Merry Christmas!

What a week! Where did it even go? This week we had a lot happen. We had a fantastic Ward Christmas Concert that really just blew me away. We also got a new investigator this week who seems really promising. The problem is he speaks Finnish and Swedish and so does my companion so like half the lesson is in Finnish and then half of it is in Swedish. Needless to say I had a pretty big headache after the lesson.  

This week we were also able to go around with our bishop to a bunch of the ward members and deliver presents. Our Bishop seriously is the perfect example of a Christ-like person. We went to some less active members and we even were able to set up teaching appointments with them so that is really exciting. In one of the apartment buildings we went into they had a little Christmas tree in the entrance way. So we thought it would be fun to place a wrapped Book of Mormon under the tree and hopefully someone will read it. Like what gift is greater than Eternal Life. 

This week I read about the parable of the ten Virgins and how when the 5 foolish virgins come and knock on the door the Lord will say I know you not or in the jst translation Ye know me not. It made me think about how I am doing in my quest to come to know the savior. Especially during this time of year we can come to know our Savior by following his example. Christmas time is such a lovely time of year because everyone is trying to be more Christ-like. I know that as we serve others and as we try to follow Jesus Christ we will come to know him. As we come to know him we will have happiness in this life and in the life to come. I know that Christ lives and I am so grateful that I get to spend this special Christmas season serving him. 

Merry Christmas to all,

Elder Lewis

Enjoy the random pictures

Please enjoy

Well hello everyone. This week went by so fast I can barely even remember what happened. This Christmas spirit has definitely come to Turku and for that I am so happy.  We had a ward Christmas party this week and it was so much fun. I don't think I entirely understand jokes in Finnish but there was plenty of people laughing during the play so I assume it was pretty good. We got a lot of investigators and potentials there because it was combined with the other ward. It was super fun to talk to everyone and see how the ward just friendships so easily. I am so grateful for the wonderful members and how they all have such a strong passion for missionary work.  

This week we also had the opportunity to go on exchanges with the zone leaders. Elder Minson and Elder Johnson were super helpful and taught us a lot. We had the opportunity to show the Christmas initiative to a couple people on the street and it was really spiritual. One man was pretty reluctant to watch it but eventually he did. After we watched it with him his whole demeanor changed and we had a really spiritual conversation about how we need to make Christ the center of our Christmas. I know that as we make Christ the center of our Christmas by serving others and giving back we will find true Joy. I am so happy to be able to represent Christ this Christmas. I love the Christmas spirit and I wish that we could have it year round because it really is something so wonderful. With all my Love

Elder Lewis

These are some pictures from this week please enjoy

Independence Day!!!

I thought I would begin my email today by educating everyone about a little piece of Finnish history. Today is Finland Independence day. This is the 99th year anniversary of Finland's independence. Because they just gained their independence not too long ago many of the people here are super patriotic and they should be. Finland has gone through a lot of wars and so now they are just so happy that they can be their own country and have peace. So there's some Finnish history for you. 

So this week was really fun. Elder Vennerholm had mission leader conference so I got to spend the day with two other missionaries in Helsinki. The only problem was they both just came from the MTC and so I was going to be the senior companion. The position of power felt pretty nice, but when it came time to teach a lesson it stopped being fun. We did survive however and I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what went on during the lesson. Anyways we had a fun time talking to people about the Gospel. 

This week we were also able to go do some service for a less active member. Ok like very less active. Anyways we did some things around her yard and made it look siisti as she would say. We talked to her for a little bit about her life and she told us a bunch of stories about how she used to perform as a singer. I love how so many members come from so many backgrounds because together we all make one beautiful ward. Anyways we think we will be able to get her to come to church soon which would be super awesome. 

So this week I have been studying a lot about hope. Hope is one of my favorite words ever because it is such a powerful word. I like to think about the story of pandora's box and how everything in this world can be lost except hope. We always have hope and I love that. In Hebrews 7:19 It says "For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did." I know that this is true and I know that when we have hope in this life we will find true happiness. I am so grateful for the hope that I have found as a missionary and I know that as we hope we will have Joy. 

Love

Elder Lewis

Pictues!

1 This is a cool bridge with some lights

2 This is Elder Vennerholm with his advent calendar

3 This is me sitting on the couch

Er pojk är jättefin. Ni behöver inte oroa er.

I bet some of you are thinking that my subject line is Finnish, tricks on you because it is actually Swedish. So this week we had transfers and Elder Vennerholm was transferred into my area. As you can probably guess he is from Sweden. Anyways this week I learned a lot and had a lot of fun doing it.  

So this week we were able to teach one of our investigators who has been taught for awhile but has not committed to Baptism. We decided to teach her about the role the Jesus Christ can play in our lives, if we let him. The key with our whole lesson is that we must let him. We can educate ourselves on all the facts and dates surrounding Jesus Christ but if we fail to let him into our lives then it profits us nothing. As we learn about Jesus Christ we need to also follow him. I know that as we do we will see our lives change and become something better than we had ever imagined. I know that Through Jesus Christ we can be happy in this life and in the life to come. I am so grateful for everyone's support and love. Thank you

Elder Lewis

Joy

Wow this week went by so fast, where did it even go? This week was definitely my most interesting week as far as food goes. The members in our wards love to feed us authentic Finnish food. So far I haven't tasted anything that wasn't delicious. We also made some Gambian food with an investigator from Gambia. I don't even know how to pronounce the name of it so I won't even try to spell it.  

We were also blessed this week to attend the baptism of a daughter from a family in our ward. When one of their little boys was giving the opening prayer he thanked Heavenly Father that his sister could finally be baptized because she had been waiting a "super long time" I loved it and it made me reflect about how there are so many people in heaven that have been waiting a "super long time" for us to be baptized on their behalf. I know that temple work is just as important as missionary work. 

Other than the ward baptism we had a pretty normal week. One thing that stuck out to me this week was joy. As I was reading in the Book of Mormon this week I came across a part in Alma where the Laminites wage war on the Nephites because they are mad the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi have left their lands. Many Nephites die and there is great mourning, but it also says that they had much joy because they had hope in the promises of the Lord that they would one day see their lost ones once again. I really like the word joy because I think it means so much more than happiness or pleasure. Joy is something that we can have even when we aren't in our ideal situation. Elder Nelson talked about this same topic in General conference. He talked about how this Gospel can bring a joy that is lasting and that will endure any trial we have. I know that as we live the Gospel we can experience lasting joy.  I am so grateful for the joy that this gospel has brought me in my life. 

Loves

Elder Lewis

What a week

Well this week was crazy busy, we really tried pushing this week to contact as many people as we possibly could. I probably shook like a million or so hands. We stopped a lot of students who go to the Turku Academy. Most of the students are at least interested in Religion and will usually talk to us and listen to our message which is really cool.  

So this week we taught one of our investigators who is in college right now and looking for answers. Rick is actually a religious studies major with a minor in theology. It is really cool because he knows all about how our religion differs from other religions. We taught him about Enos and about how we can receive answers to our prayers so that me may know that this church is the true church. We then also talked about how Alma the older came to be so strong in the church after Much prayer and fasting. We emphasized how we all gain testimonies in different ways. Sometimes the strongest testimonies come over years and years of tiny yet important spiritual experiences. I know this is true and I know that as we continue to follow God's plan we can build a testimony that is rock solid. Enjoy the pictures!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! After much deliberation I decided that I would dress up as a missionary this year. This week was really pretty amazing. This week we had a lesson with a investigator that has been investigating the church for a very long time. I don't know if she has actually been investigating the church this whole time or she just enjoys the company in her old age but either way we are happy to teach her. We decided we wanted to do something different but we still wanted to have a really spiritual lesson. So we decided that a primary object lesson about the atonement would be fun and would give us a chance to testify. We brought a candy bar to the lesson and gave it to her as a present and then later we stole it and ate it. She laughed for like ten minutes and then we explained that we were really sorry and that we wouldn't do it again, but we couldn't give her the candy bar back because we ate it. We explained that this is where the Atonement comes into play. We talked about how the Atonement satisfies the demands of justice that we ourselves will never be able satisfy. It was a super powerful lesson and we were all able to bare testimony of how power the Atonement is and what is has done for us in our lives.  

We also had splits this week and it was on Halloween so double party. For half the day I was with my district leader and everything was really great, but then we switched and I was with his companion who is just as new to Finnish as I am. We taught well tried to teach a lesson to our recent convert and it was interesting. After that we went contacting and that was even more interesting. One woman we stopped simply just did not understand us and we were trying to say that we represented our church and what not and finally she just got a stranger walking by to translate and then when she found out we didn't need help but we were just trying to share the Gospel with her she went from confused to even more confused about why we thought we were going to be able to share the Gospel in Finnish. But we still didn't give up and we gave her a book of Mormon which was really cool. We talked to a lot of people that night and to be honest most of what was said to me went over my head but we did testify about the church and because of the spirit some of the people were interested and accepted a Book of Mormon. My thought process is often fake it till you make it but often times it is me doing what I can and then the spirit taking over. So yes I will probably continue to fake it till I maybe one day make it but I will also continue to rely on the converting power of the spirit because that is where true conversion comes from. I am so grateful for all the lessons I am learning and I can't wait to learn more. Have a great week and eat some Halloween candy for me!

Loves

Elder Lewis

Enjoy the picture of me next to like 100 pounds of pure gospel (book of Mormons)

and Elder Henry and I when we saw our first snowflake

Fear no man

Hello hello, 

This week was a lovely, we had interim from Tuesday to Saturday. Interim is when all the new missionaries and their companions come back to the mission home for a couple of days and we basically have gospel discussions for several days non stop. So I was pretty hesitant about going but it ended up being some of the best days of my life. My favorite thing that was discussed was about how as missionaries we need to fear no man. We watched a talk from Elder Uchtdorf  in which he talked about The Apostle Peter and how after Christ's death he had such a solid testimony in Christ he feared no man. The Apostle Peter also denied Christ, but after he began to testify boldly of Christ he feared no man. We applied this to us as missionaries and how when we testify boldly of Christ we need to fear no man. We also had the opportunity to go to the temple, which was probably the best experience of my life. One of the biggest things that I took away from it was that no matter where in the world a temple is, it is still the house of the Lord. The spirit we feel in one temple is the same spirit we feel in another. Unfortunately when we went to leave the temple someone had taken my shoes and left there shoes for me on accident. It was pretty nice to switch up my wardrobe but in all reality I would like my shoes back. As I look back on everything I learn this week there is a lot. The most important thing I learned is to simply just start. It doesn't matter where we are on the path to eternal salvation as long as we start to move in the right direction. I think this applies to most of life and hopefully I can continue to try my best to start doing things that I know will bring me closer to my Father in Heaven. Have a Great Week!

Loves

Elder Lewis

Lots to

Well this email is going to be really short and I am pretty sorry about it but I am also not sorry enough to skip out on ballin out some older gentleman in our ward. We had a really great week, we had zone conference and we talked a lot about preparing people for baptism and how when we are baptized we are committed to living a higher law, but that higher law allows us to be so much closer to the savior. Without Baptism we could not have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost and without that I know that I would not be any where near where I am today. We also got another Investigator from Vaasa who is ready to be baptized so we are really excited about that. We will see how that goes. I send my loves and I send my apologies for the lack of pictues 

Loves 

Elder Lewis

Where in the world is fall?

Man this week went by fast. This week was a really busy week for us and really just a good week. I have no clue where fall went, but it sure is cold outside. I never thought I would be that kind of guy to wear a scarf but I cracked and now it is an essential part of my wardrobe.  

We had some really good lessons with our recent convert this week. She was teaching me more about the commandments then taught her. I love how every member of the church has something different to add and church allows us all to share with one another and grow together. We had 3 of our investigators come to church this week which was super awesome. In one of our lessons with one of them she said that she wanted to be baptized but first she wanted to know that it was true. So of course we were super excited because we were able to testify to her about prayer and how through prayer we can receive answers to any question that we have in life. My Finnish is still very broken and pretty poor in almost all respects but I was able to tell her that I knew that she could know if baptism was right. It was a really good lesson and we hope that she will continue to progress.

This week I also got roasted on multiple occasions by an older sister in our ward for my pronunciation. She is super awesome and will often come to lessons with us so we see here multiple times a week and during the lessons she makes sure that I pronounce everything right. I usually have to repeat a word until I say it right. She seems to think that by rolling her R's and then telling me to do it that I will be able to but for some reason it just hasn't been working. It has actually helped me a lot with my pronunciation so hopefully I will continue to improve and then one day I will actually be able to speak without any help. I have learned a lot this week and I hope to learn more. I feel like I am able to learn so much more when I focus on why I need to learn something. That reason is always the same and it is so I can invite others to come unto Christ. With that in mind I can learn anything.

Loves

Vanhin Lewis

1.Me and my pretty rough haircut in front of the oldest church in Finland

2. I tried to get myself in this picture but obviously I was way off but its all I have so enjoy

First Full Finnish Week

Well this week was a fantastically Finnish week. With Fall coming everything looks so well Fall like. I am finally getting into the swing of things here in Turku and I really just love it. We made some Salmon soup and it was of the utmost quality, I'm not sure if that was due to the Fresh Fish or my fresh cooking skills but either way it was good.  

On a more missionary centered note we have had some serious progress this week. We were finally able to get in contact with an investigator who has been who knows where for the past couple weeks. Anyways the lesson was going really good and then I knew it was my time to shine and ask him to be baptized. Well I tried my best and with the help of my trainer, Elder Henry, we got it done. Then he sat there for a moment and then that is when the holy ghost came in because he was like yes I will. This really helped me understand that the the only thing converting people is the spirit, not me. We are so happy for him and his decision and we are excited to help him prepare himself for baptism. 

Another moment we had this week was with this way cool guy that we see on the street every once in awhile. He is from the Dominican Republic and is probably the coolest guy in Finland. He is convinced that we are from the FBI and that we want to search his house and report back to our headquarters. So of course we were surprised when he invited us over to his house. We talked with him about his life and all that he's been through. He was kinda suspicious when we told him we didn't have girlfriends and so Elder Henry and I cleared that up real quick, and then he told me that I should come back to Finland when I can actually grow a proper beard. He probably could have talked for hours and hours about anything, we tried to get a lesson in and we eventually did. We were able to give him a Spanish Book of Mormon and he seemed really appreciative. We got to testify a little bit about the joy that the gospel can bring into people's lives no matter the circumstances and he seemed to like that. 

Finally General Conference was amazing as always and even though I didn't get to watch it in pajamas sitting on my couch I still enjoyed it, maybe even more so. We most of the day on Sunday in the church watching the sessions and talking with members. My favorite talk was by Elder Nelson about the Joy that is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love that and it is because of that that I am serving a mission. Thank you and good night. 

Vanhin Lewis

Pictures!!!

1.This is the first door I ever knocked

2. This is a really cool path I found

3. This is Elder Henry and I on our way to play some b ball with some wards

We Made It!

Well I finallz (The y's and the z's are switched on this computer so bare with me) it to Finland. I seriouslz can't believe that I actuallz made it here. Ever since we got here we have been on the move doing missionarz work which is awesome. But mz poor legs have been suffering, thez were so used to sitting all daz. I don't know if I just liked missed the memo or something but like I actuallz have to talk to people, like random strangers who I have never met about the church and it is prettz daunting. Mz companion Elder Henrz is reallz good at talking to people and we give out Book of Mormons like mad. Well not reallz but we have had some success which has been reallz cool. We have some investigators and it has been so cool to meet with them and get to know them. I do not understand most of what thez saz but just seeing their smiling face is so cool. We have been working a ton with one of our investigators who is having some difficultz quitting smoking. I can't help him too much but I have been able to testifz for just a little bit about how through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can overcome anzthing and when we have faith in him then nothing can stop us. I don't know if mz message was completelz understood because as zou probablz all would guess mz Finnish isn't anzwhere near perfect, regardless of mz Finnish the spirit was definitelz in that lesson and hopefullz it will help him quit smoking. 

Anzwazs I am out of time on this super busz P daz but Finland is amaying and I alreadz love it soooooooo much. Sorrz for the z and y but I don't have the slightest clue how to fiy it. Bze

Vanhin Lewis

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

What a week, what a week, I can't believe my time at the MTC is almost expired. Considering the fact that the last three devotionals we have had apostles come I feel pretty blessed. To have heard from 1/4 of the quorum of the twelve during my stay at the MTC tells you two things. 1 I have been extremely blessed to have such perfect timing, and 2 I have been here longer than the the lifespan of most bunnies. To be honest I actually have no clue what the lifespan of a bunny is but I think you get the idea. Anyways hearing from an Apostle about missionary work is seriously the coolest thing ever. So many things that were discussed came to me on such a personal level I couldn't help but not feel changed. 

As I reflect for one last time on my progression here at the MTC I am come to the realization that I am so incredibly beyond excited to be a missionary. I have learned so many things here not only about the Gospel but about myself. I have learned too much to even try to quantify it. I seriously cannot wait to get to Finland and apply what I have learned to the people there. I am not sure how well I will do with the Finnish but I know that the Lord will help me, as I do my part. Well goodbye MTC you have treated me well. 

Vanhin Lewis

Be Trusted

So this week was pretty amazing. As i'm sure you are all aware Fast Sunday was this week and so that means we don't get the meager bowls of cereal we normally are served on the Sabbath. Considering how much food I eat here I could probably stand to skip a meal or two so it was not only a good thing for me spiritually but also temporally. So I finalized realized that fasting allows us to focus more on whatever thing we want to fast on more fully because the hunger reminds us of what we are supposed to be thinking about. 

OK so on to even bigger and better things this week Elder Christopherson came and gave a devotional talk. It was amazing. There were so many things that he said that resonated with me so deeply I don't even know how to describe it. He talked about the power that we all can gain from Repentance. I love how Repentance means to turn and when we Repent we turn towards Christ. The other thing he talked about is Trust. Which as you can tell is my subject for the week. He quoted David O McKay and said it is better to be trusted than to be loved. It took me awhile to realize why that is so but the more I think about it the more I love it. We can love everyone and it is one of the strongest things on the planet but the people who we are closest to are the ones that we trust. I want to be a trusted missionary, and I am going to work towards that throughout my mission and throughout my life. I love how much this Gospel has changed me just in the short amount of time I have been here at the MTC.

Highest Regards, 

Vanhin Lewis

Kärsivällisyys

Because I'm sure you all have access to google translate the subject of my week was Kärsivällisyys or patience. Patience was one thing that I really tried to work on this week. I think God wanted to test how patient I was because multiple times this week my patience was seriously challenged. I like to think of myself as a patient person but this week I've found that the more I focus on patience the less I really have of it. Because you can't learn a language over night I have had to exercise a lot of patience with learning Finnish. As I focus on patience I have come to the realization that I sometimes on the rarest of occasions maybe just maybe overreact. Now I haven't had any full blow outs here at the MTC but there has been some close calls. I also have focused on patience the last week because sometimes I'm not sure if there even is a life after the MTC. The Scriptures continually reference the benefits of patience and long suffering so I like to think I will someday reap the rewards for being patient. So as for me I will continue my quest for patience and with continual growth maybe someday I won't start to cry when someone cuts me in line.

Vanhin Lewis

1 Month Mark

So as I'm sure you can tell from my subject line this week was our one month mark. To be completely honest I don't even feel like I've been gone for more than a week. I think part of the reason for this is because I do the exact same thing everyday the days kinda seem to just mush together because what I think happened yesterday probably actually happened a week ago and I just can't differentiate be the days anymore. I also think a serious contributor to this is because I'm trying to become so focused on the Lord everything else kinda just goes out of focus. And I love it. This week we had a Elder from the quorum of the Seventy come talk to us and it was simply splendid. He was a convert and it was so cool to hear about how he was converted and eventually became completely devoted to the Lord. As a missionary it was super beneficial for me to hear what he felt as he went through his conversion. I've come to some serious conclusions during my time here at the MTC and one of my favorite quotes that basically wraps up the entire Mission is "There is little comfort found in growth and little growth found in comfort" I believe I first heard this from my mom (so thanks Mom!) which you how great my mom is. It also tells me how even though I might not be in the most comfortable time in my life, I will grow because of it. I love that and I really try to keep that in perspective even as go about doing the same thing everyday. As always I love it here and I continue to look forward to what the Lord has in store for me next week!

Vanhin Lewis

We're Half Way There ooooohhhhhhh Livin' On a Prayer

Well this week has been just amazing as you would expect. So as you're probably figuring out from my subject line I am about half way done with my MTC experience. I feel like I already have learned so much but at the same time I still have a lot to learn. 

So I bet you're already tired of me talking about Finnish but seeing as I have 6 hours a day devoted to Finnish I figure you can put up with it for a couple of sentences. It is actually coming along surprisingly well. Because you conjugate nearly every word in a sentence understanding the stems of words and the basic idea of a sentence comes far before you can speak it. While this is good for us understanding our investigator's questions, some problems arise when we try to answer those questions. Because nearly everyone that speaks Finnish in Provo is a returned missionary our TRC lessons, which are essentially just home teaching appointments, are really fun. They always talk to us about the culture or how much we are going to love it. I feel like I already love it and i'm not even there yet. 

So on Tuesday we had the General Young Women's President come and talk to us and it was amazing. She talked to us about how God's plan for us isn't always the same plan that we have for ourselves. This applied to me in so many more ways than I ever thought it would. We also talked about how we need the lord's tools in missionary work. I love this because we all our different and we all have specific purposes but together we all can bring to pass his will. I love to see how much my testimony has grown every week and I look forward to seeing how much it will grow in the coming weeks. 

With all my love,

Vanhin Lewis

504 Hours

Well i'm 504 hours into my MTC experience (or at least I think that's it but I don't have a calculator) and I feel like a changed person. Now most people are probably thinking that there is no way that someone like me would ever change. Well for the most part you are right because i'm still just as funny if not funnier than the day I got here. It's weird for me to think I've changed since I got here but as I look at how much I have been able to accomplish I feel like I've only been able to do so much because of how I have changed. 

On Sunday we were blessed and had the opportunity to hear from Elder Anderson. He talked about how we shouldn't rate success on our baptisms or other quantitative things, but rather rate our success on how hard we have worked and how faithful we have been to doing the Lord's will. It was exactly what I needed to hear because sometimes if not all the time I always try to quantify my success and that is not always the best thing to do. Since our district was in the choir we got to sit really close to the stand and in MTC terms that's like one of the most thrilling things you can do. 

So as far as teaching our "investigators" goes we have really gotten into a nice flow of really focusing on their needs. Trying to find the needs of someone who you know isn't actually real can be challenging, but when we really try our best to have a lesson for their needs we can feel the spirit so strongly as we testify. I love to share my testimony for two reasons, one it is the most powerful part of the lesson and there is a special spirit that comes through testimonies, and second it's about the only thing that I can do in Finnish, even if it's very broken. I really just can't wait to see how much I will grow just over this next week!

L.A.

Where do I even begin. I thought I was fully accustomed to the MTC but boy was I wrong. Everyday has its challenges which I love because it's always stretching me to become something better. As a person who delights in nap lifestyle  the MTC has been very, well not that. However somehow as I continue to rely on the Lord he has helped my poor napless soul continue throughout the day. So on Sunday the The Director of the Missionary Department talked to us which was amazing because he played a bunch of throw back Mormon Commercials. Through the simple messages of the Mormon messages I found great peace. Our gospel isn't a complex thing its a simple thing. My favorite was It's often life's greatest moments that bring you the greatest happiness. Because of this I really tried hard to find the little moments of happiness in everything I did throughout the week. 

Alright so on Tuesday 5 other Finnish Missionaries and I had to fly to LA to visit the consulate for our visas. Well the day started at 3 am... Once our flight got to LA we took a shuttle (finding the shuttle alone was a miracle) to the Consulate. So it's 10:00 in the morning and our driver tells us he'll be back at 2:30 why they gave us 5 hours for a 10 minute visit is beyond me. So anyways once we are done we decided to go find some real food that was as far away from MTC food as possible. We had some tasty burgers but we still had like three hours. So we were thinking about doing some missionary work but as it was so hot outside we thought we would best feel the spirit inside Bed Bath and Beyond. I'm here to tell you that the Candle selection at Bed Bath and Beyond truly encapsulates every mood every needed inside the house. So after sniffing candles for a couple hours we went and waited for the shuttle. Back at the airport we boarded and we all thought that we were in for a quick ride home, boy were we wrong. On the runway the Captain tells us that there is something wrong with the Hydraulics and so we were going to taxi while they try to fix it. Well after an hour they decided that its broken for good so we all get off. We don't board until 9:30...And to think  I thought layovers were bad when I had my phone and could play games or listen to music. All in all I got in bed at 2 am. oddly enough the next day wasn't really as bad as I thought it would be even though I was beyond tired. 

So other than LA we also got a new investigator this week. In our first lesson we just crushed it. We all felt the spirit so strong and it was so powerful. We really tried to focus on having a simple lesson and letting the spirit do the talking for us. It was such a testimony builder because the spirit really is what converts people not the missionaries. All I need to do is present a lesson and invite the spirit and the rest is in the hands of the lord. I love how much I rely on the Lord in the MTC because everyday my testimony continues to grow. That is all I have for this week enjoy the pictures!

Terve! (Hello!)

Well hello everyone!

So yes it's true I have made it through my first week in the MTC. It has been just an amazing experience. So to start we have 23 Finnish Missionaries this transfer which is crazy considering our mission only has about 100 Missionaries. My district is just the best even though they are probably all sassier than me which is definitely saying something. Our zone consists of all the Scandinavian countries which is super fun because we all find unity in that.

 So for Sunday they had the Nashville Tribute band come which at first seemed super weird to me to have a concert (if you can call it that) on the Sabboth, but they actually talked to all the missionaries a lot about how we need to bring others unto Christ by through our love for them. I love how music can bring such a strong spirit into the room. By the time the whole devotional was done everyone there was so spiritually filled it just made me so happy to see everyone's face. 

Alright so as far as the language goes um well Finnish is challenging and grammatically just insane. With that being said I know that the gift of tongues is blessing that missionaries can call upon in when in their time of need. It's funny how I took Spanish for three years in high school and really never learned a thing and now when I learn with the spirit in mind it comes so much quicker. I still have soooooooooo much work to do but I am excited to do it and I know that I will be able to if I can learn through the Spirit. Just to give you an idea of how strange Finnish is Mina Tapaan is I visit and Mina Tappaan is I kill. So yeah I probably won't be asking to visit my investigators anytime soon. Anyways i'm having a great time here and I can't wait to learn more. Ok maybe that sounded a little fake but really I am enjoying my time here and i'm excited to be doing the Lord's work.

All the Finnish missionaries at the temple.

Elders Eyring, Pugsley, Tribe, Cunningham, and me after the Sunday devotional.