Hei!!
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| A normal walk through the woods in Finland |
Terrified to Talk
Well this week was so much better than last week! The only sad thing is that the language is still not progressing all that much. It is more my fault than anything, even though the investigators that we have and the people that we teach all happen to know English and not Finnish. But I am absolutely terrified to talk to people. It is so scary! Which is crazy because the worse they do is tell you that they are not interested. Plus, anytime that I go to speak to a Finn I freeze up and just can't get myself to say anything. I love teaching in English though! I really never thought that I could love English so much! But I really do need to work on the language. Fortunately, talking to members here isn't as nerve raking and I actually can do that.
The Dinner Dilema: Learn to Eat Slow or Speak Finnish!
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| Waiting for the bus (can you see me?!) |
We have dinner appointments with members a lot! The elders get so jealous because they don't have very many and just say that the members always just love the sisters more! They are sorta not kidding though. It is a small competition that we have with the elders which is super funny. However, dinner appointments are when I get to speak the most Finnish for the week so it is really good for us to go. I have also learned that I need to eat really slow. Here is the problem... I don't know how to speak Finnish so I just try to keep my mouth busy by eating but then I finish my food really fast and Finnish people love to say, " if it tastes good eat more" (in Finnish). So if you don't take more that is really bad! So I eat so much food at dinner appointments that I think I might die! So I have two options: either learn to eat really slow or learn to speak Finnish! Ah! I will keep you all updated on how that goes.
Give it Your All & Miracles Really Do Happen!
The wards here in Kilo actually just got split and so this is a brand new ward that was created and we are trying to really work with the members and get them involved in missionary work, especially in our ward area! It has been a really big struggle to find new investigators in our area since it is so new to have missionaries really focusing on the north part of Espoo. We are kind of starting from scratch, but one thing that I have noticed is that on the days where we really give it our all...those are the days that miracles really do happen!
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| We borrowed the elders' bikes to ride up to Lohja. It was beautiful! |
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| This is Lohja, where we rode |
We had some of the neatest experiences this week. One happened while we were out visiting Yan and Lin, a chinese convert couple, that just moved to our area. We were walking home for lunch when Sister Fronk asked if we could go tract the building we were walking passed. A little stubbornly, I said, "if you feel like we need to." She just smiled and said, "Yep!" So we went over to this building and at the first 2 doors they both just told us that they weren't interested, but then at the last door this amazing lady, Tina, and her daughter answered the door. We started talking to her about prayer and everything and she told us that prayer is huge in her life since her husband passed away 3 years ago. She also told us that she was just taking out her Christmas decorations and had pulled out two angels when two angels knocked on her door! She was seriously the sweetest lady ever. Even though she didn't personally want to meet with us she said that her mom really needs God in her life right now and gave us her mom's address. We feel strongly, though, that we need to go back to this lady and her daughter and tell her about the Plan of Salvation and that she can be with her family forever. So we are going to do that today and we are so excited! :)
Church is Good...I Think!
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| With Sisar Fronk waiting for the train in the freezing rain. I love her so much! |
Church is Good...I Think!
We also had Stake Conference this week which was really good... I think! I can't actually understand anything so I kind of just sat there for 2 hours. Occasionally my companion would say, "Wow, that was a great story! Changed my life." I would just glare at her because she knows that I don't understand any of it! So we would just laugh silently for the next 5 minutes! But that is really how all church lessons are. I don't understand anything and it is exhausting to try and figure any of it out. Plus, I have decided that most Finns like to talk a million miles per hour and they run out of breath so they keep talking while breathing in and I swear that they never take a break! It is so hard to understand sometimes. I understand more here, though, than I did in the MTC so I guess that is a good thing! The gift of interpretation is real!
A Golden Find--"I hope this is the true church"
The coolest part about Stake Conference was that on the way we were on a bus with a ton of other members and we just happened to sit by one of the only non-members, Danielo, on the bus and he asked us where we were all going. We got to tell him about church and a little of what we believed in in the short time that we were actually on the bus and then invited him to come with us! He actually said that he wanted to! I almost couldn't believe it! He just followed us right into the church building and so we got to talk to him a lot more. He told us all about how he goes to another church but that he doesn't like it because they don't teach everything that is in the Bible and just take what is convenient for them. He also said that they aren't very nice and won't talk to anyone, yet they say to love everyone. So it was so neat when we came into church because everyone was talking to him and getting to know him! He said to me that he hopes this is the true church! How cool is that!? He is golden! We also told him about the Book of Mormon and gave him a copy in English (he is from Brazil) and he read it the entire 2 hours of church and then asked if he could meet with us after to talk about the things in the Book of Mormon! This was seriously amazing! Sadly, he isn't in our area so we introduced him to the elders in his area and they set up an appointment and he is now a new investigator for them! It was seriously so cool to see that some people are really just prepared to hear the gospel and it just motivated us to find those people in our area!
Being Saved From the Storm by Luna Lovegood
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| Cloudy Finland (this explains why I need extra Vitamin D and a 'happy light') |
Now for our rain storm experience. Since, (1) it rains all the time here and (2) I loved to tell rainstorm stories in the MTC, I thought I better share this one. So the rule for missionaries is that you need to be home by 9:00 unless you have an appointment. Well, we had an appointment that got out at 9:00 and it was about a 5 minute bus ride to the train station and a 7 minute train ride home so we should have been fine. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain outside and we found out that the bus wouldn't be there to pick us up until 9:29. We were in trouble. So, we did the logical thing and decided to run for it! We ran about a mile in the pouring rain, in our boots, wearing heavy backpacks and coats all the way to the train stop! And you will never believe it! We missed the train by a minute!!! It left at 9:23 and the next train wouldn't come until 9:52. We were going to be in so much trouble!!! So we did the 'logical' thing and decided to run to Kilo, which was two stops away, haha. So we ran again about another mile to the next stop and after being exhausted and soaked we decided that it would be better to just wait for the train. After all that we just waited and got on the train, avoided all the drunks, and got home around 10:00. Sister Fronk told me to call our district leader because they wouldn't give me a hard time since I am the new girl! Plus, Elder Kaaria automatically thinks I am awesome because I apparently look just like Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter! Man, I can go all the way to Finland and still have people saying that! Anyway, even though we were drenched we just laughed and laughed and laughed. It was so crazy but so much fun! I honestly have the best companion in the world!
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| Soaked from our run in the rain! |
Thank you everyone for all of the love and support and emails! You are all amazing!
Love,
Sister Knapp
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