Nära och Kära,

Jennifer Juker jennifer.juker@myldsmail.net	Jul 16
to john, me

Nära och Kära,
A week to be sick! Yup sick in Swedish sommar is not the most fun for either in a companionship. 
I mondags we spent time in Eskilstuna cutting the Elders hair there. It was fun but it messed everything up as a train was delayed and just made the evening difficult. We did get to visit with Mike and Amber about there recent trip and uplift them a bit before heading home.

I tisdags we had a Family Home Evening or more relavently Family Home Morning with a less active and his wife. Ulf and Birgita this time they had the lesson. It was simple but the spirit was present. We shared our favorite scriptures that give us comfort when we need it. Hers was Psalm 23, Matthew 11:28-30, mine was Proverbs 3:5-6 and Syster Spjuts was Isaiah 41:10. It was very cool to see how the different scriptures of comfort applied to us so differently but all in all worked together to assure us that we are not alone and that we can overcome the difficulties that come our way. He said he was going to come on sunday but he ended up not. This is about when the sickness struck. We went home and ate lunch and during our lunch hour i layed down. Ended up sleeping way longer than I wanted too but my body evidently needed it.
 
I onsdags We went out and visited Hans out in Bie. He is like our adopted grandpa. It was nice to be there. We made extra time so we could go through the quit smoking program with him too. He had a lot questions, but we were able to answer them. He is going good with his commitment to stop snusing. He is great. We were going to leave and go out in the cold and do some planning but Hans could see that I wasnt feeling well. So he just let us stay at his house until we needed to leave. We went to an apotec to see what medicines they could help me with. We had a youth activity where we were able to have taco salad with a bunch of youth and it went really well. We had a couple investigators who came and enjoyed themselves. We had the opportunity to visit the Branch Presidents house and talk about Heros of the Book of Mormon. It was a great to see Alex talk about Nephi as one of his heros. 

I torsdags we had a great combined district meeting in Katrineholm. Äldste Leavitt lead and taught the lesson about how we can improve the quality of our lessons by increasing our love for our investigators and those we are working with. It really made a whole lot of sense. Someone also broght up the idea of imaginining their potential. Like if we are teaching an investigator to imagine them as a Relief Society President and teach them so that they can understand their own potential. It was a real eye opener. We tried to find a place to do some service regularly but with no luck. I just felt worse and Syster Spjut began to feel a bit worse as well. We spent this weekend either sleeping or attempting to plan. Our sinuses have just been crazy and its felt like we have been going through a tunnel. 

Igår President and Syster Newell visited our branch and we were able to help with their presentations. We had arranged for someone to translate but they ended up being sick. With both of us under the weather and then our interpretors cancelling we were a bit worried about how it would work. Thankfully a member volunteered to help us out. We had a minute of spaz as we were trying to set up a projector to the computer without the correct cable. We were going to just try to do it from the tv. When a thought came to mind, "I know where Ive seen those chords before! The monitor to CPU cable!" So I got the key and we tried to get the cable off. It definitely was the Spirit who helped us out with that one. Syster Newells talk on the Holy Ghost was so filled with the Spirit. I doubt anyone could miss it. She explained things so simply, I felt inspired to work on teaching more simply. President Newell also talked about the Holy Ghost and shared some wonderful experiences about following the Spirits direction. We shared a powerpoint about member missionary work and all the technology worked great. We were thankful to have had the Newells here and the branch was full with like 25 people including 3 investigators! After church we ate dinner at the church before visiting with Cat. She really has opened up and I love it. She is so sincere and prayed for us, she usually has us pray but when we asked her she said, "my pleasure" We then were invited over to Myriams house for fika. After church we joked around about her giving us food. She said she would make us carrot cake. Once at her house she had done everything, dinner and cake. She wanted to be with us and had a few questions about BYU. We helped her find the website with all the information she needs and tried to do it as unbiased as possible. It went pretty well.

Today we are going to write some letters by the lake and get things done around here. it will be chill.
Challenge for the week! First off, Howd it go last week? Anyone willing to follow up with me? This weeks challenge is a talk from Brad Wilcox about the atonement. Its called The Atonement Covers All Pain. http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/the-atonement-covers-all-pain?lang=eng&query=%22his+grace+is+sufficient%22 What did you learn? Let me know!
Hope you have a great week! love you all
Syster Juker

Sweden in Sommar!

From: Jennifer Juker <jennifer.juker@myldsmail.net>
Date: Mon, Jul 9, 2012 at 10:55 AM
Subject: Sweden in Sommar!
Hello My Fine Family and My Fantastic Friends!Its been another great week in Katrineholm. This week was full of a lot of travel. It has been interesting to see the increase of travel time as I have been here. There are so many people all around us who live a ways away that invite us over so we are always going by bike or by train and occassionally car. This week it was a little bit of everything! Its been great! This Last Monday we were not sure what to do with our evening as all of our plans fell through. We came upon an idea to write some cards to our investigators and members and drop them by! I am sure it was the spirit! We were able to stop by Flen and visit with Maria about our branch and finding out new information on people we were unsure about. It was a great success which ended with a sprint to the last train from Flen. We sprinted and we were sure glad we made it to the train in time. Last Tuesday we were able to find some less actives. We were able to meet with Alex and since Gilbert was late it became a member lesson. Syster Spjut played the piano and we sang together as we were waiting for them to arrive. Alex noticed it and was thankful for it. We were a little unsure of what we could talk about but we had a few ideas running around. The spirit directed it and we were able to go to the Book of Mormon and read from Joseph Smiths testimony of his experience. There was a special spirit as we read of parts of the story that Alex had never heard before. We were able to testify of how we have found out for ourselves that Joseph Smith is the prophet who restored the gospel and that he too can know if he takes the time to ask and is sincere. We had dinner and visited Rosmery and Leif and talked with them about being thankful, they are working on noticing one thing every day that they are thankful for.  Last Wednesday we were able to find a lot of people on the computer and got new addresses for some old investigators we found in our area book. It was really awesome how many we could find updated information of and then turn around to use it. As we were approaching our bikes in centrum we noticed a familar face sitting on a bench next to our bikes. We do not know his name besides the Bearded Guy but he stopped to talk with us. He told us to have a seat but that the conversation would not be religious at all. He knows we are missionaries and he knows lots about the church already. He began to talk with us and within 3 seconds it became about religion and continued to be for a while. He is not very open to the church but he knows a whole lot about it. He doesn't "look the part" to be as smart as he is. He told us about how so many people in centrum just walk passed him and never talk with him. This man is super intelligent and shared with us some of his ideas for helping society develop because he believes in us and changing the world. He is a little sceptical and talks about how we have a system to find people and he doesnt want to be in the system, but besides that he is very nice. He said we will certainly meet again! We then headed to Kerstins house. She is a sweet lady who has a cat that thought Syster Spjut and I were cat trees to play on. It was fun until the claws came out. She has family who are members so we try to go over and keep a good relationship so when the time comes she will be ready to learn more. We shared a video about not judging others from what they look like. The Spirit was very strong and it was great to have her feel it as well. As we were travelling there my bike chain fell off but we didnt have time to fix it so we just left it. A neighbor came and asked if he could fix it. We were uncertain but couldnt resist because he was persistant. It took them about 15 minutes and it usually takes us two, but we were able to talk with them both a little bit more before meeting at the church with Gilbert and our Branch President. It went well at first we were able to give him some books that the president had just got and then he found another book. In the end Gilbert seemed a bit overwhelmed. Thankfully the Spirit helped us realize that and we were able to calm his fears and help him realize that everything would be ok, he wants now more help on how to study, with Preach My Gospel that will be awesome!Now we had a plan to have a traditional 4th of July BBQ but that didnt really happen because we had an appointment with Annick to talk about Young Women and help her use the manuals. She offered us Foo Foo and it was pretty delicious. Syster Spjut and I couldn't help but think of how if we were home we would never have had the opportunity to eat a spinach anchoivie soup with a playdough like bread. We were grateful for the experience! Last Thursday was Zone Conference, Satan didnt want us there. It was apparent from the beginning of the day. About halfway up the first hill to the train station I realized I had forgotten my tag. At that very second a riding lawn mower was trying to pass us so I couldnt get Syster Spjuts attention. We then had to book it back to the appartment and really book it to the station. Then once on the bike the chain almost fell of so I smacked the gear with my foot and the chain stayed on. I thought we would make it to the station. Sadly about 95 percent of the way there it fell off. We had to just walk it. So we left it parked and locked at the station with the chain off. But despite all that we made our train! The theme was the Gospel of Jesus Christ It was a great faith building experience. Our zone leaders organized a great round of roleplaying with different members, and investigators. It was great to be able to learn from other missioinaries and see how they do things. I was companions with Syster Talbot when she shared of her testimony to a "less active" returned missionary. She bore her testimony of her own feelings regarding her family members back home who are less active. The Spirit was felt by us all and I realized how real things really are. It was just a role play and yet it pulled a lot at my heart strings because I could relate to the emotions she was sharing. I am thankful for the opportunity to be there and to recieve that inspiration. We ended up spending most of the day in Stockholm because we missed the earlier train and had to take a later train. Once on the train we were dead tired, aka spiritually drained. We had been praying for the opportunity to teach someone. As we were on the train a man named Boris turns to us and starts speaking in english to us. He is a philospher and is very intelligent. He was trying to get into an arguement it seemed but we were too tired to realize it. We talked a lot about different beliefs and the message of the restoration. Pretty much the conversation ended in Katrineholm as he took our pass a long card and gave us his business card. It was a bit tiring but a great lesson as well. Last Friday we had a bit of a crazy day with weekly planning and having our real fourth of july party. It went well and we got great plans set for next week. Saturday we helped out with a funeral for our Ward Mission Leader. It was out it the woods, because you know how swedes do things. It was a gorgeous place, the early pictures are proof. Syster Spjut and I began a new dish washing machine. She was the washer and I the dryer. Our members made many comments of the sort. It was great to serve and really help during the service. The spirit was also present and we were able to help them out in their time of need.  Yesterday in church we had many people and we had ward counsel. It was a great day. Lars spoke about how we need to realize the good in us as individuals and how much we really are needed. He had a great point as a common phrase in sweden is, When someone thanks you for something you did for them you say somthing like it was so little. When we sacrifice ourselves to do something for someone else it always is something that they are thankful for and we should accept there thankfulness more thoughtfully. It was a nice thing to sit and think a second about. We had time with Cat and her sons and were able to talk with them a bit about the gospel before taking and returning a key to Mike and Amber. We ended the evening with Rosemery and Leif we were going to talk about baptism but someone who was very against religion was there and it didnt feel right to discuss that with them there. We talked about Leifs idea for a branch activity and he got jazzed up for it.  Today we spent the day cutting hair. It was a lot of fun but now we are tired. Challenge time! Think about who you are as an individual, make a list of your strengths that you see in you and notice how great of a person you really are. Despite how sometimes you may see yourself you truely are a great individual. Sometimes its difficult to see through that cloud of uncertainty but when you look through with eyes of faith you can know that you are special for you are a daughter or son of a loving Father in Heaven who has created you and the things he makes are great and have the potential to be perfect through the power of Christ! You just have to get HIm on your team by doing what he asks. Like prayer start there and see how much better you can feel about yourself. I know that as we remember who we really are in the eyes of God we are able to feel better and do better in all we do!
 I love you all and hope that you all have a great week!
 Love you Syster Juker

When Mosquitoes Attack

From: Jennifer Juker <jennifer.juker@myldsmail.net>
Date: Mon, Jul 2, 2012 at 2:40 AM
Subject: When Mosquitoes Attack

Nära och Kära,
Its been a great week here in Katrineholm and surrounding areas, we have had many a new adventure! It’s lovely!

I tisdags we had an early morning because we had an appointment in Vingåker at 10 so we had to leave by 920 so there was a bit of disturbance to our studies in the morning but in the end it worked out. We met with Rebecca, who is a daughter in a less active family. She is 17 and engaged, it was rather different because in our heads it didn’t make sense to be able to be engaged and not be able to drive a car yet. But they were really nice. They fixed us a traditional american breakfast with tons of food. Luckily we didn’t really have much time to eat in the morning. Arvid isn't Christian at all he is trying to learn about it so we were able to talk alot about scriptures and the Book of Mormon. Hopefully next time will be about Eternal Marriage.

Since we were a ways away from home we were able to visit a couple other people. It took a while because of the distance but we were able to visit our Ward Mission leaders house and talk with his wife. I hadn't ever met them so it was great! He was out of town so we just got to know her and her family. They are sweet. We barely made it back to the bus stop in time to catch the bus back, have lunch and meet with Alex. We talked a lot about how we can get to know and build our relationship with God. We shared the story of Enos and asked him to develop his relationship even more, because he was unsure that he actually had one. Its great to teach him because we always come up with crazy analogies that just work for him. This one was about a corvette, just because I like them. Now if someone gave you a corvette with all the bells and whistles on it would you just park it in the garage and let it sit? Of course not, you'd take it out for a spin, see how it handled different terrain. Its the same with our faith, its the power we have to do everything, but if we just let it sit in the garage the tires will go flat and we will have to work even harder to get it back in working order.

I onsdags we had district meeting in Norrköping. We first visited Hans and talked with him about the importance of prayer in the name of Christ. Hes been investigating for many years but hasn't prayed in Christs name. It was cool to see the sense of revelation come to his face as he realized the importance of Christ in prayer. The Spirit was strong and then he went off on a tangent and we were about to miss our bus when we had to get up and go. Hes busy next week but really wants help with stoping snusing and getting an answer about the Book of Mormon.We then got to the trainstation a little bit early and as we were walking to our spår we saw a lady accross the tracks who was having a really difficult time standing or walking and she just seemed out of it. We looked at eachother and thought about the alchol intake of many people here and pretty much prejudged her. As we stood waiting for our train I got the feeling we needed to help her. I asked S. Spjut what she thought about helping her, she asked the perfect question, "Is it something you'll regret not doing?" Of course it was, so down the stairs we went and around to the other spår. I had no idea really how to approach the situation so I just asked her if she needed help. She graciously accepted and preceded to tell us that she had epilepsy and needed to find a place to sit down. We helped her on her way until her friend came and made it back to catch our train in perfect timing. DIstrict meeting was about faith and having enough faith to do miracles it was really inspiring. We made it back in time to transfer gears and get back into town for our youth activity. We played basketball and soccer. Stephen was there and we were able to talk a bit about church with him before others came.

I torsdags we spent as a bit of a family reunion with Syster Spjuts swedish family members. It was really interesting and It made me realize how much I want to find out more about my own family stories. As we were going up and down forresty paths to see where her Great Great Great Grandfather was born and such we realized we were not really dressed for the occassion in our tradtional missionary attire. It went well besides walking through some stinging nettle no one else noticed and being owned by mosquitoes to whom i am allergic to. We both prayed a lot for the opportunity to do some missionary work with them. It turned out really well as many of their family have heard about our church and had questions that we could answer and such. One had recieved a Book of Mormon before and we found out that two who were there actually live in our area. So hopefully we willl be able to stop by them sometime soon and see if they are more interested.

I fredags was a bit of a travel day as well. Our new member Elenora moved back and invited us to her house to have cake to celebrate her birthday with her. We agreed and she was excited! It ended up that we had to go early again. Then from the bus stop it was a 45 minute walk to her house. She was excited to have us around and to show us everything! We got to know about her conversion story and a bit about her personality because I hadn't been around her much before. She really seemed to open up to us and consider us her friends. It was nice. We sang her happy birthday and met her grandfather who isn't a member as we ate her cake. We were keeping a point to notice the time and she wanted to talk about missionary work so we talked a bit about it as Syster Spjut did her dishes. We were worried we were not going to make the bus back and she assured us we would and took us on a wild strawberry hunt, along the road. It was a little frustrating just because my bug bites were making me feel pretty woozy. We then had to take the journey back at a pretty fast pace. But we made it back and thus made our connecting bus back to Bie for a dinner with the Palaminos. They are a great family they take great care of us and we always feel their love for us. They speak a lot of spanish, and I took French in high school, so that doesnt really match up. Luckily in California you pick up on a bit of it anyways. We challenged them to keep track of their prayers and each night reflect on how their prayers were answered. They were really receptive and thanked us saying "Gracias" I answered and said "De nada" and they just laughed and laughed! It was nice to see them smile and laugh! We want to see them back at church soon! The branch needs them!

I lordags I was in bad shape, my legs were swollen and I was dizzy we had made plans to go to Bie and meet these people we talked to while there on friday but it didnt happen. I ended up taking allergy medicine and sleeping a little while. We did a great weekly planning time and were able to find those in our area book that we want to contact this week to see if they are still interested in learning more. We met with Amina in the evening and was introduced to many of her friends. One who happens to really be interested in genelogy work and finding out about their ancestors. So we have plans to teach her more about that soon as well as meet with Amina and read more with her.

I sondags I was asked to take the Young Women's lesson so that was prepared and Syster Spjut didnt have anything else that she needed to do, or so we thought. Sacrament meeting started with 9 people, we were a bit worried but as we sang the opening hymn many more people showed up. It was interesting to be in a sacrament meeting in such a small branch but the spirit was as strong as ever, it was great! The branch president came and asked if I could teach sunday school, so by default syster Spjut had to. But both lessons went well and we had an investigator in church participating a lot in everything it was great. We were then invited over for food with Cat and Jock. For something known as Jocks special. It was definitely something I have never eaten before so I was a bit hesitant but after it all I just wanted to eat some vegetables. It was pretty much noodles, ground beef, onions, mushrooms and bacon with sour cream and ketchup. We were able to then brighten up Cats day and walk her home to share the spiritual message we had prepared. She really enjoys and has opened up since we have made it a point to visit her on sunday evenings.

Challenge time! Pay attention to your prayers, be sincere and take notes of those things you pray for. Then each night review what has happened throughout the day and you will come to find that your prayers are answered faster then you realize! I know that Heavenly Father hears our prayers and that he answers them, even if we cant understand exactly how!

Love you
Syster Juker

Midsommar!!

Jennifer Juker jennifer.juker@myldsmail.net	June 25
to me, john

Nära och Kära,
I am in love with Katrineholm! It is a great little place and everyday is an adventure! 
Last Pday we just took it easy after doing emails early and in the evening had an FHE with a less active Ulf. Many times this week I have been reminded of those things I never thought I could do. Like speak a different language and be understood and actually teach someone. Its been a battle but Heavenly Father has helped all along the way. It is evident that without the Spirit these things wouldnt happen. Anyway it was a great lesson. We then decided that we would fix our bike tire so we could find some new less actives to work with. It was a little frustrating just because we bought an innertube to change it but it was the wrong size and the store was already closed. So we jerry rigged it with elmers glue and some bandaids. It actually worked for what we needed it to. We got a couple return appointments too. Heavenly Father blesses diligence.
I tisdags we were stood up in the morning! The temporary patch didnt hold over night so we rode into town with our bike pump and having to pump it up every so often. We made it work out though and got everything sorted out and fixed. Its pretty cool the knowledge that my parents have instilled in me about bikes. I never knew that I knew so much about fixing a bike. We had a great lesson with our investigator Alex. Its different being in an area where I have to learn so much about so many people and plan for them too. I am so thankful for the spirit and how much it really helps in all those things. I don't have to know so much about them I just have to be living worthy and listening enough to follow the guidence our Heavenly Father has to give us. We made a tentive plan for our youth activity on wednesday and then had dinner with the Bishops family. They are great and so loving! I really am enjoying the opportunity to get to know them and work with them. Then we met Åsa, shes less active and has some problems she is working on them. It was a great experience to get to know her. After we had talked and we were getting ready to leave she talked directly to me and told me about the spirit that she feels from me as being peace and happiness. It was awesome to hear because it felt for a while back that I was loosing that. She said when she gets sad she might call just to talk. Im excited to work with her!
I onsdags that was an adventure. We decided that we were going to go visit some less actives we have in a nearby town Valla. We searched the apartment for a map and couldnt find one. So we got on the bus and asked the bus driver about the town. (we are friends with pretty much every bus driver here, its awesome!) We talked with a man for a while when we got off and he pointed us to a Svenska Kyrkan to find a map. We looked around town a bit and he assured us that they would have one. So we gave in. We came in and in the entry way talked with a few people just about Valla and if we could find a map. It felt weird being in another church but they were kind enough to help us out and point us in the right direction. We found one and she wasn't home and her phone number doesnt work. We are checking with the branch members to see if anyone knows about her. We then needed to head home because we had forgotten a part of our activity for the youth. As we were home those who were in charge of fika cancelled on us and we had to fix that situation. Syster Spjut luckily makes great cupcakes and they don't take long at all to cook. So we got those done and headed to the church right in time. The plan was to do american picnic games...Evidently that is too much unlike svensk culture to do those kinds of things so they really didnt like it. We had fika and were able to teach them a bit about the primary answers of Reading the scriptures, saying your prayers and going to church. Alex came and he wanted to do something so a few members organized a soccer match and we were able to play with them. It was cool to see how much we could keep the gospel in conversation. Gilbert is preparing for a mission and was asking questions about preparation. We were thankful we could be there and help teach them. We stopped by Cat afterwards to see if she wanted the left over cupcakes. She sadly didnt answer. There are a family of gypsies who live in the same apartment complex as she does. Evidently they didn't like the missionaries before but as we were getting ready to get back on our bikes they asked us what we believed. We got to teach them more about the prophet and about the Holy Ghost because they were not sure the difference between a prophet and a normal person because we can all receive our own revelation. So that was a great experience. I dont think Ive been in an area where in one day Ive made cupcakes, ridden my bike to deliver them, played soccer and taught gypsies. Katrineholm is great!
I torsdags we had our district meeting first we taught Hans, he has been investigating for something like 10 years and more recently in the last 7 months. He reminds me of my Grandpa and we are thankful for Heavenly Fathers guidence with him as well. We were unsure what to talk about but all thoughts turned to the Book of Mormon and he asked us for something he could read about faith. We gave him Ether 12 and he seemed really excited to read it. We had district meeting in Norrköping. I went from having no travel time to having a lot of it. So that was different. We talked about Celestial Marriage and how we can help our investigators make that step. We role played it and it actually gave us some insights for Hans. We were able to do some studies before visiting Amina. We are helping her with Swedish and she is reading the Childrens version of the Book of Mormon Stories. Its pretty awesome to be with her and feel the Spirit. She is muslim and is amazing! 
I fredags was Midsommar we were able to travel to Stockholm to celebrate and it was a whole lot of fun. We made zone shirts and it was great to help out. We pretty much helped keep traffic under control as people were parking. We stopped and greated every car. It was cool to have that connection with everyone as we were then celebrating with them and dancing around the pole. Summer is clearly here now as most every missionary is now sunburnt, including me! 
I lördags we had a great time with the Palamino family. They are less active and we were able to visit them and get to know them. He is a doctor, she speaks a lot of spanish and some swedish. I sadly speak no spanish and los of swedish. It made things interesting. We were able to play a bit with the family as brunch was made. We ate and they shared recipes for cherry pie because we wanted to make one. In planning in the morning we were unsure of how to approach the family all in all in a spiritual way. The idea came to my mind to share a personal story about how the scriptures had helped us in our lives and ask them to share and experience as well. When the time came I began. I shared Alma 33:7 about praying in your closets. Syster Spjut then went and we went around the group. His wife and two of his children then testified of the scriptures and the spirit was so strong you could cut it with a knife. It became his turn and he got a bit choked up with emotion. He shared experiences of how the spirit is the only way he can do his job sometimes. He shared Mosiah 2:17 about service, it was a tender moment for all who were there. He could feel the spirit and it was a sweet experience to see the connections he and his wife made during that time. The buses went all but often to get back home so we came prepared with our area book to begin our weekly planning session. We found a great park and got to work for a while before the bus came to take us home where we then finished our planning.
I söndags, we got a few late night texts and or calls and were asked to fill in for members in primary and young womens. So we prepared lessons for both and were excited to teach. Then to our surprise one of the Area presidency members and his wife came to our branch for church. Now church is only 2 hour long and there really isnt many members when everyone comes so it was kind of an empty house. So we ended up doing a combined second hour and really learned a lot from them. We had lunch at the church and Gilbert wanted some help with Preach My Gospel, so we talked to him about doing a program kind of thing with him to help him be prepared for teaching the gospel. Hes excited for it! We got to meet with Cat again and she was happy to see us. She wasnt feeling well so had missed church and was worried that we were not going to come. We got to talk about animals and she really has a big heart for them and we turned it into a spiritual lesson as we listened to a song about Christ. It happened to be one of her favorites which has helped her a lot during difficult times. Guidence from the Spirit is sweet and makes things so much easier! We went on a walk with Pauline and talked with her about her plans for the summer and just want to be a support for her right now in a time of difficulty. She is a sweetheart and really wants to do whats right. We then got to meet with Rosmery and Leif our investigator family who comes almost every week. They are so caring and great. He really enjoys nature and science so for some reason it always gets pulled that way. He explained that thats how he knows that there is a God. We then took up the point that if you look at just the seasons of the world you can tell that he is there because in the darkest of winters there is always the hope of spring. Just like in our lives when things are difficult we can rely on Him and know that everything will work out because He loves us and knows what we need better than we do even if that is hard to admit! 
Today we had a cherry pie adventure and it was yummy, a pain but yummy! The rain keeps pouring and the systers in Katrineholm keep smiling and laughing! Its great!
This weeks challenge comes from a talk that I found that I absolutely love and I found to be pretty inspiring. Its by Richard C. Edgelyhttp://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-rescue-for-real-growth?lang=eng Think about what you can do to become stronger and then do it! I know that as we strive to always do better daily and weekly our Heavenly Father Smiles and blesses us more then we realize!
Love you all thanks for everything! Have a great week!
Love
Syster Juker

When I Was a Bit of an Idiot, No One Put Me Down

Jennifer Juker jennifer.juker@myldsmail.net	Jun 18
to me, john

Nära och Kära
This weeks letter is coming at you directly from Katrineholms public library! It feels more like a pday when we right emails in a library. Yeah, thats a little weird but let me 'splain. At least when I write my letters it is almost as if you go into another room. Yup now I sound crazy! You get to, for an hour or so focus on those people near and dear to you AND related to you! You can focus on them and how you can help them and just hear about whats going on. When at the center or church building you are in a familiar area and it is harder to get that focus going. So thus, I like this library thing! 
As you all well know I didnt get transfered on wednesday but rather saturday so Its been an interesting week. Syster Pool and I spent a lot of time out teaching and meeting with people who wanted to say goodbye and such. It was an interesting experience to leave an area which felt so much like home. But Katrineholm feels like a family and I love it!
I tisdags we were able to help remind Shell about reading the scriptures everyday to recieve strength. It was cool to hear from David and add to my testimony of that! Anyway she tries to read and she marks those things that touch her heart. It was cool to see that those things that we felt like she needed to understand were also being applied in her life. Then we met with Maggis and began a Preach My Gospel program with her to prepare her for her short term mission. She felt like she wouldnt be prepared so she asked us to help her. She is going to be a great asset to the mission come september. We had dinner with Niklas and his family as a going away of sorts and that was cool. We were being picked up by a family in the ward afterward to be taken to their home. They ended up being 30 minutes late and called to let us know. So we took an unplanned walk around the block to talk to people. No one was interested but we talked with a lot of people. As we were finishing up, and nearly back to the church there was a busy group of people in a park. We were a little confused by the amount of cameras present, but as we came closer it became clear. ELEPHANTS in the PARK!!! Three Huge ones! It was cool. We could have gotten close enough to touch them. It was cool. In the pictures they look fake but they are not I promies.
I onsdags we had a lunch with the Reynolds and Annalisa. It was awesome to help Annalisa express herself in english and then translate for the Reynolds. They really have become friends and its great to see Annalisa smile even more when she sees her new friends. We again helped the Reynolds with some language study before meeting with Juan. He was really able to open up to us about his mission and things. We showed him a Mormon Message about Being Rescued by Christ. I loved that one. (will probably be my challenge for the week) We met with Lasse with Oskar after that and he is doing great really reading everything he can from the church. A member helped him download a Liahona app for his ipad so now he reads that each night as well. We are trying now to just get the focus back to the Book of Mormon. 
i torsdags we had an amazing district meeting with Äldste Ririe and Norr. They both are inspiring missionaries. We were able to learn a lot from them and help make changes to become better. I loved it. We talked about turning our contacts into teaches and we did role plays as we walked back to the trainstation. It really helped a lot. We were able to meet with Kjell one last time for me before travelling here. It was cool to be able to testify to him about how the work here in sweden will become more active just like it is in Utah. We even got a return appointment to show him the Second Harvest DVD. It will be great. We had language study in teh evening with Johannes and we showed him Elder Hollands testimony of the Book of Mormon. It seemed to have made an impact on him because he had never seen anyone lay it out so flatly before. That also is a great one to watch!
i fredags we had some trouble in river city and we were not sure what to do. We visited the Robayos since they had returned and I wanted to say goodbye. We updated Niklas on the Missionary work and attended an Open House for our graduating seniors. It was definitely an experience to see Studenten (graduation) celebrations there in Jönköping. There were a lot of people with music really enjoying themselves. It was interesting. I got packed up and said a prayer that I would be able to make it here in tack with all of my bags. 
i lördags was a crazy day. I was able to study a little before heading to the train station. Syster Pool helped me with my bags and I got on my first train pretty much without problem. Then it came close to where I needed to make a connecting train. I was a little nervous so I got up to get organized early. There were only two people who got off the train. Me and this burly man with loud music. I thought about asking him but shyed away from it. He ended up asking me and helping me off the train! Prayers are answered! Then Äldste Albrichson and Chipman helped me to the next train. Then came time to get off in Katrineholm. There were lots of people and I was unsure how I was going to get off. So again I got organized early and two men came up and started talking with me about my bags and how it was possible to have those suitcases so full. It made me laugh, as I explained I was a missionary. They preceeded to tell me that the only reason why they got up was to help me off the train. I know Heavenly Father answers prayers. Its happened time and time again on my mission. Its great. As for being in Katrineholm its great! I love the small town atmosphere. We had a couple appointments in the afternoon and we had to sprint to catch a train but it was all an adventure and we made it! Im thankful to be here! 
igår since Katrineholms a branch we have two hours of church. The ward is incredibly loving and I love being here! We were able to spend the evening with a few families. It was great to get to know them. Im going to love being here! Can't say it enough! Syster Spjut is amazing! We have a lot in common and we get along great! Im excited to work it here!
Challenge time... http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#rescued-by-christ and http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#testimony-of-the-book-of-mormon These two together represent a lot of the testimony that I myself have. Although I am not an aposle and am no where near as cool as George the falconer I know that Jesus Christ is Gods Son and that through him we can overcome everything and we will overcome everything that is in our way. I know that because I have prayed about it and because I have tested it. Thats the only way. The proof to this knowledge for me comes from reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. Some people would make you think that to have faith is silly or just people trying to find solace in something. I know that it has helped me so much and that without it life is a whole lot harder. I hope you can read this and feel a renewed hope and desire to read your scriptures and to pray for it works!
Love you all and thanks for all your support!
Love
Syster Juker

A Donkey!

Jennifer Juker jennifer.juker@myldsmail.net	Jun 11
to me, john

Nära och Kära,

Well this week was pretty much a test of endurance. We (Syster Pool and I) are pretty sick of the endurancy tests that keep coming our way! We have been able to hold  up alright anyway, Heavenly Father always helps us out when we ask! Test him, it works everytime we have faith!

I måndags it was a chill pday then we visited the Robayos who came back from Columbia. They are a great family and always do everything they can for the missionaries. We then had FHE with the YSA. I translated for the Reynolds, they are understanding more of things though so its great to see them excell at understanding the language. There were a couple less actives who came and it was great.

I tisdags we had a busy day. We met with Sandra and showed her the DVD on the Second Harvest and got her jazzed to do some more missionary work. She shared with us her conversion story and how much initative she took in order to find the church herself. She typed in Jesus Christ in a web browser and it came up with our church website. (lds.org) She looked around a bit and liked what she saw so she found the nearest building and came and knocked on the door. Of course with Heavenly Fathers timing the missionaries were inside and able to teach her right then and there! Shes incredible. We were able to meet with Wilson and talk about the last lesson with Li and figure out what is the best thing to teach next. He really enjoys doing this missionary work as well. We were able to meet with Emelie too. That was by far the highlight of the day. She wanted to know more about temples and we weren't really sure how to go about it. Syster Pool prepared a bunch of thoughts from the special edition Liahona on temples and we just went with that. Marina was with us and the Spirit was strong as we testified of the truths we know through the temple. At the end of the lesson we went to leave and she gave us hugs, we told her we loved her and she said she loves us too! It was a great lesson and Im thankful that I was able to be here for it. Our plan was to go out to Bankeryd and find some members that we are not sure about. We havent ever met them and they dont show up to church. So we headed out on a bus I had never been on before (naturally Syster Pool hadn't either) We had a few maps printed off but they didnt help us on the bus route. We got off finally and had to back track a ways. Then like always when you are out in the elements It began raining. We were able to find out some new information before having to tredge up a steep hill to our appointment with the Schelins. It went really well and they are excited to help also with missionary work. We talked about their son serving a short term mission, he already has all of his money saved to serve a full term mission but for some reason hasn't yet. Hopefully we can get the ball rolling soon for him. 

I onsdags we had an incredible lesson with Niklas and Lasse. Lasse had a lot of questions like usual but Niklas was really able to help answer them. We then had to make our way to another Schelin house. They asked for ideas on what to do if the invite we give them isn't well recieved. It was interesting to be asked that question. As missionaries its something we face everyday and now it seems to not faze us. Agency is part of the plan is the only response I really could give. Wednesday was National day here so we saw some festivites it Rådhusparken with Lasse. He explained some of the normal things that happen during he celebration and it was rather different than the 4th of July at home but quite enjoyable all the same. We had a dinner with the Nilssons and showed them the DVD and then helped the Reynolds with some language. They needed help with Pronounciation of swedish. It feels good to help people out. 

I torsdags we had a lovely district meeting with Äldster Ririe and Norr. We felt the Spirit as we did some role plays. We made some calls to some old TUs in our phone as we waited for Maggis to come. We got her introduced to Preach My Gospel and she is looking forward to our program we want to do with her. We had language study afterwards with Johannes and the Spirit was present there as well. He answered questions about his testimony and his priority for church. it was great. 

I fredags We had an interesting day as this was when Marcos was coming home to meet with us the last time before his baptism on saturday. He said he would be back early afternoon. We went and helped the Wiklöfs and I took some pictures with them because it was  my last time with them. Then we had lunch with them and met Li at the church. He just got back from England and is here in Sweden till Tuesday and then he is going to China. We talked with him about the Second Harvest and showed him the DVD. We got to translate it into english for him which was cool. He seems to be excited to get down to business in missionary work when he comes back to Sweden. We did some weekly planning before meeting with Niklas and discussing things for our ward counsel on sunday. We got a frenzied call from Marcos saying that he didn't feel ready but that he was thankful for all the work that we have done for him. It hurt to be so close and then let down. He said he would see us in church but he didn't come. We will try to keep contact.

I lördags we had a great lesson with Lasse in which he said many times things like "If Im a member" or "when I am a member" It was great to see what he is thinking about as we teach him. We talked about the prophets and testified that it is through the Book of Mormon that he will know the truth of all the other things and commandments that we have. We just have to read a book and ask God. Its pretty simple and yet so many don't. We've got lots of work to do! Wilson then asked for some help with his thesis. He came and we started to help with the english side of things and realized the Reynolds could help and we could go out. So we did and traded spots. We went out and visited some members to visit and show the video it went well. We stopped by an open house that one of our members invited Marcos to hoping that he would come too. Sadly he didnt. We had a dinner at a Schelins house and it was great we were able to get to know them better and get them jazzed to do missionary work. They opened up there home to us whenever we need it. Which was great, they also accepted a challenge to invite someone this month to church. 

I söndags, so many people came up to say goodbye it was hard to keep track of who I talked to and even what we were talking about. It was a great experience. Lasse came to church and enjoyed it like usual but Marcos was no where to be seen. It was saddening to both of us. We did feel the spirit and Abraham was at church and we were able to help him with prayer. We met with Caroline and she shared her mission experience with us. It was cool. We shared the DVD and she thought almost immediately of a friend that she has had for a long time and now we are going to contact her sometime this week. Miracles do happen if we are but patient and faithful and doing all we can. We were then able to have dinner with the Malms and share a sprititual experience that got their childrens attention and kept them busy with a puzzle. Then we visited a few other members who were missing in action and show them the film as well. 

Idag we went to Stadsparken and got to see a bunch of different animals and just be out in nature a little bit. It was great. This evening we were asked to attend FHE and it will be great I feel it!

Challenge time! This one is easy- invite someone to church, now that doesnt have to be sacrament meeting but it certainly can be. Just some sort of church activity. If we aren't invited to change we most likely wont. I know that as you invite someone to church in some way you will feel your testimony grow and the missionaries will like you even more when  that person actually shows up in a meeting =)

Love you all! Have a great week!

Love 

Syster Juker