Week 21: 1/14/2025
It's Tuesday again! It's been a great week. I hope your week was splendid as well.
Gave out 5 BOM's one night knocking on doors. That was wild. Plus, we met a lady on the street who only speaks Spanish so I got to practice my Spanish. Yay!
Taught a guy who really, really wanted to use the priesthood to cast out demons. Also, we had to decline being given so much money when we were serving people by scraping off their cars.
Crazy book store.
Got asked if we collect 2€ coins by someone who then asked for any we had.
Update, I beat Elder Goodrich in Teraforming Mars. That was so lovely.
Also this lasagna was probably the best I've ever eaten.
Spiritual Thought:
In the book of Matthew, Peter had an amazing opportunity. He bore his testimony of Jesus, to Jesus. (woah)
An opportunity each of us will have one day.
In response to Jesus’s question, “Whom say ye that I am?”
Peter said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus responded, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”
I've always just glanced over that line.
This is incredible to me.
Think of all the things Peter saw and experienced with Jesus, in the flesh.
He saw the sick healed, lepers cleansed.
He helped Jesus feed the 5000.
In the flesh, Peter saw the lame walk, the dumb talk, the deaf hear, the blind see,
Peter even walked on water with Jesus.
He watched as Jesus did the impossible and brought the dead back to life.
And think of all he saw that isn't written.
But Jesus knew that that was not how Peter knew Jesus was the Christ
He knew Jesus was the Christ because of the Holy Ghost confirming truth to him.
People often ask me how I know the things I teach every day are true and my answer is always the same.
I have found my testimony in the same way that Peter found it.
Through the Holy Ghost.
I know you can too.
Short Version of Email: Zone leader splits! 245782 people came to language night! Stayed super super busy. Played fun games during night hours. Ate good food. District P-day. Also a tank!
Finnish Word of the Week: Iokaasu - - “nitrous oxide; laughing gas”, but literally translates to “Joy gas”
Daylight Counter!
Where we started–4 Hours 40 minutes
This week–6 Hours 24 min
5 Amazing Things This Week:
1: Zone Leader splits this week! I got to teach 2 lessons, give a school presentation, eat black licorice ice cream, and see the Kites (the housing couple) again!
2: On Saturday we had 11 people come to language night! Usually only two or three people come. And on Sunday we had 3 friends come to church. One more friend was going to come but locked his keys in his apartment. :(
3: Last P Day was District P Day which is always super fun! We got to hangout in Lähti all day, and play lots of games and sports! We also went to Avanto which was so fun.
4: Our friend Ronald wanted to meet before Sahly (floorball). We gave him a church tour and hopefully gave him a good introduction to our church. The lesson went long which made helping everyone get sorted for Sahly chaotic but it was a lovely night. It was really, really fun.
5: In Jyväskylä, on splits, we got to go do street contacting with our friend Uno (a recent convert). He did amazing! He also showed us where he met the missionary who baptized him on the street which was so, so cool.
Tender Mercy of the Week:
Long story short, in the morning Elder Goodrich kept getting the feeling we needed to go contacting on the streets with a Sahly stick, talking to people specifically about Sahly. We had a super long day with impromptu lessons and tons of other things that kept us from constantly contacting people. We said a prayer that the Lord would put us where we needed to be and went on with our day. Walking back from our car the last person we talked to was a retired pro Sahly player. I don't know what will happen because of our conversation but we talked for 15 minutes about so much. We knew we found the reason why we needed to contact with a Sahly stick. Such a random thing but God answers prompting when we follow them.
Where I am/Who I'm With: I am serving in Lappeenranta. My companion is Elder Goodrich.
Scripture of the Week:
Mosiah 27:13
Context–When Alma the younger is struck dumb after seeing an angel of the Lord.
21 And he caused that a multitude should be gathered together that they might witness what the Lord had done for his son, and also for those that were with him.
My thoughts: I like that Mormon used the word “for” instead of “to” when referring to the Lord’s treatment of Alma. “For” emphasizes it was not a punishment but rather an opportunity to learn. God loves us. Sometimes it is just hard to see it in the moment during hard times.
Talk of the Week: “Lessons from Laman and Lemuel” October 1999
- - - Neal A Maxwell - - -
My Thoughts: One of the best talks I've listened to in a long long time. He explains that Laman and Lemuel misinterpreted the character of God which made them unwilling to follow him and his prophets. This is one of my favorite quotes.
“Failing to understand the “dealings” of the Lord with His children—meaning His relations with and treatment of His children—is very fundamental.
To misread something so crucial constitutes a failure to know God, who then ends up being wrongly seen as unreachable, uninvolved, uncaring, and unable”.
Have a blessed week,
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