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