Stoeltzing Surfing Stockholm

Week 3 – MTC

November 26, 2013

 

Long Week...!  We had to prepare lessons for two hypothetical investigators.  The teachers gave us profiles of people like the ones they taught in Sweden and we prepared different lessons for their needs, all in Swedish.  We actually taught the teachers and they took-on the persona of the investigators.  They ended up getting really close to all the people they met out in the field, so their acting can be extremely realistic.  Some of the people we taught were very open to our message and others, not so much.  They asked us a lot of questions during the lessons, so I had to improvise some complicated answers with only 50 or 60 Swedish words that I know so far.  It's great practice though and it’s really helping me to teach the simple, pure message of the gospel without getting sidetracked.


Sister Hulewsky and Elders Stoeltzing and Jones

 The food was hit-and-miss this week.  Mexican food at the MTC can be scary.  The enchiladas should never be tried, but the fajitas were actually pretty good.  Yesterday two of the three meals looked terrible, so I tried a meal I didn't recognize.  It was called a chicken stacker.  I guess it’s based on a KFC mashed potato/chicken bowl.  It was actually really good.  

 

Jacob with DL's Elder Rasmussen and Elder Schmidt going to The Netherlands

The MTC actually does a Thanksgiving lunch, not a Thanksgiving dinner so that will be interesting.  It will be weird having my second Thanksgiving away from home; I missed it last year when I was in Idaho.  At least we get a Thanksgiving, although, it's definitely not a holiday in Europe… Ha-ha.  We asked Elder Noso from Finland if he knew about Thanksgiving, he said "I think it's something where you Americans talk about Indians and eat turkey."  We told him yeah, pretty much… Ha-ha.  He's really funny.  He learned a lot of English from watching American action movies so he knows every pop culture reference known to man.



All Scandinavian missionaries currently at the MTC

 

I was released as the district leader.  It's only a three week calling in the MTC, so it has been passed on to Elder Noso.  I think he'll do a really good job and I'm glad someone else is in charge of getting the daily mail.  The new zone leaders were picked on Sunday as well.  They are my two roommates, Elder Smith and Elder Rasmussen.  I recommended them to the President as excellent leaders as well as a cohesive companionship.  It looks like he listened to me and I know they'll do really well.  I've seen this group grow so much and I know the Lord has amazing plans for Sweden.  

 

 

Aldste Stoeltzing's roommates, Elders Brown, Smith and Rasmussen

We got an email from the mission home in Sweden today and were thrilled to see that they have scheduled 40 baptisms for the month of December.  Sweden may be a very secular place, but people are most certainly embracing the gospel there.

Jacob found Sister Harvey (London) from Folsom and his buddy Tyler

On Sunday I was out of energy and just didn't feel ready for a long week.  So I attended a great devotional from the general authority in charge of the missionary department, David F. Evans, and it really lifted my spirits.  He asked everyone that thinks they get too much sleep in the MTC to stand up.  Nine or ten kids stood up and he said, "Well sit down because no one likes you."  I knew then that he was a kindred spirit!  



Provo Temple Panorama

There was also an opening musical duet from two sisters singing “Come Thou Fount” that was really beautiful.  At the end the speaker called an audible and asked if we could change the closing song so the whole MTC could sing “Come Thou Fount.”  I don’t think I've ever felt the spirit stronger than when we listened to 2,000 missionaries sing my favorite hymn.  That song has so much meaning to me and it completely lifted me up and prepared me for another week of service.  Every time I here that song I'm reminded of Christ's immense love for me and how He's been with me through everything.  It's really cool to here all 2,000 of us sing “Called to Serve” every week too, but singing “Come Thou Fount” with that many people was amazing.  

 

Come Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of God's unchanging love…

 

Aldste Stoeltzing and Elder Howe from International Relations class

Former pre-missionary training companions, Jacob and Luis from BYU-I

I love every day I'm out here and can't wait to finally get to Sweden.  I think I can speak just enough Swedish to write my simplified testimony, but please don't try to translate this because this computer isn't set up for Swedish accent symbols and my spelling is very bad, but here goes nothing.     

   

Jag vett at Gud och Jesu Kristi alscka me.  Jag har kanna den helgen anden hjelpa me kanna Gud och Jesu Kristis karleck.  Jag vett att Mormaons Bok ar Guds ord och sanningen.  Joseph Smith ar profeter och genom honom Gud atervana honom evenlium till jorden.  Genom evenlium jag vett att ve can atervanda till Gud och liv med vor familer igan.  Nar jag vill att vett Jesu Krysti Kyrka ar sannigen jag laste Mormons Bok.  Nar jag laste den helgin anden hjepa me kanna mormons bok ar sanningen och kanna fred.  Jag alscar me missinar och vill hjepa undesacara en Svergie.  En Jesu Kristi namn amen.  

 

Really, don't try to translate this. I’m sure it will come out bad.  However, I can speak it a little better than I can write, so it's a good start, I think all of the tenses are wrong too.  But anyway, it is progress and I can't wait to get to Sweden to use the language!   

 

Love, 

Aldste Stoeltzing