The Crossroads of Surprise St. and Change Ave.

Käre Familj och Vänner,

Boy oh boy has this been a crazy week! I'm going to be candid with you folks, I have been feeling a little apprehension in writing this email. I only have 2 hours to write all of you, some respond to emails, and write my weekly letter to President Newell. With all that I have to say in this email, I fear that responses to others may lag a tad this week. Hopefully the Lord will grant my fingers some speed so I can get this all out and so that you all can receive the personal responses you all deserve. =)

So I'm not even really all that sure where to start. So much news, so many chance occurrences, wonderful encounters, and touching moments, it's hard to prioritize...

Hmm... Ok, I guess I can start with my investigators. So this week has been a record low for most of my investigators: we've only managed to meet two of them. BUT... one of them is actually making some progress! His name is Mikael, and he is a 23 year old Catholic computer graphics designer/nursing student. He's INCREDIBLY nerdy, even more so than me. Perhaps this may be a bit hard for my siblings, Shannon, and Val to swallow, but yes, it is possible. =) Anyways, he came with us to midsommar and church on Sunday, and I think that the Spirit is really working on his heart a little. I'm not sure whether he is seeking the truth very heavily right now (he is quite devoted to his faith), but he is willing to see if there is something here, and that's a lot more that I can say I have seen in my mission thus far. We will be meeting with him tomorrow, so needless to say I am praying a lot that we can teach him what he needs to hear.

Ok, what next... Oh, I guess I did mention Midsommar, so why not talk about that? So Midsommar was absolutely brilliant (all my BBC fan friends, please reread that in David Tennant's voice, if you would), and I had a wonderful time.

We made a Maypole...

Played some awesome games (hilarity courteous of our long-haired friend Esa Jr.)...

had amazing food...

*lack of photo because I was too busy eating it

... and we had some super awesome visitors (Mikael and a member family from Arizona).

So yeah, pretty dang awesome. Also awesome was the fact that the Pikes (Arizona family) had a 17 year old daughter who is super into sci-fi literature. It was super nice to talk about my favorite books and actually have someone who knew what I was talking about!

Ok, how can I follow that up? What equals on level of significance? Well, I guess I could mention transfers...

Yes, it's true, we received the dreaded transfer call. Äldste Anderson has either been a really good missionary, or a really bad one, because he's getting shipped up north to Sundsvall! Yes, my warm, kind hearted companion is getting sent up to the sunny climes of Norrland, where he will probably reside till the place turns to a half frozen wasteland =) Seriously though, he's an awesome missionary, and I'll miss him.

So that's the wonderful life of Elder Ogaard for this week. I hope you all have a wonderful week, and be sure to tune in next Monday for another installment of adventure, danger, and missionary work!

Love,

Äldste Kody Christopher Ogaard