Lovin' the Members!!!

My awesome sofa on the Linköping University Campus!!!
Did you know that my sofa is HEATED?!?! haha It is awesome! It is super warm so you can sit outside when it is a little chilly! :)


Hej Familj!!!

Well, this week has been pretty awesome! As you can probably tell, the members are a BIG part of that! We just have some really great members here in Linköping!! They are always a joy to be around on Sundays, but even more fun to be with them in their homes and with others! Let me share an experience we just had this past Saturday with a member. We had a time set up with this member for three o'clock to come and have some food! We had been out during the morning for a little longer than expected so we were a little late getting home for lunch. We were both starving, and just couldn't wait until the fast approaching three o'clock appointment. So, we heated up some left overs and decided to eat just a bit so that our stomachs would stop whining! haha Well, we both ate too much. I know, big shocker... hahaha :)

When we arrived we hoped that she would maybe need a little more time to prepare or want us to share the message first. However, when we went into the apartment building, her door was open and she quickly welcomed us into her place. After we took off our jackets she directed us to the table. At the time we did not know that it was the table because you could not even see the table there was soooo much food on there! She had made us chili con carne with rice and LOTS of it! Not to mention all the different kinds of breads and cheese and butter and hard boiled eggs.... etc... :) She LOVES having the missionaries over and always greets us with the warmest smile when she sees us! Anyway, back to the story! When we sat down Äldste Maxwell and I looked at each other and both knew that we were in for it! We served up some rather small portions (like we discussed before we went into her building) and started eating. The food was great! Really good! However, after the first few bites I was completely full. Knowing that it was bad manners to not finish what was on your plate I continued eating despite the feeling of needing to vomit rising within me. After the last bite, I was extremely nervous... The entire time she had basically been begging us to take more, and trying to give us like three pieces of bread at one time... haha It was crazy! She ordered me to take more rice and I followed her demands. She then told me that I needed to pass my plate to her so that she could serve me some of the chili con carne. She told me to basically "say when". She took the MASSIVE ladle and plunged it deep into the chili. She quickly drenched my plate with what looked like pure meat and beans and went back for a second one. As she was rising the ladle the second time I quickly told her that what she had given me was plenty. She proceeded to place the second ladle of food on my plate and gave it back. (The same thing happened to Äldste Maxwell just a few minutes after) I ate. And I ate. And I ATE ATE ATE ATE!!! I was so sick. The plate would just not get any smaller! For the first time since I can remember I was gagging trying to fit all of the food in my stomach. I was about three quarters of the way done with my plate when this dear sister stopped me. She looked me in the eye and told me that I did not have to finish. I wanted to finish that plate soooooo badly, but I just couldn't. She continued on to say that it looked like I was suffering. Haha, yes she really did say exactly that! I was absolutely suffering and I needed to stop before I lost it all! After she took my plate and I was getting really woozy she said, besides, you still have dessert! .... ....... .. .. ... .. .. I think I cried a little. She gave us fruit cocktail with home made whipped cream. Yum!! But oh so blugh.. I ate only a few bites. After dinner we shared a message and got out of there pronto. We were both sooo sick. I had some quality time with the grass by the bus stop before we climbed on to get to our next appointment. Once on the bus we tried as much as we could to rest our bodies. I am sure we just looked terrible! haha

We were off to another great member's home to go and visit a newly moved in member of the branch. When we arrived, they were preparing food. . . ... . ... I about lost it. I could not believe what was happening! This member noticed right away that we looked a bit uncomfortable. She asked what the matter was. I spoke up and told her that to be perfectly honest we had just eaten with another member and that we were both sick from how much we ate. We had no idea they were planning on feeding us! So, the mother made some quick changes. We were going to be having Mongolian BBQ with the new grill the father of the family (a non-member) got for his birthday. So she told him to get the grill going and we were going to go visit the new member first. We were so thankful! Walking around felt incredible! The new member lived about a 15-20 minute walk away from the members house and that gave us a little bit of time to prepare. The new member was not home then, so we left her a card and planned to return to visit her later. On the walk back this awesome member told us to just take a little bit of food and to not worry about a thing. The evening turned out pretty well. The food was great! Even though we really didn't want it. hahaha And we made friends with the husband of the member. Yay! That night we came home and went straight to bed. We are still feeling like we have no appetites. haha It's crazy! We truly are being taken care of here in Linköping! It is great!

Okay now I must get to the e-mails! That took some time! Okay first up we have Dad! I love you Dad! Yay BYU and CMR both had wins! That is so good to hear! Yes, we were able to go and visit Majid! Thank you for asking! He is doing great! Very excited still about learning and understanding the Gospel! Woo! We will be visiting him shortly! The weather is not as warm as it has been for you all! We are having very fall temperatures and the leaves keep falling at an ever increasing rate! Aggh! It is okay though because I love the fall colors and smells! Yay! My last P-day in Stockholm was great! We played football and ultimate Frisbee! Perfect weather for both too! It was nice being up in Stockholm again.. kinda feels like home up there! :) So, you have a wrist brace huh? Oh no! ;) I hope that you feel better soon! I will be praying for you and hoping that the doctor can figure out what is going on. Keep me posted on that! As for my health, I am doing pretty well! No more "panic attacks" if that truly is what they were. However, I am still having issues with the whole "numbness/weakness" of my skin. I am just hoping and praying that it gets figured out and that I can be up to full health again some time soon. Äldste Maxwell and I feel that it is something in my neck. Because sometimes when my neck is in a weird position I get the sensation that my body is "gone" or that my sensation is lost. Maybe a nerve getting cramped? Not sure, but we are continuing to monitor it! :) No worries! Well, I love you Dad and hope that this week is a good one for you! :)

Okay, now it is time for Matt! I love you Matt! Way to go on this past game! Sounds like it was awesome! Homecoming week huh? Oh that was always soooo much fun! Enjoy it all and be safe with all that you do! Yes, I hear about American sports over here. Missionaries have their sources and when someone gets something, it spreads pretty fast. The Swedish people like a lot about the States and I think sports is up on that list. I am continuing to work out, but by the looks of your pictures I don't think we will be able to lift much together. You could spot me, but I don't think I would be of much assistance to you! hahaha We will see in the future how things are going. You truly are looking good and putting on some poundage! Muscle of course.. haha :) I am praying for you and hoping all goes well with school and all of your other activities! I love you! :)

Okay well, Mom must still be resting from not feeling too well. I hope that she gets feeling better and that ... (right as I was typing that she sent a message! awesome!) I am glad you are feeling better this morning Mom! Have a great day and know that I love you! You all are in my prayers and thoughts! By the way, thank you for the awesome BYU shirts and family pictures! They are sooooo much fun! Pure GOLD if I might say so! :) ;)

Okay now for a quick Spiritual Thought. This one is about football... and the Priesthood. So, go to this website and watch the Mormon Message entitled, "Sanctify Yourselves" (http://lds.org/pages/mormon-messages-gallery?lang=eng) It is an awesome video! The Sister Missionaries in Norrköping told us about it! Oh! Yeah, the District is doing great! We were able to have a great District Meeting this past Thursday! The Assistants to President Newell came and brought a great Spirit with them! Not to mention that one of them is Äldste Bracken!!! Remember him? My second companion in Sweden.. We were in Växjö together! I love him! Äldste Olson is the other Assistant and we are good friends too! Okay, I love you all! Have a great week! Hearing from you makes me smile every time! :) :)

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

Äldste Kundis :) :) :)