Not FINNISHed Yet: Ch-ch-ch-changes! Another turn in...

Not Turku! I'm headed to Kuopio to serve with Sisar Bunting! Kuopio is north of Jyväskylä by about an hour by train, so it's about 5-6 hours from Turku. It is much smaller than Turku, and supposedly the people there have the most difficult dialect/accent in all of Finland. So that will be fun. But I have only heard good things about Kuopio, and I am very excited to serve there! The missionaries call it the City of Dreams, and if that's not promising, I don't now what is.

This weekend has been a blur of packing and goodbyes. I found out only yesterday that instead of leaving Turku on Tuesday, I am leaving already tonight (Monday) at 7 pm. I will spend the night in Helsinki then take a morning train to Kuopio and get there tomorrow afternoon. I had a chance to say goodbye to some of my favorite people here, and the ward members were so kind to wish me luck and safe travels. It was nice to feel like I've made a difference for some of them, and I guess it was really satisfying to have that kind of reassurance. Of course I'm sad to leave Turku. It is my first city and my second home. I have met so many lovely people here, and the ward has been my family for the last 8 months of my life. I feel like I really became a missionary here, so it will be sad to go. But then, it's time to try something new!

The last week had been the biggest blur of my life. I was so anxious about change calls that the week passed and it feels like I was unconscious for most of it! And honestly, I did not do my most focused work this week.

Be that as it may, the things that did happen were really good things, including meetings with investigators, members and less active members. This week V was actually able to come to Institute. What we didn't know, however, is that this year the are studying the Doctrine and Covenants and Church history, so because of his limited understanding (we've only taught him 3 times), V was a little confused. Not to mention it was in Finnish so he was getting it all through one of the girls who agreed to translate. but they talked about patience as well, and showed this awesome Mormon Message by Elder Uchtdorf, and he really liked that.

We started trying something called "Investimembers" with some of the members we met with this week. This is something that the Stake President wanted to implement, and what it means is that missionaries will start teaching members and member families like investigators. We will teach them the basic discussions from the Preach My Gospel manual (the Restoration of the Church, the Plan of Salvation, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and so on), they can ask questions just like investigators, and we will give them commitments to help them learn and grow and come closer the Christ. the idea is that the members can learn exactly what we are doing when we teach nonmembers, and so that they can feel the missionary Spirit. Nothing brings the Spirit into the home quite like the joyful message of the Restoration.

We've only done this with two members so far, and once was with M, a less-active woman we've been working with for a while. Usually when we go there, there is a pattern of getting sucked into a long social conversation, sharing a quick spiritual thought, and bouncing as fast as we can because we've already gone over an hour. It's a lot of fun, but definitely not very effective missionary work, and the spiritual thoughts are doing nothing to change her. Well, we were really nervous to try this Investimember thing with her because we weren't sure she would take to it, but we really felt it was the right thing to do. And it was actually the most spiritual lesson we've had with her in a LONG time. For the sake of her being interested enough to do it, we had her create an investigator persona and told her she could be as tough of an investigator as she wanted to be, so that it would be fun for her, as well as productive. And, she actually took right to it. We were ale to teach about prayer and the Atonement, and we really felt that all the questions she was asking as her persona were questions that M herself really had. There was definitely a special Spirit in the room, and even if she doesn't really recognize it for what it is, we have faith that this Investimember program could possibly be a turning point for her. It's an inspired idea from inspired leaders.

Time has run short once again, and we still have things to do and a baptism to attend (the Huhtala's youngest son - what a tender mercy that I get to see that before I go!) before I ship out tonight. Wishing you all a wonderful week. Remember the power of the Restoration, and when you have some time, go back and read the testimony of Joseph Smith of how the true Gospel of Christ was restored again to the earth (if you don't know where to find it, it's available online here). This is it, folks. This is the true church, and Jesus Christ is our leader. How amazing is that?

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

Rakkaudella,
Sisar Hillebrant