He will be getting Äldste Thunell as a companion who was one of my awesome MTC friends! He is an awesome person! Goes to BYU!! Yeah! Represent! haha Anyway, my new companions name is Äldste Bracken. (Not quite sure on the spelling) He is coming from Norrland which is a region in the north of Sweden. I am not sure what the name of the city is, but I will let ya know! I have heard only good things about him. I believe he is from around the Salt Lake City region and is VERY into sports. I think we will get along just fine... unless he is one of those ute fans.. haha JK!! I love alot of ute fans! haha :) So anyway, that is what is up! As for the bed bugs... They are biting like crazy still, and we kill them all the time! It is crazy. Not fun at all. I have been losing sleep and not being able to fall asleep at night! We contaced the mission office about it, and of course they were happy to hear about it with it being transfer time and all! hahaha They are really busy. Anyway, they are checking into it and are supposed to be getting back to us with help. They have had problems with these before, so i am not worried. All will be well!! Just another trial I need to face! :) Okay, to the e-mails quick because I have no time!!!!! Agh!! Daddy!! Wow I love you! Thank you so much for the help with the PB ;) I will be sure and do what he asked. You can send the copy to me. That would be wonderful! HAHA I loved your Wizard of Oz bit. Very funny! :) The bed bugs really are no fun... We know that the bites are from the beg bugs, but earlier on we did see knott in the apartment however, those are gone now. Yay! As for the pictures... I have not taken too many of the place that I said looked like parkdale. Mostly the pictures I take are from Växjö and the more upscale parts of town. I want to show you the good things!! haha JK I will get some to you on the next card. It is more of a "you need to be here" thing. It is hard to explain! haha Sorry. I loved your thought of me having a native companion!! That would be awesome for me, however, not this time as you have already read. Maybe in the future! :) Thanks for everything dad! I love you!! Matt!! I was soo happy to get an e-mail from you! You are amazing! I miss you too! Got me a tad emotional with that one bro.. Hows your reply letter coming along by the way.. haha I wanna write you more, but I can't until you respond! :) Rhett is there!? How cool! I remember the awesome fair! Lots of gooooood money to be made there! ha.. that rhymed! Anyway, Rhett is a fun man and I can totally see you and Luke doing those pranks. Some things will never change haha ;) Sounds like the Tri-Ward Party is going to be fun! Enjoy that and continue to enjoy your summer! I love you buddy.. Miss you tons.. Keep on enjoying church and the opportunity you have to bless the Sacrament! That is a very important thing you do. Don't take it lightly! Love ya Matt!! Helllloooooo Mom! I love you! You are awesome! :) The playing went really really well!! I got there and started playing some prelude music and then right as the meeting was about to start the piano player came in. I of course got up and gave her the piano.. Don't want to take away someones calling!!! haha So I was kinda sad because I had prepared for it and picked some good hymns but I was not too hurt. It didn't matter anyway because the branch president called the piano lady over to the stand and told her that I was prepared to play the piano today. So, she told me to go play while she sat in the congregation... VERY awkward.. haha :) So I did get to play the hymns! It went well! I basically played the left hand as chords and played the right hand as normal. I am working on the piano, it is hard! SO! She was not too upset.. I mean honestly she said that she was going to be gone so.. I filled in! Anyway.. On to other things in your e-mail. What I meant about the DearElder letter was that they sent it slow boat bottom line postage. I did not have to pay to get it, but it took its time haha. Its all good though! I am NOT complaining! :) Sounds like you had an awesome time with Josh and Hillary! I am glad that they could come up and spend some quality time! I love them to pieces and can't wait to hear what they are having!!!! They better tell me soon! :) Anyway, I love you soooooo much mom! Keep the smile and keep enjoying the summer! Woooo! Okay, so funny story, I am now writing from the church computer! I ran out of time after I finished mom's part of the e-mail so we went to go catch our train to Helsingborg. When we got back it was too late and the library was closed so we had to come here. I REALLY have no time now haha. But I will give a quick spiritual part for you all to enjoy! (By the way, Helsingborg was sooo much fun!!!) Okay, so for the Spiritual part of the e-mail I am going to talk about something that has made me change my entire missionary outlook and can help us all in our daily lives! It is found in D&C 6:33-37. Please, please look this up! Perhaps you could post it for everyone on the blog?? haha not to parentals!?? lol These few short scriptures are some of the most powerful scriptures I have ever found! The main point I want to get at here from the scriptures is to build upon the rock of the Lord and fear not to do good! In Him we can find all strength and know that no matter what happens if we are keeping the commandments and following Him, we will be okay! This has given me so much strength in my work. If I choose to build upon the rock, the power of the Lord WILL be with me!!! In him I can find the strength to do all things! Even contact people in the middle of the street and talk about exactly what they do NOT want to talk about! My favorite part is when it says, "Doubt not, fear not". Lets all decide to continue building upon the sure foundation of the Lord and to go forth with faith!!! I love you all soooo much! I really need to go now though! I hope that all is well and that love abounds! :) :) :)
Faithful and Steady, I AM Ready.....
Äldste Kundis :) :) :)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Cleaning Inspection #1 ..... Pass! :)
Hej Familj!
Greetings once again from Växjö!! As you can tell from the subject line, I had my first cleaning inspection! It was this morning actually. They had called and told us about it before hand so we could be ready. However, we have been busy and that kinda got pushed to the back burner. Don't misunderstand me, we live clean, but there were some bigger projects like cleaning the stove that we had not done. So! This morning we woke up and started cleaning! They had told us that they were going to be by around 11:30... That however, was a lie. haha They called us at about 9:30 and said, "Elders! We are running a bit EARLY. Can we come at 10:30?" :( lol That was not what we wanted to hear. So, that next hour was crunch time! We cleaned fast, and got everything done that we needed to. They came and we passed! Woo!! They were on their way up to Stockholm because they are going back home this week! They are from Germany. We had a nice talk about Germany and I of course told them about Nana and Grandpa Karl. They loved hearing about the food, and about them! :) It was a good time. Anyway, so I don't have as much time as I normally have because of the inspection and the other things we have to do today. So let me get to the e-mail! Hello again daddy! You are my shining star.. (What??) haha I love you! Okay.. you do have a point about Disneyland being magical and all, but IKEA has some of it's own magic as well.... At a very affordable price! wow I sound like an advertisement. The meatballs were pretty much like they were at the Draper IKEA. Kinda sad, but something about the fact that I was eating them IN SWEDEN really made them special! I am on the hunt for an amazing meatball recipe. Hopefully I can find one! I was glad that you liked my tracting experience! I liked it too! The Spirit is really incredible. Its power and ability to lead and guide missionaries is just indescribable. Of course you remember that! Thanks again for your words and inspiration! I get a boost every week from your e-mails! I love you dad! Okay now it is Moms turn! Hello mommy! You are looking great! haha :) I am pleased to announce that the chair is out of the box and put back together. Funny story, we took it out and started again and realized that ANOTHER piece was SOMEHOW missing! We were laughing soooo hard! We decided to clean some more. Because everyone knows... When you can't find something, just start cleaning! It worked! We found the screw and finally finished the chair! Just to answer your question, five Swedish Krowns is about .70 in USD. So, that was cheep for an ice cream cone. One on the street will cost you about 25-30 Krowns. :( haha You liked my tracting experience TOO?!?! Wow, that makes three of us! :) haha It really was amazing! We did get follow-up appointments and all look positive.. except one. However, that is okay we tried and tried. He just wasn't having any of it anymore. Dad, Josh and Kevin were so right about the good day thing. It is very true! When you have lots of bad days, just one good day lifts your Spirit and makes you feel on top of the world! OH! Before I forget... I played the prelude hymns in Sacrament Meeting this past Sunday. The stake presidency was there as well as the Patriarch so I was very nervous. I basically played the right hand and played chords on the left hand. It turned out good. So good in fact, I have now been asked to play ALL of the hymns next week because the regular piano player is out on vacation. Yay!! lol I am nervous! Wish me luck! Okay so yes, transfers ARE coming up fast. I really don't have any feelings. I am a lover of change in the mission field though. When changes happen it freshens up the work, and resets everything. In alot of aspects that is great, and in some that can be bad. However, I am excited! If the pattern continues in Växjö, I will be here for next transfer, but we never really know! We will see. We get the calls that tell us whats up next Tuesday! I still have not yet received your envelope. :( But I did receive your dear elder letter. haha they put very little postage on there! Anyway, I will respond to that today! The picture worked out very well!! Thank you for sending that! haha I look gooooood haha :) Feel free to send pictures anytime! I love them! I was sad when I heard that Matt was sick.. But I am also glad that he is doing better! That sounds really fun that Josh and Hillary are coming up! Any reason?? Or just for fun? Anyway, thats great! You saw me in a picture? I haven't seen Äldste Deleeuw since I have been in Sweden. Are you absolutely sure that it is me? We definitely were not together at Midsommar! haha I don't know who my look a like is, but i would like to know! Well, I love you sooo much mom! Thank you for everything! Okay... Now on to an interesting topic. Lets start it out with a common phrase, "Don't let the bed bugs bite!" Can you guess what I am going to say next.. Yes, we have bed bugs in our apartment! EEEeeeekkkk!! haha We thought we had tamed the Knott, however we got more and more bites. We got concerned and studied up on the subject. We identified the problem as bed bugs. So, when we got home from checking what they might be we went searching... We found them. I freaked out. I tore through all of the bedding searching for the gross little creatures. I believe I found most of them... We are getting into contact with the office to see if we can hire someone to come and get rid of them for good. Lol I know it sounds crazy, and thats because it is! We are clean people! The branch told us that it is a common problem in Sweden. So! Don't worry! We are healthy and are getting the problem solved! Okay... on that wonderful note, on to the Spiritual Goodie! Or, as John Bytheway would say in his book, "how to be an extraordinary missionary," an Extra! Extra! haha Okay I want to talk today about someone all of us know very well. He is a character from the Book of Mormon. Captain Moroni! I have been studying a lot about him recently and I have learned a lot from him. The main thought I have is about his preparations for war. If you read starting in chapter 46 of Alma you can see how highly Moroni places freedom and liberty and the right to have religion. He fortifies his cities all of the time! Even in times of peace Moroni would constantly keep up his guard and always look after his people. Since I don't have much time... let me get to the point... Let us all think of ourselves for a moment. We all face adversity! It is just part of this wonderful life. However, how are we prepared for these adversities? Do we have our walls built and our trenches dug? Or, are we "getting to it sooner or later"? We read time and time again in the Book of Mormon of people who have that attitude and are not prepared when adversity strikes. We must prepare ourselves for all of the negatives in life. Temptation, trials, misfortune to name a few. If we are constantly working at keeping our defenses up we WILL be ready! We must do things like reading the scriptures, going to church, surrounding ourselves with good, uplifting things... friends, music etc... As a missionary I face adversities a lot. I am constantly working on my defenses. I know with all of my heart that this steady, consistent effort has blessed me. It is a lot of why I am still going, still pressing forward. It is because I know that I am prepared, and that I trust in the Lord that I am kept safe. We must all do this. As the famous verse in Alma 48 says... "Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." So, the charge this week is to build our defenses. The Lord will bless us if we are trying to protect ourselves. He loves each and every one of us! Of this, I know with my whole self. Well, I love you all! Keep the faith and press forward!
Faithful and Steady, I AM Ready.....
Äldste Kundis :) :)
I just remembered that because of transfers my next p-day will not be next Monday. It will in fact be the Wednesday after that Monday. Might want to let people on the blog know too! After that Wednesday everything should be back to normal and P-days will be Mondays again! :)
I love you all again! and again! and AGAIN!!
Med Kärlek,
Äldste Kundis :)
Greetings once again from Växjö!! As you can tell from the subject line, I had my first cleaning inspection! It was this morning actually. They had called and told us about it before hand so we could be ready. However, we have been busy and that kinda got pushed to the back burner. Don't misunderstand me, we live clean, but there were some bigger projects like cleaning the stove that we had not done. So! This morning we woke up and started cleaning! They had told us that they were going to be by around 11:30... That however, was a lie. haha They called us at about 9:30 and said, "Elders! We are running a bit EARLY. Can we come at 10:30?" :( lol That was not what we wanted to hear. So, that next hour was crunch time! We cleaned fast, and got everything done that we needed to. They came and we passed! Woo!! They were on their way up to Stockholm because they are going back home this week! They are from Germany. We had a nice talk about Germany and I of course told them about Nana and Grandpa Karl. They loved hearing about the food, and about them! :) It was a good time. Anyway, so I don't have as much time as I normally have because of the inspection and the other things we have to do today. So let me get to the e-mail! Hello again daddy! You are my shining star.. (What??) haha I love you! Okay.. you do have a point about Disneyland being magical and all, but IKEA has some of it's own magic as well.... At a very affordable price! wow I sound like an advertisement. The meatballs were pretty much like they were at the Draper IKEA. Kinda sad, but something about the fact that I was eating them IN SWEDEN really made them special! I am on the hunt for an amazing meatball recipe. Hopefully I can find one! I was glad that you liked my tracting experience! I liked it too! The Spirit is really incredible. Its power and ability to lead and guide missionaries is just indescribable. Of course you remember that! Thanks again for your words and inspiration! I get a boost every week from your e-mails! I love you dad! Okay now it is Moms turn! Hello mommy! You are looking great! haha :) I am pleased to announce that the chair is out of the box and put back together. Funny story, we took it out and started again and realized that ANOTHER piece was SOMEHOW missing! We were laughing soooo hard! We decided to clean some more. Because everyone knows... When you can't find something, just start cleaning! It worked! We found the screw and finally finished the chair! Just to answer your question, five Swedish Krowns is about .70 in USD. So, that was cheep for an ice cream cone. One on the street will cost you about 25-30 Krowns. :( haha You liked my tracting experience TOO?!?! Wow, that makes three of us! :) haha It really was amazing! We did get follow-up appointments and all look positive.. except one. However, that is okay we tried and tried. He just wasn't having any of it anymore. Dad, Josh and Kevin were so right about the good day thing. It is very true! When you have lots of bad days, just one good day lifts your Spirit and makes you feel on top of the world! OH! Before I forget... I played the prelude hymns in Sacrament Meeting this past Sunday. The stake presidency was there as well as the Patriarch so I was very nervous. I basically played the right hand and played chords on the left hand. It turned out good. So good in fact, I have now been asked to play ALL of the hymns next week because the regular piano player is out on vacation. Yay!! lol I am nervous! Wish me luck! Okay so yes, transfers ARE coming up fast. I really don't have any feelings. I am a lover of change in the mission field though. When changes happen it freshens up the work, and resets everything. In alot of aspects that is great, and in some that can be bad. However, I am excited! If the pattern continues in Växjö, I will be here for next transfer, but we never really know! We will see. We get the calls that tell us whats up next Tuesday! I still have not yet received your envelope. :( But I did receive your dear elder letter. haha they put very little postage on there! Anyway, I will respond to that today! The picture worked out very well!! Thank you for sending that! haha I look gooooood haha :) Feel free to send pictures anytime! I love them! I was sad when I heard that Matt was sick.. But I am also glad that he is doing better! That sounds really fun that Josh and Hillary are coming up! Any reason?? Or just for fun? Anyway, thats great! You saw me in a picture? I haven't seen Äldste Deleeuw since I have been in Sweden. Are you absolutely sure that it is me? We definitely were not together at Midsommar! haha I don't know who my look a like is, but i would like to know! Well, I love you sooo much mom! Thank you for everything! Okay... Now on to an interesting topic. Lets start it out with a common phrase, "Don't let the bed bugs bite!" Can you guess what I am going to say next.. Yes, we have bed bugs in our apartment! EEEeeeekkkk!! haha We thought we had tamed the Knott, however we got more and more bites. We got concerned and studied up on the subject. We identified the problem as bed bugs. So, when we got home from checking what they might be we went searching... We found them. I freaked out. I tore through all of the bedding searching for the gross little creatures. I believe I found most of them... We are getting into contact with the office to see if we can hire someone to come and get rid of them for good. Lol I know it sounds crazy, and thats because it is! We are clean people! The branch told us that it is a common problem in Sweden. So! Don't worry! We are healthy and are getting the problem solved! Okay... on that wonderful note, on to the Spiritual Goodie! Or, as John Bytheway would say in his book, "how to be an extraordinary missionary," an Extra! Extra! haha Okay I want to talk today about someone all of us know very well. He is a character from the Book of Mormon. Captain Moroni! I have been studying a lot about him recently and I have learned a lot from him. The main thought I have is about his preparations for war. If you read starting in chapter 46 of Alma you can see how highly Moroni places freedom and liberty and the right to have religion. He fortifies his cities all of the time! Even in times of peace Moroni would constantly keep up his guard and always look after his people. Since I don't have much time... let me get to the point... Let us all think of ourselves for a moment. We all face adversity! It is just part of this wonderful life. However, how are we prepared for these adversities? Do we have our walls built and our trenches dug? Or, are we "getting to it sooner or later"? We read time and time again in the Book of Mormon of people who have that attitude and are not prepared when adversity strikes. We must prepare ourselves for all of the negatives in life. Temptation, trials, misfortune to name a few. If we are constantly working at keeping our defenses up we WILL be ready! We must do things like reading the scriptures, going to church, surrounding ourselves with good, uplifting things... friends, music etc... As a missionary I face adversities a lot. I am constantly working on my defenses. I know with all of my heart that this steady, consistent effort has blessed me. It is a lot of why I am still going, still pressing forward. It is because I know that I am prepared, and that I trust in the Lord that I am kept safe. We must all do this. As the famous verse in Alma 48 says... "Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." So, the charge this week is to build our defenses. The Lord will bless us if we are trying to protect ourselves. He loves each and every one of us! Of this, I know with my whole self. Well, I love you all! Keep the faith and press forward!
Faithful and Steady, I AM Ready.....
Äldste Kundis :) :)
I just remembered that because of transfers my next p-day will not be next Monday. It will in fact be the Wednesday after that Monday. Might want to let people on the blog know too! After that Wednesday everything should be back to normal and P-days will be Mondays again! :)
I love you all again! and again! and AGAIN!!
Med Kärlek,
Äldste Kundis :)
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
IKEA is better than Disneyland!!
Hej Familj!!!
Well, I know that I might have upset some of you by using that subject line, but it is so true, and if you really think about it, you know I am right! :) Lets look at the two!! Disneyland has long lines, hot weather, wayyyy toooo many people, and really REALLY expensive food! IKEA on the other hand is alot different. First! It is absolutely free to go inside! Also, not a single line, nicely air conditioned, not too many people at all, and incredibly inexpensive food! Not to mention.... the rides at IKEA are ALOT better! My favorite was the leather recliner. I completely lost myself in that chair. The beds were nice too, and don't even get me started on the kids section! Sure I didn't get to meet Mickey, but I did get to climb through tunnels and slide down a slide! Yay! haha okay, I held back on a lot of things because hey.... I AM a missionary. But I was definitely thinking while we were walking through, of all the things I used to do at the Draper IKEA. So, as you can tell, IKEA was alot of fun! It was a nice train ride, and a lot like the IKEA's in the USA. The roof was a lot lower than the USA IKEA's, and there were three levels. There were only like six check out places instead of thousands haha and the employees could ACTUALLY speak SWEDISH! haha Imagine that! We ate lunch there and I of course had the meatballs! They were delectable! haha Plus, IKEA was probably the only place that I know of in Sweden where you can get free refills! YAY! So, we bought a chair for our apartment and a new brush to clean dishes with! :) When we were done we had the famous ice cream cones that were only five crowns!!! Yum! Funny story lol... The chair we bought caused quite the disruption! Äldste Barlow tried assembling it, and half way through realized that he was missing a very crucial part! Haha, so everything went back into the box. Then as we put it all away we thought we found the missing piece. So, we took everything out again and started over and then realized that the piece we had found was NOT the missing piece! So, we were still down a piece. So... back into the box everything went and later, while i was on splits Äldste Barlow found the piece we were missing. However, the chair is STILL in the box because frankly, neither of us want to take it out of the box in fear that we will be missing another piece! Very frustrating! Hahaha, it reminds me of a movie.. It is the one where Adam Sandler is sitting on the doctor's table and a Swedish doctor comes in and Adam Sandler says, "oh, by the way, I have been trying to build a cabinet I bought from you guys for a few months now!" haha It is something like that. Anyway, so that was my very fun trip to the worlds first IKEA! They even had some office buildings there, and an IKEA Museum! lol We did not have enough time to go though.. Oh well!! So, I know in the last e-mail I may have sounded pretty down. Well, maybe not, haha it takes alot for me to actually sound that way, but I was feeling really down about the work here in Växjö. However, I have some good news. Äldste Barlow and I decided to have a "dedication day". That entailed a fast and five hours of straight finding work. We were blessed! We were fasting for three things. First, to find a Swede that is ready for the gospel, a family if it be the Lord's will. Second, to help me with my Swedish, and third, to help Äldste Barlow be more "bold without overbearance". We were blessed in all of these aspects! We were able to find five new people to teach. We have appointments with a few of them, and the others we are hoping and praying for! One person we contacted is a native Swede, and she seems pretty positive! :) We had originally decided that since we wanted to find a real Swede we would go tracting in the Swedish suburbs. After the first street we had no success. Nothing but rejection as usual haha. I felt the distinct impression that the suburbs was not where we were supposed to me at that time. I felt extremely compelled with my whole self that we needed to go to a part of town called Teleborg. It is basically student housing. I told Äldste Barlow that we needed to go there and so we took the next bus. When we arrived the first building we tracted was very negative. I felt really bad because I had felt as though I had received a false impression. When we left the building and started for the next, I felt another strong feeling that we needed to go to a different building a little out of the way. It was amazing. almost everyone was positive! All five of the people were in that one building! The Lord blessed us!! There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever! Okay, now on to the e-mail! First up to bat, Dad!! Oh wow!! He hits a grand slam!! Wooooo! Love ya daddy! haha Okay, yes I do have a vocabulary notebook that I carry around! It is fun lol. I write in it alot! Quick switch... Those leather slippers were amazing. lol I definitely remember those! Thank you sooo much for what you said dad. I don't know quite how to tell you, but I needed to hear that. I love you so much. You helped me a lot! :) You are definitely right about people though. Alot of times they are just wrapped up in the world! I just wish they would give me the chance to unwrap them in a very non-literal way hahaha. :) What you said about, "letting love become the conduit that the Spirit needs..." was pure gold! I loved that! Thanks dad!! :) I love you soooo much!! Okay, now on to my wonderful brother Matt! Sounds like you had an amazing time up at the cabin! I am glad that you were kept safe, and that you were able to relax! Enjoy it! I hear that Mom was planning on making you work at La Quinta a little bit?? haha how was that!? And you still have yet to inform me of this job you have?? Anyway, I love you tons Matt! Keep taking care of Molly! I got kinda sad when you told me about how excited she was to see you when you got back from the lake. I definitely remember how excited she gets when we get back from long trips! I love that pup!! :) Okay, have a great week Matt!! On to the mother of the family! Mom!! I love you!! :) Sooooo very much! Well, this P-Day is not as exciting. Pretty chill actually. We did laundry and cleaned, then went to eat lunch at a Chinese place that we hadn't tried.. It was delicious! lol, and after e-mail it will be back to the apartment, then out to tract some more!! :) Yay! I laughed at the first part of your e-mail! Sounds like you were having a good time! Thanks for using your IKEA purchases this week in remembrance of me! Sounds like the family was well fed! :) Thanks for sending the stuff!! I haven't received it yet, but I can't wait! I will let you know how it all works out with customs and what not. By the way, the "Knott" are indeed biting less. They still are, but it really doesn't bother us too much. We are too busy to focus on that right now! Thanks so much for your kind words! I can't tell you how happy I was when I read that you and the family were doing scripture study, and that you needed to step away for a bit. That warmed my heart! I am glad that you all are finding that to be worth while!!! By the way, speaking of warm hearts... It has been soo very hot outside here. Today is just terrible because early this morning we had a thunderstorm, and now it is shining really bright. That means, extremely humid and hot! You walk outside for a few seconds and become drenched in sweat! haha Its crazy! I thought Sweden was supposed to be a colder place... I was wrong! Anyway, sounds like Brother Asp filled you in very nicely about Växjö! Thats cool that you found him and that he served here! Well, I love you mom! You take such good care of me! And yes, I did floss this morning! haha Thanks! Love ya.. Okay, now on to the Spiritual part of the e-mail! I am beginning to like this part! My thought actually comes for the book, "Our Heritage" It is another book from the wonderful missionary library! I was reading the other day about the Nauvoo temple. I had always thought to myself that it was interesting that they built at such a fast pace and at such a sacrifice! But it wasn't until I read in the book the other day that I realized why! They were about to travel over a thousand miles across the United States. They knew that this journey would take the lives of some of their loved ones. However, they knew that if they could be sealed in the temple together as families that they would be able to see their family members again. This knowledge of eternal families gave them HOPE!!! They knew that they were going to be together forever no matter what! This hope is what carried the wagons just a few more feet. It was this hope that drove the Saints just a few more feet when everything seemed to crumble around them. This HOPE.... is what we need to share with the world. This in a way ties into last weeks thought about being truly happy and thankful for what we have in the gospel! Some of the stories and accounts I have read recently make me realize the Power of Hope. We can all access this Power of Hope if we only realize the bigger picture! It is amazing how little details seem to melt away... I can testify to this! So, that is my charge for this week. Lets all look at the bigger picture. Take a step out of the world around us which keeps us bound and see what really matters in life! FAMILY! THE GOSPEL!! LOVE!! HOPE!! Lets all look through the dark mists of the night towards the bright shining sun of the morning. Let us access the Power of Hope. I love you all, and love this work with all of my heart! This gospel is TRUE!! :)
Faithful and Steady, I AM Ready.....
Äldste Kundis :) :) :)
Well, I know that I might have upset some of you by using that subject line, but it is so true, and if you really think about it, you know I am right! :) Lets look at the two!! Disneyland has long lines, hot weather, wayyyy toooo many people, and really REALLY expensive food! IKEA on the other hand is alot different. First! It is absolutely free to go inside! Also, not a single line, nicely air conditioned, not too many people at all, and incredibly inexpensive food! Not to mention.... the rides at IKEA are ALOT better! My favorite was the leather recliner. I completely lost myself in that chair. The beds were nice too, and don't even get me started on the kids section! Sure I didn't get to meet Mickey, but I did get to climb through tunnels and slide down a slide! Yay! haha okay, I held back on a lot of things because hey.... I AM a missionary. But I was definitely thinking while we were walking through, of all the things I used to do at the Draper IKEA. So, as you can tell, IKEA was alot of fun! It was a nice train ride, and a lot like the IKEA's in the USA. The roof was a lot lower than the USA IKEA's, and there were three levels. There were only like six check out places instead of thousands haha and the employees could ACTUALLY speak SWEDISH! haha Imagine that! We ate lunch there and I of course had the meatballs! They were delectable! haha Plus, IKEA was probably the only place that I know of in Sweden where you can get free refills! YAY! So, we bought a chair for our apartment and a new brush to clean dishes with! :) When we were done we had the famous ice cream cones that were only five crowns!!! Yum! Funny story lol... The chair we bought caused quite the disruption! Äldste Barlow tried assembling it, and half way through realized that he was missing a very crucial part! Haha, so everything went back into the box. Then as we put it all away we thought we found the missing piece. So, we took everything out again and started over and then realized that the piece we had found was NOT the missing piece! So, we were still down a piece. So... back into the box everything went and later, while i was on splits Äldste Barlow found the piece we were missing. However, the chair is STILL in the box because frankly, neither of us want to take it out of the box in fear that we will be missing another piece! Very frustrating! Hahaha, it reminds me of a movie.. It is the one where Adam Sandler is sitting on the doctor's table and a Swedish doctor comes in and Adam Sandler says, "oh, by the way, I have been trying to build a cabinet I bought from you guys for a few months now!" haha It is something like that. Anyway, so that was my very fun trip to the worlds first IKEA! They even had some office buildings there, and an IKEA Museum! lol We did not have enough time to go though.. Oh well!! So, I know in the last e-mail I may have sounded pretty down. Well, maybe not, haha it takes alot for me to actually sound that way, but I was feeling really down about the work here in Växjö. However, I have some good news. Äldste Barlow and I decided to have a "dedication day". That entailed a fast and five hours of straight finding work. We were blessed! We were fasting for three things. First, to find a Swede that is ready for the gospel, a family if it be the Lord's will. Second, to help me with my Swedish, and third, to help Äldste Barlow be more "bold without overbearance". We were blessed in all of these aspects! We were able to find five new people to teach. We have appointments with a few of them, and the others we are hoping and praying for! One person we contacted is a native Swede, and she seems pretty positive! :) We had originally decided that since we wanted to find a real Swede we would go tracting in the Swedish suburbs. After the first street we had no success. Nothing but rejection as usual haha. I felt the distinct impression that the suburbs was not where we were supposed to me at that time. I felt extremely compelled with my whole self that we needed to go to a part of town called Teleborg. It is basically student housing. I told Äldste Barlow that we needed to go there and so we took the next bus. When we arrived the first building we tracted was very negative. I felt really bad because I had felt as though I had received a false impression. When we left the building and started for the next, I felt another strong feeling that we needed to go to a different building a little out of the way. It was amazing. almost everyone was positive! All five of the people were in that one building! The Lord blessed us!! There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever! Okay, now on to the e-mail! First up to bat, Dad!! Oh wow!! He hits a grand slam!! Wooooo! Love ya daddy! haha Okay, yes I do have a vocabulary notebook that I carry around! It is fun lol. I write in it alot! Quick switch... Those leather slippers were amazing. lol I definitely remember those! Thank you sooo much for what you said dad. I don't know quite how to tell you, but I needed to hear that. I love you so much. You helped me a lot! :) You are definitely right about people though. Alot of times they are just wrapped up in the world! I just wish they would give me the chance to unwrap them in a very non-literal way hahaha. :) What you said about, "letting love become the conduit that the Spirit needs..." was pure gold! I loved that! Thanks dad!! :) I love you soooo much!! Okay, now on to my wonderful brother Matt! Sounds like you had an amazing time up at the cabin! I am glad that you were kept safe, and that you were able to relax! Enjoy it! I hear that Mom was planning on making you work at La Quinta a little bit?? haha how was that!? And you still have yet to inform me of this job you have?? Anyway, I love you tons Matt! Keep taking care of Molly! I got kinda sad when you told me about how excited she was to see you when you got back from the lake. I definitely remember how excited she gets when we get back from long trips! I love that pup!! :) Okay, have a great week Matt!! On to the mother of the family! Mom!! I love you!! :) Sooooo very much! Well, this P-Day is not as exciting. Pretty chill actually. We did laundry and cleaned, then went to eat lunch at a Chinese place that we hadn't tried.. It was delicious! lol, and after e-mail it will be back to the apartment, then out to tract some more!! :) Yay! I laughed at the first part of your e-mail! Sounds like you were having a good time! Thanks for using your IKEA purchases this week in remembrance of me! Sounds like the family was well fed! :) Thanks for sending the stuff!! I haven't received it yet, but I can't wait! I will let you know how it all works out with customs and what not. By the way, the "Knott" are indeed biting less. They still are, but it really doesn't bother us too much. We are too busy to focus on that right now! Thanks so much for your kind words! I can't tell you how happy I was when I read that you and the family were doing scripture study, and that you needed to step away for a bit. That warmed my heart! I am glad that you all are finding that to be worth while!!! By the way, speaking of warm hearts... It has been soo very hot outside here. Today is just terrible because early this morning we had a thunderstorm, and now it is shining really bright. That means, extremely humid and hot! You walk outside for a few seconds and become drenched in sweat! haha Its crazy! I thought Sweden was supposed to be a colder place... I was wrong! Anyway, sounds like Brother Asp filled you in very nicely about Växjö! Thats cool that you found him and that he served here! Well, I love you mom! You take such good care of me! And yes, I did floss this morning! haha Thanks! Love ya.. Okay, now on to the Spiritual part of the e-mail! I am beginning to like this part! My thought actually comes for the book, "Our Heritage" It is another book from the wonderful missionary library! I was reading the other day about the Nauvoo temple. I had always thought to myself that it was interesting that they built at such a fast pace and at such a sacrifice! But it wasn't until I read in the book the other day that I realized why! They were about to travel over a thousand miles across the United States. They knew that this journey would take the lives of some of their loved ones. However, they knew that if they could be sealed in the temple together as families that they would be able to see their family members again. This knowledge of eternal families gave them HOPE!!! They knew that they were going to be together forever no matter what! This hope is what carried the wagons just a few more feet. It was this hope that drove the Saints just a few more feet when everything seemed to crumble around them. This HOPE.... is what we need to share with the world. This in a way ties into last weeks thought about being truly happy and thankful for what we have in the gospel! Some of the stories and accounts I have read recently make me realize the Power of Hope. We can all access this Power of Hope if we only realize the bigger picture! It is amazing how little details seem to melt away... I can testify to this! So, that is my charge for this week. Lets all look at the bigger picture. Take a step out of the world around us which keeps us bound and see what really matters in life! FAMILY! THE GOSPEL!! LOVE!! HOPE!! Lets all look through the dark mists of the night towards the bright shining sun of the morning. Let us access the Power of Hope. I love you all, and love this work with all of my heart! This gospel is TRUE!! :)
Faithful and Steady, I AM Ready.....
Äldste Kundis :) :) :)
Monday, July 5, 2010
Happy 4th of July!! ....a little late haha!
Hej Familj!!!
Well, another fine p-day to you! Lets start things off with a little story! Yay!! Okay so this morning I went to go get my hair cut. We had decided on a place because the previous elders had decided to put it on the information sheet in the apartment as "the" place to go. So I decided that I would just go and what happened... happened. So we walk in right, and it looks pretty normal. The lady asks who is getting a hair cut and I raise my hand?? haha :) She directs me to a chair and I ask her if she speaks English. (I would normally have tried in Swedish, but this was my hair we were talking about, so I wanted to make sure she understood.) Well, she didn't speak any English at all. Which was VERY unsettling. Most people in Sweden speak pretty good English.... So I was all like, "ugh.... what?!?!" lol I called Äldste Barlow over to help me, and I told him just what I wanted, and he translated. Everything seemed fine and calm, then she started the frenzy. Seriously, I have never had razor sharp scissors move so quickly so close to my head and ears before! So skip to the end. It was a very close hair cut, but I am sure it looks better than it did before.. At least I hope lol. So when we got to the register I knew why it was the missionaries favorite place.. lol it only cost me 130 SEK. Which is about $16.50 USD. So normally, just to give you an idea... Haircuts here cost around 260 SEK so that would be about $33.00 USD. Pretty pricey for a missionary! Well, anyway!!! That was my quick little story! How are you doing? YOU! RIGHT NOW! Hey there. Are you doing good? I sure hope the answer is yes! :) I care about you! :) haha. Sorry! So lets see.. What has been going on in Växjö, Sweden recently. Lots and lots of finding work still. Lot and lots of language learning still. haha One of these days I will have this language down. I can't wait!!! Even though I know I must. Okay so this last Thursday we had our district meeting as usual and then our zone leaders stayed with us in Växjö to do work-overs. That means they work with us for a day and leave the next morning. So I got to work with Äldste DeBaltzo. He is a really awesome Äldste! He went to BYU before his mission and was in the BYU Mens Chours!! lol One of my dreams. So got to work with him! It was pretty funny because here I am the greenie and I am going on splits with an Äldste who has like 23 days left in the mission field. It was good though. He gave me some great advice, and shared some awesome experiences! We had a very fun time together! What else... The weather here has been gorgeous!! Nothing but absolutely sunny, and I have a very nice missionary tan. lol I actually hope it rains again soon! I was growing kinda fond of it! haha What on earth did I just say!?!? I am sorry, this e-mail must be all over the place! We really have had a basic week. We have visited lots of less-actives and members and trying to find more people. Its very hard work I have come to realize. I wrote in my journal a while ago, and I said this, "I am starting to think that going to college and having a job is a piece of cake!" :) I know.. funny right? Anyway, I should just get to the e-mail now! Hello father that I love so much!!!! You are amazing!!! Okay, you asked me how much time I have to e-mail. I have just enough time to type those I love and the Mission President! Sometimes not enough time to type ALL that I love because one, there are rules against that, and two, because I love alot of people. Pretty much everyone in the entire world! haha So, I am glad that you have been enjoying the long e-mails. I am not the best typer in the world, but I am getting better! I probably made the last one super long because I was explaining Midsommar to you! And because I love, love, love, love talking to you all! I am getting sooo many fun stories and experiences I just want to share them all! I loved your story about the dancing in Japan!! Haha I was imagining it in my mind and trust me, you won in my mind as well!! Nana eats pickled herring too?!?! How awesome is that! I love her!! Way to go Nana! So it is the 4th of July!! WOOOOO!!! We didn't do anything to celebrate except wish each other a happy 4th haha. I know... boring. lol But I was so happy to hear that you celebrated with people on the block! Its great to hear that you had such a fun time with Craig and Becky! Funny story, I actually had a legitimate dream about the 4th in Great Falls! It was kinda funny. The lady next door.... Char?? The one who is sensitive to the noise of the fire-works. Yeah, she had come over to the house and told us that she was going to take all of our fireworks because she knew that it was going to be a problem this year. haha when I woke up I just laughed. I was all like, "where on earth did THAT dream come from?!?" Sorry.. lol So back on track! Thank you for your words again Dad! You are incredible! I love you!! Hello Matt!!! Wow bud, it sounds like you had a pretty awesome 4th! I could just imagine you unwrapping the artillery shells! I was really glad that you got my letter! I was getting a little worried there.. Whats this I hear about you working up in Ft. Benton? What are you doing up there? Don't tell me that you have a job?? I would really like to know whats going on with that! Anyway, thanks Matt!! I love you sooo much, and I am glad to hear that you are enjoying your summer! I can feel your energy through your e-mails and that truly is comforting! Keep lovin' life and growing everyday! I love you bother!!!! :) Hello Mom!!! Wow, you are just love pure and true! You have a very loving son over here in Sweden! Wow I loved your description of the 4th. I could just imagine it perfectly! Molly sounds like she fully enjoyed herself haha. Thanks for taking such good care of her! Yes I do have a very fun P-day planned, but I will talk about that later!!!! I am glad that you enjoyed my description of Midsommar. I had to try and do it justice. Thank you so much for who you are mom. I can't imagine a world without you. :) Okay, so the Äldste that was around the corner when we were singing never did come and join us. :( Pretty sad, but he just wasn't into the idea. Oh well... Äldste Barlow and I are getting along great. We learn FROM and most importantly, ABOUT each other more and more every day. Just so you are up to date on that aspect! :) Alright!! Now on to my P-day plans!!! Are you ready?!?! Seriously though, this is going to rock your world!! Äldste Barlow and I have made plans to go to THE VERY FIRST IKEA STORE EVER!!!!! It just so happens that it is in our area! Just think about it. What were the chances that my 1st area on my mission would have the very FIRST IKEA store inside it's boundaries!! I am stoked, and I will take lots and lots of pictures! I am just beaming with excitement!!! I am sure that Josh and HIllary got a good laugh out of that! Gooood times!! lol Yeah, so that is what we are doing today! We will eat lunch there and just enjoy a nice relaxing day! :) Alright, one more thing before I get to the Spiritual aspect for today. We have these little bugs called "knott" in our apartment. The Swedes explained them as a hybrid mosquito. They are super super small, fly absolutely silently, and they bite everywhere! They are just terrible. I have taken some pictures of my arms and legs that I will show you when I send my picture card next. Anyway, their bites swell really big and itch somethin' fierce! haha Äldste Barlow left the window open a couple of times because it was too hot, and now our apartment is infested with them! Don't worry though, we went to the pharmacy and now have some bug spray that should work! Wish us luck! :) lol, now that I have said that, on to the Spiritual part! So I have realized something rather interesting to me. Throughout my time in the mission field I have come to realize that the world... is a very dark place. I have seen things that I never thought I would see in a million years. Met people I really wish I hadn't and at times it all really gets me down. I get down on my knees and pray. And pray, and pray, and pray! For strength, but also for those people. I have been taken out of my shelter that I had in my little world in the USA and have been placed in the "real world". This has made me realize just what I have, and what these people don't have. If we look at our lives for a second... We have it REALLY good. Warm places to sleep at night, food whenever we really want it, a loving family just an arms length away. But there is something else that we have that truly sets us apart from the rest. Thats the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have been moved to tears many times just thinking about what a blessing this is in my life. I can have so much peace and comfort in this world. Everyone out there without this is struggling. These are our BROTHERS and SISTERS!!! They are truly in need of our help. I just finished reading "Our Search For Happiness", and it was incredible. It is so true! We WANT to share what we have sooo much, because we know how it blesses us, and we want our brothers and sisters to "suffer no more". I just thought that was interesting to think about. Sorry if that was a little preachy. haha I am a missionary, I can't help it I guess! Well family and friends, I love each and every one of you! I am happy, loved, and just plain excited for this next week! Are you excited for this next week?!?! Its going to be great and I just know it! You are in my prayers! Until next week...
Faithful and Steady, I AM Ready.....
Äldste Kundis :)
Well, another fine p-day to you! Lets start things off with a little story! Yay!! Okay so this morning I went to go get my hair cut. We had decided on a place because the previous elders had decided to put it on the information sheet in the apartment as "the" place to go. So I decided that I would just go and what happened... happened. So we walk in right, and it looks pretty normal. The lady asks who is getting a hair cut and I raise my hand?? haha :) She directs me to a chair and I ask her if she speaks English. (I would normally have tried in Swedish, but this was my hair we were talking about, so I wanted to make sure she understood.) Well, she didn't speak any English at all. Which was VERY unsettling. Most people in Sweden speak pretty good English.... So I was all like, "ugh.... what?!?!" lol I called Äldste Barlow over to help me, and I told him just what I wanted, and he translated. Everything seemed fine and calm, then she started the frenzy. Seriously, I have never had razor sharp scissors move so quickly so close to my head and ears before! So skip to the end. It was a very close hair cut, but I am sure it looks better than it did before.. At least I hope lol. So when we got to the register I knew why it was the missionaries favorite place.. lol it only cost me 130 SEK. Which is about $16.50 USD. So normally, just to give you an idea... Haircuts here cost around 260 SEK so that would be about $33.00 USD. Pretty pricey for a missionary! Well, anyway!!! That was my quick little story! How are you doing? YOU! RIGHT NOW! Hey there. Are you doing good? I sure hope the answer is yes! :) I care about you! :) haha. Sorry! So lets see.. What has been going on in Växjö, Sweden recently. Lots and lots of finding work still. Lot and lots of language learning still. haha One of these days I will have this language down. I can't wait!!! Even though I know I must. Okay so this last Thursday we had our district meeting as usual and then our zone leaders stayed with us in Växjö to do work-overs. That means they work with us for a day and leave the next morning. So I got to work with Äldste DeBaltzo. He is a really awesome Äldste! He went to BYU before his mission and was in the BYU Mens Chours!! lol One of my dreams. So got to work with him! It was pretty funny because here I am the greenie and I am going on splits with an Äldste who has like 23 days left in the mission field. It was good though. He gave me some great advice, and shared some awesome experiences! We had a very fun time together! What else... The weather here has been gorgeous!! Nothing but absolutely sunny, and I have a very nice missionary tan. lol I actually hope it rains again soon! I was growing kinda fond of it! haha What on earth did I just say!?!? I am sorry, this e-mail must be all over the place! We really have had a basic week. We have visited lots of less-actives and members and trying to find more people. Its very hard work I have come to realize. I wrote in my journal a while ago, and I said this, "I am starting to think that going to college and having a job is a piece of cake!" :) I know.. funny right? Anyway, I should just get to the e-mail now! Hello father that I love so much!!!! You are amazing!!! Okay, you asked me how much time I have to e-mail. I have just enough time to type those I love and the Mission President! Sometimes not enough time to type ALL that I love because one, there are rules against that, and two, because I love alot of people. Pretty much everyone in the entire world! haha So, I am glad that you have been enjoying the long e-mails. I am not the best typer in the world, but I am getting better! I probably made the last one super long because I was explaining Midsommar to you! And because I love, love, love, love talking to you all! I am getting sooo many fun stories and experiences I just want to share them all! I loved your story about the dancing in Japan!! Haha I was imagining it in my mind and trust me, you won in my mind as well!! Nana eats pickled herring too?!?! How awesome is that! I love her!! Way to go Nana! So it is the 4th of July!! WOOOOO!!! We didn't do anything to celebrate except wish each other a happy 4th haha. I know... boring. lol But I was so happy to hear that you celebrated with people on the block! Its great to hear that you had such a fun time with Craig and Becky! Funny story, I actually had a legitimate dream about the 4th in Great Falls! It was kinda funny. The lady next door.... Char?? The one who is sensitive to the noise of the fire-works. Yeah, she had come over to the house and told us that she was going to take all of our fireworks because she knew that it was going to be a problem this year. haha when I woke up I just laughed. I was all like, "where on earth did THAT dream come from?!?" Sorry.. lol So back on track! Thank you for your words again Dad! You are incredible! I love you!! Hello Matt!!! Wow bud, it sounds like you had a pretty awesome 4th! I could just imagine you unwrapping the artillery shells! I was really glad that you got my letter! I was getting a little worried there.. Whats this I hear about you working up in Ft. Benton? What are you doing up there? Don't tell me that you have a job?? I would really like to know whats going on with that! Anyway, thanks Matt!! I love you sooo much, and I am glad to hear that you are enjoying your summer! I can feel your energy through your e-mails and that truly is comforting! Keep lovin' life and growing everyday! I love you bother!!!! :) Hello Mom!!! Wow, you are just love pure and true! You have a very loving son over here in Sweden! Wow I loved your description of the 4th. I could just imagine it perfectly! Molly sounds like she fully enjoyed herself haha. Thanks for taking such good care of her! Yes I do have a very fun P-day planned, but I will talk about that later!!!! I am glad that you enjoyed my description of Midsommar. I had to try and do it justice. Thank you so much for who you are mom. I can't imagine a world without you. :) Okay, so the Äldste that was around the corner when we were singing never did come and join us. :( Pretty sad, but he just wasn't into the idea. Oh well... Äldste Barlow and I are getting along great. We learn FROM and most importantly, ABOUT each other more and more every day. Just so you are up to date on that aspect! :) Alright!! Now on to my P-day plans!!! Are you ready?!?! Seriously though, this is going to rock your world!! Äldste Barlow and I have made plans to go to THE VERY FIRST IKEA STORE EVER!!!!! It just so happens that it is in our area! Just think about it. What were the chances that my 1st area on my mission would have the very FIRST IKEA store inside it's boundaries!! I am stoked, and I will take lots and lots of pictures! I am just beaming with excitement!!! I am sure that Josh and HIllary got a good laugh out of that! Gooood times!! lol Yeah, so that is what we are doing today! We will eat lunch there and just enjoy a nice relaxing day! :) Alright, one more thing before I get to the Spiritual aspect for today. We have these little bugs called "knott" in our apartment. The Swedes explained them as a hybrid mosquito. They are super super small, fly absolutely silently, and they bite everywhere! They are just terrible. I have taken some pictures of my arms and legs that I will show you when I send my picture card next. Anyway, their bites swell really big and itch somethin' fierce! haha Äldste Barlow left the window open a couple of times because it was too hot, and now our apartment is infested with them! Don't worry though, we went to the pharmacy and now have some bug spray that should work! Wish us luck! :) lol, now that I have said that, on to the Spiritual part! So I have realized something rather interesting to me. Throughout my time in the mission field I have come to realize that the world... is a very dark place. I have seen things that I never thought I would see in a million years. Met people I really wish I hadn't and at times it all really gets me down. I get down on my knees and pray. And pray, and pray, and pray! For strength, but also for those people. I have been taken out of my shelter that I had in my little world in the USA and have been placed in the "real world". This has made me realize just what I have, and what these people don't have. If we look at our lives for a second... We have it REALLY good. Warm places to sleep at night, food whenever we really want it, a loving family just an arms length away. But there is something else that we have that truly sets us apart from the rest. Thats the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have been moved to tears many times just thinking about what a blessing this is in my life. I can have so much peace and comfort in this world. Everyone out there without this is struggling. These are our BROTHERS and SISTERS!!! They are truly in need of our help. I just finished reading "Our Search For Happiness", and it was incredible. It is so true! We WANT to share what we have sooo much, because we know how it blesses us, and we want our brothers and sisters to "suffer no more". I just thought that was interesting to think about. Sorry if that was a little preachy. haha I am a missionary, I can't help it I guess! Well family and friends, I love each and every one of you! I am happy, loved, and just plain excited for this next week! Are you excited for this next week?!?! Its going to be great and I just know it! You are in my prayers! Until next week...
Faithful and Steady, I AM Ready.....
Äldste Kundis :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
