BlackburnBlazingSweden: WINTER IS HERE!!

Hallå!

I’m back and sorry about no letter this last week! It’s just been crazy here but we have had a big week! As you can see from the pictures... WINTER IS HERE! It’s a total blizzard outside right now, but I’m warm inside the church writing this right now.

This last week was flipping COLD! Seriously, at a low it got to negative -25 degrees C which is like -13 degrees FH. My nostrills froze together. When that happens you know its cold! Some days I miss my warm sunny California. :) AND we already had the darkest day of the year so the sun is staying up longer! :D Instead of the sun setting at 2:00pm, it sets at about 3:00pm now! :D

Out side of Domekyrkan!

Late nights waiting for buses in the middle of nowhere. Pretty typical! But really.. It's the best time to take a picture..

Something kind of funny that happened this last week is that we were planning on swinging by some members of the church who have been struggling in a very remote city called, Knivsta. This takes about an hour to travel to by bus and it was on one of those really cold days. We started our journey after the sun set, so it was pitch black and snowy on top of that. We got on the bus and it was coming to the time when we were supposed to get off, BUT we couldn’t tell if it was for sure because there was a problem with the lighted sign inside the bus that told us the name of the stops. By the time we thought to get off, the bus just kept driving... The moment we realized that we missed our stop is when the lighted sigh said “Next station: Arlanda." This means that that we would be getting dropped off at Arlanda airport! ha ha This is the airport that we fly into when we come to Sweden and is not at all close to Uppsala.. haha! Our realization was confirmed when we got off the bus and saw the airport tower and planes landing and taking off. So THAT happened.... We waited for about 20 minutes for the next bus in the cold, got on it, and then got off at the the correct station.

The story doesn't end there! We then looked up the address of the family that we were going to visit and noticed that the only way to get to this family's home was to walk to it… which is down this little remote road in the middle of no where. :):) This journey would take 30 minutes in -25 degree weather, with blistering snow, in the pitch black. It was pretty epic and a little painful! But we met the family and they were super cool! They even gave us a ride back to the station so we didn't have to walk back! It made me realize a few things. ~ I probably should make sure I have snow boots and warmer gloves next time, AND that every family and person is important and that we will do anything to serve and help them!

Hello Sweden, I love you.

Something cool that happened this last Monday is that we got a call from a guy that said he is interested in the church. His name is Ken! We met with him at the library and talked with him. He’s a super cool guy! From Iran but has lived in Sweden his whole life. Ken has been in contact with the church for a while and has kind of been on and off for a few years, but he's feeling like it’s time he becomes serious. So we set up some teaching appointments and scheduled a baptismal date with him for the 24th of January! Coming up here soon!

Swung by Carolines Graduation at the University to say congratulations and take a selfie and stuff.

Getting some early Sunday morning shoveling action.

In other news, Caroline! :) So much has happened! We still have a scheduled baptism for her next Sunday, January 17th. There has been some craziness going on with sickness in her family and it’s been really tough for her. A lot of coughing and such. There has been some other things that we really had to help her through these last several weeks as well. It has really been a testimony builder to me though. I can see how important it is to do the simple things such as reading the scriptures and praying. This is how we receive strength. It’s not just the fact that you’re "praying" or "reading," but its the fact that you’re exercising Faith, and showing God that you are trying. I can promise you all that God will see that and bless you with whatever you need from doing so. He wants you to grow and come closer to Him through out this life, because that is where we can find ultimate peace and strength.