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