Dear Family,
All I can say is that this has been an incredibly crazy, stressful week. I am hanging in there. I sometimes want to just sit down and cry, and then I instead say a prayer in the hopes that I don't freak out my NEW GREENIE becuase her TRAINER is having a melt down. I know the Lord has prepared me for this call. I know that all will be well. I know that I can rely on the Savior because he knows the stress, the anxiety, and everything else I am feeling right now. But I can't help but feel a little of the "natural man" in me giving me the little bit of anxiousness I have.
The rest of the week after Wednesday has been a whirlwind. Sister Väätti and I got everything packed up and cleaned in the apt. on Wednesday and then had dinner with a member. As it turns out, there are no missionaries now in Norrköping. It's too bad, and it was a little hard for me to accept at first because we had begun to have such success there, but I accept it better now that I need to be here for very specific purposes.
Thursday morning we were up early to catch the train to Stockholm. It was sad to spend the last time with Sister Väätti. I really do miss her. She was a good example to me, and taught me so much, and we truly became great friends. She is home safe now and living her own life again. In Stockholm, I went to a training meeting for trainers and then picked up my greenie....and now I will tell you all a little bit about her.
My new companions name is Sister Swenson. She is from Logan, UT, comes from a family of 7 kids. She went to BYU for 3 years before her mission studying Physiology and Dance. She is super awesome, her Swedish is good for a new missionary, she is brave and talks to everybody. We have a lot of fun together! I am so excited to get to spend this time with her. We are getting to know Stockholm, and relying completely on the Lord to help us in this new area with only our little bit of experience. My language continues to improve as Sis. Swenson asks me many questions I don't know the answer to. We look a lot of words up everyday and it is helping me to increase my vocab. all the time! Anyway, Sis. Swenson is very ambitious and has many ideas and we will try everything we can to invite people to come unto Christ which we know is what brings true joy and happiness in this life and in the life to come.
After we got into our apt. on Thursday, we had a teach that evening with a woman named Kathey, who is a member of the church who hasn't been active for 30 years. She served a mission in Taiwan in the 1970's, then moved to Sweden and completely lost contact with the church. We are helping to realize her faith again, and helping her to remember the blessings of the Gospel in her life. We are meeting her again tomorrow. She is humble, and so kind, and I truly hope that we can help her come back to church and receive the blessings that are in store for her.
Friday, we did planning, and unpacked our bags, and got to know eachother a little better. Our awesome Zone Leaders also came into Stockholm from their area to help us get acquainted with the area a little bit, and to show us how to get to church etc. We contacted, tracted, and had some success on the streets of this HUGE city!
Saturday, we went and did and utställning...in English I think it's like a table...or display and we set out posters on a table and then there were 6 of us missionaries contacting in the area and we got several numbers from that. Not to mention...Sis. Swenson is very musical. She brought her viola with her to Sweden. It's awesome. She played her Viola and I sang while we were contacting, and it was interesting that it really did attract a few more people to the table. I know it's true that good music invites the Spirit and softens the hearts of those we will meet and teach. Other than that, we were out contacting, and calling many people in the Area Book to try and make appts. for this week.
There was not a whole lot to start with here in the area for right now. We only have one or two investigators, and not very much else going on. We know we need to find those people who have been searching for the gospel, and we have met some very sincere people in our travels.
Yesterday, we went to church, and met the ward. We met the Mission Leader of the ward who is actually American. He's from Colorado, but served his mission here and is now working for the Dept. of State in the Embassy here in Sweden for the next 2 yrs. He is awesome, and I think he really does want to help us have success in this area. The members are super cool, and it will be really nice to get to know them better and there are many young single adults who are willing to help us with teaches, so that is a very nice thing. We then went out to Lidingö, one of the islands of the main land where one of our investigators lives. Her name is Meeri, and we wanted to stop by there and meet her. She doesn't have a phone which makes it really hard to set up appts. and such. She is a very kind lady from Finland. We had a very nice visit, but didn't really get anywhere with why she won't get baptized. She has had all the lessons and accepts the Book of Mormon as Gods word. We continue to try a little longer to help her realize the importance and necessity of being baptized in this church. It goes back to authority from God. What a blessing the Priesthood is!
I probably sound really scattered right now. I am really scattered right now. My thoughts go in every directions imaginable...from how do we get there, to how can we best use our time, to who do we NEED to talk to, to how can we help them...to how can I help Sis. Swenson in her first transfer...etc. As you call can see, I am a little crazy at the moment. I know the Lord will help me, and that is why I can keep going. I am grateful for the knowledge I have that I don't need to do this work alone. I would already be home if I was not being supported every step of the way by my Savior. I know we will have success here as we put all of our trust in Him, and listen to the promptings we receive as we talk to the people in this wonderful country.
I hope you have all had a great week. I hope this didn't come across as a negative email. I am still happy I am serving, and glad that I am here. I know this is the place I need to be. I know there are people I will meet that needed to meet ME. I am grateful for the prayers and thoughts in my behalf. I need them. :) Know that I pray for all of you, and your happiness. I hope that this week is a good one. I always look forward to hearing from all of you.
Love,
Sister Suzanne Wood
P.S. Swedish word for the week will be...TROENDE....that being in English...FAITHFUL. I hope we can all strive to be more faithful today than we were yesterday, and more faithful than we were today. I was reading in Matthew this morning, and Christ says if we have only as much faith as a mustard seed, that we can remove a mountain or do whatever other thing we need to do. I pray I can continue to show my faith. We show our faith to Him by our actions. I hope we never forget that!
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