A Garbage Can Load of Taco Meat

We had a great week in Finland!

We just had zone conference in Oulu yesterday. That is a really big city up north quite a ways. It is a 3 hour train ride. But the train rides are super fun. Our whole district came up together. We all rode in the pet compartment (no one else ever rides in there) so it was just us. We had a jolly good time. We each brought some snacks for everyone. We all slept at Oulu with the whole North Zone...so there was like 16 or so of us in the apartment together. In zone Conference we talked a lot about ways we can improve our missionary work. There are definitely many ways I can improve. We made breakfast though beforehand, we all had to bring an ingredient..and some thing was poisoned because we were all quite ill after we ate. We aren't sure what it was.

After zone conference, we were running late, but we all wanted to get some burger king...so we decided to do both. We sped walked for the first half...but me and my comp left a little later than everyone else along with two other elders...so we were a bit behind the group... one of the elders had a rolling luggage and a rock got stuck in the tire. So we had leave him and his comp behind. But we felt bad after a while, and waited for them. It was an awesome sight.... they were running, pulling their luggage behind. But then we had to run also to make it there in time. This is why everyone thinks we are weird. Because we run through the cities to make it. And we would do it for anyone or anything.

We also had splits this week with district leader. They were really good. We found two great potentials. This week we will be meeting with them. Our investigators our still there. We weren't able to meet with them though. We only have one priesthood holder in our branch that can go with us...so if he is not there, than we cant teach girls because we need a third man. And this week he is going to be at the temple...but we will figure things out. The Lord will provide.

I ate Mämmi for the first time on sunday. It is desert here... I think it tastes like crushed up raisins or prunes. It was quite odd. If you just eat that plain i dont know if it is possible...we had to dump this vanilla cream stuff all over it. Last tuesday we made about 10 pounds of taco meet and we eat it every day. We are about half way through with it. It filled a giant trash can bucket thing.

The Church is true! I am very excited for General Conference and to be able to listen to president Nelson speak again. I really love him so much now. He is a way funny guy. It is important that we watch with a question in mind. You will get so much more out of it if you have a question and a purpose. 

love you all, elder christensen

MTC North Squad

Photo Shoot at Pizza Buffet....

This was a jolly good week.

Lots of good things, and lots of odd things as well. 

President Aura came to seinäjoki this past weekend. We visit a new branch every week. It was very good. We went tracting with him and everything. Twas awesome. But we thought that it was a good idea to use him coming to seinäjoki to our advantage. We went around to some of the less active members and tried to get them to come to church...because president Aura would be there! It actually worked. both people that we visited came and had a good time. We shared the message of naaman in the old testament with them. Naaman was a prince or great general in the army and he got leprosy. He went to the prophet to be healed...but the prophet said to go wash in the river jordan 7 times and you will be healed. The prince was very mad! how can he be asked to go to this dirty water and bathe? He was very angry and decided he would not do it. But the servant says to him...if you were asked to do something great...you would have done it. You would have done anything. Slay a dragon, take over a nation..anything. But instead of these things, you are asked to do something small...to take a bath 7 times. This is a small thing. why not do it? And so this prince goes and bathes and is healed.

We are asked to do these same things in our time. Sometimes it is easy to think, if i am asked to do something big, like the pioneers, i would do it. But it is also easy to procrastinate the easy things. What we are asked to do is not big...we dont need to walk across the earth...that has already been done...for us! We have been asked to do the small things. Go to church! (the people there need you just as much as you need them) read scriptures! serve others! These are small things that mean all the difference...why not do them?

While I was eating at piiki pizzas (the grand buffet) with one of these less active members, a woman came up to me and started pointing at me several times...I got pretty nervous because i had no idea what she was saying and i thought she was accusing me of something. I started to pick out parts of the conversation and i thought she wanted to have me take a picture of them and only me to take the picture because she wouldn't stop pointing at me. So a couple of teenage girls and the girl come back and it turns out that they wanted a picture with me in it. She said that i look just like her husband that passed away and her kids never got to see him. She said i was just as handsome as her husband like 4 times. So in the middle of this pizza buffet we have a photo shoot. One of the things i have ever done.

Also, another good story, three different times we tried to get donuts and one time we ran like a mile to get them. We looked so jolly running through  the streets. we get to the store and they are all gone! we never have managed to get these douguhts. 

A member gave us a free couple of coupons to this restaurant...and we were super excited..we get there and it turns out it is like a rest-home place. the food was so good. We sat down at a full table with old people. IN a matter of seconds the table was empty. never seen people move that fast before. bless their souls.

thats about it this week. the missionary work is good. my comp got a couple bloody noses also!

love you all,

elder christensen

The new bike I had to purchase. 

My comps nose bleed remnants.

Snow, snow, and more snow.

MIRACLES HAVEN'T CEASED!!

Well...I must say. It truly was miracle week. 

This week was such a good week! So much to talk about. Our zone planned a week set aside for miracles. This was the week. we had certain things to do each day. They are made for missionary work but I attached the picture so that you can all do it. Instead of missionary related words (or you can keep them...please do that...help the missionaries in you ward find and be apart of that finding) you can replace them with say..family or work or trials or anything. But it has really changed my view on miracles and then at the end of the week on sunday I spoke on miracles and my experiences with them. Often times, we have many miracles but are not noticing them...why is that? I think that gratitude is a super big part. pray for them, look for them, try to create them, BE THEM. The greatest miracle can so easily be over looked. The atonement of christ. Through this we can be changed, we can repent, and we can return to heaven once again. This is such an important part of our earthly experience. I dont think that we can ever fully understand everything there is to know about the atonement. That is probably something we can all do a little more study and pondering about. We are miracles.

Talk Link: Elder Hallstrom, "Has the Day of Miracles Ceased"

We found 4 new investigators this week! They are so so awesome. a young family from russia, a Finnish lady, and a man from Congo. We were able to teach all of them and they were all very accepting of the gospel and believe that it can help their lives. We really have big hopes for the family. The mom has been praying for a while and had so many questions...100% sincere. Never have i seen so much sincerity. She is ready!

also, a potential investigator came to church and stayed the whole time. we called her and tried to set a lesson...but she said no, that she will be going to church. (the best lesson dodge ever) and then she says that we need to come visit her this week!

My finnish is getting better...we are still playing piano for church...elder Lewis plays two songs and i play two songs.

2 Nephi 27:

23 For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show ​unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith.

It all begins with faith.

funny experience:

we were tracting in this city called ilmajoki, and a car pulled up next to us and asked us if we were going to his house...and we said no...but we can if you want. So he said get in the car and we get in the car. He drives us to his house. This really really old guy starts talking to us about family history and then we look up a name for him on family search. He tries to give us coffee and we tell him quite a few times that we dont drink any. But he still makes some for us. We take the boiling hot cups of water and dont put any ingredients and just drink boiling hot water...i add a sugar cube to mine and it does nothing. but i drink it. Elder Lewis dumps his into some plants when the guy gets up and turns around. it was awesome.

We also went to a different city called lapua...here i have never witnessed so many strange occurrences. One time we knocked this door and a grandma opens up. she starts talking to us and then i see her teeth moving around in her mouth in every which way. Then they fall down way far and i realize whats happening and I almost lost my mind. One of the things i have ever seen. Also, lots of elderly people here dont open the door...they just put their faces on the glass and try to hear us talking...but it usually doesnt work and we start talking really loud...almost yelling, and really slow too.

There was also an egging in this city.

love you all! Vanhin Christensen

miracles haven't ceased!

Come Get your FREE ENGLISH!!

Good morning everyone!

It has been a good week here in seinäjoki. I am having a jolly good time. We are trying some new things to try and find people to teach. One of them is teaching english. There has not been too much success with this among the mission recently, but we thought we better at least give it a try. I feel like this city is a good place to do it, because they have a sort of international university here, where lots of people come and some of them dont know much english. Many are from africa and asia. Lots of asians. We have been focusing on trying to find younger people...of course we will take anyone we can find...but our branch is mainly all over 60 so we want to try and get some young folk in there to preserve this great branch for years to come. Anyway, the first English class is going to be tonight at 6. we have been advertising for quite some time. we walk around the streets and staple flyers in places...we tape them inside of stores...and the best part is trying to recruit people in person. We walk down the street and when a person gets close to us, we start talking to them in english..and hopefully they know a little, but not very much. So then we try and get them to come to our free english class so that they can improve their english ability. It has been really fun to just come up to people and start talking in english. And the funny part is that you need to be really bold...if you aren't like shouting, then they will just walk past you and ignore you, so you need to be really loud. At first it was so odd, but it got pretty fun. We found a couple of cool people who said they would be interested. This can be the first step to the gospel for them.

Other cool stuff that happened this week was that we gave each other hair cuts. We are becoming masters at it. We use scissors and stuff too. Looks professionally done. Hair cuts here cost like 30 something euros too, so it helps you save lots of money. I tried fixing my bike brakes this morning, they have been really annoying...every time you press it, it sounds like a banshee screaming. It is so bad...So i think it might have worked...we shall see. Last night we met some other christian ladies, the belong to a helluntai church. I think that is like evangelical or something...but we talked with them for a very long time. It amazed them that our church was not so different from theirs as they thought it was. We talked about a lot of doctrinal topics like faith and the savior and life after death. One of the problems they had with our church was that they didnt believe that those who die without the chance to hear and accept the gospel will receive that chance later. They believed that only the people in their church would be saved. this reminded me of a scripture i read in personal study. Helaman 6:34-36. I think that these verses really show that God doesn't pick favorites. If you are righteous and follow his word, then He will call you His people. It doesn't matter where you are from or what you past is. Heavenly father wants every one of his children to follow him. 

34 And thus we see that the aNephites did begin to dwindle in unbelief, and grow in wickedness and abominations, while the Lamanites began to grow exceedingly in the knowledge of their God; yea, they did begin to keep his statutes and commandments, and to walk in truth and uprightness before him.

35 And thus we see that the Spirit of the Lord began to awithdraw from the Nephites, because of the wickedness and the hardness of their hearts.

36 And thus we see that the Lord began to pour out his aSpirit upon the Lamanites, because of their ​easiness and bwillingness to believe in his words.

These verses show that the nephites because of their wickedness, were no longer being blessed. The lamanites however, become very successful as they follow the teachings of the savior. Who we are does not make us God's people, but what we do.

That is my week! Also i got assigned another talk, so i will be speaking on sunday...only a week of rest.

God bless you all