Poro! 

(Finland – Week 58)  

16 Feb 2016

This week I had some really great poro at a member's house! The poro was in a sauce for salmon. I felt so Finnish. Reindeer sauce on salmon. Wow, it was way good! Here, Santa travels on a bike, so no worries about us eating his reindeer.

This week I was thinking about how I seem to always write about public transportation. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but wow, I talk a lot about public transportation. I was thinking about one bus stop the other day, and all of the wonderful stories we have from this one stop. There is a member here who was found at that bus stop. Once we were talking to a woman, at this same stop, who was so interested she asked if she could give us her contact information. The other day I started talking to a woman at this stop, and a man about 10 feet away turned, walked over and asked if he could listen too. We had a great mini lesson with these two strangers at the bus stop. I think back on when I first came to Finland, public transportation terrified me. I didn't understand what anyone said. I knew I was supposed to talk to people, and didn't know how. I was so scared to ride the bus, but even more scared of bus stops because everyone could hear me even if they weren't in my conversation. I'm so, so glad that my perspective has changed! I wouldn't have had all of these great experiences if I never had been able to get over that fear. I know that Christ really does strengthen us to conquer all fear, all trials, all challenges. He cares about our concerns, whether they are great or small. And through Him, our trials don't necessarily become easier, but we become stronger and have greater capacity to face trials. I love the example of Nephi in the Book of Mormon, "And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done." (1 Nephi 17:50) Nothing that we struggle with is meant to be hard forever. We don't ever have to think that we have gone as far as we can, with Christ we can always go farther. We never have to give up or in. Even death truly has no sting. I'm so grateful for my Savior every day.

I know I send a lot of pictures of trees, but these are really great trees. Trees here are just so tall, and the blue sky with the snow is just amazing.

Have a wonderful week!! Love Sisar Mendenhall

I Need Him Every Hour. (plus much anticipated pictures missed from last week)

(Finland – Week 57)

09 Feb 2016

I'm so sorry that I didn't send any pictures last week! I made up for it by dressing up really nice, and taking this picture with my companion. Check out my large smile. 

Also, here is a picture from downtown Helsinki. *Commencing everyone planning their next vacation to Finland. Wow I love Finland. When I first received my call to serve in Finland, I thought it was literally the most random thing that ever could have happened. Now I can't imagine being anywhere else.

I was thinking about the hymn "I Need Thee Every Hour" especially this fourth verse:

I need thee ev'ry hour,

Most holy One.

Oh, make me thine indeed,

Thou blessed Son!

I need thee, oh, I need thee;

Ev'ry hour I need thee!

Oh, bless me now, my Savior;

I come to thee!

I was thinking about how I need my Savior. There are so many reasons why. But I really want to focus my whole life on needing Jesus Christ every hour because I'm doing something for Him every hour. I don't want a single hour to pass by without having my Savior in my thoughts and heart. I used to think it was strange when people limited their movies and music stricter than I did, I thought I had a pretty good filter. Now I see that there are so many things that can pull our thoughts from the Savior, I don't want to make it worse by choosing to fill my head with things that will pull me from Him. I'm really grateful for this time to focus so much on Christ, because now I know that I want Him to be the focus of my entire life. When I was baptized I promised to follow Him, and I grateful to learn every day ways that I can better do that. I love my Savior, I know He's real, He really died for us, and He truly lives for us today.

Much love to you all!

Have a wonderful week!

Rakkaudellani, Sisar Mendenhall

The Englishman and a Hymn  

(Finland – Week 56)  

02 Feb 2016

Terve!

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY FAMILY!! February has 5 birthdays for our family, everyone wish them the best from me on the right days.

This past Saturday was awesome! So many things went just right. One really great thing was a man we met (not on a bus this time, at a bus stop! I love public transport.) from England. We started talking with him and he laughed a little, and told us that many missionaries had talked with him before. We asked if he had ever received a Book of Mormon, he said no but that they had sure tried! He was not interested. We talked a little more, and found that he had almost the exact same question as the Lamanite King in Alma 22. We explained the story to him, and he started to pay more attention. We offered the Book of Mormon to him, and asked him to read that chapter. He accepted! It's wonderful to see people change.

We've been thinking a lot about this song, "Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd",

1. Dear to the heart of the Shepherd,
Dear are the sheep of his fold;
Dear is the love that he gives them,
Dearer than silver or gold.
Dear to the heart of the Shepherd,
Dear are his "other" lost sheep;
Over the mountains he follows,
Over the waters so deep.

This is the first verse, and I love how it addresses God's love for each of us. This last verse I love because this is how privileged we are when we get to be missionaries,

4. Green are the pastures inviting;
Lord, we will answer thee gladly,
"Yes, blessed Master, we will!
Make us thy true under-shepherds;
Give us a love that is deep.
Send us out into the desert,
Seeking thy wandering sheep."
(Chorus)
Out in the desert they wander,
Hungry and helpless and cold;
Off to the rescue he hastens,
Bringing them back to the fold.

This is a perfect missionary song! God truly loves each of us, and I love that I get to focus on that love so much right now.

Have a wonderful week!!!

Love Sisar Mendenhall

Sunsets, WOW they're beautiful here!

(Finland – Week 55)

26 Jan 2016

This past week we had an amazing worldwide missionary training meeting. The man conducting the meeting visited Finland last year! His name is Elder Brent H. Nielson, at the very beginning he said, "We have missionaries in Hawaii watching this at 7 am, and missionaries in Helsinki, Finland watching at 7pm." I did an involuntary double fist pump. Our Mission President was sitting on my left, he was amused. The meeting was wonderful in that it taught how simple the Doctrine of Christ is. Faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. It doesn't have to be complicated, it's meant to be quite peaceful. I know that everyday I feel peace from the gospel.

My ponderizing scripture right now is Helaman 3:35, "Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God." I love how this verse says that they waxed stronger and stronger in humility. Usually humility is associated with weakness, with being broken down. We do want "a broken heart" and a "contrite spirit", but these things do not make us weaker. They make us stronger as we rely on and trust in Jesus Christ more and more. Increased relying on Christ leads to greater faith in Him, and thus a firmer foundation.

It's getting a little warmer now, we're sad to think the snow might leave! It's amazingly beautiful here, just look at this photographic evidence.

Have a wonderful week!

Love Sisar Mendenhall

Musical Vans and Strengthening the Tree

(Finland – Week 54)

 19 Jan 2016

This past week there was a solo sister going home, that meant my companion and I were companions with her for a day and took her to the airport! It was a huge blessing. She's a really fantastic missionary, she taught us a lot in the short time we were with her. It was really great to be with her, not so great when we had to go to the airport with two large vans, an equally large luggage trailer, and snowy hills. We were about 70 seconds out of the mission home before we got stuck, really stuck. The van with the trailer would not budge, and the van without a trailer budged about halfway up the first hill. Then commenced an intricate, complicated game of Musical Elders and Luggage. Bags and bodies were being tossed about, at one point there was a rope extended between the vans (that didn't last long). We finally got one van up after loading it with as much luggage as would fit in the back, and as many Elders as would fit in the front. The second van was taken up in like manner, and then only the trailer remained at the bottom of the hill. A few self-sacrificing Elders ran down, and like humble work ponies towed the trailer up. Much cheering ensued, and we had no more problems to the airport.

This week we had a really, really rough lesson. It was with a man that we thought was really prepared. We were devastated. This is literally the first lesson I have ever fought back tears in. This is the first lesson my companion and I have ever cried over. It really hurt. But it didn't hurt so much because of what was said, but because it meant that he wasn't going to learn anymore. He was choosing to stop something that I know only brings happiness and strength. That morning I had felt the need to study Jacob 5 with the question, how does God feel about His children? I was impressed with how many times it says that it "grieveth" the Lord to lose His tree. How hard it is for Him to see us distressed, lost, or not as close to Him as we could be. He loves us so much. That lesson really packed this point in with a punch. God is there. He is here with us in fact. He loves us. Jesus Christ is His Son. I felt that in no circumstance could I possibly ever deny the fact that God is our loving Heavenly Father. We went to bed that night so grateful for God's love. Still saddened by how the night went, but with even deeper testimonies of our Heavenly Father.

Jacob 5:13 "And these will I place in the nethermost part of my vineyard, whithersoever I will, it mattereth not unto thee; and I do it that I may preserve unto myself the natural branches of the tree; and also, that I may lay up fruit thereof against the season, unto myself; for it grieveth me that I should lose this tree and the fruit thereof."

A few more important thoughts:

According to my dictionary, the word "lama" means recession, depression, or llama. I'll be asking a Finn about that one...

Something truly wonderful about the cold, is that the snow doesn't melt! You just shake it off, no melting in your socks, no soggy gloves!

Love to you all!

Rakkaudellani, Sisar Mendenhall

30 Below

(Finland – Week 53)

11 Jan 2016

 New level of cold: when all exposed hair freezes (head, face, eyelashes). This picture is from exchanges, in negative 30 Celsius. It was a little chilly, but it was a fantastic day! I love exchanges, just talking with my peers about what really matters in life. I've learned on my mission how to do that, how to talk about what's important, it's awesome. It's wonderful how much we all learn from each other, and how many things happen in our lives so that we are better equipped to help others.

The cold made for an awesome contact the other day! We knocked on a lady's door, introduced ourselves, gave her a Book of Mormon, and set up a return appointment all in about 20 seconds! Keeping the door open is a little harder when they see frosted sisters outside.

We have received transfer calls, and I will be STAYING! I'm so excited!! I love Espoo. The ward, the land, everything. Our transfers are 9 weeks, this being my fourth will put me at nine months in Espoo, and wow, do I feel so blessed! I see the temple everyday. The sight just reminds me of God's love.

Every new transfer we have a new scripture to ponder and study as a mission. The scripture for this transfer is Joshua 1:9, "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." I love how much we are promised in this verse. We can literally do all we are asked, we have hope, we have the Lord of all with us in each step, and this is true no matter our circumstance in life. We talk to lots of people, from lots of different backgrounds. I've shared my testimony with so many, and something that is the same for everyone is the feeling of peace that comes to people when they study the word of God. One of my favorite things is reading the Book of Mormon with people on buses. Their entire countenance changes, it's lighter. I know the Book of Mormon testifies of the Lord, and His is always nearby to tell us of this truth.

I love Finland so much, I can't imagine being happier anywhere else.

Have a wonderful week!

Love Sisar Mendenhall

Winter is here.  

(Finland – Week 52)

  

05 Jan 2016

Welcome winter! Glad you finally came, and that you are now letting everyone know with great enthusiasm. What is the most awkward part of winter, you may ask. Is it when your feet go numb and you feel you are walking on stilts? When you contemplate putting your pen in your mouth because your hands have frozen into shovels? When you are leaving someone's home and take five minutes in a very cramped entryway to put on both of your scarves, gloves, mittens, hat, coat, boots, reflector (legally required), and boots (which look exactly like your companion's because you bought them together)? The answer is none of the above. The most awkward thing is when the moisture on your nose hairs freeze, and you walk around with a hundred tiny icicles in each nostril. To top it off these icicles eventually melt... Honestly though I do love the winter, everything is so beautiful when covered in snow. Also, my family sent me great leggings for Christmas, so besides my nose I'm quite warm!

This past week I noticed an awesome similarity between one of my favorite scriptures, Helaman 5:12, and 3 Nephi 18. In 3 Nephi 18 Christ institutes the Sacrament among the Nephites, just as He did with His apostles in the Last Supper. When talking about the why of the Sacrament, Christ says, "And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you. And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall do these things. And if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built upon my rock." (3 Nephi 18:11-12) When we partake of the Sacrament each week to remember Christ, to repent of our sins, and to start a fresh week we stay firm on the rock of Christ. Helaman 5:12 says, "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." By staying on the rock of Christ, we will always be safe and protected. And we stay on that rock by worthily partaking of the Sacrament! The Sacrament is so important, I had no idea before my mission. It's become one of my favorite parts of my week. I love the time that I get to focus on my Savior and becoming more like Him.

I wish you all a warm and happy week! Watch those nose hairs.

Love Sisar Mendenhall

Attached are some pictures of the beauty of Finland. I live in a postcard. All the time. Wow I love it here.