Dear family,
I hope all is going well for everybody back in the States. It's still going well here. Mom said that she prayed for nice weather for me but i think it backfired because it snowed here this week. But it's all good. We went to Lyon this week for zone conference and it was really great. I love zone conferences. President and Sister Roney always have great things to say. This time they talked about improving ourselves and acquiring Christ like attributes. It was really uplifting and i've been working on this in my studies this past week.
So this past week has been filled with fallen through appointments, cancelled baptisms, and difficulties in the work, but i know that we just gotta keep working hard and plow through times like these. That's just missionary life. One thing that i've seen alot on my mission is the importance of keeping a positive attitude during hard times and trials. Life isn't easy but when we are given every reason to be discouraged and frustrated it is important to keep a positive out look. We can always find reasons to be happy, and we can always be assured that there will be better things to come. Because God loves us, He will always bless us with the things that we need, including moments of happiness in times of trials. We can always find reasons to smile, if we just look for the little things and live in thanksgiving daily.
Men are that they might have joy. The reason that we are here on earth is to be happy. The other day me and elder Jackson contacted a man on the streets. We asked him what gives him happiness in life. He just looked at us and said, "nothing". We testified to him that we have many reasons to be happy in this life and that through the gospel of Jesus Christ we can find true happiness. We have a Father in heaven who loves us and has provided us with a plan called the plan of happiness.
The sad truth is that many of our brothers and sisters here on earth don't have the same knowledge that we do, and when asked what gives them happiness they give us the sad reply of nothing. Don't take for granted how lucky you are to have the comforting knowledge that you have a loving Heavenly Father who has provided you with a plan of happiness. Don't forget why we are here. Look for those moments of joy. They are always there. Recognize and cherish these moments. Don't get so caught up in the difficulties of life that you neglect your purpose in life. Smile everyday, be happy, look for moments of joy, and do everything that you can to spread that joy to everyone you meet.
If asked the question what gives me happiness in life, I would be able to say with certainty, "My family, friends, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and sharing this great message with everyone." I love you all.
Elder Swenson
Monday, April 29, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
April 22, 2013
Hello everyone,
Another good week here. The weather changed again. It's been cold and rainy everyday. I think that it has rained more here these past 3 weeks more than the past year in Utah. I miss the hot weather because it feels nicer and there are people outside on the streets. The other day me and Elder Jackson were on a bus and we had to stop because there was this fire truck in the way. There was apparantly somebody who was stuck or injured or something in their apartment and the doors were locked so the fire men went up to their balcony in the lift thing on the truck and we got to watch as they smashed the glass door with an axe to get inside. There were a ton of people watching because there were like 3 or 4 buses lined up in the traffic jam plus all of the people walking by stopped to watch. Any way i thought it was pretty interesting.
This past little bit we have been teaching a 13 year old boy whose dad used to be a member and step mom isn't so the kids haven't been baptized. They still come to church though because they have an aunt and a grandma in the ward. Any way so the dad finally gave permission for him to be baptized and soon after his little sister got permission too. They are getting baptized this week and are super excited. We have been going through all of the lessons this past week and they are both super awesome kids. I know that they are making the right decision. There are 8 kids in the family and i know they are setting a good example for their siblings. The dad is even starting to put his life more in line with the gospel and from what we've heard might be working toward coming back to church. I love the family. They are are super nice and we have been put through food torture on more than one occasion at their grandmas house.
(Food torture is what we call it when you have huge portions of food and then you finally finish what you have on your plate and you are at the point of not being able to eat any more and then they say oh here elder have some more and pile a heinous amount of food on your plate. You are smiling and saying thank you on the outside but are crying and pleading for it to stop on the inside. By the time you finally finish and make it out of the house you feel like you're going to die the for the next few hours.) French people love food.
Anyway I hope that all is going well back at home, especially with the new baby. I hope that the weather over there is nicer than it is here. I love you all and pray for you.
Elder Swenson
Another good week here. The weather changed again. It's been cold and rainy everyday. I think that it has rained more here these past 3 weeks more than the past year in Utah. I miss the hot weather because it feels nicer and there are people outside on the streets. The other day me and Elder Jackson were on a bus and we had to stop because there was this fire truck in the way. There was apparantly somebody who was stuck or injured or something in their apartment and the doors were locked so the fire men went up to their balcony in the lift thing on the truck and we got to watch as they smashed the glass door with an axe to get inside. There were a ton of people watching because there were like 3 or 4 buses lined up in the traffic jam plus all of the people walking by stopped to watch. Any way i thought it was pretty interesting.
This past little bit we have been teaching a 13 year old boy whose dad used to be a member and step mom isn't so the kids haven't been baptized. They still come to church though because they have an aunt and a grandma in the ward. Any way so the dad finally gave permission for him to be baptized and soon after his little sister got permission too. They are getting baptized this week and are super excited. We have been going through all of the lessons this past week and they are both super awesome kids. I know that they are making the right decision. There are 8 kids in the family and i know they are setting a good example for their siblings. The dad is even starting to put his life more in line with the gospel and from what we've heard might be working toward coming back to church. I love the family. They are are super nice and we have been put through food torture on more than one occasion at their grandmas house.
(Food torture is what we call it when you have huge portions of food and then you finally finish what you have on your plate and you are at the point of not being able to eat any more and then they say oh here elder have some more and pile a heinous amount of food on your plate. You are smiling and saying thank you on the outside but are crying and pleading for it to stop on the inside. By the time you finally finish and make it out of the house you feel like you're going to die the for the next few hours.) French people love food.
Anyway I hope that all is going well back at home, especially with the new baby. I hope that the weather over there is nicer than it is here. I love you all and pray for you.
Elder Swenson
Monday, April 15, 2013
April 15, 2013
Hey everyone,
So this week I finally got to meet all the members of the ward here because we had church this week. They are all super nice and I'm glad to be serving here. The weather here is about as consistent as I remember it being back home. We went from wearing sweaters and coats to wearing short sleaved shirts without our suitcoats in just a day. I feel like we stand out a bit more to people here than we did in marseille. We'll be walking down the street and hear a group of kids say hey it's those guys, and then as we're walking we'll here Hello in a super french accent. Everybody knows that we're american and tries to speak english to us. Actually, if you ask most french people what we speak they would say american. But I like it here and at least they notice the churches presence here if nothing else. The other day in front of the train station there was this big group of people and we thought it was just a strike/protest thing (the french love their strikes) but it turned out to be some street play thing put on by some church. As we walked past the bus stop in front of it a guy sitting on the bench saw us and said, Looks like you got some competition. I thought it was funny.
This past week in my morning prayers before studies I have been praying specifically that i will be able to be taught something by the spirit that i can in turn share with someone else. Any way so we have this missionary night thing with some of the younger recent converts where we read through preach my gospel and talk about it. We were still waiting for some people to arrive and I was talking with one of the members there because he was asking me about trials and also about prayer. Just that morning I had been reading about those same subjects. They were fresh on my mind and so i could easily talk about them and share scriptures with him. I read D&C 122 that morning and it went perfect with what he needed to hear about how we can have strength and comfort during our trials. Then later into the rdv the same thing happened two different times with some of the others there. I was easily able to answer their questions and bear testimony and help them feel better. Later that night as I reflected on the experience and realized that the questions that were asked by the 3 members and the answers that I gave lined up exactly with the topics i had studied the past 3 mornings. I then remembered my prayers and how I had specifically asked to be able to learn something that i could share with others. It was too perfect to be a coincidence. I know that the Lord always listens to our prayers. If we are specific and sincere in our prayers the Lord will grant our righteous desires. Never forget the power that single heartfelt prayer can have. I love you all and pray for you every day.
Elder Swenson
So this week I finally got to meet all the members of the ward here because we had church this week. They are all super nice and I'm glad to be serving here. The weather here is about as consistent as I remember it being back home. We went from wearing sweaters and coats to wearing short sleaved shirts without our suitcoats in just a day. I feel like we stand out a bit more to people here than we did in marseille. We'll be walking down the street and hear a group of kids say hey it's those guys, and then as we're walking we'll here Hello in a super french accent. Everybody knows that we're american and tries to speak english to us. Actually, if you ask most french people what we speak they would say american. But I like it here and at least they notice the churches presence here if nothing else. The other day in front of the train station there was this big group of people and we thought it was just a strike/protest thing (the french love their strikes) but it turned out to be some street play thing put on by some church. As we walked past the bus stop in front of it a guy sitting on the bench saw us and said, Looks like you got some competition. I thought it was funny.
This past week in my morning prayers before studies I have been praying specifically that i will be able to be taught something by the spirit that i can in turn share with someone else. Any way so we have this missionary night thing with some of the younger recent converts where we read through preach my gospel and talk about it. We were still waiting for some people to arrive and I was talking with one of the members there because he was asking me about trials and also about prayer. Just that morning I had been reading about those same subjects. They were fresh on my mind and so i could easily talk about them and share scriptures with him. I read D&C 122 that morning and it went perfect with what he needed to hear about how we can have strength and comfort during our trials. Then later into the rdv the same thing happened two different times with some of the others there. I was easily able to answer their questions and bear testimony and help them feel better. Later that night as I reflected on the experience and realized that the questions that were asked by the 3 members and the answers that I gave lined up exactly with the topics i had studied the past 3 mornings. I then remembered my prayers and how I had specifically asked to be able to learn something that i could share with others. It was too perfect to be a coincidence. I know that the Lord always listens to our prayers. If we are specific and sincere in our prayers the Lord will grant our righteous desires. Never forget the power that single heartfelt prayer can have. I love you all and pray for you every day.
Elder Swenson
Monday, April 8, 2013
April 8, 2013
Bonjour ma famille,
Another great week here in France. I really like it here in St Etienne. The members here are all really nice. (and they feed us way to much!) It's smaller than Marseille and it is a lot less crowded. Also you don't here ambulances and police sirens every 2 minutes. I've only seen the sun once while i've been here because it's been cloudy and rainy every day. Elder Jackson is a great missionary and i'm glad i get to serve with him. We have a couple of amis that we are teaching and they are all awesome. One of our amis is named Jisun. She is from South Korea and we teach her in english because she is still learning french. It's the first time that I have taught someone who doesn't have a christian background and it is definitely a new experience for me. But she is awesome and i know that it will all go well.
General conference was good, or at least the things that i got from watching it in french. I definitely need to go back and listen in english. Because of the time difference we watched the saturday morning session on saturday night, and all but the last session on sunday. I still haven't seen the last session though. I don't know if its just because i am a missionary and thats what i picked out but i felt like there was a lot said about missionary work. I feel like i got some good stuff from the conference. I hope that you all did too. One thing that we engaged our amis to do was to come to conference with a question in mind and then we promised them that it would get answered if they listened carefully. I know that this is true. We are so blessed to be able to listen to the apostles and prophet who can give us guidence and counsel for our time. We are also lucky to have the gift of the Holy Ghost through whom we can receive personal revelation to help us with our day to day problems and concerns. There is a quote by Joseph Smith that says "The Holy Ghost is a revelator and nobody can recieve the Holy Ghost without receiving revelation". Never forget that you can always have your prayers and questions answered if you prayerfully seek direction from the Lord. He is always there and waiting to help us if we just ask and are willing to do our part. I love you all and hope that everything is well for you.
Elder Swenson
Another great week here in France. I really like it here in St Etienne. The members here are all really nice. (and they feed us way to much!) It's smaller than Marseille and it is a lot less crowded. Also you don't here ambulances and police sirens every 2 minutes. I've only seen the sun once while i've been here because it's been cloudy and rainy every day. Elder Jackson is a great missionary and i'm glad i get to serve with him. We have a couple of amis that we are teaching and they are all awesome. One of our amis is named Jisun. She is from South Korea and we teach her in english because she is still learning french. It's the first time that I have taught someone who doesn't have a christian background and it is definitely a new experience for me. But she is awesome and i know that it will all go well.
General conference was good, or at least the things that i got from watching it in french. I definitely need to go back and listen in english. Because of the time difference we watched the saturday morning session on saturday night, and all but the last session on sunday. I still haven't seen the last session though. I don't know if its just because i am a missionary and thats what i picked out but i felt like there was a lot said about missionary work. I feel like i got some good stuff from the conference. I hope that you all did too. One thing that we engaged our amis to do was to come to conference with a question in mind and then we promised them that it would get answered if they listened carefully. I know that this is true. We are so blessed to be able to listen to the apostles and prophet who can give us guidence and counsel for our time. We are also lucky to have the gift of the Holy Ghost through whom we can receive personal revelation to help us with our day to day problems and concerns. There is a quote by Joseph Smith that says "The Holy Ghost is a revelator and nobody can recieve the Holy Ghost without receiving revelation". Never forget that you can always have your prayers and questions answered if you prayerfully seek direction from the Lord. He is always there and waiting to help us if we just ask and are willing to do our part. I love you all and hope that everything is well for you.
Elder Swenson
Monday, April 1, 2013
New Transfer, New Area
Hey everyone,
So yesterday was my last day in Marseille. I was kinda sad to leave my bleu ville, but i'm also excited to be in a new area. This transfer i will be serving in Saint Etienne with Elder Jackson. So far i really like it here in St Etienne. Its smaller and a little more french feeling. It will be a little different being the only missionaries in the ville but it should be great. Its less to take in than marseille because marseille is one of the biggest villes in the mission. I am excited to be serving here. Elder Jackson seems like a really great missionary and it will be great serving with him. Elder Workman is staying in Marseille and training a bleu there. This transfer there are only like 5 elders coming in but like 20 sisters and i think that next transfer there will be 27 more or something. Basically all of the sisters here are training.
This past week was great. Elder Workman and I taught Charles-Henri for the first time and it was awesome. He is a really great guy and I'm sad that i wont get to teach him any more. We gave him a dedicated book of mormon and asked him if he would read 3nephi 11 before next time and then he asked if we could just read it now. I know that he will be a golden ami for the Elders in marseille.
Yesterday at church was really awesome because of all the good easter testimonies and all the kind words given to those of us who were leaving. There was this family from Utah who visited because they were on vacation so we helped translate for them. They were really nice and it was good to be able to help them. The son who was there just got his mission call to russia. I'm sure that he will do great.
I hope that you all had a great easter and are looking forward to conference this week. I know that there will be something said there that is specifically for you if you listen and are attentive to the spirit. I love you all
Elder Swenson
So yesterday was my last day in Marseille. I was kinda sad to leave my bleu ville, but i'm also excited to be in a new area. This transfer i will be serving in Saint Etienne with Elder Jackson. So far i really like it here in St Etienne. Its smaller and a little more french feeling. It will be a little different being the only missionaries in the ville but it should be great. Its less to take in than marseille because marseille is one of the biggest villes in the mission. I am excited to be serving here. Elder Jackson seems like a really great missionary and it will be great serving with him. Elder Workman is staying in Marseille and training a bleu there. This transfer there are only like 5 elders coming in but like 20 sisters and i think that next transfer there will be 27 more or something. Basically all of the sisters here are training.
This past week was great. Elder Workman and I taught Charles-Henri for the first time and it was awesome. He is a really great guy and I'm sad that i wont get to teach him any more. We gave him a dedicated book of mormon and asked him if he would read 3nephi 11 before next time and then he asked if we could just read it now. I know that he will be a golden ami for the Elders in marseille.
Yesterday at church was really awesome because of all the good easter testimonies and all the kind words given to those of us who were leaving. There was this family from Utah who visited because they were on vacation so we helped translate for them. They were really nice and it was good to be able to help them. The son who was there just got his mission call to russia. I'm sure that he will do great.
I hope that you all had a great easter and are looking forward to conference this week. I know that there will be something said there that is specifically for you if you listen and are attentive to the spirit. I love you all
Elder Swenson
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