2/27/24 Finnish's False Spring

Another week came and went. Lots of walking in slush and slipping on ice. Also lots of traveling, setting up lessons, and other groundwork things to do in the area.

First, we had zone conference. All of the missionaries got together and we talked about how to improve the way we do missionary work. It was also fun seeing other missionaries that I haven't seen before. We also had a role play in Finnish and that was one of the first times I was able to use understandable Finnish when talking. We also talked about our mission wide goal and it is cool to see a new theme and a new drive to help others learn about and follow Jesus Christ.

Following that, I learned a few things on Sunday about responsibility. One talk I listened to is called "Be 100 Percent Responsible" by Lynn G. Robbins. In one part, he said that, "Agency and responsibility are inseparably connected. You cannot avoid responsibility without also diminishing agency. " As I pondered this statement, it is amazing to see how true it is. If you avoid taking responsibility and blame others or make excuses, you chose to not grow. I implore you all to think about some things that you may have procrastinated or avoided because they were hard or not necessarily fun. Those things are what lead to the most growth and the best kinds of change. And if it seems hard, you can always pray and ask for help from God. "[You] can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13.

While learning a few lessons that Sunday, we also invited a friend to church and he came. He's pretty interested and who knows, things might look up. Had a really good lesson with him and it looks pretty good. 

Here's the rest:

- Started doing a lot more social media work and it has gone quite good so far. Nothing big yet.

- Had a DA with a family who lives in Naantali. They made some really good curry chicken. We talked about service how we can serve others. Also, they have two wiener dogs that are pretty full of energy and one even slept on my feet for a bit.

- Started doing 7:00 AM workouts with the other missionaries in the city. My companion is big on working out and it has been an experience. 

- We finally have a more normal amount of light during the day. We also had some misty rain. The weather brought Washington here for a moment and it was nice. 

Another week and even more to do in the next. Hopefully with spring around the corner, new light and new opportunities to do good come. Hope you all are doing well.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

 

Elevator pic

 

Avg road in Finland

 Zone p-day

 

Train station

2/23/24 Let There be Light

Sorry for the late email. Had some technical difficulties. Anyhow, the sun came out and stayed out all day for the first time in a few months. It was glorious. 

Anyhow, stayed in trio life until Friday. When Vanhin Airto came in, I was able to go to the Helsinki airport with President and sister Lehtinen. Apparently, that doesn't happen often so it was cool seeing the airport again after being here for 6 months. Also, that airport is super nice. We went through orientation stuff for a new missionary and then left for Turku. 

The first few days were adjustment days and we have started the social media grind. Finding people who are interested in the gospel is a little tricky but it is showing results. 

One thing I have learned to value more is rest. It is harder to do anything when you are tired and it affects nearly all parts of missionary work. So, I am trying to apply this scripture more into my life. "Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise." (Alma 37:6). This scripture seems to keep coming up as I study and its true. By focusing on the small thing (i.e. going to bed on time) will help greater things come to pass. Everything counts when you keep the big picture in mind.

Anyhow, here's the rest:

- Returning to Turku was fun because we boarded the right train... but it was the wrong type of train. Confusing. We still made it home before midnight, which was nice.

- Been to 4 DAs in the last 3 days, which is wild but it has been fun getting to know the members better.

- The apartment has gone through stages of 'rebirth' to say. Lets lay the picture of what is was before. The middle wall of the apartment lost power due to a missionary plugging in 3 hair dryers. While trying to fix that, the bathroom then proceeded to lose power too. Fast forward a few days, we return to double check some things. By some miracle, the electricity returned and everything worked... except the washing machine. Continued to troubleshoot the issue and just before leaving today, the washing machine started working! So, whenever you are out of power, sometimes patience is all you need.

Currently on my way to zone p-day. Hope you all have a great Tuesday/Wednesday/whatever day it is and continue growing little by little.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu 

Photos:

 

Trio life

  

Dino in the apartment

 

Sunset

 

Good restaurant 

 

Mug shot

2/13/24 Here and There

What a week and I'm not sure how to describe it.

I stayed in Espoo until the new missionaries came in and it was fun. Vanhin Larsen -my MTC companion- and Vanhin Goodrich made the stay good. Talking about training, different missionary experiences, and just being able to hang out with missionaries that have been in Finland for a short time was good.

Then came the moment-of-truth day. Saturday morning, we went to the mission home to see the greenies -new missionaries- and they were excited. Low and behold, I'm training a Finn! I'll be with Vanhin Airto for the emails to come. But for the time being, I'm in a trio. Vanhin Airto comes on Friday so I'm waiting until then. 

Meanwhile, we had district council on Monday and it went well. Another new missionary is in our district and its nice being able to talk about training with another missionary. One thought during the council came from a talk from President Nelson. He said, "it’s time to stop comparing ourselves with others. It’s time to put away those erroneous views of ourselves and others" (Hope of Israel 2018). Comparison is always something that comes into life but it doesn't accomplish anything. As we focus on building others up and loving them as Christ would, everything starts becoming brighter in life. Moral of the story, don't compare and love more.

Anyhow, here's the rest, and there is a lot of rest this time:

- Saw the whole MTC district again and almost got a photo of everyone.

- In Espoo, we helped a member move some heavy beds into a moving truck. We then ate some pizza Hut pizza and it was respectfully bussin

- The next day, we ate lunch with a member in Espoo and that was good. He shared a lot of wisdom about life and how to be a missionary

- Organized a youth activity with the trio and Sisar Bentley and Sisar Ethington. For an very disorganized scavenger hunt, it went well.  

- Rode a VR train solo back to Turku.

- took a trip to the ER because one of the sisters was not feeling good.

Hope you all are doing well and continuing to survive this winter season. 

The work awaits, 

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

 

Escalator from the metro

 

Floor 24 of a building

 

2nd DA in Espoo

 

Mission home with everyone

 

The chocolate drawer in Espoo

 

Escalator part 2

2/6/24 When Friction Equals Zero

To start, I want to go over some numbers and words that I may use a lot.

Transfer - a two month period with a companion where we do missionary work in a given area

DA - dining appointment

Train/Training - when a missionary is trained, that means they just started being a missionary.

AP - assistant to the president

District - a group of 6-10 missionaries that are in nearby areas

As of currently I have...

- served 3 transfers so far, 2 in Pori, 1 in Turku

- served with 3 companions, one that has returned home and another who returns home in 1 transfer

- fallen 8 times on the ice (5 this week)

We went to a laavu again and it was nice. We grilled makkara and just had a good time in nature.

We also received transfer calls. On Saturday morning, the AP's called us and told us where we were going. I'm staying in Turku and I'm training! It's going to be hard but I'm looking forward to it. 

Well, the rest of the week has been packing and planning. Not a lot of lessons but we visited a few members places and shared spiritual thoughts about gratitude. "... in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth ... live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you." (Alma 34:38). When we remember the good in life and find ways to be grateful, we will see numerous blessings that are all around us. 

So, here's the rest;

- Fall 1: completely my fault. Started running on ice to do an epic slide. immediately lost balance and was on the ground.

- Fall 2: I was carrying some wood and started going to the stairs to the laavu. The whole base of the stairs was icy. Lost balance, went down on one knee, lost all the wood, and sat on the ground.

- Fall 3: proceeded to get up after dropping the wood and tried again. Right after I stood up and tried to take a step, I found no traction. Went down to all four's and gave up halfway through. Made it to the stairs by some miracle after that.

- Fall 4: Walking back from the laavu and there is uneven ice everywhere. On one section, I just fell and slid.

- Fall 5: I got off the bus as we were going home and I had a carton of eggs in my hand. Just as we walked off the bus stop, I found myself on the ground. One second I was standing, the next, I was sitting. The whole carton of eggs was beside me. Not just one or two eggs broke but all ten eggs broke. We managed to get home but lets just say that wasn't my day.

- On a happier note, the laavu was fun and we had a good district P-day. 

- Visited something we all called the "fleshy pig". View photo below to understand.

Hopefully you all have fallen less than I have this week and hope you all are doing good as the winter continues.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

 

Mirror photo

 Makkara, but carved like a corn cob

 

Fall 1

 Fall 2

 

On the bus after a DA

 

"Fleshy pig"