August 16, 2016

This last week Sisar Andersson and I had a bit of an adventure. We were heading to our weekly district meeting and we got on the wrong bus.... we were on the bus for an hour. We saw a lot of Helsinki that day! Luckily we had tried to be at our meeting early so we were only a few minutes late but it was still an interesting experience. It's always a great thing to hear your companion say,'' I have no idea where we are or where we are going, but I'm sure we will get there somehow.'' But it's so true that everything works out and now we know for sure what bus not to get on!

It has been one of my favorite things so far on my mission to hear my investigators pray. Last week we were teaching one of our Vietnamese investigators and she prayed with us for the first time. She prayed in Vietnamese so I didn't understand what she was saying but the spirit was so strong and she told us afterwards that she thanked God that she had friends that were teaching her about Jesus Christ. It was another reminder of why I love being out here.

Also, apparently summer is over. It was so short! It rains all the time now and the sun is actually going down at night so it's getting cold again. Last Sunday a return missionary that had served in Marjaniemi came back for a visit with her family. It was so cool to see her and see how much she loved her mission and all of the people here. She bore her testimony about how much her mission had changed her life for the better and how much she loves the people of Finland. Her mom pulled me aside and gave me a big hug ''from my mom'' and told me that she was sending a picture home to her. Mission Moms are the best and I was so glad that she asked because I had been taught by my mother to take every opportunity that I can to talk to her!

It was a really good week and even though I have my language fails and we have interesting traveling experiences I know that I am here for a reason and that I will learn the language. I have been blessed with so many things on my mission so far and I know that I'll continue to learn and grow. I am excited to see what Heavenly Father has in store for me and I know that He loves me. I love sharing the gospel with all of the people that I can. 

August 9, 2016

Language fails of the week:

The Finnish word for ''liver'' is ''maksa'' and the word for ''cost'' is ''maksaa'' so when we were at a members house and there was this maksa paste I just thought it was a fancy or expensive paste and unfortunately I ate it. I now know the Finnish word for liver and that I do not like eating it. 

Also the other day I tried to complement my companion and she started laughing so I realized something was wrong. I was trying to say,''Minä pidän sinun hamesta.'' or ''I like your skirt'' but I actually said,'' Minä pidän sinun huumesta'' or ''I like your drugs.'' I'm just glad I said it to my companion and not to any members.

We said bye to our mini missionary yesterday. It was such a fun week with her and she really did help out so much. It was cool to see how strong her testimony and desire to serve were and it was cool having two Finnish companions. We were able to have some really nice lessons with our investigators this week and one of them said that they want to be baptized! He's a really cool man from Vietnam and he's here opening up a business in Finland. He's way busy so we don't know how often we will be able to meet with him but it was so cool to talk with him and see how strong his faith is.

August 2, 2016

This week I have been trying to get to know the area and the ward better. We had dinner with one of the families here the other day and they asked me if I had been berry picking in Finland yet. I didn't know what they were talking about so they asked me in English and then I said that no, not yet. They said that berry picking season was almost over and that I had to try it so after dinner we went into the forest which was of course a two minute walk from their home (Finland!) and then we picked wild blueberries. I felt ihan suomalainen ( legit Finnish) after that experience. Suomi! 

We were contacting one day and we ran into this woman and she had some negative things to say about the church and I asked her if she would have time to talk next week and she was like ''I have time to talk now!'' So we went to a park and we talked to her for about 2 hours and got to know each other a lot better. She's from Singapore and she told us all about her family and about what she believed and then we told her about us and about what we believe and we gave her a Book of Mormon and invited her to church the next day. Then she came! It was really a cool experience and it showed me that sometimes listening to what other people have to say is more important than trying to prove a point. It was really cool to hear about her life and then tell her about how the gospel of Jesus Christ could help her through all of the things that she's going through.  

Also, we have a mini missionary! There's a program here that allows the youth to spend a week with the missionaries and so we have our own mini missionary now! She's a 16 year old Finnish girl and she's awesome! So now I have two Finnish companions! My brain hurts because I haven't had to speak this much Finish ever in my life but it is way good practice. It's also a lot of me asking questions over and over but it's been way fun to have another companion with us. We went to Espoo yesterday and she'll be with us until the following Monday. We planned really hard for this week to try and give her the best experience we possibly can. She's so cool for already wanting to serve at 16. When I was 16 I never even thought about serving a mission and now I can't even imagine my life without it. It really has been the best experience of my life in so many different ways. I know this church is true and I love sharing this message of hope and joy to others. 

July 26, 2016

I'm in Helsinki! I thought Marjaniemi (maaar-yan-knee-eem- E) was a city but it's just a street name. So I'm in the eastern part of Helsinki and it's definitely a lot different here than in Vaasa but I'm already loving it. I got here last Tuesday and had to say bye to Sisar Hayter and I got my new companion Sisar Andersson! She's really cool and this past week together has already been a lot of fun. We use the metro (subway) a lot here and lots of buses. It's really confusing and I don't know how to get anywhere yet but luckily Sisar Andersson does. Also, I think that I was starting to feel alright about my Finnish and that I could understand people better.....and then I came to Helsinki and people talk really different here. I have an investigator that I really can't understand at all ... but it's also good motivation to keep learning the language! I don't have much time to write but I love it here and I know I'm in Helsinki for a reason! 

July 18, 2016

This is the ruins from one of the old churches here. 

I am officially a jazz fan!!The BYU Synthesis was amazing. They had four performances here in Vaasa and we were able to go to all of them. It was a great opportunity for missionary work and also a great time to listen to some amazing music! We had some time to talk to the band members after the performances and it was so nice to talk to Americans after so long! We are finally having some summer weather in Vaasa so tons of people were outside and there were tons of activities. Also, TONS of food. I have never felt so cultural before in my life. I also had another one of my awesome language fails. Sister Hayter and I were asked to pass out programs to people and advertise for the performances so we were going around handing out these programs to people. In Finnish the word for program is ''ohjelma'' and the word I kept saying was '' ongelma'' which means problem. So I kept saying '' Voinko antaa tämä ongelma sinulle?'' Can I give this problem to you? instead of ''Voinko antaa tämä ohjelma sinulle'' Can I give this program to you..... Poor Sister Hayter had to keep rescuing me from myself but it was pretty funny. The members definitely thought so. If you can't laugh at yourself while learning a language it's just depressing! 

GUESS WHO IS LEAVING VAASA??????? We got transfer calls last Friday. I am officially leaving my dear city of Vaasa and going to..... Marjaniemi!!!! That means I'll be in the Helsinki area and in the Helsinki Zone. ( I was in North Zone) I am excited because it also means I can go to the Helsinki temple again. And my new companion is ...... I don't have her permission to write her name yet because we are transferring tomorrow. But I actually met her last transfer because she was serving in Oulu at the time and she is super sweet. AND SHE IS A FIN!!!!! She's the only Finnish missionary we have in the mission right now and I feel so blessed to be able to serve with her. I never thought I would have a Finnish companion! 

They were having this culture food stand thing in the tori and there was a bunch of french food for some reason. We had real macaroons! So good! And this was the french sausage (it had beef and lamb). 

I had a ''Best two years'' moment!!!!!! I ate these fish.... I forget what they are called in Finnish but they have the eyes, bones, and EVERYTHING. I just couldn't think about it very much... The taste was fine but the texture... I ate like ten of them though! I wanted to get my 8 euros worth!

Sisar Hayter will be staying in Vaasa and she'll be training a new missionary fresh from the MTC. She's pretty excited and I know she'll do great. I have been having to say goodbye to all of the members and my investigators the past few days which has been so hard. Sisar Hayter secretly texted a bunch of people in the ward that I was leaving so on my last Sunday our Bishop called me out in the middle of sacrament meeting and asked me to bear my testimony.... just like my first week here in Vaasa. Except this time I could actually say what I wanted to say which was such a blessing. I know that my Finnish was not by any means perfect but I was able to express my gratitude and my love for them and bear my testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Of course I was such a goober and started crying but the people here have been like family to me. Saying bye to people was really hard but I guess it's a part of missionary life. I hope that I'll love Marjaniemi just as much. 

July 12, 2016

You know you're serving in Finland when you can wear sunglasses at five in the morning! We had another Zone Conference in Oulu yesterday and the trains got delayed and we ended up having to stay the night unexpectedly. So we woke up at 4:30 AM to make our train and we just got back to Vaasa around 11. I am so tired but the conference was amazing so it was totally worth it. We are getting transfer calls this Friday and this time I have no idea what to expect. I really want to stay in Vaasa, which according to other missionaries means that I'm probably leaving. 

Something not so awesome that happened that happened last Tuesday is that Sister Hayter and I accidentally locked ourselves out of our apartment. Luckily we had our phone but we had to call a bunch of people and eventually someone was able to let us in a little after 10 PM. It was a long day.... but it was nice to laugh about it the next day. 

Something exciting that's going on is that BYU's Jazz band is coming to Vaasa to perform! They are doing music and the spoken word today at one of the local colleges. Talk about random! They are also having concerts tomorrow and Thursday and WE GET TO GO! I am so excited and it'll be a great opportunity for missionary work as well. 

I always have a hard time remembering what I've done the past week because time on a mission is probably one of the weirdest things ever. I feel like I've been here forever and it also feels like the blink of an eye. I love being a missionary and I hope to be able to have another great week. Teidän että tämä kirkko on totta. Olen tosi kitollinen että minä voin palvela tällä Suomessa. Tiedän että Jumala ja Jeesus Kristus rakasta meitä niin paljon.I know that this church is true. I am very grateful that I can serve here in Finland. I know that God and Jesus Christ love us so much. Jeesuksen Kristuksen nimessa aamen. 

July 5, 2016

''Ottakaa lisää jos se maistuu.'' This is something that Finns always say when we are over for dinner or lunch. It means ''take more if it tastes good.'' The members here feed us so much. SO MUCH. And this past week several of our investigators have made food for us too. I think people always assume the missionaries are starving. It's really funny and I'm definitely not complaining but I've also had to master the art of taking a really small first serving so I can eat like three more. 

Sister Roberts learned another lesson about pride yesterday! Yesterday we deiced to celebrate America in style so we dressed up in red, white, and blue. We went to this pizza place ('Merica) for lunch that I'd wanted to go to since I got to Vaasa so I was excited. When we got there the waitress offered us English menus but I said I was fine even though I know about three food words in Finnish I didn't want to look out of place. I thought I was ordering a meat pizza which I was but....it was such a fail. The pizza I got to celebrate America consisted of four separate parts. It contained mushrooms, tuna fish (Finns like tuna on their pizza), shrimp, and OCTOPUS! So yeah that's what I ended up ordering. Europe! I knew I had to try my best to eat it and it was pretty funny so I had octopus for the first time in my life... on pizza. It was a weird day. Sister Hayter and I ended the day by singing the Start Spangled Banner as loudly as we could when we got home. Our neighbors probably didn't appreciate it but it had to be done. 

We've had a lot of lessons this past week where people have been trying to either prove us wrong or make us back up all of our information from the bible. It's been an interesting week for sure as I've studied the scriptures more than I ever have before. At the same time I've learned that it's okay to not be a perfect teacher. My Heavenly Father knew that I didn't have a perfect knowledge of the scriptures but still trusted me enough to send me to Finland. I know that sometimes just being able to share my testimony is enough. I know this church is true and that when we try our best Heavenly Father makes up the difference. I believe in the power of prayer and I know that He answers my prayers in His time. Jeesuksen Kristuksen nimessa aamen.