July 14, 2015 NEW AREA!!!!! First Transfer

Schyler and her new companion, Sisar Allen from Magna, Utah  - 1 week together

Beautiful Jyvaskyla

The Death Stairs

July 7, 2015

Happy 4th of July "I love America"

Last night with Sisar Forrest before transfers !! :(

July 7, 2015 Mina rakastan Suomea !!!!! I love Finland

Kaikille:

Minä rakastan Suomea!!!  I love Finland! It is so beautiful here and so sacred and I love this country!  

Wow so much happens in one week... it's crazy.  I wish I could just share everything with you every week-- all the moments of my mission and exactly how I am feeling and my thoughts.  I wish somehow they could take a video of our missions that everyone could watch and experience everything with us, but I will share the most precious ones of this week.  

So the funny moment was this:

-We went to help Sister Jokinen (one of my favorite women),a lady in our ward, clean her house and we tried to get the cushion covers off... in dresses... it was not happening.  It was pretty funny because they were stuck on there so tightly.  Then I also sprayed her son Onni with a water gun and we almost got in a huge water fight.. me in my dress and all.  Her boys are 10 and 12 I think and they are lots of fun! 

Random:

-We had a really random lady calls us in the middle of the afternoon on Thursday and I guess about a year ago she had met with some of the sisters that were here once.  She wanted to meet again.  So weirdly enough we weren't sure exactly what we were getting into, but we met her in Itis (like a huge shopping mall) and went and sat down at some tables by this cafe called Arnold's.  We talked about the gospel and a lot about the Book of Mormon.  The weird thing was, she really wasn't interested in changing at all, but said she just wanted to "share experiences" because that's how she learns.  It was rather interesting, but hopefully we can change her mind and she will realize how much this church really is for her and will bring truth into her life. 

Spiritual/Emotional (x10000):

-President Watson just came out with a new rule that we can't leave our areas at all anymore for even dinner appointments with people in the ward.  It has the ward members pretty fired up here in Marjaniemi because they now are only able to feed certain missionaries, and the Elders in Porvoo have hardly any members who live out there, so they will probably not have any Dinner appointments.  Well regardless, we have an old lady in the ward who got diagnosed with cancer back in March when I was with Sister Seegmiller.  Sister missionaries have been visiting her since I don't even know when... but for a long time! She LOVES them!!!  She doesn't really have any family who comes to see her and she is all by herself.  Her cancer has just gotten progressively worse and she has lost more and more weight since I have been here.  She's practically skin and bones now.  She is seriously the sweetest, kindest old lady ever.  She doesn't speak any English, so that has been good for me to have to really pay attention and use my Finnish more.  Well because she doesn't live in our area, we decided that meant we would be breaking a rule if we went there still, so we didn't know what to do.  We asked the Zone Leaders and they said we could go one last time to tell her.  So we went and long story short... she was crying.  Her heart was broken and she was so sad.  It made me feel so sick inside and I started crying too.  I just sat there and held her hand and we both just cried.  It felt awful!  I was so sad for her-- here is this little fragile old lady who is slowly withering away from cancer and she has no one to come visit her and she doesn't want the Elders to come or really ward members... she just loves the sisters, and we just told her sisters wouldn't be coming anymore.  My heart was broken.  So we went home that night and we called the zone leaders and told them what had happened.  They thought about it over night and the next morning they called and said that they were making an exception to this.  We were so happy and when we called to tell the old lady, she was so happy and I know that it completely lifted her spirits.  It made me feel so much better! 

BIG NEWS:

SO... transfer calls were this week... and... I am leaving! I will be going to Yväskylä to be a senior companion to Sister Allen a newer sister, and finish her training there.  I am so excited!  This will be really great and I have only heard really great things about that city.  They say it is one of the prettiest places in Finland-- lots of lakes and forrest.  They also say that the people there are really great and that they speak really proper Finnish so that will help me even more.  There is a university there, so lots of younger people.  It will be so great!!!   BUT... on the flip side... I have cried and cried and cried and my heart hurts because I have to leave here; I have to leave sister forrest and this ward and Marjaniemi.  I don't know of a place or a ward that will ever really hold the same spot in my heart as this one does.  I will miss sister forrest SO MUCH!!!  She is probably one of my best friends and I have learned more about myself and life and Heavenly Father's love from her.  Last night we planned and then we just both sat on the couch listening to our favorite church songs from the transfer and sobbed our heads off.  I didn't know there would be so many goodbyes here in Finland and especially not so many that hurt so much!  Saying bye to so many members on Sunday and taking pictures with everyone just hurt.  I love them all so much!!  Me and Bishop's wife cried, me and Sister Jokinen cried, me and Sister Humphries cried, and it's just hard to say bye to so many people that I love so much and that have been here for me during one of the hardest times of my life.  I leave tonight about 6pm and I have to ride on a train by myself for about and hour and half before I meet up with the new sister, and I already know that I will be a mess when we pull away.  I know that I will be a mess saying bye to Sister Forrest because now we won't even be in the same Zone so I probably won't see her for another year until I get home.  She goes home in October.  I will miss her so so much!!! AAhhh... it's so bitter-sweet, but I know that this is the Lord's plan and there's a reason I need to be in Yväskylä at this time and with Sister Allen.  I am grateful for change and that it helps us to grow and progress and come closer to our Savior and Heavenly Father.  

I love Finland and I love the people here! It is a sacred place and it means so much to me already! I am grateful for prayer-- to know that I can really talk to my Heavenly Father at all times, in all places, and about all things.  He hears my prayers and knows the fears in my heart, and he cares and loves me.  I hope this week you will all remember to PRAY OFTEN!  Remember, God is your Heavenly Father, and he wants to hear from you!!  I love you all and I'm grateful for all you are teaching me as well, even though far away!  Make yourselves a great week!! 

Rakkaudellani,

Sisar Jordan 

June 30th, 2015

Thought I would share just a small paragraph from Schyler's letter to me this week as she did not write her big email to everyone for this blog.  This past month and a half have been rough to say the least, but she is getting her feet back under her and is gonna be just fine.

"I am doing a little bit better.  Some days are definitely worse than others.  I pretty much feel like I am on an emotional roller coaster and for that I am so grateful to have Sister Forrest here.  I am nervous about transfer calls on friday because I'm afraid my heart will just break if I have to leave this area-- especially the members and mostly Sister Forrest.  She has been here for every hard painful moment of mine and she understands me and knows me so well.  I love her so much mom and I know that there was a reason we were put together specifically this transfer.  I don't think I could have made it through everything the same way with anyone else.  I needed her and God knew that.  I can't wait for you to meet her and especially for us to be together again after our missions and for you to see and experience the friendship that we share.  It's not exactly explainable, but I love her and God knew that I needed her."

"Kuvat Suomesta"  a rain storm

Enemman Kuvat - schyler puddle jumping

A day at the Temple :)

More Pictures June 22, 2015

"Juhannus Paivaa"  Longest Day of the Year - looking out our apartment at 11;30pm

June 22, 2015

Kaikille:

I am so blessed to be here right now.  Finland is wonderful.  This week was really great.  I love my companion so much-- words don't do it justice so the bottom line is that I love her.  We have a really awesome Ward Mission Leader here who has given us lists of all the less actives in our ward with addresses.  He has asked us to try and find each one and see if they still live there and then potentially choose a few to go and teach each week.  We have at least 100 less actives in our ward.  It is extremely sad.  We haven't figured out what it is exactly that pulls them away from the church pretty soon after they are baptized.  Finland is just "all its own".  It's true that the few members who are actually active, are SUPER faithful and devoted to the gospel, but the rest... well they were baptized and then just fell away.  My hope is that while on my mission, I can truly have a "converted" convert.  That they won't just receive the lessons and think that it's a really good thing, but that they will have a sure solid testimony of it, so much that they won't fall away.  Yes it definitely is still possible, and we can't predict what will happen but if we really try our best to make sure they are completely and fully converted, regardless of the time that it takes, I think it will be a success.  It's almost harder to get the ones who have fallen away from the church to come back than it is for the ones who have never experienced it before to come.  Siis... if we can stop that in the first place it would solve the "at least 100 less actives" problem.  

We got a new investigator yesterday!! YAY!!!  I am SUPER excited about this one.  She is a single mom with one little girl.  She is from somewhere in Africa and has lived here in Finland for about 15 years.  She has talked about wanting to find the "right" church but just never knows which is really right.  Well of course we were able to share about Joseph Smith's experience and talked to her about praying for this answer.  I am just super happy to have someone knew.  

This week I tried silli... AKA Herring.  (raw pickled fish)... yes against the rules.  Guess where at?  haha Piispa (bishop)'s house.  It was disgusting.  Sister Forrest made us try it together, and I just had to hum There is Sunshine in My Soul Today because otherwise I was going to throw up.  I have no idea how they eat that stuff.  DISGUSTING... Oh the places you'll go, the things you'll eat... 

It was Juhannus Päivää this last weekend.  So that is the longest day of the year and especially for them here, the longest day with pretty much sunlight all day long.  It's crazy.  So now the days will start getting shorter which I am not exactly excited about... really winter itself i'm not thrilled about, but it will be good to experience it all. 

Well to close this off... Just want to share some of my testimony:

"And I think to myself... Oh what a wonderful world!".... Literally almost everyday I think that to myself and I am just overwhelmed with God's love for me, for you, for all of us.  Finland is SO beautiful.  It is a fairytale land here.  The pictures that I send home occasionally don't do it justice.  The colors are more vibrant, the sky more real, and everything is just so clean and fresh and new.  It's as if it is completely untouched by rain, wind, dirt, human hands, anything.  I've thought quite a bit about the following scripture this last week as I have been walking down the streets or along the ocean-- "Believe in God, believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth, believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth, believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend" (Msh 4:9).   I don't understand how trees were originally made, or flowers, or the sky, or dirt, or any of it.  I don't understand exactly how man was created or how everything on this earth exactly came to be, but I do believe and know there is a God who created it all and he knows perfectly.  I can't comprehend all of his ways, but "I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things" (1 Neph. 11:17).  Trials are placed in our life for specific reasons we may never understand, BUT don't stop believing in the God who made everything else possible in our lives-- who "has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another" (Msh 2:21).  God is supporting me from each moment to the next.  He is lending me breath to wake up each day and find happiness and joy here.  He is giving me strength to do hard things-- to talk to people and learn this crazy language, to talk to people about the true restored gospel on the earth today.  I love my Heavenly Father and it is because of Him that I am able to experience all of this-- the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I hope that you too will find this happiness in each day.  That you can look up through those moments of pain and disappointment or moments of greatness and victory and just say Thank you-- I know you made all of this possible. "Rejoice in the Greatness of God"!!! Sanon taman Jeesuksen Kristuksen nimessä. Aamen.

Make yourself a great week! Love you all! 

Rakkaudellani,

Sisar Jordan    

June 16, 2015 No Big Letter this time.......just some gorgeous pictures !!!!

Sister Forrest and Sister Jordan - June 2015

Beautiful sky and clouds of FINLAND !!

Scenery along a path we run on early mornings

Flowers are amazingly big, beautiful and smell fabulous !!