Monday, May 30, 2016

First week with Holley. :)

This week was just wonderful and so eventful! On Monday we all gathered at the YSA center and played games and Syster Adamson met up with her MTC group to have one last gathering together. It was a fun one. Later in the evening we went out to the boonies of Mörsta and had dinner with the sweet Nilsson Family. Lars Nilsson and his sweet little wife from Norway. We had the most amazing Norwegian food and chatted in swedish/norwegian. De är så sötta;)

The next day was Greenie Kontakting day! Since we are serving in the Stockhom area, we were the lucky ones chosen to take the greenies out kontakting their first day. :) It was so great to meet them all and tell them a little about Sweden. We we're allowed to tell them that we were going to be trainers either. ;) It was fun trying to guess who I would be training. :) We had a delicious lunch and then we headed back to Jakobsberg to have one last dinner with the Robinsons before Syster Adamsson left. She requested a huge breakfast for dinner. :) It's been such a good transfer together and it's weird that she is home now! Gonna miss Adamsson.

Finally the day came we have all been waiting for...to get our greenies!! It was such a party. We met at the Täby chapel and all the trainers snuck to the back room to hide. ;) We were all so giddy and going crazy about how excited we were. After their little meeting we came in and did the same thing when I first got here. The little 'Harry Potter' type-thing letter opening thing and found out who were getting. There were 7 Systers who just came in from the MTC and 3 who just came in from VISA waiting.

They opened their letters and I got the sweet little Syster Sarah Holley!! She was on of the Visa waiters and the most cutest thing I've ever seen. She graduated in 2015 and went to BYU for a little bit. She is studying Linguistics so she is soooo good at Swedish already. :) Seriously though, we went to our first little meeting together with this sweet lady in the ward and it was all in Swedish. I was excepting little Holley to not really be able to know what was going on but she totally did and chatted back so easily! I was so impressed and am so lucky. :) I remember barley saying a word when I first got to Sweden lol. Hon är så duktig. ❤

It rained a lot this week too which was perfect since Holley loves the rain! ;) It was fun to show her all around the area and show her the busses and stuff. It's been such an experience training. I feel inadequate but I have seen the Lord by my side the whole time and everything has just been great.

We even met this Orthodox lady on the street who couldn't believe we have been in Sweden for such a short time and knew Swedish! She said she knows we have to gift of tongues. We even explained to her all about the Book of Mormon and she said she could feel in her heart that what we were saying was true. So cool. :)

We went to Jai's summer home this week too so that was fun. We also met with Teng and Na and our chinese translator friend Jasemin came along as well! It was a great lesson. They talked for a long time together in chinese. It's great for them to be able to ask about the gospel and here about it in their own tongue, not from google translate lol. We met this Finnish guy on the street too who bible bashed us so that was interesting haha. I was kinda like uhhh...and then Holley stepped up to the plate and talked to him and I was like what the heck, so impressed again! ;) Love her so much.

Church was great too. It was mothers day in Sweden so all the cute Primary kids went up and did an entire program for sakrament! It was adorable. I got to translate for these two people from Syria too! They only knew Arabic so I used google translate for them and they were so happy. They gave me and Holley a kiss on the head as a sign of respect too. It was so sweet. I just love Persians.

Anyways all and all this week was good and I am so grateful to be a trainer to the sweetest greenie ever. She already has taught me so much and it has only been a week! So excited to see what the next ones bring. :) I love seeing how much the Lord really is there for us too. I know this is His work and I'm grateful to be apart of it. Enjoying everyday here and I hope you all have a fantastic summer! Bye for now. :)

Kärlek,
Syster Davis

P.s. Gonna show Holley all around Stockholm today!


​Going to Jakobsberg! :)


​Be and little Holley on the bus. :)


​Jai's artsy summer house in the rain.


​Selfie Sunday in the Swedish fields. They gave us flowers at church. :)


Sundbyberg färg


​Our favorite Chinese friends. :)

Monday, May 23, 2016

Last week with Adamsson!

Hey there! This week was jammed packed with stuff to do! This was Sys Adamsson's last week in Sweden so everyone invited us over for dinner woot woot. :) Such a week. I can not believe how quick this transfer has gone.

For P-day we met up with some missionaries at this cool Museum in Stockholm! It's called the Nordiska Museet and it all a lot of different artifacts in there from all these different eras. We all explored and had some McDonalds too lol. We had another FHE with the Robinsons again too. Love them!

The next day we decided to visit our favorite little Vällingby spot and go kontakting all day and talk to everyone people since we were so busy to rest of the week to do it. We met this really nice guy named Pascal who was strolling his little baby along as we stopped him. We was so friendly and bought us soda! He was from Africa and his girlfriend was a Swede. He kept calling his baby his 'cappuccino baby' lol. So cute. Later we went to this ladies house who made us this yummy broccoli cheddar soup! I told her it reminded me of Disneyland and she was so happy.

Our missionary correlation meeting this week was so fun too! Our amazing mission leader Kristopher invited us over for breakfast and study at his house. It was super fun and we even did some rolspel. We got so spoiled this week. :)

We had our Train the Trainers meeting this week too! Every Syster from my MTC is training! We soon will be the oldest Systers in the mission. So crazy. Syster Wilson, Anderson, and McClatchie will also be training too. They are even younger than us! It's so exciting. :) Shout out to the cute greenies coming in!! You're in for a treat. :) This week was a special week too in Sundsvall. Muhammad and Samira and two more of their neighbors got baptized!! So happy for them and wish I could of seen it. :) Miss Sundsvall so much! Love how much the Lord is hastening his work. :) Life is so good!

The next day we had a huge Chinese feast made by Teng and Na! They honestly are the best people ever. They gave me and Syster Adamsson some more presents too! Some stuffed animals lol and cat and a wolf named Tenger and Fiona. They always call us their angels too. It is the cutest thing ever. ❤

We got to go do baptisms in the Stockholm temple too!! It was so cool to finally get to go in and hear the baptisms in Swedish. I got chills it was so beautiful. We were going to go with Emilliano the new convert but he didn't end up getting to go due to the timing. :( Oh well, just means we'll have to go again sometime. :)

Söndag was great too. Syster Adamsson gave her dying testimony. It was so sweet. I also threw a funeral for her this week too (we do that to missionaries who are going home haha).

It was fun! I wrote her a little eulogy. We had a fun dinner at the Woods this week too! So grateful for all the fun and excitement we've had this week. The next time I write I will be with my little greenie! I am so nervous but very excited at the same time. :) I know the Lord will guide me. Can't wait to get her on Wednesday! Wish me luck and see you next week. :)

Kärlek,
Syster Davis


Nordiska Museet!


​Beautiful Stockholm!


More Stockholm. :)


​Visiting Jai in her summer home again!


​Temple in Stockholm!


​Teng and Na's Chinese food!!


​The famous Teng and Na!

Monday, May 16, 2016

I'm gonna be a Trainer!!

Hej hej underbara manniskor! Hope you all had a great week. :) This week was oh so fun. On P-Day us missionaries met to the beautiful Handen and played games. I can't even describe how pretty it was. There was a huge green grass field and a huge lake with all these forest trees around and hike paths all around. There were people tanning in swimsuits all around too lol. Some, not even in anything clothes...ha. It was a great day nonetheless. We had FHE with the Robinsons again in the evening so that's always fun. We had the spiritual thought and we shared the starfish story and making a difference and read D&C 18:10.

The next day was my Birthday! It was a good day. :) We went on splits with the STLs so I was with the amazing Syster Harkness. We went to this yummy Italian cafe called Vapianos. It was to die for! Then we just went out talking to people the rest of the day in Vällingby. We talked to this hilarious American guy who laughed at us when we asked him what he believed. He was like, 'You don't wanna hear my opinion.' And I was like like 'what of course we do! That's why were here, to hear everyone's opinion!' ;) And he was like okay if you say so. ;) So he went off for an hour picking apart all the stories in the Bible telling us how they were impossible to be true. For example, 'When Moses parted the Red Sea, there were too many old grandmas and grandpas who could not of walked that far a distant across.' lol I found it funny that he thought the trek across the Red Sea was more impossible than the sea actually splitting. ;) He was super nice though and we told him all about the book of mormon and said he never heard of it and would love to read it. We gave him one right there and he told us to come back in one year and he would have it memorized. haha! Cool dude. :) Anyways ya it was a nice day. We got icecream too. Oh and the elders made some banana bread. ;) So weird to be 20 years old! Best way to spend my birthday, being a missionary. :)

We met with sweet Jai and Kenneth this week too. They texted us and told us to meet at their adorable Swedish summer cabin! It was the cutest place I've ever seen! They had this table outside and all this Fika for us. :) We taught about the Jesu Kristi Evangeliet, while enjoying the sunny day and listening to the birds sing.

We met with Teng and Na this week as well. :) We had no translator this week so we körde with google translate and scriptures! It actually went really well. The Lords hand was definitely in that. They even agreed to be baptized in July! So exciting. :) Love them so much! The elders investigator Fredrick got baptized this week too. It was such a great day. Teng and Na came and watched too and took pictures of the whole thing. So cute. :)

Sunday was nice too. Back to the normal ward and it felt like it has been so long since I've seen people since we had Stavs conference last week. We had some nice meetings and I met the Woods, who knew my best friend Katie Mason and her family back home! Such a small world! He served with Katie's Dad in Norway. :)

Later in the evening we got an exciting call from President Beckstrand who told us....I WAS GOING TO BE A TRAINER!! Or in missionary terms, I'M GONNA HAVE A BABY! ;) Best news ever. :) 7 new Systers will be coming next week to start their mission here in Sweden. I am so excited for this next adventure. I'm so excited and scared because I now I really have to know Swedish. :O lol. It's going to be a great growing experience and I know the Lord is going to have to help me a lot. Can't wait to hear who my greenie is and I will try my best to be the best mom to her! ;)

That's all for this week. :) I apologize for being a weak writer haha. English and Writing aren't my strength so thanks for bearing with me. ;) Have a great week and vi hörs nästa vecka!

Kärlek,
Syster Davis
​Hallå värld!
Beautiful Handen!

Monday, May 9, 2016

Glad Mors Dag!

Hallå igen! Denna vecka var spennande. Last P-day almost all the Stockholm missionaries decided to meet up at this huge field and play futbol and frisbee and stuff. It was so great. Me and Syster Hall mostly just watched and chatted about life and going crazy over the fact we pasted our 6 month mark! It was a nice, sunny, relaxing, much needed day. :) We then had FHE with the sweet senior couple the Robinson again! They decorated their whole place and made everything Italian themed. It was so cute. :)

The next day we met with this sweet lady named Kristin. She took us out to the cutest little Swedish bakery and we talked about chastity haha. It was funny because every single person that walked by, was Kristins friend and to every one of them she said, 'Hej! These fine young ladies are teaching about chastity today, come listen!' and they all just gave awkward chuckles and a little eye'rolls lol. It was cute to see her try to reach out to all her friends about gospel.

We met up with Marilu this week too, and Emilliano, and Temmen, and Dues. They're all great people and I could talk about all of them for hours. ;) Just know they are amazing and I wish I had more time to write novels about each of them.

This week, there was another Swedish holiday. (surprise surprise lol) Its called Kristi Himmelfärdsdag! Also known as a day to celebrate Jesus' going back up to heaven after he was resurrected. :) Most people celebrate it by having no work and going out partying and getting drunk. Go figure haha. Even on a holiday about Jesus, still, no one wants to talk to us about him. Kinda sad actually. :/ Oh well, gotta make the best of it. :)

We had a Specialized Zone training this week too! We decided to gather a little bit earlier and throw a mini Mothers Day party for Syster Beckstrand to thank her for all she has done and since she is our mission mom. ;) She was so happy and tear'd up a little bit! It was a great meeting mostly about how it's good to be organized and they showed us some good ways to plan. (I think it was aimed more towards the elders because us Systers are already great planners and schedulers lol). I learned a lot though.

Oh we met with Teng and Na this week too! They gave us these little chinese keychains as gifts. :) We watched the resoration på kineiska!

We had stake conference on Saturday and Sunday in Hägersten too. It was a great meeting. We met so many nice people and had some really great talks. I got to meet the amazing Elena Schelin too! :) She is this Swedish Photographer me and my mom were obsessed with at home. We always joked that I had to find her and her cute family on my mission and then all of a sudden they walked into Stavs Conference! I had a mini heart-attack! ;) I had to get a picture with her. :)

After church we met up with our mission leader Kristopher Kääriä! He is hilarious. He also grew up in Sundsvall so I know all his family! Super fun. He invited us all over to his apartment so we could skype our families. :) We made yummy tacos and just chatted. He was showing us all these beautiful pictures of all his trips. After we ate we set up the Skype! It was sooo great seeing my family again. :) We chatted about plans to come pick me up next year. Seriously that hour we skyped felt like one minute. It was so hard to say goodbye and we started tearing up. Crazy to think the next time I skype with them will be the last time! After Kristopher made us this yummy fruit salad.

I alla fall, It was a great week and we're soaking up the sun as much as we can. :) Hope you all had a fun Mothers Day! I'm so grateful for my mama and all she's done for me. Seeing her yesterday was the highlight of my year. I love her with all my heart and can't wait to see her in April. ❤ Until next week, hejdå!
Kärlek,
Syster Davis
​Matching Fjällräven to our clothes lol.
​Meeting cute Elena Schelin. :) (Our favorite photographer!)
​Pretty View.
​Tack så mycket Kristopher.
​Blossoms are blooming!

Monday, May 2, 2016

Valborg and Systers Conference!

Hello world!! Wow this week was amazing. It's funny how mood-swingy the weeks are. ;) It was a great recovery from last week! The weather was just beautiful this last week as well. It feels like I'm back at home sometimes its so nice. The weather definitely makes all the difference, its starting to feel like summer. :)

On P-Day all the missionaries in Stockholm decided to meet up at the Mall of Scandinavia! One of the hugest malls I have ever seen. It was such a party and we all went shopping. :) I bought some socks from H&M. Fun fact: They have a home-decor section at the H&Ms here lol.

We got to have a sleepover this week with the Jönköping Systers too! (Syster May and Syster Wilson!) My MTC comp and the Aussie Model! It was such a blast with them. We had a night full of catching up and laughs. They came over to stay the night for Systers Conference the next day!! It's where all the Systers in Sweden gather in Stockholm and have a big meeting and lunch. :)

I can't get over how perfect Systers conference was though. Syster Beckstrand is the cutest human-being and she planned this whole day so special for us. They have it twice a year so I will have two more after this. :) The theme this year was Dr. Seuss!

We went to different rotations and a few of the Senior Systers gave us these great lessons. Syster Watson's got me in tears. It was about how we shouldn't let hard times bring us down. She told us a story about she accidentally dropped her handicapped cousin and she started crying. Her cousin then said, 'It's okay, it doesn't matter how hard we fall,what matters is if we decide to get up, and keep going.' I loved that. It was just what I needed. She also read us, 'Oh the places you'll go' by Dr. Seuss too so that was cute. I gave her a huge hug after.

After our rotations we had an amazing Swedish lunch! The whole room was decorated in the cutest Dr. Suess decorations! We then had another short little meeting and then Syster Beckstrand told us to gather in the other room. She had a pair of crazy socks for all of us and she told us to put them on and we had a mini dance party to Cotton eye'd Joe lol. It was so funny and we all were so awkward because we're just all pinsamt syster missionaries that forgot how to dance hahaha. It was a great day.

As far as normal missionary work it was pretty same old same-old! We met with the cute Teng and Na and called this Chinese translator to help us! :) It went so well. I love them. We met with cute Esther and Loveth this week too. They said they wanted to be baptized! :) So exciting.

Now for the best day this week... VALBORG!! Pronounced vall-bor-ee. :) It is this huge swedish holiday and basically everyone gathers and burns this huge bonfire of stuff! We all got permission to go celebrate it! :) All the misisonaries in Stockholm decided to meet up at the Västerhaningen carnival. I got to see so many missionary friends that I haven't seen in so long. It was so fun and went we got home I kept telling Syster Adamson how fun that was. She was like if you thought that was fun, just wait for Midsommar. :) Ahhh the swedes really know how to do holidays lol.

May started this week too. WHAT THE HECK. The time is flying. Fast Sunday was super good. I sat next to this cute Swedish lady named Brigitta. We bonded on the fact that she served a mini mission in Sundsvall! We also were talking about James Dean and stuff lol. She was so cute. On the way home from church the weather was so nice we decided to walk home and enjoy all the flowers and sun every where. :) I just love life here. We see so many blessings everyday and the Lord just takes care of us to much. Love you and miss you all. Vi ses senare och har en underbar maj. :)

Kärlek,
Syster Davis

P.s. Family, eat some cinco de mayo tacos for me! Miss you and can't wait to skype next week.
Systers Conference with my MTC Systers ❤
Dr. Seuss theme.
Jönköping Systers. Love them so much!
Summer flowers! We love Sweden.
My favorite people. :)
VALBORG!
​Äldste Scott with his box lol. and Äldste Blackburn
​Beautiful view on our walk home. :) God is good.