Bruno Mars Concert

HEY FAMILY!

Not all too much to say this week! It was a lot of blåsts and rainy days. But a couple of cool things happened, let's see.

On Monday we had a HUGE volleyball tournament with all the missionaries in Stockholm! It was SO fun. We didn't do very good though, and a couple of my teammates were pretty crushed when we lost haha. But tons of fun to see everyone! 

Oh, there was a gigantic Gay Pride parade. There are rainbow flags EVERYWHERE. We had our window open and I honestly thought there was a Bruno Mars concert going on. Just super loud music and screaming and people dressed up.... It was interesting haha. I will send a video I took of it.

Aldad dropped us. We met with Henok, from Africa, and he was really positive, but we don't have any materials in his language. So.... that's a bummer. But we are really struggling to find investigators. We got three numbers on Sunday and we get tons of referrals but we just haven't been able to make anything happen. We are really trying to work with the members and invite them to work with us, so that's the focus right now. Still trying to build everything up! But some good things are happening with less actives! We are working with a girl named Karina, and she is so cute. She is Chilean and has a really small baby! She came to church and it was so great. We are also working with Soledad! She is also from Chile. (Basically just continuing Zach's mission....) She came to church for the first time in a year! We helped her bring her kids and they are soooo cute. She has a 7 year old boy that sat next to me in Sacrament and kept whispering that he didn't want to be there, so we definitely did some drawing and played some games and became good friends. Super cute. 

Elder Aabo is getting a greeeeenie! We are so excited, we will have two greenies in the ward. :) He is gonna be all messed up from Elder Aabo's Norwegian accent haha. I'm starting to dread transfers because you see so many friends go home! I feel like I've definitely made some lifelong friends! Missionaries, members, and especially investigators. 

As far as studies, I've still been studying healing, and I am learning a lot! I can't even express my gratitude for the Savior. The more I understand about the Atonement and apply it in my life, the more love I have for other people. I talked to a couple that were clearly tangled up in drugs on a subway the other day and it just broke my heart. I just want to talk to everyone and let them know how great the gift of the Atonement is, even though I know my understanding is still so limited. All I want is to understand more fully! I also really liked this video and you guys should watch it!

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-04-004-the-savior-wants-to-forgive?lang=eng

Love you guys so much! I'm sorry I didn't have too much to say,

Syster Stetler

Gronsak Eld

Hej allihopa! I'm on early today for many reasons. Anna-Lill called up and said she's coming to Stockholm... so.... I told Sister Jackson she usually behaves better when we are in public, but we'll see what happens. "Because I like it" is like her catch phrase haha. Also, lunch appointment with ILSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) I am soooo excited to see her! And after that we are playing sports outside because it's absolutely beautiful. August has FINALLY been summer. It's been so sunny and nice so we want to take advantage of that. 

I'll start out with a funny lesson we had. I called this girl, Janice, and she didn't answer but texted me in Chinese... so I texted back in Chinese, then she texted back, "I call you tomorrow." So we met with her and she's super cute. We started teaching her about the Restoration and we told her about God, Christ, and then the authority being lost. "So, Janice, what did we just teach you about authority?" "That it was lost so we can pray for it and then we all can have it and do what we want!" ..... Oooh... So we start reexplaining and she's like, "Ahh, I gotta go, I have a lot to do." So... the authority was taken from the earth.... the end. Hopefully we can meet with her again. Soon.

This week was transfers, and the trains just decided to have electrical problems, so we went to the Central Station and helped people out with their bags and such. I saw Sister Kimball! She is so cute. She is going back to the south so I will miss her. Apparently the south just isn't in the stars for me. I really want to go to Gothenburg. Anyways, that's a huge sidetrack. I wanted to get to the greenie situation. 13 elders came in and one is in our ward with us. He is suuuuuch a greenie haha. He speaks swenglish like 100% of the time haha. So cute. He always says "Mycket bra" and no one ever says that here haha... 

So as for the good stuff, Soledad came to church again! We met with her and she is doing so well, I'm so impressed. She has made the decision to be active and she is sticking with it! I'm just in love with her son Kevin. He had me draw 8 sea animals during Sacrament meeting and cut them out so he could play with them. His mom said that when she is like, "Let's go to church" he says, "with the missionaries?!?" I. love. him.

Abraham! The 18 year old that we teach English to! He came to church!!! So we invited him to a BBQ that the missionaries were having and he came and he loved it. Everyone just came up and talked to him and we ate and played ultimate frisbee and had a great time, then we invited him to church and he came! It was the coolest thing ever, because we haven't even taught him anything. He's the best.

So that's pretty much the week. We had dinner at the Pence's, as usual, and they are the best family ever. We drank mate! It still tastes like grass. But we had tacos and fun dips... I love Americans. :)

“Service to others deepens and sweetens this life while we are preparing to live in a better world. … When we are engaged in the service of our fellowmen, not only do our deeds assist them, but we put our own problems in a fresher perspective. When we concern ourselves more with others, there is less time to be concerned with ourselves! In the midst of the miracle of serving, there is the promise of Jesus that by losing ourselves, we find ourselves! [See Matthew 10:39.]

“Not only do we ‘find’ ourselves in terms of acknowledging divine guidance in our lives, but the more we serve our fellowmen in appropriate ways, the more substance there is to our souls. … We become more substantive as we serve others—indeed, it is easier to ‘find’ ourselves because there is so much more of us to find!”³²

I love this quote. I hope you have a great week!

Love,

Syster Stetler

Puss Puss Hej Kram Hej

Not all too much happened this week.. I just cannot believe how fast time is flying, it's really scaring me! I could be with Sister Jackson for the rest of my mission. I still love her so much. We went on splits this week, and they were good, but she came back and told me that "distance makes the heart grow fonder" and we decided that a night away from each other was way too much. Haha.  And we also started a tradition! After weekly planning we have spa night. We did mud masks and cucumbers on the eyes... next week's addition: chocolate covered strawberries. 

So I heard a whole lot about Chile this week! I ate empanadas! Sooooo delicious. And a missionary just got home from Chile here too. So that was all super fun! Latins are craaaaazy awesome. They were talking soooooo loud haha, I think I've just gotten used to the Swedes. I love it though. 

The highlight of the week was chalk art. Sister Sorenson is this incredible artist and she decided that she was going to draw Lehi's vision in the middle of Stockholm. She drew it out and all the missionaries colored it in, which I would usually be all over that, but I was just amazed at how many people would come and ask US what was happening. So I just walked around and talked to people for 3 hours. We got some numbers and gave out TONS of Books of Mormon. I met the coolest girl ever, but of course she lives way down south.

That was the best part of the week.. We met with some people this week, but no one was overly interested. And Aldad, who had been doing so well, told us he wasn't really that interested anymore. So... we'll just continue finding! 

OH! I got a text from the missionaries in Växjö saying that Nik was coming to Stockholm and wanted our ward info! Also, Ilse is coming to Stockholm soon and wants to take us to lunch! SO FUN!

District meeting was really cool this week. I'm going to talk about it because I don't really have anything else to say. We talked about John 10:27

 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

We talked about how to be Christ's sheep we must hearken unto Christ's voice and how we can decipher between Christ's voice, our thoughts, and thoughts from Satan. It was really interesting! What I got out of it was this: if you want to recognize Christ's voice, pray for promptings. Then write down all the promptings that you get, during scripture study and just throughout the day, and leave a space under each of them. At the end of the day, write down if you followed them, or what happened. This is a really good way to clearly see that, if we are desirous and worthy, Christ will speak to us all day and tell us what we need to know, for our own good and for the good of others. We will see what we need to see and learn what we need to learn, and not a day will be wasted. Maybe worth giving a try. :)

I also just want to tell you guys that I know Christ lives. I promised myself before my mission that I would tell everyone I could that I know that if we come unto Christ, he will heal us. He will make our weaknesses strengths. He will heal us spiritually, physically, and emotionally. He will give us knowledge, hope, and strength to endure. I know that for sure. There isn't a person on earth that wouldn't be benefited by coming unto Christ and being perfected in him. I think it's something we often forget, or don't fully understand. Take a few minutes to be with the Savior during the sacrament, that's really precious time to come unto Christ.

 32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

 33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.

I love you guys so much and I hope you have a great week. 

Love,

Syster Stetler

The Tree of Life

Chalk art in Stockholm 

Syster Stetler and Syster Jackson

I'm not really sure what's going on here...