Sylvester Snaillone? hahaha

Last Tuesday we didn't do much but we walked around Saimaa and enjoyed the beauty of the greenery here in Finland. It really is beautiful. Then for the evening we just went and tracted and contacted. We tried to follow up with a friend, but only his son was there so we just talked for a bit then left. 

Wednesday was a little different because we didn't have district council since we had Zone Conference on Monday. So we went out in the morning to tract and follow up with some people who had said they were interested, but no one was home. Too many people at work. So we went and bought lunch at the market by where we were. It was good, and then we went out and tracted a little bit more before heading home. by the time we got home and did our studies though, we were exhausted and we fell asleep about halfway through and napped through part of our studies. Most of dinner too, so we had some leftover fish soup then went to our Bible Study. It went well. There was another member of their church there and he was pretty cool. He had a barber shop quartet mustache and that was really cool. But we read in Proverbs and I found out that a lot of Proverbs is written in a Hebrew poem form kind of like the English term Chiasmus. So it was fun to read and discuss with them. They fed us a little bit too and the couple that holds the Bible study are the cutest. The wife moved here from Japan and so she had this little Japanese treat. It was like a peach or a plum or something like that, but really sour and almost really bitter. It was good but I don't think I will try one again. 

Thursday we went out again in the morning and tried to talk to a returning member, but she wasn't home. Her husband was though so he invited us to come back and said he would pass on information to her. So far we haven't heard from her, but we are planning on going back soon. It was really rainy today, and that meant all the snails were out on the paths. So last week it was a duck, and this week it was a snail that I got to pet! It was awesome! There were so many, so we started naming them. Snackie Chan. Sylvester Snaillone. Snarnold Schwarzenegger. It was fun. Then we came home for lunch and studies. It was good. We went to visit a member in the nursing home again before our dinner appointment with a family in our ward. When we went out to their house, we helped move some boxes into a room that just opened up, and then ate a quick dinner before we went to their daughter's school's "Kevät Juhla" or Spring party. They reenacted a few stories from the Kalevala (The first book ever written in Finnish. Kind of like the Finnish version of Aesop's fables or Canterbury tales.) It was so fun! I didn't understand a thing, but it was fun to see and support their daughter. She did so well!

Friday was a normal weekly planning day, so not much happened with that. Afterwards though, we went contacting for a while before coming home to a quick dinner and a brisk walk to the train station overnight bags in tow. We had splits that night in Espoo. We contacted this really cool man who spoke perfect Finnish despite having moved here only a year ago. And when we asked what his native language is (after we had missed the bus and were starting to walk to the train station) he said Curdish. It was really awesome because that is one of the languages that I know how to say Thank you in. SO it was super sweet to say thank you to him in his native language! He just lit up!! We then had a bit of a travel to Espoo, but when we got there, Sister GODFREY!!! And I went and taught one of their friend who is getting baptized in a couple weeks about temples. IN FINNISH! It was so weird. Almost like the MTC but we know more of what we are saying now and we understand a little bit more. It was so fun!

Saturday was fun! I got to go and knock on door with Sister Hollingsworth. We talked to this guy from Poland. He was cool. It was just really sad to see that he was searching and recognized that, but he doesn't want an answer. he is searching, but expecting the answer to be no. So went the answer knocks on his door at 11 o'clock in the morning, he doesn't hear. It was sad, but he was way cool. Then we went and ate and studied. Then Sister Godfrey and I went to another lesson. This time to a recent convert, and it was so stinking cool. I was in Lohja when he was baptized, so I knew a lot about him and we is way cool. He is so excited about the gospel. He has almost every book from the church and reads them all the time because he's a retired man really with nothing better to do. So He knows so much already. It is so cool!! Sister Godfrey and I went and contacted and found one person who was interested. It was way cool. Then we got Bible bashed by a man on our way home. He was nice though and it was interesting to learn what he had to say. It is always just crazy to me when someone tells me, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, what I believe. I always just want to ask, "How do you know better than I do about what I believe?" Always interesting, but it was fun. Then Sister Godfrey and I started dinner and waited for the other sisters before we reviewed what we learned, ate, and Sister Nielson and I headed home. It was such a good day. Good to be home.

Sunday! Such a good day to be at church. It was so nice and chill. Then afterwards we had a little party and ate with the members. Way fun!! Such good food. Finns seriously know how to do soup. Then we had a good study session before heading out to a Bible study. We talked about "taming our tongue" and how much power our words actually have. It all centers in love too. That when we love, we don't use our tongue for mean degrading things, but happy, kind, uplifting things. It was good. Then we hurried home for a quick dinner of leftovers, and then our meeting with our Ward Mission leader. It went well, but it always sucks when the week just sucks and you keep getting cancelled on. Over and over, so there isn't much to report. But it was a good day kuitenkin.

Monday was a hard day. We had a lesson in the morning that got moved back. So we went home and studied before coming to the church for lesson 2 which went well! We even got her to tell us we could help her on her farm. Which hasn't happened before. Then the first lesson that was rescheduled was cancelled, so we went out and tracted a little bit. It was good sort of. No success. It was hard, but we got a lot of maybe laters. So we did what we did before heading home for dinner. After dinner, we tracted a little bit more. Then went to another lesson with some people we met about 2 weeks ago. It was good at first. We did small talk and got to know more about them and them us. The woman also made some snacks and some herbal tea for us. It was delicious and really kind. But after a little bit of that, the man started kindly bible bashing. It was almost as if they were trying to missionary us up while we tried to do the same. But the woman really respectfully told us that she wasn't interested in changing but she'll talk to us if we want. So it was basically a dead end. It was fun for the most part, but we were almost late, so we had to run home. It was a crazy day! And that's that!

This week has been really discouraging. It has been full of disappointments and rejections. It definitely wasn't anything remarkable, just all the lows were thrown into this week. I don't even know what I can say much other than that. We had a lot of rejections and it really sucks, but the members have been so good, and we have gotten back into contact with a few people. So there were some good things, but also a lot of not great. Kinda like life... I guess I am just in the Petri dish of life right here. I don't know but Finland is just gorgeous. So green and full of life. It is really rainy right now, but still absolutely amazingly beautiful, so God makes up! I really do love Him and I am so glad that He is here with me. I have really felt my testimony of Him being with me strengthen so much this week. He is my Father in Heaven. Just as He is all of your Fathers. He loves you all so personally. And I love you all too. Until Next week!!

Love, Sisar McCammon