3/26/24 A Week of Wisdom Gathering

And another week has come and gone. 

To begin, we had splits with the AP's, which was pretty cool. Elder Johnson and Elder Rinne are just really good guys and have lots of wisdom. Visited a member and heard his conversion story. It's amazing how those who seek Jesus Christ are always able to find Him, even when life gets hard.

The next day, we had the opportunity with the YA and youth to ask Elder Allan T. Phillips questions. That experience brought so many insights into my life. One of such was a question about having a testimony and how to keep one. This is the best I can paraphrase what he said. 

The old model of a testimony in the church was to have a testimony of everything like constructing a Jenga tower. Each piece of a testimony is equal and helps support itself. This is considered the binary model. When people encounter things that poke out a piece of a testimony, it becomes a lot less stable and if you lose two of three pieces, it can completely collapse.

This view is wrong. The reality of a testimony is that it is based on Jesus Christ. The real base of that Jenga tower is more like a massive block. The other pieces will come together but the foundation is in Christ. As long as we focus on Christ and focus on the primary questions, everything else will pale in significance.

Anyways, it was cool to hear that and it just clear and powerful. Here's the rest:

- We went to Laavu last p-day and roasted some good makara. Also got to play Sähly for the first time in a long while.

- AP's came and we talked to a lot of people. Ten people were willing to meet up later. 

- We had interviews with President Lehtinen and they went really well. Looking forward to what happens these next two weeks.

- Stake conference was in Turku this time and it was cool seeing all of the missionaries in western Finland come. The talks were also really good and powerful. On top of that, I actually understood what they were saying! Finnish is a hard language but not impossible.

- My old companion, Elder Watson, had his birthday yesterday and he's officially twenty-one.

This is a bit longer but a lot happened and more to come next week. Hope you all have a great Easter and have a great start to spring.

If you have any questions about anything, feel free to sent me an email.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

 

P-day last week and Snorlax

 

Good photo

 

Good photo 2

 

Good photo 3

3/19/24 And You Get a Referral

Down here in Turku -or up depending on what you consider down- we have had quite a few referrals and quite a few good days of sunshine and just above freezing weather.  

We went to Tampere this week and it was cool being able to learn more and be with the ZL's. We all were super tired and it reflected throughout the day. Took a solid nap on the train ride back and the rest of the day just flowed. This reminded me of an unrelated scripture that I read recently. "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." (2 Nephi 2:25). Everything is part of God's plan, even the bad parts of life and in the end, we can find joy amidst the bad parts. Never give up because God never gives up on us.

The rest of the week has been with some members as well as with referrals. On such experience was going to an asylum for a lesson. So, there was a less sketchy way to get there but we just didn't take that route. We were driven by a member who was willing to help us. The road we were dropped off on was iced over and a tree had fallen, hence we were dropped off on the road. We went over that tree and as we kept walking, we saw an abandoned building. With it being overcast and windy, the environment was a little spooky. All of the windows and doors were gone and the metal blinds were rapping against the window frames. To get to the asylum, we walked through a hole in the fence to get back to the walking path. Well, safe to say we survived and the lesson went well.

Here's the rest:

- Settled a few disagreements with my companion and now were thriving. Things are flowing a lot better and I'm looking forward to what's to come.

- The first Takatalvi (return winter in Finnish) came and a blizzard is what we woke up to on Sunday

- Ate WAY too much food yesterday but it was really good food so I'm not complaining.

- We had four friends at church this week despite the blizzard! Two of them are from the island that is just by Finland and it was really cool to see them at church.

- Gave out a Thai Book of Mormon to one of the referrals at church! He's pretty cool and hope to meet with him soon.

Anyways, the next surprise is probably just around the corner and its been a wild week with another wild one to come. Hope you all are doing good. Heard of some good weather back in Washington too. Spring is full of surprises and its fun to see what comes.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu 

Photos:

District lunch

 

On the Bus

  

Comp on the treadmill

 

Fancy building

 

Sunset

 

The track stadium in Turku

3/12/24 The Tides of Spring

Another week came and went and honestly, I'm not quite sure how. 

Let's begin:

We went with the sisters to teach an inactive members daughter about baptism and that was a pretty cool experience. The member also testified of Baptism and everything so things are going well. 

Then, we had culture night! I was pretty much in chef mode for most of the day making dumplings for the event and for the district council lunch. The district council was good and my old companion, Elder Watson, gave us some good wisdom because he returns to the States soon. And culture night was good. Lots of good food and had a good time with the people. It was fun to see members and friends come. 

A few days after, church came around and it was good. I'm starting to follow along during the talks and it's cool to see my Finnish progress, but there is still much to do. Also had a thought come throughout the week as there have been ups and downs. It's from Alma 30:8, and says "For thus saith the scripture: Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve." I came on a mission to serve Jesus Christ and the people of Finland but it is an active choice each day. Some days can be hard and others can feel impossible, but if we choose to serve others, we will be supported in our afflictions. 

Here's the rest:

- Had splits with the Elders in Turku and that was fun. Taught a lesson and also watched Zootopia in Finnish. Watching stuff is honestly a good way of studying a language and would highly recommend.

- Met with an inactive member who is close to being active and its cool to see the progress.

- Lots of good sunrises and sunsets these days. Also lots of good weather in general.

- Started doing some more social media work and its starting to work. Also, got four referrals in the last three days and it has been fun contacting them.

Hope you all are doing good and hope the spring brings new hope and joy into your lives.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

P.S. I have yet to experience daylight savings and its on Easter here so... yeah.

Photos:

 

Splits. The other elders got us on camera

 

Sunset

 

Inside the Turku Cathedral

 

Culture Night ultimate cup stack

 

Walking on a Bridge

 

Pheasant 

3/5/24 It's Basically Summer

...according to my Finnish companion. I'll admit that the weather is nice now, but I still looking forward to what it will be in a few months.

This last week has probably been one of the quickest weeks yet for a number of reasons. First, we focused on working with inactive members and that has been pretty cool. Just talking with them and finding ways to share Christ's light brings joy into everyone's lives. It's like this scripture says, "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" (D&C 18:15). This work brings so much joy, even though days are long and tiring. 

Besides that, the other big thing was a service project we helped with. Here's the description (which I received in Finnish): We were to place a tarp and move rocks by the beach of a lake. That description did not do it justice. Well, the whole lake was frozen. So, we loaded a boat -the cheap kind- with rocks and then we dragged it across the frozen lake. Not much else to say but it was epic.

Here's the rest:

- We had splits with the ZL's and it was really good. Learned about some ways to improve our missionary work.

- Gave a presentation twice in Finnish about the restoration of the church. That was hard but also gave me some confidence because I was speaking Finnish that I could not speak 3 months ago.

Anyhow, hope the weather ahs been good and hope you all have a blessed week.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

 

Service on the lake

 

Sunset a few days ago

 

The waiting before presentation while on splits

 

A foggy day

 

Service get-up