Keep Working, Keep Pushing

Well it might be Thanksgiving Week for us, but believe it or not, Thanksgiving isn't as big of deal in Sweden! So, Aldste Haddon and his companion have big plans to try to prepare their own Thanksgiving feast on their own! Wish them luck, if there is one thing to be Thankful for this year, maybe it's that two twenty year old missionaries won't be cooking our Thanksgiving meal.

He also said it hasn't been over 0*F this week and it gets dark at 2pm! He wishes that he wouldn't have bought fingerless gloves!

 

Aldste Haddon and his companion are in what is considered to be the most difficult area in Sweden, the people are hard to reach out to and the members struggle with being involved with the missionaries and their efforts. Elders have gone home after serving in this area and others have come very close. As they have worked hard and tried to turn things around in the area, it has become all the more frustrating. This week he read Alma Chapter 8. This chapter is about Alma trying to teach the people the word of God but their hearts were hardened and they would not listen to Alma. He eventually felt discouraged and started to leave.

 

Here is what Aldste Haddon said as he finished the story:

"So they get laughed at and spit on, so they leave. They think we'll just go to our next area and everything will be 500X better, but an angel of the Lord comes to them and says, “Turn around guys. You get back in there, there is still a lot of work to be done. The Lord didn't send you to Sweden to fail. You are ment to be here. So turn your butts around and get back in there.”

The Lord didn't call Elder Haddon and Elder Allsop, to come to Uppsala and not find teach and baptize. He called us here because he knows that at this exact time the people of Uppsala need us, and we need to put forth the effort and just work or as a great missionary once said... “Do the Dang Thing.”

Its going slower here, but we are working the very hardest we can, and when we hit the bed every night we know that the Lord is proud of what we did and we are only going to continue to keep doing it.

 

Just remember no matter what is in your life keep fighting, keep pushing forward, as long as you have a heart beat in your chest and any strength in your body, keep kicking, thrashing, smashing through it. You will win the fight at the end of the day. Just remember to have the Faith in the Lord because he's always going to tag you out and help you win the fight.

 

Love you all and can't wait to hear from you next week!"

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours! Thanks for supporting us and our missionary!

 

 

YEAR MARK!!, New Companion, and Stake Conference

This week was exciting for our family because Aldste Haddon reached the YEAR MARK of his mission! That's one year down, and one to go! It's so exciting! It feels like just yesterday we were eating at the yucky Ihop in Provo and dropping off our lil Ty at the MTC. We could tell he was totally nervous, but he didn't want to let us on to it. We took pictures in the parking lot and sent him off thinking that two years was going to feel like it would last a lifetime! Now, we're at the half way point and it feels like time might fly by way too fast now! Life is crazy!

 

 

Aldste Haddon and his new companion (also named Tyson) had a pretty exciting week! They are zone leaders in their area meaning they are leaders over a large area of missionaries. They are responsible for helping those missionaries be successful and reach their teaching goals. This week they had a zone conference that they had to teach and lead. They decided to teach the elders about the importance of setting and achieving goals. They likened the process of goal setting to skiing or snowboarding down a mountain. No matter what the mountain holds, whether it is nice powder, or slush, once you start your way down, you have to accomplish the task one way or another. Eventually, you have to make it to the bottom of the mountain. Setting and achieving goals can be looked at in a similar way; it isn't always easy to make it to the end goal, but there is always a way to accomplish it. You might have to get creative and pull some interesting stumps, but if you work at it, you'll be able to make it.

Here is a video link that Aldste Haddon sent as a visual aid for the lesson: http://vimeo.com/32863936

 

 

Also this week was Stake Conference. The 'Tysons' were asked to speak to the stake about how home teaching can help strengthen the ward and improve missionary work. He said it was terribly nerve wracking especially because they were late, in fact they walked in just as they were supposed to start speaking. He said if you want to know what nervous feels like try speaking in front of an entire stake in a language you're just beginning to learn after arriving late. I personally think I'll leave that to him, sounds like he's got it covered. I can barely speak English!

 

 

All in all, it was a good week for Aldste Haddon. They worked hard and are getting settled in their new companionship. Thank you all for your support and love you send Aldste Haddon! We're coming up on the holidays which is the time of year that it's harder to be apart but when we have your support and know that he is working hard and doing what he loves, it makes all the difference!

 

Stockholm Temple



A Fantastic Birthday Surprise

Aldste Haddon had is Birthday on Wednesday and he said it was fantastic! They were at a conference in Stockholm so he got to meet up with everyone. The whole conference sang to him and they crowned him making him a birthday girl or something (you never know with these guys! They're a little weird, that's why we love them!) He got to see his best friends from the MTC Elders Allsop and Faylor and it was really fun to hang out with them again.

 

This week Aldste Haddon and his companion also moved into a super nice brand new apartment, for the past few weeks they have been living with two other elders because there is a housing shortage in Sweden. It really is a small miracle every time they are able to find missionary housing there. You might remember that the group that arrived right after Aldste Haddon last year were 'homeless' for a very long time before they were able to find enough apartments.

 

But, apart from all of that, Aldste Haddon got the most exciting news this week....he found out he will be Elder Allsop's new companion! One BFF down, one to go! He is SO excited to be able to serve with him, he knows that they'll work well together and get a lot of missionary work done. They were together in the MTC so it's pretty exciting that they get to serve together as companions now!

 

...Now on to missionary work. So the ward he is currently serving in has been struggling with missionary work and home teaching. Aldste Haddon and his companion have been working very hard to be able to get the mission area turned around and encourage the members  to 'catch the wave of missionary work' since being there, the home teaching numbers have improved "360%" (I don't know exactly what that means, but what I do know is that it sounds like a lot) haha!

 

 

So, overall, Aldste Haddon has had a fantastic birthday week, and is looking forward to celebrating his YEAR mission mark this week! He wants to thank everyone for the birthday wishes and prayers in his behalf!

 Delightful Birthday Feast

Elder Allsop, Haddon and Faylor (Left to Right) Aldste Haddon's Birthday Sash

Turning the BIG 2-0!

 

This week, Aldste Haddon and his companion had two amazing experiences with Priesthood Blessings. He says that he knows that it is the power of Heavenly Father on the earth and he feels so blessed to be able to have and honor the priesthood.

The first experience was with a man who's wife, high school sweetheart who waited for him while on his mission passed away from a rare form of cancer leaving him to raise two children with special needs on his own. Of course, this has been a terrible tragedy for the family and has been heartbreaking for this man. When Aldste Haddon met with him, he could tell that he was near bottom and feeling very upset. Aldste Haddon asked if he would like a priesthood blessing. The man's eyes lit up and said he hadn't had one since before his wife got sick and would love one. He asked Aldste Haddon to offer the blessing. He said that the Holy Ghost was present at that time and everyone in the room was overwhelmed by the comfort of our Heavenly Father. With tear filled eyes the man testified that he knew his wife was still with him and that he had to go on for her and for their kids and that Heavenly Father would be there to help him through it all.

 

 

The second experience, they were assisting the ward with their home teaching efforts. They went to visit a sister in the ward who was currently living in a rest home.

 Aldste Haddon told the story so well so here is how he put it:

"She is 90 years old and has Alzheimer’s. She hasn’t responded to even her own children for the last 20 years. We thought we would visit her so that he could be familiar how home teaching usually goes. We read to her some scriptures and I said jokes, and it pretty much I was just like talking to a wall. It was quiet sad.

But as we started to go she started to try to talk and move. We didn’t know what she wanted, we just knew that she looked very upset. So we decided to ask her if she wanted a priesthood blessing. She looked me in the eyes, it was like she was looking into my soul, and nodded her head with agreement. We all looked at each other very surprised that she even could understand what we were saying.

We had Lennart give her a blessing and it was beautiful. It was just an amazing feeling. After she had the biggest smile on her face. It was just so wonderful. First, we saw the world’s saddest woman, then the world’s happiest."

 

He ended his email by saying:

"It was very cool to be a tool in the Lord’s hands. I know that wasn’t any of our own powers that did that, it was clearly the Lord’s. I am so happy and blessed that I am able to have this and be worthy of using it.

I just wanted to thank everyone for the birthday wishes and all the wonderful emails and lvoe I have received here in Sweden. Ya’ll are da best!"

 This sign says "tourist kisses"

 The primary made him birthday gifts! So sweet!

A pic with the ward council

Happy Halloween

This was a week of parties for Aldste Haddon....well as much 'partying' as a missionary can do!

This first party of the week was a Young Single Adult Activity for Halloween. They have 5 young single adults in the ward but had a turn out of over 20! This was very exciting because it allowed for a lot of opportunity to befriend people who hadn't been taught the gospel. He was excited because it showed the ward members that it is easy to fellowship people by just inviting them into our normal activities and sharing our testimonies through our words as well as our actions. He said it was super fun and overall a very successful night!

The Essential Role of Member Missionary Work: Elder M. Russell Ballard

The next party was a night of PALT and Music. Palt is apparently a meal of meat wrapped in potatoes and boiled for several hours until it reaches perfection. This was a ward activity, so families of all ages were invited. They had several investigators and people they had been helping to come back to church in attendance, including the man from a couple weeks ago who's children were removed from him on false pretenses. He said the family had been reunited and he's never seen the father or the children more happy and beaming. It was wonderful to see it all work out in such an amazing way.

Overall, it has been a pretty fantastic week for Aldste Haddon, he ended his email by reminding us that his birthday is this week...as if we had all forgotten or something!

(I mailed his gift 4-5 weeks ago...I hope he gets it!)

Thanks for all of your support!



This is Ty's best little buddy, they even have the same winter coat!

Getting it done

Last week was a little bit of a slow week for Aldste Haddon so they have refreshed and renewed and are back to it this week... They decided to go out there and just get the job done.

They met a less active family who lost their mother and wife recently. The father, newly a single dad has two autistic sons and has been struggling with the loss of his wife. Aldste Haddon said that they are a fantastic family and he enjoyed spending time with them. He said that they were able to help lift their spirits, remind them of the plan of salvation and invited them to come to church.

They did come on Sunday and had a fantastic experience. He said that he is excited to continue the relationship with them and to get to know them better.

They also were able to find more investigators to teach and things are starting to improve more and more in the area. His companion is headed home as well as another missionary in the area. He had a good experience with him and is getting prepared for another new companion!

As Aldste Haddon shares his stories of missionary work, it reminds me of the importance of following promptings in our lives. Recently I have had a couple experiences where following promptings, and seeking promptings from our Heavenly Father has been much needed. It's not always hear to know what we're supposed to do when we're supposed to do it, especially when we're in the heat of the moment and emotions are running high but I do know as we strive to listen to and follow promptings from the Holy Ghost we will be lead to do what is best in every situation.

We can find people to share our testimonies with, we can be lead to help people who need our help, we can know what to say in sometimes scary situations, we can be protected from harm and most importantly we can be given an undeniable testimony of Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

Today, I'm grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost and the power and strength it gives me daily.

Doctrine and Covenants 8:2

"Yea, behold I will tell you in your mind and in your heart by the holy ghost which will come upon you and shall dwell in your heart."

 He claims this wasn't a full contact kiss...both of these elders are headed home this week!



A little Sicky and A Lot of Hardwork

Today Aldste Haddon's email was short and sweet because he isn't feeling well so he was able to just give us a quick overview of his week...

On Saturday they had a baptism in his new area but have unfortunately lost contact with the rest of their investigators in that area.

Also last week Aldste Haddon was able to go help train an elder in his zone. He and his companion had just arrived in a new area and had basically begun searching and teaching from scratch. So they went out and began knocking on doors and as he likes to call it, 'flipping through the deck of cards until they found all of the aces' (or people who are ready to hear the message of the gospel) They went out and worked hard and put the spirit back into missionary work and brought more momentum to that area. They were able to get phone numbers of five people who are interested in learning more about the gospel and it's exciting to see the work ignite after so much diligence and hard work.

 ...Now he says it is time to do the same in his area.

Upon reading Aldste Haddon's email, I had two conference talks come to mind that I would like to share with you.

The first is from Elder Holland titled "Like a Broken Vessel" he spoke to us about overcoming dark trying times, particularly depression. Although it just sounds like Aldste Haddon had a slow week, I still feel like this message applies to all of us because it reminds us of Heavenly Father's love for us and how He will always provide a way for us to make it through to the other side of our trials.

The second is from Elder Ballard entitled "Put Your Trust in the Lord." In this talk, he teaches us how through trusting in and relying on the spirit, we can and should seek opportunities to share the gospel and work hand in hand with the missionaries.

Both talks are inspiring and uplifting and encourage me to rely on Heavenly Father and trust that as I strive to do His will, I will be blessed with the abilities to fulfill his callings for me and I know that each of us can experience that.

Along with Aldste Haddon's week, our family had a pretty wonderful experience as well...

Last week, our dad received a phone call from a man saying that he had spent a lot of time with Aldste Haddon in Sweden and he and his wife would be coming to Salt Lake City for a business trip and would like to meet and share a message from Aldste Haddon. Of course, this was very exciting to our family and we were eager to meet.

So, Saturday morning we went to downtown Salt Lake and met up with Nick, his wife Jaz, and their youngest son Benjamin. Nick had served as a bishop for many years in an area that Aldste Haddon had worked in and had gotten to know him fairly well. It was such a blessing to our family to be able to meet with them and hear how Aldste Haddon is doing, how hard he is working, and how much he as grown spiritually while serving his mission.

They reminded me of a few things that I was grateful to be reminded of...

1. We are all brothers and sisters in the gospel and in the world, we can be from Sweden, Denmark, Finland and even from the smallest little town in Tooele County, Utah and still learn, love and feel the spirit with each other even upon first meeting.

2. Small acts can bless people more than we realize. I don't know if they realize how much it meant to us to be able to meet and talk with them, it was an hour out of their trip that they could have been doing anything else but they were willing to spend it with us. It reminds me to make more of an effort to go out of my way for people.

3. All missionaries need more people like Nick and Jaz in their lives. They have been an amazing support to our brother, son and uncle and have given him a family away from home, and done things for him at times that we have not been able to. This was a good reminder to me to take our missionaries under our wings and help be their families away from home.

"Missionary: Someone who leaves his family for TWO YEARS so that someone else can be with their family forever."

I just want to leave this post today letting you know that I know that our Heavenly Father is mindful of us and He sends us people and experiences daily that bless our lives. I know that as we listen to the spirit and follow promptings we can bless the lives of others, share the gospel and strengthen our testimony and the testimonies of others. I know that we are not alone in this journey and that we have a loving Heavenly Father and Savior who promise:

 'I will not leave us comfortless, I will come to you'. (John 14:18)
I hope you have a great week! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers for our missionary!