I hope that everyone is doing awesome! We are all really pumped because we leave in 3 days! The days just get better and better here. I think that you can feel the spirit here more than anywhere else. There is a special work that goes on here. I remember that on my second week, we had to fly to LA to get our visas and there was no longer that happy peaceful feeling. Going to Finland is going to be awesome but we will also be going into the real world again. We are no longer in our little bubble. We are very excited for the challenge. And the cold. it will probably be around 20-25 degrees F on we get there I think. And then We spend the night in Espoo, Finland which is a city near Helsinki. We might spend a couple of days there...not sure yet.
We met the old Finnish Mission President one of these nights. He was really cool. He is now one of the branch presidents here at the MTC. He came into our dorm and talked to us all about Finland and what to expect. Really great experience. We got a picture with him also. If president Aura is like him than it is going to be a blast there.
On sunday, we found out that our branch president, President Coombs, is being released. We all really liked him a lot. He went on his mission to samoa and had tons of good stories and mission experiences that he told us. We are usually with the branch presidency on Sundays and Tuesdays. This is because those days we have devotionals and discuss those with them. We have the best branch in the MTC. Brother Svendsson is branch 1st counselor and he is so cool. He also really loves sock ties and wants me to wear them on sundays and tuesdays. I might give him one before I leave.
Sunday night we had a devotional and it was about turning your weaknesses into strengths. We were asked to pray to God, and ask him to show to us what we can improve on, and then to give us opportunities to make it happen. It was really cool. We should always be moving forward. "improving" in Finnish, repentance means improvement. We all need to improve on something. Use the atonement of christ to help you improve no matter what it is. And this doesn't have to be dealing with just sins. You can use the power that comes from it. On tuesday one thing that I got out of it was that "we are representatives of Jesus Christ" There is no greater honor than to represent him. He is the most perfect person to ever live. Who else would you rather represent?
The Dutchies and Mongols left this week too. We are the lone survivors. Elder Leung, the big chinese guy was a dutchie. I would always chill in their room because it was always quiet and clean too. Our room is really gross. No matter how many times you vacuum it, or clean it, you cant get it to smell good.
In my personal reading this week I read about abinadi...he was talking to the priests and king noah, and he was asking them if they keep the commandments and teach them to the people. Mosiah 13:26 I say unto you, Nay; for
Often times we hear the same things in talks and in conference. But we forget why sometimes we might be hearing the same things. Those talks are planned through what God wants. If we keep hearing the same thing, we must not be doing something. "The lord would not have caused me to come" If we were doing it right...we wouldn't be told again to do it. Do it the first Time. And if it is wrong, improve the second time.
Before we go off to Finland, this week we have been doing infield training. it is another class where we learn about ideas to use while in the field. The members are the best tool. 50% of people that members find to teach are baptized. Only 20% of people missionaries find are baptized. Members...invite...help the missionaries...I wasn't very good at it always, but now i have learned. What can go wrong? There is a 50% chance that you just changed their life forever. We need your help.
Cool things:
On sunday, I passed the sacrament and when I partook of the water, there was a hair in my cup and it wrapped around my big tooth and got stuck there. It was Quite interesting.
Me and my companions are the new sacrament coordinators for the last week that we are here...so we make sacrament and pick people to pass and bless.
I no longer use bed sheets. I sleep on the top bunk, and it is really annoying and hard to put them on when they fall off...so now I no longer try and just sleep on the mattress.
We got to write letters to ourselves that will be mailed to us in 10 months. We can read them and see how we have changed. We wrote us advice and thoughts and worries.
Minä rakastan teitä!
Next time you hear from me I will be in the land of 2000 lakes freezing.
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