Sweden, Stockholm - Return Missionary Reunion Camp Out

Sweden, Stockholm - Return Missionary Reunion Camp Out
September 6 & 7, 2019 

Carter's been home 3 weeks

Welcome Home Elder Carter Denton 08/15/19

Welcome Home Elder Carter Denton - Video

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DRVyDx47ZeJEMQSn9

Week 97 - The Last One

Week 97 - The Last One


Wow, and just like that, it's over!

I'll be flying to Stockholm tomorrow and I'll be flying to the US on Thursday. I am going to miss all the awesome people I've met here. They've changed my life. It feels like so long ago in a way that I hopped on the plane coming to Sweden, but at the same time it feels like it was literally last week.

As for my week, I've said bye to everyone in Övik this week. We had an awesome meeting with someone we've been working with on coming back to church. He promised that he'd go to church next week. It was awesome to see the progress he has made.

I'm excited to see everyone back at home!

Mycket kärlek och ha det så bra!
Äldste Denton

Week 96 - Swedish Farm, French Girls

Week 96 - Swedish Farm, French Girls

Wow I go home next week! I have a million emotions right now. I'm
stilling loving life but I'm also excited to come home and start the
next stage of my life.

We had a great week! One highlight was getting to travel out to some
members that live too far away to come to church and help on their
farm! We got to eat really good food that was home made and home grown
and home milked. So good! We also got to meet two girls working as
interns that were staying there with them from France. They were
awesome and we now have contact with them. The couple that owns the
farm reads from the Book of Mormon at every meal so they got their own
copies in French and they thought it was very interesting!

We also had the Elders from Skellefteå come and stay for work-overs
and that was fun. Elder Ahonen and I are both going home so it made
the reality kinda hit us of how little time we really have left.

A scripture I really liked this week.

1 Nephi 11

"22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which
sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men;
wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.

23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul."

Experiencing the love of God changes our hearts, but it takes work for
us to realize how much God really loves us. What kind of work? We have
to learn about Him and try the virtue of His word in order to truly
understand and experience how much God really loves us. We don't earn
His love; He gives it freely to everyone. However, we do have to work
to understand it. We learn about God by having experiences with Him.
The scriptures work as a guide to help us have our own personal
experiences with God by telling about other people's experiences with
God. No wonder Nephi learned that the rod of iron in his father's
vision represented the word of God and that only by clinging to it and
continuing to follow where it led could they taste the fruit that
filled Lehi's soul with "exceedingly great joy".

I love you all,
Hope you have a great week!
Äldste Denton

 

Week 95 - Surströmming

Week 95 - Surströmming

I crossed off one of my bucket list items this week and ate surströmming. We had a guy offer to eat it with us and help us prepare it the way you're supposed to eat it. He and his mom both love it and both ate with us. We started with the whole fish and had to cut a nice filé before putting it on some thin bread with potatoes, onions, and sour cream.  The smell is much worse than the taste, but the taste ain't too great either. Basically surströmming is just fermented herring (herring is a type of fish) and the reason it started was to preserve the herring to last through the off-season. Not many people actually like it, but it seems like a lot of people have tried it. Now I'm one of them.

We also had zone conference this week and it was a little surreal. We had it in the same chapel in Stockholm where I found out who my trainer was and where my first area would be. I remember standing up to give my testimony in broken Swedish at that meeting with my whole mission in front of me. Now I got to stand and give my testimony again with all but a couple weeks behind me. What an awesome feeling.

Today for p-day we took a ferry out to an island with a little summer town on it. It was pretty fun. On the way back, it got windy and cold and the only seats were outside so we got pretty cold. We sat in a spot where we started getting pretty wet from the waves and everyone thought it was pretty funny. It was like the splash zone at Sea World. We survived though and it was super fun. Pictures of that trip below.

Well, hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Äldste Denton

Week 94 - I'm On Top of the World (eh!) - Imagine Dragons

Week 94 - I'm On Top of the World (eh!) - Imagine Dragons

Wow what a week!

I hit a new record this week and traveled the furthest north I've ever been for workovers in Skellefteå. (64°46'02 N) It was great to be with Elder Ahonen. He's an awesome friend. We got some work in and ate good food thanks to Elder Ahonen's mad cooking skills. 

We also caught a a guy that we've been swinging by forever at a perfect moment this week and he finally give us his number and talked to us a little longer. He's a really awesome guy and he and his family have a ton of potential.

We also saw a guy that feeds a limp fox. He says she's not a pet, just a friend. Super cool. We also went to a cave today. The entrance was really narrow and it felt like you were going to get squished by the rocks.

That's it for me this week :)

Love, 

Äldste Denton 

Week 93 - Icebreakers

Week 93 - Icebreakers

It's been a great week. We had our live district council for the transfer and the sisters from Umeå and Sundsvall came and visited. Övik is such a pretty town. It's really growing on me. 

We met some awesome sailor guys Saturday night and become real chums with them. They were here with a giant icebreaker on it's way up north. The next day they opened up the ship for people to come aboard. We got to talk to them again and we got to meet a bunch of other really nice crew members. We had a great conversation with a curious military recruiter lady about God and our church. It was super cool. 

Not a ton of time this week but here's some pictures!

Have a great week!

Äldste Denton

Week 92 - Fwd: Robin Hood

Week 92 - Fwd: Robin Hood

"Sherwood, like the forest in Robin Hood."

My new companion says this whenever someone has a hard time pronouncing his name. It works every time. Apparently his nick name back home was Robin Hood too.

We've been having a super fun time together and getting a lot done. From helping the branch start with ministering, to playing volley ball or soccer with the youth, to just plain old knocking on doors, it's been a fun week.

Today for p-day we decided to check out an old church that is apparently one of the most beautiful churches in Sweden. We got close and read that it was only open from Tuesday-Friday. But we tried the door anyways and it opened! So we checked it out and it was pretty nice. Then there was a lady there who actually happened to be in charge of tours that was training some youth to give tours or something. We asked if we could go up to the top and she said yeah! So she took us through the organ (like literally through it... there were pipes on either side of us) and up all the way to the bell tower. There was a sweet view. 

We also went up to the top of a mountain in town yesterday where we found that there was a huge concert going on down in town. We could kind of hear it so we listened from a distance and made some friends who were up there. It turned out to be really awesome actually. Apparently there is a free concert in Örnsköldsvik the 7th of July every year at 7:00 P.M... In case you ever end up in Ö-vik in July, now you know. 

Well that's been my week,

Hope you have a good one!

Äldste Denton

Your missionary's new leadership assignment - July 5th - zone Leader

Your missionary's new leadership assignment - July 5th - zone Leader

Dear Brother & Sister Denton,

 

We are grateful for the service of your son, Äldste Carter William Denton, in the Sweden Stockholm Mission.  Recently Äldste Denton has been assigned to serve as a zone leader in the Örnköldsvik I area.  He is an exemplary missionary, demonstrating the work and faith which have earned the respect and trust of the mission.

As a zone leader he is in a position of sacred stewardship in the Sweden Stockholm Mission and can have a tremendous impact on the culture of the mission and the missionaries themselves. Thank you for your efforts in preparing Äldste Denton for this assignment.

Thank you for your continued love, support, and prayer on behalf of your missionary and the Sweden Stockholm Mission.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Youngberg

Michael J. Youngberg, President

SWEDEN STOCKHOLM MISSION

New leadership assignment for your missionary - May 26th - District Leader

New leadership assignment for your missionary - May 26th - District Leader

Dear Brother and Sister Denton,

We are writing to express our appreciation for your son, Äldste Carter William Denton.  Äldste Denton has been assigned to serve as a district leader in the Umeå Örnsköldsvik District of the Sweden Stockholm Mission. He is a wonderful and well-prepared missionary, and this added leadership responsibility will be a blessing to him and to the mission.

A district leader is a position of sacred stewardship in the Sweden Stockholm Mission as it can have a tremendous impact on the culture of the mission and the missionaries themselves.

Thank you for your continued love, support, and prayer on behalf of your missionary and the Sweden Stockholm Mission.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Youngberg

Michael J. Youngberg, President

SWEDEN STOCKHOLM MISSION

Week 91 - The Last Transfer

Week 91 - The Last Transfer

Well here it is. My last companion. My last area. My last transfer. I'll be staying put in Övik and Elder Gilson is out of here. He's been an awesome comp and I'm sad to see him go. I'll be getting Elder Sherwood and I'm excited. He sounds like an awesome guy.

We had a great week meeting with returning members and non-members. I really feel like I'm getting to know the members of our branch and it's starting to feel like home here. We helped our branch president move a bunch of wood out at his little farm. It was fun.

We also had a youth night where we played badminton and drove other sports. That was pretty fun. I love spending time with the youth. They are awesome.

Well that's it for me.

Love you all!

Äldste Denton

Elder Gilson got a big American flag and sunflower seeds from home. She's a grand old flag.

And here's us stuffing our faces with soft serve ice cream :) 

Week 90 - Midsommer

Week 90 - Midsommer

Hej hej,

What a spectacular week. We had a lovely midsommar celebration in a little village out in the country. Some people from our branch were there. We also got to go over to the branch president's house and grill with them. Pretty fun. They put us in charge of the grilling part and then they went into the kitchen. We did a pretty good job I think. It started pouring rain us while we were out there so they gave me a jacket to wear. It didn't have a hood... or sleeves... haha it was so much fun though.

We had some visitors in church from Saratoga Springs, Utah. The daughter of some people in our branch who now lives in Utah with her family came for a visit and made us all really happy to see some more people in church :) 

I also did splits in Umeå this week with Elder Ahonen. We went to the MTC together so it was so awesome to be back together with him. We had a great time and gave Book of Mormons out like candy. 

Well that'e been my week!

Hope you have a good one,

Äldste Denton

Here's some midsummer pictures, us painting as volunteers at the Red Cross, and me singing the Sound of Music because these hills are alive if you know what I mean.  

Week 89 - Spring Has Sprung

Week 89 - Spring Has Sprung

Well the flowers have all bloomed and it's gorgeous up here in Övik. Moving from Stockholm to Norrland meant I got two springs since spring comes about four weeks later up here. #countyourmanyblessingsnamethemonebyone We've had just about as good a' weather as you could ask for too. So we went and hiked a mountain today. That was pretty fun! We ate lunch on top of it and got rained on a little. We also met two guys that had rock climbed up the backside where it's sheer cliff. They were from Minnesota and South Dakota. Always fun to meet some Americans! 

During the week we had a lesson cancel, so we went on a walk looking for opportunities to share the gospel. We went into the mall and ended up in a men's clothing store called Dressman. Then I suggested that I could try on a shirt and then Elder Gilson could try to talk to the people waiting for their friends trying on shirts. Well it kind of worked. The lady sitting there was speaking Spanish which kind of threw Elder Gilson off, but when I came out with the shirt on, a guy looked up and just said basically, "Dang that looks really good on you!" Haha he was a nice guy and we talked for like 20 minutes. I thought it was so funny, I just went ahead and bought the shirt! Then on the rest of our walk, we saw two people we had been trying to get in contact with! It was a really inspired walk apparently.

We had a girl who hadn't been in a while come to church yesterday and she brought her family who aren't members. It was fun for us to meet them. We had played sports with her little brothers before and it was fun chilling with them too :) 

Well that's been my week. I hope you all have a good one :)

Love,

Äldste Denton

Week 88 - Hitting the Links

Week 88 - Hitting the Links

Elder Gilson had his birthday so we celebrated by making our own kebab plates and having the youth come have a party. It was a hit and a new guy came and then came again for our activity on Friday. Super fun! Elder Gilson manned the deep frier and I was in charge of frying the frozen kebab meat. 

We helped our branch president plant potatoes this last week too. He lives way out in the country. We got to eat a nice fish and potato stew afterwards with him, his wife, a friend who's considering being baptized, and her three month old baby. If you've ever sat behind a tractor and loaded potatoes then you know how much fun we had. It was my first time ever planting potatoes actually. It's funny that I'm born and raised in Idaho and I had to come to Sweden to try it for the first time :)

We decided to golf for p-day today. Super fun. The boys at the clubhouse were just spendid and gave us discounts and free stuff and yeah it was a blast. It was a beautiful course out by the water. 

Well that's it for this week! Love you all, the Book of Mormon is true. It can change your life if you read it. 

Love, 

Äldste Denton

Week 87 - Lions and Tigers and Bears (Oh my!)

Week 87 - Lions and Tigers and Bears (Oh my!)

We spent a lot of time setting up lessons and tracting and stuff like that this week. I got to see some familiar faces in church yesterday when a lady from the Stockholm ward and her daughter showed up to sacrament meeting. That was pretty cool!

We taught a guy that isn't active this week. He told us some really cool stories about when he served in the military down in Africa. My favorite was this one time he snuck out of camp to visit a nice family he had made friends with from all the other times he had snuck out of camp. He had 20 minutes before the nightly role call and he was making his way back in the pitch dark. He said that as he started walking through the thick forest, he kept hearing something behind him, but every time he stopped, it stopped. It was then that he remembered the nice family he had been with warning him about a lion that lived nearby. The lion was stalking him getting closer and closer waiting to pounce. So he loaded his pistol slowly and then sprinted. He dived to the ground and turned around so he could see the lion's silhouette charging at him with an open mouth against the night sky and right as it was about to reach him, he shot three times and it collapsed right in front of him. The gun shots got everyone in the nearby military camp excited so he sprinted to the back side of the camp and went into his tent and pretended to be sleeping. They found him and got him to talk and he had to spend seven days tied to a post out in the sun and seven days in a little prison cell for sneaking out of camp. Pretty awesome story I thought.

Well that was pretty much my week :)

Love you all,

Äldste Denton

 We had our live district council for the transfer. This is us eating chili together.

Also me watching a guy pole vault while on splits with Elder Bird in Umeå. The picture says it all. 

Week 86 - Back in Norrland

Week 86 - Back in Norrland

What a week! It's been awesome transferring back to a normal area and being out every day. Up here in Norrland the sun doesn't set till about 10:30... It feels soo good. Our branch is tiny, but we've already seen some miracles! We had a lady come back to church on Sunday that hadn't been to church in years and it seems like she's back to stay.

Örnsköldsvik is a cute little town where the main attractions are two big ski jumps, a nature store outlet, and a hockey stadium. People here enjoy fishing, gardening, hiking, and picking berries in the forest. The branch has about 15 active members and we probably average like 12 in church every week. I'm excited to give everything I've got to this branch before going home. 

Elder Gilson is great. We get along. We're both drummers so it's been fun making some fresh beats with him. He's a hard worker too. He's from Utah and he went to the University of Utah for a year and was part of a fraternity. 

Hope you all have an awesome week! 

Love, 

Äldste Denton 

                                 Leaving the Office

                           Views of Örnsköldsvik.

Week 85 - Örnsköldsvik

Week 85 - Örnsköldsvik

Mom, dad... If you've had a hard time pronouncing my areas before, good luck with this one. We found out about transfers here in the office Thursday night and got done ordering all the travel last night a little past 10:30 P.M. I'll be leaving for Örnsköldsvik this Wednesday after helping with transfers one more time. I'm super excited! Örnsköldsvik is a small branch in the Norrland district with maybe 20 active members. My new companion's name is Elder Gilson and he's a chill homie. I've met him a few times and heard a lot of good things about him. On my way up, I'll actually be stopping in my first area, Sundsvall. (He tells me he is picking up a car there that he will me using in his new area) Looking forward to it :)

This week was a lot of fun. I sure will miss the office and being here with Elder Hughes, Lewis, and Dumas. It's been a fun transfer. I've learned a ton here in the office from all the people I've met and especially from my three companions here and the five other missionaries I've been able to live with throughout my four months here. 

Well, that's the news this week! 

Love you all thanks for your prayers, 

Äldste Denton

 These lines aren't scientific or anything, but they kind of give you an idea.

        My last views of Stockholm for a while :)