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 :) :) :)