Jenga and Heavy Metal

Hej kompisar! Jag hoppas allt är bra med er! 

This week just sped by, we just kept really busy moving the work forward here in Sweden. So on monday we went out to some islands off of Goteborg and just walked around and checked stuff out, it was a beautiful day and good times were had. It's fun going as a district too cause our district is HUGE, 16 missionaries so people always stare at this big group of missionaries walking around. 

Tuesday it was pouring rain the entire day and so soccer didn't happen at night even though I think soccer in the rain is more fun anyways. We tracted and went by a couple people during the day, nothing too exciting. We had a member dinner at Karin Johanssens, such an awesome family and I always look forward to going over. We played jenga with her and her kids after dinner, I hate that game so much cause I get super anxious but it's pretty dang fun too, love hate relationship. 

Wednesday we contacted in the afternoon and it was great. We met a girl named Malou in Kungsbacka centrum who's still in high school but was interested in learning more, hopefully she becomes a new investigator cause we need them for sure! We went to a member dinner at the Mattson's and they're house was amazingly designed and laid out, it legit could've been on the front cover of Better Homes and Gardens, dang. Oh also Elder Orr is gone! He left this morning, his time in the four man was short but he's a great lovable guy and I'll miss him. Elder Stinett's replaced Elder Orr in the four man now and I'm looking forward to some great times with him and the other Elder's. 

Thursday was a red day (holiday) here in Sweden so it felt like a saturday. We went and picked up some logs with some members at the Swedish equivalent of Home Depot and did some service with them. In the afternoon we went tracting and since it was a red day and the weather was really good it just felt good being out and about, we got a couple potential's. We had dinner at the church (we do that a lot now since we live a 15 minute drive or train ride away in Kållered). We taught our investigator Norbert after dinner and it was probably the most interesting and memorable lesson on my mission so far. We taught him the Law of Chastity and he was just very open about everything but it was a great lesson and he seems to be making some great progress! 

Friday we went to Wrapps in Goteborg which is like a less quality, more expensive Qdoba, mexican food in Sweden isn't the same as back home. Did weekly planning in the afternoon and then some swing by's at night but no one was really home. Kind of funny, when we went to get the car keys from the Sister's they gave us a little bag with some cookies to be nice and we just happened to have little bags of cookies that we were giving to people we swung by so we returned the favor, worked out super well. 

Saturday we went in the morning to an immigration camp in Kållered and visited with a recent convert from Nigeria named Osoro. I was able to give him a priesthood blessing of comfort cause he was having a really hard time being confined to the camp. He was in their for medical reasons and was really stressed out and didn't know how long he'd stay and just wanted to know what was going to happen to him and when. We also gave him two Book of Mormon's\Book's of Mormon and he was so grateful to get those. In the afternoon went by Bent who we contacted on the street, I mention him in an earlier letter I think. We found out he's into heavy metal music like Metallica and ACDC, super cool! He shared a lot of crazy spiritual experiences with us that he's had. Bent is totally converted but says he wants to wait till the Millennium to get baptized. For Bent, it's all about a social conversion and making him feel welcome at church and with the members. We had a very Swedish experience tracting on satuday. So we knocked on this door and waited a little and were looking around and saw an older man standing behind us next to a bush about 40 feet back just staring at us. When we looked at him, he moved behind the bush but then kept peeking out and staring at us. We're guessing he lived in the apartment we were tracting and wanted to avoid confrontation at all costs. 

Sunday we met up with Osoro again and he was a different person! Two hours after we left on saturday he got the message that he'd be leaving for Hamburg, Germany on monday. It'll be the best for him and he'll have more freedom and better treatment for his medical stuff. The light was back in his eyes and he was smiling and laughing again. His fear had disappeared and was replaced by faith that God had a plan for him and Germany was where he was supposed to go.All Osoro kept saying was that he wanted a place where he can "worship and fellowship with his brethen of the Church" cause that's what brings him joy in life. Osoro's an awesome guy and really strengthened my testimony of the power of priesthood blessings and having faith. 

This week I've been studying how I can really be the missionary that God wants me to become. In D&C 4:2 it says "O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day". Anyone can serve with all their might and strength but are we giving our heart and mind to God as well? That's what I've decided to do, to let it go, stop debating between what I want and what God wants for me and just be fully committed, all in, give it up, put myself in His hands and that's when I know I can reach my full, divine potential. 

Mycket kärlek!

Äldste Hainsworth

 P-day on an island!

Big motorcycle event in Kungsbacka

 (Sherri:  on the right I'm noticing a Subway & the same bank we used when we lived in Denmark.  Danske Bank)

 On the ferry.

 (Sherri:  same gorgeous white churches with immaculately kept cemeteries as in DK. I wonder how old this one is & if it has a perfect replica of an old Viking sailing ship hanging from it's ceiling like the Danish churches do?)

 Elder Orr with a jellyfish on his head.

Kungsbacka to Kållered

Hejsan! Happy mothers day, special shout out to my amazing mom who does so much for me!!

This week we had a solid lesson with our investigator Norbert. He had already been taught it so we just reviewed it and filled in some gaps for him. He's a super smart dude though so he asks a lot of really good questions and we even had to go into the Pearl of Great Price a little bit to help answer his questions. He opened up a little bit about how he's already been baptized and is scared of the answers he'll receive cause of how big of a change it would be in his life. We're trying to help him and just love him so that he's progressing for himself. We've also talked about meeting his girlfriend and family cause he's pretty spiritually converted but it's the social conversion that would be tough for him. 

Last p-day was the big moving day to Kållered so we just set up bunk beds for a few hours and moved all our stuff in, the four man is complete! Living with the zone leaders is super fun but Elder Orr is going home on Wednesday so we've been making the most of our time with him. My companion goes home the transfer after Elder Orr then Elder Elinkowski, the fourth in the four man goes home the transfer after that! It's fun though cause I can tell them about all the stuff back home waiting for them that they have no idea about, new movies, music, slang, all that good stuff that you give up to serve the Lord! 

We had futbol with the ward on tuesday night, the Utby elders came to play too and 5 ward members showed up so it was just the 9 of us and it was pouring rain on a grass field but it was super fun. The kids here are like dang child prodigy's when it comes to futbol. We did greenie splits after soccer so I went back to Utby with Elder White from my MTC group. Greenie splits are a good learning experience though, two missionaries who've been out for a month and still trying to get the Swedish thing down paired up together to do missionary work! It actually went really well though, we had some positive contacts and only had one lady we didn't understand what she said the whole time!

I got to skype with my family yesterday for mother day and it was so good seeing and talking with them and my nieces and nephew too, I have the best family and I'm glad they're doing so well! But it's right back to focusing on what it's all about, missionary work in Kungsbacka! 

The most common question that I've gotten on my mission so far is "If God exists then why does so much suffering happen?" and the best answer I've come up with is studying in 2 Nephi 2. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and wants to help us through our trials, not just take them away.

Give your mom a hug this week, they're the best!

Äldste Hainsworth

 Since Elder Orr's going home this week we had a funeral ceremony for him at district meeting, that was an...interesting event, my first funeral as a missionary!

 

The funeral ceremony after the obituary and some kind words by Elder Bradley

Weird volvo cars exhibition in Kungsbacka, I don't know haha

 VALBORG! From last week  (from Sherri:  Valborg is a big Swedish holiday where huge bonfires are built to release winter & welcome spring/summer.  Tenny didn't make it to one, but hopes to next year.)

This cat loves me          Random cat

Strollers here are like mini tanks

Kållered

Hej! We started off this week on monday by going to the Goteborg vs. Helsingborg futbol game! It was crazy, you don't even really think of Sweden as a big futbol country but they're still crazy about it for sure. Our team, Goteborg, won 3-1 and I think they're the best futbol club in Sweden right now, represent!! The Goteborg fans were singing and chanting the entire game non stop, I tried to start up a "lets go Seahawks" or "SEA...HAWKS" chant haha  but it didn't work. 

We had Valborg on thursday night this week and it's pretty much a holiday where you have big bonfires to get rid of winter and welcome in spring. We didn't have to proselyte after 5 pm since a lot of people were drinking and so we just had dinner at a member's house and then taught a lesson.

Our main investigator right now is Norbert, we met with him on thursday and showed him a baptismal calender that we made. It pretty much shows the month of May and the lessons we still want to teach him and then the date that he should be ready for baptism, which is May 30th! He was super hesitant and doesn't think it will happen so soon but you never know what God's will for him will be! We'll just continue to teach him and try to help him recognize his answer about the Church cause he's a smart college student and has been taught almost everything already. 

We were walking around contacting on tuesday around 11 a.m and this drunk guy on a bench stops us and says he's a mormon and that he's a priest in our church. We were pretty skeptical but talked to him for a while and found out he actually met some sister missionaries and was baptized a long time ago. He said he stopped being a member after a while cause he converted for the wrong reasons, like for the sister missionaries, he actually said that haha his words, not mine! But we asked if we could come by and talk sometime and he said sure and gave us his address. So we've been by Lars twice this past week, he's 65 and lives alone in his apartment. He has a daughter in the Pingst kyrkan and a son who is atheist I think. But Lars is a smart guy and likes to study and discuss philosophy, science, religion, and kind of ramble on about his beliefs and also ask rhetorical questions that we sometimes try to answer. He is agnostic right now, he doesn't know if there is a God or not but he's built up a lot of reasons why there isn't one. I wouldn't count Lars as an investigator yet cause we just discuss religion with him and answer his questions with scriptures from the Book of Mormon but he's getting there! Last time we met he said he's always liked the Mormons as people so I think we've gained his respect at least!

We met an older guy named Bent on the sidewalk and when we asked what he knew about the Mormon church he said everything! We were confused but he said his dad was a member so learned a ton about the Church. He knew Bert, an older man in our ward, he told us he was meeting with the missionaries and backed out of being baptized about twenty years ago. 

So we have a senior missionary couple that's coming to work in the Goteborg YSA Center, wooh! But they need an apartment to live in so what they did is switch the Sisters and us, so now we're living in Kållered and the Sisters are in the Kungsbacka apartment, and they moved the Zone leaders who live in Goteborg out of their apartment into the Kållered apartment with us to make it a four man so that the senior couple can live in the Goteborg apartment. So pretty much I'm going to start living like The Best Two Years in a four man apartment with Äldste Orr and Elinkowski! The apartment isn't as nice as Kungsbacka but it'll do, and it'll be nice mixing it up and living in Kållered. 

I've been focusing on D&C 82:10 this week. God is our loving Heavenly Father and wants to help us and bless us and guide us as His children but we have to do our part and obey Him. Obedience brings power and exact obedience brings miracles, I can testify to that as I've seen both sides of the spectrum here on my mission so far.

Have a super good week!  

Med vänliga hälsningar,

Äldste Hainsworth

 From the big game!

From Sherri:   I'm not sure why Tenny only sent 2 pictures this week.  Maybe because they had to move?  He couldn't get on his email until 8 hrs. later than he has the past 4 weeks, so, of course,  after waiting until 1:30am for him to get on, I slept terribly trying not to worry about why he hadn't been online.  I knew all was well, but I still worried a bit.  Must be a Mom thing:)   I'm SUPER excited that we get to Skype with him next Sunday for Mother's day!!!!  After that, our next chance will be on Christmas!  That seems soooooooo far away! (because it is!)