Welcome to Skane

You guys... this place... is hicktown! I can't stand how they speak here.... Skånska is literally the worst. Haha. An investigator asked me if I could Swedish and I said, "Yeah, but I've only been in Skåne for a few days so speak slowly." Their vowels are different... and they say their R's like they have a speech impediment. Just when I was feeling comfortable... that's pretty much the story of the mission..

Well, now that that's out.. I will tell you about my last few days in STHLM. Saying goodbye was terrible! But Monday night, we met with ____, and she made us some incredible food from her country (Afghanistan) and told she wanted to be baptized. We had talked with her about it before, but she was always nervous, but this time SHE brought it up and just said, "I saw a miracle. Jesus answered my prayers and I want to be baptized." So her family moved from Afghanistan to Sweden four years ago, but her mom had adopted a baby there (whose parents couldn't take of her) so she was part of the family, but not legally so they couldn't take her with when they moved. They had been trying to get her to Sweden this whole time and it never worked, but she prayed and then a week later they got her! It was a really cool story... and she bore her testimony of the Book of Mormon and how you can find truth in every single verse and apply it. She said she had wanted to read the entire book but she said she knows it's true and she decided she wanted to be baptized. We asked her when and she said, "I have a test on Thursday... so... Friday?" Haha. She is going to be baptized next Saturday though, and I am SO STINKING SAD I AM GOING TO MISS IT. My luck is terrible on these things... But either way, it's happening. :) Best note to leave on ever.

Also, my BFF Alison (a YSA) is going on a mission to SINGAPORE, mandarin speaking... cause she already speaks it.... cause she's flippin awesome. I am so excited for her! 

Other than that we just said bye to a lot of people! Yesterday we made some really sad lasagna that was crunchy due to being burnt and also undercooked (HOW?).... but it made me miss the Pence's so much. They took such good care of us, and if Skåne drives me too crazy I will just run away to their house again. You guys have to meet Jensyn when she comes to Utah. Oh! And I gave Mikael Gustavsson your phone number and address, and he said he might come by when he goes next month. He served his mission in Vegas. You'll love him. 

I can't be too negative about it down here, because there are a lot of good things. First, the people are super nice and way more chill. Second, THE SANDELINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sister (Sara) Sandelin took me contacting my first day in Sweden and she just barely got home. Where is home for her? KRISTIANSTAD. We eat dinner with them once a week and we are going to spend Christmas with them. They're half Chilean, half Swedish. And hilarious. And loud. I asked where the bathroom is and they told me they only had one outside... it seemed so real! They were making me get my shoes on and everything when Sara came and saved me. They made fun of me. They also told us about this 99 crew.... this group of kids on bikes that attack people on the streets in Kristianstad. They told us about how some missionaries got concussions from them... I didn't know whether to believe it or not... but as soon as we leave this group of kids on bikes come screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaming down the street with brooms and crap and who is it? The Sandelins. Haha. They're ridiculous and I love them already.

We had a Christmas Party that was way fun and I've already met a few of the investigators. I love them! Sister Woolsey is the sweetest human on the planet. We are trying to make it feel like Christmas here because it just doesn't... I will get my packages at Zone Conference in Göteborg on Friday. But we have made gingerbread cookies and apple cider... We just really need some snow. Oh and we went to Lucia! Where the girl has a bunch of candles on her head and they sing and have a concert. It was beautiful... but every time I sit down on the mission I just fall asleep haha. I'm used to it. 

En sak till... Our district went out to Kebab, because, as rumor has it, Skåne has the best Kebab. True or false? TRUE. It's really flippin' good. You guys know what Kebab is right? I don't know why I am capitilizing it like it's a proper noun...but it's meat that's cooked really slowly and it's kinda sketch. But anyways, Elder Payne... (I'm around all baby missionaries and they are so cute and little...) ate more than half of the biggest pizza I have ever seen in my life. He was so sick... you would have died, Mom... Pictures will be included. This was kind of random... but definitely in the highlights of the week. You'll understand.

Here's a scripture I like from this week, Luke 4:

 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hathanointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to thecaptives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set atliberty them that are bruised,

Let's do this during this Christmas time! Let's go out and find hearts to heal and do what Christ would do. I've been thinking about what it means to me that a Savior was born and I'll encourage you to do the same. I made a 12 days of Christmas and I'll send it to you guys. :)

LOVE YOU SO MUCH! You're all in my prayers.

Syster Stetler

Transfers!!!!

Well, remember how my entire mission has been a straight line down Sweden? The trend continues. I am going to..... KRISTIANSTAD. Christian Town. Hopefully that's an accurate name haha. It's about 40 minutes north of Malmö. Just look it up on a map. :) I am going with Sister Woolsey (who came with Sister Jackson) and she is super cute. I am replacing Sister Kimball. I definitely knew I was going there because I could eliminate every where else because I have already been close to there or I have already had that companion. I'm definitely OLD in the mission. But it's sunnier there and smaller... and it is known for having a TON of Chileans. And for PDAY I will be able to go to the Denmark temple! I was actually really sad when I found out I was going there, but I am a lot more excited now. 

But I am definitely still super sad to leave Stockholm. I cried at church. :( And at the Pence's. 6 months is a really long time! I bore my testimony and just stood there and looked at everyone and thought about the amazing examples they have been to me and how much they have taught me. I HAVE TO COME BACK. God blessed me so much for the last Sunday. A guy came up to me and said, "did you leave a cake at my house?" I was so confused, but it was a less active that I have swung by so many times and he was there! ____, an investigator, CAME. And he loved it! And the investigator that the Guerra's invited over after stake conference! He came too! And we had a lesson with him and at the end he told us he wants to get baptized. IT WAS MAGICAL. 

We also had a ward party! And Tommy, a less active, came to it! He hadn't been there since he was like 12!!!!!!!!!!! SO GOOD. His sambo (live together person) and daughter came too. Everyone loved them. It was really happy. :) And we did a skit. It was terrible.... I couldn't stop laughing. But everyone liked it. :) And we had a Christmas concert. Christmas basically already came... haha

BUT YEAH. We also had a Christmas Party at the Strauss's. (Half american, half Japanese) and they invited ALL the ladies we have been teaching english to and we ate a bunch of sushi and other japanese food. We did a white elephant gift exchange and everyone hated my gift hahaha. They were trying to get rid of it. I'll send a picture and you will understand. Hilarious. But anyways, we taught them about the Christmas symbols and connected it all back to Christ and members bore their testimonies and it was really powerful. It's cool to feel the spirit even when you don't understand. And then we gave them all Books of Mormon. I am so happy. :) I could not have had a better week to end my time here. :)

I also went on splits with my beloved Sister Griffes. I love her so much. She is going to Luleå...hahaha... that'll be fun! 

THE CHURCH IS TRUE. GOD IS GOOD. I LOVE YOU GUYS. 

Love,

Syster Stetler

I don't have many, and I don't have much

Nov 30 at 1:22 AM

Hi everyone! How's it going? It is getting cold and super dark. The sun is going down at 3 or so. I will seriously believe that it's 7 and it will be 4:30. I'm ready for it to snow and lighten up a bit. It's still been raining. Training calls have been going around and both of our elders here are training so that's super fun. :) we will find out Saturday about transfers. I want to go to Göteborg soooooooo bad.

Last Monday we played football for about 2 hours. My hands were about to fall off, but it was nice to do something sporty.... Even though I am really bad. People think runners are athletic..... We just run because it takes less coordination.... I do anyways haha. 

Tuesday we had zone training. It was really, really good. We talked about the new Christmas video (WATCH IT, share it!) and about diligence. A lot of people shared their testimony and it was really powerful. I have been thinking a lot about my relationship to Christ and how I can come to know him and understand him better, and I think I have learned that I have learned the most about Christ's character through seeing Christlike attributes in others. There are some incredible missionaries and when they share their testimony, it's not just their words, but it's backed up by their life and all their actions and efforts. That's a testimony. Same goes for members. There is a guy in our ward who has had stomach cancer and doesn't feel well at all, and he just SERVES anyways... He is everywhere. Every person we visit talks about him and how much he has done for them. He said, "Everyone that lives in our Ward boundaries in God's eyes. We are responsible for serving them and helping them." Another guy in our Ward is the best missionary I've ever seen. He calls us ALL THE TIME with referrals. "My last hairdresser wasn't progressing (he had given her a Book of Mormon) so I went to a new hairdresser. It's all the same haircut. I might as well find someone who wants to learn more." And another lady! I said a prayer and asked God a very specific question and at church she answered it. She just felt inspired to share a story "I don't know why I am sharing this..." and it made a huge difference to me. I've seen people handle some really hard trials with gratitude, faith, and determination. It motivates me to change and to be better. I'm not so impressed with the things I used to be. "I don't have many and I don't have much. In fact, I don't have any but I borrowed enough." 

Well... That was a rant haha. But I mean it. I love the people here and they have taught me so much. I will be so sad to leave.

Thursday was THANKSGIVING!!!!! So fun. We went to the Beckstrand's with the Pence's. It was such a good meal!! And beforehand, none of us had a ton of motivation to be honest. But we had a contest with the elders to see who could give out the most Books of Mormon. And I prayed for help beforehand to be directed to someone who would listen, especially because we were in a really busy part of town. I felt inspired to talk to a swede, she was interested and took the book. I was really surprised I gave one away... Then I only had an English one so I prayed that I could meet someone that spoke English. I was shocked when I got "I don't speak Swedish. I'm from Atlanta" It was fun. Praying can be so powerful, and every chunk of time, no matter how big or small, can be beneficial and change lives. I feel like I am super sappy haha but I just love my mission and I love Stockholm. Sister Beckström is going home soon and it reminds me I don't have a ton of time left and I want to use every bit of it! 

I LOVE YOU GUYS! Have a great week!

Love,

Syster Stetler

Missionary Experience

Hallåååååååå. :)

This week, like others, was full of adventure and a fair share of disappointment. But mostly adventure. It was Sister Beckström's birthday! We had such a fun day. We didn't have much to give so we made her jello and lit candles in it. 'Twas awesome. I love having her as a companion. She's so fun! All we need is for Sister Jacobs to dye her hair red so we can have all three. :) 

So I went on splits to Uppsala and it was really cool. They are having sooooo much success there and I asked why. They got a new bishop and he said that they have always had good missionaries, so that wasn't the problem, but that their ward got 100% home teaching last month and they believe that's because the ward is taking care of each other, the Lord is blessing them with more and more members. I like that reasoning a lot! It's not just the missionaries! The members are a huge contribution to the work! So we are going to work on that as well as our "Missionary Experience". Have you guys looked at that? The members are really liking it! Which is good because it took forever to make haha. We are making a less active version and a kid version too. #experience

It's dark here. And coooooold. But nothing is that bad after Luleå haha. This winter should be pretty mild. GUESS WUT. Sister Jackson is going to LULEÅ!!!!!!!! They got kicked out of their apartment and she is heading up on Wednesday. Craziness! I am so excited for her to go up there and meet everyone and kill it! The area needs her. It's struggling haha. But I'm really sad because I don't know if I will see her for the rest of my mission..... Hopefully we have one last sisters conference before I go home!

Let's see... We went to Nisse's and met his cute cute daughter. I love her! And I met a really cool guy on the street from Estonia. He was really interested and had thought a ton about religion. He was like "Did you feel guided to talk to me because I need a lot of help?" Haha.  

We had Stake Conference this weekend and it was really good. Sara came Saturday! And then we had 5 people say they would come the next day.... Guess how many came? 0. Haha. Next week! But something incredible happened! We had a dinner planned with a family from Peru and they grabbed us and said "Meet Leondel, he just walked in the church and wanted to learn more. He's coming over for dinner" We taught him the restoration and a bit of every other lesson! We ate some amazing food and had a lot of fun. I wish I knew Spanish! The members here are amazing though. 

I'm reading D&C and marking every time I feel the spirit confirm that something is true. It's been interesting to see. I really have to pray and ask for the spirit to be with me during my studies and then pay attention and ask continually to know and distinguish truth. Have you ever read D&C through? It blows my mind haha. I've read a lot about the temple and a lot of prophecies for the future. I also read the story of Job this week. That's a really interesting story! My adjectives are so limited haha... interesting, cool, amazing, ... yeah! PLEASE PRINT OUT MY CHALLENGE AND DO IT! I will be following up haha... I want to know if it helps or if you think it could be better. Let me know! I'll ask again next week. :)

And, as President King would say, (I actually have no idea, I just hear he says this and love him for it) "Every day you don't read the Book of Mormon you put your spiritual life in danger." I can't deny it's true. I would have gone home a looooooooooooong time ago if it wasn't. It's true and brings safety and peace to the soul in a world that is surrounded by darkness and confusion. If you haven't read it, read it! If you have read it, read it daily. 

LOVE YOU GUYS. The gospel is FASCINATING and true.

Syster Stetler