LAST EMAILS!!!

We CANNOT believe that our missionary will be home on Tuesday! We are so thankful for your love and support for him during these two years! He has learned and grown leaps and bounds and he's such an amazing blessing to us. We just hope he gets on the plane home, he loves Sweden so much it's going to be hard for him to leave.

He will be speaking in the Benson Mill Ward on Sunday November 30th at 2:45pm, 410 Benson Rd. In Stansbury. Feel free to join us. If you have not attended a service for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,  click here to learn about what to expect.

11/17 e-mail:

Hi everybodies!

This is going to be my second to last email, gosh that is crazy. The quote
comes from our dear friend Zixiang while he was teaching us about the Plan
of Salvation.

Me: "Why do we come to the earth Elder Hu?"

Zixiang: "*Because God say, YOU come to da Earth*." (Smiling with a big old
grin on his face.) We have been going over the lessons again with him, then
giving him the shot to teach us! He is a stud. (See picture.)

Speaking of our two Chinese friends, we were able to make our way up with
them and several members of the ward to the temple and got to do temple
baptisms with them. They absolutely loved it. We had a ward member with us
the whole time who speaks Chinese and was helping them and it was just a
wonderful time.We are going to work with them to get there family history
done so that they can take names themselves next time to the temple.

Another amazing thing happened with them, was that the government has found
them a new apartment. They lived in a one room apartment with a four person
family for the last long time now. But now with the help of the ward, in
moving, we got them moved into a beautiful apartment, 4 times bigger than
the one they had. Many member donated furniture and helped support them in
many other ways. They were so absolutely happy with all of the support and
love they got from the ward. Zixiang was so happy running back and forth
putting things in to his new apartment. At the end of the day he came up to
me and said quietly in my ear, “*I get my own room!”*

It helped me realized how blessed I have been in my life and helped me to
be humble. This little family has had this apartment for 2 years and they
had never whined about their situation. They are just such a wonderful
example to us all.

            This week we had just got down and worked hard, we had 3
different exchanges. 3 days in a row. I first was with an awesome Fin,
named Elder Noso. We worked hard in Stockholm. Had an excellent experience
with him. He is a convert, and just a wonderful missionary after being with
him for one day, I was pretty exhausted. There is just something about
Fins... they are just a different breed.

            The next day I got to go to Södertälje, with my main man Elder
Faylor!!! He’s the best, so we got down and dirty and did all the fun stuff
off missionary work, like contacting knocking, you name it. It was just
nice to be with a great friend again and do some missionary work.

            Lastly I took another elder with me to my home turf in Täby,
Elder Johnson. We did some good things visited a lot of people, we were
just busy running to and fro. But we got some fantastic things rolling for
the next Assistant taking my spot.

            Man, I don’t know what to say more. Working as hard as I can
till the day I die. This last week will be crazy in the span of 5 days we
have 9 meals…… so I probably will be gaining some major weight this week.

            The Church will be rolling out an amazing Christmas program for
missionary work, so my last job in the office, is to make sure that we
figure out how we can use that in the best way in *our mission*. But the
Church is going all out, with social media and with advertising, “He is the
Gift.” It is going to be great so everyone be ready for that to roll out
mid-December.

Love you all and I just want to say I fly in at 7:04 PM, Salt Lake
International Airport on the 25th. You are all super welcome to come and
see me! I would love that, the more the merrier! (Oh and my last p-day will
be this Friday, so my last time to write from the mission field will be
then. So if you want to send your last email… varsågod!)

Love,

Elder Haddon

11/22 e-mail:
Dear Friends and Family,

The VERY last quote of the week goes to my dear friend Lennart Nyblom the
last time I will get to visit him, "Det är du snart...."("That will be you
soon....") ((His TV is playing this young couple kissing.))

That crazy old sailor, I love that man so much. He is doing so well! I was
able to spend one last night with that wonderful man. I am so thankful for
him and many others I love in this wonderful land.

This week has definitely just cruised on by. Monday we had P-day, Tuesday
picking up some couple missionaries, Wednesday picked up a Full-Time Elder,
Thursday we trained our last Mission Leadership Conference, and Friday
temple trip.

On Monday, we actually just had a very relaxing P-day, we did all we needed
to do and then just relaxed and layed around a bit. We knew this week was
going to be rough so we wanted to get rested. But of course we had to end
it short with an office meeting. But to finish off the night we were able
to go visit one of my favorite member families in Sweden. Their son had
just left on his mission, so we had a lot of fun helping him prepare for
it. They had a friend from China with them as well so we were able to teach
her and say our last goodbyes. (And hopefully the friend will be at church
on Sunday.)

On Tuesday, after picking up 2 couples and get them situated, we were able
to visit some investigators and less- active members. One of which was a
recent reactivated member in Gubbängen named Emma! She asked before I left
if I could give her a blessing, so we went there for a few minutes and I
was able to do that. It was just so apparent in the blessing how much her
Heavenly Father loved her. She has so much hardships in her life with her
taking care of her handicapped brother. He can be a handful, but no matter
what she always loves him and is patient with him. I can just see how in
Heaven her brother walking up to her and thanking her for all of the
wonderful service she rendered. So that was another goodbye that was
difficult.

On Wednesday, picked up Elder Svensson, a new missionary. That was very
interesting because he is Swedish and I have taught with him before back
when he wasn’t a missionary. Another interesting thing was he is brothers
to one my past companions…. Elder Svensson. Haha so that was cool to see
him and really get a good feeling that the mission is going to be kept in
good hands.

On Thursday, We had MLC, (Mission Leadership Council,) but of course I
pulled and Elder Haddon and messed that whole thing up. (So I thought.) We
were supposed to have it in the Täby chapel and I had booked the chapel
way, way, way in advance…. But we decided to change it to the next day, so
I forgot to call. Long story short I get a call from the bishop saying, I
cannot use the chapel it is getting its floor waxed! That news would have
been great to know earlier… not 2 hours before the conference.

But in the end it turned out fantastic to be honest. We had it at the
mission home and it was just much more of a home feeling. It was very hard
from the get-go to get it going because President stood me up…. Made fun of
me, and then thanked me, for the service I had rendered in the last 8
months as an assistant. “*I just want to say I didn’t pick him, I inherited
him… But I know that it was inspired because not only did I inherit an
assistant, but I inherited a son.* ” Coach (what I call him,) sometimes can
be a little bit nicer than I deserve.  I will miss them very much.

The hardest part after the training as we were wrapping it up, what we had
taught, I got my Parent’s genes and just started to tear up…. Cry I’ll be
honest I was crying, as I was baring my testimony. (Thanks mom and dad…)
That is when I finally realized I won’t be doing this anymore. Gosh that
was tough to swallow.

And lastly Friday, We were able to go as a group to the temple. That was
probably the hardest thing for me because it became very real, very
quickly. I had dropped off so many groups to the temple, and always had the
thought, of the next appointment I will have, or where I am going to go
contacting. But this time it was my turn to be dropped off for my last
visit to the Stockholm Temple.

I just want to finish this off with my testimony and expressing my
gratitude for my mission. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, I would
have rather done the last two years. If I was to be asked to do this my
whole life, I would. There is nothing in the world greater than being a
full-time missionary.

Something that I am so grateful for and something I've learned more fully
on my mission is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. To think of all of the
things he did for each and every one of us.  He suffered in Gethsemane, was
betrayed, beaten, bruised, made fun of, falsely accused, scourged, crowned
with thorns, sentenced to death, carried his own cross, undressed, then
nailed to that cross he carried, suffered again for our sins, and died. He
did this all for *us*. When he was suffering through it all he thought of
us all and continued to go through it all. He thought of you, and me
personally. He could have stopped it at any point. I'm sure he could have
called armies of angels to come down and stop it, but he did it for us.
Because of his perfect love for us.

I’m thankful for the relationship I have with my Father in Heaven, and the
relationship that I will continue to build. I know that this is his church,
and at its head is our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is ran by a bunch of ragtag
men that are no near perfect, but seeking after perfection. I know that
Joseph Smith was and is a true prophet of God. I am thankful for the
sacrifices made by him and other men and women like him to have this gospel
here on the earth today. I know the Book of Mormon to be true. I have come
closer to God through that book more than any other. I am thankful to be a
disciple of Jesus Christ, and I will be forevermore. "I am not ashamed of
the Gospel of Christ." Because I know there is "no other name given nor any
other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men,
only in and through the name of Christ."

“And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is
the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!”

I leave my words with theirs and say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Tyson Ray Haddon