An Incredible Birthday!

I had an incredible birthday, thank you all very, very much! I can say I felt all the love and good wished that all of you sent me on my birthday. It was a very good day, I had two parties! (And the second one didn't even know it was my birthday!) We had a party at district meeting and another one at a less active members house.

Dan Jordan is going to Denver, Colorado! That is super awesome! I am very excited for him!!!!! It is a beautiful place and a great mission! I am glad that Christian is getting excited to serve as well! It really is an exciting time.

I had an incredible week, sorry this is really rushed. I will just say this.. The Lord blesses His servants and we really will not be confounded before the wise, or before men, He will help us! I will share more next week!

Love you,
Aldste Maxwell

We started the lesson over!

The mission is going great! Just yesterday we had stake conference in Stockholm. We were in a big conference center on the Stockholm University campus. It was really cool. We got to be together with a lot of members an listen to some incredible talks! I really, really enjoyed it. Then, after the conference I got to have a personal interview with President Newell! It was such a good time to sit and listen to him, to ask some questions and to gain insight to myself, what I can do, and to get recharged myself! I love President Newell, he is such a great man and he knows what I need to hear!

We had a couple really, really good teaches this week! I love it when the Lord takes me, my companion and our plans and changes everything while in the teach to be incredible, to be exactly what everyone needs to hear, and to strengthen everyone! One was with Majid, he is really positive and is working toward baptism, so we are continuing to teach all of the lessons. We decided that he needs to learn and follow the Word of Wisdom, that was going to be the hardest of all the commandments for him and so we began to teach it. At first everything was going really, really well. We taught, and read from the great pamphlet the church has, and as we were about 15 min. into the lesson, while he started sipping his tea, he was like, "Wait, you don't drink tea of coffee!?" - at which point we started the lesson over and taught from the beginning. He was really confused, but as we taught the spirit was there, it witnessed to him that we were telling the truth, and that it was right.... to a degree. He said that we live a monk life, and then asked when we were going to send him to a cloister. He likes to joke - I think he was half serious with that one though! The thing is, God blesses us, and the spirit will help with whatever situation we end up in. It is hard to go wrong when God is the one who is teaching, as long as we do not get in the way! I know that we are blessed, that though situations pass, and the spirit will help us solve our problems. God is mindful of every one of His children.

I have not figured out my presents.. I didn't really try. I want to be surprised! I have kept them hidden and out of sight... though, I have to say, I really wanted to open them this morning for some reason! Oh, and please thank everyone for me on the blog! It was good to get so many emails wishing me a happy birthday! I really do appreciate it!

Love,
Aldste Maxwell

It's Changing!

It is changing colors here, leaves are falling, it is getting really cold really fast and the sun does not stay up very long... though I really doubt that it is a beautiful here as in New York right now. Not that Sweden isn't pretty, it really is! It is just not filled with so many trees that are changing and not at the same time either! It was supposed to be at freezing last night.... I wouldn't know, I was asleep! I do miss a good soup, especially your soups... they were really, really good... I miss having a good kitchen, a good assortment of ingredients and the time to make good food!

Oh, that reminded me! We found Ben and Jerry's on sale and so we got some... I got "Phish Food" just for you!!! I also enjoyed it! Sorry, I don't think it would have worked out too well if I had tried to share....

My week was really good. We had Zone conference on Tuesday, I learned a lot of things that I was able to change in how I do the work and I feel like I am starting to do better every day! It is really cool. I got to go to Stockholm again today for football...one last hurrah at least before the snow comes... then we will play in the snow! Less often and less intense, I am sure! And then, as we were leaving, I got my package! Yea!

Joseph, the ward mission leader, is incredible. He is a really good teacher and understands how to help people understand. I really love being able to teach people with him every once in a while! It is really cool.

"Transfers" died. We do not have official transfer days anymore... so, I can be transfered at any time. There will still be transfers when new missionaries come to the mission, but there are also transfers in between when President Newell feels inspired to move someone. So, new missionaries come about every 9 weeks... usually, I heard that one is coming next week... a Finn. It is super cool...more exciting, though a lot harder to plan for! I have been here for 6 weeks, so we have another three before big changes will happen.

Teaching is great... I had several teaches in Swedish that went incredibly well! I really felt the spirit, was lead in what I should say, and I feel like I was able to touch the hearts of those who I talked to. I am getting better at my fluency and working on my vocabulary and pronunciation every day. I love Swedish, it is a great language. I love being lead to people, and to what I need to say to help people be able to understand the beauty and truthfulness of the plan that our Father in Heaven has for us. I love feeling the spirit bear witness to those that we teach, and seeing them speechless and even in tears because of the spirit that testifies to their very spirit.

I know this is the true church, there is none other. I know that the plan that we have is a guide to happiness in both this life on Earth and in the life to come. Our Father in Heaven loves every single one of us so much and will do all that He can to help! I love teaching, I love learning, I love the Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ and that I can be better because He is willing to take my sins so that I can be clean! I love that! There is nothing more sweet or desirable, as said in the tree of life vision. This I know, and it is what I teach.

I love you all, have a great week!!!

Love,
Aldste Maxwell

Unfathomable!

I can't believe that it is already October and that it is already the second week! That is unfathomable! The time really does fly and i don't think I like it too much right now, I want a little more time here!!!

Everyone is getting sick right now! It is insane, there were about six people who were sick Sunday (and in a small branch that is HUGE!) ... Elder Kundis started getting it a little, i am doing all that I can to avoid it, so yeah. I remember when everyone in the family was getting the stomach flu, that was bad, but I made it through without getting sick! I love grape juice!!!

Jonathan is really growing up fast, i can't really see him passing the sacrament, but at the same time I can! It probably doesn't help that the past two weeks Karl-Arne has passed it here. He is about 90 ... almost blind and deaf. Great guy! Jonathan will do a great job and he is going to be a great geakon. Ha Ha! I am going to miss it!

Since when was I old enough to be turning 20? It is really hard to get my mind around it too! Elder Kundis' b-day is 10 days before mine! I think we are going to have some party as a district! It is going to be great! He is turning 21. He is really old! he he

I love it when we are in the right place at the right time. I love seeing how our Father in heaven really does put people in the places where we are to help us or to help them. Just this morning as I was doing my studies, I began reading in the Liahona, the article that I started reading was a good article but it was incredible for me because it was an answer to my prayers. I had studied earlier in my mission about the topic of the article and voiced my findings but my companion disagreed. I decided to be quiet about it and dried to share it later with another companion, again, not accepted. Then, as I was reading, the general authority said exactly the same thing that I had found in my studies! I am glad that I was able to find my answer, to know that I was correct and not making up false doctrine while I studied.

I am thankful for the Lord's guidance, comfort and love for all his children. I know that it is not important that I was right, but it is good to be reassured that I do know what I am doing when I study, that the answers I find are from my Father in Heaven and that I can know that I am lead by the Spirit to find truth.

I love this work and the opportunity it gives me to expand my knowledge, to grow as a missionary, to become who the Lord wants me to be for the rest of my life! I love being able to listen to the prophets of our day, to seek learning and guidance from God to what I need to be focusing on, and how I need to be improving. I love being able to serve in whatever area I am called, to know that I am needed here and that this is where i am supposed to be right now. I love the knowledge that I have, that I am called to share it with those that are seeking, and to bring them to Christ. I know as Ammon says in Alma 26, that I am nothing. I boast not of myself, but of my God and the mighty power that is His to deliverance of all mankind from the pains and suffering of death and sin. I know the church is true. I know I am doing what I need to right now, and I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!

Love you all!
Aldste Maxwell

Absolutely loved Conference!

I have absolutely loved conference. It has really been the boost that I was looking for and full of answers to questions that I have had about what I need to be doing as a missionary, what I am, Who I need to become, and really what is the point? I love how when I listen, many of the talks and subjects become for me. I like how they talk to me and that the Lord, through His spirit can send me personal messages through the general talks. It is absolutely incredible! I do have to say that I missed being home, missed all of the incredible food and the comfortable chairs. It is kind of funny, conference made me a little homesick! (not in a bad way I promise, just really good memories!)

I went on splits with Elder Kundis at the beginning of my mission but I never thought I would be companions with him, I am glad that I am! He is really fun to be with, funny and full of life! It is really funny, almost everyone that I have been companions with I have known from my first transfer in Sweden! So far anyways! We will see how long this pattern can continue. I am excited, as usual, to see what will happen next!

No big stories like last week... We had a bike stolen this week, so most of our travels have been by bus. I was quite sad to see that we are now short one bike, especially since it was the newer of the two bikes that was stolen. (less than 4 months old! The last missionaries here also had a bike stolen.) We are going to get a new bike soon and we will make sure we lock them to something so someone can't come and pick them up and run off with it! They would have to literally pick them up because we do lock them so they can't be ridden or tires stolen off them. But that was not enough! So, extra precautions and fill out the guarantee no-steal paperwork, and we should be good!

We got to teach a less active member this week with some of the members, when we went over, it was us, two active members, a less active, her sambo (boyfriend) and a neighbor non-member who was interested in learning about the church! It was an incredible teach! The members are incredible, the less active taught the neighbor all about Joseph Smith and bore her testimony of him and the Book of Mormon. It was incredible to see how well it all went. I know that the spirit was there leading us and helping us to be able to do the Lord's work and bring people to Christ. We gave the neighbor a Book of Mormon and she was very excited to get it. We are meeting with them all again next week! Oh, and the less active and her non-member boyfriend both came to two sessions of conference. I am excited to continue to teach them. I love being able to teach and to help people to come nearer Christ, their Savior. To learn of his love and the plan he has for each and every one of us.

Det är helt underbart för mig att jag kan komma till Konferens för att lyssna till Guds sann profet på jorden idag. Han är verkligen Guds profet och jag vet att de ord som han talar är Guds orden till oss. Vi lever i en värld av mycket prövningar och behöver den tröst som kommer till oss genom Jesu Kristi försoning. Satan vill att vi vara rädd. Han gör allt i hans kraft för att stoppa oss. Den är orsaken att jag är så tacksamma att jag får lyssna till profeten. Jag vet att han kan se de saker som vi måste undvika. Han talar till Gud för oss, han vill att vi kan bli så lycklig som möjligt, han verkligen älskar var och en av oss. Jag vet att Gud lever, han har en plan för oss att vi kan ta del av hans rike och bo hos honom. Jag är en Guds lilla barn vi alla är Guds barn. Han älskar mig lika han älskar alla sina barn.

Have a great week, I hope that everything goes well! I honestly have no idea how I made it through the second meal last week, but I know that God can and does work miracles every day!

Love you all!
Aldste Maxwell