We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. (4/27/15)

In every week there is always a point where you have a break and you try to figure out what is going, usually for me that is where I realize how fast the week is going. Usually this happens on about Thursday and I think, "Wait... Is it Thursday already?" This week that happened on Saturday.. I freaked out realizing that the days of the week are starting to roll by so quickly I can't even seem to grasp it at all. I just can't. But I have decided that it is a good thing! Quick time means that we are working hard and that we are busy. Both of those things apply very well. The work in Jönköping is moving forward quite quickly! I love it.  

Lunch breaks!

There were a few really cool moments I could share about this week, first off being that we were Tracting! That is not very common in my normal mission routine. We usually find people other ways, I am not really a huge fan of knocking on doors, but we were in this really small city, Tenhult, swinging by an online referral we got for a guy wanting a Book of Mormon, we had a little weird timing and I think he was probably working. So we were there and we didn't want to just leave after doing nothing, so we knocked a few doors. It was really funny, I was walking around being dumb and I pick up this cool rock and right I did, Elder Pearson tells me that there was a old lady watching me pick up that rock and she laughed at me. So we went and knocked on her door! It was pretty funny, she was very interested but she appreciated my interested in Geology!! It was really funny. 

"Lets look into the distances all
dramatic like!" #bikes

The word of the week is: BIKES. WE got them out and it was/is GLORIOUS. I love it so much, with the weather changing, it is the greatest thing ever. The day we got them we went crazy! Maybe too crazy, we rode about 20 kilometers! We were just kids, just loving the weather and riding around this wonderful city. My body just laughs at me every night as it reminds me that I am not a biker and I am not in shape. I hope that I can get there soon! But all-in-all biking is the greatest thing ever. I took a few really great pictures to prove it! I have just convinced myself that the lake I live next to is really the ocean and Jonköping is California. It makes my life like a million times more enjoyable.. 

We are continuing to have a wonderful timing working with all the youth here in Jönköping, I swear this place is a hidden gem, I love it. We had a fun little turnout for Volleyball on Friday Night, we had a few good games. The best part is just the end when we just take sometimes and just talk, it is really cool to be surrounded with such great people that are so genuine. We had another little activity on Sunday night and it was really the best. We watched the movie, Charly. It was really cool, I love that movie. I feel like it was really good for the people that came to see, it showed us that God is good and fair but that doesn't mean he will give us whatever we want whenever we want it. He has his will and we need to align our wills together. It was actually a really nice reminder.

Living in California!

We have some great members here! I feel like I ate like a King a few times in the last week. We went to Christoffer (Prince Charming, as I call him) and his Wife, Carolina's house for Taco and I think I can openly say they were the greatest tacos I have had my whole misson. Freak, they were really great. Then Swedish Panncakes with a Kladdkaka inside... I just can't explain the happiness and joy that meal brought me. It was great. Then on Sunday we ate at the Hegyessy's house and again, just the best food ever. You would think I am gaining a lot of weight... ha, you would think, but nope. 

We had Stake Conference yesterday, which usually I just like because that means we only have 2 hours of church, but this time I would have been totally fine if it just never ended. Wow, it was really good. There was on guy who talked about a time he was just drive home from a day of work as a policeman. He wasn't in uniform or in a cop car, he saw a few kids doing something they really shouldn't be doing. So he got out and told them to stop and to fix what they had done. They refused seeing that he had no authority, he then pulled out his badge and told them who he was. They then quickly apologized and hurried to correct their mistake. He then liken it to Us and God, We are often told my those around us but how often to we listen to them? Are we those who wait for God to show his badge before we will do the things we know we need to be doing? It was really great, just like these kids who knew what they were doing was wrong, refused to change or seek forgiveness until they were forced to. I really took from that we are striving to be the people who, ultimately, won't be in these situations but seeing that we are just "sinners that keep on trying" we need to strive to be people that can be corrected by our fellow men and be humble enough tochange and be better on our own. Before the Lord has to flash his "ID". That is my little weekly thought for you all. I also have been meaning to write this quote,  I love it, just like be yourself and love it:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,

gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking

so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously

give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,

our presence automatically liberates others."

#WeeklyQuote

Adjö,

Äldste Farnworth 

I just really love my mission... (4/20/15)

Well this week I learned a lot of life lessons this week. I would say it was a great week. 

Jumping for joy on
 Sister Sandelin's Birthday!

         I always re-read these just before sending them, I feel like I sound like freakishly positive all the time but just know that I just really love my mission! With that said, the weather was really quite annoying it was like all over the place. It would be totally sunny in the morning, completely raining in the next hour and then sunny and clear in the evening. It was really crazy. So we had plans for a really fun Monday Night Activity, we were going to play some Swedish Baseball. But it was really rainy so we played some games inside anyways! It was a lot of fun, the life lesson I learned there? My body can not hold too much water. We played a game where every time you lost you had to drink a glass of water. I was not very good at that game and ended up throwing up cause I drank what too much! So like there is it, I am a lightweight. I have to be careful! It was a great night. Haha

You can't get this in America.

        We had a really good P day too! It was Sister Sandelin birthday so she wanted to go out to the island! So we went there and had a great time. It was really sunny and super awesome! We took like a billion pictures and it was really great. There are like a ton of crazy old castle so we took the boat out there and then like discovered this castle which was really cool! It was an awesome day.

The cute Jönköping Missionaries!

          On Friday we had plans for a really cool activity, we were going to have a youth BBQ so we did that! We had some hot dogs and played dodge ball and even some volleyball! It was really fun, the youth here are pretty cool. Because the church isn't so big here in Sweden, the youth in the wars are really like best friends! They like hang out all the time and it is cool to see that they are all like a huge help to each other in making sure that everyone is happy and stuff. They seem super close and I think that is cool!

I look like I am preaching...

         On Saturday we had a big service project, it was the whole ward coming together to clean the church for the summertime! It was pretty fun actually, we have this new member we are working with and he is awesome. We called him on Friday Night to invite him to the BBQ and he told us that with his bus card he could only afford to take the bus two more times this week and he thought that it would be more important to come and clean the lords house on Saturday then it would be to party of Friday. It was so cute. Haha he is the coolest. African people can teach you a lot! I swear, they like just have the basics about life down and they really understand and see what is really important and what we need not worry about! It is awesome. So Saturday morning at 9:00 o'clock he was there and just got to work!  He probably ended up working the hardest. It was pretty cool to see. 

         Sunday was good too, everyday is good so like it is dumb to say. But church was really nice! There is a lady in our ward how is going through chemotherapy again, for cancer she is facing for the second time. So we had a fast for her over the weekend. It was so awesome

Joesph, continuing to be the cutest kid.

to be able to do that! The morning of my fast, I really wanted to have it be more than just a fast for me. So I read that talk from Elder Erying from General Conference about Fasting and Fast Offerings. It really served it purpose in bringing a lot of attention to it. I really prayed for strength to get through the fast with honest intentions (seeing that every time I fast I seem to justify eating some thing at sometime) and the Lord really blessed me I felt. I was able to hold out and after breaking that fast I felt so good and stuff! It was another good life lesson! We got invited over to the best peoples house for dinner on Sunday night, it was so much fun. They are just the coolest and they have the best kids ever. We had a great time and it was a great way to seal the week off! Jönköping is treating both Elder Pearson and me quite well. There isn't too much to complain about.

All in all this week gets an A+. I was very pleased and I am eager to see what the future holds for us in the next week! We have a goal to have the faith like "Greenies" this week! Meaning we want to believe that miracles can happen EVERY day! I am pretty pumped. Should be a great week! Hope you all have a great week!

 Thank you for everything you do for me! I love you!

This place is just beautiful.

Äldste Farnworth

Like, I don't think you realize how much fun I am having. (4/13/15)

Best Boat Ride.

Pearson and I

This week has been a crazy week. I feel like so much good things have happened and then church on Sunday was just the seal that made everything just awesome. We can start with Monday, we went to this island that is in the middle of the lake that I live by, it was really amazing. There is a family that lives there that we went to visit for the evening it was really night! The boat ride home was seriously so pretty and when the sun started setting... Oh man it was perfect. There are some pictures of that boat ride for sure. The family was really nice and we loved being there with them! We met so many wonderful people this week. I feel super duper thankful. 

We got a random call from this guy who had just moved here, his name was Williams and he is so cool. He is African and got baptized a while back, kinda didn't know where the church was here so hadn't been in a while. We quickly fixed that and he was so set on coming to church. The best part? He came! It was really cool to see the ward welcome him so warmly and to have it be such a positive experience for him. He is teaching us a little 'broken English'. Like an African version of English, pretty cool. 

Sports Day!

Youth BBQ

 The Youth of Jönköping are taking the prize for the fellowshipping. Like, I don't think you realize how much fun I am having. They are the best, we got invited to a BBQ and we went and there was a ton of people there! I was impressed, and we had a great time, good music, good games, priceless evening.                            There was even some Kubb that was being played so it was honestly the best. We even played a while bunch of sports again on Saturday and that was good too. Again, a ton of people and a great time. We played soccer and I totally scored nbd. The sun was out! Ah, such a good day! I keep saying that but like all the days are just awesome!

My new Addiction.

We had an another really great lesson with our investigator, Annika. She is so wonderful and someone I love meeting with. If you can't remember she was the one who we have a blessing to and the sprint was really strong. Well she asked if we could come back and give her another blessing! We were super curious as to why, seeing that she said she didn't believe in anything. It was unbelievably cool to hear that she really felt something last time and she even told us she wanted to receive those same feelings again. We talked for a while and had a really great time, we gave her another blessing after explaining those feelings and it was overall a really great lesson. Looking forward to more! 

International Dinner.

Yesterday, I sang in church again! The song was "I Know My Redeemer Lives" which was really fun, I found out on

Saturday morning I would be singing and we threw something together it went well! It was a good Sunday! there were so many new faces in church and the members seemed to be stoked about that. All the members here just seriously rock. Like I don't even know what to do. There are so many kids here too! It makes the ward have so much energy!

Summer time means Summer clothes!

Jönköping is turning it's leaf and becoming summer. Or at least Spring. It is freaking awesome and I just want it to continue more and more. The members are awesome, the work is awesome, the city is awesome. Not to much to complain about! 

Love you all and miss you! 

Äldste Farnworth 

Påsklov is the best and Conference was really good. (4/6/15)

Me in Jöbköping

This week has been a really great one! We have had conference which was really good. I feel like it is a bit bias seeing that I am a missionary and I am just supposed to love it, but regardless, it was a great time. I tried something new this time, instead of just "having questions" and hoping that they would be answered. I wrote exactly what I was looking for down and then I focused on finding those answers in every talk. It required a bit of effort but towards the end, I went through the notes I had type of the iPhone and it was well worth it. 

Well I guess I am cured. If you would have asked me 20 months ago what my opinion was about change was, I would have laughed at you and told you I hated it more than anything. But I guess in the last 11 companions, and 6 areas I have been changed. This last Wednesday there was more change and I didn't freak out! I stayed here in Jönköping but I sent Elder Jones off to Göteborg and I welcomed Elder Pearson! This has been the most smooth transition, not at all because of the people involved. Elder Jones was an amazing companion and one of my best friends that I have received here in Sweden. I just feel like I have changed the way I have placed my faith in the Lord. This transfer switch I just tried to be open to anything, it has been really great so far so I have no complaints! Elder Pearson is from St. George and is really cool, he is a band kid and owns that pretty good.

Samuel and Emilie

Elder Pearson and Me!

Påsklov is the best. It is the last day of Påsklov (Easter Break). Which basically meant all of the cool people came to Jönköping to visit their parents and stuff. So we had a ton of youth activities, in the last 5 days we played Badminton, Volleyball, Baseball, and Soccer. It was seriously so much fun, like I am super good at Baseball, just don't ask anyone I was playing with. They don't know. We had areally good time. The sun was out and we are finally starting to get WARM days, I almost like not sure how to react. But for now I am just choosing to love it. I have decided that I just love Baseball though, that is like the best sport. We had a good time playing that.

Smörgostårta and Joesph, two awesome things!

A Sweden dish that is a little big different from anything we have in America is called a Smörgostårta. Let me tell you, that is a real shame because they are so good. We got a random call from Christoffer and Carolina asking if we would like to partake in some and that call was a day maker. It is a sandwich cake I guess one could say, it is made with Bread, Mayo, Dill, Eggs, Raw Fish (Sill), Lettuce, Lemon, Tomatoes
, Cheese.. etc. It is like the best thing in the world. I'll put a picture to go with it. The little boy is there son and the cutest kid ever.

Påsk Candy from the Sjökvist, Love them.

In Sweden you buy candy by the weight, so you can just get as much as you want. There was a special Easter Sale on the candy so it was only like 5 dollars for a Kilo! SO we got about 5 kilos for conference and during one session I think between about 8 people we almost ate about 4 kilos, so we still have a lot left. Conference was just really good, I felt really good listening to that. One talk that I really liked was Elder Holland's talk about the Lord always being there for us. It was really cool and something that I really loved to hear. It just really helped me understand that the Lord is always there for us, right when we need him. His reaction time is perfect. I gain a lot from that talk.

Feeding the ducks with Joseph!

All-in-all we had a great week, I can't think of too many things that we did this week, I am still a bit crazy from the candy and conference yesterday but I loved this week! I am really excited for what the future holds for me here in Jönköping and in Sweden. I love this gospel and I love that we have revelation that is continuing today and will always be there for us. I love my family and miss you guys greatly! 

Hope everyone has a great week!

Love,

Äldste Farnworth