Week 30 - Church

Week 30 - Church



Hej allihopa!

     I got to meet the ward this week! It felt good to go back to church and take the sacrament. I don't know about you guys, but I really start to feel lack of sacrament even after one week. Thank goodness for the sacrament. I received a very warm welcome from the ward including an assignment to speak next week. Actually really looking forward to introducing myself. It's weird to not know anybody! I knew everyone in Sundsvall and felt like I was home at church and now I don't know anyone again! It's a big ward too, so it's going to take some time for me to really get to know everyone. I'm excited though. It's a really good place. We're planning to really dig deep with the members this transfer and help people refer their friends to us so we can refer them to God :) I'm excited! We also want to spend lots of time with the less active members of the ward. 

In answer to your Question, We are finding people to teach yes :) Still not easy, but we're going to try finding through the members out a little more. Sometimes, things seem a little routine here  and I wonder if I am moving forward. If you were here just for a minute and got to see me speaking Swedish, helping people, even cooking yummy food (we made fried rice, crepes, potatoe and sausage, spaghetti, french toast, and all sorts of stuff this week) and teaching the gospel, and that makes me realize how much good I really am doing and that I really am progressing personally :)

 In other news, I was looking through our iphone, clearing it out in preparation for our new phones later this transfer and I found this recording just called 'Potatoe Hunter - Äldtse Payne'. So I listen to it and hear Jared Payne explaining what it takes to hunt a wild potato, the cast system in Idaho, traditional garb for a potato hunter, how dangerous wild potatoes are, how to domesticate potatoes... It's literally a twenty minute interview... That was pretty funny to find. Needless, to say, I learned a lot about my home state.

Love you all! Have a great week!

Äldste Denton

                                                   Just call me MJ.

                                          Look it's a flower!

                        You guys think you've seen bad road construction... check this out...

          I'm doing the same thing as the guy on the warning sign. (You might need to zoom in)

                                          It's starting to melt :)

Week 29 - The Winds of Change

Week 29 - The Winds Of Change

      Transfers went well! Elder Fortuna is a good missionary for sure. Elder Fortuna is like dad, as a twenty year old. Here's why:  He's a really good student. Perfect ACT score and a 4.0. He's an introvert, but he's still got good social skills and is really friendly. He wants to be a doctor (I told him he'd probably be a pediatrician). He runs long distance, but not competitively or anything.  He's really frugal with money. He tries to be really nutritiously conscious.  Also just the way he talks remind me of dad. It's kind of freaky... Like I am companions with my twenty year old dad. Should be a good time because I like my dad.

      It feels weird to just move away from everyone you've learned to love and move in with a stranger without even a day to adjust, but it feels cool that I can do that! I've been having ministerial withdrawals though. Like multiple times during conference I thought about a recent convert or less active or investigator and just had a little freak-out like "Why didn't we invite them to conference?? They need to hear this talk!" and would be halfway to reaching the phone when I realize that they're not in my area... It's weird!! I don't really know anyone here yet since we haven't had church yet, but I think I'll like it a lot once I have somewhere to put all my missionary anxiety. You know? A missionary without people to stress over is probably something like getting empty nested as a parent, so I'm looking forward to meeting the ward and our investigators and really getting to know the area.

     Stockholm is cool. People aren't as shy here and there's a whole lot of English. Even Swedes speak English with each other pretty often. It's a little warmer too, and almost no snow! We now have more sunshine the further north you go so that feels pretty good too. Also said bye to the car and now I'm living the subway dream 👌 I like it actually. It's cool to always be around people all the time and not pay for parking. 

     How about that awesome conference though? It happened at all wacky times here because we're 8 hours ahead, but we've almost watched all of the sessions now... still missing Sunday Afternoon... So much goodness though! Super excited about the changes.

Have a great week! 

Äldste Denton

                                          Taking out the trash

                                          This transfer's gonna be... "HUGE"

                                          ​Subway life

Week 28 - Hej då

Week 28 - Hej då

So thanks everyone for the birthday emails! Super good to hear from all of you.

I had a great couple of weeks here! Really good time for me to soak up every last minute of Sundsvall because (surprise) I'm getting transferred! I'm excited for sure, but I'll miss Sundsvall I'm sure too. My new area will be Gubbängen in the greater Stockholm area! This area sounds lit. It's really close to down town Stockholm and it's actually the biggest congregation in Europe from what I hear. (at least on paper)  My new companion will be Elder Fortuna and I head out Wednesday morning with my good friend Elder Domino. He's heading out west to be a zone leader over the Göteborg zone. 

My birthday was fun. I got to celebrate with the Stegeby family. The mom is American and she gave me American treats like goldfish and oreos and fed me haystacks... 🙏Also, her brother delivered me so what better place to celebrate my birth... He's a doctor back in Pocatello. Small world... We also got to do some construction for their family. I helped put up a soundproof wall. That was exciting. 

We also had an amazing lesson with two investigators I love a lot, Gerth and Kristina. They are making so much progress and it's amazing. They had read what we asked them and are praying. The Spirit was there as we talked about real intent and the process required to repent and gain a testimony. 

Also had a good phone call with our investigator who's out of town, Mikael. He's been reading the Book of Mormon while he's been away! Super awesome. So happy for him as well. 

All in all leaving the area in pretty good shape for the next guy. I really feel good about the work I've put in here. I feel like I've given all I had. Excited for the life of luxury and hard work that lies ahead in Stockholm. (The appartement is apparently super nice 👌) 

Love you all!

Äldste Denton

                                                   Last lesson with Gerth and Kristina :)

                                         Me and my mission leader.

                                         And Elder Domino

                                         Working on the house.

                                                   Can we build it?

                                          Russian bakery.

                                         My birthday cake.

                                       My real birthday cake. Elder Wolff had a birthday too.

                                         Daniel and Eerik

Week 27 - Post Birthday - Pictures

Week 27 - Post Birthday - Pictures

Thank you to everyone who sent Birthday Wishes to Äldste Denton. He was thrilled to say the least. Hope you got a reply. He looks good. Have a fabulous week!!!

This is what he sent me to share...
Aldste Denton: I'm going to not write a weekly email this week since I have way too many personal emails to respond to. People have been treating me really good here. I'm going to the Stegeby's house tonight for dinner (you know... doctor Jones's sister? The guy that delivered me?) Haha what better place to celebrate my birthday? Seriously such a small world. They're feeding us haystacks. 🙏 I'm just going to send you pictures now so hope you're ready!

Love you mom! 

Äldste Denton

Two Tai investigators. They're called Noi and Veiwbee. They are brand new.They made us such good Tai food. It was awesome. 

                                  I am not sure what this picture is supposed to show?

                          This is me and one of the assistants who's going home. What a homie. 

                                    Norrland Zone Conference - Can you find Äldste Denton?

Week 26 - Snow Thanks I've had Enough

Week 26 - Snow Thanks I've had Enough

**This coming Sunday March 18th is Carter's (Elder Denton) Birthday. He will be turning 19. Here is his email address carter.denton@myldsmail.net  Please take the time (by Sunday evening) to send him an email with a Happy Birthday message, Spiritual thoughts, Words of encouragement , a note to say hello, or a quick hey, and reach out to him.  He will enjoy hearing from any and in fact all of you...for that will make his week to know that you are thinking of him.
Best wishes
Gelynn

*****************
Hey everybody!

It's been a fun-filled week full of adventure and this transfer is slipping away faster and faster! Where is my time in Sundsvall going? 

I went to Östersund to bring the sacrament to some saints out there. Long bumpy car ride. Worth it though. We were so close to Norway we could have thrown a stone over there. I even met a guy from Norway. 

Also our investigator Mikael came to church and loved it! We're meeting with him again tonight. 

Also more and more and more snow. I think our car has gotten stuck like seven or eight times this winter but we've always been able to get out with a little bit of prayer and a lot of shoveling. This time was different though. We got stuck in a big pile and there was a hill we couldn't see hidden underneath the snow. Our car wasn't going anywhere. The fender was high centered and everything. It was at our investigators' house and they were super nice about it. Also, turns out , we have towing insurance. We were even able to teach the word of wisdom while we waited for the tow truck. So that was an adventure for sure. 

Hope you all have a great week!

Love you all!

Äldste Denton

                                             Still lots of snow. "Surprise!"

                                                Oops.

                              Fancy Pantsy hotel on top of a mountain? Yes please.

                              Like seriously fancy. 

                                View from said hotel.

                              Elder McCarl 

Six Months - Week 25

Six Months - Week 25

Hey!

      So I officially celebrated six months as a missionary this week! Feels weird to have a quarter done! Especially since I'm still in my first area! Also check out this cool miracle that happened! 

        After a long morning yesterday of trying to find a ride for John and finally finding someone who would have to drive thirty minutes out of their way to pick him up, I started thinking about the branch and how the weight of responsibility for the branch really rests of just a few faithful families. They already even drive half of the branch to church and now we are asking them to drive our investigators who for the most part have very modest resources. I could imagine how the members might be feeling a little overwhelmed. So one of the things I asked for that morning as I opened my fast was that we would find a family this week, that would all be baptized, become stalwart in the gospel, and be an asset spiritually and temporally to the branch. The kind of family that will raise burdens off the shoulders of their fellow saints, and not add more to their already overwhelming task list. I also prayed for the other Elders in Sundsvall. I had seen their schedule for the next week and the fact that their one investigator was unable to meet was pretty evident. They would be doing a whole lot of contacting and whole lot of tracting. I prayed that they would have real progress and success in their area. So that night, we are getting close to the time to break our fast. We're about to drive home. It's about 7:00. As we get in the car, the other elders call us just to tell us that they had found a family of five from Iraq, all above the age of eight, who were all very positive and very interested. They invited them in, fed them, and even got rid of their tea after a brief discussion about the word of wisdom. They were able to teach the entire restoration and were invited to come back. The family is also fluent in Swedish, English, and Arabic, which apart from being rare is exactly what we need for some of our Arabic speaking members who don't understand anything in church. 
As we made the drive home, I thought about what I had fasted for. God had answered every detail of my prayers! Including the ones in behalf of the other Elders and their area. I was so impressed by this experience. Then I thought about my prayers that this family to be found would become an asset to the branch both temporally and spiritually. Although usually filled with faith and devotion, it's pretty uncommon for refugee converts to have a car or be financially sound. Still, I had a feeling in my heart that this family had a car and that they would be financially able to lift the branch temporally. When we got home, Elder Wolff confirmed my suspicion. They did have a car, and they all had smart phones and appeared very financially stable, even wealthy. 
I believe in the power of fasting and paying a generous fast offering. This was a super sweet experience reminding me that God loves us and answers our prayers. 

Have a great week!

Äldste Denton

Week 24 - The Life

Week 24 - The life

Hey Everyone!

     So my companion and I went tracting in this place called Spikarna. It's a town on the island right next to Sundsvall called Alnö. Actually it's a tiny island off the coast of Alnö. We don't really know what to to expect, but when we get there it's absolutely beautiful. We have to park our car right outside because there isn't enough room on the little island for us to park. There's a little sign explaining this for us. Then we get out and walk across this tiny bridge to this tiny island. As we're crossing, we see this scene to our right: the ocean which is grey with mist hanging so low it's touching the water, a snowy shoreline, and right where a single sunbeam is touching the water, four geese in a perfect line are flying with there feet in the water all maybe two stone tosses away. So as we're talking about how we just saw a scene from animal planet, we turn the corner and see a reindeer fifteen feet in front of us. Then after taking a picture, we look back to the bridge and see two more walking on the frozen canal between Alnö and the little island we're on. It was incredible. 

      

      I'm so grateful God gives us moments like that in life. Seeing the beautiful world He has created always gives me more trust in His wisdom, power, and love. It's easier to trust someone when you can tell their qualified for their job. The Earth with all its majesty and beautiful intricacies is like God's credentials for His divine Fatherhood over us. It's here for us to explore and examine, and to testify that God lives, that He is the God of Glory, and that He loves. 

      

      What else... Oh yeah! Golden investigator Mikael said he would read and pray! He's read the entire Bible and believes in God and is very sensitive to the Spirit. He said felt it when we prayed. 

     

      Also we ate this bomb Iraqi meal last night with our good friend Benjamin. Pictures below.

                                                Just a little comp inventory...

                                         There's a reindeer in this picture

                                                    Also this one

                                         Two in this one!

                                                   This one has Arabic food.

                                              This one doesn't because we ate it all.