Lots of Investigators

Aldste Haddon had a good week this week (except he didn't hear from his most favorite sister because I tried to attach pictures of my kids to the email and apparently that makes it so your email doesn't go through so when I got up this morning I saw it didn't make it...let this be a lesson to you all! :) I sent it again and hope he gets to check his emails again because he has checked them as late as 9:30am our time before...enough about my sob story...)

 

 So things are going well in Sweden, they have a baptism set for next week as of right now, sadly they didn't see that individual at church on Sunday but plan to catch up with him this week and hopefully his baptism will still go as planned.

The man they met last week on the bus is continuing to learn about the church and they feel encouraged by that. He said that they even met with his parents and answered some questions and misconceptions they had had about our beliefs.

Aldste Haddon and his companion are also learning that befriending people and helping them to feel truly loved is the best way to teach. (I might be biased, but Ty always seemed to be good a befriending people anyway, He's a good example to me of that.) They are working with a young man about their age who has had trouble making close friends so they have become good friends with him and even take him to young adult activities where he is making friends in the ward.

Lastly, the family they have been teaching since the first week he got there is also doing well and allowing them to come teach the gospel.

 

All in all, it sounds like they're doing their job out there in Sweden. Aldste Haddon is a hard worker and loves his companion and that seems to show with all the people they're able to reach and teach right now. As always, thank you all for your love, prayers and support!

First Baptism Dates!

Well it sounds like it really has been a great week for Aldste Haddon! They have been working hard to make sure he has mastered the language. It was their Swedish only week and he thought that his head might explode with all of the the Swedish, but it's helping him learn it and he's had some conversations with people which is a huge step!

 

This past week, they were trying to decide where they wanted to go and Aldste Haddon suggested they go to Värberg which is a two hour bus ride from where they are, but they decided that it would be a good idea. So they went to the bus stop and found they had missed the bus and had to wait for a long time until the next one so they just talked to people and tried to help others where they could. When the bus finally came, they decided to split up and sit by different people. A friendly man sat by Aldste Haddon and asked him what he was doing and he told him he came from The Church of Jesus Christ. The man said he had been struggling with things in his life and he really wanted answers and to get help. Aldste Haddon promised him that if he allowed them to teach him and if he listened to what they had to share, he would receive the help he needed from Heavenly Father to overcome his trials. Aldste Haddon said then man agreed and they began to teach him. From that moment until now, that man has been able to overcome many of his trials and has set a baptism date for mid March, another investigator that they have been working with is scheduled to be baptized that day as well. They are so glad they were able to teach them and share the gospel with people who were ready to hear it. Pretty exciting! Thanks for keeping him in your prayers!

-5*C! BURR

Aldste Haddon has had a good week in Sweden, although it has been VERY cold, -5*C without a coat in one of the pictures which is 23*F but it's 100% humidity so that makes it so much colder...other than that things are going well for him. This week his mission president asked them to go around to all of the active members gathering refferals so they were busy making connections that way which he really enjoyed getting to know the members. They were also issued a Swedish only week, which means they weren't allowed to speak english at all. He said it was tough and a little rough to only speak Swedish but it he knows it will help him to be able to learn the language better.

The family they have been teaching had a death in the family this week so it was hard to get ahold of them but he's hoping that they'll be able to be of comfort to them through teaching about the plan of salvation and eternal families. He also said he really likes his companion, they're a lot different but he thinks that makes it work and they're able to work together well. He said he's a stud and he loves him!

He said all of his emails this week were about the new stake presidency in Stansbury, so he thinks it must be our only news! :) Maybe if he thinks we're always boring here, he'll never be homesick, I don't know! But he's excited (as are we) for President Child and know he'll do great!(we might be a little bias since he's Tanner's uncle and all!) Other than that, he didn't seem to have much to report this week! Here are some pictures he sent over! Thanks for checking in on our missionary!

 

 



Mission Calls-Had to Share This!

Today in sacrament meeting, a brother in our ward mentioned that he had seen this video on KSL.com created by Danielle Chard of Olympus High School and it really strengthened his testimony and brought the spirit into his home. I checked it out and cried! It's so amazing to me so see young men and women so touched, willing and excited to serve our Heavenly Father. It's amazing to see the work progress and it makes me want to share my testimony of this gospel as much as I can!  One comment posted on the site about the video said:
"I am not even a Mormon, but a stalwart atheist, yet I was extremely affected by this video. It truly shows your church's wonderful thankfulness and kindness, and I was moved to tears by the ardent passion you have for your beliefs and church. Bravo!"
 This really is a great and marvelous work and I feel so blessed to be apart of this gospel and to have all of you in my life and in Aldste Haddon's life. Together we'll bring the world His truth, and be messengers of Christ. Thank you all for supporting our full time missionary, for your love, prayers and thoughts, we couldn't be more grateful! We love you all!
If you can't view it through the blog, here's a link:
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1016&sid=24009271

 

 

PS LOTS of Sweden calls, Aldste Haddon said that their mission is expected to double in the next couple months!

 



Some Time in Boras

Well another week has passed by already! Aldste Haddon said that he has had a great week! His companion had a meeting in Stockholm so he spent some time in Boras, so that was fun and beautiful he said.

The family that he was able to meet with last week let them come teach them again last night. He said they are a really great family to work with. He was able to share some scriptures and they teach the plan of salvation in a new way that is focused on the atonement. He says that it is a great way to teach because that's what it is all about and the spirit is so strong when they teach that way.

He said that the best way to contact is to make friends with people first, he said that in Sweden people don't really feel comfortable to allow people into their homes unless you're friends with them, so they recently played "inabundy" (not sure what that is, guess we could google it) with a guy who now lets them in to teach him so Aldste Haddon is excited about that!

When asked about the food he said it's pretty good there, he loves Kbob pizza it has french fries and crazy sauce on it and it's "freakin great"! He also said that it is still FREEZING there and it gets dark at 3pm, (which means its ALREADY dark Monday evening there)!

Aldste Haddon also said he's not at all homesick, (sorry if that hurts anyone's feelings he said), but he feels like he only has one shot in Sweden and its not worth thinking about home when he has work to do! He doesn't want any regrets so he's working hard and staying focused!

And as always is grateful for your love and prayers! He's had a great week!

 



First P Day In Sweden!

Mondays are Pdays in Sweden and we just got our first email all the way from

Kungsbacka Sweden! (kind of near England)

Aldste Haddon is doing really well. He said he's really enjoying his companion, the area and the people. He says he really doesn't understand much of what people are saying, but they are so sweet and patient with him! Church was kind of long, not being able to understand anyone and all, but luckily a man from California was there and gave his entire talk in English so it was kind of nice to hear a little bit of the language he knows! We asked him if since he was so near England if they speak English too and he said most everyone speaks terrible English...but he speaks terrible Swedish so its been interesting thus far...

He really likes his new companion, he said he is very helpful and is always ready to support him and help him learn the language and how to navigate the country. Right now, they mostly walk and ride a pentältåg  (whatever that is...) And it's FREEZING there, but they just try to keep bundled up!

This past week they had an appointment set up that they were very excited about but it sadly fell through. While they were trying to figure out what to do instead, they got a phone call from a number they didn't know. When they answered it, it was an investigator from a VERY long time ago asking if they could come teach him and his family. Of course, they were very excited and hurried over, only expecting the man and his wife but were surprised to see six people there. They were all very eager to hear the message he had to share and promised to begin reading The Book of Mormon, his companion did most of the teaching, but he told them about the first vision. He said that they were all very nice about it and were shocked he could speak that well after only having been there for 5 days! They set up a lesson for this week with all of them and Aldste Haddon says he's: "PUMPED!!"

He sounds like he's starting to settle in and get working! Thanks again for all of your love and support!

Home Sweet Home

 Oh flashback to the MTC



Arrival In Sweden

He made it! We got our first letter/email from Elder Haddon since arriving in Sweden! (He had to hand write the letter and then they scanned and emailed it for him so it was very hard to read, but great to hear from him!)

 

Here are the main points of the letter:

 

1. He hadn't slept in 28 hours at the time he wrote home and was EXHAUSTED! He was hoping he could just hit the pillow and catch up big time. He kept falling asleep through all of the orientation.

 

2. He LOVES his mission president and his wife, and can tell they genuinely care about and love him and all of the other missionaries serving there.

 

3. It was beyond COLD! It was 7*F and 100% humidity when he was tracting on the first day. He said that his suit was frozen stiff as a board by the time they were done.

 

4. The first family he met out tracting was very short and basically slammed the door in his face, but the second family said they were looking for the light of Christ and were very receptive. They committed to going to church this Sunday and have set up lessons already, he said that he is batting a 200 right now so there's room for improvement...I guess the mission is going to be measured in sports stats!

 

5. Information about what city he'll be in, and his companion will be sent to his Mom by the  mission mom (mission president's wife) so it's on it's way.

 

Overall, Ty said he's excited to be there and he knows he's doing what Heavenly Father wants him to be doing at this time in his life. He feels blessed to be able to serve a mission and like always is so grateful to have so much love being sent his way from everyone here at home!