Helquist, Emma

Hejsan! This week I have gone through the 5 stages of grief, set SMART goals, used excel, fight or flight, everyday.  Crazy crazy week!  But with many tender mercies :')  We took Susanne on a walk around the temple this week! We all met on the train and had an awesome conversation about prayer and how it's helping her right now, and then we did a really beautiful nature walk around the temple. We got to the end and the spirit was there, but nothing crazy happened, no new understandings for her or commitments wanting to be made.  At least that's what I thought  On the train ride back she said "I have not felt a power like that at any point in my life. It's a goal for me to go there."  WHAT  What a powerful thing the temple is, I'm glad Susanne could recognize it!  Side note - 3 men over the age of 40 wanted to talk to me and Sister Chandler about marriage... in the same day?? Help???? We have our sports night this week and right as we walked up to ...

hEJ! You know it's been a good week when you want to start writing your weekly Saturday morning, buckle up. Here's a little sneak peak of this week: - Taught a lesson in Spanish?? - Learned self-defense  - Ate a frozen vegan pizza  - Made dinner at 9:30 bc it was that type of day  - Learned how to defrost a freezer  - met the cutest polish grandma who wanted a Book of Mormon and talked to us in polish for 5 minutes before realizing we had no idea what she was saying haha  - Mid dinner with this couple the guy looks out the window and says "Oh wow, someone's peeing right now." Classy Sweden  OKAY SO - This guy Leo reached out to one of our adds and said he wanted a Book of Mormon in Spanish. We #googletranslated our testimonies into Spanish so we could share them with him. I mean come on, a couple of gringas pronouncing Spanish like Swedish but we're actually Americans? How could he not feel the truth haha.  But he did?? And somehow my years of Spanish ...

Tjena!  This week was speedy quick... we have literally had to sprint in between apartments and train stations all week to make it to our appointments... our area is popping  Miracles miracles miracles! Connections! Gift of tongues! And a whole love of the spirit!  And a cake.  That someone asked us to make but we had no interest in doing because we were too busy already. So we did it, but grudgingly. I mean come on, I'm out here frosting a cake at 7 am haha, not ideal.  And then we give it to them and it's his birthday. And all he's done that day is study. And I just realized that that was exactly what Heavenly Father needed us to do, reach out to the one.  (BUT also the cake was ugly, it's the thought) Some QUICK highlights-  - we watch the 12 step addiction recovery videos on gospel library every night and call it movie night.  - according to an American family in our ward cinnamon rolls need 1500 grams of butter  - we had 4 friends in sac...

Okay okay okay,  I'm gonna start off saying something our bishop said in Church yesterday: Church is a hospital for the sick, not a museum for the holy.  Wow.  I really hope all of our friends listened to that. That all of the members who don't feel worthy to come to church listened to that. Every Sunday during my mission has been a time of huge reflection on what I can do to better learn and live my baptismal covenants: how I can be more like Jesus Christ.  And so, watching our friend come in feeling stressed and tense and unworthy and all of those emotions, asking the elders for a blessing, and leaving with the brightest smile confirmed this thought in my head: Church is a hospital for the sick, not a museum for the holy.  SOSOSO thankful for church. So thankful for those inspired words.  Side note - The words in that blessing were SO specific to what she needed help with, and the elders had NO idea. The spirit is REAL.  This week was amazing. I didn...