Week 14 - Be on the Lord's team!

Hejsan!
(Hello!)

Awesome week this week! It's starting to warm up so that's super good! I didn't have to put on my coat the past 2 days, it was great! :) It's so crazy to read my friends emails and hear the difference from my mission to theirs. Crazy how diverse the world is! But, one this is always the same, you find drunks everywhere.  We did some Friday night contacting, which is prime drunk time, and talked to a few ladies that were just wasted. They were really funny, but it kind of makes you sad to see them drink their life away, but maybe one day they will figure it out.

This week, we had some crazy things happen! Saturday, the elders in the Vendelsö ward had a baptism! So we got there and we brought our investigator and we were really excited! We get there and nobody really knows whats going on! So we walk over to the font, and no water! Long story short, since its a new chapel, everything is automatic. The water pump broke and we didn't have the piece to fix it. So no baptism.. It got rescheduled for this Saturday which is awesome! Right after that, we went to a members house, the Palm's, to do service! We were cutting up trees and burning wood and such so he had a chain saw to cut up the logs. He was cutting a big tree and then he stopped and came running around the corner taking his pants off. haha But he cut himself with the chainsaw!  Kind of crazy. Now I know the number for 911 in Sweden! He is all good now and he even came to church the day after! Good guy.

This week, I started the war chapters in Alma, all I have heard it how hard it is to get through them, and yada yada. But I love them! Yes, it can be a little hard and a bit repetitive, but it's there for a reason. Something that I have been getting out of it, are to trust your leaders! They know what they are talking about. And the righteous always prevail! So be on the right team, the Lord's team! 

Sending you my love all the way from Sweden. I hope y'all have a fantastic week! Keep the Faith. :)

MvH 

Med Vänlig Hälsning (Best regards)

Äldste Baggett

Elder Baggett and Payne eating at a members home.  They brought out about 25 different types of ice cream and they thought they had to eat them all!

Elders Nielsen, Mecham, Baggett, Payne

Dinner at a members home on the 9th floor of an apartment building. Elders Payne, Baggett, Mecham and Nielsen

View of Handen from a member's apartment.

Week 13- We're going on a diet elder!

Hej Hej kompisar! Hur går det med er? 
(Hello, Hello, friends.  How is it going with you?)

Such a good week this week!  First, to explain my subject. Elder Nielsen goes home is just over 6 months, so he has to be in tip top shape to find his eternal companion! So we're going on a diet together, because honestly I've gotten a little chunky as well. haha It's really hard with having member dinners all the time, but we make the most of it. :) Everything is going well here in Handen, transfers was last week, and we got a new Zone Leader. His name is Elder Payne and he is super cool! I like him a lot. The work is going well and we set up a lot of lessons this week, but most cancelled.. lol so we're working on that.  Peter was able to come to church again! It's always great to see him there, he is still progressing, getting him ready for baptism. Hopefully before the end of this transfer.

This past Saturday, we had a really full day planned. We had service, then 3 lessons! Long story short, all three lessons ended up canceling on us.. But we were able to stay and help Brother Palm which was good. :) It was really fun! He is building a house, so he has to take up a bunch of trees and bushes and such before he can start the building. So that's what we helped his with. It was really fun! 

This week, since it is a new transfer, we set goals for the next 5 weeks (short transfer). My number one goal, is to finish the Book of Mormon! I'm on Alma 31 right now, so were getting there. But, I was reading in Alma 30. It's about Korihor the Anti-Christ. It is so straight forward and says, do not fight against the Lord! We as Latter-Day saints, we know whats right and wrong. Doing anything contrary to what the Lord asks is fighting against him. We need to follow his teachings and be a light to those in the darkness!

I almost forgot, couple little shout outs, congrats Evan for you mission call to Argentina! Better brush up on your soccer skills. ;) and Keira for getting her call to Brazil!! :) Good luck to you both, you will have amazing missionaries!

Love you all and hope you have a great week! and don't forget to Keep the Faith! :)

Love,

Elder Baggett

Fettisdag means "Fat Tuesday".  Traditionally, rather than eating pancakes on fettisdagen, Swedes eat a bun called a semla, a delicious cardamom scented bun filled with mandelmassa (almond paste, a bit like marzipan) and whipped cream. 

Picture from a stranger

I (Tamara) received a text today from an unknown number.  "We are tourists from California and found your sons on the train to Stockholm.  They are happy and doing great work!"

Week 12- Transfers!

Tja! (Hi!)
Awesome week this week in Handen! So this week was transfers, obviously, I will be staying with my companion because I am still being trained but it was still exciting nonetheless. My best friend Elder Kendall will be leaving me to go back to Skellefteå. I am super excited for him though! He will do good work up there. :) I don't have a ton of time, so this will be quick.

We had the opportunity to meet with a few new investigators this week and we were able to get a baptismal date with a man named Ammar! He's from Afghanistan and he is prepared!  I'm excited to continue teaching him.  Also, Peter, the one that had a baptismal date, it still doing great! We had to move it back a few weeks because he doesn't feel ready yet.  But he will get there. :) The work is going really well here!  We are seeing the fruits of our hard work trying to contact people!  

This transfer has been awesome and I really have learned so much! One thing that has really stuck with me though, is when you set your mind to something and ask the Lord for help, there are two things he will do for you. Say you're trying to work on patience, the Lord will put people in your path that are awesome examples for you. But, he will also give you some people that will really test you but will also help you grow. :) Just know that those people are there to help you!

Sorry it's really short, I have like zero time. But, I hope you all have a fantastic week! Thanks for all of your love and support. :) Keep the faith!

Love,

Elder Baggett

Police car in Sweden.

Glad Charlie has not lost his sense of humor.  This is a transportation sign that says Vinkområde "END".  Marking the end to the city of Vinkområde.

Week 11- Mission Tour

Awesome week this week!  We met a few new people, but pretty much still the same stuff teaching wise. A lot of going out and talking to people. and knocking doors. But it's fun! Wow, so much happened this week! We had mission tour, which is when a General Authority comes to the mission. The other Elders had another baptism! Her name is Anne and she has been meeting with missionaries for 18 years before she got baptized! Crazy!!  We also went to Vega Bar which is the first place is Sweden to make  a hamburger. Boy, do they make a mean hamburger. :) haha

So, for mission tour, President Kearon of the Seventy, he is also the President of the European Area, came. He is awesome! He is the one that told the story in conference about him getting bit by the scorpion. 

As a seven-year-old boy living in the Arabian Peninsula, I was consistently told by my parents to always wear my shoes, and I understood why. I knew that shoes would protect my feet against the many threats to be found in the desert, such as snakes, scorpions, and thorns. One morning after a night’s camping in the desert, I wanted to go exploring, but I did not want to bother with putting on my shoes. I rationalized that I was only going for a little wander and I would stay close by the camp. So instead of shoes, I wore flip-flops. I told myself that flip-flops were shoes—of a sort. And anyway, what could possibly happen?

As I walked along the cool sand—in my flip-flops—I felt something like a thorn going into the arch of my foot. I looked down and saw not a thorn but a scorpion. As my mind registered the scorpion and I realized what had just happened, the pain of the sting began to rise from my foot and up my leg. I grabbed the top of my leg to try and stop the searing pain from moving farther, and I cried out for help. My parents came running from the camp.

As my father battered the scorpion with a shovel, an adult friend who was camping with us heroically tried to suck the venom from my foot. At this moment I thought that I was going to die. I sobbed while my parents loaded me into a car and set off across the desert at high speed toward the nearest hospital, which was over two hours away. The pain all through my leg was excruciating, and for that entire journey, I assumed that I was dying.

When we finally reached the hospital, however, the doctor was able to assure us that only small infants and the severely malnourished are threatened by the sting of that type of scorpion. He administered an anesthetic, which numbed my leg and took away any sensation of pain. Within 24 hours I no longer had any effects from the sting of the scorpion. But I had learned a powerful lesson.

I had known that when my parents told me to wear shoes, they did not mean flip-flops; I was old enough to know that flip-flops did not provide the same protection as a pair of shoes. But that morning in the desert, I disregarded what I knew to be right. I ignored what my parents had repeatedly taught me. I had been both lazy and a little rebellious, and I paid a price for it.

As I address you valiant young men, your fathers, teachers, leaders, and friends, I pay tribute to all who are diligently striving to become what the Lord needs and wants you to be. But I testify from my own experience as a boy and as a man that disregarding what we know to be right, whether through laziness or rebelliousness, always brings undesirable and spiritually damaging consequences. No, the scorpion did not in the end threaten my life, but it caused extreme pain and distress to both me and my parents. When it comes to how we live the gospel, we must not respond with laziness or rebelliousness.

He also spoke about the refugees last year.  Refuge from the storm

 So, when he comes we have like an all day training, and I learned so much! He talked about Christ and about missionary work! One thing he said really stood out to me. He said to be a missionary you have to look like the message. He is a convert. He met the missionaries when he was 26.  He said I have no clue what they first said to me when they stopped me on the street. But I remember what they looked like. They were happy, smiling and just beaming. He said they looked like the message of happiness that they had to share.

One quick thought, I was talking to a member that is a convert from some Christian church and we were talking about how he became a Mormon. He said one thing that is different about this church that is different that any other church is that everyone else tells you just to follow Christ. But we teach to become like Christ!  I have never even thought about it that way. So this week, I encourage to find one Christlike attribute that you feel like you are slacking on and work on it this week. Read scriptures about it, pray about it and really strive to become more like Christ. I promise you that it will help you be happier. :)

Have a fantastic week! Love you all! and don't forget to Keep the Faith. :)

Love, Äldste Baggett