Hayley in Helsinki: That Is What We Do!

Sister P-day shopping!

Moika!!!

The Lord Places People in Our Paths

This week has been a good week. I got to teach one of the most spiritual lessons of my entire mission this week and it was amazing! We had this Vietnamese girl, Thu, text us this past week asking if she could meet with us because she had been struggling with depression and being in Finland! Sister Fronk and I had actually met her on a train in the beginning of December and somehow she remembered us! So that was really neat. We ended up inviting her to the church and told her all about how it was a place that we can find peace and comfort and so she really wanted to come. She ended up meeting us there on Tuesday and we got to give her a church tour and tell her about how much her Heavenly Father loves her and knows her. It was so special and you could just see how much it meant to her! The Spirit was so strong and we ended up feeling prompted to invite her to be baptized! So we did! And she said yes, if she can come to know that this is all true, but she doesn't know how. YES!!! That is what we do! We help people come to know how they can receive answers and come to know the church is true! Perfect!! We ended up being able to teach her how to pray and gave her a Book of Mormon and she was so happy because it was in Vietnamese. :) I am guessing that you can't find a lot of Vietnamese books in Finland. She then ended up praying for the first time and it was the sweetest prayer ever! She is so cute and we are going to be meeting with her again this week! We are so excited for her. She is wonderful and it is just amazing because I know how hard it is to adjust to coming to Finland and being alone without family. It is amazing how the Lord places people in our paths that we can really relate to.

On a Frozen Lake!

This Train Is Leaving!

The funny story of the week is that I actually got separated from my companion! We were running for a train, which is a usual thing for us to be doing, but it was pulling up and we were still about 100 meters away. So I naturally I started sprinting to the train thinking that if I can get there first I can just keep pushing the button to keep the doors open so that my companion can get on. So I do just that. The only problem was that the doors started closing and I was pushing the button from the inside but they kept closing anyway. My companion was pushing the button on the other side.... but no. This train was taking off no matter what! So It ended up leaving with me on the train and my companion on the outside of the train! Whoops! I ended up having to get off at the next stop and sat alone for 15 minutes waiting for the next train to come. This stop was Kera, and absolutely no one is ever at Kera, so it was completely empty! Perfect time for a power nap!! :)

Tears & Sniffles: Food Adventures

Also, Guess what I got to try this week!!! PIG TOUNGE!!! Yep! Hai was kind enough to make us some "delicious" pig tounge this week. Oh my goodness. There were things that I thought I would avoid trying by coming to Finland but it looks like that is not the case! Surprisingly it didn't actually taste all that bad. The only problem was knowing what it was and getting it down. Yuck! I mean pig tongue? Really? I used to think that Dad had a hard time letting things go to waste. It looks like other people have that same kind of problem but to the more extreme side of things! But hey, It does make for a good story to be able to say that I tried pig tongue on my mission. I was worried I wouldn't get to try anything weird. Haha no need to worry now!

We also got to meet with Yan and Lin this week! They are a less-active couple in our area and they are the cutest! I absolutely love them so much! And guess what! They made us Chinese food this week! YES!!!! I love Chinese food! It was so good, though it was really Spicy! They had made it earlier this week for a movie night we had and Lin said that it wasn't spicy enough. Well this chicken was definitely spicy enough! Through tears and sniffles we were able to share a really good lesson all about family history work and it was awesome! Plus, I really loved the food! :)

Family History Work & Loving My Family

This week I got to talk a lot to people about families and family history work and it was amazing! It made me realize how grateful I am for my family and the fact that we get to be with them for all eternity! And because my family is so wonderful I want everyone to know a little bit about them!

Taylor and Emily: Shout out to Taylor who is turning 26 this week!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I have the best older brother and sister-in-law in the world! I love them so much! They even surprised me and flew out to my farewell from Texas before I left on my mission! It honestly meant the world to me that they were there!

Kara: She is like my best friend! She is so understanding and the easiest person to talk to! She really knows how to take care of others and is really amazing at it! I can't even count the times that she was there for me to listen to me after having a bad day, failing a test, struggling with friends, etc. She is amazing and I love her so much!

Cassie: She is the best sister! She is absolutely HILARIOUS! She has this amazing talent of making people smile and laugh where ever she is! She is the best at making family trips and activities fun! I love her!

Landon is my buddy. He is the sweetest, most caring person in the world. He just cares about everyone and wants to make everyone happy. I remember time and time again when I would fall asleep on the couch and he would get me a blanket and cover me up to make sure I didn't get too cold. He is an angel! I love my bud!

My dad is the worlds #1 Dad! He is so supportive in everything I do! He writes me every week and you can just tell he spends hours on each of his letters and I love them.

My mom means the world to me. I love my mom so much. She does so much to take care of me and really is the reason I am the person I am today. I don't know what I would ever do with out her. I love you Mom!

Really, I love my family so much! I am so grateful for each of them and I am sure most everyone out there is so grateful for their families! So I would like to encourage everyone to do something to show your family how much you love them because I really believe that the closest things to heaven is when you are with your family!

Thank you for all of your love and support! I love you all!