Week 31:Spring is here

 Week 31: 3/25/2025

Spring is coming, I am happy. I love and miss you all! Do something fun this week for me! Just learned a tiktok dance for Zone Conference yay. 

Spiritual Thought:  

Alma 48:17 is one of my favorite verses. Moroni is incredible. 

17“Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.” 

But I never really noticed the verses after it
18: “Behold, he was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God.” 

19: “Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less serviceable unto the people than was Moroni; 

How amazing that others are like Moroni. Even saying they are “no less serviceable.”  Corianton, Alma the Younger and all the Sons of Mosiah are all included. All people who sinned grievously. But who repented so fully and were truly forgiven. They were considered as noble and righteous as Captain Moroni.  I love how willing the lord is to forgive us.

Short Version of Email: Stake conference I got to go down early because I played in it. Cool hike on a lake. All finnish day. Dinner with the youth

Finnish Word of the Week:   Iltatähti = is the youngest child in a family when there’s a significant age gap between the youngest and the other child(ren) but it literally means “Evening star”

Daylight Counter!

Where we started–4 Hours 40 minutes

This week–12 Hours 38 min

5 Amazing Things This Week:

1: Stake conference in Turku which is a city I have never been to before! I played the piano for it so we got to stay overnight with the zone leader. There are outside our zone! Also the talks were amazing and we got to see so many other missionaries. 

2: Went on a cool hike last p-day to a frozen lake which was very pretty. 

3:  Made pizza for dinner one day and got to enjoy eating it while we walked to our next appointment. In Finland this is a very weird thing to do. No one, and I mean no one eats food in public. We had some people eyeing our pizza so we asked this cool looking guy if he wanted it and he said he would love it! We got his number and made a new friend. 

4:  The mission has started doing a challenge where you can only speak Finnish for a whole day. So on Saturday was an English fast. It was hard but it did help my Finnish. 

5:   Had a dinner with all the youth in Tampere. My comp and I shared a spiritual thought which was terrifying. It was a hard crowd to please but hopefully they liked it. I learned some origami from one of the recent converts there. It was amazing. 

Tender Mercy of the Week:

We were out in the heavy snow trying to find an open apartment to knock doors inside and we couldn't get into any apartment building. We had been at it for more than 30 minutes. I was frustrated and feeling mad at God. I told Elder Gillespie that we were going to say a prayer. We did. The next apartment building we tried was unlocked.

Where I am/Who I'm With: I am serving in Tampere. My companion is Elder Gillespie. 

More Fun Facts about Elder Gillespie: 

-Sleeps on the floor. 

-Loves to dance, is quite good as well. 

-I forgot if I put this already but he LOVES to sing

Scripture of the Week:  Alma 22:18

18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead.

My thoughts:  Elder Gillespie told me to put this scripture in. It's a great one. What can we give away to know God

Talk of the Week:  https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/michael-a-dunn/these-foolish-things/

“These Foolish Things”. Michael A. Dunn March 4, 2025

My Thoughts: Wonderful talk. Such a creative idea for a talk. This is one of my new favorites. Sometimes we must all be fools for Christ. 

Bye!  -Elder Balls

Week 29 & 30: Vitsinpumpula (oopsi daisy)

 Many things have happened but most importantly it was so nice and warm this week! 

Went to the Zone Leader’s baptism, and I got to play the piano there. Push-up competition with another zone, which means doing a lot of push-ups. English Church is every other week, so we got to go, and I played a musical number in the regular church. Soccer, running basketball, and spike ball in the mornings are a highlight.  Had a cool egg that was hollowed out and filled with chocolate. Went Northern Lights hunting and saw them, only faintly, though

Spiritual Thought:  

“But the Lord Knoweth”. Mormon and Moroni just finished compiling the Book of Mormon. They both know their inadequacies. Moroni even engraves his imperfections inside the plates, The writing, the space limits, the language. He says “Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection”. But after he wrote, “But the Lord knoweth the things which we have written…therefore he hath prepared means”. God knew Moroni, He knew his faults, imperfections, strengths and weaknesses. But he still prepared a way to have the Book of Mormon translated and brought to us . 

Mormon believed that God could do it. And God did. I've learned that God knows me. He works with me, as I believe, to do a lot of hard things. He knows all his children and works the same way through each of them. 

Short Version of Email: A lot of things happened, too many to count, or say. Sorry. 

Finnish Word of the Week:    Kokoo koko kokko. koko kokkoko? Koko kokko! = Assemble the whole bonfire.  The whole bonfire?  The whole bonfire!

Daylight Counter!

Where we started–4 Hours 40 minutes

This week–12 Hours 2 min

5 Amazing Things This Week:

1: District Council this week in Hämmenlinna which is a city I have never been to before. It has a really cool castle we got to go see. And a wonderful member made us all food. It was lovely. 

2: Went to a concert commemorating the end of the Winter War in Finland. It was in an amazing old church. Our mission coordination leader sang in the choir and he gave us a tour all around the church afterwards. Such cool art and organ. 

3:  President Interviews are always a highlight. We got to see them for extra time this time because there are so many missionaries in Tampere they stay for 2 days here. They also stayed for the baptism which was great. 

4:  On Sähly night we had 12 missionaries in Tampere at once because of splits. The members there let us do a game with all missionaries playing. It was the most fun I've had in quite a while. 

5:   Went to a really cool tower in the woods for P-day. Got to climb up to the top, the tower also has a little café in the bottom with the most amazing donuts. Afterwards we went to this Lutheran Church to look around and found these two ladies who requested we pray with them. We did and I mentioned I love to play the organ. One of the ladies insisted we go find someone to ask if I could play the organ right then and there. We found someone so now there is a chance I may be able to play a cool organ in the future.

 

6:  Moved an entire member's house to another house right next to his house. We then proceeded to unload a truck full of all his son and wife's belongings into the house. Moving a washing machine and dryer up very tight spiral stairs might be one of the hardest things I've ever done lol.

7:  We have been visiting a lot of members which has been good for our finding efforts and visiting the members is a great way to feel so connected to the ward which makes me happy

Tender Mercy of the Week:  We were out looking for one of our friends to try and meet her in person. She had texted us in the morning telling us she would be at the bus station at 4 pm. We both somehow read her text as “train station” not bus station. So we arrived at the train station and as I walked inside immediately felt that something wasn't right. I didn't realize what but I started looking at the texts and realized we were in the wrong spot. I'm grateful for the prompting that made me realize we were not in the right place at the right time. 

Where I am/Who I'm With: I am serving in Tampere. My companion is Elder Gillespie. 

More Fun Facts about Elder Gillespie: 

-is very punctual. 

-drinks so much water. 

-has no fear of talking to anyone anywhere at any time.

-is constantly working out. 

Scripture of the Week:  

Doctrine and Covenants 17:8

10 And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better.

My thoughts:  I really like the idea that sometimes we must lay aside the things of this world to make time for other things. More spiritual, more Godly, more Holy. 

Talk of the Week:  https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/mark-a-bragg/a-master-class-in-leadership-one-day-with-the-savior/

“A Master Class in Leadership: One Day with the Savior”. Mark A. Bragg

My Thoughts: An absolutely wonderful talk. So many great lessons and parallels from the Savior's life that I want to implement with mine. So many great teachings from only studying a day with the Savior. It makes me want to study all of Christ's actions more fully and in depth. 

Send me an email about the last great food you cooked! 

Until next week! 

-Elder Balls

Week 28: Little Red

Lots of service this week. Makes for a good week. 

Spiritual Thought:  

This week someone asked me, What did you learn about God today? And how did that change you?  It's easy to identify spiritual experiences, But sometimes not to reflect on what those experiences can teach us. How did what happened today help me understand my relationship with God? As I think about that question each night, I lie in bed grateful. Because God's character is eternally the same.  Eternally loving. Eternally caring. and Eternally good.   Even after our spiritual experience. Although our lives change, God doesn't. 

Short Version of Email: Did some service. District Pday. German pancakes at district council. Moved 2 apartments. Ate yummy food. Too many canceled lessons :(

Finnish Word of the Week:    Punahilkka = Little Red Riding Hood! IE Elder Gillespie :) 

Daylight Counter!

Where we started–4 Hours 40 minutes

This week–10 Hours 52 min

5 Amazing Things This Week:

1: District P day this week. I actually got to sleep in my own bed. We had fun playing basketball, and seeing the city. Went to a Finnish industrial labor museum. Built a cool house out of some blocks and ate good burgers. 

2: Moved our Zone leaders' apartment for them while they were out of town. There were a lot of things to move and to clean. But we prevailed. Maybe they will thank us with dinner… 

Right after we went to help a lady in our ward move out. Lots to clean as well. Lots… 

3:  Went to an art exhibit made by a ward member and I got to keep a painting she made. The art was really cool! 

4:  Met some friends this week and one of them boxes. I put on this big chest pad and let him go at me. It was fun and only slightly painful. Video is on Google photos. 

5:   Went to a Nepalese restaurant with the ward share. It was very yummy. 

Tender Mercy of the Week:

Prayers are amazing. This week we had a day with a lot of cancelations and changed plans so it was hard to feel productive and like a good missionary. Gillespie and I said a rather long, very heartfelt prayer and both felt a lot better after. #Prayerworks

Where I am/Who I'm With: I am serving in Tampere. My companion is Elder Gillespie. 

More Fun Facts about Elder Gillespie: 

-Cooks the biggest pancakes I've ever seen, they are also the best I've ever eaten. 

Can do a lot of pull-ups 

-loves “what are the odds”, riddles, and “would you rathers”

Scripture of the Week:  

Doctrine and Covenants 17:8

17 By these things we know that there is a God in Heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting the same unchangeable God, the framer of Heaven and earth, and all things which are in them;

My thoughts:  As the early saints wrote this section of D&C, they list many of the things they know and how they know they are true. What are the things we know about Jesus Christ and his Gospel, and what experiences have we had to show they are true?

Talk of the Week:  https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/stephen-e-robinson/believing-christ-practical-approach-atonement/

“Believing Christ: A Practical Approach to the Atonement” Stephen E. Robinson  May 29, 1990

My Thoughts: A very cool talk. Everyone should listen. So many great quotes and stories. 

To have faith in Jesus Christ is not only to believe that he is who he says he is, but believe him, that he can do what he says he can do. 

Nähdään ensi viikolla 

-Elder Balls