How Can I Be Happier?

Feeling like a grown up... driving in a car!

Identifying the Change

This week was still a really good week.  Our investigator Jari is still progressing so much and you can really are seeing the Gospel change him.  Monday our lesson was really rough and we were stressed on time and the spirit was not there.  It made it hard afterwards because we felt like he wasn't going to progress anymore.  But then we had our new Sister Training Leaders arrive and one of them was staying with us for a day until her companion arrived by train to Oulu.  It was a huge blessing to us as we were trying to decide what we needed to teach him in our lesson that evening.  Sister Hubner then suggested that we role play it and that I would be Jari  and that Sister Nyman and her would be the missionaries.  This was really one of the most inspired role plays that I have ever had on my mission.  We decided that we need to teach him about how we receive answers and where our desires need to be.  We also felt that we need to really see what his expectations from us were.  The lesson ended up going EXACTLY like the role play and it was SO good.  The Spirit was SO strong.  We were able to see that he really just wants to be happy and that he gets so much peace from us visiting and from reading The Book of Mormon and coming to Church. He just had no idea that this was actually the spirit.  We were able to learn that he just needed help identifying the change and what he was feeling and now we all are reading the Book of Mormon everyday with the same purpose of "How can I be happier?"  It was such a good lesson and now he is doing so well and getting closer and closer to receiving an answer.  He won't be baptized this Saturday but we are hoping that he will in the coming weeks.  He is amazing and the change in him from the Gospel is so incredible to see.  He is so much happier than he was and he is coming closer and closer to his Heavenly Father.  One of the coolest things was that he came to church and actually was writing down answers that he was receiving at church!   It was amazing!  We are so excited to talk to him about it tonight! 

Being Commanded to Sing

This week we also had one of the funniest things happen to us on the street.  We were riding our bikes when we said hello to this couple walking together on the street. The lady got really excited so we stopped and she exclaimed that she knew exactly who we were and that she used to have sisters who would come and visit her and they would sing to her and talk with her and she loved it.   She then commanded us to sing.  At first I couldn't believe it and we both were questioning if we had heard right.  Sister Nyman then asked if she was asking us how long we had been here but she said "No,  Sing!" It is not a normal thing for people to tell you to just stop on the street and sing to them so we told her that we would.  So she then told us to ride our bikes ahead to a nearby park and get our hymn book ready for us to sing to her.  Ummm... Ok?  So we biked ahead and it was a huge blessing that Sister Nyman actually had copies of songs with her.  They then came and sat on the bench and we sang to them!  We sang "Sua tarvitsen ma aina"  or "I need thee every hour". They both then jumped up and hugged us both. Yep, the husband too.  We never know what to do in that situation. She told us that she will come when she comes..... basically that she isn't ready yet but that she will be eventually. Very few people actually know that they aren't ready.  Anyway, it was really fun :)

Espoo Friends

This Sunday was the best!  Some members from Espoo were in Oulu this weekend and it was so good to see them. I absolutely love them.  They are such a cute family and it really just made my day to see them.  It made me feel so good when they were actually really excited to see me too!  We were able to get contact information so that we can stay in touch.  It really was a tender mercy from the Lord.  I loved being able to see them.  It did make me so homesick for the south though.  There are so many people there that I love so much and miss incredibly.  Gisel calls me all of the time and she even sent a ring up with another sister for me.  She is the best and I absolutely love her so much.  I love these people.  They are amazing!  

Thank your for all of the love and support!   

Sister Knapp