Week #22 We did it!

We survived our first transfer on our own!  It went smoothly, but it wasn't easy!  Last week's computer overhaul provided some unwanted challenges as we finished moving files and adjusting to the new set up.  Monday night after office meeting, we went to the Täby chapel to set up tables and chairs for the next morning's breakfast.  I got home with a gnawing feeling that I needed to make the banana muffins I had procrastinated doing.  At 11:30 I pulled the last tray out of the oven.  Then a 3 AM reveille to take a senior couple to the airport Tuesday morning started the transfer process in earnest.  We dropped them off at 4:30 and turned back home, heading for bed for 1 1/2 hours before climbing into the car to return to the airport, groggy headed.  The muffins were a hit at breakfast for excited but tired missionaries, which rewarded my efforts.  The rest of the day and the next two days finished the transfer process.  In with the new and out with the old.  Emotional goodbyes seem to be the norm, especially when mixed with fatigue.  (And I hardly knew these missionaries.  What will it be like when I've known them and worked with them for many months?)  By Thursday afternoon, I had a debilitating headache, so I took two Advil (thankfully, we brought some with us) and a power nap.

Amazing!   I was a new woman!   Off we went to the temple guest house where our friends from Örnsköldsvik were staying for their weeklong temple trip.  We traveled to a nearby park for fun and food.  You may recognize the three we know.  It was sweet to see them again. There were 14 youth in attendance from all of the Norrland District.

Saturday morning we played catch-up in the office, then in the afternoon we went to the movies for the first time in Sweden.  (Yes,  senior couples can go to movies. 😉)  John had been waiting to see Dunkirk,  and he was not disappointed.  The movie experience was much like the US but you buy your ticket from a kiosk outside the theater.  (As usual, it wouldn't take our credit card, so we had to buy them directly from the movie attendant, so we could sign and show our ID.)  Oh, that reminds me,  we got our official Swedish IDs this week, too.  Hopefully, they will facilitate making credit transactions easier.  They aren't hard, but we usually have to produce two documents--our resident permits and our "personnummer."  Now we can just show one.  Sweden certainly has us on record!

Speaking of money.  Sweden is basically a cashless society.  Everyone uses ATM cards.  As we had this discussion with our tutor, a native Swede who is living in Provo, Utah,  he had an aha moment, "Oh, that is why I always get funny looks when I pull out my card to pay for a soda at the 7-11!"  However, using an ATM card here would cost us with every transaction, whereas using our credit card is free (after paying the annual fee.  They get us one way or another, right?)  So, we use our credit card virtually all the time.

The picture below is of the parking garage at the Täby Mall.  I love how parking garages work everywhere I've been in Sweden.  They tell how many spaces are available, indicated by the

26 and 97 in this picture.  Often a total number is shown outside, before you even enter the garage.  And, if you can see the little red and green lights about the parking stalls, you will notice that if it is empty it is green. If it is unavailable, it is red.  So clever!

We asked one elder what he liked most about Sweden and he answered, "The cultural diversity."  That has been John's greatest surprise.  He expected to only see blondes with blue eyes when we arrived!  I've often wondered how the Lord would accomplish taking the gospel to the whole world with all the wars and disruptions that seems to be never-ending.  But God knows all things and even the chaos and evil that harms so many countries does not frustrate His purposes.  In the Doctrine and Covenants 3:1-3 it states:

 1 The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught.2 For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.  3 Remember, remember that it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men;

The gospel is being taken to all the peoples of the world today, because the people are coming to where it is taught! The refugees are learning and accepting the gospel throughout all of Europe, where they have sought asylum.  They are humble, faithful, and prepared.  Many have already adopted Christianity.   In our mission, we stock 3 languages of the Book of Mormon:  Swedish, English, and Persian.  (Others, of course, are available. ) Volunteer converts who speak languages that the missionaries don't speak, help teach investigators via Skype, who speak the same language.   In my picture above, it is obvious that Asia, Africa and Sweden are represented.  At the temple guest house there was an extended Persian family, too.  Israel is being gathered from all the ends of the earth!  It is exciting to see it in action and to recognize it as a sign of the last days!

So, let us remember, even in our own lives, that the work of God will go forth, without frustration.  We may experience disappointments, set backs, even catastrophes because of the works of men and our own choices, but ultimately, if we put our trust in God, he will guide our footsteps on His sure path.