Rakkaat ystävät,
It's been a really good week. The sun has been shining,
and our spirits are high.
Friday we had a first lesson with a new investigator, an
older man M, who we found a couple weeks ago. He investigated about 30 years
ago in Turku. He asked us in the lesson how we'd found him, when it has been
such a long time since he had been taught. We told him honestly that we'd had
no idea and had just felt impressed to knock on his door. He told us that
because of his current life situation (divorced, ill) he has been softened
immensely and is now willing to hear us out. Prepared. Gold.
If you didn't know, there are hardly any
public restrooms in Finland. Most stores don't even have one. So, on Sunday
evening when we were out and about and I had to go to the bathroom (even though
I'd just gone an hour before - some things never change), the options were either
pee in the forest - which I was completely willing to do except that I had
no tissues - or call a member. This time we opted for the latter, and she
just laughed and invited us over. I used the bathroom, then they invited us to
stay and share a message. So it worked out in both our favor.
Yesterday we did something I've never successfully done
before. We met a Burmese woman on the street and asked if we could come
home with her and share a message about Jesus Christ, and she said of course.
She said she was interested to learn about all "Jeesus asioita"
(Jesus things). We walked home with her and talked with her about Christ and
the Book of Mormon, and how it helps us come closer to Christ. Her Finnish is
very simple, and it was pretty hard for us to communicate (who knew it would
ever be hard for me to simplify my Finnish), but I could tell that she felt the
Spirit, and she liked what she heard. We called the office right away afterward
and ordered everything they have in Burmese. We have another appointment with
her on Thursday :)
We also stopped by T and had a quick lesson on
her porch. Her pastor forbade her from reading the Book of Mormon, but she
really wants to read it and says she will read it if God tells her she can. We
encouraged her to keep praying and promised that God would help her know
she could read it. She wants to keep learning, so we will keep teaching.
Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is
hope. Hope in Jesus Christ is understanding that He fulfills His
promises and expecting Him to do so. Hope is a Christ-like attribute. It is
powered by faith and is active expectation. When we have hope, it drives all we
do. It helps us move forward cheerfully, because we understand that bumps and
debris in the road are only temporary discomforts and setbacks that ultimately
will not hinder our progression if we continue onward. It is expecting the sun
to come out even when the sky is cloudy. Nephi said: "Wherefore, ye
must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness
of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press
forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus
saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." When we have hope, we do
all that we can do and we know that the Savior will fill in the rest. He will
give us strength beyond our own capacity to accomplish the things He would
have us do - especially when we can't do it on our own.
Have faith, hope on, and stay shiny!
Rakkaudella,
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| The lakes are still frozen |
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| Sisar Lafferty climbing the stairs from the lake. |
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| Ski and sledge storage - we don't see that often in Richland. |
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