We listened to a talk this week by Elder Jeffery R Holland and I really like what he said about moving on to the new year, he said
"So, as a new year starts and we try to benefit from a proper view of what has gone before, I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone, nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead, we remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives."
I know that there are a lot of good things in store for all of us. We just need to focus on our Savior, and have the faith to follow him. I know that Christ really is the "High Priest of good things to come".
This week was really an interesting one. On Monday, I was able to go to a freemason temple. Haha. Yea, you read that right. I got to go to a freemason temple! One of the new converts here is a freemason and he was able to give us a tour of the temple. It was exactly how I imagined a freemason temple. Haha. It was a really nice building full of secrets! But, it was actually really interesting to learn more about freemasonry. A lot of the symbols and things they have are similar to ours. The interesting part is that they don't know where those symbols come from. Basically I learned that freemasons are just good men trying to make themselves and the world a better place. They do that by opening their minds though different logical tests and puzzles. So yea that was cool.
This week we also swung by one of our investigators only to find that she was also meeting with the Jehovah witnesses. Haha. She invited us in and she was busy in the kitchen so we just sat there and had small talk with the Jehovah witnesses. Then right before we left, our investigator setup and appointment to meet with her the next day.
New Year’s Eve was also an eventful one this year. We were invited over to one of the member's houses. We listened to Swedish Christmas music and had A LOT of Shrimp! It was super good. The Shrimp came with the eyes and legs and everything so we learned how to rip it open to get to the meat. Then I was able to show off a new magic trick that I learned at the party and it was a big hit. It really was a killer party. We did have to be home by 10:30 because the next day was Sunday. But that was okay because we were tired anyway. So we were able to go to bed by 11:45 and sleep through the New Year. It was pretty great. :)
On Sunday our investigator John was able to come to Church finally! I love John, he just hasn't been able to come to Church yet. But this week he came! I was super happy about that! So it was good way to start the new year! One of my new year's resolutions is to give up soda. I don't drink it very often anyway so I thought it would be an easy healthy thing to do. This week also I will be doing an English fast. Just Swedish this week!
Gott Nytt År!
Swedish Word of the Week
Utmärlta - Excellent