7 June: "Mr. Collins"

This week has been a long one. Everything exciting always seems to happen on Tuesdays. I always want to tell y'all right away but then the week goes by and the excitment or whatever it is dies away. I have been determined to remember this experience though.

So, there is a youngish man (like 29?) who was baptized in early February. He will be named Marcus for the purpose of the story. (Now you know its going to be good because I chose to use a fake name!). Anyway, he is a bit funny. He is very preoccupied with the idea of marriage and then he just is not very tactful in most of the social situations that I have seen him in. He kind of says funny stuff sometimes but he is a good person and the members are really really patient with his never-ending questions and concerns. So, he has been in the country staying with his adopted parents. We usually teach Marcus a new-member lesson every week. This time we were going to go teach him and his parents (not members)! We knew it could potentially be an uncomfortable experience for us but we were excited about teaching them. We tried with all our might to make it clear to him that this would not be turning into a meet-the-parents thing (he had said some things that made us wonder). We have told him many times that sisters do not talk about dating, think about that stuff, or anything of the sort. The lesson went well. I ate sill (I think it is herring? in a can... I am not sure. raw fish anyway. It was pretty okay.) We were on our way out but Marcus wanted to show us around so we went with the mom and Marcus to see some animals and whatever. Unfortunately at one point-- I have no idea how this happened-- Marcus made some comment about how he would look better if he shaved and then said the Swedish equivalent of "isn't that right, Syster Page?" I acknowledged that he said something with a laugh I think but that was just one of those uncomfortable things he says and I was hoping that the moment would pass. It didn't. I think it must have been that the mom was talking to Syster Robinson for like 3 seconds and that was enough time for this to happen: "I have been thinking, Syster Page, I would like to marry you." Oh snap. I did a lot of looking around at a lot of things that were not in the direction of him and just kept shaking my head and said "Nej. Det går inte (That doesn't go (work)). Nej." Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear. and after that it just came out. I said "inte just nu (not right now)" and I was meaning that missionaries do not talk about that or think about anything like that and convey to him that what he had said was highly inappropriate but he repeated that (inte just nu) too but in a way that makes me think he interpreted it to mean something entirely different. I write this so small to hide my shame. That whole thing wooshed by in about 3 seconds and then his mom and Syster Robinson were back into the conversation like nothing happened! That was the experience. I was very very happy to go. The lesson was good. I couldn't tell Syster Robinson until that night. Oh my goodness. ANYWAY that was what I thought might be interesting for y'all.

Prisla came to church yesterday! All the way from a town that is an hour away! She is 13 and her mom let her take the bus by herself if we would pick her up at the station and take good care of her. We did! We made her breakfast and lunch! (she only ate the apple... ha). It was really fun to be in Young Women's with her. Once those girls started talkign about Zac Efron and Twilight and such, she was totally comfortable. Her parents and her moved from Pakistan to Sweden about 10 years ago. They love Jesus Christ. Prisla accepted the Book of Mormon to be the word of God the first lesson and loves to read in it ("I already do feel like its true actually!") She is a miracle. Her mom loves that she is excited about the church. She thinks we are good examples for her daughter. She reads and learns right along with her, although she has never been to church yet. She reads in Urdu and she really likes what she reads.

I love The Book of Mormon. I really do! It feels so good to read it. It feels really good to trust something so much. It is pure truth and knowledge. I feel the same thing when I read or listen to General Conference talks. I feel like I soak everything in and it feels good. It is so good to me. I know that The Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I know that this is Jesus Christ's Church. He leads it and the words that we hear from our leaders are even His words and therefore the words of our Father in Heaven and of the Holy Ghost because They are one. Wow. I can't express my gratitude or what I feel when I contemplate these things. I only hope I am doing enough. I definitley need help. That's what the Lord has promised me.

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts. I love you. I am so grateful to know that I have such a supportive, strong family. Until next week! We are working on getting Sumith baptized this week. He doesn't know it yet (unless the Holy Ghost has told him). He is really humble. We are talkign to him tonight! Just thought I'd let y'all know. Kind of big.

Love,

Syster Sarah Page

Pictures!

"it POURED last week on our way home from our last teach of the day with awesome Sumith. It was like heaven (AKA Houston). It was even warm."

"we made like a hundred cookies and then the thing we were going to take them to got canceled so we didn't know what to do with them all. Luckily, there was a baptism that weekend in our District so we took them there. It was actually really cool. They loved them."

These are "the first day with my companion at the church in Stockholm before we left for Örebro."

26 May 2010

Dear Family,

I thank you all for your letters! Well done! Courtney thank you for your letter and especially the picture. I almost fell out of my chair. I recognize you, Jeff, Hinckley and Leah, but then there was another child... who is that!? I just cannot recognize him at all! I don't know why that was so crazy. When was the last time I saw Ben? Okay, I guess like a year. That blew my mind. How exciting! I'm only four months on the mission and I already don't recognize my family!

The reason my letter this week is late is because it is transfer week (our P-days are on Wednesdays on transfer week). We have transfers every 9 weeks where the President calls and tells you where you will be for the next transfer. So this was my very first real transfer call day on Tuesday. President called and told Syster Robinson and I... that we are staying in Örebro! We are jätte (literally: giant) excited for that! We get to see Eddie's baptism on Saturday and continue to work with our steadily progressing investigators! Eddie had his baptismal intervju yesterday and he is worthy and ready! He is so awesome. That reminds me of a miracle that happened Monday night...

So, Monday night there is Hemafton for the young adults. This week we invited our investigator Sumith (we are not certain if he is a young adult, but we thought it would be good either way) and he actually wanted to come! We also invited Eddie about it but he had said that it might not work this week because he works nights and he would have had his daughter all weekend and his sleep schedule was all off so it would have been like 2 days without sleep if he came. We invited him anyway (of course) and hoped he would come. It's really cool because Sumith works at the gym that Eddie goes to! Who knew!? We found out the first time Sumith came to church and Eddie hälsad him all friendly. It was a MIRACLE: we rode up on our bikes to see Eddie standing there outside the bishops house at 6 o'clock, ready for hemafton! Then Sumith came. Honestly, for me, those yound adult things are kind of hard and weird and just weird but this one was... even worse. The topis was dating so... And the bishop kept looking to me (I was closest to him) and then sometimes Syster Robinson for input! Uncomfortable. All these young adults. It was because we had lived in America so we understood the talk a little better (Elder Oaks to BYU I think about not hanging out) The bishop asked me to define hanging out. In Swedish of course. Just an uncomfortable situation for me. Really funny though. We left early. Our investigators had a good time though! Eddie and Sumith gave input. Nice. All those people are so awesome. If you didn't get it, the miracle was that Eddie could come and that Sumith came and they could help each other and it was awesome.

We had a very sad teach last Tuesday. Oh dear. We went to teach a man named Aziz. He had said that he wanted to know and that it wasn't wrong to know and to learn. We had taught him about 3 times before. We taught this time on the Plan of Salvation. I had read in Preach My Gospel (Recognizing the Spirit chapter) about my job in the conversion process of others. I need to create a climate where the Spirit can teach. I do that by teaching and testifying of the Restoration. That is what I did during that lesson. Yes I did. We would teach about pre-earth life and our purpose and every time I would testify and teach that we know these simple truths because of the Restoration. We have the Book of Mormon and more revelation that has been revealed to prophets in our day. At one point in the lesson, that hit him I think. It was kind of scary and just disturbing to me. I think I feel things really deeply. He laughed and tried to catch us saying something wrong or something and he finally said, "Are y'all saying that the Bible isn't enough??" Yeah that is exactly what we are saying! We answered honestly, "Yes." He asked again to make sure he understood. I think he tried to show us how horrible and evil we were by giving us back his Book of Mormon and then condemning to in the closing prayer. Wow. BUT the Lord really was watching out for us. It was like I felt bad, but at the bottom, I was grounded on a stable sense of peace. That is the peace that knowing the truth brings. I know that I know the truth so my sorrow can only go so far. I had read that very morning about the Restoration in 1 and 2 Nephi. Ireally love reading that now. Love. 2 Ne 28:28 gave me a lot of comfort. Some will not accept the message. It has been prophesied. But some will. I am glad that he understood what we were saying and then rejected it because if he had not understood, then we (missionaries) would be in trouble. It is still of course not good for him, but maybe one day he will change. There is another verse (1 Ne 14:7) in those prophesies that says that the marvelous work will reveal how wonderful people are or it will reveal how not. That may seem weird, but that realyl gave me comfort. It has been prophesied. I am just doing the work. 1 Ne 13:37 says that those who will try to do the Lord's work in these days will be blessed with the Holy Ghost and everything else wonderful (even good looks. read it). I love the scriptures. The Bible is not enough. The Lord is still talking to us. When we pray He answers us. He talks to prohets and apostles and other leaders. He talks through the Book of Mormon. I have a testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What a marvelous message to share.

Summer is coming! And we will be able to spend "mid-summer" here! (I don't know what that means, but everyone seems exciting about it..). I think I will put some pictures on here now. I love you all very much!

Love,

Syster Sarah