Pics from Stockholm

Semlor bulle....a really popular Swedish pastry this time of year.

Swedish Capri-Sun...it's called Capri-Sonne here.

Tina's baptism...Sis. Swenson, me and Tina

The ice floating on the river in Stockholm with the City Hall in the background

New email.... (Mon., March 15)

Dear Family and Friends,

This last week we were informed that we will no longer be using g-mail for our emailing purposes. I have a new email address which is: suzanne.wood@myldsmail.net. That is the email I will be communicating from for the rest of my mission. Please start sending your emails to this address because I won't check the gmail address I have anymore.

Ok...enough of the technical information. This last week was amazing! I will spend most of my letter talking about Tina's baptism because it was SO awesome. As far as the work goes in Jakobsberg, everything is going well. We are teaching some really positive investigators and we found another inactive member we are going to start getting together with and teaching. Everything with Sis. Smith and me is good and we are looking at the last week and a half of this transfer. How quickly time is going...

We were able to teach Yvonne twice last week, and she has been in church and I think she is really dedicated to knowing the church is true and her activity in the church. We will continue to teach her and see when it will be possible for her to get baptized.

We also continue to teach John, Lawal, and Francis who are all positive investigators. John and Lawal agreed to do an "experiment" with us...which includes them reading and praying every day and also coming to church for the next four weeks. They were both more than happy to do all of those things and we will see them tonight and teach them about obedience. They are awesome!

Now for the real joy of the week. On Saturday, we were able to go to Gubbängen for Tina's baptism. Both Sis. Swenson and I were able to make it for that and it was amazing. On Friday, Elder Ahola called...he's one of the Elders serving in Stockholm right now...and he asked if I would talk at Tina's baptism about the Holy Ghost. I of course was glad to do that...and don't worry...I cried through the whole talk. The Spirit was incredibly strong. Sis. Swenson and I also were able to do a musical number. She played I Know that My Redeemer Lives on the Viola and I accompanied her on the piano. It sounded really nice...so I hear. :) And then I was the one who helped Tina where to go and what to do when she was baptized and it was so amazing to see her take that step. She did it!!! She got baptized!! I honestly don't think I have ever felt more joy in my life than when I watched a woman who has completely changed her life enter the waters of baptism and be willing to follow the Savior. What a blessing it is for me to have been able to teach her those six months I was in Stockholm. I know the Lord has everything to do with her conversion...but I am so grateful He saw fit to let me be a part of it. The entire evening I had a huge smile on my face and was just so happy for her. I know she will receive so many blessings because of her decision to be baptized in the church. She stood up and bore her testimony after she had been baptized, and she was so strong...and sure about what she had done...it was amazing. Two of her daughters came...neither of them are members...and her friend Susanne...who gave us her number to begin with came and talked about the blessing of the gospel in her life. All I can think of is the wonderful things that will come in the future because of this one soul who was baptized. Amazing!!

It has just strengthened my testimony even more of the truthfulness of this work. I know that the church is led by Jesus Christ. I know that He knows each of us and loves us and is aware of where we are, what we need, and knows how to help us. I am so lucky to be in Sweden serving here and helping people come to Christ. I am excited for transfers. I don't know what will happen. There are four new sisters coming in for next transfer...so maybe I will train...maybe I will move...maybe Sis. Smith and I will stay together. We just don't really know...and just a reminder...our P-Day is Wednesday of next week.

I hope you all have a great week. The weather can't decide if it's Spring yet...or still Winter. It's sunny...but freezing outside. I appreciate the support you all give me. Take care and have a great week!

Love,

Sister Suzanne Wood

Spring.....is hopefully here. :) (Mon., March 8)

Dear family!

It's finally felling a little warmer today! We'll see if it stays warm or if we're back in the negatives tomorrow. I actually took my scarf off on the way to the library....yahoo!!! I'm so grateful for the sun. :)

We had a good week last week. We were able to find two inactive members who were positive about meeting with us....so awesome. We were also able to meet with some other positive new investigators. One really sad thing happened yesterday and that is that we tried to go by Peter who was going to get baptized on Saturday...because we have not had any contact with him for a couple of weeks and he didn't answer the door. We have tried to call and text...and go by and we are not sure what happened but we had to drop him yesterday. Really sad. It's hard to see that sometimes people still choose to reject the gospel even if they have received a witness of it's truthfulness. We all need to continue to show our dedication to the gospel at all times. It's so important.

We also have a new investigator who has actually been baptized before into the church. We are taking it really slow with her to make sure that she does not get baptized again just to be baptized. Her name is Yvonne. She was a member about 20 years ago but didn't stay a member for very long. She seems sincere in her desire to come back, but we want to be sure that she will be active. Our activity in the church is so important. As we all do our part and serve each other...that's how the church continues to function. Our church is not a sit back and relax kind of church. We are a working church. Everybody does their part to help things move forward and function well. I'm continually amazed at the inspiration and structure of our church...that it is perfect...and that it is set up in God's way and that is why it works. Such a blessing.

Otherwise, everything has been good here in Jakobsberg. I'm going to send some pics. next week of the place where I live now, and Tina's baptism. She is getting baptized this Saturday. I'm SO excited!!!! It will be wonderful to see her take this step...and then to find out that she is going to the temple will be the frosting on the cake.

We have Sharpening tomorrow and then our transfer ends in 2 weeks. We are not sure at all what will happen at transfers, but we have 6 sisters leaving to go home and 4 new sisters coming in. The group of sisters I'm in becomes the oldest on the mission. Crazy stuff!! There's not a whole lot more to say this week. I'm so grateful to be out here doing the Lord's work. It's worth the ups and downs. All the struggle is so worth it when the joy of somebody accepting the gospel comes. It's an incredible blessing to know that this church is true. That I know that it comes from God. I'm grateful for my testimony. I hope you all have a great week! Take care!

Love,

Sister Suzanne Wood

Pics

At the Coca-Cola Factory in Stockholm

utfart is such a funny word...hahaha....

with Sister Smith at a baptism

What a week, a work, and a wonder!! (Mon., March 1)

Dear Family,

It has been a wonderful week. I have to say the highlight for me was yesterday. It was incredibly stressful, but everything we did went really well. We had our Music Fireside last night, and because we wanted our investigators to be there and wanted them to get to know ward members, we let people know that we would be making dinner after church for those who would like to stay...and expecially for those who live too far away to go home and come back to the music concert. Well, we made spaghetti to the best of our ability. I am still not very good and making meals for large groups. It's hard to know exactly how much to make, but we made enough for everybody to have a nice plate of s-ghetti, some veggies and some breadsticks I made. We got help from a couple of members in the process and everything ended up going well.

Then, we waited for the Music Fireside to begin....waiting for the Elders from different areas to come and participate....and well practice before the evening began....and they all got there, and the program went really well. I actually ended up singing "Climb Every Mountain" from Sound of Music...and When You Believe with a girl named Sandra Miranda in our ward. I also accompanied most of the numbers, there were a couple of others who played and sang and we asked a few members to bear their testimony of music also. We had about 50-60 people who came to the evening and it was awesome. We had between 10-15 non-members there and we are going to do another fireside in 3 weeks and stress even more what a great opportunity it is for the members to invite their friends to come. It gives them the opportunity to be in the church and feel the Spirit without a formal "teaching situation." I am excited that last night went so well. I think it will bring us much success if the members will invite their friends and family and give us the opportunity to invite people to learn about the gospel.

Other than that, we had a good week. We were not able to meet with Peter, who is supposted to get baptized on Saturday and he said he would come to church yesterday but didn't end up coming. We are really bummed about that, and feel that he is not quite ready to be baptized. He has gotten a job...which is really good, but he is much busier and it has been a challenge to meet. It's disappointing, but it's really important that he is ready to keep the commitments he makes and to keep them in order for him to be baptized and make a covenant with Heavenly Father.

We also taught Alex and Alexis, a father and son from Cuba about the Word of Wisdom. The teach went pretty well, but they are not yet ready to commit to living that commandment. We are prayerfully trying to know how to help them experiment on the word and see what the difference can be in their lives with those substances that are not good.

Otherwise, we went to the Coca Cola Factory in Jordbro, Sweden last Monday for P-Day. It was pretty awesome. It is the only Factory in the whole country so all the Coke Products in Sweden are made there. It's incredible how much soda they make in such a quick amount of time. We also got to do the Experience Center...which is team game thing. Our team won, so that was awesome.

We've had a good week. My body is tired, and pretty sore, but the Lord continues to take care of me and help me do the work. I'm ready for Spring...or Summer. It continues to get lighter outside, but the snow keeps coming. I hope all of you are doing well. I hope you have a great week!

Love,

Sister Suzanne Wood

Good Week! (Mon., Feb. 22)

Dear Family and Friends,

We had a great week this week. We had the most teaches in Jakobsberg last week that I have had during my whole mission in Sweden! We were able to meet with all of our investigators and many of our teaches we were able to have members come with us. Their testimonies are irreplaceable. We were able to teach Swedish Class and teach participants in Swedish Class about the gospel afterwards. We had a baptism happen yesterday in our ward and we have had much to do here this last week.

I don't have tons of time today, but I just want to talk a little about Spencer's baptism yesterday. We were able to teach him and get him ready for baptism, and then the big day came and the program was so nice. He had asked Sis. Smith and I to give the talks about baptism and the Holy Ghost. I talked about the Holy Ghost at the baptism. It was really wonderful to be there. Then, Spencer wanted to have a song sung at the baptism...but not just any song. He wanted us to sing, "The Lord commanded Nephi to go and get the plates...etc." or "Nephi's Courage." We had a couple of Elders sing it with us and it went really well also. And of course, most importantly, when we went into the font and Spencer was actually baptized the Spirit was there very strongly. It was such a special afternoon and I'm so glad that I could be a part of it.

We also were able to teach Peter and he is still progressing. He hasn't been in church because he's been sick, but we pray that he will come this week and continue to progress toward his baptism in 2 weeks.

We have been able to teach many new people also and we are always excited to get the opportunity to teach those who are interested. We have lots going on this week with the music program on Sunday. I know it will go well, but it does have it's stresses that accompany such an event. I hope that the Spirit will be there and that those who come will feel that Spirit and want to know why it is there. I am so grateful for all that I am doing here in Sweden. There are so many blessings...and many of them can't be seen until later.

Speaking of blessings...there is some really exciting news I forgot to write about last week. I'm sure you all remember Tina who I have talked about so many times from Stockholm. Well, she is getting baptized!!!!!! I am so excited for her! The Elders who moved to Stockholm went and taught her and invited her again to be baptized and she accepted their invitation. She tells them all the time that she wants us to be there....which of course Sis. Swenson and I will be. I am just so glad that she decided to take the step that the Lord wants her to take to come closer to Him than she has ever been before.

Another blessing is that this last week I found out that Segen...who I talked to one of my first weeks in Norrköping....way back when is also getting baptized on the same day that Tina is getting baptized. I can't express the joy I feel that these wonderful people who I have gotten to know...and teach have progressed and are being baptized into the Lord's church. It's amazing that when I left Norrköping I was so sad to not get to teach Segen to baptism....and the same when I left Stockholm.....but I am so incredibly grateful for the knowledge I have the the Lord knows and loves each one of His children and He provides exactly what they need to come back to Him. I know that these two wonderful women are not being baptized because of what I did....I know very well that the Lord completes His work through us as His servants.

It's still freezing here...they say it's the worst it's been in 40 years or something....as it sounds like it is ALL over the world. We are just trying to continue plugging along and keep ourselves warm. We have lots going on this week and will hopefully see a little warmer temperatures than what we have been seeing the last couple of days. I hope you are all doing well. I am loving the work. I love Jakobsberg. I love my companion and I love the opportunity to serve. Have a great week and know that you are all in my prayers!

Love,

Sister Suzanne Wood

Love is in the air....or snow is in the air...which one is it?? (Mon., Feb. 15)

Kära Familj och Vänner,

It's definitely snow is in the air....and wind....ok...I'm getting a little more sick all the time of the freezing cold temperatures we are having here in Sweden. I know that everywhere in the world is suffering from what seems to be a winter to be reckoned with...but come on....does it have to keep being so cold?? We have heard from many of the Swedish people that this is the coldest winter they have seen in YEARS....and Steph even told me she went running in the snow in Dallas, TX....what is the world coming to?? Ok....I just needed to let out a little frustration on the weather. I'll get over it now. :)

As for the important part of why I am here...I am loving the work in Jakobsberg. It is tough, but so wonderful. Sis. Smith and I have definitely had our ups and downs but we do get along really well and laugh really hard between the times we are frustrated with each other. The work here has been good this last week. We had many really good teaches with investigators and members in the ward. We were able to also teach some new people this week as well. The Lord is continuing to bless us...in our imperfections. I can't even begin to explain how many times I have felt that I am unfit to do the Lord's work...as we all feel sometimes. I can say...on the other hand, that the Lord truly qualifies us for the things He needs us to do. There is no doubt in my mind that like Ammon, "As to my strength I am weak, but in the strength of the Lord I can do all things...I will glory in my God forever...." I continue to be reminded of my need for the Savior and His Atonement. We all have so many strengths and wonderful blessings in our lives, but we also have been given weaknesses to work on and trials to fight our way through so that we could each realize the need for the Savior in our lives and turn to him. Without a personal witness and testimony of the Atonement...it doesn't mean nearly as much. I have really been realizing that more and more in my own life and as I have been teaching others about it.

As for cool things that happened this week...we were talking with the Elders in Stockholm and they said they had a referral for us about two weeks ago. They told us that this woman named Gege wanted a Book of Mormon in Mongolian...but that she can't really speak Swedish or English. I was not especially positive about it since we didn't know how we were going to be able to communicate with her. Well a few days ago, we called and set up an appt. for Sunday. She could communicate enough to say we could come yesterday evening. Well, when we called to say that we would be a little bit late, I didn't really talk to Gege, but the phone had been handed to a Swedish man...we visited a bit and he said it was fine if we came a little later. Well, come to find out, this man that Gege lives with is a Swedish man from a small town called Skövde...where about 20 years ago he went to our church once or twice and heard a little bit about what we believe from the missionaries who served there at that time. We continued to chat..and remembers Joseph Smith....the Book of Mormon...Salt Lake City....etc. Gege was so incredibly grateful for a book about Christ because she has not had the opportunity to learn about Him with her Buddhist background.

We will be going back on Wed. to give Jorgen a Swedish Book of Mormon and teach them both of the blessings and restoration of the gospel. It was such an amazing testimony builder of God's awareness of all of His children. He knew that the way we would beet Jorgen would be through Gege. What a blessing!

We also taught Peter, Francis, and Spencer during last week. All of them are still progressing and doing really well. Spencer is going to be baptized on Sunday...and we are really excited about that. He is such a good kid, and is really excited about his baptism. Peter is still doing really well. He is so willing to keep his commitments and has a strong desire to follow the Savior. We pray that he continues to progress toward his baptism on the 6th of March. From the teaches we have had with Francis, we can tell that he is sincere and genuine in his desire to do what is right. The problem is that he works on Sundays....so he can't get to church. That is such an important part of the commitment we make that we want to make sure that he will be able to be active if he becomes a member of the church.

Otherwise, all of the members in our ward are awesome. We have a wonderful ward mission leader who is doing all he can to get the ward members to do more missionary work. There's a ward mission plan...and wonderful members who are willing to go to teaches with us, and make refreshments for our music evening we have coming up...and I'm just grateful that I feel like the ward supports what we are doing. We are continuing to try to think of ways to help them do the work because we know they want to.

I'm healthy and happy. Some days are really hard. Some days are completely amazing. Everyday is worth it. The things I am learning...and the things I am teaching are of eternal worth...and that makes all that I am doing here worth it. I know that Heavenly Father loves us. I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day....it wasn't celebrated much here...but we had a wonderful Sabbath Day. I hope that this next week goes well and that you all continue to know that you are in my prayers and that I miss and love all of you!

Love,

Sister Suzanne Wood