9/26/23 Oulu for a Day

Another week of good work and another week where time seemed to be a commodity we did not have. 

We taught another Finnish language class and it went really well. A few regulars are showing up and it is fun teaching the little Finnish I know to people who want to learn. Also made a ton of pancakes for it and we did not need that many. Luckily for us, we had splits in Oulu the next day.

With a few extra pancakes (9), we left Pori at 8 AM to catch a train to Tampere. Now, the VR train system in Finland is pretty nice. Imagine a super nice airplane and more leg room to move around, and that describes the VR trains pretty well. At Tampere, we took another train up to Oulu. After being on a train for 2 hours and riding on another one for another 4 hours, we were a little antsy. The Zone Leaders picked us up and we ate a good lunch of french toast. Afterwards, we did some good old street contacting in Finnish. The city center in Oulu is massive. Over the course of an hour, we walked through most of the keskus (city center) and talked to lots of people. I didn't talk too much but I started to understand more about what a good street contact looks like. The funniest moment was when Elder Schwemmer started a street contact and after asking if they believed in God, the response was "that is a very personal question" in Finnish. Man, it was just fun to be out and learning more about the work. We ran into the other elders and the sisters that serve in Oulu.

Okay, I guess another thing that came up while we were contacting was the principle of never giving up. We talked to many people and had no success. Sometimes, that is how life works and how missionary work works. We will put in the effort and time and still come up with nothing but it was not for nothing. "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." (2 Nephi 25:23) The grace of Jesus Christ makes everything work out. As we do what is right and follow His light, we can continue to have the Holy Ghost and help others find the peace and knowledge we know. Even with bad days, we can still choose good.

We returned from contacting and then helped out with a board game night. We had 10 people there and the games went really well. It brought back good memories of Board Game Club in college but it was also fun to connect with others using one of my hobbies.

Outside of splits, the rest was pretty darn fast too.

- We taught 4 lessons on Saturday and it went really well. 

- That same Saturday, it was Pori day. Everyone was flying the Finnish flag and the keskus was packed. The Library also had an Anime convention thingy and we had to change one of our lesson plans because of it. 

- Ate the best lasagna at a dinner appointment and had a good spiritual thought.

- Went to a Birthday party and it was fun to hang out with their family. This was also on the same day as the DA, so we were quite full.

- Had the last district council for the transfer. Oh, transfer calls come this Saturday too.

Okay, longer email but I hope everyone is doing well. 

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

 

Average train ride view

 

Elder Kunz tried very hard not to lose in a Jenga game at the Birthday party. It still fell.

 Last district council in Tampere

Herbal tea break with the Muumi mugs (not green or black so don't worry)

9/19/23 Return and Report

Well, the crowning event this week was Return and Report. 

So, as we ended P-day last week, we hopped onto a train for 3 hours to get to Espoo from Pori and we stayed the night with the APs. They know just about everything in the mission and it was fun to hear about how the other missionaries are doing. 

Anyways, morning arrived and we met everyone at the train station and it was a little surreal. The whole MTC district was back together. We swapped stories and it was good to see the gang back together. We then went to the mission home and started Return and Report. I shared a missionary standards in Finglish (Finnish +English) and it went pretty well. 

Lunch was a tomato soup that was ridiculously good. Sisar Lehtinen makes really good food and I ate way too much. Well, on that note, I gave a role play lesson of the Restoration of the Church. I recited the 1st vision, explained Christ's ministry, and talked about the Book of Mormon all in Finnish. It was pretty cool to see how far I've come but I still have a long way to go. 

After that, we went to the Temple and it was epic. The Temple in Finland is gorgeous. The Endowment session was in Finnish too. The whole experience was super uplifting and reassuring that I can learn Finnish and accomplish the Lord's work. 

As I studied the scriptures this week, I continue to find scriptures about missionary work. One such scripture is Mormon 5:14. "And behold, they shall go unto the unbelieving of the Jews; and for this intent shall they go—that they may be persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that the Father may bring about, through his most Beloved, his great and eternal purpose, in restoring the Jews, or all the house of Israel, to the land of their inheritance, which the Lord their God hath given them, unto the fulfilling of his covenant." This is the Lord's work and as we help in any way, we fulfill His covenant and he bless both you and those you help.

Here's the rest in points cause this is quite long:

- taught many lessons and many friends are super prepared. No baptism dates, but very promising lessons.

- had a 3 hour dinner appointment and it was good, but super long.

- starting to develop a language study plan for Finnish and improving my studies

Hope that everyone is doing well and having a good start to their Fall.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos

The whole gang at the train station

Everyone at the lake (trainers and new missionaries)

The Temple

These little birds are everywhere and literally ate all the crumbs we dropped.

 

The lake near the mission home.

9/12/23 Origami & the Gospel

So, made a mix up on my list but I fixed it. Here's the email.

Vanhin Hsu

Well, some days on paper looked a lot slower than others but this week still went quicker than it should have. 

On the other hand, we did meet with a lot of members this week. We first had a dinner appointment with a family here that has 8 kids. That experience was not what people would think of as Finland but it was fun. I taught them some origami using what little Finnish I knew and also helped with the spiritual thought a bit. The best part is that we connected the origami with the spiritual thought and it was a fun object lesson. Anyways, their family is awesome.

The next day, we met with two Mummo's (Finnish grandma's) and it was quite the experience. Even afterwards, Elder Kunz said that they were talking in a level of Finnish that no missionary would be able to keep track of. I may or may not have fallen asleep but I did try my best to stay awake. It's hard to understand Finnish but when you go to something like that, you truly understand where the bar is. Finnish is hard but it will come with time. A motto of mine has been 2 Nephi 28:30, "For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my council, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that recieveth I will give more...". Most things in life are not instant. Building a testimony, studying for a degree, overcoming weakness, and changing almost anything in our lives will take time. As we have faith in Christ and trust that we can change a little each day, things will start to come around. Even though I do not know much Finnish, I will be able to learn and understand others better with diligent effort and with the Lord's help.

Here is a little recap of the week:

- Had one other member appointment and it went well

- Teaching a lot of people in English and it's cool to see how teaching increased both my knowledge and our friends' knowledge.

- Had interviews with the lahetysjohtaja Lehtinen and they went well.

- Gave the opening prayer in Finnish during church sacrament meeting.

The darkness is coming and the sun is far and few between now. Even without the sun, the Lord is blessing us with people to teach and prepare for baptism. Might have some bigger news on that next time.

Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well! The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

Sunset as we walked back to the apartment

 

Here's the story. We just finished personal study and now we are on a Zoom call. We had the name Free Finnish Classes because we taught an online class last time we used Zoom. Unfortunately, some other missionaries caught us on camera and yeah. Long story short, we are just a little tired.

At the park

9/5/23 Talking to Everyone

Another week and I'm already blurring days and weeks. This transfer is flying by and it's pretty hard to believe it's been a month. 

We had the mission tour with Elder Whiting and he gave lots of good advice as he talked. Lots on how missionaries and investigators are alike because we can all change, improve, and come closer to Christ through his Atonement. He also talked a lot about the Holy Ghost. He also encouraged us to talk to everyone as soon as we leave the apartment. One comment he made about urgency went along the lines of this: "After this tour is done, look at the lobby. Where is the sense of urgency while everyone stands around?"  After him saying that during lunch and seeing it come to pass 2 hours later, it really is remarkable how critical urgency is to the work. When we did that, we got lots of contacts just by talking.

Preach My Gospel version 2 has just been released not too long ago and Elder Whiting told us about why it was named that way. The scripture behind the title is Doctrine and Covenants 50:14. It says "To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth." He specifically pointed out the words after, "by the spirit". We can all strive to have the spirit with us and as we live worthily, repent daily, and trust that Christ will help us. As we do what is right, the Holy Ghost will be with us and it will help us understand His gospel and help us in the work.

Came back to Pori and started afresh and came up with better goals, plans, and a better focus on the purpose of a missionary. We invited a friend to be baptized and they said yes. So, we're working with them and it's exciting.

We did some service with a half member family and it went really well. We ate an amazing lunch and then shoveled gravel with them. It felt like working at my grandparents place. Anyways, fast Sunday rolls around and the branch had a potluck after. I baked an apple crisp to bring and we ate a lot that day even though it was fast Sunday.

Last thing. We had a district P-day and it was pretty fun. Another Elder here lived in Washington and he taught us how to play rugby and we played for an hour. We then went to a lavu and roasted makkara over a fire. Good stuff. It was also fun just talking with other missionaries and hearing their stories.

Okay, that was a lot but hope everyone is doing well. The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

District rugby

District lavu

A frog we found during service

A cat that followed us

 

Mission Tour MTC companion reunion

 The lake