If Your Plan "A" Doesn't Work. . .

Dear Family,
That must have been SO exciting to receive a letter from Dallin. SO exciting. I can picture some of you jumping up and down for joy as the letter was opened. I definitely enjoyed reading it! I just know that Dallin is being a wonderful missionary. I'm so grateful for the ability to also be able to read his letters and feel apart. He is absolutely amazing.
This past week has been SUCH an adventure. I have LOVED it, I don't want it to happen again because it was also a teeny bit on the stressful side, but I did love it.
And I shall begin my story on Thursday... Lie, quickly I'm just going to say that Selran, I mentioned her last week, is absolutely amazing and that she is so sweet, and that I'm looking forward to teaching her more and more.
Ooh, I thought I was going to get straight to Thursday, but then I remembered something, with the help of my lovely planner, because let's be honest, without my planner I would have no clue, the days just mix and mash together. But we had a lesson with Emy on Wednesday, and it was SO much fun. We decided that since we are always telling people how important the Book of Mormon was that we should actually... do something with it with our investigators. So with Emy we decided that we would read 1 Nephi 8. The vision of the tree of life. Great chapter. But that's not all... we also decided that we would each DRAW said vision. So here we are in the library, all adults. (Yes, I know, sometimes that's debatable, but I am technically an adult.) Drawing in the library. But it really was good and I think it helped Emy to think about it a little deeper. We went through and we found the meanings to the symbolisms. Then he took all three of the drawings and said he was going to reread the chapter and use the drawings to study it out more deeply on his train ride to Stockholm. It was quite enjoyable, and it was a really good lesson.
So now we are actually going to get to Thursday. Thursday was wonderful, we had a Zone Meeting that we needed to get to in Helsingborg, and that was all well and good, so we figured out a way to get there, figured when we'd get back, lessons we could have, etc. But then... wait for it, there's a twist. Sister Richins wouldn't be the one coming back with me. Instead... Sister Randall would! (And Sister Richins would be with Sister Hosenfeld, ans Sister Christensen would be with Sister Bass, so we'd be a three-way split, by orders of Sister Newell, Mission President's Wife) But... Things never go as planned, and President Newell was going to come and give us interviews. Fun. Yes. But that means that we weren't going to get home at the time we thought we would, especially because life is a little on the crazy side and President Newell was a teeny bit late. So... I called and rescheduled our lesson for another day. And then... Sister Randall and I caught the train home... little were we to know, that would be the last train to leave... Dun dun dun... dun... All of the Elders in the Zone were stuck in Helsingborg for the next few days... Hehehe, apparently 10 elders in one apartment is... chaos. I'm sure you could have guessed that though.
Anyways, Sister Randall and I caught the train, but there were no seats where we could sit next to each other. So we sat seperately. I have a confession to make.
Train contacts are not the easiest for me. So I'm sitting there next to this woman on the train. And I KNOW I need to talk to her. But... How am I supposed to start this conversation? I don't want things to be awkward... (I know, I'm a missionary, EVERYTHING is a little bit awkward.) And I look down at my lap, and lo and behold there is an advent calender (you know the ones with the little chocolates in them) and this was the fifth, and I hadn't eaten any yet, so I had five chocolates to eat. SO... I eat Day one... and then a thought hits me, and I open Day two and eat it... and then turn to the woman next to me and offer her Day three. She was definitely suprised. But she accepted, and asked me if I had just bought it today. I explained that it was a gift from The Mission President's Wife for the missionaries, since we wouldn't be going home for Christmas. And we talked a little more, and she asked me how I measure success as a missionary... A lot of thoughts hit me. I mean, everyone makes a big deal out of baptisms... getting people to the temple. (Don't get me wrong, those are DEFINITE successes. DEFINITELY) But I honestly answered her that I just wanted to help people come closer to Christ, to give them a little hope in a world in which hope can sometimes be in short supply, and that hopefully the message and invitations that I had to give could help them with that. Because... that was why I came out here. I came out here because I knew that my Heavenly Father loved me, that he heard and answered my prayers... And I wanted to make sure that other people knew that too. So that they could feel that love and hope. After that we talked for the rest of the train ride (it was about an hour) about the Book of Mormon, about the restoration, about God and his infinite love for us. As my stop came up she took my hand and told me that she was SO grateful that we'd met. That I had offered her some chocolate and then told her she was loved by God. She said that she often saw elders at the Växjo train station and that she'd ask them for a Book of Mormon. I'll be honest, I don't know if she'll remember too... I don't know what will happen with Kristine. I don't know if she only listened to me because she looked at me and saw a young 19 year old girl who had only been in Sweden for two months and wasn't going home for Christmas and wanted her to feel as though she was doing something of worth. And if that was, she was a success. Talking to her reminded me again of why I was out here. And I'm grateful that I met her, that I could tell her of God's infinite love and the blessing he has given us through the restoration. I hope that I gave her a little more hope.
So, that was something that was really huge for me this past week. It was about an hour out of... many... 168 to be more precise. But it was a good hour.
On with my chaotic weekend. Sister Randall and I get to Kristianstad. And we've spent some time talking getting to know each other a little bit. And it was fun. And we get off the train and I think I'm about to be picked up and flown away the wind is STRONG. And we get home as quickly as possible. And I answer the phone to discover that our Member Dinner with the Strandberg's is still going to happen but that they are going to have hans pick us up when he picks up Rosie so we don't have to really go out in the storm. And we get there, and the dinner is so much fun, and we're talking, and we talk about heading out, and they tell us that we're not allowed to be out there in this weather. And then they sent me to help someone with Geometry... I haven't done Geometry since 2008. Alright, so I helped Dallin with it a little bit in... what year was he in Geometry? But I haven't sat down and done Geometry in a while. But I was able to help a little and that was fun.
So we finally get home and Sister Randall and I just talk and get to know each other, and we try to figure out how we're going to end the splits, what time we are going to end them so we can plan lessons and what not. And we discover that Sister Richins and Sister Hosenfeld are pretty much STUCK in Halmstad. SO... we kind of leave them to their fate. (JK! We knew they were ok, but there was really know way they'd be able to get to the meeting place) But Sister Randall really feels like she needs to get back, so we figure out a way to get her to Karlskrona. But that takes a long time, and meanwhile things are still crazy windy and strange, and I'm so confused, because this is Sweden, and this isn't exactly abnormal weather for Sweden... so why is this so crazy? Why is all transportation being shut down? So Now I'm on splits with Sister Christensen, and this is also loads of fun, and wonder of wonders, we have another Member dinner, but we have a lesson before that, but... things are a little weird and we have nowhere to meet... So we talk in a bus stop. Yeah, it's windy and cold... It was a short lesson. But nonetheless good, I feel like Frida really did get a lot out of it. Next time we'll be better prepared, but that was my first lesson in Önnestad and I didn't know where anything was really...
So we had another Member Dinner with the Sandelin's and it was fun, and Noah (he's 8) had me and Sister Christensen play Hide and Go seek with him... But me and Sister Christensen have to stay in the same room right? It was an interesting game of Hide and Go Seek. He also gave me Swedish Lessons... We'll be honest with each other. They weren't Swedish Lessons, they were Drama lessons. :D If I said it dramatically I passed, if I didn't, I sounded too American. It was fun.
But... The next day we had another problem, we needed to get Sister Christensen to Halmstad and Sister Richins back to Kristianstad. Ooh dear, there's still a storm a brewing. But, we finally manage to all make it to Helsingborg, and we switch back and head home. But that took ALL day. (Pretty much) Once we got home we had to weekly plan because we'd missed that since we were on extended splits. Crazy! But I learned so much from Sister Christensen and Sister Randall, and I'm super happy I got to go on Splits with both of them. Transfers are coming up, and who knows where all of them are going to end up. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to remain here in Kristianstad though. At least for one more transfer.
But, again, who knows for sure! Not me!!! :D
Oh, so we'll probably be able to Skype on the 25th... it'll be morning for you though... SO let me know... well... what times would work best.
But really, this was a great week.
So much fun, I learned so much, Swedish Transportation can be a bit on the unreliable side, I learned loads from Sister Randall, loads from Sister Christensen, and I always learn a lot from Sister Richins... so that's a given. And I just love December, and Christmas, and happiness... and... well, life! Life is wonderful!
Oh and I got your package, and I opened the package... obviously. And I SO appreciated the notes from the relief society! But I followed orders and did NOT open the presents... :D I'm being obedient.
I have another quick email I'm sending you with two questions.
But as a recap...
1. Prayer question.
2. Number question.
3. What times would be best for you!
4. How long will Carisa and Scott be staying with you all? (I'm so excited for you, that sounds like SO much fun! All together happily celebrating the birth of our Savior and rejoicing in the wonders of Family.)
5. Ah! Sometimes I just MISS being able to just ask questions at any time! And that's not a question, I know. But I really do!
I love you all so much.
Love,
Syster Kjanela Fawcett
If your plan A doesn't work, don't worry, there are still 25 more letters of the alphabet. (Unless you speak Samoan... then there aren't quite as many... or if you speak Swedish than you have even more letters... hmmm.... strange... I wonder if that's saying something about me and Dallin)
You are braver than you believe, you are stronger than you seem and you are smarter than you think.
I just LOVE all of you SO much!