"I'm Dreaming of a White... October!"

This is at the bus stop a little bit down the street from our place. :) SNOW!! :)

Creating the CAKE!!!

Finished product, up-close!!!! :)

Birthday Goodies !!!

Aldste Watts' Delicious Dinner!!

Party with Jonkoping !!!!


Hej Familj!

Well, thats right... SNOW!!! We had quite the little blizzard on our hands! It all started during our district meeting. We had just finished eating at an all you can eat Thai food place and were heading to the church building to begin the actual meeting. On our way there, we noticed a few white things falling out of the sunny Swedish sky. To our delight, rather, my delight and the older missionaries horror, we discovered it to be snowing! I freaked out! I was dancing around saying, "the first snow on my mission to Sweden!" I was pumped! I am really excited for the winter and the low low low temperatures. BRING IT ON! haha I know it will be really tough, but I am pretty sure if I keep this attitude up I will be able to successfully drive myself crazy and not notice how terrible it is going to get! ;) lol Anyway, I will try and attach some pics for you. The snow became pretty bad throughout the night, but it is pretty much gone now. So, how is life in the good old US of A?? It is going well here in the good old SWEDE of N.. What? haha :) No, but really... I am loving Sweden! It is fun to learn the language and experience the culture. It is like every day I get to see something completely new, or learn a word that makes no sense whatsoever! haha Committing words to memory is getting easier, but still, Swedish IS foreign to me. I don't think it will ever be non-foreign to me! :) Okay, I am going to get to the e-mails now! First we have Dad! I love you soooo much Dad... I really do! :) Okay, haha I am not old! I am a fine young 20 year old looking for adventure! No gray hairs I am happy to report! :) About the lack of money... no, this doesn't happen every month. It was just this month because we had to buy a lot to get the essentials that are normally already in the apartment. So, we should get money before the week is up and we can go buy "real food" again. It will be really nice to be able to just buy sliced bread rather than making it and slicing it ourselves! haha OH! Yeah, this is funny. We ran out of good yeast for the breads, so now when we make bread it is like a fluffy cracker! :) It still tastes good, and has all the nutrition we need, but just not big fluffy bread. We have the trials now, but it is really fun! Being poor is quite the adventure! Don't worry Dad.. I am taking care of myself and everything is well!!! So, it sounds like you had a great time in the temple! I am glad that you were able to go! Oh how I look forward to being in there again! :) It is AWESOME! HAHAHA You were hit by a car on your bike?? (while on your mission... lol) I am glad that you were okay! But I must admit, I thought it was a little funny! Please expound on that in the future some time. I would love to hear how it went down. :) So, it is getting colder there in Great Falls huh? That DOES mean crosstown game!!!! It is pretty funny how the ward scheduled the Halloween party on the same night as the game. I think they have done that in the past as well.. I think I remember not attending the party for the very same reason! Anyway, enjoy all the fun of crosstown! Go CMR!! Well, I love you Dad! Thank you for thinking of me in the temple.. I know the Lord is teaching me every single day! I love it! :) Okay now moving on! MATT!!! I love you buddy! Way to go... MORP with Hollie! I remember you two hanging out quite a lot back in the day. How are you going to answer her? Rather, how did you answer her? You know what I thought was always funny... The person would only get a creative response back if they were saying "yes"... I think is would be funny if just once someone gave a "no" response but with all of the fun of a "yes" answer! Just think about it! haha Guide the person on a series of fun scavenger hunt activities and in the end the final rose would just have a card that said, "no." Haha!! Thats a little mean, and I truly hope no one ever decides to do that! But... bahaha! :) Okay, anyway! Well, Matt you will be happy to know that I have started a work-out routine again. It is one that Äldste Watts' MTC companion wrote for him and it is supposed to get me ripped! haha We will see! I am hurting pretty bad right now so that is a good sign! Oh man.. Why do you have to always bring back those good memories! You make me miss you sooo much every time I read your e-mail! That Little Big Town concert was awesome, and it didn't hurt that we WERE in the center of the SECOND ROW!! haha Good times! It is good to hear that you are having fun and that you have lots of friends! That is always good, and makes High School that much more enjoyable! Haha I am also glad that you are enjoying the stereo I purchased... It IS nice, and I am happy you are finally appreciating it! Well I love you Matt! Thank you for the update on the USA! Keep up the hard work in school and know that I love you! Okay now it is Mom's turn! I love you sooo much Mom!! I am glad that you can use that story of the AP's in you sacrament meeting in your talk! Just remember, that even though the car was totalled, the box survived!! :) I was sad to read about your misfortune in Billings. It is never fun when you want to go to the temple and you can't. Trust me, I wish I could be there every day, but I just have to wait six months or something like that. haha I am sure you were very bummed to find out that your recommend was expired, however, you will get it renewed and be able to go with Dad next time! :) It will be wonderful! I am glad you had a good time together and that all was well! Mmmm Olive Garden! Now thats just mean to tell me! :) jk What on earth did you order from the Distribution Center in Swedish?? Are you learning the language mother? Are you getting some materials? haha But really though, what did you order?! Speaking of ordering, you asked what I might enjoy for Christmas.. I had a thought the other day. I would REALLY enjoy one of the BYU Football shirts for this year.. I think they are normally five dollars and you can get them from the BYU Bookstore. However, maybe with the way the season is going they will be on sale for half price! ! ! haha jkjk I love BYU Football.. I stick with them even through the embarrassing tough times.. I would need a large, if that.. Definitely not an XL... :) :) Just something I thought would be sweet! Other than that... I am doing well on other things. I have lots of toothpaste and floss (don't worry, I brush at least twice daily and floss everyday!), I am good on everything else too. A new tie or two would be cool! haha Okay, I need to stop this talk! ! ! Maybe a size large sweater? Long sleeve?? haha ;) lol jkjk Well, I love you very much Mom! Keep smiling and loving those around you! :) Okay well, now a quick word about Halloween!! I want everyone to enjoy themselves, but there is something I want everyone to do.... Go to Taco Bell... Sometime.. It doesn't have to be ON Halloween, but just go there... Enjoy it! haha That was very random, but my mind wanders to last Halloween when I ate there with Josh and Hillary. Mmmm! Okay, now on to the Spiritual Thought for the week! I want to talk about a talk I was reading and gave a lesson on in Priesthood meeting this past Sunday. It is entitled "Watching with All Perseverance" and it was given during the April 2010 General Conference by Elder David A. Bednar. In the talk he gives parents three things to do to help their children. He describes them as "a Spiritual early warning system". The three parts are first, reading and talking about the Book of Mormon, second, bearing testimony spontaneously, and third, inviting children to act. I LOVED the talk! What a powerful system not only for parents and their children, but for us as individuals! The first one, the Book of Mormon.. It is another testament of Jesus Christ.. Who are we trying to follow? Who are we looking up to as a constant example? Thats right, Jesus Christ. Reading from the Book of Mormon, and most importantly talking about it will help us come closer to Christ, and strengthen our testimonies. Speaking of testimonies, the second part was bearing testimony spontaneously.. What a great way for us to realize what we truly have in the Gospel! When we bear testimony it not only strengthens those who might hear it, but it also strengthens us and makes us happy to have all of our many blessings. I can testify to everyone that I know that when we really make an effort to bear testimony spontaneously that we will become happier people. We will see just how much the Gospel of Jesus Christ connects with our lives, and we will in turn look at live in a much more positive light! I have seen this within myself on my mission! I love it! Okay, now the third one. "Inviting children to act". This was a little bit harder to relate to individuals, but I like to look at it this way... When we take the first two principles Elder Bednar makes and really apply them to our lives we will be strong when adversity comes, or a hard choice is placed before us. We will "act" in the right manner and make correct choices! haha I hope you are following all of this! :) So I guess what we can take from this is to work on these small and simple things like reading and talking about the Book of Mormon and bearing testimony spontaneously and see just how much of a difference it makes! I promise that it is a HUGE difference! I love learning about all of this, and I hope you can understand why I enjoy explaining and testifying! It makes me happy to share! :) lol Anyway, I need to get going! I love you all VERY much! You help me a lot! Okay, until next week! :)

Trogen och Stadig, Är Jag Redo!!!!!
Faithful and Steady, I AM Ready!!!!!

Äldste Kundis :) :) :)

Out of the TEENS!! Woo!

Hej Familj!

Well, let me start out by saying I really don't have much time! I received an amazing amount of e-mail this week due to my Birthday and all!! It was quite the surprise to see soooo many! I feel quite loved! So, yes, having all of these e-mails has diminished my time by a lot! So, this means that a lot of the questions asked by those that sent e-mails will mostly be answered here in this e-mail. Well, I feel it only appropriate to begin with my BIRTHDAY!!! It was awesome! We traveled to Göteborg for stake conference and were able to be with all of the missionaries in the zone as well as President and Sister Anderson. Stake conference was held in the Svenska Mässan. That is a huge conference center, and it was FILLED with Swedes!! All, well mostly, Mormon! haha It was so awesome to be surrounded by LDS members! I loved it! So, after stake conference we traveled back to Skövde and did a little work and then headed home to make cake! haha We didn't have the right pan to make the cake the exact way that you do mom, but it turned out really well! We ended up baking three separate cakes and then stacked them on top of each other with the chocolate and jam fillings! MMM! I can't wait to eat it today! Oh! So yes, we are having a little get together here to celebrate! We invited the elders in Jönköping to come up and we are going to have a good time! We are eating lunch at an "American" pizza place (not really American, but the closest anyone has come in Sweden!) then we will head home and have cake, then we will brave the cold weather and go play some soccer! It will be a blast! I am really excited! So, I guess I answered a few questions there... Yes, I did get the box, yes, I did get the letters, and THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR IT ALL!!! :) OH! Last night I was treated to a dinner cooked by Äldste Watts. He made a potato, eggplant, zucchini, pepper, garlic, cheese, onion, beef, casserole sort of thing.. haha It was REALLY good! He also made some yummy bread to go with it! I felt like a king! Oh, here is a funny thing... We are flat broke! lol We have no money in our Mission accounts! We have to bake our own bread and drink water with everything! It is AWESOME!! :) I am loving every day of it! Mornings are normally oatmeal, lunches are normally sandwiches, and dinners are normally potatoes, or some kind of pasta.. :) It is quite the challenge, but I am learning how to survive on what I have and to be thankful for ALL that I have. Don't worry parents!! I am healthy and LOVING life! We will receive money towards the end of the month! Anyway, a new topic! THE AMAZING RACE!! They were in Kiruna?! How awesome is that!? Yes, I do know where that is, and the Ice Hotel is really what drives people up that far above the arctic circle. Every missionary who serves in the northern areas of Sweden always tries to go there. I hope I can make it there someday! We will see! It is quite funny that this happened because on our bus ride to come e-mail I was telling Äldste Watts how crazy it would be if the Amazing Race came to Sweden.. NO JOKE. Just this morning! I freaked out when I opened the e-mail! :) Crazy! Okay, what else.. Zone conference was a blast! Aside from the Spirit and learning, they sang Happy Birthday to me, and Sister Anderson presented me with a delicious chocolate bar! MMmmm! It was a fun day! Hmm.. other things... Let me just get to the e-mail while I still have some time! First we have Matt.. My brother that I love very much! Well! You my brother sound like the Hulk! The CMR 800 lb Club!?! How crazy is that! Good luck with that last 90 lbs.!! Feel free to take a break.. haha I am not as built as you obviously are! haha But you have an unfair advantage.. A little thing we call..... WEIGHTS!! haha All I have is a dinky rubber band thing.. (I am thankful for what I have.. ;) ) lol Anyway, yeah, about my truck.. You don't have to park it in the garage! Haha Park it wherever! :) Sounds like Seminary is pretty fun! Enjoy it because not everyone has that opportunity! What a blessing huh? :) Anyway, I love you Matt! You are an amazing brother! Okay next we have Dad.. My Dad that I love very much! Well you asked a little about the work here so I will give you an update! The work is s l o w haha. Lots of finding work! You see, Skövde was closed for a reason, so even after we got the area book we didn't have much. I loved what you said about the first impression though. It is so true! We tried as best we could to do just what you said! However, the members attacked us with their smiles and confidence! They are SO excited to have their missionaries back! We have received referrals and all is well with the members. :) It is so cool that you and Mom are heading to the temple on Tuesday! Let me know how it goes and know that I will be praying for you extra hard on that day. As you sit in the temple, know that I am there in my prayers and thoughts supporting you and Mom in your decisions and promptings. :) I love the temple and I look forward to the day when we can attend together again! It will be an awesome day! :) Good luck speaking in church on the 31st! What an AWESOME topic you have! The light of Christ and the whisperings of the Holy Ghost.. Man, thats pure missionary gold right there. I try to teach that every day! When I teach about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith I tell them about the whisperings of the Holy Ghost and how they can know of the truthfulness for themselves. You of course know this dad! You did the same on your mission! :) It is awesome to see them follow the promptings and whisperings and read the book searching for their answers! Awesome! :) Anyway, I love you Dad! You are an amazing father, and I am lucky to be your son! :) Okay, next we have Mom.. My Mom that I love very much! Wow, thank you for answering all of my questions and even taking it upon yourself to answer questions I didn't ask! They were very helpful!!!! :) Wow, this is cool too... You told me that you sang the Spirit of God in Church in honor of my b-day... well, guess what song we sang in STAKE CONFERENCE?!?! haha yes! The Swedish Version!! It was soooo awesome! :) Made me cry just a little! :) The primary sang me the happy birthday song?? How cool is that! Be sure to thank them for the song and tell them to prepare to serve a mission! They will love every second of it! I miss my primary days! Good times! Except when I would be forced to sing a solo in the primary program! haha nah.. that was cool too! So, Rhett and Jaren are in the MTC now! How awesome! I hope they enjoy the MTC as much as I did! That place is awesome! Everyone treats you like a superhero! haha Well, I love you very much Mom! Thank you for all that you do! The birthday box was amazing... It really made me feel like it was my birthday! :) OH!! The hard drive works amazingly! It will help a lot! Even though it went through a car crash! Yes... a car crash! The Assistants to the President flipped and rolled their car while driving on the E-40.. (an interstate basically) It was filled with packages and orders for zone conference. Don't worry.. the AP's are just fine. They walked away with only a scratch that was covered with a tiny band-aid. :) All is well! I will talk about that more as my Spiritual thought. Oh!! One more thing.. I want to send my picture card, but I need you to tell me what the last picture you have from me is.. That way I can erase those old ones and send you just the new ones so you don't have tons of repeats. :) Okay.. I think thats all.. I love you!! Allllrrrigggghhhtttttyyy everyone! It is time for my Spiritual Thought! It comes from the car crash I just described. The assistants showed up to zone conference on a Spiritual high. They took a few minutes to share their story. It went a little like this. As they were driving down the E-40 the sun was setting and it was right in their eyes. They couldn't see in front of them and so the elder driving decided to follow the little white line on his right and figured that if he did that it would guide him along the right path. I am sure that all of us have been in that situation at one point or another... As they were driving all seemed well, and then BAM! They were sent shooting up into the air and the car flipped and rolled down the grass shoulder of the opposite side of the road. Glass was shattering, metal bending, and plastic was snapping. The car stopped rolling and the two just sat their in shock. I tell this story because of what they said. They later recounted that as they were flipping through the air they felt a force holding them back in their seats and they felt as calm as could be. Almost as if what was happening was not happening at all. One might say, it was the seat belts (that they both were wearing), but they felt something more. They felt protected, wrapped in the Lord's arms. They became quite emotional as the explained the promises the Lord gives to His servants. I want to talk a little about that. We are watched over. We really are! I can testify to that 100 times over! When we try as hard as we can to keep the commandments and live a life in harmony with the Spirit, the Lord will protect us! I am safe here in Sweden, I know my family is safe back in Montana and Utah, and for that I thank my Father in Heaven for each day. We must trust in the Lord and develop a relationship with Him. That is so much a part of what we MUST learn to do here in this life. I know that, and I am soooo thankful for the opportunity I have to be here in Sweden... Developing my relationship, strengthening my testimony and gaining trust... IN my SAVIOR Jesus Christ. I love you all very, very much. You are close to my heart and I know the Lord is protecting all of us. So, this week, lets all try to trust in the Lord more. I know that as we do, we will learn that we are loved... we are cared for... we ARE children of a Heavenly Father. Well, I need to get going! I love you all! Until next week...

Trogen och Stadig, Är Jag Redo!!!!!
Faithful and Steady, I AM Ready!!!!!

Äldste Kundis :) :) :)

Guess who is going to be TWENTY?!?

Hej Familj!!

Welcome to another Swedish P-Day! I want you to know that I am doing well! Haha Things have been going pretty good here in Skövde, and everything is beginning to make progress. We still, sadly, do not have our area book yet because the office decided it would be too expensive to send. SO! That means that we will get the area book tomorrow at Zone Conference. This has made things very slow, but the work moves on still! Just so you know, Skövde was closed because it had no progressing investigators and things were just no good here. This means that it is REALLY starting from the ground up. Since we have been here we have received a few referrals from church members, and they seem really, really excited to have missionaries back in the area. Yesterday was our first Sunday here with the branch, and it was awesome! There are more people than there were in Växjö, so that makes me feel a little bit more at home. They have a beautiful chapel here, and everyone seems very nice! We had dinner with the branch president and his wife last night.. Guess what they served??? Haha.. Lasagna! Mmm!! Don't you worry mom, it was not as good as your delicious lasagna, but it was nice to have food made by someone other than a missionary! For dessert we had a banana chocolate cake that was hot out of the oven with ice cold vanilla sauce on top!! mmmm!! It was to die for!! haha I don't know if they have vanilla sauce in the USA?? I have been told no, but its sooo good it is hard to believe! Anyway, the dinner was really nice! VERY fancy... I felt like I was dining with the president! Basically we were spoiled rotten! So! For this p-day we are traveling down to Jönköping to spend the day. I am not sure yet all that we are doing but it will be very fun! Let me get right to the e-mail this week! First we have my wonderful father! I love you Dad! Don't you worry... We do not have any bed bugs! haha We washed everything and made sure of it! But you were right.. I was pretty flustered about the bugs in Halmstad! Yeah, I agree with what you said about conference being my life line to church headquarters and the USA. It made me feel really good to hear their familiar voices! It really was something special! I am sorry that you missed most of conference because of your travels. But you did get to hear the general authority from SWEDEN!! Do you remember Per G. Malm's talk? Yeah.. he is from Sweden! When he told that story about Göteborg, Sweden and that tree that was filled with garbage, we all freaked out! It was cool to have our country represented! Anyway, lol thank you so much for the AWESOME birthday wishes! It is going to be strange getting out of the "teens"!! lol I remember turning 13 and being super excited to be a teenager! I only have a few more days of that!! Agh!! lol I love you Dad! Thank you for your wisdom and inspiring thoughts. Okay now on to my little brother Matt!! I love you Matt! First off, why are you asking me about my truck?? haha Whats going on there? Tell me, or else! jkjk Sounds like you have had an amazing weekend! I am glad to hear that you are enjoying school this year! How are the classes coming along? What are you studying in seminary right now? haha I ask you so many questions, but that is only because I miss spending time with you, and I want to know how you are doing. I pray for you a lot Matt.. I hope you realize that. You are at a point in your life where it is very important to make good choices and to start preparing for your future. I know how hard that is, and how stressful that can be! So, you get extra prayers from me! :) I love you man! You are quite the stud! From your pictures it looks like your work outs are coming along VERY nicely! haha I am gonna lose it when I see you again!! Just promise not to crush me.. ok?? ok!! haha :) Thank you for wishing me a happy birthday, I will be sure to do something fun. We have our stake conference this next Sunday in Göteborg. So, I will be there for my birthday! Woo! Anyway, I love you Matt! Always remember that I am thinking of you and if you ever need strength, I am right there for you in prayer. :) Okay, now on to Mom!! I love you Mom!! Yes, I am settling into Skövde nicely. It is a beautiful place! It is not as diverse as Växjö... Barely any immigrants. Mostly all Swedes! Which is pretty cool because they are my favorite! haha jkjk I don't like picking favorites! You WILL eat at Mossen's one day! It was funny because after we left I told Äldste Landeen that when I came back I would bring my family here to eat! haha :) Thank you for your thoughts about conference! You are soo right! Obedience IS the key! Out here it is everything. Obedience is the first law of heaven, and it is also the first law of missionary work! I have seen how obedience blesses the work AND the missionary! :) Wow, you had an awesome time in Utah! (aside from Annie going to the hospital... I will be praying for her. Tell her I love her and that I hope she feels better soon) I am glad that everything is going well with Colin! You looked very happy to be holding him! :) Brought a few tears to my eyes! Matt and Dad looked awesome! They are so happy! :) I like to see them together like that. Okay here are some questions... Ready? okay.. Did the stake president say it was okay to stay in the Two Rivers Ward? How are the renters who are living in the house? Is Molly sleeping outside? Whats up with my truck? Can you send a copy of my call letter? What was that book series called that I read about the guy and his music career? hahahaha sorry about all of those, but I have been forgetting to ask over the past weeks! Okay, thank you for the awesome birthday wishes! It feels strange yet cool to be turning 20! I wish I had your awesome birthday cake!! mmmm! DELICIOUS! :) Maybe for my 22nd birthday!!?? haha mhmm, for sure! Mom, you constantly amaze me at how well you take care of me... thousands of miles away! I love you! As for Christmas.. haha you know this is always hard for me! :) I like your idea! Santa always knows what I would like! lol We should probably just leave it up to him!!! ;) Anyway, I love you Mom!! You and the rest of the family are in my prayers! :) Alright everyone, now it is time for the Spiritual thought! I would like to share a part of a book I am reading entitled, "Believing Christ" by Stephen E. Robinson. In this part of the book he is talking about how at times many of us just don't trust the Savior. We often get frightened and intimidated and feel that there is no way that Christ can save us from our imperfections. He explains further that a lot of members get caught up in saving themselves.. a task that is impossible might I add. We see Christ as a guide, a coach, but not as the SAVIOR!!! This has been huge for me... Especially in realizing that I am not perfect, but that through Christ, I can become prefect! Don't beat yourself up over your imperfections..... we ALL have them! Luckily we don't follow the Law of Moses anymore, and we have a more excellent path to follow.. A path full of mercy and love. I love you all! I know that as we strive to become perfect through Christ we will find the happiness we search after. I need to go catch a train.. haha I will have an AMAZING birthday, and I will tell you all about it next week! Keep the faith, and know that I love you. :) I really really really do! :)

Trogen och Stadig, Är Jag Redo!!!!!
Faithful and Steady, I AM Ready!!!!!

Äldste Kundis :) :) :)

Skövde: Trials make the faith grow stronger!

Hej Familj!

As you can tell from the title of this e-mail my transition into Skövde has been a roller coaster to say the least. Let me start by giving you the full run down of what happened. I took a train from Växjö to Lund where I then took a train up to Halmstad to stay the night with three other Elders. Guess what happened there?? I was attacked by bed bugs... haha yeah... It was terrible! I awoke with bites everywhere! Halmstad has been having some problems, but they were supposedly solved... I guess NOT! That was a pain to deal with. Then, that morning I took a train to Göteborg (Mentioned in General Conference) While in Göteborg I spent the day with one of my new zone leaders Äldste Landeen. We explored a little and ate lunch at a place famous to missionaries for delicious KEBAB called Mossen's. Haha It is a pretty shakey establishment, but the food lulls you into a sense of security that is absolutely mouth watering! lol :) Hows that for an introduction! Anyone want to go to Mossen's???? Anyway, after lunch we headed to the Göteborg Institute Center to relax for a bit. However, the news we received there was anything but relaxing! We received a phone call from the mission office informing us that no one had, nor knew where the keys to our apartment in Skövde were. We were sent on a mission to the Zone Leader's apartment to search high and low for the missing keys. However, our efforts were fruitless. We were still without keys. Calls were made all over Sweden trying to track down these keys. We finally resorted to calling the landlord where we would live and asked him about it. He said that all he had was his one master key that he would not allow us to borrow... The office then called him and he decided that he would at least let us IN to the apartment. So, that problem was eventually settled for the time being. When Äldste Watts finally arrived in Göteborg we hopped on another train bound for Skövde. When we arrived the amazing Branch President and his wife picked us up, loaded our luggage, and drove us to the apartment. When we arrived our landlord was standing outside the door smoking looking at us coldly. He finally let us in to say the least... When we entered I was thrilled. We have an awesome apartment!! It is soooo much bigger than Växjö's apartment. Haha I guess that sisters were in the area last, so, as we all know, the apartment was relatively clean and organised. :) The Branch President and his wife gave us a sack filled with bread, butter and orange juice as they left because they knew that we had absolutely nothing in the apartment. We were VERY thankful to them! :) This happy point in my story will now take a sharp turn towards the not so happy. Sure the apartment was nice, but things were just not right. For example... There was no area book at all... To all of the missionaries and past missionaries who are reading this, I am sure you understand how we were feeling. Being in a new area is hard enough, but no area book makes things seem impossible. Also, to add to this, we did not have a phone charger and the battery on our little mobile was running low. Our communications with the office were quite limited. ALSO, the shower started leaking in the cellar of the house where our apartment is located, so we had the landlord running all over the place trying to fix the problem... I just want everyone to know that despite these challenges...... Despite these hard times.... Despite these seemingly impossible road blocks...... The Lord is continually lifting me up. My prayers have become pleadings and my testimony has become a rock, built upon my SAVIOR Jesus Christ. I want you to know that during these past few days I have often asked myself this question, "How does the Lord expect me to go on......" I received an answer that not only calms my own "troubled heart", but lifts my testimony "high on a mountain top". :) During my prayers I felt at peace. During the days I felt relief... During those amazing sessions of general conference I felt the stirrings of my heart burn me to the core. I KNOW that Jesus lives. He is the Christ! Something happened during conference that I will NEVER forget. I can never deny what I felt. My prayers were answered and my nerves calmed. The words of my friends, the Prophet, the Quorum of the Twelve, the Seventies, and all others that spoke brought peace to my heart. They brought with them a determination to help each one of us individually, and I truly believe that they did that. I know that as I was listening on the edge of my seat the Holy Ghost spoke with me. I found guidance for the here and now, and for my future as a life long Disciple of Christ. Times are hard, but as the title says, "Trials make the faith grow stronger!" I know and have faith that I will make it through these tough times. Things are already starting to look up. The Area Book was found as well as the charger, and both are already in the mail on their way to us. The keys were found in the apartment in a drawer and the landlord is more friendly now. The Lord is watching out for me... I know that... I testify to that.. These trials change me. Each and every one is teaching me a lesson, and I take every opportunity I have to thank my Father in Heaven for the privilege I have to serve as a missionary. I don't think I would have been able to really see what this gospel means to me and the influence it truly has for good in MY life had I not decided to serve. A good example of what I am talking about is expressed in President Uchtdorf's talk he gave in the Saturday Morning Session. He said this, "We so often get distracted by things of no worth..." I believe THAT is sooooo true. I have found new priorities in the mission field, new things of GREAT worth, and guess what?? They bring AMAZING joy!! I love it so much! Okay, as you may tell, I am on a spiritual "cloud nine" of sorts. General Conference was like Christmas for me! I dont remember any other time I was soooo excited for Conference! I took notes like crazy just because I don't want to wait for the talks to come out in the Ensign and Liahona! haha :) I better move on or this will become a mini book. :) Okay that means time for the e-mail! haha I just looked at the clock and realised that I don't have time to respond to each of you personally today.. Time just whizzed by! I will say these few things though. CONGRATS TO JESSICA AND MATT!!!! COLIN IS BEAUTIFUL!!! It is good to know that everything went well and that Colin is okay! :) Also, it sounds like everyone really enjoyed their time in Dillion! I was glad to hear that everyone had a nice relaxing time and just enjoyed one another! I love you all soo much. My prayers are always with you. My heart is full... as in Jay E. Jensen's talk during the Sunday Morning Session, "I cannot say the smallest part of how I feel." I know this church is true, I know my Savior lives and LOVES ME. He loves you too, and so do I. Until next week...

Trogen och Stadig, Är Jag Redo!!!!!
Faithful and Steady, I AM Ready!!!!!

Äldste Kundis :) :) :)