Merry Christmas
(I tried to find a Jesus emoji but there isn’t one)
Have an incredible Christmas!! I love and miss you all so much! Thank you to everyone who has sent emails or Christmas cards to me! They are better than any other gift I could receive.
Shoutout to everyone back home at CCHS for raising an absolutely incredible amount of money for charity! Such hard work.
Elder Goodrich and I played “Ticket to Ride -Northern Lights Edition”. It was so fun and the board was so beautiful.
We also put up some Christmas decorations around our apartment that we found in the closet. It is so much fun to have Christmas lights and a mini tree!
Google Photos to see some awesome decorations:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/
Spiritual Thought:
I just want you to sit down.
Say a prayer.
Set a timer for 5 minutes.
And think about Christmas.
What it really means to you, whatever that may be.
Write it down in a journal or on your phone.
Just take time to be still,
And to think about your reason for the season.
Short Version of Email: Think about Christmas, what it means to you. It is so cold. I ran a long way to not miss a train. Finland has amazing members. Our friend made it through the Isaiah chapters. I sang some cool Finnish songs.
Finnish Word of the Week: Moottorisaha - - Chainsaw, but literally translates to “Engine-saw”
Daylight Counter!
Saturday was the Winter Solstice. (the greatest day of the year) It's getting lighter from now on!!!!
Last week–5 Hours 4 minutes
This week–4 Hours 40 minutes
5 Amazing Things This Week:
1: Church on Sunday. I still can't understand a thing, but seeing the members is by far the best part of my week. I love that I can feel the same Spirit back home and in Finland!
2: At District Council we made some really good tacos; that took a long, long, long time to cook. As we finished eating, we looked at our phones and realized we had 15 minutes to make it to the train station. A 30 minute walk away. We made it, but boy was it close. I haven't ran that fast in a long long time.
3: It was -2 degrees Fahrenheit this week and then it warmed up, rained a ton, and went back to being below freezing. This means that literally every surface in Finland is a sheet of ice 2 inches thick. I have fallen many times.
4: It isn't even Christmas yet but the members have had us over for dinner 4 different times this week and given us lots of chocolate! Finland has the best members ever.
5: After attending a member's, extended family Christmas dinner/birthday party for her son, they took us with them to a local church to sing Finnish Christmas songs. It was super super cool.
Tender Mercy of the Week:
We had a lesson with our friend Saisindu this week after not meeting often with him because he wasn't progressing.
We had given him a Book of Mormon though. We went to go check up on him and share a quick message about Christmas. As he greeted us he sat down and joyfully exclaimed that he had read all of First and Second Nephi. He then asked us some questions about it and my comp and I were in complete shock. He even made it past the Isaiah chapters!! He told us his life has gotten so much better as he started reading the BOM. I still can't believe it. Yay for Saisindu! Hopefully we can keep meeting with him.
Where I am/Who I'm With: I am serving in Lappeenranta. My companion is Elder Goodrich.
Scripture of the Week:
Mosiah 25:10
10 And again, when they thought of the immediate goodness of God, and his power in delivering Alma and his brethren out of the hands of the Lamanites and of bondage, they did raise their voices and give thanks to God.
My thoughts: I love the phrase “the immediate goodness of God”. It is easy for me to see how good God is.
The earth, the lovely people on it, a Savior, Christmas time, my friends and family, all show me how good God has been to me.
Talk of the Week: ““A Teacher Come from God” (April 1998)
- - - Jeffrey R. Holland - - -
My Thoughts: Good teachers are so important and shape others in so many ways. We will all have the chance to be a teacher at some point in our life.
–“Effective teaching is the very essence of leadership in the church”
–“Do not make our faith hard to detect”
–“Don't supply only the superficial when the substantial is needed”
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
Have a very Merry Christmas,
Elder Balls
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