Sweden Stockholm Mission: December 2016

Christmas Time is Here!!!!!!

As we say good-bye to Thanksgiving, we get ready to usher in the Christmas season. The mission home has plenty of snow to help things get started.

The sun is setting around 2:30 PM and it truly feels like Christmas is here.

The Christmas decorations are popping up all over every city.

Sister Beckstrand has her "Christmas Sparkel" on, so we are ready............

A very Merry Christmas to all of you from the Sweden Stockholm Mission office. Let your light shine in all that you do this Christmas Season!!!!

President Beckstrand with "his boys." Elder Johanson, Elder Nielsen, Elder Chugg, Elder Halterman, and Elder Hawkins.

Oh, and you can't have Christmas without toasting with a few "Skumma Grisar" to round out the Holiday. Elder Halterman, Elder Watson, Elder Johanson, and President Beckstrand.

The "Three Wise Men", Elder Nielsen, Elder Hawkins, and Elder Chugg.

Thursday, November 24, 2016, we welcomed Thanksgiving into the mission home. A great time to celebrate the incredible blessings that the Lord provides to us as individuals and as the Sweden Stockholm Mission. We invited missionaries from the Stockholm Ward, Täby Ward, Jakobsberg Ward, the Pence family, Sister Pence's parents, Elder and Sister Watson from Göteborg (in town to help with Soul Night), Elder and Sister Clouse, and Emile Knecht and her friend Stephanie, who are visiting from the USA, to come over and feast on Thanksgiving specials.

The Thanksgiving Buffet line............so good!!!!

And to complete the evening, Elder Johanson received his annual Thanksgiving "pie in the face", from none other than Sister Olsen. I am glad she only had one pie to deliver.

Mission Leadership Council!!!!!!

Tuesday, November 15, 2016, we held our Mission Leadership Council meeting at the mission home with our Zone Leaders, Sister Training Leaders, and our Senior Couple Representative. We started our meeting with a wonderful lunch prepared by Sister Beckstrand. We had chicken enchiladas, salad, fresh guacamole, chips, and JulMust.

After lunch we settled in for our meeting. A special treat this time was being able to train our MLC on the new Church Christmas Campaign for 2016, #Light the World.

Our assistants, Elder Halterman and Elder Johanson conducted the training and then took questions from the council members.

We are so excited to start this campaign, which we feel will help our members here in Sweden to understand more simple ways to introduced the gospel to their friends by giving service, the same sorts of service Christ gave during his mortal ministry. So, let's all get involved in serving others over 25 days, in 25 ways!!!!!! #Light the World!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Umeå District Conference!!!!!

Saturday and Sunday, November 12 - 13, 2016, the Umeå District held District Conference in Umeå. We had the great opportunity of attending as Elder Tom Åte Herrland, Area Seventy from Oslo, Norway, presided at the conference. This is always fun for President and Sister Beckstrand as we get to see our missionaries who serve in the Norrland Zone. They all come into Umeå to participate in the two day conference for the members. Sister Beckstrand arranged for sandwiches, chips, fruit, cookies, and JulMust for the missionaries after the Sunday session of conference. We always have extra on hand to feed some of the members who travel great distances and need a little nourishment. What fun for the missionaries and the members to interact and visit with each other. We love Umeå District Conference time!!!!

Record November Snowstorm!!!!!

For fun, we thought we would include these pictures of Stockholm from Wednesday, November 9, 2016, in the which Stockholm had it's heaviest snowfall in the last 111 years in the month of November. It was absolutely beautiful and is worthy to be records in the Sweden Stockholm Mission Blog.