Monday, July 21, 2014

You Are Kick-ed from Borås

Well, it's been another week of dying in the heat. Not really. But it's been beautifully warm and sunny, and, in the absence of air conditioner, I really am coming to love it more and more. I never thought that once things got above 70 Farenheit that I'd be dying of heat, but I really am some days. It's so wonderful and so hot. I don't really know what to do with it, but I guess I'll enjoy it until I go back to freezing and 3 hours of sunshine this winter.

We had fun this week. On Tuesday, we went on splits with the Sister Training Leaders, which was, as you would guess from my last sentence, super fun. It's always great to get a different perspective on how you can do missionary work in your area. However, on Tuesday while on splits, we had some more fun than we were expecting. We were on the bus home from Göteborg after swapping to head out on splits when we got a call from President Beckstrand looking for Syster Byrd. We told him where she was and then sent a text to the Sister Training Leaders phone to tell them to call us as soon as they were done talking. Turns out, Sister Byrd is training this coming transfer starting tomorrow!

So, we went through the rest of the week basically anticipating a call on Saturday. As it was, we really had a great week. We were able to meet with our Swedish cowboy wannabe again, and things actually went really well with him. I don't think he fully understands everything just yet, but one day it'll come. 

It was really great this week as well in and of that I got the chance to get ready for a music night in Jönköping. I got to play in a few numbers, including Stradivarius and Savior, Redeemer of My Soul. It's so interesting to realize that while I may not have my own violin with me, I always have managed to find one and play Savior, Redeemer of My Soul for some reason or other in each of my areas. It's such a beautiful hymn, and I really do feel like in so many ways it describes a mission- you can't do it without the Savior there beside you, and though we're so imperfect in all we do, the Savior makes it into something beautiful- He makes US into something beautiful as we really seek to learn of Him and be like Him.

Well, I guess you've waited for long enough. Saturday, the call came as expected. Syster Byrd will be staying here in Borås to train, and I'll be moving down to Malmö tomorrow night. In so many ways, I'm still trying to process this. I absolutely love Borås. Syster Byrd and I joke that it's the Swedish Disneyland. It's so pretty here, and the ward is absolutely amazing. We had the bad luck of having a mission farewell here yesterday, so on my last Sunday, we closed with 'God Be With You 'Till We Meet Again.' I know they weren't singing it for me, but it kind of got to me by the third verse looking around at the ward that I've come to love so much in the last six weeks. I am never going to forget their extraordinary kindness to me and how welcoming and loving they were. I'm sad to be leaving after only six weeks; it doesn't feel long enough. I did NOT think when I left Stockholm that I would only be here a little more than a month, but there it is. 

As it is, I'm excited to be headed down to Malmö- I'm terrified to be surrounded by Skånish. It is a DIFFERENT language. You know 'The Best Two Years'? "That's not the language they taught me at the MTC!" We had a member speak a little to us the other day when we told him I was leaving, and I thought the word for 'boy' was 'train'. They sound just as dissimilar in Swedish as they do in English. 10 months out, and I'm learning a new language. Should be fun!

I love you all, and I hope you have a great week!

Much love,
Syster Maxwell

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