Young Adults do service project at Mission Office

Elder Johnson and Elder Wright worked with the Young Men Single Adults organizing and cleaning the attic and basement at the Mission Office. Their contribution was so appreciated. They were proud of their "dirty hands." (and, face!)

Relief Society Easter Dinner

Ingrid Werjefelt, Syster Amy Johnson, Anna-Linda Bodén, Anne Rosenlund, Syster Sally Anderson, Gunilla Carlsson.

A plate of salmon, meatballs, boiled potato with sauce, salad, boiled egg with avacado and kaviar, roll and cheese. I made lemon meringue pies for the dessert.

There’s one thing we’ve learned from the Swedes,
About eating and satisfying appetite needs.
You sit and you wait,
‘Till all are served a nice plate;
And then, together, everyone feeds! --Syster Johnson

The sisters in Täby Ward planned a wonderful evening at the home of Anders and Veronica Karlsson in Åkerberg. We joined for dinner and a "getting to know you" evening, then an exchange of Easter Eggs with something special inside. The Easter eggs here are large and made of cardboard, decorated with Easter pictures. They also put brightly colored feathers on dry twigs in a can or big vase. I will have to remember some of their fun traditions and try them at home. The Priesthood will have their special dinner night at the High Priest Group leader's home (Ingemar Gleissman) next weekend before General Conference. We are enjoying our Mission!

Single Adult Endowment

Beautiful day at the Stockholm Sweden Temple with Maria Danin.

We were pleased to be with our Center for Single Adult couple, Wrights, and Maria Danin and her mother, Gunilla, at the special Paus luncheon in Västerhaninge on Saturday, 21 March 2009. Even though her mother isn't a member, she was very receptive of Maria's decision to join the church last year and now go through the temple. It was a very happy day.

March Madness

Elders Spjut, Loomis, Johnson, Gomez and Dawson enjoy "varm korv" cooked at the beach in Vaxholm

Syster Johnson still needs her warm winter coat. Cozy, Cozy!

We aren't finished with winter yet in Sweden. Several snowstorms in March keep the cold weather around. Our new vehicle was broken in with a blanket of snow. The blue Skoda will be looking forward to warmer weather, and so will we! The Office Elders decided to take a P'day at the lake and have a korv roast. It is one of their most favorite things to do on P'day. Elder Johnson was able to join them.

14 Missionaries go home

A mix of USA and elders from Finland spend some last moments together at the Mission Office before departing for home.

Äldste Scott Spjut and Äldste Johnson have kept the computers and phones humming at the Mission Office. With Elder Spjut out in the Mission, we will try to keep everything running smoothly the best we can.

On Friday the 13th of March, we had major changes in the Mission. Elder Spjut left for Jonköping and a new young elder assistant came in (Alpeter). A record number (6) of Finnish missionaries departed on the Silja Linje for Helsinki. We will miss their leadership and Syster Huttunen's forging spirit. There were 8 on the plane to the USA. It was a tearful parting for this special group. The replacements for this group won't arrive until May.

Swedish Snowman

Elders Johnson, Gomez, Dawson and Loomis enjoyed making a huge snowman in the backyard of the Mission Office. Their late night activity was great fun. Snowfallwas one of the best storms of the winter. It packed just perfectly.

What a busy week at the Mission Office

Sisters Corey and Pierce are happy to receive a new car to use in Sundsvall and surrounding communities.

We stop for a photo shoot after Friday Lunch at the Mission office, capturing our new fleet of six cars, along with the couples, office elders and Elder Patchett, sporting crutches.

It was after dark when we arrived in Gävle to find the monument dedicated to John Erik Forsgren, the first baptised member into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sweden. He is the ancestor of many of our Forsgren famlies back home.

We loved our spectacular view. It was hard to leave.

View from our table in the Södra Berget Hotel restaurant.

The sun felt good on the top of the ski resort in Sundsvall. Afterward, we enjoyed a buffet meal in the ski Hotel.

For a wintry week in Sweden, one wouldn't think there would be much to do but sit by the fire and sip hot chocolate. Not so for us. The Mission Office was a beehive of activity. One of our elders injured his knee on the slippery ice and is now headed home to the USA for knee surgery. In the middle of all of that, President and Sister Anderson were away on Zone Conferences being held in Göteborg and Malmö. We took care of the injured elder and bought six new cars for the mission and delivered three to their new drivers. Our trip up North on Saturday with our friends, Couple Lewis, was very enjoyable. We drove to Sundsvall, which is 400 KM north of Stockholm. The roads were good and we had no trouble making it there by noon to deliver the new Opel to the sister missionaries. The sisters suggested we drive to a high view point, a ski resort that over-looked the city, coast and the Baltic Sea. After a few photos in the wind and cold, we found ourselves inside the hotel eating an amazing buffet of salmon and roast beef, plus all the trimmings. The view from our dining table was stunning. Returning south we stopped in Gävle and located the monument erected in memory of the first LDS baptism in Sweden, John Forsgren. Since it had already turned dark and very cold, we had quite a search before finding it. We will return in the summer and see the home on the grounds where the monument stands.

Sunday, Syster Johnson was at the Mission Home preparing the Farewell Dinner for our Elder Patchett going home with knee injuries. President and Syster Anderson made it back in time for the dinner and check-out activities. Next week doesn't look any calmer with Zone Conferences here. Where does the time go? The Sweden Stockholm Mission is doing awesome. We are blessed to be here.