12/31/24 The Hottest Sause...

And just like that, the year has reached its close but not without a few festivities.

Spent Christmas eve and day with members and played a decent amount of Uno and Ninja. 

We also were able to squeeze in a DC between Christmas and the conference. The best part, we were at a möki that a member (the DL's aunt) has.  

In that DC, we were given a small challenge that I'll extend to you all.

1. What is the biggest lesson you learned this year?

2. Create a goal(s) for next year

3. Three things you want to accomplish next year

4. Write 50 things you're grateful for.

As Mosiah 26:39 puts it, "...give thanks in all things." The 50 things you're grateful for really pushes you to think on the good in life. Much of the world generates a pessimistic attitude towards life but there is so much to be grateful for. So, I challenge you all to do these 4 things.

Here's the rest:

- Lots of good Christmas food. Finland knows what their doing.

- Quite a few lessons and discovered that one of our friends doesn't like the Book of Mormon because of the translation to Finnish.

- First Sunday school (second hour of church) in all Swedish and I could follow along! At least, with a lot of concentration.

- Christmas/New Years Conference! So, took a solid 2.5 hr train ride down to Tampere. The spiritual part was only an hour so they focused on reflecting on the year and the goals and places we want to be in the next one.

- Two elders played O Come O Come Emmanuel with the same arrangement that The Piano Guys performed. Pretty stellar cello and piano playing.

- Learned a fun lesson during lunch. A ZL left hot sauce out and I tried using it. Unbeknownst to me, it was one of the hottest sauces you can find in Finland. Mistake one, put in on the salad. Mistake two, ate the salad first. Everything was fine after half an hour but it had its effects.

- Was part of 3 performances. A card trick, a kahoot about lore, and a nativity skit using modern slang. All went fairly well.

- Played a lot of Port Royal on the train ride back.

All n all, quite a week and tomorrow is a new year. Keep those goals in mind and hope you all have a great start to 2025!

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

  

PoV train ride to Christmas conference

 Out the window of the train

 Game of solitaire I almost won

 

Sunset photo taken standing on a frozen lake

 

The District

12/24/24 Riemuitkaa Nyt❄️🎄🌟

Well, this week has been crazy for two reasons.

One, I got the flu. So, I've been 'out of action' for the last week. 

Two, lots and lots of service.

The combination of the two meant the delay of my recovery and I'm like only 70% good now but I trust it will get better over the next couple of days.

But because of that, I had a decent amount of time to think and ponder the meaning of Christmas. Now, the Light the World thing today is to share a song or picture that describes Jesus Christ the best this Christmas. 

Now, one song I've found on my mission is called Tulkoon Joulu. Let's see if I can translate a few lines because it's pretty powerful.

"Joulu on taas, riemuitkaa nyt."

Its Christmas again, time to rejoice

"Lapsi on meille tänä yönä syntynyt."

A child has born to us this night

"Tulkoon toivo kansoille maan, pääsköön vangit vankiloistaan."

Comes with hope to the nations on earth, Frees the prisoners from their prisons

"Uskon siemen nouskoon pintaan, olkoon rauha loppumaton."

The seed of faith rises in our breasts, and peace everlasting

With all the Christmas pop music and the festive tree and what not, let us not forget the real reason. Because Christ was born, we have hope, we have faith, we have a chance to return to our Father above. Christmas is truly a time to be grateful for and let us rejoice.

Ok, here's the rest:

- Sickness update: I don't have covid and I'm feeling better. Just a head cold now

- Went caroling twice and let's just say singing in Swedish is not super easy

- First district council. We have a goofy district in which nearly everybody has a tie to Washington! One lives in Snohomish. Another used to live in Everett. Third in Puyallup. Fourth was born in Silverdale and moved out. It's kinda wild but cool at the same time.

- Some snow shoveling for an older couple and also moved a really large cabinet. Still feel that one a bit.

Anyhow, Merry Christmas and I'll catch you guys next time in time for the new year!

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

 

Snow cave someone made

 

Snowflake

 

The dedication site for missionary work in Finland.

 

Me in the snow before I got sick

 

Beat The Mind again (Sorry Brenten)

 

Car that got a little snow (not our car)

12/17/24 Ajamassa...

Well, this past week was quite full but it was also pretty fun.

To start, Swedish is still taking some time to come along. Missionaries who serve in Peitarsaari get an extra hour of language study just for Swedish, which helps.

We also manly helped set up and be a part of the branch Christmas party.

Anyhow, admist this weeks hustle and bustle, I stumbled upon a BYU devotional from Dallas Jenkins, the creator of The Chosen. In it, he gave his story about how he went from a lot of failures to The Chosen and the road it took for him to get there.

In it, he specifically mentions that when he had his hardest failure, when there was nothing too look forward to, he was ministered to through others. Jesus Christ always has a way of looking out for everyone who diligently seeks have him in their lives. This weeks challenge: remember a time you have been ministered to and write it down.

Anyhow, here's the rest:

- Reached -16 C and felt like -25 C (which is below 0 F). Starting to get a little cold.

- Ward Christmas party was cool. Super inclusive and some good riisipuroa, which is rice porridge with some cinnamon and sugar.

- Went door knocking and got let in! Super nice lady who had spoken with missionaries maybe a decade or two ago. Had a good conversation in Finnish and hoping to return this week.

- Drove a lot cause our area is pretty spread out

K, that should be most of it. Hope you all are gearing up for a good Christmas season!

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

 

5 PM driving

 

The infamous Fazer wall of Pietarsaari

 2 PM

 

Us in part of the nativity

 

The town square

 

Brightest Christmas tree I've ever seen

12/10/24 Nyt Mä Puhun Svenska

The anticipated day of transfer calls came and the news is kinds crazy. Read the bullet points to find out.

This week has also been filled with random tasks that have made the week busy. See bullet points for more.

Anyhow, on Sunday, we had a cool little miracle. We went door knocking and we were let in by an older lady. She was willing to talk about the Book of Mormon and faith. It was a good lesson and only the 3rd time I've been invited in in Finland.

Since my MTC sisters (the sisters I started my mission with) are going home soon, I listened to a talk one of them recommended. Its called Lessons on Endurance by J. TY Hopkins. I'll just paraphrase a part of it.

One of the focuses was on seeing the beauty on the journey to the end. Endurance doesn't need to be tucking out head down and going until we can't. There is always beauty in the small moments even when life is hard. This week's challenge, see the beauty in something and make a note of it in your journal or something.

Alright, the much anticipated bullet points:

- I'm going to Pietarsaari! This means I will be studying Swedish for the next 4 months. I'm also comps with Elder Allred, who was part of the trio about a month ago.

- Itsenäisyys Päivää! Finland's Independence day was cool. Went to a Lutheran church service and then sent out many WhatsApp messages to people. Then, we spend most of the day at a members place with other missionaries.

The tasks:

- 1. Our car's drivers rear tire has been leaking air constantly for the last months and we finally got an appointment to get it fixed. The catch, it was at 7:30 in Järvenpää, a city half an hour away. So, woke up at and left by 6:50. Quite an early start. We lost our whole morning but the car is fixed now.

- 2. We had to go to Helsinki for a doctors appointment for my companion. It was just for his knee and it went well. Just to be sure, they asked us to come back for an MRI just to make sure it wasn't anything else besides an IT band problem. So, got a Helsinki mini day and was able to talk with some the English ward people and also the ZL's made us lunch. Good day for sure. Just lost half of our morning that time.

Well, quite a week and much to come. Hope Christmas preparations are going well for you all and remember what Christmas is all about.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:

 

Same pond from 2-3 weeks ago

 

My companion is Waldo

 

Cool dragon a member 3d printed

 

Sunrise on the drive back for the car repair

 

10 AM walk out of the apartment photo

 

6 PM in Hyvinkää

 

Spaceship Lutheran church

12/3/24 Death From Dust

Well, crazy week and I had a fun encounter with allergies.

For those of you who don't know, I'm allergic to dust and for a service project, we helped someone move and the amount of dust in that apartment actually 'took a spirit out of me' one could say. I'm good now but like, I was kinda dead yesterday and the day before.

Anyhow, I also got to go the temple! It's been about about 5 months since last time and it was good. Things just always get put into perspective while I'm there and indescribable peace always comes.

Thought from this week comes from Elder Jose L. Alonso. In his last talk, he said:

"When confronted with challenges, it’s easy to become engrossed in our difficulties. However, Jesus Christ exemplified the power of focusing on His Father, offering gratitude, and acknowledging that solutions to our trials do not always lie within ourselves but with God."

Not every solution comes from our own willpower. But, all answers lie with God and as we put our faith in him, we can realize that we don't always need the perfect fix but something important will come of whatever situation you are in. Challenge for the week, once this week, say a prayer of gratitude and just thank God for all the good happening around you.

Alright, here's the rest:

- Ate a ton of Chinese food yesterday. Once with a member at a restaurant and made dumplings for the district.

- Sisar Bentley (fellow MTC person) had a commemorative moment in her last district council.

- Had a DA with a super cool family last pday. One thing they said stuck out a bit. "You sometimes don't realize the good right in front of you"

- Lots of regular work

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. Also Light the World started! Hope you guys can all feel His light this season.

The work awaits,

Vanhin Hsu

Photos:. 

It's literally 3:45 PM

 

One eyed cat

 Temple

I took no photos. I'll take more next time