Week 100 - Don't forget to...Keep the Faith!

Hey again!

I hope you have all had a sweet week full of miracles as we have here!! :) lots of cool things happening! This week has seriously flown by! Crazy. Some things that happened this week; last Monday, elder Dumas and I decided to go bowling, it was a BLAST! Haha it was pretty funny. We were the only people in the whole place. And we just had a good ol' time. And I smoked him. NBD ;) we took at 3 hour train up to Umeå for work overs with the Zone Leaders! Way good time. I got to see Elder Sirrine again which was cool! And I was able to go with Elder Simmons. We had a few lessons and had some time to find! It was a awesome last exchanges! Wednesday we took another 3 hour train ride back home. Haha we had district Council and it was THANKSGIVING!! What an amazing day. There is this amazing family in the branch. The mom is from Utah. So she invited us and the Branch Presidents family to Thanksgiving dinner. Man, that was good. Rolls, potatoes, sweet potatoes mmmmm. Good stuff. I miss America. God bless the USA. 🇺🇸 Other than that, normal week, lots of finding, spreading #LightTheWorld getting people excited for that! Fun stuff!

This week, I have been thinking a lot about time. How little time we really have! Time goes fast and if we don't use it wisely, that's when it goes even faster and we lose a lot of it! There is a line in the missionary Handbook that says, "Time is one of the most precious resources Heavenly Father has given you. The period when you are able to serve the Lord with all your time and all your efforts is extremely short. Use it fully and wisely. Such an opportunity is a privilege." I know y'all aren't full time missionaries like I am, but I think the principle can apply to everyone. We don't have a lot of time here in this earth really. From an eternal perspective, it's a blink of an eye. And we need to use it well! And as we do, as we prioritize and make the most of what we have we will be able to get more done! Feel better about our days and have more time to serve others. :) so make the most of now! It is a gift and that's why is called the present. :)

Well my friends, as usual, I hope you have a great week! Sorry for the short email again, but you can count on a hefty one next week. ;) Thanks for your prayers, encouragement, love, support. Y'all are the best. :) aaaand, don't forget to keep the faith!! Love y'all and miss you, but not for long!

Love,

Elder Baggett

Week 99 - Tjena Vänner!

Tjena Vänner!

How are y'all doing?? Hope life is well in the home of the free, land of the brave. This week has been and eventful one! It's getting dark here so so fast. Yesterday the sun set about 3 o'clock and it's only getting darker! Crazy! Highlights from this week, we had Zone Conference which was awesome!! Learned so much and I was able to see some old companions and friends. So that was fun. It was my last one which was pretty weird. I still feel like a new missionary sometimes, but that's how is goes! I had 3 interviews for West Point which was pretty cool/ weird/ terrifying. They went well though. We were able to work out on the farm again which was sweet. We broke a beaver dam there and we were knee high in a river in the dark with headlamps. Pretty sick actually. Cool pics. I'll send those. We did some service and painted a ceiling. Had a few lessons, got some good finding time. OH MY HOW COULD I FORGET! Last Monday we (the sisters and a member) ate surströmming! Which is fermented herring and it was actually way tasty. Pretty gnarly smelling but so worth it. :) Lots of cool things happening this week. So yes it was a good one!!

So, about those interviews I had. I had to meet with representatives from West Point and reps from Hatch, Love and Lee's office. I was pretty nervous to say the least. And it was actually way cool. When I was getting ready, I got down on my knees and said a prayer and asked for some comfort and all that good stuff. And it was such a testimony to me because as a missionary, you pray for everything and it's like, I know he will help because it's like churchy stuff. But it was cool to see that even with worldly things he is so quick to help us. :)

I was reading in the Book of Mormon and came across one of my favorite parts, the war chapters!! I found this really cool verse I thought to share with y'all. It's in Alma 48:19 and it says, "Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less serviceable unto the people than was Moroni; for they did preach the word of God, and they did baptize unto repentance all men whosoever would hearken unto their words." Moroni is like the star of this part of the story. About how he is leading armies and just being a stud. And it said that Helaman and his brethren were "no less serviceable" because they were doing the work of the Lord! So as long as we are doing what the Lord asks of us, it doesn't matter our calling, we are just as important as the next guy. Remember that. :)

Well my friends! Hope you all have a wonderful week full of miracles and adventures! Thanks for all the love and prayers and support. Y'all are the best! :) as always Keep the Faith!

Love,

Elder Baggett

Week 98 - Great week!

Hello again my friends!

Another week in the books here in Sundsvall! Great week as usual! Since last Monday, not too much has changed. We haven't seen the sun and it hasn't stopped raining all week! So that's cool I guess. Haha nah, it really has been a good week. Maybe we can hit some highlights! I got a much needed haircut last Monday. We had our regular lessons, as well as met with some new people! We had coordination meeting. Went out with our ward mission leader and visited some members, had district meeting, FHE, we were able to get out and work on the farm!! And had a party with the branch. :) and knocked a lot of doors! Awesome week really.

So, Saturday was an awesome day. We were able to spend a ton of time with the members! The district president (stake president) here in Norrland lives in our branch. And he owns a farm!! His wife has been in the hospital and he hasn't been able to do a lot of work at home. We were able to offer our four hands to head out there and help! We moved a lot of stuff, fed some horses, took out trash and helped him prep for winter! It felt great to get out and get our hands dirty! It was also super cool to talk with him and get to know him better. He is a STUD. :) that evening, we had a branch party! There are about 20 or so Persian members in the branch, so they wanted to put on a "culture night"! They made Iranian food, we danced, we played games. Man it was a riot I tell ya! Sometimes I honestly wonder what country I am serving in. Haha they made SO MUCH FOOD and gave the missionaries ALL of the extras. Haha I don't know how or if we will eat it all. Biggest legends. We had a few of our friends who were able to come. We also had like 10 less active members there! So I would say it was a success!!

This week I was also able to give a talk in sacrament meeting! I used to HATE giving talks man. Haha absolute worst. But, now that I have done it more I have grown to tolerate it. :) still not my favorite thing, but, it's coming. And I do love how much I learn every time. :) but I was asked to speak about the Book of Mormon and what it means to me. Sweet! Preparing for my talk, I was able to think back to when I remember taking Moroni's challenge (Moroni 10:3-5) to heart and receiving an answer about the Book of Mormon. It was so cool! As I thought about it, so many of the feelings I had then came back to me and it was another confirmation to me that the Book of Mormon truly is the word of God. I would invite you all this week to think back to your conversion or your turning point or your answer; whatever you call it. And write it down! As you do, you will be able to have those same feelings and it will give you the spiritual boost you need to keep going! :)

Short guy this week, but like always I hope y'all have a great week! And Keep the Faith!

Love,

Elder Baggett

Week 97 - Halloween in Sweden

Hey everyone!

Yet another week in the books! A great one here in Sundsvall as usual. :) Really not too much out of the ordinary, just a lot of missionary work! Surprise, that's what I've been doing for the past 2 years. :) lol no, but this week, we had quick a few lessons! The usual people as well as a few new! Man, I love teaching people about the gospel. That which has given me the most happiness in my life and being able to give that to others. Amazing. :) we did some service at a members home. They're building onto their house and we when over there twice to help him put up insulation and dry wall. Way fun! Love being able to work with my hands. :) This last Wednesday was Halloween, not my favorite holiday in the world. Haha but it's not a super big holiday here, but there are some Canadians in the world that set up a little trick or treat for the ward, so we were able to head out there and help out. Loads of fun! Fun to see all my little friends dressed up! We had one member meal and we had choir after church which was sweet. Mom knows how much I love choir. Haha. Then the rest of the week was filled with finding! Knocking doors and talking to people in the streets. :) great week I would say!

Cool story! So on Saturday, we were out knocking doors, and we found this neighborhood with some way sweet houses. We knocked a few, not too many home which was kind of interesting. But we kept going. We knocked on this house and we start talking to this lady, she was putting up a wall and being kinda sassy at first. Then we just starting talking about life, she opened up and said that her sister was a member in the states! She said that she is with another church but knows "all about us" hahah nah, she invited us in, we talked and she showed us pictures, she even took us to her backyard and showed us where her and her husband grow grapes. Let us try some. Way yummy. :) and showed us where they make wine as well! Way nice lady. Said she wasn't too interested in the church, but who knows what will happen in the future!

This week for some reason, nearly every lesson we taught, it somehow came back to receiving personal revelation! It was kind of cool. We were able to invite all of them to read president Nelsons talk from April general conference. So that means I got to read it myself as well! And as I read, I thought a lot about how having the spirit with me and a companion, a guide, a comforter has truly blessed my life! I am so grateful that we have a loving heavenly father who trusts us enough to allow us to make our own decisions. I know that God and Jesus christ live! And love each and everyone of us. I know the holy spirit is there guiding our thought and actions. As long as we stay worthy, he will ALWAYS be with us. :) listen for the small promptings you receive and act on them! You will be blessed for it. :)

Well my lovelies, I hope you have a fantastic week! I love you and miss you so much! Thanks for you love and prayers. :) As always Keep The Faith!! :)

Love,

Elder Baggett