#FRIDSFURSTEN

HAPPY SEMANA SANTA!!! The festivities have officially begun with
Domingo de Rama yesterday and everyone had their big palm tree
branches and olive branches. It was really cool to see everyone
walking home from mass (I say everyone because the 2 times a year
EVERYONE goes to church is Semana Santa and Navidad) with their stuff.
Here, idk how it is in other parts of Spain, they sell these big palm
branches that are dried out and stuff and sometimes have designs made
out of them, and they use it for Palm Sunday. Idk what they use them
for because I don't go to Catholic Mass but it just looks cool. One of
our brand new catholic investigators came to church yesterday and
brought us an olive branch and palm leaf so we could be included in
the festivities. That was cool.

ANYWAY!! This week!!! Was crazy awesome. So many miracles. Let's just
start off with the fact that the NORTH CAROLINA TARHEELS WON MARCH
MADNESS!!! Elder Smithson, our district leader, is also a Tarheels fan
so he walked into English class on Tuesday with his UNC tie on and
announced the results of March Madness. We were both stoked. I wore my
UNC t-shirt to bed that night to celebrate. But that was on Friday
when we found out so I will back up here real quick.

Also Hna Pickett and I made some brownies and it came out like cake so
we made more brownies and they turned out better. The good/bad thing
is that now we are up to our ears in brownies and have a goal not to
eat sugar during the week.....so we just have to stare at them until
Saturday or Sunday.

On Tuesday, Elder Smithson, Elder Wood, Hna Pickett, and I all got
interviewed. WHAT?! So there's a girl in our ward who's a journalist
and she's doing her project for the university. They have to do a
journalist type of thing or whatever and so her and her group (all non
members) decided to do it on Mormon missionaries. They wanted to
interview and film a pair of elders and Hermanas so they chose us!! So
on Tuesday morning, we went to the church and they interviewed us
about what we do and why we chose to serve and us studying and stuff
like that. Felt like we were doing the District 3 Spanish version. Hna
Pickett and I were so nervous for the questions because we didn't know
them beforehand and we'd have to come up with an answer on the
spot.....IN SPANISH! But it worked out and went really well. The thing
is with this video, if it goes well, it will be broadcasted to their
university TV, then possibly to Elche TV, and they are going to try
sending it to journalists around Spain so that it gets up over there.
Also it's getting out in Facebook so......really hoping we'll see some
fruits with this. It's already started with her nonmember friends.
They asked a lot of questions while they were filming us and said they
really liked us. So we'll see how it goes but it should be good.

Friday was the next most exciting day. So we didn't have any citas
planned that morning so we decided to go to the church and try to
watch some of the last session of conference. So we get there and the
other elders were there and had some references for us. Then they left
and Hna Pickett had to go to the bathroom before we started so I went
to play the piano while I waited for her. While I'm playing, someone
rings the timbre of the church. So I go over to open the gate thinking
it's the elders and they forgot something. Well I open it and to my
surprise there are 4 elderly people standing there looking a little
confused. Hna Pickett came out of the bathroom and I just said, " Hey
there's some people here and I don't think they're members, let's go
talk to them." So we go out and greet them in Spanish and one man
says, "Do you speak English?" "YES OF COURSE!!" Turns out it was two
couples from SWEDEN!! They had a picture of a church they were looking
for and thought ours might be it. They described it and we told them
it wasn't ours but we could show them around if they wanted? They did.
So we did an unplanned church tour for Swedish people!! It was really
cool. That's my first real church tour I've ever done and it was so
cool to hear them marvel at it. We ended with the baptismal font and
ahowed them the new Easter video in SWEDISH!! It was so cool!! We gave
them some cards and then they wanted pics with us and then they left.
It was so cool to see how God put us exactly where we needed to be at
the perfect time to share with these people our beliefs. So that
experience explains why the title is #FRIDSFURSTEN because that's
Prince of Peace in Swedish.

Swedish Family

Saturday was the other cool day. So we were on the bus coming back
from correlación and I was writing this letter. We were going to take
the bus to a stop where we could catch another bus to the house of a
menos activos and see if we could get in a lesson with him. But on the way, the
spirit kept prompting me to get off the bus at the stop by our Piso. I
didn't want to because we had that planned and I didn't know what we
would do when we got off the bus. But the Spirit told me, "Hermana get
off the bus." So we got off the bus and I'm asking what we're going to
do and had a prompting to go see if one of our investigators would be
home. I had a feeling she wouldn't be, but when Hermana Pickett asked
what we were going to do, I said, "We're going to go see Dayanna."
Turns out, when she asked me that question, the words popped into HER
head, "We're going to go see Dayanna." Right before I said it. #THE
SPIRIT Anyway, so we go ring her timbre and she answers but right then
the buses pulled up and I couldn't hear a thing she said. I thought
she said she was gonna come down but then she said, "Chao." Hermana
Pickett asked what she said and I had no clue so we waited there for a
second. I looked behind Hna Pickett and there was a man standing there
and a voice said, "We need to talk to that man." But I waited for a
second to see if our investigator was going to come, when the man says
to us, "Excuse me, sorry I don't want to bother you. But there's a
church over there and I always see people of all races going in and
out of it, including you two, and I just have been curious at to what
it is and why everyone goes there." He had seen us going in and out of
the JAS center every week and kids going to seminary!! He told us he's
been searching for so long for the truth and has read the Bible and
everything but it doesn't seem like the whole truth. He at one point
said, "Here are two young girls, guapas, intelligent, away from their
families, and I want to know why?" So we told him what we do and who
we are. Then he at one point asked if we knew if was true and we had
the opportunity to testify sooooo fuerte to him. He asked what he
needed to do to get a testimony, to know like we know. We told him the
Book of Mormon. We read Moroni's promise with him and he said it was
beautiful. He asked me if I absolutely believe it and I told him I
would die for my testimony and faith. So we gave him the Book of
Mormon and got all of his information and he just thanked us over and
over again and said he was absolutely going to read it. It was one of
the coolest things I've ever experienced. After that we walked away
and we were both just in awe. Hermana Pickett said, "You know, the
Spirit COMPLETELY changes missionary work." And it really does.

So this week I will hit the middle of my mission meaning I'm on the
"downhill" of my mission and that's scary. If I could be a missionary
for the rest of my life I would. The work you do as a missionary is
unlike anything in the world and it kills me that it's so short. But
all the more reason to work as hard as i possibly can these last
months. I'm grateful for my Heavenly Father and everything He has
taught me thus far and I'm excited to learn even more.
I love my Savior and I know that He lived, died, and was resurrected
so that we could live again. I pray that everyone strives to know Him
or know Him better. His hands are always stretched out to us, but we
have to be the ones to grab on.
Love you all so much!!
HAPPY EASTER 🐣

Kia kaha
Hermana Twede