Tuesday, August 30, 2016

GOLDEN


Hejsan, min käre vänner!

Well...Hi!  I don't quite know what to say, so I'll just start typing and see what comes out!

This week has been as lovely as ever:  
Capture the flag in the middle of 40-ft. hedges in Malmö!  The entrance of the park we went to looked like the hedges in Harry Potter in the Tri-Wizards' tournament (for any of you that wanted to try to picture it!)  So that was pretty fun! 

We met with my dearest Pontus and Susanne that night for a Fika in Helsingborg!
We've had quite a few lessons with new people this week and things are going pretty well! The best one though is still the one from last week--seriously just amazing.  Honestly the Golden Investigator. 
He has come to church the past two weeks.  We have taught him the first three lessons all with members, and he was just like a sponge taking everything in.  It has been amazing to see the difference in him in just 2 weeks.  He can completely feel and see the difference, and he loves it.  
Yesterday he stayed at church for all three hours, then came to a fireside at the Bishop's house.  He just talked and talked to the Bishop and his wife and had questions for them, and the Bishop showed him around the "Gospel Library" and helped him download the app, and then we had a lesson on priesthood.  He loved it.
I have to say, it is probably the most amazing thing to see the gospel changing the lives of people.  There is just nothing quite like it.  Oh, and one of the funnest parts!  After our lesson on Saturday, he handed me his coffee and said I could dump it out!  Wow...I have only heard about those stories!  I never thought I could actually do it!  It felt so good!
Well, I don't think I have too too much to share this week--maybe just a little something to make ya'll jealous.  On Thursday we just spent our lunch hour out on the rocks alongside the crystal blue water overlooking the beautiful not-too-distant land of Denmark, enjoying the warm beautiful summer sun! Yeah...I could get used to this!
Before I go, one quick scripture that I have come to love--Alma 32;43: 

"Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you." 
I love this one especially in relation to the work.  With diligence, faith, and action comes forth the salvation of souls!  Wherever  you are in life, wherever you want to go or whatever you want to accomplish, the Lord has already told us how to do it.  With diligence, patience and faith you can accomplish just about everything.
The Lord is so very aware of you--and whatever you set your mind to, make sure it's in-line with the will of your Father's will.  Life becomes so much easier and more full of joy and light when done in the ways of the Lord!
Find joy in the little things, and the little things will become your most cherished moments!

Med all den kärlek denna lilla missionär kan ge...

Jag älskar er!

Syster Campbell

Monday, August 22, 2016

FOCUSED

Well, I'm here in the Beautiful Helsingborg.  Everything has just been dandy, still livin' life down here in the South!  Sunsets blow me away every night, and I have a feeling I am going to come home with nothing but a million pictures of this place!
 Well...to keep it kind of short this week, I will just sum it up with the 3 things I have been learning a lot about lately: dedication, consecration and diligence to the Lord.  
I have noticed that as time on the mission goes by, it can get kind of easy to slip into a comfort zone and just kind of go with the flow instead of going outside of myself to learn and grow more.  But lucky for me, the Lord is very aware of this, so I was sent away to be stretched and learn some more! 
This week I have been trying to focus on being focused 100% of the time.  And I just have to say, it has made all of the difference.  I have found that I could do more than I ever thought possible.  That with a focused mind you can go beyond any physical barriers you may have previously set for yourself. 
I have seen the work go off like wild fire--just from trying to do a little bit better.  For being just a little more exact in  my obedience to every rule.  I have never not been one for rules, but, perhaps I occasionally get a little lazy with them--but I really have seen the Lord's promise come to pass that exact obedience brings blessings.
{With her new companion, Syster Christoffersen!}
This week I have also been trying to focus a lot on finding the one.  Every day before we leave the house, we pray that we may be able to be led to the prepared people here, or that they will be led to us.  I have found that as I try and have that on my mind, I come to see each one of them as an answer to that prayer.  
Even if they don't accept our message, I have been able to see just even the slightest change in their countenance while we talk to them.  We have also had the chance of meeting some truly amazing people who have stopped and listened!
 Friday we were out on the streets, and it was towards the end of a long day, and we were both just kind of done.  I felt that I just needed to talk to one last person, so I awkwardly went to the other side of the street and stopped this guy--and he just started talking, and we just had the best time talking with him. 
He called us later that day and said, "Would you be able to meet tomorrow?"  We said of course--and sure enough, we did!  We had an amazing lesson with him, and at the end we asked if he would be willing to be baptized.  He immediately responded, "Absolutely."  
{Her dear friends from Taby--Pontus and Susi--travelled to Helsingborg to see her. She was so happy to see them!}
He came to church yesterday and we set a date--and he was just so willing and so wonderful! It was truly amazing to be able to see the difference in him after having the truth be brought into his life. 
 The Lord answers prayers.  I know this because He has done it time and time again for me, and I have seen it in the lives of others.  Open up to Him and let Him know how you feel. He truly cares and He will answer you...but there is only one way to find out if that is true, and that is to try it
So, go ahead and follow our Prophet Joseph Smith's example.  After all, it was simply a question a 14-year-old boy had that led to the restoration of the true Church of God.  You never know what might come from a simple and sincere prayer to your Father in Heaven.
 D&C 88:126 says, "Pray always, that ye may not faint, until I come.  Behold, and lo, I will come quickly, and receive you unto myself.  Amen."

Never forget that the Lord will come.

Med Kärlek,


Syster Campbell

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

HELSINGBORG!

Well, transfers are here again, and after staying put for 4 of them--a whole 6 months--they're kicking me out!  But I'm not landing too far away...I'm headed to HELSINGBORG

Okay, I just have to tell ya...ever since the MTC I have wanted to go there!  But, that wasn't even an option until 2 transfers ago!  One of my teachers in the MTC always raved about Helsingborg and how beautiful it was.  I would say, "I'm going there!", and he said that it was only an Elders area, and I said,"just watch."  Haha!  So, I am pretty stinkin' excited!
One of the best parts was on Saturday, when we had the transfer call, the Zone Leaders were doing it and they said, "...and in Helsingborg, Syster Wilson will be leaving--and she will be replaced with the "Reigning Queen" of the Malmö Zone!  Syster Campbell will be going to Helsingborg! 

I felt quite honored--I didn't know I would get such a title for outstaying EVERYONE in the Zone!  Its crazy to think I very well could stay down here in the South for 10 ½ months of my mission!!!  But, no complaints here!  I never saw myself as a southern gal, but I'm definitely becoming one!  Skåne just can't get rid of me! 
 Okay.  Well, quickly on for the rest of the week:
--Went to the Southern-most tippity-tip beach of Sweden for p-day!  It was beautiful!

--Painted the Sandelins house!
--Passed by a Kebab food truck, and saw one of the Elders' investigators working there, so we stop by to say hi, and he reaches into the cooler and hands us some energy drinks for free!  Haha, sickest!  Don't worry--I didn't drink it!
--Went to Lund for a day and had some interesting experiences there...

    ~got blåsted 3 times (as in no-show appointments)
    {pointing out all of "her people" behind her}
~tracted into a guy who had filled the inside of his door up with egg cartons--and he said, "What do you want?  I´m in the middle of trying to re-write the Bible."

 --Sat in the windows at the apartment singing to passers-by, and a whole bunch of them would just stop and record it, and then some even tried to give money!  Haha!
{Noah Sandelin "fixed" her hair!}
--Got in the shower just to see a HUGE spider hanging down over the shower.  Naturally, freaked out! Put on my towel. Yelled--"Eunice!  Get the oven cleaner!!!"  Now, if any of you remember weeks back we had another similar incident where there was a big nasty spider...yeah.  Well, it went down pretty much the same way.  So we sprayed that thing for quite a while, and then went on with our lives.  P.S.  Oven cleaner really does a good job:)

--Got the lovely little call to Helsingborg!
--And my "Baby" Eunice, (a.k.a. Syster Howlett) is going to be a mother and train, so I'm going to be a grandma!!!

But, now on to bigger and better things. 
One thing I have learned this week is to keep the testimony you have right now close at hand, because you never know when your own testimony will be the very thing that answers your own prayers and saves your own testimony. 
This week, I was kind of having a hard time with some things.  It was kind of hard for me to understand and hard to see.  Thinking of the questions, and just sitting on a bench just trying to pray to find an answer... 

I don't think I have ever quite prayed as hard as I did on that little bench on that blustery, cold, rainy night.  I was freezing--without a jacket--confused and exhausted, and at the same time I had my Book of Mormon out, and I just wanted to know
I continued to pray--and as I did, the wind picked up and the pages flew...The wind would stop for just enough time for me to read a highlighted verse, and all of a sudden it would pick right back up, change the page, and I would read another verse that I have so darkly marked, worn and loved.  Verse after verse, re-emphasizing the same truths.  The same exact things I had just been praying about. 

It was amazing to me to see how the very things I have been studying the past few weeks were the things that helped me receive my answer.  There is something about receiving an answer from past personal experiences.  We have them for a reason, right?
Lately, during personal study, I have been wanting to make my Book of Mormon more personal to me, and I know I had that feeling for a reason--because God knew at one point, if I started to drift, all I would need was a little self-reminder.  So, I did that.  

While reading everyday, if there is something that really stands out to me, or I just love and want to apply it, I will write out whatever it is I need on a post-it note, and stick it in.  Doing that alone has made the biggest difference for me. 
It is not just reading a history book, but it is reading my own book.  A book written just for me to help me with everything I go through.  I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and for the gift that it is from our loving Heavenly Father. 

Treasure it.  Read it.  Study it.  And let it work in you.  Allow yourself to learn from it and see that it was written for you.  Read it daily, and you will never have to doubt.
"My young friends, now is the time and today is the day to learn or reaffirm for yourselves that the gospel is true.  Each of us has an important work to do.  To accomplish that work, and to be protected from worldly influences that seem to be constantly looming, we must have the faith of Alma, Nephi, and young Joseph Smith to obtain and develop our own testimony." --Elder Craig C. Christensen

If you're struggling with your testimony focus on the simple truths.  God is our Father and Jesus is His Son.  Jesus is also our Savior. 
 Have faith and read from the Book of Mormon daily.  I've seen sweet missionaries struggling to find a testimony, while trying to sink into deep doctrine and setting the Book of Mormon aside.  That is not the way.  Please read from the Book of Mormon daily, and you will never need to fear losing the small and simple truths.
I love you all with all my heart--and you'll be hearing from me next week in Helsingborg!

Med Kärlek,


Syster Campbell




Monday, August 8, 2016

LOVE AND BAND-AIDS

 Hello there!

Well, it is now bright and early in the morning, and I will see if I can try to get all my thoughts out in some orderly manner!

But to start off, things have been so good here!  Sadly, I am approaching departure this next week, and I am dreading every step coming up to it!  I love K-stad so much.  It has just become a part of my heart. 

I've come to find that mission areas are kind of like band-aids.  Okay--don't judge too harshly, yet--I know that sounds weird, but there is a point!  Okay.  So, band-aids.  The longer you leave them on, the more it hurts to rip them off... 
Well, a mission is kind of the same.  If you stay in an area not too long, it hurts to leave--but not too bad.  But once you've been somewhere for quite a while, you just start to feel at home.  You're used to it, and you have just bonded with this place and the people, and that makes pulling off the band-aid just that much harder!  I will be so sad to leave, but I am also excited to just find even more people to fall in love with! 
Because somehow out here on the mission, you find this never ending supply of love that just keeps coming--a never ending supply that just makes you wonder how its possible that you could have the capacity to just keep loving!  I still don't understand it all quite yet, but I am very grateful for it!

Okay.  So this week has just been lovely!  We had an amazing Specialized Zone Training! Our Mission President and his wife--the Beckstrands--and the Assistants came and spoke with us--it was on "Becoming a Consecrated Missionary".  I don't think I have ever been more inspired from a conference! 
In preparation, we were all asked to read, "Becoming a Consecrated Missionary", by Tad R. Callister.  I just keep reading and re-reading this talk.  It is so amazing, and I love how much it just points out everything I can do better!  Haha!  Some people hate that, but I have found that it actually works for me and inspires me to want to be better!

One thing I absolutely loved...okay--well, I will share two of them:

1) "If you only change your behavior, then you will be the same person you were when you left home, subject to the same problems that plagued you then.  But if you change your nature, you will go home a new man or woman, with the power and discipline to conquer your old Goliaths. 
If you get up at 6:30 am because your companion does, you have merely changed your behavior. If you get up whether or not he or she does, you have changed your nature. If you speak good words but entertain bad thoughts, you have only changed your behavior, if you also change your thoughts you have also changed you nature." 

I love this!  And this really applies to everyone in whatever circumstance they may be in.  If we want to change something about ourselves, we cannot simply change or adjust things on the surface-- we have to dig deep.  Think of what truly could be holding us back and do everything possible to fix those things, too.
And then for the second part I loved:

2) "Each of us might appropriately ask, "What lack I yet to become a consecrated missionary?"  There is no escaping it.  God will demand our all.  If we are shy or reserved-- God will compel us to change--to be bold.  He will jerk us out of our comfort zone again and again.  If we are lazy or idle, He will push us and pull us even when we are exhausted. If we are disobedient, He will press us until we have a child-like submissiveness.  He will not let us be content with our weaknesses.
"Whatever the weakness may be that holds us back from becoming a consecrated missionary, the Lord has promised that if we have faith in Him, and humble ourselves before Him, that He will make weak things become strong unto us.  I do not think the Lord expects immediate perfection of us, but I do believe He expects immediate progress, and with that progress comes consecration.  I believe that He recognizes and appreciates every step we take forward, however small it may seem." 

I just love that so much--the Lord will put us through trials because He knows what we can become because of them.  And we have His promise that He will always be there--especially when we are striving to come unto Him.
 And before I go, one amazing story needs to be told!

Okay, so our really cool investigator--the artist--met with us this week, and we had dinner at a wonderful member's house.  We were just talking afterwards, and I just asked him if he had any questions on what he had been reading from the Book of Mormon... 

He said, "I don't really have questions, but I am sad because I didn't bring my copy--and it is filled with post-it notes with all my thoughts!"  He then said that he is a part of this big artists' group on Facebook with over 17,000 members from all over the world, and that he posted a picture showing a verse from the Book of Mormon, and commented something like: "Does this not just speak truth to you?" 
 He then asked them for feedback on what they thought.  He said, "I just cannot get over how beautifully this book is written, so I just wanted to share it!"  He said that he received a lot of feedback--and many, if not almost all, comments were extremely positive and supportive!

While he was talking, my mouth--and Syster Howlett's--were just open the whole time!  We were just in shock that our investigator is just so in love with the Book of Mormon that he shared it with 17,000 other people and invited them to read it because of how much he has just loved what he has read!

Syster Howlett and I are just imagining someday in the future hearing about somebody who became a member because this investigator/painter in Sweden once posted a verse from the Book of Mormon!  Haha!  That would be/will be so cool!
 Well.  I am here to tell you that there is a reason he wanted to post that--because it spoke truth to his soul, and it can to yours, too.  I know that to be true, because it has happened for me--time and time again--and I have seen it happen to many others. 

The Book of Mormon is true.  It is a witness of Christ and it can bring you closer to Him, if you will allow it. 

If any of you have felt that--but are not sure if you still do you--are not alone.  That is why the Lord continues to counsel us to search and pray constantly.  To never be content being unsure or recieving just one answer.  One answer is amazing--but that is just for the period of time right then--or with whatever it is that you are going through.  It is not, however, going to help you through every single struggle you will come to face. 

That is why the Lord has asked us to COME UNTO HIM always.  We need to be constantly led back to the right path.  We all need to make little adjustments in our courses, and as we seek guidance in our every day life, we will not have to wonder why we are not feeling that mighty change of heart any more. 
I think we could all probably benefit a little bit from Alma 5--especially verse 26, "And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?" 

There is no point on the course of life that is too far off from returning back to the center. Christ is at the center, reaching out to each one of us--no matter how close or far we may feel.

I love you all, and even more so--the Savior loves you.

Med Kärlek,


Syster Campbell