Always a Longer Letter Than Planned

Rakas ystäviä!

This was a pretty low-key week, but I have a couple stories I want to share.

First: We've been working with a really awesome inactive woman for a while now. I've talked about her before, and she's the one who has had fairly bitter feelings toward the church, and she is from England. Call her M. Anyway, we gave her a challenge a month or so ago to write down five things every day that she was grateful for. At the time, she told us that it was going to be really hard, and all she could think of were her kids! Well, this week, we went to visit her in their new apartment. They had just moved, and it was the first time since the moving process that we had been able to visit her. We were getting ready to leave after a good hour of just chatting, when she brought up the challenge. We had forgotten to follow up! But she was so excited when she told us about how it had gone. She had been writing down TEN things a day that she was grateful for and would find herself throughout the day thinking of things and saying "Ooh, I need to write that down!" She had even gotten a lady she works with to do it with her! She was having so much fun coming up with things that she was grateful for and the change in her was just like night and day! She was SO much happier! Then she told us this story: It was the day they needed to turn over the keys to their old apartment and the guys said there was one missing. M wracked her brain to figure out where it could be and had absolutely NO idea. At this point, their new apartment was a mess of boxes and junk stashed all over the place. She quickly realized she wasn't going to be able to find it on her own and decided to ask the one person who knows everything. So she prayed and asked God to please please PLEASE help her find it because if they didn't turn in the keys in an hour, they would have to pay over €100 to have the locks replaced. As she prayed she kept seeing in her mind a little clay dish her son had made, but she didn't know where it was so she went onto the entryway and decided to just start looking in boxes she felt she should check. She went through one box, no key, no dish. She opened the second box, and there, wrapped in newspaper was the clay dish, and inside that, never even removed from the original plastic bag, was the key. She told that she prayed again and was like, "yep, I get it, God." What an awesome experience! The Lord truly does answer prayers, and he knows when to soften hearts because M is really softening again.

Second: Not as long because I still don't understand most of what J the college guy says, but last week, we challenged him to improve his prayer to receive answers more fully. We challenged him to kneel when he prays and to say them out loud, and he said he would try. When we met with him the first time this week, he said that he had done what we asked and that he felt like he'd had a much more profound experience! We think he is really getting to the point where he can notice his answers and even though it's slow-going, he is still an honest seeker of truth and he will get there!

Third: We had THE BEST weekly planned day this week. We had a lunch appointment with a member before planning and on our way to the bus we felt like we should go piipahtaa an investigator we had been unable to get in contact with. Just as we were trying the building, he drove up and we had a solid lesson with him and his friend (though they are super Muslim and we're pretty sure it won't go anywhere at this time - maybe in the future). Then, on the bus, we got a new investigator! Here's the story: A month or so ago, when I was on splits with the Sister Training Leader, we got on the bus and I sat down while she fished around for her bus card. We had just had a really good lesson, and I was in a really better-than-normal mood, so I struck up a conversation with a woman - it was my first time ever just talking to someone alone, and we had a really good conversation. I gave her a Book of Mormon, and then we had to get off the bus. My personal real intent was pretty strong, and I just knew I would see her again. Well, this week, my companion and I were getting on a bus, and lo and behold, there was that woman! We sat down across from her and she recognized me, and we talked and set up a church tour with her for the next day! She is super interested to learn more, and because I had planted that first seed, we got a new investigator! I know that when we do our best to act on the answers and promptings WE receive, then the miracles will come.

Later that evening, we had our first lesson with an amazing Iranian lady we met on the street a while ago when she asked us if we had the full Persian translation for the Book of Mormon. We had an awesome member with us, and the Iranian is lady is just the absolute sweetest person i have ever met. She is so prepared to learn more and we are so excited to teach her.

We also had a great lesson with one of our Nigerians. He is a slow mover too, and we just need him to come to church, but Sisar Howell and I are doing a musical number next Sunday, so hopefully that will be a good reason for him to come.

Sunset in Tampere

Fourth: This weekend was stake conference, and we went up to Tampere Saturday evening for the adult evening session (I think it was for everyone 12 and up). That night we stayed with the new Sister Training Leader and one other companionship. It was a party. On Sunday, the conference was held in this huge concert hall in the middle of the city that the church rents for things like this. The highlight of the meetings, in my opinion (although it might be because he spoke English so I could understand him) was Elder Kearon form the Europe Area Presidency. He is possibly my new favorite speaker for a variety of reasons, one of which may or may not be because he sounds just like Tom Hiddleston. I kid you not. But also because he is one of the nicest people I have ever met. We talked to him a little at both meetings and he is just so pleasant! He spoke a little about missionary work, and he also gave one of the sweetest testimonies of the Atonement. He said something I really liked: "The Atonement is eternal. It is infinite and it can free us from our behaviors, from our addictions, and from all those dreadful things that have happened to us." That is one of my favorite parts of the Atonement, that it can heal us not only of our own sins and weaknesses, but also of any unfair or unkind or painful thing that we ever experience, of our own doing or of someone else's. I have such a strong testimony of the Atonement and I promise you that through it, we can be healed, and we can become better. (see Alma 7:11-13)

Well my friends, I always tell myself these letters will be short. I should know better by now. I hope you are all having wonderful weeks. I love you all and am so grateful for your thoughts and prayers. Have a wonderful week!

Rakkaudella,

Sisar Hillebrant

Sisar Hillebrant with Sisar Jones and Sisar Howell before stake conference.

Easter craft with the Mortensens

Yes, I am still me. 20 Euros well spent.

My First Change Call!

Rakas ystäviä!

Last Friday marked my 4 month anniversary of being a missionary. Isn't it crazy how quickly time flies? One more change (transfer), and I will only have a year left! Well, actually, it might actually be less than that because my official release date is June 2, but I guess that could change, so we'll see what happens. I have made it through my first change in Finland! The die has been cast, the calls have been made, and I will be...DRUMROLL PLEASE! (buddrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr)...  Staying in Turku to finish training with Sisar Howell! Surprise!

OK, maybe not that much of a surprise, but we certainly got a little nervous when President called on Thursday morning instead of Saturday morning. But I'm so happy I get to stay in Turku for at least another change because I love it here! Ja kevät on tulossa/on tällä! Spring is here! The last week has been beautiful, sunny and warm. We're talking around 15-20 degrees Celsius, so it's getting pretty warm. I haven't needed a jacket the last couple days, even when riding my bike. The grass is getting greener, the trees are budding, and the people are out and about and basking in the sun, which is starting to set later and later every day. Right now, it's starting to get light around 5 or so in the morning (which is annoying because sometimes it wakes me up) and doesn't really get dark until 9 or 9:30 in the evening. Soon it will be a 24-hour thing!

This week was pretty eventful. On Tuesday evening, Sisar Howell and I had a 4 hour train ride to Jyvääskylä, where we did splits on Wednesday with Sisaret Dixon and Cribbs. I was with Sisar Dixon, and it was fun to be with someone for a day who was fresh out of training (she's only been here 1 change more than me - btw, changes/transfers in Finland are 9 weeks instead of 6). We had a really fun time together. She is way good at just stopping people on the street to talk to, even if her Finnish is still beginner (but better than mine!). Its was way fun to see her just care and love people and talk to them, even if she didn't understand everything they said. That's definitely something I need to work on.

A sad thing that happened this week is that the Mortensens left! They fly home to America on Wednesday, and they left Turku yesterday evening to spend a couple days in Helsinki before they leave the country. It's going to be very weird not having them around because they are two of the greatest people on the planet. Sisar Mortensen came with us on tons of lessons, the two of them had us over all the time for language lessons and sometimes to feed us, and we knew we could always just give them a call if we had questions or stop by if we needed something or even just teach them a lesson or spiritual thought if we had a spare moment. They have done so much for the wards here and for the Young Single Adults especially, and Turku will be a little emptier without them.

But of course the highlight of my week was the Easter weekend! Easter seems like a bigger deal here in Finland because it is a 4-day holiday weekend. On Friday, we couldn't go door to door, so we couldn't piihpataa anyone (pop in and say hi), so unless we had plans it was hard to do anything except street or bus contacting. 

All the Turku missionaries before the Mortensen's left

Saturday was pretty normal, except that the other Turku sisters had an investigator get baptized! Woohoo! He is a way great guy and is going to be a super valuable addition and awesome priesthood holder in the church here in Finland. In the evening, we had dinner with an awesome family whose grandmother has been a potential investigator forever. We had been trying to set something up with her and she invited us to join her and her family (who is in the other ward, but the YSA-age daughter comes with us all the time on lessons) for their family Easter dinner! There was lamb and salmon, both of which I really like, and I tried some kind of fish (I think it was pickled herring?) that was in some kind of mayonnaise with various weird green plants that I liked less. The best part of the meal was the mämmi, a traditional Finnish Easter dessert which is basically a rye pudding that you eat with cream and sugar. I love it! We shared a thought with them and will hopefully be stopping by to visit the grandma this evening. 

Easter Sunday morning bloomed bright and warm and beautiful! We had church and attended both wards' sacrament meetings because we had an investigator coming to the other ward for convenience - and also because the man who got baptized on Saturday was getting confirmed in church and we wanted him to see that. Unfortunately he came late and missed it, but he did talk to the guy a little after the meeting. Sisar Howell and I also performed a musical number, Savior Redeemer of My Soul. I sang it in Finnish (it's in the hymnbook!) and Sisar Howell played the piano. It went really well, and has a really awesome Easter message. In fact here are the lyrics:

11. Savior, Redeemer of my soul,

Whose mighty hand hath made me whole,

Whose wondrous pow'r hath raised me up

And filled with sweet my bitter cup!

What tongue my gratitude can tell,

O gracious God of Israel.

2    2. Never can I repay thee, Lord,

But I can love thee. Thy pure word,

Hath it not been my one delight,

My joy by day, my dream by night?

Then let my lips proclaim it still,

And all my life reflect thy will.

3    3. O'errule mine acts to serve thine ends.

Change frowning foes to smiling friends.

Chasten my soul till I shall be

In perfect harmony with thee.

Make me more worthy of thy love,

And fit me for the life above.

I just think that is so powerful! Christ really is our Savior, and he loves us and has given us so many great blessings. We can't repay Him, but we can share His love and gospel with everyone we know. Don't be afraid to talk to your friends and loved ones about the true message of the Restored gospel. It has blessed many of you, and it can bless them too! 

Sunday evening, we got invited over last minute by an awesome family in the ward for Easter dinner leftovers (the big meal is eaten on Saturday). Even though it was just leftovers, it was still delicious!

Today is the last day of the Easter holiday, which is a little harmi (annoying) because the grocery stores are closed so we can't do our shopping until tomorrow. But other than that, it has been a really beautiful, uplifting Easter holiday, and it is such a good time to really think about the gift of eternal life we can receive because of the resurrection of our Savior. Like the prophet Abinadi said in Mosiah 16, "He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death." (Mosiah 16:7-9) Death is conquered and we can live again for eternity with our families, if we are true and faithful to the Lord's gospel! Let us always remember this joyous, hopeful message and share it with the world! 

I love you all and am so grateful for you prayers and thoughts. I am grateful to be serving as a missionary in the beautiful land of Suomi and and this amazing time in the Lord's work throughout the world. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and enjoy your week!

Rakkaudella, 

Sisar Hillebrant

Roller-Coaster Week

Rakas ystäviä!

We had a pretty roller-coaster week this week. A lot of good stuff happened, but the work has been slow. We had a really tough time setting up appointments with investigators this week. We met with J the red-haired college guy - we had a good lesson with him (I think but I'm not sure because I still understand about 0% of what he says, but it's cool), but we had to move his baptismal date. He prayed with us to choose another day, but didn't feel like he got an answer so as of now he does not have a baptismal date anymore. He's having a really hard time recognizing answers, and it doesn't help when he isn't keeping the Word of Wisdom. He tried last week, and made it to Wednesday, but he is going to try again this week, so hopefully that will help in the answer-recognition department. Other from him, we do not have any other progressing investigators. We are teaching a couple others fairly regularly, but are having a hard time getting them to keep commitments and come to church so their ability to progress is really limited. I am just really lucky and blessed that I am a positive person because even though this week has been tough, I know everything is going to work out, especially as I try harder to be more consecrated.

A fun thing that happened this week is that the two wards here in Turku held a surprise going-away party for the Mortensens, the awesome senior couple who are going home next week. They have been such an incredible blessing to the wards, and the YSA, and to us missionaries. Sisar Mortensen has come with us on lessons in the past and she is just one of the most lovingly blunt people on the planet. She told the same guy at least twice not to be afraid of humbling himself. She is just hysterical. Elder Mortensen is a master of the Finnish language, and he has given us language lessons, and helps us learn different ways to say things. They feed us all the time too. And you can tell how big of an impact they've made here by how much the wards love them. The party was just so fun. The fact that the party was kept secret was a miracle, but the Mortensens were blindfolded and led in and were met by thunderous applause. There were musical performances - I sang "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles with the daughter of an inactive woman and a less-active guy in the ward who is an INCREDIBLE guitarist - and good food and good friends. It was just a fraction of everything the Mortensens have done for Turku, and they deserved it.

One cool miracle this week happened last night. Like I said, we were having a really hard time getting lessons set up with investigators, so we did a lot of contacting - formers, referrals, less-actives or recent converts, and even some tracting. We were teaching a lot, but were just not having any luck. On Sunday evening, we had been doing the same thing out in student housing, and we finished up and left about 15 minutes earlier than we had meant to.  So, we got back to our apartment, dumped our bikes and went to do a little street contacting before call-ins.  At an intersection, Sisar Howell felt inclined to cross the street rather than just go straight, and we were walking down the street on the other side when we ran into two young men waiting for the bus. We struck up a conversation and the guys were way friendly, and we ended up setting an appointment with them at the church for the following evening. We were praying all week for help finding and had even fasted that day (more for personal needs, but I guess it put us in the right spirit) and the Lord blessed us with two new investigators, or at least strong potentials, at the last moment! It was so cool to see how He had put it all together - if we hadn't been a little early, we wouldn't have gone out to contact. If we hadn't crossed the street, we wouldn't have met those guys, and certainly not before their bus came. The Lord truly has his hand in this work that we are doing, and as we strive to do all we can to follow His direction and always be praying and listening to the Spirit, we will have great success. We are His missionaries and He will not let us fail!

One last thing i want to mention is the talk given by Elder Ballard during General Conference about member missionaries. He talked about really using the Preach My Gospel manual as members. I can't even begin to express how important member missionary work is. I am a terrible example myself, but I didn't get it until I was actually a missionary. Members are so important to missionary work. Let me repeat that: MEMBERS ARE SO IMPORTANT TO MISSIONARY WORK. Without members, we wouldn't get half the referrals we get, and we wouldn't get to meet with half our investigators because they are male and we need another female with us. Also in general, it is SO IMPORTANT to have members in lessons to testify and friendship the investigators. If you don't have a copy of PMG, GET ONE and READ IT. Know what the missionaries are teaching and how. You will become a priceless asset in this incredible work of salvation.

So that was my week. Hope you are all enjoying yours, and as always, I appreciate your prayers and thoughts. Rakkastan teitä aina!  (I love you always)

Rakkaudella,

Sisar Hillebrant

The Aura River  in Turku

There needs to be time for fun, too.

How fitting - Frozen in Finland.

Contraband aka souvenirs.

There is a foot bridge in Turku that they line with daffodils




.

Rakas ystäviä!

"There is no age barrier when it comes to Christ-like service." -Bonnie L.Oscarson

This week has been long and busy, but it flew past in no time! Who else loved General Conference (for those who do not know what that is, check it out here)? Man, they were just laying down the law! Everything was straight-up doctrine, SO good for us to remember and also for investigators. Because of the time difference here in Finland, we saw all the sessions except the Sunday afternoon session, and we'll have to watch that one at some point on our own. But get this! Both the Saturday and Sunday morning session were broadcast at 7pm on their respective days, live stream! Which means as we were sitting in the church building at 7 in the evening in Turku, Finland, the speakers were in the Conference hall at 10 in the morning in Salt Lake City, Utah and we were watching it live! AND, my family was watching it at the exact same time, halfway across the world! How neat in that? I always thought it was cool that Conference could be broadcast worldwide, but I never appreciated it until this weekend. How cool is it that we can be tied together across continents not only by what is said by our beloved General Authorities, but also by the technology by which we view them. It just gives me shivers to think of the millions of Latter-day Saints combining the power of their spirits as we watched and prayed together. 

Also, fun fact, the guy who directed the music for the Orem Institute choir is the choir director in the MTC, and he is hysterical. Way cool guy.

Earlier this week, Sisar Howell and I were in Helsinki, Sunday night through Thursday, at 6-Week Interim Training for new missionaries. We came in Sunday evening and stayed the week with Sisaret Ladd and Nebatnekova, who are serving in one of the Helsinki areas. Every morning (except Wednesday because I stayed home with Sisar Nebatnekova, who was not feeling well) we went to the church to play sähly for our morning exercise. Sähly is basically just floor hockey played with whiffle balls and is super popular in Finland. I pretty much played goalie the whole time because I forgot to bring tennis shoes. The goalie is allowed to kneel n front of the net (it's really small), and I succeeded in scuffing up my knees enough over the three days that I managed to bleed all over the floor on day 3. Needless to say I am a pretty intense goalie. 

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were packed full of President and Sisar Rawlings talking, and lots and lots of roleplays. Not only did they teach us about missionary stuff, but also all about how to clean our apartments, do laundry, shine shoes, and clean our faces.

They really covered it all. The theme of the week was Doctrine in Action. How do we live what we teach, and how do we help our investigators do the same? President Rawlings used the story of King Benjamin from the Book of Mormon. King Benjamin speaks to his people in chapters 2-4, then at the beginning of chapter 5, the people are ALL COMPLETELY CONVERTED and believe everything he said, to the point that they had NO MORE DESIRE TO DO EVIL but to DO GOOD CONTINUALLY. What was so special about what King Benjamin taught that could change these people so completely? Well, it wasn't what he said. It was the fact that he LOVED his people and he showed it by SERVING them all of his days. How do we as missionaries help people come to the gospel? The same way! When we show those we serve that we love them, we build trust and a real relationship with them, so they come to know that what we say is as sincere as our words. Those three days of training were thus spent teaching all us new missionaries how to teach with love and with the power of the Spirit.

Day 4 was Kieli Koulu, language school. We spent that day with the missionaries assigned as Language Coordinators, going over language study plans and reviewing grammar. It was so fun to see all of my MTC friends again and just to spend time with so many missionaries. In the evenings, I also got to go on splits, first with Sisar Ladd, then with Sisar Nebatnekova and see a little of Helsinki. On Thursday evening, we took the train back to Turku, and when we got there, it was such a nice feeling. It's funny how Turku has really come to feel like home.

On Friday, it was back to work. We spent the weekend contacting and teaching. One cool highlight of the week was our lesson with the red-haired college guy, whom I will now call J. We were a little nervous because we were going to be teaching him the Word of Wisdom, and he drinks coffee, has a shelf-full of old alcohol bottles and likes to smoke pipes recreationally. So we weren't really sure how it was going to go down. We had to invite him a couple times to live the Word of Wisdom because at first it was a straight-up no. But we persisted, and he eventually agreed because he had a busy week coming up and he said he would try to do it this week. We asked him to say the closing prayer, and this is what he said: "Thank you for this new challenge the Sisters have given me." !!! Where did this guys come from?? The only answer is that he is one of the elect, whom the Lord has been preparing. After all, he was found by a miracle!

Saturday and Sunday were General Conference, and J the college guy came to two sessions and wants to watch more online because he didn't get to hear the prophet speak. We are really excited about his progress, and we are excited to see what the next week brings. Also, to support him in his Word of Wisdom week, I am going without chocolate and Sisar Howell is completely sugar-fasting. We want to provide some moral support for him and maybe create some good habits for ourselves!

Thank you as always for all your prayers and letters. I love you all and hope you have a great week.

Rakkaudella,

Sisar Hillebrant

Yes, it is getting warmer! No longer wearing my winter coat.

Spring is coming!

Rakas ystäviä!

I'm emailing today (Saturday, March 29th) because we are going to Helsinki tomorrow night and we will be there through Thursday for my "6-Week" Interim training, so I won't be able to email on Monday.

Spring is arriving here in Turku and it is beautiful! We have had sun, sun, sun the past few days. I've heard somewhere that the sky looks bigger in Finland, and it's especially true when the sun is out and the blue sky stretches on forever. It's been warm enough that I had to buy a lightweight spring jacket, and even that I had to take off yesterday because it was so warm. Thank goodness for kirpputoris, or second-hand shops. There's a Salvation Army shop right next to our apartment building, and I got a really nice jacket there for only €5! It's good to have the option, because there's been super nice weather, but we're still susceptible to a freak snow day, and plenty of rain.

We've had some really good lessons with investigators this week. We're still prepping the college guy for his baptismal date in two weeks, and he is coming along really well. He is sincerely searching for the truth, and even though he still doesn't feel he's received any answers to his prayers, he always says not YET, which means he thinks it's coming. And it will come because this gospel is true! 

We had a really cool experience on Tuesday. We went to an assisted care facility to visit a referral, the daughter of an older lady in our ward. While we were visiting with her, we decided to sing her a song and we sang Abide With Me, 'Tis Eventide, a beautiful hymn asking Christ to be with us. It brought me chills watching her feel the Spirit, and the workers loved it too. When we were done, a man started speaking to us in English and said that he was so grateful that two American angels had come to share that song and that he got to hear it. We spoke with him for a while as well, and he was in the facility because he had been in a very damaging car accident years ago. But he had such a positive outlook on life, about how he wanted to just get up every day to try as hard as he could to become a little better and a little stronger. I am so grateful that we were able to touch his heart with our music, but I am even more grateful for the reminder that no matter how hard life gets, I can always remember that I can try a little harder to be a little better.

We've also been trying to figure out more effective ways of finding new investigators. There is a list in the front of our planner of ideas, and one of those ideas is to go to mortuaries and ask to have our names put on a list of clergy that people can talk to for comfort when their loved ones pass away. We thought it sounded kind of silly, but there are a TON of hautaustoimistos (literally "burial office") around Turku, so we said "miks ei? why not?" and tried it out. We went to two that are a block away from us. The first one said they don't provide that service, but the second one did, so we gave them a hand-full of pamphlets about the Plan of Salvation with our names and phone number and location/times of the church services. We are hoping that someone will want to find out about life after death so that we can teach them!

One other cool experience we had this week. We were walking down the street to the center to catch a bus, and were stopped at a cross walk when a woman came up to us and said "Do you have the whole Mormon's Book in Persian yet?" or something like that. We were totally taken aback. Did she really just say what we thought she said? Turns out she had met the sister missionaries two years ago and they had given her Selections of the Book of Mormon in Persian (The Book of Mormon has had only selections translated into various less-common languages so that at least portions are available while the rest is translated) and she had read all of it and loved it but wanted to read the rest! The whole thing hasn't been done yet, but she agreed to meet with us and read it together in English so we could help explain and she can learn more. What a crazy cool experience!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers! The work really is moving along her in Finland, and I am so excited to be apart of it!

Rakkaudella,

Sisar Hillebrant