My home ward loves me so much!! Thank you to all!!!
Thank you Mom for the decorations!! (one of many!)
A very Swedish Christmas decoration! You see them in every window!
Our "Christmas tree" pre-missionary touch..
Our "Christmas tree" post-missionary touch!! Yeah!!!!
Hej Familj!!!
Well, it is that time of year when missionaries around the world are able to call home and listen to the voices of the ones they love! I must say, I am REALLY EXCITED! lol It will be great to take some time on Christmas to see how everyone is doing! Everything will work out with the call and we are still good to call at 5 PM our time, 9 AM your time! Anyway, thats all for the call aspect of the e-mail.. :) Now on to other things! This week has been pretty crazy! We are continuing to receive lots and lots of snow! (It is snowing very hard as I am writing!) The beginning of the week was pure fun! We were in Göteborg most of the time playing snow football on Monday, and of course Zone Conference on Tuesday. (Yes Mom, I received all of the packages!! Thank You!!) Zone Conference was just amazing! The main focus was on the Savior and they had prepared well. The message given by the Zone Leaders was something I will never forget. The Spirit was so strong and moving... I felt.. at peace. Wonderful!! On Wednesday it was back to work! We had a very successful day with our finding efforts. We tracted into a Muslim lady who was not interested at all, but after asking her if there was anyone else she knew that would be interested she told us to try the lady the floor below her. So, we went right away and knocked on the door. The woman was not interested.. at first. After talking with her for a little while she started to warm up. We asked her where she came from and then told her we were from America. Her face lit up! haha She loves America, and her 15 year old daughter REALLY likes America. The Mom started yelling for her daughter after she found out. They immediately let us in and started asking lots and lots of questions about the church. We taught them the Restoration lesson and they were really interested. We asked for a return appointment and visited them again on Saturday. When we were there the second time the family was just as nice! They fed us some chocolate coconut balls and juice as we watched the Testaments movie together. They thought the movie was just incredible! Especially the Mom. She had to leave the room a couple of times because she was crying so hard. It really was amazing! We thought they were going to make it to church yesterday, but they were not able to come. We are heading back tomorrow and will teach them again! Yay! Okay, now a funny story... The other day we were tracting a very tall apartment building. Not a single person was interested and we were getting kind of down. We knocked on a door, very much like the others and awaited an answer. When the door opened what stood behind the door shocked me. It was a man in his 80's wearing nothing but a "fish-net" tank top and men's bikini style underwear. As I started to utter my first line of dialogue I burst into laughter, but was trying so hard to remain calm, cool and collected. My efforts were in vain! Äldste Overstreet burst into laughter as well, and we both just started laughing together as this old man was staring at us. He told us he was not interested in God and closed the door. We were crying out eyes out in laughter. We ran to the elevator and jumped in so we could gain some sort of composure. It was absolutely hilarious! One of the funniest moments I have had on my mission, and I fear the imagery will be forever engraved in my mind. hahahahahaha Anyway, I better get to the e-mails for this week... However, I will be talking to most of you on Saturday... So, this will be short! My dear, sweet father!!! I love you Dad!! Thank you very much for the recitation of the Charlie Brown Christmas. I like how you focused a big part of your e-mail on the true meaning of Christmas. That is what were are in full swing of doing right now. Honestly at times I feel as though I am an elf running around the North Pole of Sweden sharing the true meaning of JUL! One of my favorite scriptures is Alma 7:7 because it puts things into perspective. Check it out! :) Thank you for the calling card information! I am sure with both of us working at it, it will all work out! :) I am so excited to hear your voice and be able to talk with you. It will be something special! It feels rather strange to finally be on the other side of one of these calls. lol, weird! Anyway, I love you Dad, and I will talk with you Saturday! Okay now on to Matt!! I love you Matt! You must be having an awesome time on your Christmas break.. I remember those days all too well! I can also tell that you are stoked for the trip to Utah! As you should be! You will have an awesome time there because time spent with family is more valuable than anything! Not to mention you will be able to see Landon! How excited are you Matt?!?! I am losing my mind!! haha How exciting! Stay safe and have tons of fun in Utah. When we talk later you can tell me all of whats happening! I thought your experience with the foreign exchange student from Sweden was hilarious! How cool is that?! Did you like the Swedish language?? Because I love it! haha Well, I can't wait to hear your big grown up voice and all of the stories I have missed out on! I love you Matt!! Okay now it is Mom's turn! I love you Mom!!! First off, thank you so much for all that you have done for me this Christmas. You are so kind and just amazing! This Christmas is going to be one that I will never forget, and a big part of that is because of you! OH, one thing I wanted to ask you... You have sent lots of decorations and calendars and what not.. Is it okay if that stuff graces the apartment for the next elders there at Christmas time?? Of course I will not leave the sentimental things, but I just wanted to get it cleared up before hand! haha I am sure it is all good, but you let me know if there is something you would like me to take or send home! I am glad to hear Molly will be taken care of while you are on your trip to Utah. Whew! lol :) I can't wait to talk to you Mom!! It will be amazing to hear your voice! This phone call is going to be lots of tears.. I can already feel it! I will just be so glad to hear the voices of those I love and miss with my whole heart... :) I love you Mom! Until Saturday!!!! Alright everyone, here is the Spiritual Thought for the week. With Christmas time coming fast I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to bear you all my testimony about the Savior... I KNOW that Jesus Christ lives. I know that he loves me and watches out for me. As I ponder all that he has done for me an uncontrollable feeling of gratitude flows over me and warms me. If only I could have been there to express my gratitude as he hung and suffered on the cross. If only I could have been there to see him suffer in the garden and somehow try to ease the pain. If only I could give him a hug and thank him for the opportunity to live with my Father in Heaven again. The gift of being able to return to heaven and live with my loving family again is something I hold near and dear to my heart. I love Jesus Christ. He is my best friend... He knows me and comforts me daily. Through my Savior I have the opportunity to be better, to have a second chance. Words can't come close to express how I feel.. This is all so real.. As I pray I can feel the Spirit. As I read the Book of Mormon, I know the Spirit is there. As I think about my Redeemer and Savior the Spirit fills me to the point of tears... Tears of joy! Tears of happiness! Tears of thankfulness... I am so thankful for this time of year. I am thankful for the decorations, the foods, the sounds and the gifts. However, I am most thankful for the gift of Christ. I am thankful for Him and His willingness to atone for me. I love Him. I love all of you. I hope you all have an amazing Christmas and remember the Savior. Here is another really good video.. Short, but gets the point across.. http://lds.org/topic/christmas/ look for the video called "The Greatest Gift" :) I am excited for Saturday and I hope you all are too! Until then...
Trogen och Stadig, Är Jag Redo!!!!!Faithful and Steady, I AM Ready!!!!!Äldste Kundis :) :) :)
Here are the Book of Mormon Challenge passages for the week...
Tuesday - p.115 ch.32 - p.117 Jacob
Wednesday - p.117 Jacob - p.122 ch.3
Thursday - p.122 ch.3 - p.132 ch.6 (sorry about the length on this one!)
Friday - p.132 ch.6 - p.136 Enos
Saturday - p.136 Enos - p.140 Omni
Sunday - p.140 Omni - p.145 Mosiah
Monday (next) p.145 Mosiah - p.151 ch.3
I love you!
Well, it is that time of year when missionaries around the world are able to call home and listen to the voices of the ones they love! I must say, I am REALLY EXCITED! lol It will be great to take some time on Christmas to see how everyone is doing! Everything will work out with the call and we are still good to call at 5 PM our time, 9 AM your time! Anyway, thats all for the call aspect of the e-mail.. :) Now on to other things! This week has been pretty crazy! We are continuing to receive lots and lots of snow! (It is snowing very hard as I am writing!) The beginning of the week was pure fun! We were in Göteborg most of the time playing snow football on Monday, and of course Zone Conference on Tuesday. (Yes Mom, I received all of the packages!! Thank You!!) Zone Conference was just amazing! The main focus was on the Savior and they had prepared well. The message given by the Zone Leaders was something I will never forget. The Spirit was so strong and moving... I felt.. at peace. Wonderful!! On Wednesday it was back to work! We had a very successful day with our finding efforts. We tracted into a Muslim lady who was not interested at all, but after asking her if there was anyone else she knew that would be interested she told us to try the lady the floor below her. So, we went right away and knocked on the door. The woman was not interested.. at first. After talking with her for a little while she started to warm up. We asked her where she came from and then told her we were from America. Her face lit up! haha She loves America, and her 15 year old daughter REALLY likes America. The Mom started yelling for her daughter after she found out. They immediately let us in and started asking lots and lots of questions about the church. We taught them the Restoration lesson and they were really interested. We asked for a return appointment and visited them again on Saturday. When we were there the second time the family was just as nice! They fed us some chocolate coconut balls and juice as we watched the Testaments movie together. They thought the movie was just incredible! Especially the Mom. She had to leave the room a couple of times because she was crying so hard. It really was amazing! We thought they were going to make it to church yesterday, but they were not able to come. We are heading back tomorrow and will teach them again! Yay! Okay, now a funny story... The other day we were tracting a very tall apartment building. Not a single person was interested and we were getting kind of down. We knocked on a door, very much like the others and awaited an answer. When the door opened what stood behind the door shocked me. It was a man in his 80's wearing nothing but a "fish-net" tank top and men's bikini style underwear. As I started to utter my first line of dialogue I burst into laughter, but was trying so hard to remain calm, cool and collected. My efforts were in vain! Äldste Overstreet burst into laughter as well, and we both just started laughing together as this old man was staring at us. He told us he was not interested in God and closed the door. We were crying out eyes out in laughter. We ran to the elevator and jumped in so we could gain some sort of composure. It was absolutely hilarious! One of the funniest moments I have had on my mission, and I fear the imagery will be forever engraved in my mind. hahahahahaha Anyway, I better get to the e-mails for this week... However, I will be talking to most of you on Saturday... So, this will be short! My dear, sweet father!!! I love you Dad!! Thank you very much for the recitation of the Charlie Brown Christmas. I like how you focused a big part of your e-mail on the true meaning of Christmas. That is what were are in full swing of doing right now. Honestly at times I feel as though I am an elf running around the North Pole of Sweden sharing the true meaning of JUL! One of my favorite scriptures is Alma 7:7 because it puts things into perspective. Check it out! :) Thank you for the calling card information! I am sure with both of us working at it, it will all work out! :) I am so excited to hear your voice and be able to talk with you. It will be something special! It feels rather strange to finally be on the other side of one of these calls. lol, weird! Anyway, I love you Dad, and I will talk with you Saturday! Okay now on to Matt!! I love you Matt! You must be having an awesome time on your Christmas break.. I remember those days all too well! I can also tell that you are stoked for the trip to Utah! As you should be! You will have an awesome time there because time spent with family is more valuable than anything! Not to mention you will be able to see Landon! How excited are you Matt?!?! I am losing my mind!! haha How exciting! Stay safe and have tons of fun in Utah. When we talk later you can tell me all of whats happening! I thought your experience with the foreign exchange student from Sweden was hilarious! How cool is that?! Did you like the Swedish language?? Because I love it! haha Well, I can't wait to hear your big grown up voice and all of the stories I have missed out on! I love you Matt!! Okay now it is Mom's turn! I love you Mom!!! First off, thank you so much for all that you have done for me this Christmas. You are so kind and just amazing! This Christmas is going to be one that I will never forget, and a big part of that is because of you! OH, one thing I wanted to ask you... You have sent lots of decorations and calendars and what not.. Is it okay if that stuff graces the apartment for the next elders there at Christmas time?? Of course I will not leave the sentimental things, but I just wanted to get it cleared up before hand! haha I am sure it is all good, but you let me know if there is something you would like me to take or send home! I am glad to hear Molly will be taken care of while you are on your trip to Utah. Whew! lol :) I can't wait to talk to you Mom!! It will be amazing to hear your voice! This phone call is going to be lots of tears.. I can already feel it! I will just be so glad to hear the voices of those I love and miss with my whole heart... :) I love you Mom! Until Saturday!!!! Alright everyone, here is the Spiritual Thought for the week. With Christmas time coming fast I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to bear you all my testimony about the Savior... I KNOW that Jesus Christ lives. I know that he loves me and watches out for me. As I ponder all that he has done for me an uncontrollable feeling of gratitude flows over me and warms me. If only I could have been there to express my gratitude as he hung and suffered on the cross. If only I could have been there to see him suffer in the garden and somehow try to ease the pain. If only I could give him a hug and thank him for the opportunity to live with my Father in Heaven again. The gift of being able to return to heaven and live with my loving family again is something I hold near and dear to my heart. I love Jesus Christ. He is my best friend... He knows me and comforts me daily. Through my Savior I have the opportunity to be better, to have a second chance. Words can't come close to express how I feel.. This is all so real.. As I pray I can feel the Spirit. As I read the Book of Mormon, I know the Spirit is there. As I think about my Redeemer and Savior the Spirit fills me to the point of tears... Tears of joy! Tears of happiness! Tears of thankfulness... I am so thankful for this time of year. I am thankful for the decorations, the foods, the sounds and the gifts. However, I am most thankful for the gift of Christ. I am thankful for Him and His willingness to atone for me. I love Him. I love all of you. I hope you all have an amazing Christmas and remember the Savior. Here is another really good video.. Short, but gets the point across.. http://lds.org/topic/christmas/ look for the video called "The Greatest Gift" :) I am excited for Saturday and I hope you all are too! Until then...
Trogen och Stadig, Är Jag Redo!!!!!Faithful and Steady, I AM Ready!!!!!Äldste Kundis :) :) :)
Here are the Book of Mormon Challenge passages for the week...
Tuesday - p.115 ch.32 - p.117 Jacob
Wednesday - p.117 Jacob - p.122 ch.3
Thursday - p.122 ch.3 - p.132 ch.6 (sorry about the length on this one!)
Friday - p.132 ch.6 - p.136 Enos
Saturday - p.136 Enos - p.140 Omni
Sunday - p.140 Omni - p.145 Mosiah
Monday (next) p.145 Mosiah - p.151 ch.3
I love you!
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