Water Lacrosse

Hoppas allt är braw! (Från Skåne)

Hey everyone, the quote of the week goes to some new sisters that are now in the Täby ward.

"Yeah, I don't know too much about lacrosse besides the movie, Forever
Strong."

My reply, "That's rugby."

"Oh yeah I'm an idiot that's the one they play in the water right?"

Let's just say Sister Missionaries are just great... Haha

This week has been crazy, at the beginning of this week we got the chance to pick up the new crop of greenies, that is always fun it was a large group of 18. It always brings me back to the feelings I had when I first came to Sweden, I was absolutely terrified! Not being able to speak the language and leaving the United States was a little out of my comfort zone. But I remember well when we all were able to go after we got off the airplane to go out and contact people on the streets of Stockholm I was
petrified. But I was with one of the Assistants to the President and he
just got me pumped and really helped me see what kind of missionary I should become.

So that was something that I was able to do as well. I took one of those scared greenies and took them out into the big bad streets of Stockholm which I had been serving in in the last 17 months, and show him how it is done. (Gave out some Books of Mormon too.) Which was a cool experience, I hope I could make and impact on that kid’s mission as the one that went with me 19 months ago.

This week had a really good ending as well, we had a baptism with our good friend Jeremie! It was fantastic and had a funny little hick up though. The whole time I was joking with him that I was going to mess up his name and we would have to do it over and over until I said his name right. He even took my name tag as hostage if I did it wrong. Well, we finally get to the moment that where I would be able to baptize him, and it went well. I baptized him it felt pretty good (and also kind of weird,) and then I look up everyone seemed that it was right.

So we got out and started to change back into our normal clothes. As I am changing, (in the girls’ side,) the door opens….. And I was an elder
missionary who says, “Sorry but I think you are going to do it again.”

And then I hear from the other side of the baptismal font from Jeremie,
”THERE YOU GO ELDER HADDON YOU ACTUALLY DID MESS IT UP!!! YOU’LL NEVER GET THIS BACK!” (With a huge smile on his face. As he is waving my nametag in
the air.) I was then able to baptize him again, and he insisted that
everyone came back to watch my mistake. (He thought it was hilarious.)

But one thing that was actually really cool about this embarrassing
experience was that the second time that I did it and when it was correct,
you could actually feel a difference. It was noticeably different. It really helped me realize what we are doing is true, and it is real and is what the Lord wants us to be doing. He said that he’s going to keep the nametag….. But he wants to give it to his son when he goes on a mission.

I’m so thankful to be a missionary and grateful to serve here in Sweden.

I hope you know that I love you all!

Sköt om er!

Äldste Haddon

PS:I was able to have some adventures in Denmark, but you’ll hear about
that next week!

*Pictures:*

1) New Missionaries

2) Departing Missionary fest

3) Jeremie

4) Tolley's helping us get rid of the bed bugs

5) Got some attitude.

6-7) Baptismal pictures

Broken Chains

什么是达人！

Howdy!

This week has just flown on by, this last Tuesday we were able to make the long voyage to Umeå up north, where I was able to do some work out there. We got the short stick and had to ride bikes the whole day, (See piano picture.) which wasn’t so bad besides the fact that it was a down poor and the only thing we did all day was knock doors and swing by old investigators.

It was night time and we were needed to ride our bikes to the apartment and about 5 Km of our 20 Km voyage, Elder Barker’s bike chain snaps. (Classic.) So I was able to give him a ride on the back of my back for the rest of the ride home. It was a rough day, but also one of the most fun just going around and doing the nitty gritty stuff!

This week we have been teaching our friend Jeremie as well and it has been absolutely fantastic he has been studying by himself and “frankly speaking” teaching us. We taught him about all of the commandments and he had already
been following them. We were able to just talk to him about how he is
feeling with the church and the last couple of weeks and he just told us so sincerely, “Frankly speaking, I have felt absolutely lost for the last 7 years of my life. I needed help, I prayed. I meet you guys. I just want to thank you and God for being here for me, really!” (He says “frankly
speaking,” and “Really” a lot.) It is just one of those many fantastic
moments where you just get to feel so happy that the Lord had entrusted me to take care of him. (And I was able to teach him with Elder Faylor which felt super good to spend a day with one of my best friends. Love you man!)

This week has flown by it is nuts! This upcoming week is going to be even crazier! We have a group of 18 coming this week, so I’ll let you know how the new crop is doing next week!

Love you all,

Elder Haddon

*Pictures:*
1) Look at the Ride!!
2) Don't ask me how that happened.
3) New greenie!
4) Fan mail! (From a crazy dude.)
5) Justhin Jeremie's kid!
6) Biking in Umeå
7) Friendship brushing..... (never again)

--

Bed bugs!!!!

Moi ihmiset!!!(Finnish not Swedish.)

This week’s quote of the week goes to a returned missionary named David, “Wow, sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite has a whole new meaning now.”

So I got the excellent news that, my bed and none of the others is infested with bed bugs. The mission has had only a couple outbreaks, and little did I know a couple months ago the bed I am now sleeping with had that problem.
But no one decided to pass that information down to me.

Some fun facts about bed bugs:

   1. They feed from 3-4 o’clock every morning. (Which Psychologically messes with you pretty bad.)
   2. Their bite has a ridiculous itching effect, because of an anesthetic they give to you when they bite at night so that it numbs where they feed so the host doesn’t wake up.(Also messes you up, you think at any time they can be on you.)
   3. They can live up to a year without feeding on a host. (Invincible)
   4. They only way to kill them is to spray, and to be a human sacrifice
until they have all died because of the poison. (I thought we didn't do
sacrifices anymore!)
   5. They seem to only like Elder Haddon’s blood. (#thedevilsinsect)

  But other than getting eaten alive by hundreds of insects every night, it
was a fairly decent week. We had our first “Mission Leadership Council,” with our new Mission President. Being that he had never done one of those and doesn't even know what it is, we really had to backpack him on that one. But it went well.

The work has been going super well here, the investigator that I told you
about last week, that I started playing basketball with is doing fabulous, he his telling everyone about his baptismal date, and that he wants to 3 weeks after go to the temple and baptize himself for his deceased  family.

It’s difficult to teach him sometimes, because I just gets it. We’ll explain something then he will start teaching us about it and then it’s
more of him teaching us then us teaching him. He is just so sick!

On Thursday, we had a Zone training that was fantastic! Elder Jones,
actually is my Zone leader and we did “The Amazing Harvest.” So we had to run through Stockholm, do tasks and go to different parts of the city. Elder Mangum and I thought we would just go kinda slow and have a fun time, until we saw Elder Moe and Nieminem take off sprinting.(Old Companions who were also Assistants.) Then we just knew, it’s go time. So it literally was us 4 sprinting to the subway, then to the King’s palace, and then to the
Nobel Peace Prize center, and throughout Gamla Stan. Throughout we had to do tasks like, give out a Book of Mormon, or contact 15 people/ get a number. It was sick! The finish line was at the temple. But it was super fun and we got to do missionary work. (We probably looked ridiculous as missionaries on a full sprint everywhere. (See unattractive picture.))

Lastly Saturday, I had a fantastic experience, I was able to go to the
temple with a man I baptized in Jakobsberg, Lennart Nyblom, and do baptisms with him there. It was so cool to see the change he has made and go do that with him to help others was fantastic. Right after I was able to watch a wedding of one of my best friends I had met here in Sweden, Pontus. It was something that I really realized very strongly at that time, was the Temple really is “The House of the Lord.” I just knew that everything that we had did had literally help those people on the other side. I am so thankful for
that.

I love you all and really do appreciate the emails and pictures you send, but just like Gordon B. Hinckley said, “Just do a little more, just a little better.” ;)

Love,

Elder Haddon

PICTURES:
1) Some of those bites on my arm.
2-3) The Amazing Harvest We literally sprinted to that building and back.
4-7) Helped out at the Stockholm Archives look at those books!!! (One is from the 1700's)
8) Faylor and I didn't plan that out.... i swear.
9) To avoid the bed bugs i slept on the roof a couple of nights
10) Pontus getting married!
11) Bedbug proofed myself. (try to eat me now!)
12) Sister Beckstrand or should you say Äldste Haddon?????? (She forgot her name tag.)

Dream Team

Hello!!!!

The quote of the week goes to our new dear and beloved Mission President, President Beckstrand, ”Well, look on the bright side, if we mess up we'll all go home together!”

This week has been an interesting one. On Monday night, we were able to pick up the Beckstrands. I was absolutely nervous, I had thought that there is no way that the Beckstrands could be as loving or as spiritual as the Newells. I thought it was going to be a disaster! That was until we saw them walk out of those terminal gates. As soon as we shook their hands and welcomed them to Sweden, I just knew that they were called to be our Missionary Leadership. It just felt completely right, and they are absolutely fantastic.

On Tuesday-Wednesday something magical happened here in Täby, "The Dream Team" was an assembled again. Elder Haddon and Elder Allsop, hit the streets again showing the streets of Stockholm what we are made of. We were able to get 2 new investigators, teach several lessons, and have a dang good time doing it.

After, our exchanges Allsop had set up and appointment with one of my first converts here in Sweden. I was able to go back with him to the city of Södertälje and actually get to visit and teach Lennart! I was able to find
out that he is getting ready at his year mark to go to the temple for
himself. I was so happy to learn that news and I will be able to be there
for that which is incredible. Getting to see him progress in the gospel and endure to the end is what it is all about.

Thursday through Friday, we had been traveling all over the place to give the chance for all of the missionaries over Sweden to get to meet President and Sister Beckstrand. It took a lot of planning and work but it was defiantly worth it. We had two large conferences, one in Göteborg and the other in Stockholm. Where they were able to explain a little bit who they are and what their vision is with the Sweden Stockholm Mission.

Saturday, I had a fantastic experience. We were playing football (European Style) with the ward, people brought friends who weren't members and just had a good time and did some missionary work.

After, a couple of us went to
fill up our water bottles. As we started to go over to where the water
spout was, I saw a man playing basketball by himself. I had the strongest feeling ever that I needed to go talk to him maybe just play around with him a bit.  As I did that, I told him I was from the US, and he switched to English. He was from Central Africa, and his name was Jeremie. He asked why I was here in Sweden, I told him I am a missionary for our Church. His face
started to glow, he said and I quote, “This morning I prayed and after told
my 4 year old son, we need to find a church. My son told me “we play basket first.” Now I am here, and I know God has sent you here to get me to come back to church. ”

I was shocked, I don’t believe I had ever gotten that response from someone after I told them I was a missionary. He was able to come to church with his cute little 4 year old. He loves it and is going to be getting baptized in 3 weeks on the 26th of July. Not only that he is going to be invitinghis family and friends, to come and hear the message.

There are no words that can describe how amazing missionary work can be. When we just go out with the guidance of the Spirit and do everything in our power to listen and to follow those promptings, the Lord will use us as tools to help His work go forward.

I love this work, I love Sweden, and I love you all.

(Jag älskar detta verk, jag älskar detta land, och älskar er alla.)

Äldste Haddon

Good byes, Hair Cuts, and Life Lessons

TJABBBBA!

The quote of the week goes to our dear friend Oswaldo. “I am ready to
convert; I’ll quit all my old habits and start anew. I know this is what I
need to do.” He told us that about 2 ½ weeks ago, and then disappeared. His phone was off, so we couldn’t reach him. He emigrated from Guatemala, and was always running around in Stockholm and he always seemed to find missionaries where ever he went. So we thought that he was eventually going
to show up and he would just find us. But last week he had the chance to make a drive up to his home, and that is when learned that he had passed away about the same time we lost contact.

It was a small African family that was giving us then news of this and we were defiantly shocked, our amazing friend was found dead in the streets of Stockholm. They tried to comfort us, and let us know that they were extremely close to him and it was hard for them as well. We then had the opportunity to teach that family about the Gospel and now we will be teaching them.This was a very sad experience, but in the same time I know Oswaldo is fine. He is going to except the Gospel on the other side, because he already was accepting it on this one. He even help guide us to this wonderful little Kenyan family.

This week has been absolutely insane! We had a zone conference of 122 people, prepared for the new mission president and still work in our area. It has been crazy but in the same it has been fun. (Except the Zone Conference I had to roll play teaching in front of everyone in Swedish, it was a little nerve raking.)

On Friday night, we had the chance to proselyte all night, and we had a
really cool experience. We were in a place called Åkersberga, and we were about to head home. Until we both felt this feeling that we needed to try to visit one more person.  We had an old list, to swing by people and this one woman’s name stood out. So we hopped in the car and drove there.

We had no idea who she was, we imagined she was an old investigator, but we
went up knocking. She opened the door with the biggest smile on her face. We started to talk to her and we still not knowing anything about her we asked her if she had met the missionaries before and if she was still interested on learning more. She started to choke up a little bit as she
replied, “Jag är ju Mormon, och jag ska aldrig förneka det.” (I am
absolutely a mormon, and will never deny it.)

As we spoke to her on her door step, the tears began to just flow from her
face, and she told us how she had been praying for this. She knew she
wanted to come back and didn’t know how, and then we knocked on the door. It was a direct answer to her prayers. She then was able to come to church on Sunday and she hasn’t been in 14 years. I’ve never seen somebody so
M happy.It’s times like these that makes being a missionary completely is worth it. When you get to help be a tool in the Lord’s hands, it’s just Indescribable. We had no idea, that we would have had so much impact for stopping by that woman, but we were guided by the spirit to help find her
and bring her back.

Well, lastly we had to say goodbye to our beloved Mission President,
President Newell. About 45 minutes before we were planning on going over to have our last debriefing, he gave me a call and asked me something I neverwould have thought in a million years. He said, “Elder Haddon, could you
come a little early before our meeting….. And cut my hair. I see that you did a marvelous job for all the elders in the office do you think that you could just trim me up a bit.” In my head I screamed in terror, ”WHAT!@#!?”

But then responded quietly, “Yes, I could probably do that.”

So right before our last meeting I had the opportunity to cut former
Ambassador President Newell’s hair. (It doesn’t look to shabby either.)

To be honest, that was a very hard experience to say goodbye to them both, they were like a Father and Mother to me and to the 200 missionaries here.
They had helped so many people in Sweden, and truly effected hundreds of thousands. They will be missed.

I love you all thank you for the support and love. Stay in tuned for next weeks adventures.

Love,

Äldste Tyson Farlig Haddon

Out With The Old, In With The New

God Morgon!!!!

The Quote of the week kind of a sad one, it was after my last interview
without dear and beloved President Newell. “After we leave on Saturday, we will be silent. No contact, not a word. But when you get off the plane,
you’re going to wish I would shut up!"

This is going to be the last week with President Gregory J. Newell. This is the weirdest thing ever. We will be having one last zone conference which will be having 111 missionaries from all over the country. It will be the last goodbye for him. Then, we will be getting ready for President Beckstrand.

But in other news as you can see it was Midsommarafton, a crazy celebration in Sweden where everyone gets wasted and dances around a pole. (I can explain it better later.) Got to spend a day, having a good time with some old friends doing some crazy old Swedish traditions. (We didn't drink... just so you know.)

Then on Sunday, I was able to go to a baptism in Jakobsberg of a man that I taught a lot. He is planning on moving to Utah soon, so those of you out there will probably get to meet him. (He believes Utah is small so he wants to meet all of my friends and family.) It was just one of those tendermercies, to see how happy he was. He had worked so hard to be baptized and now he was able too! Helped me really remember the reason why I am here. To simply help others, and the best way to do that, is through the Gospel. I am so happy to be there for that. I am so happy to be here in Sweden at this time. This is where I want to be.

This week is going to be STRESSFUL with the new mission President and all, but I know no matter what the Lord has got our backs.

Love you all have a great week,

Elder Tyson Danger Haddon

*Pictures: Midsommarafton*

*1) ME!*

*2) Nieminen and me! *

*3) Group of Missionaries*

*4) All of the Stockholm Missionaries*

*5) Taking a bath*

*6) Allsop, Faylor and I back again.*

*7) And again*

*8) Office Crew: Moe, Mangum (Back Row), Sahlin, Johnson, & Haddon*

*9) Midsommarselfie*

Traveling Around Sweden

Aloha!!!

Hope everyone is doing fine in the US of A, And a quick shout out for all
the Fathers, Happy Father’s DAY!!!!

The Quote of the week goes to President Newell. We were at the mission home talking to some of the missionaries who were done with their missions, and we were chatting with one of our super good friends who happens to be Britt. He asked us if we could stay the night with him for his last night,and we told him we actually really need to go home. So he says, (In a British accent,)”Oh that’s fine mate, I didn’t want to stay with you anyway.”

President Newell then blurts out, “That’s exactly what we said to you about 230 years ago!”

To be fair he was an ambassador and chief of state, so I imagine he has to be pretty quick on his toes when he is around the Britts.

Oh man, So much has happened in this little time, we got 3 new missionaries to the mission so we got to help them in and got them ready for missionary life in the Stockholm Sweden Mission. Which is always a good time.

Day after we got a new companion. So right now we have 3 Assistants. His name is Elder M, from Brighton…. That is all I got to say about him. We also as soon as he got here had 3 Zone Conferences. So we traveled the whole country in the span of 4 days.

First took a plane to Umeå, way up in the North. While I was on the plane I had an interesting experience. We were all split up so we weren’t near our companions. So I’m sitting in the middle seat next to two strangers. So of course I thought this would be the perfect time to talk to some people about the Gospel. The first lady to my right, after trying to start up a conversation, put on headphones and turned the other way.  A little
embarrassing but its fine I can bounce back from that. So I turn to my other side and just say something to the effect of, “Hey! What great weather we are having!”

She turns and looks at me with the most disgusted look on her face and
yells, “I do not want to speak with people like you!!!” As you can imagine I am a little shocked, and a little scared that this Swedish speaking Russian lady is about to murder me. And that was only the first 2 minutes of me on the plane. The rest of the plane ride if I even looked in her general direction I probably would have received a gnarly backhand to the face. So that was a long plane ride to say the least.

When we get to Umeå, we realized we have about a 45 minute presentation to plan for to the zone the next day…… And we haven’t prepared ANYTHING! So we got to the hotel and started to plan and we all fell asleep with our books
and pens in our hands. Woke up 6:00 still have nothing planned and we had to run to the Chapel. Get there and just start getting everything set up and we literally had 10 minutes to prepare for out presentation.

We come in do our part, actually turned out pretty good. After President Newell told us that he was so impressed with it, it must have taken us quite some time to put it together…haha, yes it was very well planned to say the least. (To be fair he only gave us a day to prepare, so it wasn’t even our fault.)

After that we took a 7 hour train ride to Stockholm, went to Church in Täby then right after hopped in the car and drove west to my home town Göteborg!!! It was great to go back, the west part of Sweden is so much more relaxed. They people are just the best there. So it was wonderful to check it out again.

After the conference there, we drove right after with President Newell,
down to Malmö. (The Dirty South.) It’s just super beautiful down there.
Flat and full of windmills. Everything went smoothly there. Then had the
long journey back home, driving with only Elder Mangum home.

This week has been crazy defiantly very busy, but I just want to say I
still absolutely love what I am doing, I’m so happy to be here, and to help
the missionaries, members, and non-members here in Sweden. It is something I love and will never regret.

Love you all, and don’t forget to email!!!!

Love,

Elder Haddon