Denmark Round 2

Making cookies with Anuka.

Hello!!!! :) This entire week was just an adventure. My mission has made me love trying new things, and that is a really good thing, because that is all we did this week!

On Monday, we hung out with the senior couple here in Lund, the Niebuhrs :) They are the sweetest people in the world! We went and got authentic African food (s/o to my dad who served his mission in South Africa...idk how you did it EVERY single day. #warrior)...haha no it was actually super good. It amazes me how different food is in every country. I just need to travel to every country in the world....anyone who wants to contribute to my travel fund is more than welcome ;) I'm gonna need it! ;) We also played some good old Phase 10 with the Niebuhrs and had a good fun rainy pday :)

On Tuesday, we ended up making chocolate chip cookies with Anuka, one of the Young Women here, for the early morning seminary class the stake has. Everyone went nuts....we were making them at the institute center during a stake meeting, and I cannot tell you how many people from the stake came and poked their heads in just to "say hello"....hahah. You can't beat an American chocolate chip cookie made by an American! :)

We also got to do some service for a member family, the Ahlströms, this week. We helped their daughter outside and I LOVE YARDWORK YOU GUYS. This is definitely a new thing...hahah I just miss being outside and pulling weeds. I love pulling weeds....yeah issues haha but we had so much fun with Marion. She did a foreign exchange year in Bountiful, Utah, so we have SO much to talk about. It is so fun :) Beckstrom chased a chicken and caught it and we had a good time. :)

Seeing people they know in Copenhagen.

Aaaaaaaaand we went to the TEMPLE with MATILDA!!!! Yay yay yay yay yay!!!! I love ward temple day. We rode with the Niebuhrs and met everyone there and we got to do baptisms with her and the young women :) It was SO much fun!! I can't remember the last time I did baptisms. It was so nice to be able to do something that I love so much :) And we saw Elder Held!!!!! And missionaries in Copenhagen were having a huge zone training, so I was able to see a few people I knew from the MTC :) I have friends in Denmark that I can just casually meet at the temple. What. Is. My. Life. It was so fun :)

After the temple, we got some Danish food from a deli and headed to an awesome castle called Kronborg Slot. It was AMAZING. Moat and dungeons and everything!! You can see Helsingborg in Sweden just across the ocean. I remember last fall looking at Kronborg from the Sweden side of the ocean and wondering if I would ever get over there.....Check!! :) It was so much fun to be able to see how Scandinavian royalty used to live. I would have fit right in...hahah. ;)

Kronborg Slot

The inside of the castle.

We ended the week with church, and watching Meet the Mormons Sunday night with Elin and Matilda and a bunch of YSAs!

Sooooooo yeah. It was a really good week :) I feel incredibly blessed to be here right now and life is happy!! Love you all!!

xoxoxo Syster Modersitzki

Cute old hotel and church

The ballroom inside the castle.

The ferry ride back to Sweden.

On the ferry with the Niebuhrs. Thanks for taking them on an adventure!

A bit windy?

Helsingborg, Sweden

Red day!

Catching chickens at the Ahlström's.

The Gospel is True

It's the little things....like churros! ;)

Hej allihopa!!

Another week has come and gone...What the heck. Time is flyyyyyying! We had a super good time here in cute cute Lund :) I love this place!

I was able to go on splits with Syster Kimball here in Lund! Syster Kimball was "born" here, so she started her mission here last year :) We were able to meet with a few of her investigators and see quite a few members and it was so fun! She just transferred down to Kristianstad from Gävle, where I was "born," so I got the low down on what is happening there from her too :) It is so fun being with other sisters and seeing how they contact and teach certain things...it's all the same work, but there are so many ways to do it! I need to be more creative. Contact people by singing on the street or something....hahaha any way we can to get them to be curious about the church!

On Thursday, we went to Malmö for district meeting. Right now they are having a giant festival in Malmö with people and cultures and food from all over the world...I LOVED it. We ate Caribbean food and coconut smoothies and churros and I'm sorry all I ever do is talk about food but it was SO good! I love trying new things. My MSF card doesn't super appreciate it...but hey. You only are in Sweden once (until you come back next summer for Festinord), might as well try it all!

Every missionary wearing green. :)

We have a new ward mission leader here, and he is awesome. He was getting us so pumped up for missionary work and how we are going to turn Lund into an amazing ward...like it already is. But it's going to get even better :) We had our first correlation meeting with him this week, and we decided that all of the missionaries are going to start color coordinating for church to show unity. Hahah. I LOVE it. I'm obsessed with the idea. Yesterday's theme was green ;)

After our correlation meeting, we walked through the church to say goodbye to everyone that was there, and we ran into a young women's activity! They were playing the funniest game with dice and chocolate and dress-ups....needless to say, we played with them. Hahah. I love the youth in this ward! They are so good with missionary work. One girl was talking to me and was expressing her surprise that less active members come to activities when you invite them...haha. She said she invited a girl to the activity "and she actually wanted to come! Does that always happen?" Ohhhh the people here are so cute. I love them all!!

I got to sing in church on Sunday, and it was a really cool experience. I was just really blown away by the fact that I can speak Swedish now. And not only speak Swedish, but sing in Swedish...and people can understand, and I've only been here a little over a year....I am just so grateful for my mission for teaching me how to be grateful for the little things! The gift of tongues is SO real. Heavenly Father blesses his missionaries. :)

We had a lesson with an American guy this week who Syster Beckstrom tracted into before I got here. We talked about literally every gospel principle while he kind of laughed at us and "our stories"...there are 2 things I learned from this.

1. Serving a mission in the US would be frustrating because people are loud and they don't let you talk sometimes. Haha!

2. THE GOSPEL IS TRUE. The guy talked about how following our gospel sounds like the blind leading the blind....I thought a lot about that, and I know that I am not following people just to fit in. I didn't leave everything I have ever known to come to this country just to be cool. I am here because I know God loves me and has a plan for all of us. I NEED to share that. Everyone needs that message.

So yeah. So sorry for going so missionary there....haha I just don't have a lot of time left to use that excuse!! I gotta soak it all up and use it as much as I can!! :)

LOVE YOU GUYS!!

Swedish Fun Facts (sorry it's been 5 years since I did these):

-Sweden has made tacos become my new favorite meal.....idk. We eat it allllllll the time here! With cucumbers and bananas. That is the only way to go :)

-15 year olds tried to give us cigarettes. The world is messed up.....

Have the best week! And a super big HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout out to my cute mom Marci who is celebrating this week :) Everyone give her a hug from me!!!

xoxox Erin

The scenery in Sweden is spectacular!!

Syster B, Anuka and Syster Mod

They found Central Park!

The baptism of the CENTURY

HIIIII everyone!!!

So. As you all know, it was a very special week for B and Matilda and I. Matilda got BAPTIZED on Saturday!!! I know I'm getting ahead of myself and like skipping the entire week, but I can't help it. I just love Matilda and I'm so happy for her!!!! We spent the entire week planning for the baptism--i.e. cleaning the font, freaking out about the program, getting people to be on the program, etc etc....and it all worked out perfectly!! President and Syster Beckstrand drove 8 hours from Stockholm to come and surprise Matilda for her baptism, and it was so fun!! Matilda was so so so happy to see them and to see all of the support she got from the ward. The building was packed. It felt like a normal day at church! When she was getting baptized, B and I were just wiping each other's tears...haha such cry babies. But it is the most amazing feeling in the world to see someone you love so much do something that you know they have wanted for such a long time! I say this every week, I know....but I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. What would I possibly do in my life without these experiences?? And these friends? I love Matilda and I loved being there and it was so HAPPY. Beckstrom and I feel like we are both here in Lund right now just for her. :) She was confirmed on Sunday and it was PERFECT. :):):)

The cutest STLs (Sister Training Leaders) ever!!

Okay. Like...the rest of the week. Right. Haha! On Tuesday we went to MLC (Mission Leadership Council) in Stockholm! It was so fun. Syster Beckstrand made Cafe Rio, so honestly we could have done absolutely nothing and I still would have said it was fun....hahah so good. But this transfer we are working on finding the prepared, and not just finding the people that will listen :) There is a big difference between people that are willing to listen and people that are willing to act! We had zone training in Malmö on Thursday about that too, and it was really good. Missionary meetings just make me pumped to go contact the whole world. Then, when we do it, and 15 out of the 26 people are super mean, I regret it a little....but kom igen. Salvation waits for no one!!!!!! ;)

Talking about the B of M with this view. Amazing!

We also got to go to the cutest member's house who lives like an hour and a half away from Lund in a little town that is absolute paradise! Imagine Hawaii with cute European architecture. It was heaven!! We sat on her patio and listened to the ocean and talked about the Book of Mormon. My life is literally the best.

Okay sorry this is short I have like zero time....but. Put it in the record books!! B and Mod are baptizing all of Sweden starting this week!!! ;)

Love you ALLLLL!! Good luck with school this week everyone ;)

xoxoxoox Mod :):)

Beckstrom & Beckström? When Erin loses her name tag. Haha!

These girls love Syster Beckstrand!

B & Mod with Malena. Such great friends!!

How adorable is their new little friend?!

Missions make people the best of friends. Love these girls!! Mod, B & Powell

They live in SWEDEN and they're eating at McDonald's. Why? Just why?

The BEST news...times TWO!!

Erin with one of her favorite friends from Luleå

Hi hi hiiiiiii everyone!! We have had the best week in like the history of ever....ready for this super cool news??

1. MATILDA IS GETTING BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness oh my goodness. She is just the best and we are just SO excited. We had a lesson with her this week and she was having a super hard time with her family and friends not accepting her baptism and everything....and then Malena came in. This is why we have member present lessons people!! Haha Malena was like, "Bara kör!!" to Matilda, which means "Just do it!!", and as soon as she said that, Matilda was 100% in. She wrote down her entire baptismal program on the back of her baptismal calendar....and here we are now! August 15th is coming soon :) I really don't think I could be more happy for her. She is the most perfect member already and I am so excited for her baptism. Lots of pics will be sent, I promise :)

2. Elin is getting baptized in October!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had a really good lesson with Elin, and when we brought up a baptismal date for October 10th, she was just like "Sure, okay!". Uhhhh....like cool. We'll def plan on that. We called President Beckstrand to report our second baptismal date in two days, and he was so impressed. I felt cool. Haha now I'm just nervous for his expectations for us....but. Matilda and Elin both came to church yesterday and loved it. I feel so blessed to be here in Lund right now and get to be friends with them!! There is seriously nothing better than being a missionary right now. I feel so happy allllllll the time :)

The "funeral"

So there is our big spiritual news of the week. Haha! We have had just a crazy week....It was transfer week, which means we had missionaries going home :( We held a "funeral" on the beach for Elder Beck and Elder Taggart in Malmö (may they rest in peace) and buried them in sand. We were getting the weirdest looks from all the beach goers as we read their eulogies sent in by their mission sons (elders they trained)....hahaha it was so fun though. I already miss everyone who went home! You would think when you come on a mission that you are done saying goodbye to people, but it just gets worse..it's fine. We'll all be together and friends at some point. :)

The tripan eating free cookies!

Aaaaand we got to be in a tripanionship for a day! Syster Barrett in Malmö was companion-less for 2-ish days, so we went down to Malmö and bonded with her. Being in a tripan is an interesting experience...hahah. We felt like a total gang when we tried to street contact. Totally surrounding a person and being all "Be a Mormon. It's the cool thing to do" hahah so fun. And we got frozen custard!! B and I found a frozen custard place in Malmö like 3 weeks ago and we have already been there twice...they call it American Spin Cream. It's so goooooood. :) But the tripan was fun! Syster Barrett is just the cutest. I'm excited to go on splits with her.

It's been so hot again...like okay it's been in the 70's again and we have been dying. Climate acclimation is real. But we will continue enjoying our summer while you guys all get ready for school ;) We are headed to Stockholm tomorrow and we will be in Malmö on Thursday, so we have lots of fun traveling this week! It will be good :)

Haha I just love you all! Hope you have a wonderful week and do lots of fun things and appreciate every last second of summer!

xoxoxo Sister Mod

Cute Swedish houses

The Grand Hotel in Lund

Äldste Downing and Syster Mod perfecting the art of Swedish pancake-making

Because why not?

Flying kites for FHE

Last district lunch before transfers.

Erin is still obsessed with rune stones :)

Another favorite friend!

The Wirtala family who Erin knows from Luleå! Such a fun surprise to see them!

Well, the nacho cheese-flavored taco shells didn't really make it in one piece from America....

....but the sisters were still happy to have them! Haha!

Mod and B are staying together :)

The sisters at Brandon and Stina's baptisms in Malmö.

Hejhej

This week has been super fun!! And I have the best news. B AND I ARE STAYINGGGGG!! 6 more weeks of the best companionship ever. We were dying for transfer calls....Haha the zone leaders find out on Friday and call us all on Saturday, but we bugged them so much on Friday to tell us first thing in the morning that they called and woke us up at 6 to tell us. Hahaha. It was funny like....an hour after. If you know me, you know I am not a morning person. ;) But how can you not be happy with such good news!! We are so so so happy and excited to be staying together. It is going to be the best transfer yet :)

The zone.

On Monday, we had a giant mission wide volleyball tournament in our respective zones. B played in high school, and I was totes a champion at church ball, so we went undefeated (and then lost in the last match but we won't talk about that). It was sooooo fun! It's a lot of fun to hang out with other missionaries and speak American English and stuff. :)

We didn't see Matilda very much this week because she went to a giant YSA church EFY type thing called Festinord (which I am sure I have talked about and I am definitely going next year). But! She came to church on Sunday and bore her first testimony!! I wish I could describe to you just how much I love that girl. Haha she is seriously the best! She has the most amazing testimony. She hasn't been able to talk to her family yet about her baptism, but we should have a date by tonight....We are SO excited. She is amazing and such a good example to me. 

We also met with Elin this week! She is the funniest. She texted us and was all "Can you guys tell me about alcohol and morality and everything your church says about those things?" and we were like "....ugh darn it ok." Haha! Just kidding, obviously. Those are my favorite lessons. I realized that I have never taught the Law of Chastity in Swedish before. I've taught it maybe 5 times in English...? Haha I guess our investigators just never get that far! But anyway. Elin is having a "clean week" where she doesn't do anything against the church's moral code. She was really nervous, but it was her own idea, and we happily supported it! She is just diving in to all of the new things the church has to offer and it is so cool to watch. And she also texted us a drawing of the Plan of Salvation that she made on the app PicCollage. Hahah I LOVE HER. We work with the coolest people in the world.

And remember the people who we did the wedding for last week? We got to go to their baptism this week!! They were baptized in the ocean right by the Malmö chapel and it was AMAZING. They are the cutest people in the world. #BrandonandStina4lyfe

So yeah. It was just a fun, really motivating week. I feel so blessed to get another transfer here with my best friend. We have been talking and talking about how we have started to reach the end of our missions....and holy FREAKY. But. Holy motivating too!! It is find, teach, and baptize time in Lund :) We both feel it!

Hope you all have such a good week!! I love you guys!! 

xoxoxo Syster Modersitzki

 

Eating yellow watermelon. It's SO GOOD!!

With Anuka.