What a crazy week!! ER #3!!!

Hej Familj!!!

Well, this truly has been a crazy past few days! First off let me inform you all of transfers! President called on Saturday and told me that I would be MOVING to Linköping as District Leader and that my new companion would be Äldste Maxwell! What about Äldste Lopp you may be questioning?? He is ALSO moving! Yup, we were doubled out! He is moving all the way down to Karlskrona! His new companion will be Äldste Larson. I am really excited to be moving down to Linköping! It is a pretty large city about two hours south of Stockholm by train. My new companion is awesome! He was in Karlstad when I was in Skövde so I have met him a lot and know him very well! It will be a great transfer! So, we are leaving today on a train that leaves at 21.39. (9:39PM) It is a night train so wish me luck! I hope I can get some sleep! Okay, now that you all know that I am loving life right now and know what is going on with transfers let me tell you all about a little thing that happened to me... Well, I don't want anyone to be worried, but I was in the Hospital. I AM OKAY!! Haha Remember that! On Friday night I developed symptoms of what we thought was possibly a stroke. The left side of my body went numb and my heart started to beat really fast. I layed down with a wet rag on my face (Because I was getting pretty warm) and we called President and Sister Newell. They told me that I should head to the Emergency Room and that we should keep them informed. We drove over there and checked in. The Doctors and Nurses were all very nice and polite and were amazed at the fact that I could speak Swedish with them!! haha :) They listened to my symptoms and ran a few tests to check some things. They rushed me down the halls to get a CT Scan of my brain and then told me that I would be staying overnight for observation. When they got me up to my room the kindest nurse took care of me and Äldste Lopp. We got into our beds and went to sleep. The nurse came and woke me up every hour to take my blood pressure and to run some tests to see how I was doing. She also informed me that the CT Scan came back and they had found nothing out of the ordinary. My mind calmed down a lot when I heard that. She let me sleep a little more and finally I was awake at 7:30 AM. They fed us breakfast and told us that the Doctor would be coming around soon to check up on me. When the Doctor came he asked me some questions and told me that he wanted to take and MRI of my brain to see if he could see anything more. He also told me that I would be staying again in the Hospital for observation. By this time the numbness had spread to my whole body. (I AM OKAY!! Haha I just need to continue to say that! Don't be alarmed!!) That day in the hospital was one of the most boring days of all time!! haha poor Äldste Lopp.. he had to sit in his chair all day flipping coins while I would doze in and out of sleep.. We took nothing with us when we went to the hospital and we couldn't leave each other so we just had to make due. Anyway, we were fed and taken care of. That night, (Saturday Night) I was able to sleep the whole night without them coming and waking me up. In the morning on Sunday my symptoms were still the same. However when the Doctor came I informed him of the transfer information (me, moving to Linköping on Tuesday) He told me that he was releasing me that day anyway. He said that my symptoms did not direct to anything wrong in the brain and that he felt that it was nothing to worry about. He told me that there are a lot of things that can cause my symptoms. For example, stress and anxiety and things in my environment. He made me feel good about leaving and trusting that this will be better. I was in good contact with President and Syster Newell and President made sure that I felt good transferring. As of now, my symptoms are the same. I am able to feel and sense hot and cold, it is just that my skin feels somewhat numbed. Kind of like when the medicine is wearing off that the dentist gives you. I am trusting in the Lord and in the Doctors that all will be as it should. I am able to run and jump and walk and the whole nine yards.. Nothing to worry about! I would most definitely ask you all for your prayers though. It is not really easy focusing on the work right now, and I know that I need to! I spent a lot of time on my knees praying for comfort and I do believe that I have received that. When I came to the understanding that the Lord is in control and that I must trust in him a huge feeling of warmth and safety came over me. It was something I will never forget! Even if this never gets better and thats that, I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and that everything is how it should be. I am NEVER alone. I am happy. I am LOVED! Nothing to worry about! I just look forward to Linköping and the new adventures that await me there. I am being made stronger, even if I have to be made a little weaker at first. I love you all very much! This week has been a great one in Örnsköldsvik. Sadly, because of the little incident I was not able to go out to the Karlsson's farm.. :( But! We were able to find a really awesome guy this week. He is truly looking for God and Jesus Christ. He told us that he wants his old life back, (going to church, being a good kid) and that he feels now is the time to make that happen. I am sad to be leaving him, but I know that he will be blessed to meet with the missionaries and find what he is seeking. It will be hard leaving Övik with all of its nature and good hearted people, but this move gives me a new chance to experience new things, places and people! I am excited for that! Okay I am going to get to the e-mails now that I have like NO TIME!! haha How does this always happen?!?! Okay first off we have Dad!!! I love you Dad!!! That is great to hear that Matt won his first football game! Way to cheer on your son! To victory! Sounds like you are having an awesome time in OKLAHOMA! (where the wind comes sweeping down the plain!) lol! :) Take it all in and enjoy your time there! Yeah, the Surströmming was an experience and I was glad to have tried it! Dad, I love you so much! Your e-mail this week had some promises that I needed to hear. Thank you for being in tune with the Spirit and for being the best father a son could have! I love you! Haha, and you call me your hero.. yeah right.. you are mine!!!! Have a fantastic week and I look forward to hearing from you next week! Okay now it is Mom!!! I love you Mom!!! You are also my hero Mom! You and Dad are always there for me! Thank you! :) Yes, transfer week has us ALL up on pins and needles... haha So much so that I went numb!! haha lol okay maybe that was not the right time for that joke.. lol ;) I am excited for what is coming and you should be too! Think about the new pictures from Linköping and all of the fun your son will be having preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ! :) It's awesome! Soooo glad to hear that Matt's B-day went well and that he is happy! My letter to him should be coming pretty soon! Yay! Has he gotten it yet?! Like I told Dad, have fun in Oklahoma! Take part in that new culture and take LOTS of pictures! I love those things! So, you saw missionaries calling home from the SLC Airport huh?? Wow, that was a while ago! Those Elders and Sisters are going to remember that for a long time!!! I am jealous of all the wonderful times they have in front of them! I love you Mom! Have a fun time in OK! Okay now it is time for Jessica!!! I love you Jessica!!! Wow, it was great hearing from you! Thank you for taking care of my parents while they are visiting you in Oklahoma! I know that you will show them a good time! It is sooooo good that you have the missionaries over for dinner! I know that they really appreciate it! As for the noodling in OK.. Not quite sure I am down with that one... Haha I have heard about that and watched it on like Discovery Channel before, but never really had a burning desire to try it. I guess if I had someone show me how I would be ready to at least try. (not saying I would be successful... lol) :) It is so awesome that you want to be a member missionary! That is truly the way the work is going to progress. When we live our religion so to speak and try to be a good example of the Savior, our sharing of the Gospel will increase without us even noticing! It is important to spread the Gospel! I am sure of that!!!! haha ;) Tell Colin and Matt that I love them! Have a great time this week! :) Okay now it is on to Matt!!! I love you Matt!!! You are such a stud! Way to go on your football game! A win is always a nice way to start to season! Sets the tone for the year! I will wish you good luck this weekend with Glacier, and just know that you are in my prayers! So, you are chillin' in Great Falls while Mom and Dad are away huh? Sounds like fun! Have a good time with the families you are staying with! Oh, you know that I will want to see film of your games! But if it means Mom and Dad have to spend the whole game video-ing... that is okay, I will just watch what they record. Highlights are fun! I have done lots of crazy things on my mission!! Haha Where should I start!?!!? For example, the other day we were passing by a playground. it had been a long day and we were looking for something to raise our Spirits. We found a spinning bicycle thing that fits about 5 or six people and me and Elder Lopp rode it around really fast. Haha It went in circles and we were pretty dizzy! Haha. That was a pretty lame excuse, but it makes for a hilarious video! I will show you someday! I love you Matt! I hope you like my letter when it comes! :) Okay well, this has been a long e-mail and I need to get going. But first a quick Spiritual Thought! I have, for obvious reasons, been thinking a lot recently about trials here on Earth. We learn from them, we grow from them. No one said that it would be easy, and no one even said that we would like it. But I do like it! Sure, my recent visit to the Hospital was frightening, but to tell you the truth, I am glad that I had it. It made me realise some things that I needed to learn. I have grown very close to my Father in Heaven and to my big brother. Their love for me surpasses all trials, all hardships I will EVER face! Through that power and ability I can overcome! I can learn and I can progress! I love you all very, VERY much! Never EVER forget that! I miss you and pray for you all daily! Have an amazingly spectacular week!

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

Äldste Kundis :) :) :)

Surströmming...

Surströmming. Not much else to say. That is the spine I took out of one. Gross.


This is Rasmus Bergström!! He helped us out big time!


The feast!


Elder Lopp and I at the festival!


Thats it! Haha It came out of the barrel that was sitting around for a long LONG time! Normally it comes in smaller cans.


This didn't help at all... The taste just sits there. :( haha!! :)


Hej Familj!!!

Let me start this e-mail off with an amazing tale of two missionaries. There were two missionaries one day who went out looking for people to teach. As they were making their first usual trip down the main street of their small coastal town they noticed something out of the ordinary. A large white tent was set-up in the main square of town. The missionaries, heightened by the sense of oddity, walked past slowly as to discover the reason for the large white tent. As they past they caught the hint of a terrible, terrible odor. The missionaries were confused now more than ever! Then, after just a few seconds, it hit them. SURSTRÖMMING!!! Their disgusted and queasy feelings turned into curiosity and a new-found fervor to try the long heard of, but seldom seen, Fermented Baltic Herring! The missionaries noticed the time and both knew what they had to do. So, they continued along contacting in the town until the lunch hour arrived. Now, these two amazing missionaries had never eaten the rotten fish before so they both decided that it would be best to have a guide, a native, to show them the ways of the smelly garbage fish. (Hahaha wow..) A young member of the local branch named Rasmus Bergström was summoned into council. Rasmus arrived soon and all three walked to the strange white tent. They all paid the fee (60:- kronor or about $9.50) and were served a plate full of hard bread, tomatoes, onions, sour cream, potatoes and the now nauseating fish. The smell had increased seemingly an hundred fold. One missionary almost vomited right there at the serving table. (me.. lol as if you didn't already know!) The three found their places among the crowd and sat down, never to arise again with a stomach void of rotten herring. The native, now thoroughly amused at the sight of his two victims, began to explain the horrifying process of cleaning the headless fish out. Like a professional Rasmus tore open the little morsel and cleaned out it's innards... Guts and all! He lined a piece of hard bread with pieces cut from the now cleaned fish and then garnished the sandwich to be with the supplied accessories. After the deed was done the sandwich was given to one of the Elders. After both had a sandwich the first bites were taken. It was finished, the elders had just eaten what they will both probably always remember as one of the nastiest things in the world. After cleaning out their own Baltic herring and making a couple of sandwiches of their own the Elders had a pretty nice lunch. What a cultural experience!! Okay, I am sorry that took way too much time for me to type up! haha But it is all true! I have now taken part in Örnsköldsvik's annual Surströmming Festival. It was terrible! Haha. I was able to eat it, and it was quite the feat, but I am not sure why I did it. I tasted fermented Baltic herring for two days!!! Seriously, I kid you not.. THREE DAYS!! It made me nauseous. I held everything down though! Whew! Also, while we were eating there was an announcer guy from the city going around and announcing the music and what not. He stopped and started reading Elder Lopp's name tag. He read it out loud for the whole festival to hear and started asking us questions about what we do and where we come from. He asked about the surströmming and everyone gave us a big round of applause when he was done. He came up and thanked us for coming and shook our hands. It was a great experience!! Haha :)

Okay now, there are some big things happening around the world! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!! On Tuesday you will be 18! How exciting! Wooo! Also, Happy Anniversary to Mom and Dad, and Jessica and Matt on Wednesday! Wow! 27 and 4 years! Great! Also, Happy Past Birthday to Grandma Holladay! I love you all!!

Okay, I am going to get to the e-mails before my time is gone! Dad!!! I love you Dad!!! Yes, you do have me beat on the exclamation points, but a wise person knows that it is not in the number of exclamation points one uses that shows his love, but in the size of his heart. I love you Dad! :) So, you found Faye's book?! Great! She is a really fun lady! And she has some great poems! Oh! We are going to the Karlsson's Farm this Saturday! Hopefully we will have some good weather to work in! Wish me luck! Also, about the Karlssons... After church yesterday we had a fika (basically a snack) But the Karlssons hooked us all up! They made beef soup and tons of other things to fill us up! It was incredible! Cakes and breads, cheeses.. etc!! All made from the farm! It was amazing! I have not ordered the Liahona yet.. haha Thank you for that! It will be a great thing to have! About my driver's license... It is still good, but in Sweden it is not. Since I am just visiting the country, my drivers licence is good only for one year. Then the mission office has to send in some papers and renew my licence.. In Sweden. So, not to worry, the mission will cover that cost and take care of everything for me! It's all good. It is just taking some time. So, Romney is behind?! What?! haha I hope that all is going well on the politics page! Haha I love how even people here in Sweden know what is going on in the States with politics. :) I love you Dad! Have a great week!

Okay now on to the Birthday boy, Matt!!! I love you Matt!!! So, I sent you a birthday card, but it will be late. Don't judge me! haha I love you! I hope you like it and I hope your b-day goes great! 5'10" huh? That is pretty cool that is what you are listed as! Sounds like you are pumped for football! Good luck on your first game! I can't wait to hear how it goes! So you want spending money for your birthday?? Haha it is so funny how we change as we get older. When we are young we want this and that, but give us a few years and then we just want money so we can be sure we get exactly what we want. Haha What ever happened to us?! :) Yes, I am playing B-Ball.. Just not nearly as much. In Stockholm we had a gym in the church building. In Övik we meet in the first floor of an apartment building.. No gym.. :( haha But there are still some courts around town. I love you brother! Let me know how everything goes!

Okay now we have Mom!!! I love you Mom!!! Your Spiritual thought was great! Who was that??? That transfer you were talking about around last Christmas time was with Äldste Overstreet. We were together for three months because there was a special three month transfer. So, it was still just one transfer. Äldste Lopp has been here in Övik for about eight months, so we are pretty sure he is heading out. We will see next week! So yes, the mission blog is gone. I can't tell you how many people are sad that thing is gone. Too bad. I guess the mission is going in a new direction! I hope you and Dad have a great time on your Anniversary and in Oklahoma (where the wind comes sweeping down the plain!!) Remember how I would always say that after someone would say Oklahoma!?! haha Fun times! :) Thank you for sending that stuff! It is needed and very very much appreciated!! :) Oh! I almost forgot to tell you all! We went berry picking! Haha One of our friends took us! Her name is Wenjun and she comes from China. She showed us what berries were good and what ones were bad. We picked wild blueberries and wild lingonberries! They were great! We even came across wild raspberries! mmmm! Haha I just thought I should let you know that your son went out picking berries in the forest.. and like it... haha it was relaxing! And they tasted great! Okay one last thing!! Brother Karlsson want to know where our last name comes from. He knows it comes from somewhere in the Baltics but he wants to know what country and city. They have a son serving there right now! Cool! Is there a way that we could find that out! It might be quite the search, but he would really appreciate it! :)

Okay, quick Spiritual thought! http://lds.org/pages/the-blessings-of-scripture?lang=eng That is the link to the video on the church's website called The Blessings of Scripture. It is great. I love it! Watch it. Listen to it. Apply it! haha I love you all very very much! Have a great week and know that I love each one of you! :) Remember that next week my p-day is on Tuesday! :)

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

Äldste Kundis :) :) :)

I am sooo tired!!!

Hej Familj!!!

Wow, it is true, I am tired! We have worked really hard this week! Not only did we work hard out on the street, but we also worked hard out in the middle of the forest. We went out to a less active member's place to help her with some things. At first we thought we were only going out there to help take out a deck. But when we got there she informed us of other projects that she had for us... haha We ended up painting and taking out a deck and fixing up some things all day! We were so bummed, but we know that she needed us to be there because there was no one else to do it. We missed an appointment with another less active member, but it was okay because we went to him the day after and he even invited to take us out for lunch on Tuesday! Wooo! haha So, the woman we went to visit in the forest is named Faye Lowley. She is from England and is a poet! She wrote a book which she gave to each of us as a gift! It is really good! Children's and animal poems.. pretty cool! She is going to publish another one soon. Anyway, we were completely tired and just plain worn out. I was covered in paint and every muscle in my body was aching! It felt great when we had it all done though! I guess kind of like Josh and Kevin finishing their schooling for the Summer and having a two week break ahead of them! Awesome! This week in church there was a family visiting from Karlskrona. That is a city located very far south. They started to talk, and I got a huge smile on my face! They had thick southern Swedish accents and it reminded me of my days in Växjö! It made me really miss down south! haha :) Okay I will get to the e-mails! First up is Dad!!! I love you Dad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did you see that you got like a million billion exclamation points?!? Its because I love you so much! ;) haha The reason I asked about getting the Liahona in Swedish is because I want to have a nice collection when I return not gather them while I am on my mission... I would have to bring them all back! I will order them but just know that I will have them sent to the house. :) Not too many new things at work or in life? That is okay I guess sometimes having things stay the same is a good thing. Kind of like when you get a good companion and you are hoping for a double stay meaning that both stay in the area at transfers! Sadly, I have never been able to experience that, but maybe one day! Shahoo was not at church yesterday... Too bad. We called and called Sunday morning like we said we would to arrange the ride, but his phone just rang and rang. He was most likely asleep and just forgot, so we will be going back to talk with him again. Oh well! Yeah, that lady really did put things into perspective. We need to be thankful for all that we have. I have had a few of those experiences this week. We are meeting with a man originally from Burma. Or Myanmar?? He feels as though he has nothing. Trapped in a little town in Sweden not able to even get a job so he can make some money to go see his mother whom he hasn't seen in 14 years! He just brings me down to earth every time we meet. Makes me VERY thankful for all that I have! All that we have in our family! Missions really open eyes! I love you Dad! Thank you for your e-mail! Okay, now it is Matt's turn!!! I love you Matt!!! Wow, I am talking about being tired!! You must be tired from all that you are up to! haha Having fun right? :) Good! Haha, I love you like crazy too!! You always make me smile with your e-mails! How tall are you now? Just curious I guess! How are you feeling about your Senior Year coming up?! I bet you are just pumped for it! It is one of the greatest years of High School. Sadly, it goes fast, but that is okay, the future has great things like a mission just waiting for you! Life is as good as you make it! :) I love you man! Keep on being yourself and working at always being your best self! Okay, now it is time for Mom!!! I love you Mom!!! Quick thing... If you are going to send something sometime soon I need some more journal paper for my journal or just another journal of some kind.. Oh, and I also need more American deodorant! Thank you! :) Also, thank you for the information about those people! It is always nice to hear what is going on! Make sure to tell Jared Miller congrats when he gets home! :) No, we have not found out if I can drive yet. The mission office has been working on it though, so we will see how long it takes! Transfers are coming up soon though so we will need to know fast! Oh!! Thats right!! Transfers have been moved up a week this time. That means next transfer will be ten weeks. Also, that means my last p-day this month will be on Tuesday the 30th. But I will have a regular p-day next week! :) Just so you are informed! Yes, Sweden does have mosquitoes, but they are not seen as much around here in Örnsköldsvik. I don't know if I have even gotten a single bite so far!! Wait.. maybe?? haha Not sure! But they are not bothersome at all! Kevin and Annie are in Las Vegas!?!? That is really cool! Fun for them! Sounds like Josh and Hillary and Landon are in for some fun having the family all there! Woo! Good times! :) How is Jeremey doing??? I wish I could hear from him and know that things are good!! What is his address?! Well, I love you Mom! I hope you have a great week! Well everyone.. I will move to my Spiritual Thought! I read a story just the other day that goes a little something like this... There once was a man walking along the beach. He saw a boy a ways away seemingly dancing down the beach. As the man got closer he saw the boy picking up starfish and throwing them back into the water. The man, a bit puzzled asked him, "Hey! What on earth are you doing?!" The boy replied, "Just throwing these starfish back into the water!" The man inquired as to why, the boy said, "The tide is going out, the sun is hot, and if I don't, they will die here." "But there are miles and miles of beach and thousands of starfish, there's no way the few you are throwing can make any difference!" the man replied. The boy paused with a starfish in his hand. He looked at it, then looked out at the ocean. Then, he tossed the starfish out and said, 'Made a difference to that one.' Did you like the story?!?! I absolutely loved it! We truly can make a difference if we want to! We just need to go and do. I love you all! Have a great week!

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

Äldste Kundis :) :) :)

P-Day?? Again?? Already?! Wow...

I can not believe that it is P-Day once again. These things are coming faster and faster! It was like I was here yesterday typing to you all! Well, I guess that is just the way things are... Happy Birthday to Annie!!! I know that it was on the 4th, but I am a missionary!! haha I can't call people up on their Birthdays! I hope you had fun celebrating!

This week has been pretty good! We were able to teach Shahoo (the Persian speaking man) again and he wants to come to church with us next week! It was a win for Google.. Haha he won't really be able to understand everything, but his Swedish is pretty good and he wants to come listen and learn. It will be a good experience! We are moving forward here in Örnsköldsvik and hoping to move things even faster with member work. It is a little tough here because most members live far away, but that is okay... What is more important anyway?? :)

Oh! Before I forget... I had the idea a couple of days ago to ask if we could start ordering the Liahona in Swedish for me?? It would be sweet to come back and have those coming. How much do those things cost? Would it even be possible?? haha Anyway, that was just a side note!

Well, lets see what else is going on in my life.. Not really a whole lot to mention! I mean honestly, there IS a lot going on... Everyday out on the streets testifying of the restored Gospel, teaching people from all over the world, daily study sessions with the Holy Ghost, being with an awesome companion all day, being in SWEDEN, taking part of another culture... haha But you all know that stuff!!! Right!?!? haha :) I truly am loving my time here. It is such an eye-opening experience to life and what it is for.. Why I am here. We talked with a lady at a bus stop a few days ago during our daily "power hour" of contacting. We sat and talked about life and about how things were going for her. She told us about how depressed she has been and how sad she was and how life was so hard... We explained why life is sometimes hard, and how we can overcome our feelings of depression. For her, prayer seemed best to talk about. The Holy Ghost was testifying to me that she needed to hear about it. As we explained how we pray and what it means my mind was again caught up in the amazing thing that prayer is! We are talking to the Father.. and not just any Father, OUR Father, in Heaven. When we kneel and express our heart, he is there! Listening, comforting and loving us for all that we are, and all that we can become. She was so thankful that we took time to talk to her.. Are you kidding me?!?! She was thankful for mere conversation!!! It made her happy... What does it take for US to be thankful? What does it take to make US happy? I'll tell you something, I was the truly blessed one in that conversation. She taught me. The Holy Ghost taught us all... :) These things happen DAILY on a mission! I am so thankful that I have learned to look for them and learn from them. This truly is the best time of my life! No doubt about it!

Okay, on to the e-mails! Matt! I love you brotha! Let me just start your part of the e-mail with a funny story. The other night Äldste Lopp and I were about to say our nightly prayers. It was Äldste Lopp's turn to say it, and right before he started I remembered something a certain someone used to do before someone would pray... Do you remember what I am talking about?? Haha My childish side came out and right before he said the prayer, as he was breathing in, I too breathed in hard and really confused him. We laughed for a good while and it took him forever to say the prayer without laughing. Haha Do you remember that? I sure do! It was really funny and made me think of you! :) Anyway! I love you very much Matt! I can't begin to explain how much you are on my mind. And because of that, you are always in my prayers. That was a funny story about Molly coming up and putting her head on your lap. You are right, I love when she does that! It means she wants some good old attention, and maybe a scratch behind the ear or two.. or three.. haha :) Sounds like you are taking care of her! Good! So CMR football is working hard huh? Thats awesome! Good luck playing your best and practicing to the best of your abilities! Learn lots from football.. and thats not just physical things I am talking about ;) Yes, we play sports here! Haha part of that Zone activity the other week was playing football and ultimate Frisbee! Fun! I love you Matt! Have a great week!

Okay, Dad! I love you Dad! May I just say that I love your political comments! Makes me remember the conversations we used to have about all that was going on! :) What exactly is the AAA rating?? I am not so smart.. lol :) So, that obstacle course in Japan sounds epic! So much fun! We will have to go sometime.. ;) haha :) I bet you were the best at it huh? ? ? Did you know that I love you? Because I really, really do! You are awesome and always lift me up through your e-mails. Thank you!! BYU Radio in your truck? Sounds like a great thing? And BYU TV in the kitchen??? GREAT!! Haha everything BYU-ified! yeah! :) How is work coming along? Are you doing anything different? Any new routes or funny stories? My companion's father also drives trucks! One more thing we have in common! I will think a little more about the picture card thing. I want to send it, but then again, I do want to keep it and just show you all later.. There are just soooo many pictures and videos on it! :) ;) haha Well, I love you Dad! Have an awesome week as always!!

Okay next up is Mom! I love you Mom! Utah withdrawals huh? Landon withdrawals? Only been away one month huh? HAHA Oh come on!! Sorry, but you go down there all the time! That is awesome!!! :) Yes, you would be so proud of me mommy.. I eat lots of fruits and veggies! Things have changed! I actually consider a taco a failure if it is without tomatoes and salsa... haha :) I remember picking out the tomatoes when Taco Bell would "accidentally" give me a Supreme Taco or a crunch wrap supreme with tomatoes.. haha :) Anyway, I want to thank you very much for your testimony. You are such a good example of living the Gospel! Truly, your teaching to me has blessed me in my life! From my birth you have been CONSTANTLY teaching.. How lucky am I?!?! Very lucky indeed!! Haha I just said "indeed".. :) The fair is over!!! I bet you are very glad to be getting back to your normal sleeping patterns! I know I sure was! OH!!! Two new elders are coming over to dinner?? Is the 27 year old named Elder Ika?? Haha Elder Jordan Ika? I think that was his name anyway.. He was in the MTC with me! Haha, I sure hope that it is him, but if not, that is okay! You will be sure to treat them well!! :) Okay, well I need to get going! I love you very much Mom! Like I have said to the rest of the family, have a GREAT week and have some fun!!

Okay for a quick Spiritual Thought I thought it would be cool to share an insight about the story of Abraham and Isaac. Many believe that God was testing Abraham to see if he would obey what the Lord asked of him. But, the Lord already knew that Abraham would obey. It was Abraham that gained the testimony that he could do all that the Lord asked of him.. And what of Isaac?!?! He certainly gained a testimony of trust, and knowing that the Lord knew best.. He was actually around 30 years old!! Don't you think he could have resisted and fought his father?? You bet he could have.. But he knew that his father knew best.. Amazing!!

I love you all! Until next week!!

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

Äldste Kundis :) :) :)

Zone Conference... Zone Activity... Challenge Labyrinth?

Hej Familj!!!

Well, it has been a really fun week! We were able to travel up to Umeå on Wednesday and have a Zone Activity. We went to a place that had an attraction called the "Challenge Labyrinth"!! It was so much fun! You basically run around in teams in this underground place that is full of different doors. On each door there is a description of what type of challenge is behind the door and how many points you get for completing the door. If you think you are up to it you beep your little card thingy they give you on the door opener and enter. There is a big green and red light inside the room and if you fail it blinks red and you are kicked out. (you can try as many times as you want) The challenges are physical and mental and tactical... lol lots of fun! We were flying on zip-lines and rock climbing across rooms as to not touch the floor because it had pressure sensors in it! Crazy! Seriously, I want to open one of these things in Provo... It would make some serious bank! haha We crawled through a pitch black maze to try to find bananas with buttons on them, and not all of the bananas had buttons on them!! lol Another one was where we had to press buttons on the wall to light up different pegs in the ground and you had to light up different ones at different times in order to find which ones were not pressure sensored... pretty crazy! We were there for about two hours. Our team tied for first. We were called the "Wolfpack" hahaha :)

Okay, well that was fun, but we also had Zone Conference! That was truly fun! We were able to be instructed, but not only that, we were also uplifted. It was great to have interviews with President Newell and get to know him better. He is so comfortable in the Gospel... haha He has an answer for just about everything. I love it! Things are changing in the mission though. New Elders today are not entering the same mission I did a while back. Crazy! Sure, at times I am a little bothered by the changes, but that is okay! I quickly learn who the change REALLY came from, and then my mind is put at ease. Amazing how that works! Sister Newell is also changing things up. She is making us eat five fruits and vegetables everyday!! She wants us to be healthy and feeling well especially coming into the fall and winter seasons. Smart! haha

Okay, moving right along... I was able to go on Splits with Äldste Youd this week and while I was down in Sundsvall I was able to interview Martin Luther King Ayompe for baptism!!! Haha yeah I know, my first baptismal interview and his name is Martin Luther King!! haha Awesome! He was an awesome man. Completely ready to follow Jesus Christ and be baptised. It was fun doing the interview. It was like the Holy Ghost was telling me that Martin was ready. Strange to really describe, but it was just that I knew it would be okay and that it was time. Really cool feeling! :) So, that was fun to be a part of. Martin was baptised yesterday after the church services.

Okay, well, it is a new week and we are ready to go here in Örnsköldsvik! I say that because our Monthly allotted Kilometers restarts!!! Haha. Yesterday we had four kilometers left and it was the last day of the month. So, we decided not to go over our allottment and just walk. We had an appointment set up with that man that speaks persian so we left with what we thought was enough time to walk there.... wrong. What we thought would take thirty minutes took fifty-four!!! It was soooo far! Being in a car completely makes you forget how far away things really are! Anyway, when we got there and climbed the stairs to get to his place (top floor) we saw a sign on the door that said, "Hi friends, I am not here today.. See you next week!" Oh wow, we were soooooo... frustrated!!!!! haha lol :) We went by other people in the area, but no one was home... haha On our way back though we were able to get a ride from an investigator who had recently returned from a vacation! Yay!! haha So, not everything was a failure! :)

Well, I don't have much time so I better get to the e-mail! Dad!! I love you Dad!! Be sure to send my love on to Mom since she was working hard at the fair! I remember those days! Hard work, but a really good pay off! :) So, that thing you told me... nasty... haha It was so gross that I had to share it with my companion. lol Thank you! I am still doing well as District Leader. President had some good council for me so that was good. It is good to hear that you are happy and taking care of things at home. You are always soooo good at that! It also sounds like Matt is keepin' ya busy! Great! haha I miss him! And you! And everyone!!! Quick question... would you like me to send my big 8 GB memory card to you all, or should I just wait to show them all to you at a later date? They are on my hard drive already. But, I could easily send it if the family wants TONS of pics!!! haha Okay I love you Dad!

Matt!! I love you Matt!! I just saw that I have two minutes left... This will be quick kinda like yours!! haha I am happy to hear that you are loving life and having a good summer! Always remember to be safe and keep it real. Did you not work at the fair this year?? hmm Thats good money! Eric Church concert? They always have some fun concerts to go to. Have a good time and scream loud for me!

Okay, I love you all! Have a great day and always remember that Sweden ROCKS!! Woooo!!

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

Äldste Kundis :) :) :)