Tjena tjena!
This week was really fun. We went to Malmö for zone
conference and I got to see a ton of good buds. A lot of my former companions
were there and it was so fun to see them all and catch up and say goodbye
before I go. I also had the opportunity to bear my testimony at my last zone
conference which was special. I didn't really think about what I was going to
say at all until I actually went up and just said what was on my heart.
I have often imagined how it would feel to be so close to
going back home and honestly nothing feels like I imagined it would. It's such
a strange feeling.
This week was also Midsommar which is when Swedes celebrate
the longest day of the year. Very pagan and very Swedish and very fun. Swedes
are o-b-s-e-s-s-e-d with the weather and especially with good weather. As soon
as the sun comes out, everyone sunbathes all day. Especially older people. I
can't tell you how many half-naked old Swedish people with dark, leathery skin
I've seen this summer alone.
To celebrate Midsommar one:
1. Sets up a big pole in the shape of a pagan fertility
symbol.
2. Dances around said pole while singing goofy Swedish folk
songs.
3. Eats potatoes and pickled herring.
4. (Optional) Parties all night and gets absolutely wasted.
Big fun.
The potatoes at Midsommar are unbelievably good, though. I
have no idea why. You can buy them really really cheap the week of (like,
80-90% off of the original price) and they taste so much better. They're
incredibly soft and creamy. People down here call them "nypotatis"
which translates to "new potatoes" so maybe they're the first fruits
of the harvest or something, I don't really know. But they're really really
good.
Swedish people eat potatoes at nearly every single meal.
It's probably the most defining characteristic of Swedish cuisine. I have asked
multiple people what Swedes used to eat before potatoes were first discovered
by the Europeans on the American continents and I have not ever gotten an
answer. It seems to confuse them. As if they had never questioned that potatoes
were not Swedish to begin with.
This week I was also able to have my "exit
interview" with President Youngberg before going home. Something he said
really struck me. He said "If the Savior came into this room right now He
would hug you and thank you for the service you have given. He would likely
then apologize for the suffering you experienced as His representative. He
would never, not once, say anything about what you could have done better or
differently. It's not in His character. He would not discuss the past, just the
present and the future."
That calmed a lot of my apprehensions about going home and
helped me feel at peace knowing that He is thankful for the service I have
provided--despite my shortcomings. Also this week, I read some notes I took
directly after I was set apart as a missionary and it was incredibly fulfilling
and spiritual to see how each and every one of the blessings I was blessed with
then came to fruition in my mission.
I still have one week left, but I now know that the Lord is
happy with my mission and that I have accomplished what He sent me here to
accomplish and I have become the person He sent me here to become. I'm far from
perfect, but that's okay. I have my life ahead of me to grow even more. To use
the words of Alma, I feel "content with the things which the Lord hath
allotted unto me"(Alma 29:3).
Have a great week!
Love,
Äldste Cummings
(Sorry, no pictures this week 😢)
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