Letter dated 25May2015

Dear Family and Friends, I have been reading the New Testament recently, and have been gaining so much! I would suggest checking Luke 2:52 out. Then check out Proverbs 3:3-4. If you're really ambitious, peruse all of Proverbs 3. 2 Nephi 7:4-7 is on the same topic and is also top-notch. This week I thought I would mix the letter up a little bit. So I made a journal just to send to you, so you can know more what it is like to be a missionary in Södertälje, Sweden in mid-May. Enjoy :) Tuesday: today we visited Johan, Lennart, and Akil (all three are members). Lennart lives two apartments under us, and was baptized in Jakobsberg a couple weeks before I arrived there. He is such a good guy. He was telling us today about how a few years ago he was working lots and had two houses and a lot of property. Now he lives more humbly. He said he's very grateful for that transition, that he learned to be grateful for that which he has. He said that the transition also humbled him toward God and allowed him to accept the gospel. #learningfrommyelders Wednesday: we had a zone council in Eskilstuna this morning. The goal here was to become better at extending commitments. We got good instruction from each other. It is very invigorating to meet in a group of 30 missionaries and feel everyone's energy. One of the best places to be! I went on splits with elder Hemmingsen. While with him, we visited an old friend of mine, Lahje, whom I hadn't seen in over a year. A year ago, she stopped investigating the church because she would not stop smoking. When I saw her this time, I couldn't recognize her at all because of how much she had aged. I felt so sorry that we hadn't done a better job to help her stop smoking a year ago, for had we done a better job she would currently look and be so much better off. I just wish there were more power in me to help people receive the light of the gospel! Notwithstanding, it was so good to see and visit with her for a little bit today. It was a visit that I could tell made a big difference. There is not much better than making someone happy :) Thursday: we helped a sweet couple in the ward to build their outdoor banister this afternoon in exchange for some help with Swedish. Their names are Gunnar and Erika, and they are so great. Gunnar is 93 and until last year, would always shovel off the snow from the church's roof! We met Akil thereafter and began watching the Bible Videos with him. And then we went to Stockholm where we had a stake report meeting with the Stake President, Pres. Karlsson. Friday: today had a lower-than-usual pace to it. We got a call in the early afternoon from Sister Ågren that she had made a lunch for us! That was a nice surprise. So we headed there, helped in the yard a bit, and had a great lunch. There was even a delicious rhubarb pie! We also went with Brother Nyman to teach a Swedish friend, Kent. Kent said he will be baptized in three months! The rest of the day was unremarkable. Saturday: this morning we went for brunch to Rasit, a Turkish member. We then played soccer with the ward and others who joined. This week, despite many people my age playing, most of the goals were scored by two Egyptian brothers who were about 11. I guess it's like the scriptures say, "by small things are great things brought to pass." Then we went with Enzo, a recently returned missionary, to Akil's home. We had a very good time there. We also visited Stefan and Andras, from India (but raised in Sweden) and Hungary respectively. They are both great new members. We have lately been photographing the international license plates we find. Today we got clear shots of both Germany and the elusive Belgium. Unfortunately a Swiss car sped past us before we could get her. So we were 2 for 3. Today was good! Sunday: sacrament meeting was wonderful. However a couple talks were really hard to translate. That was actually pretty funny :) Afterward we administered the sacrament to Sister Axelsson, whom I met for the first time today. She's very pleasant, and unfortunately bed-ridden. Then we went to the Jensens' house and ate the world's biggest cinnamon rolls. The little kids there, who know some English, have given me the nickname "Shildren," which is how they believe "children" is pronounced :) We tried a new thing where we go to a park and one of us goes around contacting folks and the other calls people on a bench (we always have an endless list of people to call!), and it worked really well! I was contacting. I had offered help to a gardening couple who didn't know Swedish or English, and a little later when I was sitting on a bench with two Iraqi women reading 2 Nephi 32, the gardening man came and gave me a handful of long onions! It was one of those wonderful moments of a mission that I would have never supposed to happen two years ago. The mission's the best! I love you all! Love, -- Äldste Daniel Schindler