Kutsuttu Palvelemaan: 11/24/15 BELIEVE God Will Provide a Way... All You Have to Do is OBEY

Kaikille:
Hopefully this week I can fill you all in more on what's been going on these past few weeks. It's been a whirlwind for sure, but a definite good one. I decided instead of outlining my whole week for you this time, I just wanted to mention some of the most important things and things that I learned. We'll see if I like it better and what not.
So FIRST... wanted to talk about our recent convert family. GUESS WHAT?? We have a new member of the family. They had their baby this week. It was a little girl. Definitely having a baby on the way so soon has made it difficult to meet and have the new recent convert lessons, but this has given the ward a good chance to step in and help-- and they most definitely have done so. This ward is seriously so great! We were able to squeeze in a lesson with them last tuesday (she had the baby on friday). So it was pretty soon before she had it. They actually taught the restoration lesson to us, and they did such a great job. The husband bore his testimony at the end. It was so AWESOME! I am so grateful for them, and that Sister Allen and I knocked on their door 4 months ago. As we walked away from their house on tuesday night, we got about 20 steps out the door and I just had this overwhelming feeling come. So I stopped and said Sister Adams this is right where I stood the very first time we knocked on their door and walked away after talking with the husband about the Book of Mormon. I remember looking back and seeing him still standing their on the doorstep just watching us walk away, as if his life had just completely changed. Little did he know, that it really would. Definitely a tender moment for me and I'm just so happy I've been able to stay here in Jyväskylä for as long as I have and to continue to see, teach, and visit them, and be apart of their lives.
SECOND... We finally were able to talk with a less active that Sister Allen and I had been trying several times to reach. We had gone to her house probable a hand full of times, but no one was ever home, and we had called and texted a bunch too. Well I just had the thought to try one more time with Sister Adams, and what do you know? She was just walking up the apartment steps when we got there. We set up a return appointment and we're going to visit her this week. It's so amazing to see the small miracles that happen each day and how much we are blessed. I'm so grateful for Heavenly Father's direction and that His timing is perfect.
THIRD... we taught our one and only investigator at the moment, this week too. We changed up a little bit our approach for lessons that we've been using and started talking about the Holy Ghost and promptings we receive in our lives. This week we really want to talk about the Gift of the Holy Ghost and that we can really have Him in our lives constantly. Our hope is to invite her to baptism, so we'll see how it goes. (We've invited about 5 times now). We're hoping the timing will be right this week, but katsotaan.
FOURTH...Even amidst the craziness of having a baby and two crazy little boys to take care of, the husband of our recent convert family made it to church with both little boys this week. I was so proud!! :) Definitely a happy moment. He hasn't missed a sunday yet since their baptism. It was a pretty wild Sacrament meeting, but we made it through alright. It was kind of funny-- I get too stressed out I guess, because one of the ward members was watching the whole time we were trying to help keep the kids under control the whole time (obviously hard for us as missionaries because of the guidelines we have regarding kids). He came up to us after the meeting and said "Sister Jordan, don't get so stressed out about the kids... kids will be kids. It's alright." It definitely reminded me that I just needed to realize that everything wouldn't be perfect and it's not worth it to stress about. A good lesson to learn!
FIFTH... IT SNOWED!!!! Finally!!! It finally snowed a good 5 inches or more here. It's seriously like a winter wonderland. The snow sticks to the trees here like none other. It's like snow snow everywhere!!! The snow sticks really well together too, so I've seen quite a few impressive snowmen. It's so fun! I never knew I loved snow quite so much. On the other hand though--- it's been rather cold. I made an oath that I wasn't getting my winter coat and boots out though until December, so i'm trudging it through the cold this week. We'll see if I can make it. I thought my toes were going to about freeze off yesterday when we were out tracting for 3 and half hours. I think the temperature was about 20ish degrees Fahrenheit, which really isn't too bad, but it was pretty cold. I'm afraid when winter really comes (a.k.a really cold temperatures) that i'm going to turn into a loyd and harry from Dumb and Dumber and i'll have snot icicles hanging from my nose. It gets so cold when you're out for so long in it, that you just can't tell anymore if you're nose is running or not. (sorry...but it's true). Oh the joys of winter in Finland as a missionary. Gotta love it!! I sure do!

So a few other fun facts for the week. The sun doesn't ever really completely come out, at least not lately anymore. It's just kind of like this gray sky everywhere. It's rather dreary looking, but eventually the sun will come back out. It's about as light as it's going to get by about 9:30am and it starts to get dark about 3-3:30ish in the afternoon. It's a weird feeling to have it be dark so early, but I just have to remember how light it is in the Summer and that gives me hope. :)

The ice is slick here.... Sister Adams slipped twice yesterday while we were tracting. So we're really trying our best to be careful.

Well in closing I just wanted to share about my amazing trainee and companion Sister Adams. She is from Rexburg, Idaho. She studied Finnish for a year of college and a lot of family and friends live here in Finland. So all of the "new" things in Finland are already a normal thing for her. It's really cool, because she already knows so much about Finland and about the language that really we can just go out and do work. It hardly feels like a trainer/trainee companionship, it's great! But most of all I really just wanted to talk about how much of an answer to prayer she was and has been to me. This is something I really haven't shared with probably many of you, but I felt that it was a good time and it's really meant so much to me these last two weeks that I want to share. So probably for my entire mission, I have had the hardest time finding the motivation, courage, faith, and determination to talk to people-- be it on the street, on the buses or trains or metros, or at their doors. One I just felt for so long that I completely had no idea what they were saying and I couldn't speak their language hardly at all (or at least anything understandable), and two when I started to understand what they would say, I just felt like I never had anything profound or very interesting to say to them, even if I bore my testimony. There's probably honestly a whole list of things I could write of why it really was so hard for me, but simply put-- it was really hard and it frustrated me and I have prayed and prayed and prayed for help. It never has been something I didn't want to do, but rather something I really really wanted to be good at and love doing and that's why it's been so frustrating. It has definitely gotten better throughout my mission, but I just never have felt like I completely reached the point of being comfortable and liking it like I should and like I wanted to. Well then... Sister Adams came, and it has completely changed my life, my mission, and a lot of my fears and frustrations. She is fearless, and brave. She is full of faith and hope and ideas and energy. It's so invigorating and motivating. She has what I like and probably many others to call "greenie power", except I truly believe hers is just who she is. She carries a special light with her, and it feels me everyday. She inspires me to talk to so many and to share the Gospel with everyone. When I'm with her, I feel like I can talk to and discuss with anyone. And when we do, I realize that I'm saying more than I ever used to. I bear my testimony more powerfully, and I realize that Finnish is just coming out, and next thing I know, I'm just telling them all about the Godhead and the history of the Book of Mormon and all these great things. We gave out 13 Books of Mormon this past week, and 12 potential investigators. It was crazy and so neat! I cannot tell you how much I love her. It really has been an answer to my prayers. She is teaching me more than i'll probably ever be able to teach her. She is training me and I love her so much!

I am so grateful to be here, to be serving in such a beautiful place! I know I say it all the time, but seriously Finland is so special and it's so beautiful no matter what season it is. I am filled with so much gratitude this week in particular for all that God has given me. It reminds me of one of my favorite hymns. The words that come to my mind are these

"Because I have been given much, I too must give."

I pray that I can do this especially this coming week. I really truly have been given so much, and I too must share this amazing Gospel with others. We are so blessed as members of this church. I have such a strong conviction that this truly is the one true church-- Christ's church, restored on the earth today. What a blessing to have that assurance. I love you all, and hope you can each take time to ponder all the many blessings that are in your life this week and offer a prayer of gratitude to our Heavenly Father, for all that He has given you individually. You all are wonderful! Have a great week!

Rakkaudellani,
Sisar Jordan