Sunday, September 25, 2011

Bring Him Home... Sept 24, 2011

We were able to go to Sweden to pick up Aldste Adam Webster
September 9, 2011 from the Sweden Stockholm Mission Home!

(Check out my blog for the details in-between at... curitibawebsters@blogspot.com )
We arrived in the states 7:00 pm, September 24, 2011! What a great reunion!!
Welcome Home Aldste Webster! Our last missionary! Kind of a bitter sweet!
WELL DONE ADAM!! WE LOVE YOU!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Äldste Adam Michael Webster's Bittersweet Symphony‏

To All within the sound of my voice... (or, whoever might read this message.)

Yesterday, we were able to see the new missionaries and their trainers. In reaction to the high caliber missionaries (10 elders 2 sisters), one of the trainers came up to me and said... "It's too bad that your going home, you're missing out". With the four of us going home, there are 12 new missionaries which means 4 new areas opening in the mission! It is an exciting time! President has now taken away the 9-week mentality of transfers. Our planners are now 5 weeks long, which means we will be more focused to baptize in 5 week cycles rather than 9 weeks. We have now visited 37 of the 40 wards or branches in Sweden and I know that it will be well worth it! The members have appreciated the time that the president has taken to be among them and show his love and interest for them. The theme of these visits has been "strengthening the church". Each of the missionaries have gotten together with their bishops and ward councils to home teach less active and part member families! The missions approach isn't necessarily to get high numbers, but to strengthen the church, and by doing so we gain the trust of members and obtain referrals that way. I can't wait to see how the missionaries interact with the members (especially in high-popluated mormon towns). The last 3 firesides will be in Luleå (The farthest area north in Sweden on Saturday), and in a chapel in stockholm ( Sunday, where two wards meet.). And so we will be finishing those off just to say we did, and to help the members there. Other than that, President has now given all assignments to the new assistants Elders Olsen and Bracken. They will do fantastic! This occurred officially when we trained the new missionaries and the trainers about the 12 week program that has now started since August 1st. Missionaries are to be together with their trainers for 12 weeks and they have a pretty well-detailed schedule on what they are to do and what they are to become by the end of those 12 weeks. It is inspired and as that Elder said... I am missing out! Looking back, Training was the greatest experience for me on how I decided what kind of missionary I wanted to be. And as the new missionaries were bearing testimony to us (along with the Newells, and the new assistants) President walked up to us and asked us to bare testimony in conclusion of the meeting. That was one of the most spiritual testimonies I have ever given! I told them that I would miss testifying of the savior with the name tag on my chest. It's not the testifying that ends, but the call to represent the savior and to witness of him that does, which I would change any one of their positions for! Even though the calling to be a full-time missionary will end, I hope that I can be a Faithful, Full-time Member!
President was kind enough to allow us this last week to be out proselyting and Finding, Teaching and Baptizing non-members!
This last week we were able to visit the branch of Visby. The island to the east of Sweden. It was amazing because they had, in a branch of 18, 19 investigators who showed up to hear president. That was amazing. That island was so touristic and beautiful. We came back and Syster Rönndahl, who taught us in the MTC, was over for dinner. On Sunday, we traveled to the center of sweden, Örebro. They had tried for a month to get this brazilian investigator to church, and it just so happened that the woman that they were teaching's parents were also in town from Sao Paulo and they all showed up to church when I happened to be there! Hello! The lord definitely had a purpose with that! I was able to translate from Swedish to Portuguese during sacrament meeting and they were very grateful. So after that I got their names and e-mails (for further proselyting in the future). The Lord is SO aware and really does LOVE all of us. He is mindful of our desires, weaknesses, and potential to become as him. Being on a mission has taught me endless things, but the most important is my Love for my savior, the people and myself. He has taught me how to recognize the sweet promptings of the spirit and has blessed me with Joy as I do so. I am thankful for the Atonement, and through it, it enables us to serve the lord with no regrets. I have learned that the Lords thoughts aren't our thoughts. But that doesn't mean that we can't know what they are! How joyful it has been to be out here and do the will of him who called me. I'm grateful that I was counted worthy to represent him. It was the best two years. It wasn't easy, but as Bishop Ralph Murray (Borås) says, "If it was easy, anybody could do it, but your're not just anybody!"
I love this work, and I know who's it is!

Love,
Äldste Adam Michael Webster

MTC (2 months) - Elder Chester
Lund (2 months) - Elder Lords
Växjö (4 months) - Elders Takahashi and Barlow
Borås (6 months) - Elder Bush, Stoddard, Nelson
Malmö (3 months) - Elder Winegar
Täby / Stockholm (6 months) - Elder Jorgensen

P.S. If this letter is all over the place... sorry... mixed emotions!