Week 36 - The Hand of God

Week 36 - The Hand of God


Sooo, for those of you who don't like long stories, here's the good news. You can always skip to the pictures.

Yesterday Elder Fortuna had decided on two previous investigators to swing by. The first building had a port code you needed to get into the building which we didn't know (pretty common here) and there was absolutely no way to get in. We even waited on the off chance that someone would come in or out and let us in. We even held a prayer. Although we could read the name of the person we were looking for on the inside wall affirming that they did actually live in this building, we eventually were forced to leave and move on to the second swing-by planned for the night. It quickly became apparent that this second person we were looking for had moved. Their name was nowhere to be found. Then standing outside the building getting ready to return home at the end of a disappointing conclusion to our night, I noticed something faint that caught my eye. There was smoke over the roof of the building we had just visited. My first thought was that I was looking at a chimney, but on account of the beautiful summer weather, I abandoned this theory. As I watched intently, the smoke darkened in color. I knew it was a fire but I hoped it was something I would breath a sigh of relief over when I understood the source. There was a single woman, somewhat anvanced in age, walking towards us who was completely oblivious to this situation. Getting her attention, I carefully pointed it out and asked her what she thought of it. She gasped and we followed her to the around the building to get a better view. She was able to locate the apartment who's kitchen was now a roaring fire. Banging on the door she was able to alert the inhabitants who were apparently unaware. We called 112, alerted all the neighbors and told them to evacuate, closed the doors and windows of the apartment according to the instructions of the emergency response and waited for the sound of sirens to arrive. After watching the firemen do there work for a few minutes, the woman I had pointed the smoke out to came to us with gratitude in her eyes and hugged us both. Then we left after seeing everything was in order. Maybe that previous investigator wasn't there anymore, but we were instead able to assist the Lord in saving His children at just the time we were needed.

I've been making an effort recently of following Nephi's counsel to "Pray always, and not faint." The happy result for me has been a renewal of my spiritual health. I hear with more clarity the whisperings of the Spirit gently persuading me to do good. I understand more fully how involved Heavenly Father is involved in my life. It feels so good! I recommend it. 10/10. Five stars. Two thumbs up. Keep a prayer in your heart. 

Love you all! 

Äldste Denton

 We've been seeing ads for the recent Star Wars movies all over the place. That might have been why we thought this garbage can looked like Darth Vader...

 Mothers day here in Sweden was yesterday. We volunteered to bake a cake for a little after church celebration. Our mission leader thought it needed some decoration so he stole that rose off of a different cake and stuck it on.

                         I found a worm on my shirt.

                     We were inspired by the ads for The Book of Mormon musical. 

Week 35 - Hey Everybody

Week 35 - Hey Everybody

I took some inspiring pictures this week. Hope you enjoy.

A met a nice guy named Gustaf this week. Actually I met him before, but I met with him for the first this week. He's very nice and we had a great discussion about what his history with religion was and we talked about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and you know... The works. He willingly accepted the copy of the Book of Mormon and said he would read. So that's awesome :)

Got to visit the temple today as well! Super fun :)

Here's a thought for you. If you want to see God's hand in your life more, try humility. Sometimes we give ourselves credit for the good things God does in our lives and it can blind us to the miracles that happen every day. It's a nicer view with God in it. Try it! Next time you see a nice coincidence or you do better at something than you thought you would, think about who might have been involved.

Love you all! 

Äldste Denton

                                    Sweden Stockholm Temple

Inspiration - Week 34

Inspiration - Week 34

We enjoyed our Mother's Day Visit with Aldste Denton. Carter looks well and happy. We also met his companion Aldste Fortuna who seems very nice. At the end of this month Carter will have been out on his mission for 9 months. He says he loves receiving emails and letters. Please write him when you can. Thanks for your support.

Elder Denton's email....

I have a very inspirational story which some of you have heard, others were involved in, and the rest of you might hear sometime at general conference in the future (Elder Renlund asked this person to email him his story), but I love this story so I'm going to share it. I'm telling it the best I know it. Sorry if I get a few details off :)

There's some very stalwart members here. The popular outlook on religion is generally not very positive right now in Sweden and lots of Europe for various potential reasons I'm not going to explore here. The point is, it can be hard for these members to stay strong and harder for someone to make the leap of faith and be baptized when they know they'll probably lose some friends because of it. I want to tell you about someone in Stockholm I've had the pleasure of meeting. I'll call him John for this story.

John's friend gave him A Book of Mormon a few years ago. He appreciated the thought, but never read it. It just sat on his shelf. Still, every time they would move houses, he made sure it made it into a box and back onto a shelf at his new place. It wasn't until years later, about a year ago from right now, that it started to play a role in his life. The friend who gave him the book had left the church, and had just finished writing his own book with the intent of disproving the Book of Mormon. Eager to share his new perspectives with John, this friend sent John and his wife a copy. This book didn't sit on the shelf. John read it. The whole thing. It intrigued him. He became so curious about the Book of Mormon in reading this book that he dusted his copy of the Book of Mormon off and read it. The whole thing. His wife did too. Then they prayed and asked God if it was true and if Joseph Smith was a prophet. They received a confirmation about both of those things. So they made the decision right then to be baptized. John texted his friend thanking him for both books, explaining plainly that because of them, he and his wife had made the decision to be baptized. That probably wasn't the response his friend expected. Then they showed up to church. The missionaries asked if they had been here before and they said no, but we know the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and we would like to be baptized. That was probably not the answer the missionaries were expecting either. John and his wife were baptized a few months ago. They are amazing. I've been able to meet them here and there and even got to be on a lesson thanks to splits. Their faith makes the shadows of doubt seem insignificant. One of the best parts of this story is that because of their shining example, their friend who had left the church, is starting now to attend church again.

The Book of Mormon turns people to Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ changes people, and changed people change the world.

I know that faith is a real power. Through the eyes of faith, people can do amazing things. If you've had trouble overcoming doubts in the past, try changing your question from "Is this false?" to "Is this true?" I promise that you can receive a witness from God if you open your heart to His will. Things like pride, unchecked ambitions, doubt, lust, laziness, or any other sins, interfere with our spiritual signal, but I know that God can speak to you if you do what it takes to hear Him.

Love you all! 

Have a great week!

Äldste Denton

                                               Mother's Day Flowers from Sweden

Week 33 - April Showers Bring May Flowers

Week 33 - April Showers Bring May Flowers

Okay where do I start?

If you're a skimmer, 

-first paragraph is reflective and spiritual,

-the second is sweet, 

-the third one is funny. 

There's also pictures if you're like me and not really into reading.

The area is looking really pretty good here. Transfer calls came and went and all four missionaries in my area are staying. So it's round two! It's looking like Elder Fortuna and I might see a baptism together if one of our friends keeps progressing like he is. It's really a miracle to see someone's faith grow. You look at how far they've come and you know it's a miracle. It's an incredible transformation when someone keeps commitments and starts to repent. You start to see a light in them. They start to see it in themselves and they get this hope that they didn't have before. It's really amazing to see.

We helped out our landlord in his garden the other day. He's super nice and we had a great conversation. He told us the secrets of living in Sweden. Apparently there's home delivery grocery shopping here that doesn't have any extra fees. What is that for awesomeness? Anyways he asked if we missed any American food. Elder Fortuna mentioned rootbeer. He said he knew a place we could get it and told us about it. That night when we got home, we had a bag with two cans of rootbeer hanging on our door handle. Pretty much melted our hearts. 

Funny story for the week. (with permission from my companion) So I've picked up the hobby of geography. One of the missionaries here Elder Martineau is really into geography and we always quiz each other. My project for the week was Africa. We meet a lot of people from Africa and I figured at least knowing where their home country is would help them feel like I understood them a little better. Anyways, my companion thought it was kinda dorky but he was nice about it and would quiz me on them. Then we met this guy who says he's from Tunisia and he point blank asks my companion, "Do you know where that is?" He has to say "Uh.. No..." Then he asks me and I get a big grin on my face. "Yeah its between Algeria and Lybia on the Mediterranean sea." He's not done there though. Then he straight up asks if we even knew how many countries are in Africa. I was like "Um yes actually." Haha talk about good timing. He then lectured my companion the rest of the ride for not knowing geography... I may or may not have dabbed. I'll let you guys decide.

Looking forward to another great transfer in Sunny Stockholm! The weather is beautiful and trees are all blossoming. It's awesome. 

Love you all, 

Äldste Denton

                                         That's a bus charger. #thefuture

Elder Fortuna

                  Everyone keeps telling me I should be a dentist. I'm starting to see why

Week 32 - Hey Everybody

Week 32 - Hey Everybody,

What a crazy week! Phones, Facebook, and fabulous devotionals. Elder Renlund is a very funny man. His dad is Finnish and mom is Swedish. And you can tell. He's got the dry sarcasm of a finn with the witty warmth of a swede. He served as a missionary in Gubbängen in the seventies and baptized the man that is now our ward mission leader here. I got to see a really sweet moment between them as they embraced. Isn't missionary work amazing? After all these years they still mean so much to each other.

I heard a lot of wonderful things from them. Most of it I had heard before. Had some really good insights. But the thing that impressed me was the balance Elder Renlund found in taking his calling seriously while taking himself completing casually. He was completely approachable. His wife said he didn't change when he was called to be an apostle. He's the same good man she's always known. Now everyone else is just getting to know him. He explained and exemplified that no matter what callings you have in life, the reward for faithfully fulfilling them is the exact same.

Spiritual tip for the week: if you want to develop your faith or become more converted to the Lord, find opportunities to share your testimony with those you love or those you might not know so well. Those in the church and those out of it. Sharing your testimony changes your heart. It depends your faith. You don't have to have a strong testimony to share what you do have. Even a mustard seed of faith is enough to move the mountains of doubt. I promise you will feel closer to the Savior as you do that.

Love you all! 

Äldste Denton