1/30/24 Päivä Raumalla

This week has actually vanished as it progressed. Many lessons, many new experiences, and many funny moments.

Apartment inspections happened this week and they went well. We got a new bed! My back feels like its eighty but the new bed is helping. The Kite's -the senior missionary couple in charge of apartment inspections- are pretty amazing. Good inspiration to keep the apartment in good order. 

Then, we had our district council in Rauma. Now, I have been to every large and coastal city in the west zone. We had to wake up a little earlier but my companion set his alar for 5:30 AM. Was not expecting that and I was in a trance for most of the day. District council brought some fun energy to the work. One of the sister missionaries is going home soon and gave us wisdom that she had acquired over the last year and a half. 

In addition to going to Rauma, we taught some lessons in Finnish throughout the week. For those who are serving in missions where you have to learn a new language, its hard to follow a conversation, especially when the language is considered one of the hardest to learn. So, I focused on the Gift of Tongues as I went into these lessons. As said in the Articles of Faith, "We believe in the gift of tongues, ... interpretation of tongues, and so forth." (Articles of Faith 1:7). Learning Finnish is no small task but my efforts are magnified when I use Finnish to help others learn the Gospel. Faith and works really show when you continuously work towards learning a language.

Honestly, there was a lot but I'll try to summarize the rest:

- We had a DA with the Hyssälä's and that was fun. They also spoke in all Finnish and some of the jokes they told were pretty funny. I only understood one but it was just really fun.

- Culture night brought in a lot of people. People brought food from their cultures and the food was good. Wasabi chips were actually good. We also got to hear a recent convert rap. Good stuff.

- Taught two lessons which both went well. One was with a member from Pori and it was cool to see them again. The other is with a guy who has come to church for nearly five years but is still thinking about baptism. Both were good lessons.

- Had another DA yesterday. There were some good laughs and it went pretty well.

- Visited a funicular for P-day. Pretty anti-climatic. My companion and another missionary beat us there cause we walked all the way across Turku after realizing we could not rent ice skates cause they were closed. 

- Had many experiences with ice. No wipeouts yet but I'm sure more are coming.

Anyhow, its practically summer here cause its 36 degrees Fahrenheit and its nice. Hope you all are doing well this winter. If you have any questions, feel free to sent me an email.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

 

District in Rauma

 

Morning bus to Rauma

 

Funicular

 

Sähly goalkeeping gear. Long but fun game

1/23/24 Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Hail...

Its getting warmer at least. Not too much happened but the week was still good.

This last Wednesday we went on splits. We traveled to Tampere and did missionary work there. I know Tampere about as well as the missionaries there because I was there once a week for the last four months and it was cool passing bits of knowledge to the zone leaders. Elder Rawlings and Elder Wight -the zone leaders- made tilapia fish that tasted better than most foods I have had here. We also played Sähly as well. If you are curious, look it up. Its like ice hockey but in a gym and Finns are really competitive.

Friday rolled around and we had district council. I unofficially organized the food and it worked out pretty well. Good mac and cheese and made a few scallion pancakes to share. The actual district council went well. We talked about how the missionary work is going as well and how we can become better missionaries. At the end, we all shared different insights from things we studied that week. My insight was from a general conference talk in April 2022 called "Do What Mattereth Most". "If you want to know anything, you will have to do something." That is how the gospel works. If we do not put in the time or effort, we will not know much about it. As we focus on the Savior, we will know through our actions that we are on the right path.

Not much else but here's the rest:

- Visited a large mall for P-day and then ate macaroonilaatiko for the first time

- Had a dining appointment with an older couple and their stories were pretty cool. They lived in Tanzania and the stories are the ones that you just cannot make up.

- 26ish people showed up for sports night and it was epic.

- Getting really good practice at writing as I record the dreams that I remember. Back when we had a mission tour, the general authority seventy mentioned that we are asleep for one third for our mission and I'm making the most out of it :)

- Snow whitewashed our sights as we left Tampere. Upon returning to Turku, knee-deep snow greeted us. The following days brought even more snow. Yesterday, the weather turned, transforming the snow into hail that pelted us. To add to the mix, all that snow is turning into slush, creating mini lakes everywhere. The forces of nature combined against us this time and the great freeze is only a matter of time now. Very cheery thoughts.

Besides that, this coming week has lots in store. Hope everyone is staying warm and doing well. Best of luck for those with finals and/or school.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Pictures:

 

Lunch before district council

 Sports night

 

Sunset

1/16/24 Bandaid guy

Once again, coming to you from Finland is another email by Elder Hsu. Well, I have heard a fair share of intros over the last few week and that's all I could come up with. Anyways, things are looking good for the rest of this transfer. Decent weather (20's F) and things to come. 

Last P-day, we went to a Laavu. It is pretty much an open camp fire that has wood ready to use and its pretty fun. As the sun set, it became dark at 4 PM. The fire provided the warmth and light as we survived. The best part was that we held District Council there. Sharing spiritual thoughts and how to be better missionaries around a campfire is another level. Elder Chandler gave the spiritual thought and focused on Christlike attributes. This reminded me of the end of the last article of faith, which says "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." We only went over a few but all of them are really good. At the end of the day, all good things come of Christ and as we seek for those good things, we will become the person He wants us to be.

Good district council and looking forward to the next one. Also, the first instance of the Band-Aids came in. We were using a knife to prepare the makkara (sausages) and one elder cut himself pretty good. So, I pulled out my mini first aid kit -shout out boy scouts- and gave him a Band-Aid. Less than ten minutes later, my companion did the same exact thing. So, gave him a Band-Aid as well and life went on.

We also had interviews with Lähetysjohtaja Lehtinen -President lehtinen, our mission president- and then went really well. He just came to see how we were doing and how missionary work is going in the area. Following that, we rushed over to teach a friend some Finnish. In that lesson, I realize how far I have come since the beginning. Good lesson and good day. Instance two of the Band-Aid came in that evening during sports night. One person ran into the wall in the gym, which is restone brick, and cut it pretty bad. Once again, Band-Aids came in handy. Moral of the story, Band-Aids are good to have.

Anyways, here is the rest:

- Fell for the 2nd time. It wasn't even graceful. One moment I was up, the next I was not. Dress shoes are not the play in this weather.

- Re-baptized the greenies here at a kebab place that is Tik-Tok famous. It wasn't the best kebab but it was good. It was a good time and we talked about interviews.

- Attempted to scare some of the missionaries by hiding of the side of a path and kind of failed. The pitch blackness at 5 PM is on another level, even with snow on the ground.

- Had my first 'bashy' contact while in Finland. The guy we talked to was very strong in his faith and was trying to convince us we were going down the wrong path. 

All and all, things are looking good. Stay warm and remember to always look up. Life is more fun when you see everything around you.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Pictures:

 

Cityscape

 

Elders on the watchtower

 

Sunset

 

District on the watchtower

 

At the Laavu

1/9/24 The Fall of 24

I have now officially survived the coldest temperatures, kind of. The average temperature was around 0 Fahrenheit and that was brutal. Just walking outside for ten minutes is enough to chill my whole body.

Besides the cold, we had a cool preparation day (p-day) this last Tuesday. We went to an Asian buffet for lunch with the district. The food was pretty good and may visit again sometime. I also got my first taste of wasabi. Verdict, not worth trying again. After that, we went bowling for a bit and that was fun. Elder Chandler, one of the elders here in Turku, used to bowl and he was pretty good.

A few days later, we had district council. Talked about patience and endurance as well as how we can do better in this winter season. Patience is a critical in Finland because the language is one of the harder ones for native English speakers to learn. One key thing about patience is endurance but also doing what we can within our means to achieve our goals. "Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!" (Dieter F Uchtdof "Continue in Patience"). Patience is something we all can acquire as we continue working towards those goals we have set from day to day. Pikkuhiljaa.

Now after that, we had lunch. Over the last three weeks, I acquired the ingredients for dumplings. The moment of truth came. Well, they ended up being pretty good even though I messed up a little. Looking forward to next time to try again.

Not too much else but here is the rest;

- Went to a few dining appointments with members and I was able to share a story of how I felt peace from the Book of Mormon in Finnish. Despite the language difficulty, its slowly coming.

- Went to church in my dress shoes, which have some of the worst grip on ice. So, stepped on a little ledge wrong and THUD. Stuck the landing on my side and survived. Was a little stunned for a second but got back to it. Its only the 8th of January and the first Fall of 24 has come.

- Finally watched some of The Chosen.

- Had a heart stopping moment when my SD card decided to stop working for twenty minutes as I was transferring files to a flash drive.

All and all, things are looking good and looking forward to the warm weather ahead (AKA 32 degrees cause that is warm). As we continue to learn and grow, we can all experience the warmth and light of Christs gospel.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos;

 District dumpling lunch

 

The Cathedral in Turku

 Origami dragon

 

Front on the glass /w sunset in the background

 

Sunset

1/1/24 123123

The year has turned and now the next starts. In the wake of Christmas, New Years is like a hill in comparison to a mountain but still an important day.

Anyways, not much happened this week because people were in transition from Christmas to New Years. Just contacting and side quests took our time. 

One thing we did on New Years eve was share some of our favorite quotes with the other missionaries in Turku and it was pretty cool. The one I shared was from a general conference talk called In the Path of Their Duty. When we follow Christ, we are able to do good and help others even if we are not very recognized or popular. Its not about being number one, rather it's becoming like the one who shows us the way.

We also had a lesson with a recent convert and that was cool. He just read the whole book again and he is super committed. He is a little quiet but that lesson was cool to see the light in him.

Here's the rest:

- gave a spiritual though at a member appointment in Finnish and it went fairly well. 

- caught a cold and been a little under the weather but still doing well

- met a guy at our sports night and he was also studying technology infrastructure here in Turku and we had a good conversation. 

Well, -10 Fahrenheit is a little chilly but all and all, looking forward to this year.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Ps - the last day of last year is a pretty bad password, hence the title :)

Photos:

  

The New Years day morning

 

Sunset at 3:30

 

District bonding

 

New Years day evening (nobody was out)

 

District black licorice photo