Week 58;
December 15, 2014 – No Such Thing as Latvian Baseball… Really?!
Hey
guys!
It's been a really fun
week. We started off with a simple P-day, eating at Pizza Hut and shopping
a bit. We went to a member’s home that night by the name of Max and
Santa. They were super cool and they were the first Latvians I've met on
my mission. I've always had a life-long question that I wanted to ask a
Latvian. Back home our ward played a game called Latvian Baseball. It
was like an indoor version of baseball and I had always thought it was the
national past time of Latvia. So, I asked them if they had ever played… Sadly,
to my despair, they hadn't! My apologies to the youth of the Carmichael Ward,
but Latvians do not, in fact, play a game called Latvian Baseball!
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| Reaching One Year in Sweden Next Week |
On Tuesday, we taught
the Omahomen family. We were reviewing the new-member lessons with them
and we taught them about prayer and scripture study. I bore my testimony
of how scripture study has blessed my life. I told them that I wished I had
studied more when I was younger and how developing a love for the scriptures has
been a huge blessing for me. I felt prompted to promise them that if they
were to study their scriptures daily as a family, they would be blessed to
become stronger and more united than they have ever been before. They really
liked the lesson and promised to give it their best efforts.
Later that week we had
our Santa Lucia program. It was super fun! A lot of less-active members came
and a few even participated in the program! The costumes were hilarious
and the ward had a great time! It was definitely a taste of some great Swedish
culture. We may have not been the best singers, but it was surely a night to
remember!
Some of the best parts
of this week have been while we were out contacting people. Our District Leader
challenged us to contact people on trains and buses more often. I don't really
love doing that, but I thought what the heck, I'll give it a shot! The
first one went pretty well. I couldn't find anyone in particular that looked
like they would love to talk about religion, so I just sat down. I noticed
a lady who had these really cool rings on, so I asked her where I could get some
like hers… As a Christmas gift for my Mom, of course. That started a great
conversation and we were able to talk about the church a bit. Although, she wasn't
super interested, she seemed to respect what I had to say. Sorry Mom, she
got the rings from a second-hand store, and they were from Macedonia. So, I
don't think I'll be able to find you one!
Later that day, I found
a guy that spoke mostly Spanish and we did pretty well bouncing back and forth
between languages. Although our discussion was going great, he hoped-off the
train before I could get his contact info. Lesson learned!
On Saturday we found our
best contact. We had just finished-up moving a new member into his home on
the far end of the area. In the process, I contacted another man and this time
he knew only Spanish. Fortunately, I knew enough Spanish for some basic dialog,
but this time I didn't really think I could do it. However, the most amazing
thing happened. I understood nearly everything he said. I understood that
he was from Iran and that he had lived in Spain for 20 years. His Swedish
wasn't very good and he was having a hard time learning the language. Then, an
even cooler thing happened, I started remembering Spanish words that I hadn't seen
or heard since my sophomore year in high school. The more the conversation went
on, the more we understood each other. It was an incredible experience. At
the end of our conversation he gave me his number and said he'd be happy to
meet with us any time! The Lord had put the right words in my mouth even
though my Spanish was downright terrible. I know God helped me recall every
Spanish word I had ever put into my head so I could talk to this man. I just
wish I had tried harder in my Spanish classes. Regardless, I would consider this
to be a miracle! It was a real example of how weak things can be made strong
with the help of the Lord.
Well, I can't believe
Christmas is only a week away! I hope you all enjoy your time together, and I
hope you will also think of the savior in the coming days. I have grown to love
Him so much more than I ever thought possible. I can truly share my testimony
that He is the Savior and Redeemer of the world and that He loves you all more
than you could possibly know. Jesus Christ is truly the greatest gift the
world has ever received and He is the greatest friend anyone could ever have. I
know this is His work and helping people find Christ is the most incredible
experience I have ever had!
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| He is The Greatest Gift! |
Have a wonderful Christmas!
I love all of you! - Äldste Stoeltzing
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