A girl with a mission: "Ja auf Schwedisch das brauchen wir nicht." - February 10, 2014

FAMILY! Sorry to hear that everyone has been so sick! I was also sick this week. Sister Siems was sick first and then I finally got sick too. Most of our district was sick this week but we still all came to the finding day on Saturday in Zurich, and went out finding for a few hours. That was fun. I went with Sister Bakker from Holland. I got my Valentine's Day package! Thank you!!! And I love my US of KATE Shirt. She's such a celebrity ha ha. GO KATE! (She's referring to her friend Kate Hansen that is competing for the US in luge at the Olympics)

So I gave you some pictures. You may notice that Sandra wanted to do some model poses. She was baptized in July and we're going through the new convert lessons with her. I love her. You may also recognize her necklace. Yeah, well, I do believe in re-gifting.

There is also a Picture of one of the best meals I ever had. And so Swiss! I thought I should I should make a list of some of the new Foods I've tried:

Fastnachtschüechli (For Fastnacht, which is, as far as I can figure out, a European Mardi Gras)

Grünkohl

Kohlrabi

Quote of the week:

Me: Wie heisst das auf Deutsch? (what's that called in German?)

Sister Siems: (answers me)

Elder Bergstöm: Auf Schwedisch ist es (insert random Swedish word here) (in Swedish it's ____)

Elder Lossau: Ja auf Schwedisch das brauchen wir nicht. (Yeah nobody cares how you say it in Swedish Elder Bergstöm)

Ha ha ha ha.

This week I heard O Magnum Mysterium at a member's house. Shout out to Orem High A Cappella! That really took me back.

Every missionary is going to have to come again the argumentative lessons, and of course I have too. Some of the people we have a chance to teach are just curious and that’s okay but a good way to know if someone felt that something you said was true but don't want to accept that everything you're saying might actually be true is if they randomly bring up another topic and try and make you defend yourself. Example: Teaching an investigator about prophets and he says we don't need a Prophet on the earth today. So of course we ask them to read Amos 3:7. But it is interesting when their own book of scripture turns out to say something they didn’t realize it did. It's been happening a lot lately. So because this person had no good logic about why we shouldn't have a prophet, he brings up that he heard that we are baptized on behalf of people who have died and how absolutely wrong that is because baptism should be a personal decision. I couldn't agree more. So we explained that people have the opportunity to accept or reject this ordinance. And then he said that it shouldn't even be necessary to baptize dead people because the purpose of baptism is to dedicate your life to Christ (He's a free Christian). It's interesting to see how Christian beliefs on something as basic as baptism have come to be so varied. Some of the oldest churches in Italy still have baptismal Fonts but they no longer teach baptism by immersion in those same churches. We even went somewhere in Jerusalem with an even older baptismal font but I can't remember where. I know, very helpful. But it's interesting that so few people understand that true nature of baptism. Baptism is a saving ordinance. So then our investigator went on to say that why would we baptize dead people because they never did in the New Testament? But that’s the wrong argument to bring up to any Mormon kid who ever paid any attention in seminary. So we asked him to read 1 Corinthians 15:29. He was SPEECHLESS. Being a missionary is so interesting and what is most interesting and what we all know is that logic won't reach people. Only the Spirit of the Lord really will. It’s tricky to not get distracted by the logic when it is only teaching by the spirit that matters.

We're thinking of stopping by Tante Erika's tomorrow.

Another sweet experience from this week:

We got an a bus with only a few people but there was a beautiful lady and her baby at the front of the bus and I knew as soon as I stepped on the bus that I needed to talk to this lady. And Sister Siems sat at the back of the bus and nobody wanted to talk to her so she just sat there praying that I would be able to get this lady's information so that we could visit her. And I did and hopefully we will be able to visit her. I just thought it was so nice after to hear from Sister Siems that she had been praying for me that whole time on the bus.

Well I love you family!