Hey Everyone!!! I hope you had a good week!! It’s been pretty crazy here in Finland!! We’ve got so much snow that we’re basically drowning in it, but it’s really exciting!! It’s starting to get really cold. For example today we were -18 C or -1 F. It’s so cold!! We haven’t been making the warmest decisions regarding clothes either, but it’s all been okay. We’ll get better about it. But onwards and upwards and onto the week of Sisar McCammon!!
Wednesday was really good. I woke up and remembered a dream I had where I got engaged to Patrick Dempsey who was my surgeon, but we were engaged and that was pretty fun! But besides that I had an inspiring meeting with my district. We talked a lot about how we can be better missionaries and using the tools we have like family history and English to get people interested in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We talked about going the extra mile for both people we are teaching and members. Making sure that they can feel the love we have for them. Then we ate lunch and left! We were going to follow up with some people who lived by us, but then they weren’t home, so we ate dinner then went to a little bit of a further out area that we have and talked to a few people who were interested and gave out a couple Book of Mormons. We also followed up with this one man who used to take the lessons, but then stopped and we got an appointment set up with him, so tender mercies. On our way home, we stopped by a member’s house whose son’s birthday was that day and we gave him a little card. He was pretty chill about it, but you could tell he was touched. Then yesterday at church, his mom told us he was so excited!! He was running around the house yelling “I got a card!!!” He had a Finnish reaction to us and an American reaction with his family is what she explained to us.
On Thursday, we were really busy. We had lunch with one of the interested people. He is kind of like an estranged uncle. A little weird but really nice and wants to serve you. He really likes us so we went to this kebab place. Not like skewers or anything, but it’s a type of meat that’s illegal in America. So that was sweet of him. But then we had to leave because we had to study really fast and then go to Raasepori to meet with a returning member/ recent convert. She’s from Venezuela and her daughter is with her, but her other daughter and husband are still in Venezuela. She is super nice and loves us, but it’s hard to communicate because she knows very little Finnish and a little more English so she’s testing my Spanish skills. We met with her and chatted for a little bit though and that was nice. Then we had to leave and go to a dinner appointment with a member. They’re an older couple who are super sweet and we went to visit like my first week here, so they were impressed at my Finnish’s growth and how much more I could understand if they spoke slowly enough for me, but it was nice.
Friday was awesome! We had a first lesson with a man we had met on the street forever ago. He is super interested and loved the discussion we had. It seemed like he expected us to just speak at him, but when we asked more questions, he felt like he could ask more questions and he was so curious!! He’s so awesome and when we texted him later to ask about things, he said he would show us around the big city he lives by! It was super sweet!! We can’t go because it’s not in our area, which we are super sad about, but his offer was so sweet and genuine. We had it at a member’s house too so he told us he was going to go read the Book of Mormon because he learns better alone than in a group. We have another lesson set up, so pray that he reads it!! Then we had to go and he helped us brush the snow off our car and we then went home to plan before coming back to this same member’s house for lunch. We brought along a returning member too so it was super fun to talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be uplifted together. We were also going to have a lesson that night but it fell through and we were super sad, but we knocked on some doors and had some really good conversations about Jesus Christ.
Saturday was also slightly bittersweet. We thought we had a lesson with Fam one of our opetustavia. They’re this cute family where the dad is a member but the rest of the family isn’t, but the mom has really bad allergies and we texted them and found out that her allergies are worse. It was just to cat hair we thought, but it sounds like it’s more and the kids are also having to take medications for it. So we couldn’t go over, but they are wanting to still take the lessons if they could, and see what they could figure out about church. So we’ll see what happens. We want them to be baptized but they can’t see a way that they could be active members yet because they couldn’t be at church which is so important to conversion. It’s where so much of learning and growing closer to Christ happens and taking the sacrament. It’s good that they recognize that though and want help. So we were sad that fell through, but we finally got a meeting set up with a less active man in the ward. He’s been having doubts about his faith and feeling like he isn’t enough and like he just needs an angel to appear and then he’ll believe, but he knows the Church is God’s church restored to the Earth again, but he doubts himself. It’s sad, so we are trying to build him up. And our lesson went amazing!! He loved our answers and adored us! He even came to church on Sunday! We were so happy to see him and he looked like he felt better after attending. I really hope that he can feel his conversion to the Savior growing stronger as he continues to attend church.
But really into Sunday now. We had church today and we got to see all our church friends. We also got to see the AP missionaries. They’re in our ward. Sundays are so fun. We had church where still nothing makes sense. It’s all in Finnish, so I find myself zoning out more easily because I don’t understand. It’s really hard. We also talked to one of the members of the bishopric and he asked me to sing in ward conference… yay! But anyways. We had a dinner appointment then Sister Kristensen felt sick from her dairy intolerance we think and we cancelled so we ate at home before going to a lesson after she felt better. The lesson was good. We think this man will be baptized. Pen is super nice (he’s the one who took us to lunch) and he is super interested. He has such a strong conversion to Christ already and he seems to believe whatever we tell him. We want to try and commit him to be baptized, but he already turned us down once, so I don’t know, we’ll see. We talked about the Plan of Salvation with him though, and it all seemed to click with him though, so it was good. We could really feel the Spirit before he started asking questions about Jesus’ grandparents. But otherwise good!
We are now at today!! Monday!!!!!!! YAY P-DAY!! It’s p-day because tomorrow is Return and Report, (the kids she left on her mission with all go back to the Mission Home and meet with the President and have some more training and for him to find out how everything is going) so it should be fun! But we got up and ready and studied a little and then went shopping and we unfortunately had district council because of return and report but it was good. We talked about bearing our testimonies and showing our conviction to serve the Lord even though we don’t perfectly know the language or we’re still learning. It was very uplifting. We had fun anyways and here we are.
My week was busy and full of meeting new people. My day-to-day life isn’t too exciting, but it’s full of meeting new people and struggling through the language. That was one thing that has been really hard this week. My language skills have felt way worse than before, so it was so hard. I’ve also been pretty homesick and it’s rough to want to love the people here but long for people at home. I love you all. I hope you know that. I really do. It’s amazing to be here and serve the Lord and have Him with me so strongly, but it’s also hard to be away from home. I know that this is the place though. That I am supposed to be here and that where I would be if I wasn’t a missionary would be nowhere near as good as here right now. I have an amazing companion an amazing area and ward, and the Lord is with me withersoever I goest. I know that He loves me and all of you and that as we strive to live His commandments and follow Him, that blessing we won’t even notice will rain upon our heads. He gives us what we need, and helps us through our struggles. I love you all and miss you!! Have a great week!!
I know that Jesus Christ lives and is my Savior. That He restored His true church on Earth and that this is that church. This message is one of joy and thanksgiving. I love that I can study for so long every day and invite others to come unto Christ, but it’s hard to go and try to find. When we go tracting or contacting, it’s hard to feel like you’re useful because people shut the door or walk away so quickly or rudely so much that it’s hard. Also being so tired and not having very much sun. But I love Finland. There are so many amazing people here. I really am so grateful that I can be here and testify of Christ at every bus stop and street corner. It really is a different life, I love it.
Love Sisar McCammon
Their cute car!
Looks pretty cold!
Abbie said they are swimming in snow!
Outfit of the Day
I love that her companion is in the pic too!
Abbie said she is grateful that the sun shines more and more each day and wants pictures to express the love for the sunlight and the beauty of Finland.
This is their Chapel in Espoo (Es-poe)
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