Midsommer

This was a good week in Sweden for Aldste Haddon; it was Midsommer which means just how it sounds "MidSummer". All the Swedes get together and dance around a poll type thing and celebrate summer. All of the missionaries in Sweden were invited to attend the same event. Aldste Haddon was in charge of putting the pole together and even started a good old fashioned game of American Football. He said that all of the Swedes were looking at them like they were totally crazy, and only 4 of the elders had played football before so it was a little crazy but it was a lot of fun.

They also found a tiny little frog and decided it would be very funny to come up to Sister Newell (Mission President's wife) with it hidden and surprise her with the little fella. They got all ready, and had the frog hidden and went up to her to strike up a conversation. They then said they had something for her and once she said oh what is it, they felt they had the perfect invitation to introduce her and the frog. As they opened their hands, she just started laughing and said:

"I have 4 boys, nothing like that will ever phase me!

So, the prank of the day was a bit of a bust, but they had fun anyway.

On a more spiritual note, they have been working with a family from China who was very wealthy there and came to Sweden to grow their business. They invested all of their money into their restaurant here but their business was very poor and they began to be very worried that they would soon loose everything and have to move back to China with almost nothing left. Knowing their concern and how much this meant to the family, Aldste Haddon and his companion gave the mother a blessing. They didn't see the family for about a week, but when they returned to the restaurant, it was full for the first time and has remained full (he sent pictures) He testifies that Heavenly Father knows us and our needs and when we ask of Him in faith and real intent, we will be blessed.

This week Aldste Haddon got yet another new companion and it sounds like that is going well so far!

Thank you for reading about Aldste Haddon and for your support!

A Service Filled Week

Aldste Haddon said that their week has been full of service projects this week which has been great. One of the days, they helped a new convert family chop wood in the forest to build a house and afterwards they went to the ocean to have a natural organic meal. It was "grassy" but delicious. He said it then started raining and the family went crazy dancing in the rain and got even more excited when the double rainbow showed up; he said they quickly took that opportunity to bow out!

They are also working with a young football (soccer) player who is getting very close to baptism. He said that he always invites all of his African friends to come hear the "White Guys" or "Jesus Boys"! He's very hopeful and excited to be working with this young man.

Aldste Haddon also got to give a talk in sacrament meeting, he said it was pretty tricky to speak in front of 100 native Swedes in their native language, but he must have done OK! No complaints that we know of!

As always, Aldste Haddon wants to thank all of you for your thoughts, prayers and support!



A Visit From Elder Ballard

This week was the mission wide conference, President Monson was planned to attend but because of the loss of his wife and his own health issues, he sent Elder Ballard and Aldste Haddon said he learned so much from him...

 

Because Aldste Haddon is in the office, he had to wake up at 2 AM to help prepare for the conference he had to help set up the chapel and make sure all of the missionaries were able to find the location and arrive on time. He was standing in the foyer when Elder Ballard walked in with a bunch of other general authorities. He got to shake all of their hands and listen to the messages they shared, he said the spirit was unbelievable. He said that Elder Ballard taught them so much about missionary work and they are even more excited to teach the gospel.

 

After the fantastic conference, they were able to go on splits with other Elders, he was able to find his best buddies from the MTC Faylor and Allsop and go on splits with them which was AWESOME. While the three of them were out, this lady in a top hat and tights who was likely on something too came up and tried to full on kiss each of them and they had to fight her off. When they told her no thank you, she yelled at them saying they needed a real woman! They laughed, one of those mission stories that will go down in the books!

 

He also got to see some ward members from his last area which was awesome...

 

This is the end of his email: "But, the week was great and thank goodness the craziness is finally over! I felt that it is exactly what this mission needed, and it was exactly what I needed. I am going to have a lot of changes in the next month and I didn’t honestly think I could do them or what I needed to do. This conference and the time I served with my old MTC friends, helped me realize that no matter how crazy of things president needs me to do, I can do them with the Lords help. I know that Jesus Christ lives and he loves every single one of you. I know that for a moment he thought of everyone one of us personally in the Garden of Gethsemane. He loves you and I love you all thank you for the support and hope to hear from you all soon."

Broken Hands, Sleepless Nights and The Funeral

Aldste Haddon has had a pretty crazy week, he said he got a total of 20 hours of sleep the entire week! They had a mission tour by President Richards which he said was awesome and very inspiring, but he got to get the chapels ready for his visit...

 

"On Thursday night, we were putting together this one Chapel about an hour drive away. It’s about 1 AM, and I am super exhausted, but we finally finish. I go to hop in the back of the van and I stick my hand in the side of the van for support and one of this sisters, we were giving a ride home, slams the front door. My hand just magically happened to be there. I hear the slam and the click of the door locking. I then asked the sister as nicely as I possibly could, “Will you please open your door.”

She replied, “Why?” I said, ”Because my hand is still in the door.”

She screamed open the door my hand is cut up bleeding a little and super swollen. We go to the ER but of course “Socialism,” I couldn’t get in until 5 in the morning so we left around 4 and went to sleep. Because we needed to be up by 6 the next day for mission tour! But my hand it actually not to bad now, just a little tender ha."

 

Saturday was the funeral of the young man who was serving in Provo on a mission but who is from Sweden. Aldste Haddon was a pall bearer, it was difficult with the broken hand but worth it. He said it was the first time they have ever filed the Stake Center in Sweden, and the spirit was so strong. The family shared stories about Jeffery and their testimonies of the gospel and that they knew they would still see their son and brother again. Ty was most touched by what the father said:

 

"“For you members, this cause my son died for, and it is worth it. For you that are not of this faith, find out for yourself what he stood for, and died for.”

Even though he lost his son, he was still standing for what they all believed in. Even at the worst of times, they still stood for what they believed in. We carried the casket out, it was a little hard with my hand but I managed. I gave them a big hug from you all and they so deeply appreciate the prayers."

Ty ended his email saying:

"Thank you all for all that you do. I hope you can keep them in your prayers and think of the amazing examples they are. They know that God lives, that he loves them and that he loves Jeffery. They knew that Christ died for them and their son so he can live again. They knew that he died for a cause worth dying for.  They knew they would see him again. I know that as well. I love you all so very much and don’t you forget that. Thank you for everything."

 

 

Temple pics, sorry they wouldn't turn this time...not sure why

 

 



What a week!

Happy Memorial Day to everyone this week...

Aldste Haddon had quite a few stories this week, and they have been VERY busy preparing for a mission tour and President Monson's visit...

 

1. There have been riots in Stockholm this week, 160 cars were set on fire and it has been crazy. Aldste Haddon didn't have much information on it but here is a link to an article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/23/swedish-riots-stockholm

 

 

2. One of the women he taught in his first area had an amazing experience this week: She has been challenged to be baptized, both by Aldste Haddon as well as by the Sister missionaries who are now in the area that he was last in, but she hasn't felt ready. This last week she had a dream, she said she was standing at the font ready to be baptized and she saw the ward and her family there and the spirit was overwhelming. She remembers being lowered into the water by a blurry image and when she came out of the water she saw Aldste Haddon and knew that she is suppose to be baptized. She now has a date set for June 6th. Sadly, Ty can't go because it is too far from Stockholm, but he is just happy to hear that she is making the step and has received the answers she was seeking.

 

3. There is a family in Sweden, the Guarros family who is a member family where Ty is serving. He has become very close to the family and has spent a lot of time with them. Last week, he was at dinner with the family who had a son serving a mission here in Provo. The father spoke highly of his son and mentioned how proud he was of him for serving a mission; the father himself has lived a very hard time and is a convert himself. Ty remembers thinking that he would be honored to have his dad speak of him in the same way. The next day, the family received word that their son had passed away due to a brain aneurism while jogging with his companion in Provo. Heartbroken, of course, the family came to the states to recover the body and return to Sweden. The day after the family got home, Ty was able to meet with them. The father grabbed Ty up in a huge hug and said that this was the Lord's will and that his son is better off. Ty said he is a huge strong man and he held him weeping. Ty has been asked to be a pallbearer which he finds to be a huge honor. He is amazed by their example and strength. He is asking that we all keep the family in our prayers.

 

The missionary who was serving in Texas from Tooele is from my ward, he was a victim of a hit and run that is under investigation. He is doing much better and is home now, hoping to return soon. With all of these missionary accidents we can't help but appreciate the safety Ty has had so far and are so thankful for your prayers on his behalf. We're grateful to know that he is serving the Lord and is in His hands.

2 Great Stories...

This week has been great, (and busy) in Sweden, LOTS of office work, Aldste Haddon got to give a talk and teach Elder's Quorum in Swedish and had two great stories this week...

 

1. He taught a recent convert's son about the importance of baptism, the son didn't believe in baptism and they were trying to show him how important it is. So, he used the video game Halo and showed him how the protection that the characters get in the game is much like how baptism and the Holy Ghost is for each of us. He said that the young man is now set to be baptized June 1st. Aldste Haddon shared that Elder Holland teaches that each lesson needs to be tailor made for the person receiving it and he feels he was blessed to know a way to tailor the lesson of baptism for this young man.

 

2. Being in the office, he gets to help prepare missionaries to be sent home. This week they sent home one of the best Sister Missionaries you'll ever meet. He said she had already extended her mission once and was so heartbroken that it was finally her time to leave. He said her send off was very emotional. This experience reminded him of how blessed he is to be able to serve a mission at this time in his life. He said that some Elders serve their missions thinking they just need to serve their time but he truly feels so lucky and blessed to serve such wonderful people in such an AMAZING country.

 

He wants everyone to know he loves and prays for us all often. He is grateful for your love and support and the amazing blessings that come from having the gospel in his life.

 

 

Happy Skyper's Day! AND 6 MONTH BIRTHDAY!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! We had a pretty exciting Mother's Day around here!

Aldste Haddon got to Skype us at 10am yesterday for an hour! It's free, so I think that is why they are allowing foreign missionaries to Skype. We hooked the laptop up to the TV, so we got to see Ty life sized and he was able to see all of us at once! It was so much fun to see his face and hear his voice again! He is doing great...Here are some highlights

1. He bought a new European cut suite and haircut, he even got rid of all the ties we sent him with to wear the European look, us Americans apparently don't look quite right or something!

 

2. He sounds like he's doing really well, we were able to "meet" his companion and the senior elder and sister missionaries that Ty works with in the office and they all say he's a very hard worker and a big help to everyone in the office.

 

3. Some of his duties in the office include welcoming and sending home new missionaries, which is a very big task indeed because since he has been there, the mission went from 90 missionaries to 180!

 

4. Modesty is not one of Sweden's strong points so speak, they often open they often open the doors with not enough clothing on ;) makes Ty blush, he's becoming an expert at eye contact

 

5. He's really learning Swedish pretty well (according to everyone there except him!) He bore his testimony and sounded very fluid and excellent! It was great to hear some Svenka!

 

 6. President Monson is coming at the beginning of June to visit, he'll get to be there to meet with him which of course is very exciting. It has been said by President Monson and Hinckley that there is going to be a second harvest in Sweden and that the membership will more than double. Tyson doesn't know if this second harvest will happen while he is there, but whether he is planting seeds or baptizing he knows he's there doing what he's supposed to do, when he's supposed to do it.

 

7. On the 14th (tomorrow) Ty will have been serving his mission for 6 months! That means A LOT of blog posts, thank you for thinking about our missionary enough to follow his story.

 

8. He didn't get teary until he saw Tate (his favorite nephew) blow him a kiss and tell him he loves him when it was time to go...it reminded us how much we love our uncle, brother and son, and how much we miss him,  but it was wonderful to see that a 2 year old remembered his uncle and loves him.

 

9. He's becoming and excellent cook, since he lives with 5 people they all pool their grocery money and shop together every week and then they all share everything they buy and cook for each other, he said he cooks the most. He also is becoming a barber. They cut each other's hair and they do a pretty good job! He said haircuts are incredibly spendy there.

 

10. He misses everyone back home, but not too much! He said he LOVES being there and feels so blessed to be able to serve a mission! He sends his love and wants to share his testimony; he knows that our Heavenly Father lives and his Son Jesus Christ. He knows that the church is true, and he knows

 

Thank you for thinking about and praying for our missionary! It truly means so much to our family!