December 28th letter

HEJ SANN from Elder Arko! (It means 'hi' in Swedish)

Elder Arko got to speak to his family on Christmas!!! It was very exciting for all involved. First of all, He sounds great and seems to be doing quite well. He told us 3 activities that He's been able to participate in during the Christmas season so we'll start with that.

1: Elder Arko has visited the Arctic Circle (no, not the restaurant...the actual Arctic Circle). He said it was very fun...and cold :)

2: There is an Elder up there who is really in to fishing so Elder Arko had the opportunity to go ICE FISHING with Him! The Elders borrowed an auger from a member's husband and spent about 15 minutes drilling 3 holes in the ice. The Elder who really enjoys fishing caught 2 fish which together were about 10 inches in lenghth.

Yes Elder Arko used a soda pop bottle for a fishing pole.

3: Elder Arko has eaten reindeer! Weird huh? He said it was an intersting experience and it actually tasted pretty good.

Another story we got to hear while talking to Elder Arko was a funny one. Since there has been a lot of snow in Sweden... it has become a little harder to ride bikes, as you can probably imagine. Well, Elder Arko lost control one day and this is what happenedthe handle bar went into his pocket so he was stuck on the ground trying to figure it out for a minute. Thanks for the laugh Elder Arko!

Now for the usual letter. Elder Arko said He's glad the Christmas rush is over so things can start getting back to normal. They can actually start missionary work again. It has been very frustrating for them because lately all they've been hearing from people are things like, "Yeah, just come back after the Holidays." So, in a week when New Years is over, they'll be back in business.

Elder Arko had a very eventful Christmas! They had fun watching Kalle Anka (Donald Duck). Believe it or not all the Swedes gather around at 3 in the afternoon and watch Donald Duck!!! Elder Arko thought it was very funny. They have short little clips of a bunch of Disney films and He has no clue how or why it became a tradition, but it is. So, Elder Arko got to see Goofy, Chip and Dale, Donald Duck, Lady and the Tramp, and Tinker Bell!

The Elders also had julbord, which is what all Swedes have around Christmas. It directly translates to "Yule Table" and it's pretty much a Christmas Smörgåsbord! They also have a lot of raw fish over there. Elder Arko thought He dodged that cuisine by not going to Japan, but He was wrong. There was also ham, cheese, ginger bread cookies, and some other stuff He's not sure what it was, but He tried a lot of new stuff :)

Elder Arko had a great Christmas in the coutry of Sweden! He hopes you all had a Merry Christmas and will have A FANTASTIC NEW YEAR!!!

December 21st letter

So, they just barely got about 6 inches of snow this morning! Elder Arko said it was so COOL! The Elders were doing their laundry today and every time they went out, their tracks had been covered up from the last time! Elder Arko couldn't believe how much it snowed!

They have been having good times getting ready for Christmas. Elder Arko and Elder Dees will be going to be out of their area for Christmas visiting other Elders in a town called Luleå. Elder Arko is sure He will have fun with them. He is also hoping they won't spend too much time on the bus this holiday season.

Elder Arko has also been having a great time getting an investigator ready for His
baptism. He is SO ready to be baptized and Elder Arko thinks it's great!

Right now the Elders have hit a spot where a lot of their investigators are not expressing too much interest or are being very difficult to get in contact with. That means the Elder will probably be hitting a lot of doors in the next few weeks. Elder Arko says it's okay since they have had some really funny experiences tracting.

The other day Elder Arko ran into a man that was quite intoxicated. Lets just say he didn't like Joseph Smith so their conversation was brief. They have also found a very nice lady they will probably visit again. The problem is people are so busy around the holidays they all just say come back after New Years or things of that sort so it can be a little frustrating.

Elder Arko and Elder Dees are helping a member out. She lives out in the middle of nowhere and the Elders helped her chop wood and drew water from her well. Elder Arko got nosecicles! Well, He could feel his nose hair freezing and said it was
soooo funny!

Elder Arko can't wait to talk to a lot of us on Christmas and says, "This'll be exciting!" He wishes all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Now for the best part...

You may be asking yourself, "What is that sweater for?" Well, see below for your answer...

Elder Arko's Christmas Card...enjoy!!

December 14th letter

It is getting cold again in Sweden. There was a little break where there wasn't any new snow, but the temperature was just hanging around zero, but they just got quite a bit of new snow today and the Elders had a great time getting around. They basically walk everywhere now because it's too hard to ride bikes!

Some fun news from Elder Arko is they had 13 people in their branch this past Sunday and one of them is an investigator that is getting ready to be baptized. They've been having a great time working to get more investigators which means more tracting and contacting!

Elder Arko had Zone Conference yesterday so He got all our packages! Elder Arko says thanks to all who contributed to them.

Elder Arko and Elder Dees went on splits this week with the Elders in Umeå so Elder Arko had a fun time in a different town and a car. They had a few teaches and then got to tract at student housing which was quite the experience. They actually ran in to someone from America (Idaho to be more specific) so that was fun.

Elder Arko is getting really excited to call home and hear some familiar voices. He is still figuring out what they're going to do on Christmas. They might go up to Luleå to be with the other elders or they will just celebrate here in little old Skellfteå.

Elder Arko got a letter from his cousin and found out that he will be heading to Mexico on his mission. Elder Arko's advice to him is, "Start doing your own shopping because that was a really weird thing I had to get used to while living on my own. Not in the MTC though that was a very sweet deal. You just have to study your brains out and because there is no brain power left they have to take care of the rest!"

Elder Arko and Elder Dees have recently started a new tactic of finding work. They go into Centrum (like a town square where everyone is walking by to different stops or the bus station) and they hold a sign up that says "ask two American Mormons whatever you want". They had a little bit of success and have met some very interesting people while doing it. They will continue trying it :)

Elder Arko is working hard and sends his love!

December 7th letter

Elder Arko didn't realize it is Pearl Harbor Day! The whole Europe thing is starting to get to him. So, the weather is mild out there and it's pretty nice, not too cold.

The Elders didn't get a lot of teaches this last week, but got "blåsted" a few times (where they had a meeting set up and the person just didn't show up) so that was not fun for them, but this next week is looking up.

About Swedish traditions around Christmas, they are really similar to the United States; everyone gives gifts and are really excited about it, they decorate inside their houses instead of out, and Santa Claus is called a Christmas...troll or elf kinda thing. In true Swedish fashion He isn't a fat jolly man, but a little elf creature. However, that has been 'Americanized' a little so Elder Arko sees the typical Santa around every so often. They also have something called Santa Lucia and Elder Arko isn't too familiar with that. Basically she's a little girl who wears all white and a crown of candles around her head. Obviously, they use electric candles now for safety purposes.

Since the ward up there is so small, they have only the branch president and one councelor. The women have callings like Relief Society President, Primary President, and a person who watches over the church so almost all of their members have a calling :)

This next week Elder Arko has Zone Conference and is going to get all his Christmas packages He's been told about. He's super excited for that!

November 30th letter

This week has been pretty crazy for Elder Arko! He and Elder Dees spent Thanksgiving travelling to a district meeting up in Luleå, but they did find some time to make homemade mashed potatoes, some gravy (from a mix), and a nice big store bought...chicken...yeah He knows it's no substitute for turkey, but they do what they can. So they had their own little Thanksgiving meal.

Elder Arko's cousin, Patrick, received his mission call this week and Elder Arko is very anxious to hear where he will be going. Elder Arko's guess is somewhere in South America, but we'll see!

Elder Arko heard about the U of U/BYU game and bets Zen, his brother-in-law, was laughing his unique high-pitched laugh by the end of the game :)

Elder Arko is excited for Christmas and all the packages He will be receiving. He thanks all who have sent things to him, it's really fun for Him to receive them. Elder Arko used some of the warm things He has received from family memebers just the other day. They had a cold snap of about -7 degrees...that is cold! Elder Arko said it was pretty fun though. This is from when they got back home and Elder Arko hadn't taken off His thermals :) Pretty stylish, eh?

The Elders have seen a slight increase in the people at church, but not too many. They're still working on it. They might be able to get a baptismal date in these next few weeks, so keep praying for Him. Oh, and Elder Arko found out that he can wash his knitted socks! He loves you all!

Elder Dees

November 23rd letter

Okay, so this week was transfer week which means it was a CRAZY one for Elder Arko. He left his area by bus late on Tuesday night and slept in Umeå with his Zone Leaders. Then, all the Elders who were leaving (Elder Loomis included) left early Wednesday morning and the Elders who were coming (Elder Dees, the new companion) arrived late Wednesday night. Because it was pretty late, the Elders slept in Umeå again and returned to their area around noon on Thursday. Quite the traveling week for them. Because of this, a good potion of Elder Arko's birthday (2½ hours) was spent on a bus! However, He did have some goodies to eat from some packages so that was nice for Him.

And now for a little introduction for Elder Dees. He is from Texas and is just hitting his year and a half mark this next week. Elder Arko is excited that He might get to burn an article of clothing with Him. Elder Dees is a pretty funny guy and likes to have fun so Elder Arko isn't really worried about having fun this transfer :)

So, there is this part on the Simpson's where Mr. Burns asks if anyone in Springfield has ever seen the sun set at 3 pm (because it is three and he is planning to block out the sun soon) and the sea captain says "AY, once when I was sailing around the Artic" and Mr. Burns cuts him off and says "Shut Up!" Well, obviously no one from Skellefteå was in Springfield at that time because yes, the sun does set at 3 pm. It is such a crazy phenomenon to Elder Arko and He doesn't think He's getting used to it. It's just crazy for him to be up before the sun comes up. As most of us back home know, Elder Arko's usual sleeping habits back home didn't allow Him to see the rising of the sun. Well, those days have past for Elder Arko!

As a ritual for transfers, missionaries swap photos of the transfer so Elder Arko has a few fun ones for us!

Elder Arko with a berry picker, that's right He went berry picking for lingonberries. The Elders gave them to a member in the ward so it was service.This is Elder Arko eating a grilled cheese sandwich and yeah...cheese is apparently really stretchy in Sweden :)And last the best of all...Elder Arko cleaned a toilet! He thought we would all enjoy that :)

Since they are so far North and it would cost way too much for an apartment couple to go up and inspect their apartment, the Elders just had to take pictures and send them to the inspectors. Elder Arko thinks they really liked that one :)

Anyways, Elder Arko hopes everyone is doing well. He is super excited to talk to His family this Christmas and will try to have an American Thanksgiving! He sends his love to all!

November 17th letter

Transfers were this week and Elder Arko will be staying where he is and getting a new companion! His name is Elder Dees and he's from Texas. From what Elder Arko has heard so far, Elder Dees is quite the character! Elder Arko is excited to have some fun with him!

Elder Arko's family is planning a birthday party for him. His parents have all kinds of Swedish drinks that will be tasted. One is called glogg and Elder Arko hasn't been able to try that yet. The Swedes also have another drink that they love around the holidays called Julmust and from what Elder Arko has tried it isn't too good. However, the Swedes don't like Root Beer and they can't understand why American's drink that so the differences humor Elder Arko.

Elder Arko thinks we have more snow in Utah than they do right now! A lot of theirs has melted because it has been raining! The weather isn't too bad right now and they've been on the positive side of 0 for the last two days.

Elder Arko knows he's repeating himself again, but it is starting to get way dark there. The last few days have been overcast and He hasn't seen the sun for a while. Elder Arko's body went tired one day and didn't want to work because of it. He thinks he's starting to get used to it though. We'll see how long it takes until He's not tired and hopefully it's not a whole mission thing.

It's really strange for Elder Arko that He's almost 20! He can't believe it! He did already get a birthday present from a member there who loves the missionaries. He gave Elder Arko a little bit of candy, an old Swedish comic book, and a pocket watch. Elder Arko said the pocket watch is actually pretty sweet looking! It might sound a little weird to us, but hey they're in Europe, right?

Here is a goodbye picture of Elder Loomis in all his glory.

Elder Arko having some fun with stuff He has received from his parents

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELDER ARKO!!!

Elder Arko turns the big 20 on Friday, November 20! Here is a little birthday song from the family.

And here is a little birthday kiss for him!

We saved the best for last. Here is a little something for Uncle Jeff from Britlee.

p.s. at the very end, we told her to hold up the 'I love you' sign for Uncle Jeff, and this is what we got.

We hope you have an amazing birthday Elder Arko. We will be celebrating here in your honor!

All our love,

Your Family

November 9th letter

Another week has gone by and this one in particular was busy and pretty eventful for Elder Arko. Last week He told us about how they were trying to get a lot of new people in church on Sunday while working with the members and hopefully getting a lot of investigators to church in the process. They worked and worked to try and get 10 new faces in church (4 from the missionaries efforts and 6 from members efforts). They had the assistants to the President in their area for a day for workovers, so Elder Arko and Elder Loomis went on splits with them and they helped to find a few new investigators. It was a fun experience for them. The Elders organized and got 2 investigators to church plus 2 less actives. Yes, they did fall short of their goal, but Elder Arko sincerely believes that was something to help the people in that branch. Church wasn't the same 7 people as it usually is, but it was a little more exciting and not just a routine. That is what kept the Elders so busy all week. That and ordinary missionary work.

They are starting a few things up there in the North and from interviews (once a transfer they have interviews with their mission president) Elder Arko thinks it's safe to think he'll be staying in this area for about another 2 months. Transfers are coming up next week and Elder Arko is pretty excited.

President Anderson also talked to the Elders about how now is the time to reconsider their chosen means of transportation for the next few months. Right now, the Elder use bikes and as you can probably figure out, they don't work so well in snow. They will change to using buses and possibly sparks. Now, you might be asking "What are sparks Elder Arko?" Well that is what He asked President Anderson and the answer is: a small one or two person sled that usually has 2 rails. One propels the sled by standing on a rail with one foot while kicking at the snow with the other foot. "to kick" in Swedish is "att sparka" hence the name spark, so there you go. Although the bus system is okay up there and will probably work for where the Elders have to go, Elder Arko might be sledding around Sweden in the coming months!

As for the weather it did snow again and it was a pretty heavy snowfall. Probably 4 inches, but it seems like it might melt away like the last one. It's still holding around 0 degrees Celsius right now, but it gets a little bit warmer during the day when the sun is up. It is very brisk when they go outside, but Elder Arko is fitted pretty well for the winter right now so there shouldn't be a problem.

Elder Arko doesn't want to jinx himself, but they might be able to have someone ready for baptism soon. He doesn't want to say who it is because these are personal lives and he doesn't want to say too much, but they very well might have a baptism this next transfer! They will see how it works out and he'll keep us updated. Keep your fingers crossed for him.

Here we have a block of Hushållsost cheese...

yes that is as big as Elder Arko's head! That was after they had eaten some of it already! Elder Arko hopes He can find cheese like this in the U.S.

Second, we have Elder Arko's companion nibbling on a hand from his Halloween package. Honestly, it wasn't that good, but it was fun for a picture of two.

P.S. The package also contained a lacrosse ball and that was almost the best part for Elder Arko. He said it felt good just to feel one of those again!

November 2nd letter

So, Elder Arko said he would be seeing snow for the next few months, but it melted and made him a liar. The weather there has been really windy lately and pretty cold.

Elder Arko received a tape from the family and he mentioned that as his Mom was talking to him, Elder Arko heard his Dad start up the 'good ole Nintendo 64' and started playing James Bond 007 Goldeneye. It was crazy to him to realize he knew exactly what was playing in the backround and it was such a blast from the past for him!

To answer a question from Elder Arko's Mom, there is a state church in Sweden and you have to pay taxes to it if you belong to it. Elder Arko believes most Swedes can and do write themselves out, but isn't sure. That is very much the most prominent religion in Sweden. Most religious people are the older ones that have been in the Swedish church for 30-40 years, if not longer. That means they are pretty set in their ways or "satisfied" as a lot of them say.

The Elders are trying to have a big Sunday event this week. They challenged the ward to get as many people to church on Sunday as possible; less actives, investigators, it doesn't really matter and they really hope it works out. They've been telling a lot of less actives it is going to be a very special Sunday because one of the District Presidency is going to come speak with them so we've been really pushing for that this week. This week is going to be very busy for the Elders as they have a lot planned and a lot to accomplish.

Oh, and transfers are coming up again! Who would have guessed it went so fast? Elder Arko hopes everyone is doing well and having fun in life! HE LOVES YOU!

And now for pictures. In Sweden, instead of Halloween, they have "al helgons dag" and they go and put candles on the graves of their deceased relatives. It makes for an amazing scene especially if you end up at a very big grave site like Elder Arko did this Halloween.

This one is just an awesome bridge Elder Arko thought we'd all like to see...He thinks it's very cool looking.

October 26th letter

Elder Arko is doing fine over there in Sweden. They've been super busy these past few days. They did get a few inches of snow the other day and it stuck for a day, but it's all melted now. It's still been hanging around 0ut there, so they're getting used to being in the cold. Elder Arko was informed by Elder Loomis that they might go to the beach one P-Day, so Elder Arko is thinking he might get a little sun bathing in...or not :)

And now a little about his home. They have one of the only two-story apartments in the mission, if not the only one. They also have heated floors! It is really nice in the mornings because when Elder Arko gets out of bed, the floor is warm and that is actually how their whole apartment is heated.

Elder Arko has gotten out of leading the music; Elder Loomis does it now and he just gets to sit there. Last week Elder Arko did give a talk and again everyone was very nice and said he did very well. He feels he did pretty well, but as always he was nervous...Swedish is hard. Elder Arko thinks he's getting better most of the time, but some days he just has no clue what anyone says to him at all. It's very frustrating for him.

The Elders have been visiting this older lady and she just loves to knit like she is addicted, so the second time they went and visited her she had knitted them a pair of socks! So now Elder Arko has a pair of wicked awesome knitted socks :)

October 24th letter

This email was a little late because the library Elder Arko uses has been closed for a while and this was the first chance he had to email this whole week! Also, some news from Elder Arko...they just got their first little bit of snow this week and it has stuck so he's pretty sure he'll be seeing white until March or April unless he moves somewhere else. It is now getting dark very early in Sweden. It starts getting dark around 4pm and is completely dark by about 6pm.

Elder Arko is sad he missed the hunt this year, but he did meet and talk with a native Swede whose Father has been hunting moose around those parts for most of his life, so that was very fun to hear about.

The Elders had their District Conference this week. It's like Stake Conference, but they only have a district. It was hard for Elder Arko because it was all in Swedish and they use too many big words over the pulpit, but he'll get it soon. They had fun travelling to Umeå with the Elders from Luleå. Elder Arko likes that he doesn't have to do the driving that the Luleå Elders do. They have to drive so much and so often.

The Elders have heard that Swine Flu has been running around Skellefteå pretty freely. Some of the schools have been closed because of it, so hopefully they will keep themselves out of that whole situation.

Elder Arko thanks everyone for the letters. Until Monday!

This is a landscape shot from up by Elder Arko's little old town of Skellefteå

This is a bridge at about 8pm up in Luleå, a town about a hour and a half North of where Elder Arko lives

October 12th letter

Things have been a little crazy for Elder Arko lately. He wasn't home in Skellefteå very much last week. The Elders left Saturday morning and got back Wednesday morning. During those 4 days, they went on a 2 hour bus ride to Luleå, left for Stockholm on Monday night and stayed there for a night, had their Zone Conference with a General Authority, and the same day flew back to Luleå. They slept there one night and then took another bus ride back to Skellefteå. Crazy! Although it was stressful, they had a good time. Elder Arko also enjoyed mission conference and got to see some people he hadn't seen in a while.

It is starting to get colder in Sweden and it starts getting dark around 6 or 6:30. Elder Arko thinks he's ready to take on a Swedish winter :) They are having fun trying to get some work done and having a good time with all the people they're working with, investigators and less actives alike. They've also come up with a few ideas to give their little branch a push in the right direction.

Elder Arko recently tried another European meal. Elder Loomis (even thought he knew he didn't like it) bought a pouch of Blood pudding (because it was 5 crowns). Elder Arko said, "Yeah, it was not good at all. Ben (who served in England) if you liked that stuff, I don't think I'll trust your taste buds again." Obviously he didn't enjoy his encounter with that British dish.

No pictures this week, but Elder Arko can't wait to hear from everyone again. He LOVES YOU!!!!!

October 5th letter

So this last week has been adventurous for Elder Arko. First of all, he would like to wish Grandma Arko a Happy Birthday! There's a card in the mail for her :)

He also hopes everyone had a good time watching General Conference. He did get to listen to conference, but it's funny because of the time delay. They watched the Saturday morning session on Saturday, the Priesthood session, the Saturday evening session, and the Sunday morning session on Sunday. Since the Sunday evening session played too late for them to watch, Elder Arko still hasn't seen that session yet! There's more. Since their branch is too small to get the broadcast, they travelled to the branch in Luleå to watch it. However, that branch isn't too big either, so they ended up watching it all in SWEDISH! Elder Arko definitely would have enjoyed it better in English, but wasn't completely lost with it being in Swedish.

The Elders just stayed in Luleå for the weekend because today they are flying into Stockholm for their Missionary Zone Conference (turns out it is just as cheap to fly them from Luleå to Stockholm as it is for them to take trains). Elder Arko is excited because they have an Area Authority coming and it seems like he wants almost all the time to talk to the Missinaries so we'll see what he has to say.

Elder Arko can't believe how much his nieces are growing up! The pictures he saw of them on the elk hunt were 'ridiculously cute' and is glad Britlee is being so outdoorsy. No girly girls in our family!

The Elders visited a family in Sweden and they have a little girl that is just about Britlee's age and it was so fun for Elder Arko. For one thing, she switches back and forth between English and Swedish, but she just wanted to show Elder Arko everything and tell him everything she had to play with. She reminded him a lot of what he thinks Britlee is like now so it makes him miss her lots. They also have a 2 week old so a baby and a toddler, just like Paizlee and Britlee.

The dialect is different up in Norrland (the North region of Sweden). It's not too different just how you pronounce some sounds so it hasn't been to difficult for Elder Arko. There are a few places that have almost a completely different language where they have made new words for different things! One of them is called Bonska and one member likes trying to teach us some. Elder Arko says he has enough trouble learning Swedish basics and he doesn't need to learn the complex stuff yet :)

He has been having a great time with Swedish and can hold a conversation now! It's getting to be really fun for him. He can't believe in a week he'll have been out 7 months! It's going by amazingly fast for him.

Elder Loomis made a Skor cake this week for conference and district meeting. It has caramel, whipped cream and usually Skor (the candy bar). Way too much sugar, but it was fun for them to make and eat.

This is how cold it was when they woke up one morning.It's starting to get cold there, but don't worry that is Celsius. It's just barely dipping below freezing right now so it's gonna be a fun winter for Elder Arko. He's very excited! Well, he's off to fly to Stockholm now!

September 28th letter

Elder Arko has been doing pretty well up in his new home of Norrland. He and his companion seem to be getting along quite well. Where Elder Loomis is from is an interesting story. His Dad was in the military, so he grew up in Virginia, Idaho, Panguitch (one of those weird small towns in Utah), Hawaii, and Germany. As of right now, his family is living in Virginia. He's a funny kid and Elder Arko is having a good time with him so far. Elder Loomis just hit his 3/4 mark so he's almost done. Elder Loomis is also the District Leader up there. The district consists of their area and Luleå which is the farthest mission North in Sweden. Coincidently, Elder Hanes (Elder Arko's MTC companion), is up there as well.

The branch up there has asked the Elders to do some service to help improve the church building. They've been painting and cutting the grass a little to give it a little face lift.

Elder Arko has been hearing a lot about the hunt coming up and is very jealous! The one thing that he has been missing A LOT is lacrosse. The weather there feels like it would when he started conditioning. He's looked around there, but there is NO lacrosse equipment at all! It's like trying to find ice skates in Jamaica.

He really wants some pictures of things that are going on at home. Speaking of pictures, here is one from him...it's Elder Loomis...

September 21st letter

Well, Elder Arko is now in the Northern region of Sweden and just trying to get settled in up there. It's very different up there and the branch is as small as he was told. Elder Arko thinks this transfer will be an interesting one. There were 9 people in church on Sunday and that was including Elder Arko and his new companion Elder Loomis. Elder Arko blessed the sacrament (along with Elder Loomis), introduced himself, and gave the closing prayer all in the same week! Elder Loomis led the music and next week is Elder Arko's turn. They're going to switch off on that every week. Elder Arko thinks it will be fun up there and is getting along pretty well with Elder Loomis so far.

If Elder Arko is lucky, he might be able to go to a sauna while he's up there! It's quite the thing to do during the winter. He learned a little bit about saunaing on his ride from Göteborg to Stockholm last week. They were riding with an Elder from Finland who had used a sauna basically all his life so Elder Arko is sure he'll be a pro when he gets home.

He'll try and take some pictures of more stuff this week so we can all see what kind of environment he's living in right now, but of course, no promises. Life gets too busy too fast as a missionary, but he'll try! Elder Arko sends his love to you all and hopes to hear from you!

This is a picture of his new space saver bags. They were really nice in helping with packing. Elder Arko doesn't know if he would have gotten it all in without these little life savers.

Elder Arko has a new hobby! While poking around in the apartment, he found a book called "14 ways to tie a necktie and other useful tips" so he's been having fun learning new ways to tie knots. This is one of the coolest ones called The Atlantic and he thinks it's sexy...or he thinks he's sexy...or both :)

Please notice that he is pulling EXACTLY the same face in both of his photos.

September 16th letter

Guess what this means?Transfers came and Elder Arko is MOVING!! He's way excited, but a little sad to leave Alingsås. He is going to be heading up to Skellefteå which is just a little South of Luleå (the farthest mission North in Sweden!!!)

Elder Arko isn't too worried about going so far North. He's heard it gets cold, but not too cold and he has a nice warm coat right now and a rain jacket so he thinks he'll be just fine.

He's going to Göteborg today and then will head to Stockholm tomorrow morning. He'll be able to visit with some other missionaries and maybe do some sight seeing. At 8:00pm he'll get on a night train (so he can sleep) and travel up to Umeå. After that, he'll take a bus to his new area. Elder Arko's MTC companion, Elder Hanes, is up in Luleå so they will be in the same district now.

Alingsås (A) to Skellefteå (B) aprox 1,076 km With the transfer comes a new companion. His name is Elder Loomis and he is in the same group as Elder Arko's trainer, Elder Stocks. Another change is the size of the branch in Elder Arko's new area. Apparently there is only about 5-8 members in church. The missionary Elder Arko is replacing asked him if he could lead music since that would be his new duty in sacrament meeting. Elder Arko is so excited!!! He's hopeful that he can help the place grow a little.

Good luck to Elder Arko with his new adventure!

September 7th letter

Elder Arko is approaching his 6th month mark! He can't believe how time flies. He said he's not sure about the whole tie burning thing since he likes all of his ties. Maybe he'll find a junk one in the apartment and burn it just for fun. The next time anyone hears from him, he'll be 1/4 of the way done with his mission! That may sound like a long time to us and Elder Arko, but his companion, Elder Seegmiller, has been out there for about a year and 4 months, so that makes 6 months not seem so long :)

The Elders ride a bus for about an hour to get to Trollhättan for their weekly visit. They usually just sleep in the apartment the church has there Friday night get up and work Saturday and go back to Alingsås Saturday night. Elder Arko hasn't met many members in Trollhättan, but the ones he has met are the good ones that invite them to dinner or for a game of innebandy.

Elder Arko is learning a lot about budgeting money. Since the economy here has started to rebound, the dollar has gone up in value which means he gets less money. However, they are still getting a healthy amount of member dinners which are really fun for them. Elder Arko really enjoys visiting the members there. They are strong families because they live in very low LDS populated areas. It seems like it would be very hard to raise a family in the church in that environment, so it's really cool to see how strong some of the families are in the gospel.

Elder Arko recently learned that they have a family in their ward that has 8th generation members so that's pretty cool. He also learned that there were many people that moved from Sweden to the United States when the church was first starting. It's been really fun for him to learn about the history and Tolennart is who they usually learn the interesting facts from. However, it's delivered in Swedish and very complex Swedish and a lot of times it goes over Elder Arko's head, but it's good practice for him.

Well, Elder Arko is still having fun being a missionary. The Elders had a good teach in Trollhättan with a man that really wants to learn more and seems very open. They challenged him to read and pray about it; Elder Arko is excited to see how it will go with him on Saturday when they meet with him again.

Elder Arko says thanks for the e-mails and the letter. He also sends his love!

Elder Arko found this at a tourist byrå and just had to have it. It's a patch to sew on something. Now he just needs something to sew it on to :)

Elder Arko was poking around in the storage area of their apartment and he found this...

A bean bag :) It's his new favorite seat in the house and where he will be studying from now on. He was so excited when he found it!

August 31st letter

Okay, Elder Arko started his letter off by answering some questions from those who write him (if you don't write him, that's your cue to feel badly). Yellow mustard is NOT impossible to find and right now they have a pretty good selection of it. He can find other brands besides Heinz as well! Myth...busted. There are a lot of hard cookies and crackers there, but it's not too difficult to find some soft ones if you want. As for Swedish meatballs, Elder Arko is not positive if he's had 'real Swedish meatballs' and isn't quite sure what the difference is. The Swedes generally don't eat much meat, but they do LOVE sauces and Elder Arko really enjoys those. Maybe that's what seperates Swedish meatballs from regular meatballs. There you go!

Transfers will be the 17th of September which will be here before we know it! Then we get to hear if Elder Arko gets to see a different part of Sweden! As for the area he is in now, he and his companion have had a few cool experiences in Trollhättan. They are trying to get a guy to cut back on snus (it's like chewing tobacco, but a little more addicting) and Elder Arko thinks he'll actually be able to cut back and eventually quit. They also had two different people approach them which is quite a big change for them. Both of them told the Elders to call them and see when they could meet with them. It was very unusual for Elder Arko and Elder Seegmiller to have work like that since they're only in Trollhättan one day out of the week.

It has been interesting for the Elders working in another area that has been closed for a little while, but it's also weird trying to cover two areas because of the travel. They usually take the bus back and forth from Alingsås to Trollhättan and it takes about 1 hour to get there. Elder Arko mentioned that there is no way he's riding that distance on a bike without gears! His bike is definatley not the best in the world, but it gets him from point A to point B relatively safely.

Elder Arko tried a little Swedish Cod and didn't think it was too bad. They didn't have the best week as far as numbers go. A lot of their investigators couldn't meet or were sick. This week should be better! He also apologizes for no pictures...he just forgot to take any! Lucky for you, I took some off his mission blog for an occasion just like this so here they are!

Elder Arko and President Anderson

Göteborg and Malmö Zone (Elder Arko is in the top row 7th from the right)

August 24th letter

This week's letter was pretty long because of everything Elder Arko had to say. He had a very busy week, so let's get started. After telling me to brace myself, he announced that he cut his own hair a little while ago! He says it's short and simple and it looks pretty good. The best part about it is that he saved 130 krowns (almost $20)

Elder Arko and the comp had fun this past week trying to make it easier to work in Trollhättan. First of all, Elder Arko spent some time trying to fix a flat bike tire, which unfortunately didn't work out. He ended up riding a half-flat bike tire to the train station. It was still better then last week since they actually got back into Alingsås on Saturday instead of Sunday morning.

Anyway, a lot of their time has been dedicated to Elder Seegmiller practicing the piano. He is going to play the piano in sacrament meeting next week so that should help some investigators and less actives make it to church. They've also been having pretty good numbers in their little town with teaches and new investigators. They have an investigator who is reading regularly in the Book of Mormon and they are now working on prayer with him so they love seeing the progression.

The recent family reunion made Elder Arko think that he'll only miss one more of those and then he'll be home! It's amazing how short a mission can seem when you look at it like that. Elder Arko prefers counting in weeks since it makes it not too long and not too short. In just a little while he'll be approaching his quarter mark! Crazy!

This last transfer has brought a change in the temple attandance policy. The Elders used to request to go once every transfer, but now it's once every six months. Elder Arko will get to go in about two months. Speaking of transfers, they're just a few week away. We'll see what happens for him.

So you're probably thinking what is that can of stuff? Well ladies and gentleman that is what Swedes call surströming. Surströming: sur means sour or fermented and ströming is herring, so fermented fish. Yum! They take herring and lay it in a can, seal it, and let it sit for almost a year.

Yes, Elder Arko has tried it.
This was right after Elder Arko had taken a bite of it in a tortilla with mashed potatoes...he said it was BAD. They took video of it as well so we'll get to see that eventually. Most swedes don't even like this stuff. All he can say is that he understands why you are supposed to open the can under water. Right after they opened the can it started to smell like his Dad's farts. Honestly, it was the worst and he can't describe it any other way.

August 17th letter

First thing's first. HAPPY BIRTHDAY To Elder Arko's FaSha (AKA Father)!!

Now, on to the update. Elder Arko and Elder Seegmiller had quite an adventurous week. They learned that they are taking over another area called Trollhättan. That area doesn't have any missionaries right now because of a decrease of missionaries in the mission. They go there once a week and check how things are going and visit some investigators.
When they were in Trollhättan this Saturday they had quite the day! I'm going to try and have this make sense, but I was a bit confused when I read it. Okay here it goes. It started out as a pretty normal day for them, but then things just started going wrong. First, an appointment they had with a youth from the ward got cancelled. So, they spent some time at an investigators house instead and then were on their way home. They caught the latest bus to make it to the aparment where their stuff was and after they sat down Elder Arko felt in his pocket and the phone that he was carrying wasn't there! It slipped out of his pocket at the investigators house. They got off at the next stop and walked back to his house to get the phone. They got on the next bus and figured that they might have a chance at catching the bus back to get their things and make it back to Alingsås. Then, the bus broke down and it took the bus driver about 15 minutes to fix it. They missed the bus to get back to the apartment with their stuff in it and had a 20 minute walk a head of them. They weren't going to be able to make the train back to Alingsås that night.

They went to the bus station to find times for the next morning and found that there was a train travelling to Göteborg (which they can get to Alingsås from) 40 minutes from then. They decided that if they hurried, they could make it back in time. So off they went, 20 minutes back to the apartment. Then, they got on the bus and headed back to the train station and as they were arriving at the train station, the train pulled out. Nice. So then, they notice that another train was scheduled to leave about 45 minutes from then. So, after the last bus back to the apartment had left, they realized that they had been looking at the arrivals screen instead of the departures. Sad. So, they got to walk home, but they did get some pizza on the way there to lift their spirits and had a good night sleep. They did make it back into Alingsås in time for sacrament meeting the next day so that was good.

The meal situation is working out pretty well for the Elders. They have about 3 or 4 member meals a week and it usually works out pretty well. The food is all pretty normal to Elder Arko now, but a lot of it reminds him of what our Dad eats. For example, sometimes Dad will just take a piece of bread and put a slice of dry cheese on it and call it a sandwich. That is basically a typical "sandwich" there. They will also put things like butter and maybe a cucumber on bread and call it a sandwich.

As far as the weather goes, it has been raining a little more which makes contacting a bit hard, but the cooler temperature that it brings is certainly welcomed by Elder Arko!

Elder Arko is still trying to have fun out there and spread God's Word. They had a very very good teach the other day with a great investigator. The only bad thing is she doesn't live here and actually leaves tomorrow (which is today...I think). It just goes to show you how much little time you may have with someone, but how big of an impact you can make on their life.

Elder Arko is really enjoying the game of innebandy. He played in Trollhättan with some of the youth in the ward and had a great time! He's still a little sore from it though. In the second picture you can see the ball as a white streak. Pretty cool!
This is a guy and his HUGE dog. The Elders talked to him (the guy, not the dog) for a while and he was very nice to them. It turns out his dog is almost 70 kilos...for those of us that can't convert that (my hand is raised), it is roughly what our dear Elder Arko weighs...yeah he's massive.
That's all for the week!

With all his Love

-Elder Arko

August 10th letter

Elder Arko and Elder Seegmiller are doing just fine and are trying really hard to get someone to commit to baptism soon so they can have one for this transfer, but we will see if they can make it happen. Our Mom told Elder Arko how much her ward is pushing ward missionary work and Elder Arko now knows why. He says it is definately the best way to do the work. She also told him that she now owns a copy of Preach My Gospel for herself! Elder Arko thinks it is a very good book to help with missionary work. He says it helps not only you do the work, but it also helps in converting yourself and refining your own testimony.

The weather in Sweden has been pretty hot lately. Elder Arko has gone with a short sleeve shirt almost every day and has still been warm. Every so often it rains and cools things off so that's nice. Also, he learned that he might not see snow here in Alingsås. They say it rarely snows there even in the middle of winter; it only rains so hopefully he gets transferred somewhere up North.

Elder Arko sent two shirts home for his little girls! These are for you Elder Arko...

Aren't they adorable?!

It's crazy for Elder Arko to think that he has been out on his mission for this long!!! He can't believe in a month he'll be 1/4th the way done!!! It's crazy how fast it goes, but he still feels like he has a ton ahead of him before he's done.

A cool story for the week is about how the Elders we were riding their bikes past the train and bus station in their little old town and all of a sudden Elder Arko heard a 'clunk'. He looked down to see that his bike chain had fallen off again. He got down to fix it, being very careful as to not get his hands too greasy. As he finally fixed his problem, he looked up and say Elder Seegmiller talking to a lady. Apparently after they stopped, she approached them and said "You are Mormon missionaries right? Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Elder Seegmiller started talking to her about what the main differences between our church and others are. They had a very nice discussion with her and even got a return appointment set up for Tuesday. The moral of the story is...the Lord works in very mysterious ways; sometimes even through everyday annoying occurences.

Elder Arko wishes us all the very best and sends his love from Sweden!

And now, for a few RANDOM pictures. This one is a little monkey from Kung Fu Panda that Elder Arko got out of a chocolate egg. It's AWESOME just because he's told everyone there that it's his favorite movie.

This is how many Books of Mormon the Elders have in their apartment! They are in all different languages, even Swahilli!

August 3rd letter

Elder Arko has had another busy week and is getting used to the fact that he's going to be tired for the next two years. He's having a way fun time and will be starting to call members and have telephone conversations in Swedish which should interesting.

Last week, Elder Arko told us that they challenged someone to baptism and unfortunately that one didn't go through...sad day. However, they do have another investigator that might be ready in a little while so he and Elder Seegmiller are excited about that.

Elder Arko felt their zone conference was very instructional for help with finding ideas and just missionary work in general. They also got to have a little fire and burn their distractions, so you know Elder 'pyro' Arko enjoyed that!

And now for the main event...a few days ago, Elder Arko gave a blessing...in Swedish! He doesn't know why, but the member asked him to offer it. It was a very cool experience and very scary, but that just shows how well he's doing with the language!

Elder Arko said that swimming is a huge thing that he's missing right now because they walk past such a nice lake every single day! Also, if anyone even mentions lacrosse, he gets excited and starts to talk about it:)

Okay, on to the pictures. These are Elder Arko's 2 newest purchases! The pink thing is a 160 GB hard disk. That was the only color they had (so he says). It also appears that he will be following in my footsteps and performing some haircuts. I wonder if those are for him or other people... This is Elder Arko's new district after last weeks zone conference.They actually had a combined one so he got to see A LOT more missionaries and even some from his group that he hasn't seen since they arrived in Sweden. It was very fun for him! The sad thing is his district is going to be getting smaller soon since two missionaries and going home for school. The one sitting on the stage is going to BYU on a football scholorship and the one that is crouching and cross eyed is going to BYU as well (Elder Arko thinks). So the next time you see a BYU football game, look for a receiver with the name of Mathews and know that Elder Arko served with him for a little while and he's a way nice guy.

July 26th letter

Elder Arko is having a blast in Sweden. He got to play innebandy (aka floorball) for the 2nd time ever! He said ,"It's a crazy sport with a lot of randomness, but still pretty fun." Well, that wasn't enough for me so I looked to Wikipedia for further guidance. This is what I found 'Floorball, a type of floor hockey, is an indoor team sport which was developed in the 1970s. It is a fast paced sport, with limited physical contact allowed. Floorball is most popular in areas where the sport has developed the longest, such as the Czech Republis, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland. The game is played indoors on a gym floor, making it a year-round sport at the amateur and professional levels. There are professional leagues, such as Finland's Salibandyliiga and Sweden's Svenska Superligan.' Sounds pretty exciting, eh? Hopefully we'll get some pictures next letter!

Elder Arko also described the weather in Sweden right now. It has been mostly rainy and the temperature is around 20-25 degrees Celsius so it's not bad at all. They did however have a week where the temperatures reached 40 to 45 Celsius which is extremely hot for Sweden, not to mention the humidity. How would you like to ride a bike in that? There's an area that has quite a few little hills and the Elders have street bikes which means no gears so that's not the most fun for them especially in the hot humid weather.

Elder Arko and his companion have been trying to get the ward jump started on helping them with refferals, but it has been kind of hard for them. They haven't had a baptism for a while in Alingsås so it's kind of hard to do that, but they're working on it. They have actually found a lot of new investigators recently that are a little younger so that has been an exciting change for them. On Tuesday they are going to a bible study class/skate session that a bunch of youth have so they are excited for that. Not only do they get a chance to meet a lot of the young people, but they also might get to try skate boarding at a skate park...that would be interesting.

The last thing Elder Arko said is "Have fun, I miss you all and I'm not worried about you one bit because I know that God is watching over all of you! LOVE YOU"

Elder Arko

And now for some pictures. Elder Arko and Elder Seegmiller saw these HUGE apartment complexes up on the hill and Elder Seegmiller wanted to go check them out so they did. It turns out they were locked, but before they found that out and were trying to find a way in, they went around to the back door. They realized that it was right on the edge of this nature preserve so they took some pictures of the discovery they made. Elder Arko said it was very fun to see a forest in Sweden.

July 20th letter

This past week has been very hectic for Elder Arko with transfers and getting to know his new companion. Elder Seegmiller is very nice and Elder Arko thinks they will get along just fine. This is his first transfer going senior so it should be interesting. Elder Arko is staying in Alingsås for now and that is just fine for him right now. He didn't have to pack or move and he knows the area pretty well.

Elder Arko and Elder Seegmiller have already had a few fun experiences together. They taught two people outside a pub in a small town near Alingsås and it was really funny! One of them was basically drunk, but the other was sober and had some really good questions about why our church is different. They wanted to know why bad stuff happens to little children and stuff like that so they had a good long discussion. Elder Arko doesn't know if anything will come of it because she seemed pretty set in her ways about life, but it makes for a way good story.

Elder Arko is also having fun trying to communicate with ward members more since he knows them better than Elder Seegmiller. He likes feeling a little bit of responsibility in that area.

Elder Arko's Swedish is coming along and he wants to learn more discriptive words now so he can explain things in more detail. When people begin speaking to him in Swedish he can understand what they're saying and he doesn't have to translate it in his head. He's thinking in Swedish everyone!!!

Elder Arko with the Ivestedt family Elder Stocks with the Ivestedt family

Elder Baker, the District leader, and Elder Arko

The District: Elder Scoville, Elder Humphries, Elder Arko, Elder Argyle, Elder Baker, Elder Lords, Elder Depew, and Elder Stocks

Love from Sweden...or from Sweden with Love...-Elder arko