Week 42: Cutting a Tree Down

 It was a grind of a week. But in a good way.

Not much to talk about because we did mostly finding this week but here we go. 

Spiritual Thought:  

I've taken the sacrament about 879 times. 

Yes, I did the math (kinda).

I'm not sure how many of those I realized the importance of it. 

Elder Oaks said, “The ordinance of the sacrament makes the sacrament meeting the most sacred and important meeting in the Church.”   2008 General Conference

Being here in Finland has helped me see how true this quote really is

It makes me want to learn more about it. 

To study it.

To make it less routine. 

And to make time to just sit and think about it when it's happening. 

I'm gonna try and do it this Sunday. 

You should too. Let me know how it goes.

Maybe I'll update you sometime.

Short Version of Email: Lots of service, chopping wood, cleaning and moving. Double exchanges and lots of finding new people. Calling Fins for language practice, yummy food, and a Culture Night at the church. 

Finnish Word of the Week:   Ei  = diving but literally translates to "swim jumping”.   

Daylight Counter!

Where we started–4 Hours 40 minutes

This week–20 Hours 32 minutes

5 Amazing Things This Week:

1:  We did service (chopping huge pieces of wood for 4 hours) for an older couple (I am so sore). It was by far my favorite service project I've ever done. The couple we did it for is the Patriarch and his wife. They are so wise and live in the coolest house in the middle of the woods with a huge garden. 

2: Double splits this week with the zone leaders and district leaders both in our area. It was lovely to try and find lots of new people. It was my last split with a couple of the Elders here before they went home. I'll miss them, they have taught me so much. 

3:  We had two amazing dinners with members this week. We had lohikeito (traditional Finnish salmon soup) and it may have been the best thing I've eaten in Finland yet. The other dinner was the best burger I've eaten in Finland by far. I love it here. 

4:  I started calling a native Finn at night to get some extra practice with the language and it is very helpful. Finnish is slowly coming along lol.

5:  We had a really cool “Culture night” on Saturday where people came and brought food from their own countries for others to try. We played lots of fun games and over 50 people came! 

Tender Mercy of the Week:

We had a cool miracle on splits. We were out on the streets talking to people not having much success but we were having a great time and our hopes were high. As we were walking to the train station to leave, a man ran up to us asking if we had 2 Finnish Books of Mormon he could have. Turns out he was a member from Florida who was here on a work trip. He had been talking to his boss about our church for a long time and he was interested in reading the Book of Mormon. He had tried to get in contact with anyone from the Church in Tampere by emailing the bishop and reaching out to missionaries but no one answered. He said he found us just in time because his work meeting was that night and he was leaving the next day. 

Where I am/Who I'm With: I am serving in Tampere. My companion is Elder Salisbury.

Fun Facts about Elder Salisbury:

-quite above average at sudoku 

-has two huge Lord of the Rings books in Finnish

-has bright yellow reflective sunglasses

Scripture of the Week:  

Mormon 5:21

21 And also the Lord will remember the prayers of the righteous, which have been put up unto him for them.

My thoughts:  What a great show of faith for Mormon to be able to write this at the time he did. Even though there was so much wickedness around him, he must have still seen the hand of the Lord often in his life. The “prayers of the righteous” must have included his own. 

Talk of the Week:  I have none. I ran out of ideas. Please send me your favorite talks so I can listen to them. 

My Thoughts: 

We played probably 3 hours of basketball on P-day but more fun than that was that I felt really hot. It felt like I was back in the desert heat again (just more humid). YAY!

Transfer Calls this next week! Time flies! 
-Elder Balls