Happy 5-Month to Me!

Rakas ystäviä,

Yesterday marks 5 months a missionary, and today marks two months until I turn 20. Crazy, crazy stuff!

You will not believe what I did this morning. I went for a jog (it was actually a walk, let's be real). But no, like I actually tried to jog a little bit, and believe it or not I enjoyed it. Mostly because we picked flowers along the way, and because we went on a trail along the river and because Finland in the spring is literally the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Sisar Howell and I are going to try and lose two pounds a week between now and the end of the change, so we needed to up the ante a little bit from our we-don't-actually-try-that-hard workout DVDs. Well, I don't try that hard because if I'm in the apartment all I want to do is sleep. That aside, we are going to try to go out whenever it isn't raining and it isn't a Sunday, so it should be good.

Not from my jogging route, but another view of what Finland in the Spring looks like.  Gorgeous!

We also got a real taste of Finnish spring today when we got caught in a torrential 5-minute downpour between the bus stop and the church. My shoes and skirt are still damp as I type this, but thankfully I thought to bring a rain jacket so my top half is all dry. We've been informed that apparently there is all sorts of crazy lightning-and-thunder rainstorms during the spring and summer since it's so humid, so it'll keep us on our toes. 

This week has been mostly chill with a couple spikes of excitement. We did a ton of contacting and prayerful tracting this week because we had had such a hard time getting our investigators to meet with us. We also have a very specific goal of finding Chinese women to teach. Yes, it sounds strange. But there are a ton of Chinese people in Finland, and Sisar Howell taught them very often in Vassa, and they are super nice and receptive to the message, so she has been dying to teach another one. We also have a super awesome Chinese guy in our ward who got baptized last year, and we want to find him a wife! Haha, but really, he is the nicest guy and he deserves an eternal marriage in the temple, especially for when he goes back to China where the church is not yet super solidly established. So that's our goal, and we did a lot of searching this week.

On Saturday, we were trying to contact a a guy who had been investigating the church a while back, and we went into his building, but couldn't remember the apartment number. So Sisar Howell picked a name that sounded right and we knocked on that door. We were super confused when a lady opened the door, recognized us, and said something like "Oh, sisters, you must be friends here to visit my husband." We were confused because there wasn't any mention of a wife (or possibly it said that she wasn't supportive? I don't remember) and she was so familiar with us, but when she called her husband, we realized it was actually one of the Elders' investigators! He is a super nice guy, but we're pretty sure he's crazy. But man, he is so hysterical. We got sucked into their house for a good hour and a half, in which time, they insisted on giving us juice, showing us a video of a super awesome pianist (his name is Stephen Beus, look him up) who was a missionary in Finland 10 years ago, they wanted to bring us to some kind of lecture by a Messianic Jew, and he just talked and talked about all sorts of stuff, and the two of them bickered SO MUCH. It was just so strange that we had just accidentally contacted into this guy, and we're pretty sure it wasn't an accident. We don't know why we needed to visit them, but God knew they needed a visit from the missionaries. 

We had a super fun experience of having three investigators in church on Sunday. Well, two of them were prospective investigators, and the other was J the college guy, who has been coming fairly regularly. This Sunday, he fasted, and we fasted with him, to help him notice his answers to his prayers. We don't know for sure what the result was, but at least he is so willing to try new things! We met up with one of our prospectives early so we could give him a church tour, and had to stop halfway through so we could run to the bus stop to pick up the other potential. They both enjoyed Sacrament meeting, but J and the second potential, now an investigator, had to leave right after that. They were pretty calm and normal in the meeting. But the other potential, the one we gave the church tour to, came in and out of the chapel twice during the meeting, and then he SPOKE in the middle of one of the talks! I mean flat out started commenting on what the guy was saying. The speaker was a member of the stake presidency, I think, and he handled it so well. But I knew it made most people a little uncomfortable, and it was definitely distracting. Note to self to remind our visitors in the future to be quiet and reverent. 

It's been a crazy week, but I'll end on a more spiritual note. We started teaching an 18 year old girl who is the non-

member daughter of a less active guy in another town, and she is just such a superstar! She has already read bits of the Book of Mormon, and is just one of the sweetest people I have ever met. The other sisters taught her a couple times then we took over because she is in our ward boundaries. She is just so willing to learn, and she already has a little growing testimony. Everything we teach her she just kind of accepts. Last time we met with her, we set a baptismal date, and she is going to be ready! The Spirit is so strong every time we have taught her, and she just glows with the light of Christ!

Well, folks, that's all you're getting this week. I hope you are all doing well and wish you a lovely week. Don't forget to give thanks to the Lord for all your blessings, including the crazy little coincidences in your day. He has a hand in your life. He loves you, and all you need to do is love Him back and do what He asks, and everything will fall into place. Stay shiny!

Rakkaudella,

Sisar Hillebrant

Best Week Ever!

Rakas ystäviä,

Another week done and gone, and I am no longer in training! Look, Ma, I'm a real missionary! That's right folks, last week was my last week as a trainee, so now we're down to just 3 hours of studies a day, and I'm ready to spread my wings and fly as far as my area boundaries will let me. 

Spring in Finland means wild flowers everywhere.

Tuesday we were in Tampere for Zone Meeting, after which we took a language test! Man, I thought I was free of those for another year! Sisar Howell and I went on splits in the afternoon with the Sister Training Leaders, Sisaret Foster and Jones. I was with Sisar Foster for the day and we had a good time walking all over the place trying to find our way from an appointment out in the boonies back to the church. Missionary life, man. We spent the night there, then took the train back to Turku. 

We had a great lesson with j the red haired college guy. We taught him the Law of Tithing and when we asked if he would pay tithing after baptism (did I mention we rescheduled a date for June 14th?), he said "Totta kai!" Of course! If, that is, he has received his answer if it's true. This guy is just SO GOLDEN, he just needs to know it's true!

We had a fun miracle happen on Thursday. I told you all about the Iranian woman we've been teaching, who stopped us on the street to ask us about a Persian Book of Mormon. We had Weekly Planning that day and we just decided to call her and ask when she was free to meet, and she said she could meet that evening at 6! We asked if we could come at 5 and she was so cute, she was like "Oh but Sisters, my house is such a mess!" We just laughed and told her it was fine and we quickly got to a good stopping point in our planning to rush out to meet her. We also had a superstar member, who actually just returned from her mission serving right here in Finland and was able to come with us last minute, and we had SUCH a great lesson. The Lord has such a big hand in this woman's preparation. She's going to be ready someday soon, I can just feel it.

Sunday was Mother's Day! Which means I got to Skype with my family! We went over to the home of our favorite American family, who had just had a baby, so we made them dinner then Skyped while they ate. It was SO GOOD to be able to see my family, let alone just hear their voices, after 5 months (3 if we're talking voices because we got to call home from the airport). We only got to talk for less than an hour, but the time was so worth it. They asked me to bear my testimony to them in Finnish, and I didn't realize how powerful it was until I started crying. It was just so cool that I had the chance to share what I know with all my heart - that we are all Heavenly Father's children, that He loves us, and that His true church is the same all around the world, that we have His words in the Book of Mormon, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's true church established on the earth in this day to prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ - in the language of the people I am serving with my family, who is on the complete other side of the world. If that isn't the best experience ever, I don't know what is. And I hope it made Mom's day, because it definitely made mine :)

Well, folks, that's all for this week. I think this might be my shortest e-mail since being in the country, which is doing wonders for my e-mailing time. It's a Christmas miracle!

I love you all and am so grateful for your thoughts and prayers. Have a great week and stay shiny!

Rakkaudella, 

Sisar Hillebrant

Eli, Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Tuesday kicked off the craziness this week. President Rawlings was supposed to be in Turku to do interviews in the morning and sit in on our District meeting, so we were all hyped up for that. But they accidentally put the wrong coordinates into the GPS and ended up in Hammenlinna! Not exactly the plan, but it was pretty miraculous because we had a lesson set up for that evening and Sisar Howell had felt pretty impressed to invite President and his wife to come with us to teach this guy. So we called President and he said he would come, but the appointment cancelled last minute! We weren't about to cancel with President, though, so we spent a good portion of the afternoon frantically scrambling to make a new plan. We ended up setting an appointment with a part member family who lives about a half hour away by car (which was perfect because the Rawlings could drive us!), which was really good because we had felt that we really needed to make this family a priority and get the husband progressing toward baptism. So we went out there with the Rawlings and had an awesome lesson with the family and the husband became a new investigator! It was a miracle! This man is really, truly prepared, but we have to go slow with him because he is a very thoughtful, careful person. But we know he will progress because this is the truth and it cannot be denied!

The first of May was the grand holiday of Vappu, which is a national everyone-has-the-day-off day. I think it was labor day, or something of the sort, but basically people, especially students, use it as an excuse to drink, and we were not allowed to go outside at all unless we were travelling to a solid appointment. We woke up that morning and it was snowing! Apparently that's a pretty normal thing for Vappu, or so we've been told. We did weekly planning, so that filled most of our day, and luckily we had a pretty solid plan for the evening, so we weren't cooped up in the apartment.

 Vappu food - funnel cake and mead (non-alcoholic of course)

On Saturday, we took a district trip to the Turku castle. We only got to tour it for about an and a half, which was definitely not long enough, but we had a such a good time an I would love to go again. In the afternoon, we went out to meet with the same part-member family we'd visited with the Rawlings. The wife had invited a good friend too, and she picked us up and took us out there. It was super kiva because we think this woman might be pretty interested and super willing to learn more as well. We had a good afternoon out there fellowshipping the family and getting to know this lady and then teaching a pretty good lesson about how to receive answers to prayers. 

In the courtyard at Turku Castle

 Yes we are adults and yes we still like dress up

Yesterday, we had great fast and testimony Sunday. Sisar Howell and I performed our musical number, "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul," in our ward. It was such a perfect sacrament meeting song. I know I talked about it in one of my last emails, but I just love the song so much. It is such a powerful testimony to me of the love Christ has for me, and how through Him and His Atonement, I can become so much better and stronger. I know that He loves all of us and He will help us all and strengthen us if we just turn to Him and ask. I love my Savior, I love this work, and I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Lord's true and full church once again established on the earth. 

I love you all and am so grateful for all your thoughts and prayers! Stay shiny!

Rakkaudella, 

Sisar Hillebrant

Our district in Turku castle