Bulgaria Week 3 and 1/2

Elder Gustafsson, Elder S and Anton

Family and friends

So much to respond to & so little time.  

Things are great! I have truly been learning how to rely on God through prayer. So in answer to finding your flash drive pray & look pray & look. We must make our prayers happen as best as possible. 

We have a cockroch problem? haha I have never seen any in my entire life until now. We are taking the appropriate measures. 

We work & work & work & work. I love every second. I don't want to waste any moment. Because I will never have this time again. I will never be closer to God.

I cannot explain what I learn here. It is too difficult to describe over email. 

I had a trial last week. Everything is fine so please don't  worry or anything, please. I was having horrible pain in my mouth, neck, & teeth on the left side. Pain killers wouldn't really stop it. I couldn't eat. I prayed so much. I just had to endure because the dentist saw no problem. The pain would come randomly & I couldn't move. It was just horrible. But I did our work regardless. I just prayed & prayed & prayed for strength to endure. 

I learned so many lessons. It lasted for about 6 days. 

But it healed. Whatever was wrong with me. I learned how fragile life is & how much I rely on God every day. I would always think about all those who had real pains & trials before me. I thought of  pioneers, Alma, family members. Then suddenly it didn't hurt as bad. So I kept going. 

So everything is good now:) we are talking to a lot of people. Lots of voices of warning. Lots of testifying. 

We finally have a progressing investigator who has a lot of potential. He came to church, we are meeting again, he is doing committments. So pray for him, his name is Anton. 

I will send some pictures. I love it here. I can't imagine leaving this place already. 

I love you all. Be grateful for what you have in America. Because there are so many resources we don't have here. I can't even explain.

I love you, stay close to God. Pray & study. Show gratitude every day. God is there I promise. 

-Elder Gustafsson

So last week I mentioned we met Anton (which was the Friday before last P-day.) & we had met with him 3 times & he came to church. He is 23 & is a great guy. We have met with him everyday since then & have taught him every day. Last week we had the privilege to invite him to be baptized. 

He accepted. He will be baptized this Saturday:) we have been doing a lot for this. But that is the plan. He has accepted & committed to all things except we are having our last commandment lesson on tithing. Please pray for him & for us that the Spirit will be there to testify to him. He has been so prepared. His entire countenance is different. I am so happy. 

We will continue working with him & find more souls because there are more.

I am so humbled & grateful to be a part of missionary work.

One thing I have learned is that I will a missionary for the rest of my life. Be a member missionary! Don't get too wrapped up in your own lives! There are people out there who need the gospel! Be an example, do good continually. Strengthen your family! There is more work to be done than I can imagine. 

The first & foremost thing I can testify of & invite you to do is put God first in your life.

Love God & love one another. 

Study General Conference (again if need be) it is for us, for our benefit. Please take part in the blessings. Personal study is a must! It has changed me. Have family home evening! Strengthen your family! Love them & attend the temple. 

I love it here. I want to just work & work & work & work. I have weaknesses, soo many. I hope I can put on the attributes & character of Christ.

I love you all so much. I love hearing from you, when I get an email I respond. 

Love, Elder Gustafsson

Bulgaria Week 2

Haskovo (Xackobo) Bulgaria

July 2013

Hello:) 

Thank you for the letters:) I had a lot of emails to read so that takes time. 

It sounds like there are a lot of things going on! So much! I will answer questions first. 

I contact every day haha we walk around & try to talk to people about the gospel. Usually they are not interested at all. But I thought we had a great week because we did 68 Successful approaches hahaha which I guess is a lot? I just speak & testify because that is literally all I know how to do:) I say hello how are you then testify of the Book of Mormon. Then say good bye haha. 

We have taught a few lessons but nothing has come from it yet. But there is lots more to do & I am excited to do them:) 

My favorite time of day & the best thing I do all day is personal study for 1 hour. It gives me the strength & energy & Spirit to get through the day it is incredible. The Lord is here. He gives me strength when I feel I can't do anymore. The people here are great really, but they are just missing the gospel. It takes a toll on my soul. That is when Christ lifts me up. 

I haven't really used chess at all. But we have discovered a chess club here in Hackovo:) so we are going to check it out today:)

With the members.. I don't have any real specific guidelines as to what I am supposed to do. We just run Sacrament. I have thought of all sorts of ideas to excite & inspire people more & such. I have a lot of ideas about a lot of things! I make mention of them at times but I am trying to let my companion lead..:) hahah because he is the boss & I trust him.

Great fun news we found this huge bug in our apartment last night. A cockroach maybe? I don't know exactly oh well.:)

We are working hard but we have not seen any immediate signs of success. But it feels like I have worked so long & so much but it has only been a week! hahah So there more to do:) & I am excited to do it. I just need God's help because I can't find these people to teach on my own. I can't convert these people on my own.

I have been really studying the scriptures & Preach My Gospel. They are incredible, just absolutely incredible. They give me strength & I have been learning to rely on Christ much more.

The language is defintely improving. Understanding is difficult because I don't know a lot of vocabulary that is not church/gospel words. But I can hear things better. 

I can't believe it has only been one week. I am excited to do so much work. I will be here at least 3 months & highly likely more after. But it will depend on what the Lord wants. 

I am so glad to hear about all the wonderful things you are doing. Everything is amazing here, I am praying for you here. Keep me updated. 

I love you all there is so much to tell but I cannot adequately explain. 

I love you,

-Elder Gustafsson

Stay close to the Lord, always keep the commandments, endure trials, show gratitude. 

Arrived in Bulgaria Week 1 July 2013

This is my first week in Bulgaria. Arrived on Thursday July 11th 2013
So Mondays (my Mondays haha) are my P-day. Remember I am 7 hours ahead of you there!! 

Dobre, All my luggage arrived safely except from London to England I was forced to take out my lotion, toothpaste, and vaseline,  & throw it away. Which was definitely not a huge deal. So that was all.

Everything is awesome I love it! On the flights we tried talking to as many people as possible so hopefully good comes from those but those are just gone & in the past now haha. 

It is humid here. I am in the city of Хасково (pronounced Haskovo) which has about 50,000 people. There are 15 members roughly but it varies. There is only one other companionship here with us. My companion & trainer is named Elder S. . He is great! He speaks excellent Bulgarian & we get along very well:) Our apartment is nice in my opinion & things have been going great. I have been getting to know the members who are super great & I feel already a strong love for them. 

We have already done a lot of contacting but I hope to do more because I love it! I love talking to & finding people! I have been thinking of & looking for more ways to contact people & be more successful there. 

The members here are so nice & we are already really close to them. There are problems within the Group of members in the past with drama & etc but we aren't focusing on that & I don't even know what they were so hahah tova e! My companion is the Group Leader, which as you might well know, like a Branch President only smaller. So we have some interesting roles here. 

The Bulgarian is... coming haha. I can speak okay but understanding is a whole different world. So with time it will improve:) This city is awesome. It is really clean & nice. The people are super nice. I have been trying the foods I have heard so much about here & they are delicious. I had an incredible opportunity to eat at a members house yesterday. Her name is Didi ( Златка ) & she prepared the most fantastic dinner. I was so grateful because I know what a sacrifice that is. I cannot even explain. It was amazing!

Well we have so much work to do it is awesome! I am trying to work work work work! The other missionaries have commented on my enthusiasm. I hope to not lose it because I truly love it here already. Based on what I have seen & done here already I know God sent me here for many reasons & I will strive to accomplish them.

I will attempt to send some photos. Just note because of the craziness because of the loss of a day I have had no time to do photos & such. Soooo be grateful you are getting some haha:) 

 I love you all so much. I am so glad & happy I am here in Bulgaria. I am so glad to be sharing the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Until next time! 

-Старейшина Густафсон  (Elder Gustafsson)

Alexander Week 5 from MTC

Week 5 from the MTC June 10 to June 15 2013

A few pictures on P-Day . Me, my zone, and Elder V's Birthday

Hey family, I have been thinking about our trials and naturally difficult times will come when amazing things are about to happen.read the Book of Mormon every morning (like really study) & I promise you will have strength to get through the day also if you pray. Always pray:) I am trying to be more exactly obedient because we have been promised miracles if we do so.  I have been learning so much! It is crazy! My Bulgarian is improving so much, I am excited to call you on my way to Bulgaria so you can all get to hear awesome Bulgarian:) We have officially ended our 5th week I cannot believe I am going to be actually in Bulgaria in less than a month it is so exciting I am very excited to go. Next Wednesday 12 news Bulgarians are arriving it will be super awesome. As I have been setting goals & truly following through with them I have had incredible results. have been trying new things like play futbol (soccer) I scored 3 goals in one game! I have been learning to box from an Elder in my zone & I have been telling people about chess players like Bobby Fischer I love when people are interested in that kind of stuff:) I have been singing in the choir for a very large special event taking place on June 23rd of which I am sure you have heard about called the Missionary Work..  hahah I don't know what it is called exactly. But the First Presidency will be running it & it is historical.
The stuff you sent me from your Stake and Ward Conference was awesome about the 4 X 4 plan These are things I have been thinking and working on.

1.) Pray always

2.) Study the Book of Mormon daily

3.) Express gratitude to the Lord for your blessings

4.) Attend the blessing of the temple, especially since I won't have it

5.) Treasure the friends & family you now enjoy

I have been learning and understanding the importance and role of the Book of Mormon. It is so Powerful. I love it!!

Their are several Croatians in my Zone and it has been really great getting to know them and listen to their language. I am sending you a Croatian Book of Mormon to keep. Bulgarian and Croatian are super close! We still have SYL (Speak your language) days. We need to do 20 a month. I am very interested in hearing some stories about Grandpa Kallen, I know practically nothing about him. I would also like some recipies from Croatia.

As a zone we are really trying to serve one another and to pray together more. It has really helped. I feel like I am becoming a better teacher when it comes to the Gospel. It has also been really great to hear all the other languages being spoken. I can't believe I have been here for a month already.

I have been studying the Book of Mormon seriously and I have really been liking it. My testimony is growing. I feel like time has been flying by so fast. I read this great talk called "The Fourth Missionary." It has really changed my perspective. Many things have touched my heart here and I feel like the Lord is guiding me.  I love what I am doing. I love you all.

Elder Gustafsson

P.S. Be strong & endure, I know there are trials but you can handle it if you rely on the Lord.

I love you so much, I love being here & I am so excited for Bulgaria.

http://www.eldergustafsson.blogspot.com

MTC Week 4

Week 4 from the MTC gathered from a few letters written during the week. June 1 through June 8 2013

Elder G with Alexander Gustafsson

Elder C with Alexander Gustafsson

These are a couple of missionaries that are in Alexander's Zone. They all hang out together on P-Day.

Hello family, I hope all is well!  I have had you on my mind from time to time, and I hope that all is well! This week I had a lot of great experiences. I feel like I am becoming a better teacher. Twas humbling indeed! I had the opportunity to teach a native Bulgarian in TRC. My Bulgarian is coming along quite well, it will just take time. One of the Elders told me I was an intimate communicator. That is the weirdest thing I have ever heard and have no idea what it means!
I have really loved studying the Book of Mormon.
I love hearing all the interesting things that are happening at home.  I realized that Ingela's birthday is coming soon. Mom it looks like you will get to be there this time since I won't be at the International Chess Festival this year. The first time missing in 3 years.

As a Zone we are trying to learn 25 words a day in Bulgarian so that we can increase our vocabulary. As I am learning the new words for the day I try and go back and review the previous words. It is quite difficult I have discovered the Missionary Pattern: you leave home, dislike the MTC and miss home, then you arrive in your missionary country, you miss the MTC and don't really like your new country, then you love your new country and have to leave to go home, you miss your country and dislike home. You can never be happy :(.
I have discovered that it is weird to write in English. It is quite humorous actually, I think and dream in Bulgarian. I am working really hard to create experiences to share with you each week. Love to you and all the family Elder Gustafsson, your son.

Week 3 from MTC

Here in the MTC we are on a very tight schedule! We are supposed to get up at 6:30am but my companion Elder V and I get up at 6:15am to start the day off right. I have taken some pictures of myself and my companion and some other things but the time is so tight on the computer on P-Days that I haven't had time to download them. I will hopefully get that next week. I have been sick for a few days with a cough and sore throat. I think it is lack of sleep and maybe allergies. I have seen Elder Beals and Elder Davis from our ward but I didn't get to spend much time with them. They seem to be doing well.

I traveled with my District to Los Angelas this week to go to the Bulgarian Consulate to get our Visa's.  It was awesome to speak with some native Bulgarian's and to try to understand them!! When it was my turn to talk with the lady about my Visa she looked really mad and said "You have 5 names!! We cannot put 5 names on your Visa! Pick 3!. It was kind of scary but I picked 3 and then we finished up.
Our driver from the airport was Ooshan from Sri Lanka. He has 2 sons 10 and 5. After everyone kept asking him questions he and I talked for a bit longer so that I could get to know him. I kept asking him about himself and we had a good talk. He started to ask what I believed and all sorts of things, so I felt I did some good missionary work. He was very nice and interesting and I left him my "For the Strenghth of Youth pamphlet" and my email.

Connie and Matt sent me some awesome cookies. I love packages and mail!
Grandma sent me Macroons one of my favorites
And mama sent donuts!.
Susan sent goodies and everything was green!!
I loved everything. Tell them all Thank you.
In our district we are trying to learn 25 new Bulgarian words each day for our vocabulary. I learn the new words and then I try to review the ones from the days before also. It is difficult.
I have been told the food in Bulgaria is very good. I am glad!
Well that is this week. Tell everyone I miss and love them

Your son Elder Gustafsson

Week 2 Letter from MTC

Alexander wasn't able to call me for Mother's Day so this is what he sent

This week I taught my first investigator in Bulgarian and it was a blast!! especially not being able to understand anything that they said back to me. I can pray in Bulgarian but it is still a work in progress.I will be here in the MTC for 9 weeks. They had to draw my blood yesterday! I was not happy! As I am writing this I realize it is difficult for me to not write Bulgarian characters. I met 2 people from Sweden this week who are going to Greece to serve. I felt bad that I couldn't communicate as well with them in Swedish then I would have liked. I will work on that. P.S you can always send me more Swedish Chocolate!
Mom I would like to send you a Mother's Day Gift. That would be my testimony:

I do not know all things and I am still learning, but I know that God knows us, and that through prayer we can receive answeres to our questions. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I have the best mother in the world.

 Have a wonderful Mothers Day! Your son Alexander

This is where the mama cries :)