Well this week has just been crazy I don't even know where to start!
Well, this email is a little later today because we decided to go for a run this morning! Around all of Jyväsjarvi! It's about 13km and we woke up at 5 so we wouldn't use up too much P day time and it was so good! Yep, definitely the furthest I've ran and you all would've laughed at me running in the pitch dark with thermals and pants and a jacket and everything but it was way fun! I'm getting used to the cold whether I like it or not! I wear leggings/tights everyday and boots of course and a cardigan and a jacket and a cardigan! It definitely takes me longer to get ready now, but I finally get to break out my winter clothes! Also, it's rained every day this week and I haven't seen the sun for a while, so yeah, Vitamin D is definitely a must. It's hard to go contacting on the streets as well now because no one is out! Oh well, I guess we'll just have to get more investigators to let us in!
So sooo many miracles happened this week it's amazing. First off, I said the opening prayer in church. Extremely nerve wracking, but as far as I can tell my conjugations were okay so I felt good about it :) Well, on Thursday we went on Exchanges! I went with Sisar Heggie and my trainer Sisar Ballif. Sisar Heggie was with me in the MTC so it was awesome seeing her again and hearing about how all the other sisters are doing. We went to a recent convert's house and taught her how she can get a temple recommend to go do baptisms. We also taught a little about family history and how all of her family, even those who have passed on, will get the chance to hear the gospel. As soon as she realized this, she just started crying and the spirit was so strong even though I really didn't understand much she was saying. I've sure come to realize the language isn't as nearly as important as you think.
Then on Friday we (the 5 sister missionaries in our ward) were in charge of a Young Women activity. We taught about missionary work and did role plays with them and it was awesome! The members here are crazy good about doing missionary work and inviting their friends to everything! It was really cool to see.
And then on Saturday the biggest miracle happened. We were given a referral from a member and went to visit them a couple times and they said we could come back and do service for them since they're building their own house and need lots of help. So we've gone over every Saturday for 3 weeks now, but somehow felt that we should wait to share the gospel with her, which is a super weird feeling for a missionary to feel. Then, this last Saturday, we decided we wanted to tell her more about what we do and how we help others find out for themselves that this is true. So, we practiced it all out and felt comfortable sharing it with her before we went over. Then, while we were helping her clean her house, she straight up asks us the exact question we had prepared for! So cool! We knew exactly how to answer it and we were all on the same page and it was way cool. And then, she just started telling us about her religious background and everything went even better than planned.
But wait, there's more! So then, we talked about how God created everything and therefore, everything testifies of him. Sisar Dayton had the idea to tell her the lyrics to that song "Whenever I hear the song of a bird" and then we look over at her and she's crying! I know that's not usually a good thing, but it is to a missionary! Eventually Sisar dayton asked her if she was okay and she said "yeah I don't know, maybe I'm just stressed or maybe I'm just missing something in my life, I wish I had a religion to hold to like you guys do" So cool! It was just awesome and 100% by the spirit. So yeah, I definitely gained a testimony of role playing.
Well, after this experience, we were eating a snack she had given us and she mentioned how she loves how we're so willing to help and everything and then she turns to her 18 year old son and says "Why don't you become mormon and go on a mission, it'd be good for you" haha how right she is! So we all just died laughing at that later. Well in the midst of all of this she told us that her son was struggling in math and my companions felt the need to mention that I was a math major and could totally help. So, I agreed and sat down to look at his math book to see if I could even help and he was doing Trigonometry. No big deal right? Yeah, well it was in Finnish. So I kinda thought it was a big deal. So after I finally understood even what the question was asking, I was able to figure out a question or two. So as soon as she realized I understood the problem, she asked if I could tutor him whenever we come over to do service and set up a return appointment right then and there for us! So that's the story of how I became a Finnish math tutor. I'll letcha know how it works out!
So on Thursday I get to go to Tampere for zone conference and then on Sunday-Friday I'm in Helsinki for Interim training and language school! And I get to go to the temple! I'm really excited to do a session in Finnish! But that means I miss a p day so I have no idea if I can email so sorry if you don't hear from me for a bit. Just know I'm alive and i'll email if I can.
Well, I received lots of letters and love this week :) You guys are awesome. I hope all is well and I just loved seeing all the pictures and hearing how everyone's week went! Keep it up!
Til next week,
Sisar Crandall
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