a little bit of everything and then some

wow, sounds like it was a crazy week back at home! I'm glad to hear everyone is okay! Uncle Pat will be in my prayers with hope for a speedy recovery! Congratulations to Makayla (woop woop sweet 16) and Harrison (graduation!) and Grandma (happiest birthday to you!). 

this week was good here in Jönköping! We have been working hard and doing what we can to keep the work moving forward! I can't even believe it's already June, it's so crazy! 

COOL STORIES:

• I have played volleyball like 3 times this week. I'm still uncoordinated though :[]
• Jönköping had their city birthday party (or something like that) so bus routes got changed for the weekend because they set up a giant fair in the middle of centrum. We went and walked around the little booths for a bit and I was hoping to get some cheap swedish street fair stuff but then I saw it. STRAWBERRIES AND CHERRIES. They've had strawberry booths all over the place lately, but these ones were HUGE. So we got a box of strawberries and a box of cherries and I've been having the greatest snacks in the world this week because of them. 
• A couple of the sisters that served here last year came back to sweden. So while they were here they came to some activities and we had lunch with them and it was really fun :) For one of the activities the YSA created a new dessert called the Pankkakka (or was it pankladka...or kladpanka...or pannikka... i alla fall, whatever.) and it was a Kladkakka inside a swedish pancake. And it was delicious. 

UPLIFTING MOMENTS:

• We taught Shasha again. We went through the restoration with her and she liked it. She has already read the Introduction to the Book of Mormon and all the testimonies at the beginning. She really wants to know about everything and she's super cute. I was so worried about the language barrier I went and got myself a Chinese Book of Mormon and highlighted it and underlined different scriptures for her and book marked them. She was so excited when I gave it to her! I am so grateful that we have the resources to teach all sorts of people in their own language, even if we don't speak it ourselves. 
• We taught this old investigator earlier this week. He told us he only believed in God. Not Jesus, not prophets, not the bible. It was super weird. But he had lots of great questions and I felt a little bit like I was teaching Deo again because of all the questions. Basically what it boiled down to was that he needed to pray and ask God what was true. And then he told us he didn't pray. And I was completely floored, because if you believe in God and you want to know what his will his for you how in the world are you going to get an answer if you don't have a relationship with him? So. We taught him how to pray. Explained that he could only get an answer if he was praying. And then we asked him to say the closing prayer. Oh my goodness the spirit was tangible. He said amen and sat there and was quiet for like a whole minute and then finally said, "I don't even remember the last time I prayed."*
• Lasse came to all three hours of church yesterday. He is so excited to be baptized on July 4th! We're anxiously getting him ready and all of our people are so happy for him and everything he's doing to be prepared :)

COOL PLACE: The park in Centrum. It was so busy this weekend!

I hope you guys all have a great week! Challenge is daily scripture study :) Learn a new story from the book of mormon. I'll give points to those of you that already know who Abish is. My second request is just to pray for me :) I've been having weird random struggles popping up all over the place. I love you guys and love getting your pictures and emails!!! 

puss puss,

syster janessa brink

syster sandelin and I waiting at the bus stop

 it was raining so Alex let me barrow his coat. He's just a little bit taller than I am....

 street fair!

 I rained a lot this week. So we gathered all the snails on the steps of the church and started a snigel fest. Woop!

 this is my preparation to teach Shasha the plan of salvation. I'm so excited for this lesson!!

this is what the night before pday looks like at our place.

six months down

Wow, I can't even believe it's been six months already! Time seriously just flies by so quickly! I feel like it was only a few weeks ago that I got to the crazy beautiful country, but at the same time I feel like I've been in sweden for forever and I just never want to leave! I hope you all are having the happiest Memorial Day! 

this week we have been ALL OVER THE PLACE. Lots of good times to report on!

COOL STORIES:

• We celebrated Elder Pearson's birthday and my 6 month mark on tuesday. We went on a cool hike and I burnt my tights on top of a cliff. It was the greatest ever. Definitely a day that I'll never forget! I am so blessed to be here as a missionary. I get to meet the coolest people and see the prettiest country in the whole world. 
• We had Zone Training in Göteborg this wednesday. So I went on splits with Sister Allred and she cut my hair for me :) Not too short, just a trim. We also went to the biggest candy store I have EVER seen in my entire life. Sweden knows godis. 
• Sister Sandelin and I were in charge of activity night this week. So we did minute to win it games. Oh my goodness, it was just crazy! I got covered in shaving cream (shaving balloons activity) and we had a super good time. I love being able to do fun activities with the YSA and I love that they all want to get together and have fun!

UPLIFTING MOMENTS:

• While we were in Göteborg, we were able to go to a baptism. The Utby elders put together a great program. After he came out of the water I just wanted to clap and cheer hahaha :) It's always the GREATEST seeing people change their lives and wanting to follow Jesus Christ. I can't even explain how happy I was for him (and I didn't even know him)
• There's this new convert here named Amy. She was a self referral in the beginning and she was baptized only 2 weeks after first meeting with the missionaries. She's basically the most prepared person in the whole world. We were able to go over to her apartment this week and have a great lesson with her about Enos. She wants to get to know the Book of Mormon better so we've decided to start sharing stories with her to get her more familiar with it. She is the cutest woman ever. She is so so excited to go to the temple for her endowment (she can go next year! hopefully I'll be serving around a temple and I can go and be with her :) ) 
• Last night one of the YSA, Marina, accidentally left her computer at the church so she went to go and get it at like 8:00. She ran into this little chinese woman walking up to the chapel. This woman wanted to look around the church so Marina showed her what it looked like and then got her phone number and set up an appointment for her to meet with the missionaries (us!) this morning. So today we came to the church and started teaching her. She doesn't speak much english, so we called a new convert that lives in Kristianstad to translate for us. I am so impressed how well everything went down with the huge language barrier. She was glad to meet with us and told us she wants to meet with us EVERY SUNDAY. So we are really excited! 
• Lasse is still so excited to be baptized! We taught him the word of wisdom yesterday and he was so ready to commit to it! I LOVE PEOPLE!!!!

COOL PLACE: the cliffs by the lake

​ 

I hope you all have the greatest week ever! Challenge for the week is to PRAY DAILY. You can always have a better relationship with your heavenly father :) 

puss och kram!

syster janessa brink

prepping to burn the tights

Photo sent to me by YSA Leader Alexander Hegyessy

YSA Leader Alexander Hegyessy sent this to me.

A picture we decided had to be sent to you.

hike through this crazy swamp! happy 6 months! :)

Another picture from Alexander

world's biggest candy shop

sister sandelin likes selfies

i'm looking like a dork, but this little primary boy is the cutest

this is what i get for being in the "splash zone"

hanging out on the beach!!! the water is COLD.

I just love being a missionary!!!! it's the greatest thing I've ever done :)

first week in J-köp

Dear family and friends,

I'd like to announce that I have arrived safely in Jönköping after four long train rides. I'm happy to be here! It's so pretty and the church is HUGE. Walking up to it everyday is the highlight of my life. Also we live SUPER close to it so we only walk 5 minutes to get there. There is a really cute park by our house and we like to go there to workout in the mornings and someday I'm just gonna take some time to play there for a couple minutes. The ward is great! My first day here we had like 3 different dinners and I met A TON of members who's names I completely forgot but it was way fun :) 

(yes, alex is in the ward, he's a YSA and he's super cool. we like to party)

COOL STORIES:

• I went to a baby shower my first day here in Jönköping and EVERYONE and their dog was there. It was so cool! I've never seen that kind of support from a ward before. I also learned weird little swedish childrens songs there like "Lilla Snigel" (little snail) 
• We had a YSA activity on friday and we played some beach volleyball. They have this giant lake here, and a whole bunch of volleyball courts on the beach and we played for so long. I love the YSA here! Lots of diving for the ball and lots of sand in my sweatpants but I think I want to play volleyball every week the whole time I'm here
• Andreas (from Karlskrona) was in church yesterday. I was standing there greeting people as they walked in and introducing myself to the members and then in walked Andreas and I almost ran up and gave him a hug (no worries though, I gave him a firm handshake instead) He was in town for his cousin's wedding and he wanted to go to church while he was here. So he showed up and it was so nice having a familiar face in church. 

UPLIFTING MOMENTS:

• I got to give a talk yesterday in church. Usually we are just asked to give our testimony when we first come to an area, but they called me yesterday morning and asked me to give a full on TALK in sacrament meeting. So I got up and talked about Ammon and the sons of Mosiah and I think I said most of what I needed to say. But I got to look at all the people I'd be serving for the next 6 weeks and I was able to feel comfortable. Like I could do this. Because leaving Karlskrona was probably one of the hardest things ever, and I didn't know if i will ever see them again. But like, I have been praying so hard for Heavenly Father to open my heart to these people here in Jönköping, and I know he did a little bit when I was up there. 
• We taught this great investigator of ours named Lasse. We were teaching the plan of salvation and I think I might have gotten the gift of tongues... I don't think I've ever had a lesson more led by the spirit. 

COOL PLACE: The Dala Bear. This super cute bear in Borås that's painted like a dalahäst. I thought it was just adorable

I don't have much time. We went and visited a less active family on an island and our whole P-day got eaten up so sorry this is so late! But I love you guys and think you're all the greatest! Have a great week and stay busy! Your challenge this week is to learn a new recipe. I forgot my cookbook in Karlskrona so I've been trying to get creative. Woop! 

pictures to come :) 

puss och kram,

syster janessa brink

The cutest little dalabjörn you ever did see. Also say hi to my elder friend Farnworth

the ikeas here are so high class compared to the one in Utah.

 I love this chapel! 

exploring Jönköping and finding this fun fountain in the middle. We found a hat in the fountain and sister Sandelin fished it out for me :) 

the cool hat I got from the fountain haha

 I just thought this was funny

ferry ride out to the island yesterday! so sunny and beautiful!

me and sister sandelin

   me and my elder friend Pearson having a good old time at these castle ruins

(hahaha!! I think this is really funny!!)

this is a better picture of sister sandelin and i :) we have a good time

 Loving it here in Jönköping! 

ps 

also today is my six month mark!!! I can't even believe I've been serving my mission for six whole months! I feel like it was only a few days ago that I said goodbye to all of you and walked into the MTC. It feels even shorter from the time I walked off the plane in Stockholm and saw this beautiful country for the first time. I am so happy to be a missionary and I can't even wait for the next year to come! I want to stay out here and be a missionary forever. I have learned so much about myself, about other people, about the Savior and my Heavenly Father. I will say that being a missionary is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but it is so so SO worth it, it completely makes up for the hard days. I have met some of the most amazing people here and my life has changed so much. I love you guys so much! 

the eternal purposes of the lord shall roll on

This week has been the greatest. It's crazy how the Lord blesses you when you need it the most. I love being able to see my prayers answered in the coolest ways!

answers to questions:

-skyping with the family was super fun (even if they did waste 7 minutes talking about vitamins) and it was great seeing everybody's faces again!!! The call weirdly dropped at the end though, so I hope you got my little video message. I HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT MOTHERS DAY MOM!!!!

COOL STORIES

1) We went up to Kalmar/Nybro this week. We changed out pday from Monday to Wednesday (I emailed on Monday, but that's all we did) and we went to go see Carolina and help her renovate her kitchen. and then all four of us (elders too) went to go see Kalmar Slott! It was my first time actually going INSIDE the castle and it was so cool!!! I need to come back and live in Sweden. I just have to. Carolina offered to let me stay with her so I've already got something kind of figured out ;)

2) We went to visit Robert and Sigrid again this week and help out on their little farm. They have LAMBS!!! Those three pregnant sheep (that we so skill-fully sheared) delivered a total of 5 little lambs and they are the CUTEST LITTLE ANIMALS EVER. Also they have baby bunnies. I'm obsessed. I have to live on a farm now. I can't even imagine not.

3) We had a Spanish activity night in Kristianstad and it was super great! I had the spiciest food I have had so far on my mission. I MISS SPICY SPANISH FOOD. It was a good night, all in Spanish. I had to listen to Swedish translation for the meeting. And then we had food and dancing and friends and it was all so much fun :)

UPLIFTING MOMENTS

1) This week we were able to challenge 3 different people to baptism and all of them accepted. So be praying for my friends Maureen, Jenny, and Emad!!!

2) Yesterday I had the opportunity to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting. I don't know how to explain how much love I have for these people here in Karlskrona. They are my family away from my family. This was my first area and these people have taken such good care of me. I got up to share my testimony and the words just poured out of my mouth. I really don't know what I said the whole time, but I could feel a little bit of what Heavenly Father feels for all of them.

3) We taught Jenny with Irene the other day. And while we were sitting there I just knew that she was not going to have any problems getting baptized. She's so ready and so prepared. Such a blessing to have those investigators that really do want to know everything they can about the gospel!

Cool Place(s): Kalmar Slott (for the 5th time. I just love this place), Sigrid and Robert's farm, The Karlskrona chapel (my home)

Last of all I should probably say that I got a transfer call on Saturday morning. I will be moving to Jönköping on Wednesday (they call Jönköping "Jerusalem" because there are so many different religions there and everyone believes in god) and my new companion will be Syster Sandelin. She is a swede so lets celebrate that my Swedish skills will increase like crazy now :) I actually got to meet her family earlier this week so that was pretty cool! I don't know exactly how to describe how mixed my emotions are about this transfer. Everytime I think about going to Jönköping I get so excited, but then when I think about what and who I'm leaving behind my heart just breaks into little pieces. I had no idea that I could love so many different people so much, so quickly. It's almost harder saying goodbye to them than it was saying goodbye to my family because I don't know when I'll ever get to come back here. But I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us, and right now he needs me in Jönköping and I know that he knows better than I do.

I love all of you guys so much!!! Keep me updated on all the cool things at home :)

love, syster janessa brink

 KALMAR CASTLE

 sometimes the members go all out for dinner

one day we were both sister austin

Last day with Sigrid and Robert! I'm going to miss them SO MUCH

 I LOVE MADELEINE AND LINA

baby bunnies!!!

 my favorite lamb ever

Carolina my favorite!! :)

family picture :)

strange things

this week.... was a little rough. Sometimes Heavenly Father gives us trials and we don't know why and it's just life. Sadly, I have a lot of stories this week that might not be following me home, ever. Sister Austin and I are keeping our heads up though. We are working hard to see the purpose in our trials and figure everything out.

to answer my mother's questions:

-I will try jump roping

-We are still feeling things out with our one investigator. We are not teaching her right now, but we'll be calling her up sometime this week in order to see if things are good and if she still wants to be taught.

-public school busses count as public transportation

-Church ends at two (here in sweden) so I'll be skyping runt omkring 4 or 5ish depending on the situation. I'll try my best to keep you updated if anything changes. We probably won't be calling via phone, so watch for the skype

COOL STORIES

1) we taught the biggest group of primary kids I have ever seen here in Sweden. A whopping 15 children!!! A family was blessing their baby and they decided to come and do it here in Karlskrona, the branch where they grew up. SO they invited EVERYONE. And it was so much fun! But, oh my goodness I think I'm gonna have to learn the word for "reverent" in Swedish if I ever have to teach primary again.

2) VALBORG. This week there was a traditional Swedish holiday called Valborg (vall-bori) and it was my first red-day. We were supposed to be with members or in our apartment because the way Valborg is celebrated is by lighting GIANT BONFIRES symbolic of burning witches that cast spells in the summer. It was. so. cool. We spent the day with some members and they invited us over for a campfire and dinner. We got a little rained out but it was still super fun :)

3) I ate MOOSE MEAT this week. We were visting teaching with Lina and we were at Joanna's house (she's the relief society president) and we made dinner with her. She pulls out this interesting lump of kött and tells us that it's going to be the main dish. Moose. It was pretty good actually.

UPLIFTING MOMENTS

1) I have only one significant uplifting moment this week and I can't even share all the details. I'm just going to say that I know that this Church is true. I may not have all the information. I may not understand why we have certain commandments. But I KNOW that Thomas S. Monson is God's prophet for this day. He is leading and directing the Church under direct guidance from Jesus Christ. God will not allow his prophet to EVER lead us astray. I know that God hears my prayers and answers them. I know he has a plan for me and for the people here in Karlskrona. He watches over all of his children and he knows all of us personally. I know there's a reason for me to be here in Sweden right now. Sometimes I feel like Sister Austin and I are completely alone in our beliefs, but it doesn't even matter. Because we know together. And we have Christ on our side. D&C 6:32-34  "Verily, verily, I say unto you, as I said unto my disciples, where two or three are gathered together in my name, as touching one thing, behold, there will I be in the midst of them—even so am I in the midst of you. Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward. Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail." I am holding on to those last words with everything I have. I may not understand everything the way I want to right now, but I am built on Christ.

New Place: This super pretty forest behind a member's house. We celebrated Valborg here and it was kind of awesome

CHALLENGE

stay off the internet for a whole 24 hours. Turn off the data on your phone. Shut down the computer. Don't listen to your ipod. Take some time to just be. Don't worry about what's happening with twitter or instagram or facebook. I know the weather is nice over there, grandma keeps telling me that it's sunny, so go have some fun outside or something. You could even celebrate Valborg. Tell me how all of it goes :)

love you all! don't worry about me! have a great week!

puss puss, syster janessa brink

på väg till festen!

enjoying the valborg festivities

april väder

this week has been up and down with the weather like crazy. it's warm and sunny and we can leave the apartment without coats and then 4 hours later it's pouring rain. It's really fun getting dressed in the morning.

COOL STORIES (or weird experiences...take your pick)

1) this week we had a few appointments with one of our investigators. We had called her to tell her we were on our way but she didn't answer. So we just went over anyway. BAD IDEA. She opens the door wearing nothing (the culture here though.) and gets mad at us and says "jag är upptagen!" (i'm busy) and we're just standing there like, "...um. yeah, we can see that." and we just left. Welcome to the summer months in sweden.

2) last week for pday we went to see a viking burial ground. It's right next to the McDonalds and the military base. Basically it's just a bunch of giant unmarked rocks sticking out of the ground and the bumpiest grass in the world.

3) we went to a member dinner last night at the cutest family's house. They have 5 Little boys and they are so much fun. we got to play games with them all night and eat the greatest food. All the boys are super smart (they can all play the piano, they speak English, they play chess) and they are all really well behaved. Being with them made me so excited to be home with my family in a year and one month :)

UPLIFTING MOMENTS

1) we went to go visit Martha, we're helping her prepare to go to the temple. She ended up on the phone somehow and we sat there for 30 minutes not knowing what to do. when she finally hung up we didn't have much time left. So we shared a scripture and asked her to say the closing prayer. And when she prayed it was like heaven opened a Little bit. She worries about her kids and she worries about the members, and us missionaries and Everything. But when she talks to God you know she doesn't worry anymore. She has so much faith in Him and she trusts Him with all of her cares. She's a great example to me and I'm so grateful that I get to serve here and get to know her.

2) Diana texted us on tuesday and told us she would be moving back to Croatia. We went over one last time on Tuesday night. We sat in her smokey apartment and shared a final lesson. She is worried about traveling because she doesn't know where they're going to live. But as we said the closing prayer, hugged her goodbye and closed the door, I knew she was going to be okay. After all these months teaching her and worrying about her and her Little family I know I don't have to worry anymore. She's going to make it to Croatia safely, and we taught her how to get missionaries sent to her when she finally settles down. We went by again on Thursday to see if they had made it out okay, and they were gone. Part of me is a Little relieved because it was so difficult to teach them, but also I'm sad. I feel like Diana and I were soul sisters for a Little while there. Even if I don't find and convert some long lost cousin out here, I found Diana, and I know that I was supposed to.

3) While we were at Church the other day, Irene comes up to us with her niece, and tells us that her niece wants to be baptized. Out of nowhere we got a new investigator, so we taught her the restoration. Jenny (Irene's niece) is like 30 years old and has been in sweden for only 3 weeks. She doesn't speak any Swedish so Irene translated for us. Sometimes you have to search for the prepared. Sometimes you have to contact people all day and walk up and down the street to find someone who might be interested. But then sometimes the prepared just show up to Church with limited knowledge about what is happening and they want to be a part of it.

New Place(s): kalmar slott- not really new, but it's different when there's not snow on the ground.

Växjö's Svenska Kyrkan- the architechture is just super cool

CHALLENGE:

take some public transportation. talk to the person sitting next to you. everyone has a story ;)

love you all!

puss puss, syster janessa brink

some fancy art in kalmar

fancy Candle holder at svenska kyrkan

Swedish grafitti (girl Power)

more viking burial grounds

sister austin and i at the viking burial grounds

KALMAR SLOTT!!

Walking is fun...

news for all of you: I STILL DON'T HAVE A BUS CARD!!! yeah. So we've had a lot of fun getting around this week. I'm gonna have to just buy myself one because Karlskrona is not an easy place to get around even WITH a bus card. We really just need a car. (which we had for like, 3 Days... but then we gave it back to the ZL's)

I have decided to change up the typical email format that I ususally send. It's exhausting. SO, effective immediately we're gonna do something a little different:

1) Three cool stories

2) Three uplifting moments

3) one new place we discovered

4) a challenge for you, the reader, to complete this week :)

so fun and exciting!

COOL STORIES

1) There is this new(ish) youth video called "Follow The Prophet" and we watched it as part of our Movie Marathon thing we did for p-day last week. It was so dramatic and twilightish. You all have to see it.

2) We had Sisters Conference this week in Stockholm :) basically it was a big tjej fest (girl party) with a wizard of oz back drop. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. I got to see all of my favorite sister missionaries and listen to the greatest lessons on Knowledge (scarecrow; if i only had a brain), Love (tin man; heart), and Courage (cowardly lion; not really cowardly, just smart). It was a fun reunion with all my past companions and my MTC sisters. I accidentally stole one of their backpacks...oops.. that's what we get for all having the same one

3) Sister Austin and I made an AMERICAN PIZZA with some contraband pepperoni (they don't have them here in sweden.) I forgot how much I love pizza that doesn't have french fries and kebab on it. It was the highlight dinner of the week.

UPLIFTING MOMENTS

1) Deo came to Church yesterday. He was looking the most Will Smithish I've ever seen. And he told us he knows the Book of Mormon is true and that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet and that the Church is true. He is confused though, because he doesn't understand the need to be baptized if he already was baptized. We are happy about his progress, and we're still working with him on baptism. I LOVE TEACHING DEO.

2) while at sisters conference, Syster Beckstand taught us about being a daughter of God and using all the attributes we learned about in our little classes during the day. We all have power within us to do anything. We have the power to overcome the adversary and return back home. We have been endowed and called to serve by a prophet of God and if we are built on a sure foundation we can't fall.

3) we are helping Irma quit smoking and drinking coffee. When we told her about the Word of Wisdom she kind of freaked out a little and said she didn't want to be baptized anymore and that God doesn't care about her private life. But we explained to her why we have the Word of Wisdom, and that we have time to stop doing things that are against it. Her baptism isn't until June, so to start we asked her not to drink any coffee for 24 hours. I made a deal with her that I'd eat more vegetables this week in order to follow the Word of Wisdom better myself. And we got to promise her things in that lesson that I know will happen according to her faithfulness. We get to follow up with her tonight :)

New Place: Bergkvara Svenska Kyrkan's Bell Tower. We just thought it was a space ship or something at first. It's cool.

CHALLENGE:

send me a picture of you doing some kind of service for someone else. Rescuing them from a lion, helping with groceries, making breakfast, building a house, whatever. The most creative gets a prize :)

That's all for this week!!! I have tons of pictures to send because I forgot to send them last week (oops) so be on the lookout for those! They get posted on the blog for the general public. Have an Amazing week and keep doing great things! I love you guys!

<3 sister janessa brink

From last week:

hanging out with the members and their dog

zone training with the greatest zone ever: MALMÖ!

the greatest thing about having a car

The Bergkvara Svenska Kyrkan's bell Tower

sister giles got some jamaica braids. I KNOW. I forgot how much I loved this girl. She's one of my favorites :)

sometimes train rides take all day long and we just get to be happy about it

AMERICAN PIZZA