Letter dated 7Oct2013

Dear Family and Friends: On Wednesday of this week, I got a new companion named Äldste Sargent. He's from Orem, Utah and is not very much at all like Sargent Schultz. Although, when I asked him if he's seen Hoggan's Heroes he said 'I know nothing...,' which is Schultz's famous phrase! He is really kind and really bright. His Swedish also sounds really great, and everyone we meet compliments him on it. I feel like my Swedish is getting to be a lot better! I usually understand what people are saying to me and can say most of what I want to say. It is really fantastic! When I was in the MTC, Elder Scott spoke to us about the gift of tongues - that if we seek for it by faith and by diligence to the language, it will come. I have certainly felt heavenly help as I've done these two things. Last Friday, I discovered a new Swedish phrase: det är bara ät. It happens when someone feeds you and it means 'it is only to eat.' But I only heard the last two words of it, which sounds like bara ett, or 'only one.' There was lots of food, so I thought he (a great guy named Lennart) was joking and laughed. I wasn't really sure what to think when no one else laughed, but realized it a little bit later and thought that the whole thing was really funny. Friday was also cinnamon roll day in Sweden! Cinnamon rolls are really popular here, and people have given me probably a couple dozen of them in the past. But on Friday, we really got them in full force. So we ended up taking 10 cinnamon rolls home that night :) It was so great to listen to General Conference! It was such an inspiring conference. It seemed to be very targeted on a number of specific topics. Not all of them have aired in Sweden, so I still have to watch a couple more sessions. I'm so excited to watch the rest of it! I know that the church is true and I love being a missionary! I hope you all have a fantastic week! Love, -- Äldste Daniel Schindler