Quote of the week:
"Det känns som hela Malmö är ett ghetto."
This week was really fun. The first half of it was rainy and
chilly but now it's warming up! The Sun was out this morning and we didn't need
to wear our jackets. But now it's raining again. Whoopie.
On Thursday I went on exchanges with Elder Norin, a Swedish
missionary serving in Sweden. It was really fun to just speak Swedish together
*almost* the whole time. For some reason, everything sounds so much funnier if
a Swedish person says it in Swedish.
When Elder Norin and I were together, we went out to find a
returning member who lived out by the beach. The sisters had the car that day
and the buses didn't quite get us all the way out there so we spent about 25
minutes walking in the rain. And then we got to the address only to find that
there were no buildings there! Every map application we had shows buildings
there but apparently they had been taken down at some point because all that
was left was large rectangular patches of dirt where buildings used to be. We
don't need to be worried about her, however, because apparently her entire
apartment complex was righteous enough to get taken up to heaven like the city
of Enoch and we didn't make the cut.
On Sunday we were again swinging by another returning member
whose building did still exist but it was locked with a code on the outside so
we couldn't come in. Another woman stepped out and we asked her if she knew the
woman we were trying to get in contact with. The conversation that ensued was
probably the most Swedish thing ever:
Me: Does [name withheld] live in this building?
Her: I don't know. *looks back at list of all 8 residents
living there* Yeah, apparently she does. But I don't think I dare let you guys
in.
Me: Oh, well, can you at least give her this note from us?
Her: No, I don't know her.
Me: *confused look* ...
Her: She doesn't even live on my floor.
That conversation happened. In real life. Luckily, we were
able to find a phone number to that woman and talk to her and invite her to our
ward party.
This week we were able to teach a man about the Restoration
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith. In pondering and studying
about it in the days prior, I think I truly realized for the first time the joy
that lies at the heart of the Restoration. Think about it. God loves us as much
as He has ever loved His children. Knowing that questions and corruptions about
doctrine of His nature, Christ's mission, and remission of sins and salvation
would arise after the death of the apostles, He restored the truth through a
prophet exactly as He had throughout the history of the Bible. We need not
content ourselves with confusion and misdirection or a partial picture of the
truth. He actively offers it to us!
As I was thinking about this, we drove by a man feverishly
paging through a book while walking down the street. The thought came to me:
"If that man truly understood the claim made by our message of the
Restoration, he would be just as diligently be poring over the Book of Mormon
to ascertain its truth."
Hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Äldste Cummings
3. This is what it looks like outside at 10:30 PM
4. I went to Harvard.
5. Some beautiful flowers lining the highway.
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