May 16, 2016

The Tori (market) in Vaasa

Transfer calls!!! I am staying in lovely Vaasa! I really do love the people here, the members and all of the people that I've had the privilege to meet so far. My preparation day is on Monday this week because tomorrow is Transfer Day! The time has gone by way too fast. I can't believe I have to say goodbye to Sisar Kwok tomorrow. She has been so amazing and I'm so grateful for her amazing example. My new companion is coming up from Espoo and I'm picking her up from the train station right after saying bye to Sisar Kwok. Sisar Kwok has served with my next companion (can't write her name until I have permission because of Finnish privacy laws) and I have heard nothing but good things about her so I am very excited to meet her. 

We had a baptism last week!!!!! Our nine year old investigator was baptized on Saturday and it was such an amazing experience. A lot of his family and friends were there and the service was in Swedish. Luckily it was translated into Finnish so I could kind of understand what was going on. I would say that I am finally at the point in my mission where I understand more Finnish than Swedish! A lot of Swedish words are similar to English so that's saying something. Finnish! There was also an Icelandic hymn that was sung and which was really pretty. The refreshments after the baptism were all Icelandic dishes as well.

Sisar Kwok and I are teaching a new investigator that we met about 2 weeks ago who's from Nigeria. He has the coolest name but I can't write it! But he was telling us that where he is from it's normal to name your child after the day of the week that they are born on. Our other investigator from Nigeria told us that her husband and her brother are named after two different days of the week as well. I love serving in Vaasa, it's the most diverse place I've ever been in and it's been such an amazing experience to meet all of the amazing people here and to learn about all different kinds of people and cultures. Just this morning I was telling Sisar Kwok that I wanted to sound more Finnish and so she told me that I should talk in a very monotone voice with almost no emphasis. The two questions people always ask when we talk to them are ''Where are you from?'' and ''How long have you been here?'' It's still weird for me to think that I have an accent.

Once again we traveled up to Oulu for Zone Conference. On pitkä matkaa joka kerta! It's a long trip every time! In the morning during our workout time Sisar Kwok and I went running in Oulu and it was gorgeous! We ran through the forest there and it just made me super grateful to be serving in such a beautiful place. During conference we talked a lot about the importance of repentance and how to teach repentance. Every time I read the scriptures I am reminded of just how much our Heavenly Father loves each of us. I know that He knows us and loves us perfectly. I know that it is through repentance that we show our love for Him. I am so grateful that our Savior provided a way for us to return to our Heavenly Father and I know that through His plan for us we can receive lasting happiness. Minä rakastan tämä evankeliumi ja minä teidän etta tämä kirkko on totta. I love this gospel and I know this church is true. Jeesuksen Kristuksen nimessa aamen. 

Our local grocery store Lidls, there are a lot of ''American style'' brands here.

It's all like fried food and BBQ