Well, I guess this will be my last email as a missionary in Sweden. Pretty crazy! This week was a fantastic week. We went on splits with the assistants, I went into the assistant’s area and we had a fun time. It was kind of cool to be in the mission office again. I was there my first day of my mission and when I was getting my greenie and now I was able to be there right before I went home so that was kinda cool. We then went to Jakobsberg's district meeting and go on splits with Jakobsberg. We were able to find a lot of great potential investigators, so that was fun. We also meet with the stake president to discuss missionary work in his stake. That was a super good because we were able to discuss how we could have the missionaries in our zone work better with their ward leaders. So that was super cool. Then on Saturday we went to a self-reliance class with everyone in my group. It was weird to see everyone in my group all together again. The self-reliance class was really good because we were able to talk about how we can apply all the things we have learned on our mission to home life. It was kind of a relief to be able to talk about some things for the future.
My last Sunday in church was great. We were able to get 7 investigators in church, so it was one big party. Because of transfers four of the five Elders in the ward were transferring so they had us all get up and bare our testimonies one last time. Then the closing hymn was "Gud var med dig tills vi mötes igen" (God be with you till we meet again). I tried my best to hold back the tears. It was like something out of “The Other Side of Heaven” or something. I also found out that an Investigator that I found and taught in Boden just got baptized! He is about my age and was very confused about God and religion when I first met him. In fact, our first lesson with him was pretty big throw down about how God does exist. Anyway, right before I left I taught him about Baptism and he said he wanted to do it. But he still need to learn more about a lot of things. So with a team effort of a lot of missionaries, the Elders up there in Boden were finally able to get him Baptized. So that is pretty cool! It's crazy feeling know that your efforts always make a difference.
I have loved being a missionary. It is hard express how I feel right now, but I am just so grateful for everything I have learned these past two years. I am grateful for all the people I have been able to work with. The companions I have had and the areas I have served. There have been a lot of ups and downs. But I have learned that we always have a choice. We have a choice to have faith, to love, to be kind. God has given us the most precious gift agency. We are children of God, sent here to learn and to grow, we will always have oppression, we will always have to go through hard things, but it is our choice on how we will react to those situations.
Christ was the perfect example of how we should be. They "scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men". He always chooses to love and to be kind to those around him even when things weren't going his way. I know that Jesus Christ is the son of God. I know that Joseph Smith saw Him as a young boy and that he restored His Church to the earth today. I know he gives commandment to guide us and protect us. I know that the missionaries on earth today are guided by the Holy Ghost to teach God's children on earth so that they can find peace in this life.
Well, see you on Thursday!