Rakkaat ystävät,
Did you read that right? You bet you did! With the New Year
in Finland comes some pretty big changes for me: That's right, I'm going
to be training! If you didn't know, missionary "slang" for a trainer
and a trainee are parent and child. So this week I will be receiving my very
own newborn missionary. I'm really, really excited for this chance, and I know
there is probably going to be more learning on my end than on hers. I'm going
down to Helsinki tomorrow with Sisar Bunting where we will part ways -- she
will go home, and I will pick up my new companion and come back up to
Kuopio to show her the ropes. Pray for me (and for her, that poor girl who has
to be trained by me haha)!
Some pretty fun stuff has been happening here.
We had a great Christmas week with lots of good food,
lots of snow, and lots of awesome members taking care of us. We were with
a really great member family all day Christmas Eve. The day was chock-full of
wonderful Christmas traditions.
We started with the meal right away, which
consisted of a giant pork roast, smoked salmon, mashed potatoes, sweet potato
casserole, carrot casserole, rutabaga casserole, Karelian paiste (some kind of
roast meet in a broth with carrots and other stuff - it's really good) and a
few other things including pickled herring (which I tried and don't like. Sorry
parents, I know I'm a disappointment). After a break and a game of Cranium in
Finnish, we went to go see the candles at the cemetery, and it was just so
pretty. I can't explain how beautiful it was, but I will send photos for my
blog.
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| The Roast |
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| The meal |
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| Candles in the Cemetery |
The highlight of the night was when Joulupukki came to visit! Since Santa
lives in Finland, he comes on Christmas Eve to visit the children and give them
their presents, then goes to the rest of the world (he promised that he
would. of course, go to mine and Sisar Bunting's families first). He came to
visit and gave ua all our gifts, then when he had left we got to open them.
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| Don't show this to the president! |
Christmas day was spent with a member family that we've been
working with for a while. The mother really wanted to make an American-style
turkey, so we spent the bulk of the day preparing and stuffing a turkey and
making various other side dishes. I am proud to say that the turkey turned out
well (if perhaps a little dry) and the stuffing I made was delicious. Plus, Sisar Bunting made a killer gravy, the likes of which I have not before tasted.
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| The Turkey |
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| The Meal |
We also made a point of visiting a couple old less-active
women that have no family in Kuopio, and hopefully were able to bring them some
Christmas cheer. We then ended the day with another member family who provided
more Christmas leftovers and a computer so I could Skype home. I couldn't
have asked for a better Christmas
We only met with two investigators this week. The first is a
big burly Finnish man who is interested, but we are going to give him to the
Elders to teach because he won't really open up to us, and we don't
think we're what he needs right now. We also met with M who is now back from
her jaunt out of country. She is awesome. While she was gone she read the Book of
Mormon! We discussed the Holy Ghost with her on Saturday, and she said that she
believes everything is true! We are so excited for her. We also met another
young Finnish woman on the street last night. She is religious herself and
already has a strong belief in God. She happily accepted a Book of Mormon and a
return appointment. Her name is T, and I will keep you updated!
I'm sure you all had a great Christmas, and now with the New
Year approaching, remember who the master of new beginnings is. Through the
Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can all turn the page and we can all move on and
start fresh. What is a goal you can make to become a little better, through
Him, this year?
Happy New Year, and stay shiny!
Rakkaudella,
Sisar Hillebrant
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| Our tree on Christmas morning. |
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| All the chocolate we got. |
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