Jan. 27, 2014

Bonjour ma famille,

So a couple transfers ago we ported into this guy who was interested but busy. We gave him a book of mormon and got his number to set up a return visit. I tried calling multiple times with out success then finally one day his son answered the phone. He passed the phone over to his dad and after telling him who we were he hung up on us. Well we figured he wasn't interested so we left his info in the area book in case he ended up being interested later.  

Well this week we were around the same area and I remembered this guy so we decided to pass by and see if he was there. We found the house and rang the bell. His wife came out and recognized us. She explained that they were actually interested to talk with us and they had read some of the book of mormon and wanted to know more. Apparently when i had called the phone cut out and she said they wanted to call back but that they didn't know our number. They just hoped that we would call back. She told us that her huband was busy that evening but that they wanted to have us over for dinner this week to explain our message. She seemed really excited to see us and took our number and gave us her home and cell phone numbers to make sure that we could stay in contact. 

I honestly felt like I was talking with a member because she was so happy and nice. The only difference is that we generally have ask to come share a message and eat at a members house. This lady just invited to have us over as we stood there in shock. We didn't have to even hint at wanting to come back she just did all of the work in setting up the rdv for us. 

Tomorrow we are going over to have dinner and share the restored gospel with a FAMILY! A nice happy french family in a beautiful house who will soon be even happier because of the gospel. I love this work! Please pray for us and that they will be receptive to our message so that we will be able to see them again. I love you all!

Elder Swenson

Jan 20, 2014

Bonjour,

So first things first I am still in Montpellier and still with Elder Pedersen. We were both surprised with the call but we still like each other and the ville so why not? Things are going well here and have been picking up as of late. Hopefully we will be able to accomplish alot here this transfer. 

As usual I spent all day at the gare to help all of the voyaging missionaries with their heavy bags. I must admit I do enjoy this as I get to see and catch up with a buch of missionaries I haven't seen for a while.

So I got a crazy piggy back off a previous miracle miracle. So two weeks ago I told you about a coordinèe that the concorde elders sent to us which happened to be an old ami that I had contacted and taught back when I served in toulouse. Well this week the plot thickened. This time the capitole elders sent us info on a coordinée that they found in their area book that they had called and found had moved to montpellier. It was the exact same guy but this time it was a different teaching record from 2010 and it turns out that he had already been taught all the lessons, gone to church, and had a baptisimal date. 

Seriously what are the odds that two different equipes just so happen to do area book work and find two separate fiches for the same guy, a guy who i knew and taught when i was in toulouse, and send me his coordinées within a few weeks of each other, not knowing about the other equipe sending the same coordinée. And they didn't send it to any other equipe here. They both randomly sent it to montpellier 4. Seriously? Apparently this guy really needs the gospel because this is too crazy to be coincidence.

We haven't been able to fix anything with him yet but he should have more free time in the comming weeks. Please pray for us to be able to fix a rdv with him!

Other than that we have a few other amis who are looking promising. I wont talk about them though because i always jinx myself by telling you cool miracles and then nothing more ever comes from them. French mission life ;) 

Well I love you all. Until next week,

Elder Swenson

A few Pics From Christmas

Jan. 13, 2014

Bonjour,

Well this week was good though i must admit nothing to exciting or out of the ordinary happened. It gets harder and harder to think of new and exciting things to write the longer I am out here. This is the last week of the transfer so we will see what exciting changes await next week. 

Yesterday we were in a smaller ville by the coast called Sete to teach a lesson to a young family. They have 2 little boys who are constantly running around and getting in to everything. They are pretty adorable and remind me of the family back home. We had a table with some snacks and such on it and the youngest one who loves to share kept giving us food including chicken nuggets that he would take a bite out of before passing it on over to us.

This brings to memory Christ's invitation to become as a little child. How would the world be if we were all unselfish, happy, and willing to share like this little kid. My commitment for you guys this week is to think less of yourself and focus on helping and serving others. Look for someone in need of serving and do or give something to them. I love you all and am greatful for all that you have given and done for me. Until next week,

Elder Swenson

Jan. 6, 2014

Hello again, 

So we had a few cool miracles this week. First off a few days ago we got a call from the Toulouse elders. They had been doing some area book work and had found that one of the old amis in there had recently moved to montpellier. They asked if they could send his coordinees to the elders there and he agreed. So after I write down his name and number they start reading his progress record to me. As he is reading the info he pauses and asks, "Wait did you say this is elder Swenson? This guy was contacted and taught by you!" Seriously what are the odds that I am the elder who is here at the time they send this coordinee? We'll be seeing him next week. He can't escape me! Mwahaha!

Next, getting our amis to come to church has litterally been harder than getting a camel to go through the eye of a needle. So we finally get one of them to commit to comming and he shows up! Hooray! As we finish sunday school and walk out into the hallway we see another of our amis in the hallway! I did a quadruple take just to make sure it was really him. We have litterally been trying so hard to get our amis to church and all of the sudden they just randomly show up unannounced. The best news is that it was testimony meeting and there was a high percentage of really spiritual testimonies and a low percentage of weird ones. They both seemed to really enjoy it.

So we just had some awesome new members move into the ward from washington. They are really cool and we have already planned to do some missionary work with them. The crazy thing is that there is actually a young family of 3 and another younger guy who is here for school. They didn't know each other before but they both just moved form washington to montpellier and live like 5 minutes from each other. Crazy. 

Well, as usual I love you all and wish you the best. Until next week,

Elder Swenson