Spring has Sprung, Change Has Come!

Dear Family and Friends!

Wow this week has been a crazy one! Here are the top 5 most important things that happened:

1. SPRING! For TWO whole days this week I didn't have to wear a jacket OR boots OR tights! It felt amazing! The sun FINALLY came out and I think this was the first time I've felt warmth since September! Man I just LOVE the sun. "There is beauty all around!"

2. TRANSFERS CALLS! So I'm sitting at home late Wednesday night just brushing my teeth while Sisar Curtis is already asleep. So I go to get in bed and I quickly check the phone to see if the alarm is set for the next day and THERE'S A MISSED CALL FROM PRESIDENT RAWLINGS! One of the most intimidating things to see. Well I wasn't even thinking about transfers because those don't usually come until Saturday morning so I just calmly call him back thinking he has a question or something and we said it was one change call! So I ran into our room and turned on the light and woke up Sisar Curtis just in time for us to hear him say "Sisar Curtis, you will be going to Lahti and you will be companions with Sisar Dayton and Sisar Crandall, you will be staying in Neitsytpolku and training a new missionary" What. At this point, it's 10:30 and we're both freaking out and trying to get on bed on time but not being able to. There are only 2 new sisters coming to Finland this transfer and I honestly training wasn't even an option in my mind because I have so much to learn still! Well apparently I'll learn it from this new sister and I'm so excited! So I meet her tomorrow and I'll tell you all about it next week!

3. TEMPLE! Sisar Curtis and I took our last temple trip together on Tuesday. It was so special. It was completely in Finnish again and I understood a lot more this time. I think I get cool insights to see how things are translated in two languages in the temple and what it really means. I've noticed a lot of symbolism that way and it's really cool. And this time it was even more special because Sisar Bunting and Sisar Vath joined us and we had some good sister bonding time. I even got to see the sealing room and the Brides' room and the baptistry and basically the rest of the temple and loved every minute of it :)

4. BAPTISMAL DATE! Our dear investigator V who I mentioned last week has a baptismal date! We had a church tour with her and a member on Thursday and it went amazing! We asked her what would prevent her from being baptized because she already knows all the doctrine, she just doesn't have a testimony of it yet and she just said "Well, I'm not sure what to say..." So we helped her understand that when we have a testimony of this gospel, we have the desire to follow Jesus Christ and keep his commandments. And since we were in the chapel in front of the sacrament table, we were able to talk a lot about that and why it's important. Then we invited her to be baptized on May 17th and after we reassured her that she's not ready now, but that through reading the Book of Mormon, coming to church, and praying about our message she will be ready, she agreed to the date! I'm so excited! Her mom is the one who I helped reactive in Jyväskylä and it's just amazing to see this whole family just feel the joy of the gospel now. I love being a missionary :)

5. EASTER! Well, of course, the most important event of the week was yesterday. We started off by having the other sisters spend the night because of some weird splits we had on Sunday. We had a wonderful Easter breakfast with Finnish pancakes and muffins. The easter bunny even brought little gifts for everyone and solid chocolate eggs :) Then, We had a wonderful easter service at church where Sisar Curtis, Bunting and I sang "Hän elää! Vapahtajani!" (I know that my Redeemer lives) and the spirit throughout the whole meeting was just so strong. I loved having this time to reflect on the Savior and why I'm even here. I'm here to invite others to come unto Christ and experience the joy and conversion I've felt. I'm not here to preach, or convince people that I'm right, I'm here to help other build a personal relationship with their Savior. There's nothing I'd rather be doing around this time of year than this. Yesterday was just the perfect end to a great week.

I'm just so grateful for all of you and for your love and support! I hope you all had a most wonderful Easter! And I can't wait to see what this week will bring!

Sisar Crandall

Pictures at the Temple

Squeezed into a tiny elevator, yummy mexican food, pretty flowers everywhere!

Waiting at the bus or train stations, McDonald's, matching BYU shirts