7/30/24 Office Quests

Well, another week flew and I'm not quite sure where the time went. 

Some contacting, some Finnish studying, and some baptism planning. We've got a baptism coming up this Saturday and it's going to be good. We began teaching the kids of a recent convert family. It truly has been a privilege teaching them and watching their knowledge of the gospel grow.

In the meantime, I listened to a talk about grace called His Grace is Sufficient by Brad Wilcox. In it, he said that 'Christ is not waiting at the finish line once we have done “all we can do”. He is with us every step of the way.' This is true through any point in your life. Christ wants to support you and always is, even when we don't realize it. So, this week, I invite you all to look for the small ways He helps you.

The rest is more bullet point worthy so here it is:

- Office Quest 1: We were in the office as R&R (Return and Report) was finishing. As we walked back, we talked with two of the elders. Looking at the trains, everything was cancelled except the one train that would just barely get them to Pasila on time. (Context, Pasila is a massive train station where most trains leave from to other parts of Finland).

We made it to the office and I did some digging to see why the train was down. Apparently, some outages close to the Haaga chapel shut down most trains. So, we worked out the solution of driving everyone there. Luckily, everyone made it to their trains.

- Office Quest 2: On that same day, we planned on buying stampers for some mission apartments. On that same day, the card we were using was just renewed and decided to be a bugger. After 2 hours of troubleshooting, we finally got the order in.

- AP splits: taught 2 starkly different lessons. One was with a guy who was interested in learning more and wanted to come closer to God. The other lesson proceeded to be an inverse of sorts. Interested in talking about gospel as long as it aligned to his views. Either way, lots of teaching and interesting interactions.

- We were the only ones at football and it was a long two hours but they were good.

- Elder O'Bryans birthday was on Saturday. Celebrated with a game of Wingspan and some ice cream.

- Made some karelian piirakka with a member and they turned out good. Still not too sure how to make them.

- Visited Porvoo. Pretty scenic.

- Visited Nuuksio too and picked blueberries.

Ok, that should be everything. Hope you all are doing good and enjoying summer.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

 

Picnic at Porvoo

 

Office Quest 1

 

Nuuksio "hangout" area

In the Porvoo chapel

 

Coolest (card) gaming setup in a random Shop in Porvoo

 

Elder Helske + sword

7/23/24 Farewell Elder Weaver

This week was quite packed with interesting experiences.

We taught two kids the last few points on the Gospel and now its just preparing them for baptism! It was an amazing lesson mostly because we had a rough plan on how to teach the kids about the weightier parts of the Gospel but they just understood. Definitely some gift of communication coming into play.

Went to a baptism on Saturday for one of the sisters friends. Really good turnout with a few friends in Espoo coming.

I guess one of the last points in the week was DC and it was the Engle's first time. They just got to Finland and are still adjusting but they're pretty cool.

These last few days I've been studying about humility and its importance. Throughout the scriptures, it shows a willingness to change. Another thing I've noticed is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about change. If we humble ourselves, we can change for the better and let His light shine through us.

Anyhow, here's the rest:

- Elder Weaver left and now, as a certain song goes, "our trio's down to two".

- Had splits and it went pretty well. We taught Finnish as well and it was good. 

- Met with a Russian member and Elder O'Bryan got to listen to them for two hours as they spoke Russian as they talked about their family.

- Went street contacting and the heavens opened with the most rain I have ever seen in a while. Later, went door knocking and ran into a similar experience.  

Not too much else but its starting to heat up here. Hope you all are staying cool this summer.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

 

Red

 

Sunset

 Avg metro station

 

Water on the rainy day

 

Spot the bird

7/16/24 Flashback

I guess I'll just jump into it this time. 

We began our week by teaching two kids about the two Great Commandments and a few other things. They're doing good and are on track to get baptized. Definitely an exciting to be in Espoo.

On top of that, we went to a lot of members places because Elder Weaver is heading home tomorrow. We ate quite a bit and I'll spare the details for later but I'll just say it was interesting.

This week also reminded me of a scripture I have used before in my emails but it is a good one. I made a Facebook reel and used that scripture in it. 

It's 2 Nephi 2:28, "For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of 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 counsel, for they shall learn wisdom". 

This week reminded me of this cause when I look back, there is many small, spiritual moments that all fortify my testimony. Even if it was as simple as shade on a sunny day or listening to a good talk, it all adds up. Moral of the story, keep being diligent in finding those lines that help us grow.

Ok, here's the rest:

- Ate some Ghanan food, which included shark, cow stomach, lamb liver, sardines, crab, and some regular beef.

- We went to our mission presidents home for a DA and it was epic. Sisar Lehtinen makes some really good nachos.

- Went to another members place and ate some good salmon soup. They also invited their cousin, who wasn't a member and it was fun getting to know them. 

- Had splits with Lohja and gave the AP's a DA on the same day. That was pretty chaotic but pretty nice.

Hope everyone is doing good in the hot weather. Look for the small lines in your life!

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

 

Sunset

 

Snail found while tracting

 

The reflection

 

Avg pond

 

The last metro stop on the line

7/9/24 Asian Buffet x2

Another week went flying as we were everywhere.

Began with MyPlan. All of the missionaries who will go home in the next two months came to Helsinki and it became an interesting logistical problem with thirteen missionaries. It all went smoothly and we got to join them at a buffet. Not two hours before that, we went to a separate buffet with a member and it's safe to say we were all pretty stuffed.

The following day, we had interviews with President Lehtinen, our mission president, and they went well. We'll be heading to his home this week for a dinner. Looking forward to that.

Come Monday, we were in DC. Everybody's areas were starting to pick up. Its an exciting time to be in Espoo, that's for sure. Elder Weaver also shared a though that I expound on a bit. 

He was sharing about goals and how he wished he had set more of them throughout his mission. This brought to mind the Kirtland Temple dedicatory prayer and the phrase "prepare every needful thing" (D&C109:8). This prayer was given for the Temple but it still has application to our own lives. For, after all, "[Our] body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in [us]" (1 Corinthians 6:19). As we plan and set goals to accomplish, we can also 'prepare every needful thing' for us to grow spiritually. Whether that is five minutes of reading the Book of Mormon or praying when you wake up and go to sleep, we can prepare ourselves incrementally to house the Spirit of the Lord. My invitation to you all is to prepare/plan one way to come closer to the Lord this week.

Anyhow, here's the rest:

- May or may not have been half an hour late to a DA cause we were in the wrong place.

- Drove the van for MyPlan. 15 passenger vans are interesting to drive.

- Had 15 missionaries come to football (soccer). Pretty action packed.

- Cooked many dumplings in Finland. Yes, it is possible to make and cook here. Hurrah for globalization.

Hope you all ahve a good week and stay cool in the warm weather.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

 

Bus stop

 

The escalator again

 

MyPlan fatigue

 Pic 1 in Helsinki from last Pday

 

Pic 2 ^

 

Elder Weaver teaching Finnish

7/2/24 Summer Zone Conference

Well, I'm not sure about you guys but it got to 85 degrees in 90% humidity. And in the midst of all that, we had ZC.

Zone Conference and zone p-day were mixed together. Good thoughts from everyone and the main takeaway was remembering our purpose as missionaries. With that in mind, went and began our p-day just after lunch. Played some football and ultimate frisbee. Its been a while but still managed to do well at frisbee.

Also, went on splits with the ZL's. Lets just say being in a trio for splits makes things quite interesting. Trying to talk to people in a trio is a little weird but we managed. 

Then, church was really good. In Elders Quorum, we discussed ways to talk about the church with others. One common theme was simplicity in what we discussed. There is lots of truth we share but the most important thing is that Jesus Christ is central to everything. Whether its through introducing the Book of Mormon, talking about the Plan of Salvation, or discussing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it all goes back to Him. So, the challenge for you all this week is to look for the little, simple, good things in your lives.

Anyhow, here's the rest:

- Went to a baptism and made a few origami cranes there.

- Entered the main ZC room at exactly the wrong time and everyone just stared at me. Then proceeded to say the wrong thing in Finnish as well. Definitely a good start to the conference.

- Also went to members places on Sunday and Monday. Had some good laughs at both and also good spiritual thoughts from my companion.

Honestly, this week will also be packed with MyPlan travel stuff. So, lots to look forward to. Hope you all have a great 4th of July!

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos (including last weeks):

 

Juhannus with the district

 

11 PM

 

One of my comps on his way back to America

 

Deer while tracting

 

At a members

 

Airport picture

Small meditation session on zone p-day