This week was great through!!! We had zone conference, interviews with President Youngberg, and I was able to see Elder Harden again! Also a quick update from last week for everyone who didn't get my email, we did splits with övik so I was able to return back to övik with Elder hansen! It was just like good times, made me happy :) I've also gone on a bike ride which was beautiful, listen to a bagpipe concert put on by a member in the biggest library in Umeå, find lots of new people to teach, eat some tasty member meals, and play some soccer with a big mixture of a few Swedes and Africans and a TON of Persians! I love mixed cultures, good stuff :) I also still suck at soccer :(

I'll send lots of pictures though!

Mycket kärlek,

Äldste Wilson

That Umeå grind { ;^p]

This week was amazing! Last Monday I was able to fly down the Stockholm for the mission leadership council meeting on Tuesday, then after the meeting and for Wednesday I was in Stockholm doing workover with one of my MTC companions, Elder Harden! That was a total party, we got so much work done and I learned a ton! It was so crazy to be able to converse with him in Swedish and think about the first day we had in the MTC... lots of improvement has been made. 

Other than that, I love Umeå! The branch is largerish and it's super nice to be in a bigger city, and everything is green! I love it here, I don't want to go home. The weather is perfect, around 18 C every day and sunny or rainy, slight breeze, TONS of sun, life is just a party. I love being able to testify of the Book of Mormon, I love that book. Anyone who has read it and given it a real chance cannot deny the truth of the book, the spirit testifies to every open heart. There are some really awesome members here and I totally love them, they've gone through quite a bit to be where they are with their testimonies but they have only been made stronger because of it. 

Until next week!

Äldste Wilson

ps, that picture of my companion and another missionary was taken in Stockholm after 9:00 pm, even though it looks like it was taken at noon. That's me in the blue exercise cloths, I'm so white!

I feel like I just saw most of you.....(Mother's Day skype)

Well because I got to skype home for mothers day just yesterday, I'll keep this one short and attach some pictures of my companion and Umeå. I love Umeå, it's just the dream. It was so fun to see all my little godchildren, Clair and Henry are so big now! It's so crazy how fast they've grown up, they were newborns when I left! Adalyn and Nick have grown a ton too, Nicks voice is super low now.

But ya, happy mothers day to all you mothers! I'll attach some pictures now and call this a letter :)

Love you all!
Äldste Wilson

​At the end of 4.5 months in Örnsköldsvik the time has come for me to leave, sad day. But don't worry, I'm going to the closest area to Övik, Umeå! Only 1.5 hours away, it's the closest transfer possible in this zone. But ya, it's actually really awesome that I'll be going to Umeå because the four missionaries in Umeå were in my district so I've already been there a ton for district meetings, zone conferences, baptisms, and splits! So it's not even like I'm transferring, just going on splits for a transfer. I'll be with Elder Beveridge, he's awesome! I look forwards to these upcoming 6 weeks, it'll be such fun!

However, I will miss Övik a ton. I've learned so much here, and I'll be leaving just as the flowers start blooming. It's actually been awesome to see spring start to come, when I first got here it was -15 C on a good day and over 2 feet of snow everywhere, today it got up to +20 C and there are only a few tracts of snow left! The members here are also amazing people, I love all of them! It's been so fun to serve the people of Cambodia in Sweden while my sister serves the people of Cambodia in Cambodia :)

We took a hike this morning, (ps the sun is awake before us and goes to bed after us now) and we got some great pictures followed by a super cool view over Övik, and a quick visit to the outdoor gym. Elder Hansen was all about that. Sweden is so beautiful, it's amazing. I'm so grateful I get to serve the Lord as a full time missionary, an apostle (notice the little "a"), up here. I love the chance I have to help others, and the chance I have to give, it's been so awesome to see the Gospel of Christ lighten up others lives. If you ever meet anyone who claims to be an atheist just keep asking questions. I've lived in this country of "atheists" for a year and a half and have yet to meet someone that doesn't have some kind of faith or hope in something. It's because no matter how hard you try, you cannot quench the Light of Christ, "The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed" (D&C 88:13).

Have a great week! 

Mycket kärlek,

Äldste Wilson

This was a great week! The highlight was...

Elder Renlund came to Stockholm and spoke to the church in Sweden!

This was a special visit because Elder Renlund spent lots of his childhood years growing up in Västra Frölunda (where I served for 6 months) and served his mission in Sweden, and is born of a Swedish mother and a Finish (Swedish speaking) father, so Swedish is almost his mother language! It was so special to see him address the church here in Swedish. He explained how much he loves Sweden because it's his personal Waters of Mormon (Mosiah 18:30) and Swedish because its the language he first read the Book of Mormon in, first prayed in to get an answer to know if the book is true, and first blessed the sacrament in. I connected with him because Sweden is where I've been able to strengthen my personal commitment to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and where I've been able to see my testimony grow the most. While I wasn't baptized in Sweden, Sweden is a holy land to me because I've seen the hand of God bless me and others here more than I've previously seen in my life. He also blessed the land of Sweden and the members here and re invoked previous prophetic blessings on the missionary work here, that was a very special moment for the members. It's not often a Swedish speaking Apostle blesses and speaks to Swedes.

The day after the fireside he also held a mission broadcast where he addressed the missionaries in Sweden, that was amazing. He stressed the nature of our calling a ton, and the blessing we have to serve in the beautiful country of Sweden. The biggest take away I had from him was that he was just a normal kid growing up. He was asked to read the Book of Mormon by a priesthood leader, he prayed about it and got the answer most every 11 year old gets ("it just felt good"), yet somehow he was able to live his life in such a way throughout his life that now the Lord trusts him to be a traveling Witness of Jesus Christ. 

The second highlight from the week is that we had family home evening with the Palethus and ended the night with a hot chili eating contest, that was a party. I'll send a video, that chili was hotter than a summer day in Cambodia.

Also quick explanation, I did not travel to Stockholm to meet Elder Renlund, the meetings were broadcasted to all units outside of the Stockholm and Stockholm South stakes. However, it's good that the Spirit isn't bound to physical locations like we are, because the spirit was plenty strong up here anyways.

Hope you all have a great week!
Äldste Wilson

2 of 276 Zone conference!

To all who may get this email,

We had zone conference this past week, and it was so fun! Because we got technology we had to arrive Thursday night to set up the phones, then we had to stay the night in Umeå so the mission rented us some cabins on a little campground for elementary school field trips, so that was a party!

But then on Friday we got some super good training about how to use technology as a missionary, and how to use technology once we return home, and about the blessings that come from obedience. Good stuff, all this obedience talk.

Speaking of talks, I was the speaker in sacrament meeting yesterday! As in, I was the one speaker, so you can bet your bottom dollar that the branch here got to experience a nice, long, scripture based talk on prayer :) one of my favorite subjects, and the branch president selected prayer based hymns for us to sing, it was actually a good meeting. As I was talking I was reminded of another talk by Elder Oaks called "Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ" in which Elder Oaks quotes Elder John H. Groberg:

"“We would always pray for protection, success, and good seas and wind to take us to our destination. Once I asked the Lord to bless us with a good tail wind so we could get to Foa quickly. As we got under way, one of the older men said, ‘Elder Groberg, you need to modify your prayers a little.’

“‘How’s that?’ I replied.

“‘You asked the Lord for a tail wind to take us rapidly to Foa. If you pray for a tail wind to Foa, what about the people who are trying to come from Foa to Pangai? They are good people, and you are praying against them. Just pray for a good wind, not a tail wind.’

“That taught me something important. Sometimes we pray for things that will benefit us but may hurt others. We may pray for a particular type of weather, or to preserve someone’s life, when that answer to our prayer may hurt someone else. That’s why we must always pray in faith, because we can’t have true, God-given faith in something that is not according to His will. If it’s according to His will, all parties will benefit."

I then though about some of the experiences I've had with prayer and the times I may have prayed for a good tail wind when I should have prayed for a good wind instead. That's why the section in PMG titled Pray with Faith is so good, because it's so important! Speaking of praying with faith, I've felt prompted to pray for Elder Renlund to come back to Sweden for about a month and a half, and guess who's coming next Sunday and Monday! Elder Renlund :)

Älskar er!

Äldste Wilson



And from last week:

Not a tone of time left here, I'll go quick. This week was awesome, and the work was worked on. I've slacked on the whole picture game though, so I'll just attach a picture of me walking down the street checking out the snow and noticing how much it's melted this week, and a video of me arm wrestling David. He was out in the very begging, but just wouldn't put his wrist on the ground so I just had to keep on keeping on.

Hope you have a good week, and I'll be better at writing and picture taking this next week!

Äldste Wilson

Ja hallå där!

Most dearly beloved family, friends, acquaintances, life heroes,  and Elder Malone!

This was a rocking week :) We had splits with the Umeå ZLs, the mission started rolling out the new phones, we did some killer contacting, some party tracting, and studied some true gospel :)

However, I don't really have any good pictures to share, or any good stories, so looks like we'll have to settle for the weekly thought from the BOM.

You know what section in the BOM gives me anxiety? Like, Helaman 1 - 3 Nephi 10. Why does that selection give me anxiety? Because the Nephits have worse memories than gold fish (3 Nephi 1:17, five years later and we got 3 Nephi 2:1). They are so quick to forget their God, it gets to the point where they don't even pay attention to the signs that happen around them. But then again, are we not all like this in some way or another? Haven't we all forgotten that one time the Sunday School lesson answered our prayers? Or when you go to the store and they happen to have the thing you need on sale? What about that day you were driving home feeling a little sad when a car pulls up next to you and it's a group of teenagers bumping to some tunes and you smile because they look ridiculous? Sure those types of miracles and signs aren't as big as the sky not darkening when the sun goes down (besides, Alma 37:6), but they sure do get forgotten if they're not recorded! Keep a good journal, it'll help a lot to remember the power of God.

And yes, this Friday I will be reactivating my facebook and start using it to proselyte. While I do love everyone back home, the purpose of me having facebook is to use it as a proselyting tool, not to connect with you (yet). As such, feel free to send a message saying hi, but don't expect a lengthy response :)

Well, hejdå!

Äldste Wilson