Week 25: Mountains to Climb

 I've been on a mission for 6 months. Woah. Time Flies! Transfer Calls are in 1 day!

After being in Lappeenranta for 4.5 months (18 weeks) it feels weird that my time here is over. This is crazy. I could leave my area and go somewhere new. So exciting! But also bitter sweet. 

Spiritual Thought:  

I really only put highlights in my emails. 

I don't often put in hard moments because I like to keep things positive. 

But man, missions are hard. 

Sometimes, they are a forever uphill battle.

I listened to a talk this week called “Mountains to Climb” by Henry B. Eyring (Shoutout Hailey) 

I like to think, what are the mountains in my life right now? 

What mountains have I already climbed? 

And what mountains are in my future? 

Because looking back at the last 6 months, there have been a lot of big mountains. 

Lots of them I'm still climbing. 

But looking back at the mountains I have climbed I realized I haven't done it alone. 

I read in a missionaries email this week, “Away from the support of family, friends, and familiarity. Missions force you into a sink or swim situation.” (Shoutout Preston) 

This is so true, 

But we have the best lifeguard. Jesus Christ. 

And a bunch of swimmers next to us to help us along the way. 

Looking back on these 6 months, I'm so grateful for all the amazing people and most of all for Jesus Christ. 

For giving me mountains to climb and for never leaving my side as I climb them. 

Short Version of Email: Went to a game night this week at a bar. Had some great lessons. Elder Goodrich gave a fire talk in Church and I am preparing mine for this week. Transfers are in 3 days. Walking on a frozen lake. My zone is awesome. 

Finnish Word of the Week:    Autotalli - - garage but literally means car stable

Daylight Counter!

Where we started–4 Hours 40 minutes

This week–8 Hours 43 min 

5 Amazing Things This Week:

1: Bishop came to fix our door this week. After, he pulled out the newspaper and showed us an ad for a Game Night telling us it would be a great opportunity to meet new people and be seen. We agreed and showed up later that night at the address of the game night, which turned out to be a bar. We went in getting some strange looks in our white shirts and ties, made some awkward introductions and proceeded to play a board game about rock bands all in Finnish. Got to tell a lot of people about who we are and why we are in Finland. Twas fun. 

TLDR: went to a game night in a bar all in Finnish. 

2: Had a great lesson with our friends Rasheli and Viraje. They told us they want to get baptized! This is so exciting, if all goes well they will be baptized after I leave Lappeenranta sadly. But I am still so happy for them! 

3:  I haven't had to buy groceries for 3 weeks because I'm just trying to use up all the extra food from the apartment which has been nice to save up some MSF. (missionary support funds) 

4:  My area has the biggest lake in Finland inside it and the ice is now thick enough to walk on. We took a short cut over the lake this week which was cool and saved us some time. 

5:  Final Zone call this week which is bitter sweet. I love the missionaries I serve around. They are the best examples to me. 

Tender Mercy of the Week:

A few weeks ago we made a social media post about doing free service which got so slandered it got taken down lol. But, we got in contact with this young Finnish guy who we talked to over the phone for a long time. He says he knows lots of his friends who would want to meet with us and come to our game night. So I guess even if the social media post failed, some good came out of it.

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

Scripture of the Week:  

Doctrine and Covenants 6:8

8 Verily, verily, I say unto you, even as you desire of me so it shall be unto you; and if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation

My thoughts:  It's so cool that if we desire to have a positive impact on the world, if we desire to do good, we are promised through scripture that we can accomplish it. 

Talk of the Week:  https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jeffrey-r-holland/times-trouble/

Jeffrey R Holland BYU Devo

My Thoughts: A great talk focusing on having a positive attitude. I love how he said that “trouble has no connection to discouragement on its own”. Another good reminder that our attitudes about life's circumstances are an important part of who we are. 

A bit mundane week this week but it's always good to learn to enjoy the less Interesting parts of life. 

-Elder Balls