And thus ended the twentieth year . . .

Rakas ystäviä!

We had a pretty good week! We've been spending a decent chunk of time contacting, both outside and in the apartment. Early in the week we decided to stay inside for an extra hour or so and dissect the Area Book to find people to contact. We want to do a little bit of that every week so we can finally get our phone contacts and list of potentials lined up so we know who hasn't been contacted. Also, we want to have a fairly extensive list of former investigators on hand to try whenever we're out and something falls through. It's going to be a process, but really worth it in the grand scheme of things. 

We had a lesson in a brewery this week. We were supposed to meet this girl and go to the church for a tour, but when we met up in the center she asked if we could just go to coffee instead. We explained the Word of Wisdom, that we don't drink coffee, tea, or alcohol, and that we don't smoke, and the like, but she said it was just a little restaurant and we could have water. So we went, and she took us into a brewery (which smells really badly of rye, might I add), got herself a coffee, and when we sat down she asked if she could smoke. We said we'd rather she didn't because, you know, the Word of Wisdom. Luckily she was cool with that and we proceeded to have a really good discussion about the Restoration. It didn't end with her becoming an investigator, but at least now I can say that the first time I've ever been in a beer garden was on my mission.

But I guess the real question is, how was my birthday? Well, after District Meeting on Wednesday, the district had a little birthday party for me. The sisters in the other ward had made a cake, and they sang and all that. When we got home, we found that they had also gotten into our apartment and left balloons and candy for us. My district is just so great! Friday night, just as we were coming in for the night, the Huhtalas were waiting outside the building and had brought me and ihan Suomalainen birthday cake! It was such a surprise, and I just love that family so much! On the actual day, I woke up at 4am to the phone alarm going off, and Sisar Ross hurriedly shutting it off and telling me to go back to sleep. Of course I couldn't for a while, and not until after I saw her leave the room. But when I woke up at the regular time, she had decorated the apartment with banners and had made me a cake! I'm too spoiled. The highlight, though, was that the other ward was having a baptism, and we got to participate in that. We made some desert for it, then helped set up, and did a musical number with the other sisters. It really was a nice service, and made the day really special. That evening, the new senior missionary couple was coming into Turku, and we were charged with getting them some food, and meeting them there with the key. They are really great and we're excited to work with them. Ended the day with opening the big package from home, so it was a good end to the day. Then on Sunday night, we made pizza and had ice cream with rice krispie treats (courtesy of my grandparents - thanks guys!) and watched part of Legacy. Then today we went to the museum in the upper gallery of the Tuomiokirkko, which was awesome. The cap on the celebrations will be on Wednesday when we go to pizza and kebab as a district. Truly it has been a glorious end to my life as a teenager. 

​Cake for breakfast - it's a thing!

Cake from my District - Thanks Guys!!!

Cake from the Huhtalas

Sisar Ross Decorated our Apartment

A Package from Home!!

We had a really great District Meeting on Wednesday. Elder Alquist talked all about prayer and how to make our prayers more focused and earnest. He talked especially about Doctrine and Covenants 8:2-3, where the Lord tells us that the revelation we receive through prayer comes from the same Spirit by which Moses split the Red Sea. Moses was probably praying pretty hard right then. As he looked behind him and saw the chariots of the Egyptian army bearing down on his group of over half a million people, then looked back at the Red Sea with no way to go around either side, and with the Israelites' terrified screams and exclamations that they would rather have stayed slaves and that he had led them to their death, Moses found himself in a state of desperate need, pleading with the Lord as he had never plead before to send a miracle. And then came the thought, "Go stand in the water and hold out your staff." Can you imagine the confusion and perhaps disappointment in Moses' mind when this was the answer he got? Surely he must have been wondering what good that could possibly do, and why didn't the Lord just stop the Egyptians? But trusting in the Lord and following this strange little prompting, Moses waded out into the water, and held out his staff...and lo and behold the waters of this great sea rose into the air, splitting so entirely that the ground was dry. No water remained in pools in their path, no mud to get stuck in and slow them down. The Lord held the sea at bay just long enough for the Israelites to cross, then unleashed the waters again, destroying the enemy. Moses followed a seemingly silly and pointless idea and a miracle ensued. This is the power we have in prayer if we just pray the way the Lord has asked, then follow the ideas we receive, no matter how strange or scary, not questioning, just trusting and doing. Miracles can and will happen. 

So there you have it folks. I hope you all have had a great week and remember that there is power in prayer. The Lord loves you and wants to help you!

Stay shiny!

Rakkaudella,

Sisar Hillebrant

That's what I get for having a lesson in the park . . .

Rakas ystävia!

We haven't had too many meetings with investigators this week and have been spending a lot of time contacting and finding few people. We found a ton of sweet new potentials this week and are pumped to start setting up appointments with them. We have also had a few active member plan meetings with member families, and we are excited to finish those lessons with them so they can start helping us do missionary work. 

We had a lesson with J the college guy this week and basically had a heart to heart about what he needs to be doing to prepare for baptism. We straight-up asked him if he wants to know and is he willing to do whatever is asked of him, including go to baptism, if he receives his answer, and he flat-out said yes. We know he has real intent, but just think it's a little harder for him to see it right now. We're pretty sure he won't be baptized this weekend as planned, but we have a lot of faith in him that it is going to happen.

We have also been doing the new member lessons with Amanda, and she is doing splendidly. Today we are meeting with her and talking about the Gospel of Christ and missionary work. We want to invite her to come to lessons with us and we think it will be a really good opportunity for her to solidify her own testimony in the things she has just learned. I know from experience that I learn something better when I am the teacher, so hopefully it is the same for her. 

One other thing that did happen this week is that we had Zone Meeting, and I had my second kieli koulu afterward. The way that works is that your MTC has special language training after a zone meeting every few months. The first one was day four of our 6-week interim training, and we had number two this week. Elder Johnson and I are the only two from our group in the Tampere zone, so it was just me and him and Elder Durrant, the language coordinator for our zone. It was a lot of fun, and I learned some good tricks for conjugating past tense verbs and plural nouns/adjectives which will hopefully prove helpful.

Funny story of the week: We were meeting with a guy who used to be an investigator and we've been trying to set something up with him for months. We finally had a meeting, and his son had a friend over so he asked if we could go to a nearby park. Yeah, cool, that sounds fine. We were sitting an a bench in the pleasant summer weather, when all of a sudden I feel something soft hit my arm.  I look down and there is a greenish goo on the sleeve of my white cardigan, a little splatter on my bag, and some on the member sitting next to me. My mind is working very slowly to process what happened and the first thing I think is about a story I heard about sisters who had mashed potatoes thrown at them. But there is no one around us and I slowly realize that this is actually food, just food after it had been processed a little more. Yep, a bird flying overhead laid one on me. It was frustrating for a moment while I dug out some tissues and started to dab it away, but quickly turned into laughter, especially since Sisar Ross thought it was absolutely hysterical (let it be noted that the bird missed her, so of course she thought it was funny). It was a good ice breaker though, because the investigator thought it was pretty funny. The rest of the lesson went smoothly. Now only time will tell if I can get the stains out of my white sweater.

 

New Companion - Sisar Ross

Something that I read in the Book of Mormon this morning stuck out to me a little more that usual and I just wanted to share it with you. I was reading in 1 Nephi chapter 13, and Nephi is in the middle of talking with an angel (this is the vision where he sees the Tree of Life like his dad did, and he also sees the ministry of Christ and the preparation of the Americas for the coming forth of the Book of Mormon). The angel mentions to Nephi in verse 30 that the remnant of his posterity will be preserved and not destroyed. I never thought about this before, because at the end of the Book of Mormon, the Nephites are killed off and I always sort of assumed that this meant 100% of the Nephites. But throughout the Book of Mormon, there are numerous occasions where some of the people of Nephi desert over to the side of the Lamanites for various reasons, so Nephi has posterity that has mixed with the posterity of his brothers. In this same vision, Nephi will also see that his people are going to be destroyed, and he's probably going to be pretty devastated. I just think how comforting it must have been when the angel reminded him that he will have people left and that they won't be destroyed completely. Nephi was a righteous man who did what God asked, and now God is blessing him with the preservation of his descendants. It just goes to show how Heavenly Father knows and numbers all His children, and that he will preserve them for the sake of the righteous.

I'm excited for the following week, which is sure to be stellar. I hope you are all doing wonderfully and that you remember to appreciate the simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as of English grammar.

Stay shiny!

Rakkaudella,

Sisar Hillebrant

We don't like each other at all

Folks from last week's Renaissance Faire

Early Rock-and-Roll band, I think

World's First Merry-Go-Round?

Happy Independence Day, Everyone!

Rakkaudella ystäviä!

Happy Independence Day, everyone! Well, last week anyway. We got to spend the evening with the Merrills, the American family in our ward. They made real American hamburgers (some of the best I've ever had) and there was makara as well (Finnish version of hot dogs) so we got a little of both. We had such a good evening. The Merrills are like the perfect happy little family and I just love them so much!

On Tuesday we had splits with the Sister Training Leaders in Tampere, and I was with Sisar Foster again. We had a really great day and I learned a lot from her about contacting people, especially on the street. On Wednesday there was a Zone Meeting where we met President Watson and his wife! They are such wonderful people and seem pretty fun and I am excited to work with them.

Sisar Foster and I take the work very seriously.

On Thursday evening, the Bishop's family invited us over. They had invited a few other people from the ward, many of whom were less-actives and part-member families, and made a ton a crepes (can't remember what they are called in Finnish) and we just had a really good time. We also had a chance to share a message with everyone in a really casual and comfortable setting. The Bishop's family are such great missionaries and fellowshippers. This ward is really blessed to have them, and so are we!

Something we've been talking a lot about in our district has been the idea of reconsecrating ourselves and our areas - just starting back at the beginning with the basics. Yesterday Sisar Ross and I decided to take advantage of our fast to rededicate ourselves and the area to the Lord. There is a big hill in the middle of downtown Turku, so we climbed to the top of it where we could see much of the city, found a quiet place, and prayed for the Lord's help to consecrate the city to finding the prepared people. After church we had some blank time so we went to try and contact some formers. We hadn't found any new investigators yet, and throughout the evening, we talked to a ton of really cool people, and we finally did find a new investigator, an older Finnish man who seems very genuinely interested in the Book of Mormon. I know that when we make the Lord the center of the work that miracles will happen. I just think of Alma and Ammon and the other sons of Mosiah, and how because the fasted and prayed much and studied the scriptures, that when they kept the Lord in the middle of everything and relied on Him, they truly were able to perform miracles among the Lamanites.

Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.  Alma 26:12 

I love you all so much and am so grateful for the wonderful lives you are living. Trust in God and make Him the center of your lives and great things will happen.

Stay shiny!

Rakkaudella,
Sisar Hillebrant

New Things

Rakas ystäviä,

Well, well, the week of changes actually transpired and Sisar Ross is here with me in Turku, safe and sound, and I gotta say I'm loving it! We had a really good week, if a little stressful because I'm still used to relying a lot on my trainer, so it was strange actually needing to remember to do things like call people! But Sisar Ross and I are figuring things out and getting along really well.

She came in by train Tuesday evening, and by that time Sisar Howell was almost all packed and ready to go, so she went and stayed with Sisar Owen in their apartment to catch the train in the morning. It was weird saying goodbye to her because we've been together for 4 months and you just kind of work up a routine, and then it changes suddenly. I was sad to see her go, but was also ready for a change and to not feel like I was still in training.

Summer Finally Arrived in Turku!

The week was good. Most of it involved getting Sisar Ross used to the area, but one thing that happened was helping a family move (the whole thing was arranged by one of the Elders' investigators - it was a family that lived in his building). The family was from a small country somewhere near Turkey, and they were an older couple probably in their 50s with one young daughter, like 2 years old. The daughter has some very strange, uncommon disabilities, so it was very difficult for the family to do much by themselves because the daughter needs to be monitored pretty closely. At first is was stressful and frustrating that nothing was going smoothly with the move, but as I observed the mother with her daughter, it wasn't frustrating to me anymore. That woman was the biggest example of Christlike love. She was so gentle and loving and caring and clearly could see past this child's physical imperfections to her pure spirit. As I watched, this young girl became in my eyes one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Her human body was sick and undeveloped, but her soul was clean and when she looked at me I could just feel Heavenly Father's love so strongly for this perfect young girl. It was one of the most powerful things I've ever experienced.  

Another thing that happened this week was the Renaissance market in the old town square. Medieval fairs seem to be a really big deal here in Finland for some reason, but I don't care why because I loved it! There were so many people in costume, actors, and the wares were all hand-made and so pretty and fun to look at. There were all sorts of different types of handicrafts being made on the spot too. There were paint-makers and spinners, many many food merchants (including a full pig on a spit) and even a makeshift forge! And, I may or may not have purchased an ocarina and the Evenstar. We had a great afternoon!

On Sunday evening we had some blank time, so we went out to an area and ended up spending some time with a really lovely woman who is a former investigator. She had some friends over and they were all sharing prayers and songs from their various religions. When we knocked on the door, she invited us right in and said she had actually wanted to invite us but it had slipped her mind, and it must have been the will of God that we came!  It really was such a miracle to see how the Spirit directed us there by giving us blank time, directing us to people in the area that would take us closer to her house, then giving us the idea that we should drop by even though it wasn't our original plan. We came in and joined them for a while and she pulled down her copy of the Book of Mormon for us to share out of if we wanted to. I was able to share Ether 12:4 which says, "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." They all really loved that passage and were very grateful we had shared it. Even though we all came from different religious backgrounds, we were able to bring all the good things we share and our faith. And while we didn't teach them out of Preach My Gospel and none of them became new investigators, we were able to touch their hearts with the truths of the Book of Mormon.

No time for sleeping!  We've got work to do!

I would love to hear about you guys! What kinds of things are you learning from the scriptures? What missionary experiences have you had recently?

I hope you are all having wonderful weeks and that all goes well for you. Stay shiny!

Rakkaudella,

Sisar Hillebrant