Finding my way back, squared.  

(Finland - Week 37)  

22 Sep 2015

           This past week I had the scariest 30 minutes of my life. I was talking to a lady on the bus and my companion was a few seats back, talking to a couple of girls. Our stop came so I finished my conversation and hopped off. The doors started to shut, and with obvious and complete terror on my face, I realized my companion had missed our stop. She turned in time to see my dropped jaw and paralyzed limbs. Frantically, she motioned and mouthed, "GO HOME! GO HOME!!!!" and then the bus took off. And for the first time in nearly a year, I was alone. Wow. You would think I would enjoy being alone for a bit, I did not. I got this nervous laugh for a few minutes, realized how crazy I must have looked, and then walked home as fast as I could without my skirt flying everywhere. I made it home safely, surely dodging thousands of miscreants along the way (not really, Finland is as safe as you can be, I was just not used to being alone), and waited. After twenty minutes I heard a loud thump and jump, my companion had decided to creep in the back window instead of using the door. That was exciting. I let her in and felt much, much better.

           Also this past week, I have been really, really tired. Missionaries are always tired, but sometimes we are just exhausted. I felt really down, and did not have the emotional energy to talk to a stranger that probably didn't want me to talk to them. I plopped down on the bus, refusing in my heart to open my mouth, and then something told me, just do it, it will be worth it. So I did, and I met one of the nicest people I have met my entire time of being a missionary. She was so grateful I had talked to her, so grateful for the Book of Mormon (she started showing it to others saying, "Look at the gift she just gave me!"), and such a good-hearted person. My companion saw how well the conversation was going so when the lady stood up to leave, she hopped off the bus (I followed, no separation anxiety anymore!) and we continued talking to this wonderful woman. I am so grateful for that woman. I needed someone right then that was going to be nice, that was going to give me energy when I had none. Our Father in Heaven and Savior are so, so attentive. Sometimes we think they aren't, but they always are. They are always watching and always know what is best. I am reminded of the promise we make at baptism, "to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;" (Mosiah 18:8) as well as the Saviors words in Matthew 11:28-30 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." We are promised rest when we turn to the Savior, and I can testify that this is true. We cannot always find rest within ourselves, it's just not always there. But in Christ, it is, rest and peace are always there. I love my Savior, I know He is the way for each one of us.

In other fantastic news, I found a frog!!! I named him Leopald III, I intended for him to be named after a Belgian king, but I could have spelled it wrong. He is a very classy, very kingly frog.

This other picture is of my companion in the woods on a walk home.

Thanks for all of your support! I love you all! Until next week,

Sisar Mendenhall

The Wallet Prayer

(Finland – Week 36)

15 Sep 2015

We are currently emailing in a new place, and it's the coolest library ever. It has all these modern chairs, glass everywhere, and a bridge that leads... to no where! I can't even comprehend all the symbolism and deep thought, it's super great. I'm more cultured just by sitting in here.

This week we had an awesome experience with prayer! A lady was looking through the bushes with a shovel, obviously she lost something. We asked if we could help, she said she had misplaced her wallet which had everything in it. ID cards, bank cards, bus card, everything. We happily whipped out our umbrellas and started parting the bush sea in search of the wallet. After about 10 minutes of fruitless searching, my awesome companion said, "I know how to find it! Let's say a prayer!" So the three of us huddled together and prayed right on the street. After the prayer the woman let out her breath, and thanked us for the beautiful prayer. Her stress had melted from her face and she said that she knew her wallet would be found. She said that from the moment we approached she new who we were, one because no one else wore skirts like ours, but also because only people like us would stop to help. She accepted a Book of Mormon, and promised to read it. We never found the wallet, but we saw her again just last night. She was with a group of friends, and she flagged us down. She yelled across the square that she had found her wallet, and that she knew it was because of our prayer. She then excitedly started telling her friends about prayer. It was so wonderful to see this woman recognize an answer to a prayer. I don't remember even learning how to pray, I've done it my whole life, seeing someone who just discovered the miracle of prayer for the first time was fantastic. It reminded me of how special prayer really is. Enos in the Book of Mormon received an answer to his prayer, and he asked, how did this happen? His answer was, "And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ,whom thou hast never before heard nor seen... wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole." (Enos 1:8) I know that prayer works, that it's so simple but profound. Think about it, every time we pray we are in contact with our Heavenly Father, we feel the Holy Ghost, and we pray in the name of Christ, we involve every member of the Godhead! I love prayer, I have found so much comfort, peace, and answers. Prayer is real, it works.

If you all would open your May 2015 copies of the ensign and look on page 108, you will see a cute family sitting on a lovely bench. That bench is in the church of my first area in Finland!! You can look at that and imagine me sitting there, doing something missionary-y like reading my scriptures. I definitely have read my scriptures there. I think I also napped there once, we had to skip dinner for something so we took a little break at the church and I took a few minutes to re-energize. Anyway, it's a pretty great bench. I don't actually know the family though, I think they were from a different congregation. Also in the same Ensign, on the computer screen on page 74, is Finnish!!!! Also, read the talks from this Ensign, they're even more fantastic than the bench.

This picture is of my companion! And the beauty of Finland never ceases to amaze.

Much love! Have a wonderful week!

Sisar Mendenhall

        

Real Love

(Finland – Week 35)

08 Sep 15

The other day we were at this old couple's house and they had this strange meat that they said missionaries weren't allowed to eat, but that they had made chicken for us. I asked what the suspicious meat was, and was appalled when they told me it was hedgehog! What?! I imagined my little sister's poor pet upon our platters. I didn't really want to believe it was true so I asked, "Do you mean the little animal with spikes that runs around at night?" (There are lots of hedgehogs here.) They looked at me funny, and said, "no, it's fish." I was super confused so I had them it spell for me, S-I-L-L-I.   I went home and looked up hedgehog in the dictionary, it's spelled S-I-I-L-I, how could I possibly have mixed those two? To add to my shame (just kidding, I feel no shame, those words are basically the same) my companion saw this sign advertising Finnish classes a few days later, it was too perfect in light of that meal. I'm just grateful that people here don't eat hedgehog, and if they do I'll pretend it's silli (herring).

A lot of other missionaries ask us how to find joy, and it all goes back to the same thing, knowing that our Savior Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father love us perfectly. I read 2 Corinthians 4 this morning, here is a good chunk from it:

 "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." 

Wow. I know that Christ has been there for each and every one of us. He is with us always, and thus we never can be beaten. We will be beaten down, hurt, and slip, but we will never ever be done. That gives me such joy, to know that we are already destined to succeed. God doesn't give us the spirit of fear, "but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2

Tim 1:7) God's entire purpose is literally to help us, "For behold this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39) The more we can realize that, that we have literally the Creator of the universe on our side, the more we can confidence in our lives, joy in keeping the commandments of God, and happiness in the life to come. I love my Savior! Every time I study joy I am reminded how much He loves me. That love is very, very real.

Much love to you all!

More wonderfully dramatic shots from my fantastic photographer companion.

Much love, Sisar Mendenhall

Stopping a train, with my face.‏  

(Finland – Week 34)  

31 Aug 2015

Ok, so I guess I stopped the train with my whole body, not just my face. I was hopping off a train the other day and a man that was just about to hop on said, "Hei Sisaret!" He quickly got on so I whipped around and punched the button to open the doors. I asked the man if he knew anything about us, I don't remember what he said, the doors started to shut again and because the train was ready to go I couldn't push the open door button again, but I couldn't let him just go. In a moment of slightly-less-than-clear clarity, I stuck half my body in so the doors shut on me. Thank goodness for safety features that prevented half of my body from traveling back to Kerava, the doors popped back open again, and I was able to hold the train and give this man a Book of Mormon. He was really grateful, as was I for my intact torso. The conductor was less grateful, I hope the rest of his day went well.

I came across this scripture recently and I was really touched as I focused on the first 12 words. This is Alma 7:13, "Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me." The Spirit knows everything, Christ could have been taught everything he needed to know by the Spirit, He did not need to suffer for us so that he could know how to succor us perfectly, to love us perfectly, or to have any personal gain. Our Savoir suffered purely for us. Everything He did was for us, everything He still does is for us. As I've come closer to Him on my mission I have felt more joy than ever before in my life. I know He lives. I know He loves each of us. This motivates me so much that I feel like Lehi who said, after having a dream in which he tasted from the Tree of Life (representing eternal life), "And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit." That's why I'm here, that's why I find joy in being shut in train doors, Christ truly can give us all the peace and happiness possible, which is much more than we can imagine.

Oh, also we got change calls! I'll be staying in Espoo and so is my companion! It's so nice to not have to pack. This picture is courtesy of my companion, she enjoys dramatic settings.

Have a fantastic viikko!

Love Sisar Mendenhall