Let's see.... Well, we had Valborg this week, which was a lot of fun. We went to the ward mission leaders for dinner, and then to a bonfire near his house. It was a lot of fun because we have a brand new greenie in our district, and two of the Elders had him convinced for more than half the night that they were YSAs in the ward. He wasn't necessarily too happy when the truth finally came out, but I think he was still just a bit too jet-lagged to do much about it.
And for those who don't know what Valborg is, we're going to delve into a bit of Swedish culture. Every 30th of April, Swedes gather together ENORMOUS piles of logs, sticks, and leaves and set it on fire to burn away winter. I've heard about 10 different theories as to how this all got started, but the most popular one seems to be that May 1st was the first day farmers would put their sheep out to pasture in the spring, so they would light these huge fires to scare away the wolves out in the forest. In any case, it means that I was at a really big bonfire last Wednesday, and there were tons of families there with their kids, and a choir singing Valborg songs, and all of Thursday was a red day, meaning the trains didn't go because everyone had been out drinking the night before.
It was very fun, we actually were able to go the the changing of the guard in Gamla Stan the same day, which was very exciting since the king came that day because it was his birthday. That's right, I saw the king. He was standing about 60 feet away from me. Quite truthfully, it was really cold, and, since I'm vertically challenged, there was more than a few things I couldn't see much of, but it was really cool to get to see all of these people going by in uniforms and to get to hear a few army bands play.
Spiritually, it was actually a really amazing week as well. The longer I'm out, the more I realize that amazingly strong testimonies don't just happen. They don't. It really is true what it says in Moroni 10, that we need to read the scriptures and study it out for ourselves to know that it's true. And in the hard times, I'm always amazed by how much my Heavenly Father really does love me and everyone around me. We were in a lesson with a member this week who's been struggling with her testimony, and it was amazing to feel the spirit in the room as we were talking to her about so many different aspects of the gospel (side note: the video Because of Him is AMAZING, and is one of my favorite tools in lessons right now. Seriously, I am addicted to that clip). We had an amazing lesson with an investigator this week as well where it was just amazing to feel the spirit with him. We were able to get a baptismal date for about a month from now, and it really is amazing to see how much he loves the gospel. If we don't call to set something up with him, he calls us. I don't know what to say really other than that I'm in awe of the gospel right now and how much it really does bless and change lives.
And yeah, there's the past week in the Sweden Stockholm Mission. I hope you all have a great week, and happy Cinco de Mayo!
Love,
Syster Maxwell
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