MEMBERS. Are super cool.

(Finland – Week 46)

24 Nov 2015

This week we have met so many amazing people! Really, we have had so many people interested in learning more. A few times, people will only have about a minute or two on the bus with us, but they'll give us their phone number and ask us to call them. One lady asked us for a Book of Mormon in her language, gave us her phone number, and told us about where she lived in under a minute. I just forgot to get her name. Oops! I'll call and ask...

This week we had the most awesome experience with a member missionary. As sister missionaries we have a rule that we cannot teach men without another woman with us. We had a first lesson with someone that really wanted to learn, he is friends with a member and they both were SUPER excited for us to come over. Last second, the woman to come with us cancelled, and we were heartbroken. But we were already right outside his door and we refused to give up. We frantically made some calls to find someone else to come, but no one could. We called to cancel, and they were so disappointed. We started to leave, but just two minutes later we get a phone call, "Hey, we found a girl! Come back!" The member had stopped a woman walking by, and invited her to our lesson! It turns out she is a member of the church but has not come to church for about 1.5 years, and she was totally ready to come back! We taught about the Restoration, how God has called a prophet today, and everyone there participated. It was a miracle and showed how much one person can do when they have the determination. Everything just worked out perfectly, like you always hope it will. It reminded me of the scripture in John 16:33, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." We don't ever have to worry about if we can overcome the hard times, awkward times, inconvenient times, or the more serious evil influences of the world, because we never have to. Christ already did so, and we need only rely on Him, use His strength, and then all will work out for our good. It's truly the best gift, the peace of knowing that everything will turn up, everything will be fair one day.

This week we have been loving the sun! We've only seen it a few times, but it always makes us stop and think for a bit about all of the things we are grateful for. This is my companion, don't worry everyone, I haven't changed that much in a year!

Have a wonderful week!

Love Sisar Mendenhall

Homemade Hats and Giant Cheese

(Finland – Week 45)

17 Nov 2015

One day last week because of schedule madness we weren't able to go out to contact people until the evening, but, we set a goal of giving out seven copies of the Book of Mormon. We made sure we really tried to talk to everybody, and wow it was a fantastic evening! We met so many wonderful people, people that wanted to learn more, and our night kicked off a fantastic weekend. We met one woman on the train, who not only wants us to come but also took a Book of Mormon for her sister! These experiences remind me of Acts 18:9-10 "Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city." The Lord really does prepare people to learn, and He has people everywhere. Look at your friends and family, the Lord has many people in your friend circle. And thanks to technology that's not limited to just one city! When the world and our lives get crazy, hope in Christ keeps us sane, and gives us the peace that one day all will be right. Pray for and look for which of your friends you can share the hope with this week!

Pictures: It was my companion's birthday! I spent the past week of when she was in the shower making hats and hiding balloons in the apartment, it was a good day. 

Also, this is the most effective ad I have ever seen. The cheese pictured literally says "endless cheese," as evidenced by the fact that it is bigger than the world. This cheese is now in my fridge, and we have many cheesy meals and puns planned.

I wish you all the best!

Love Sisar Mendenhall

BECAUSE He is beside us  

(Finland – Week 44)  

                11 Nov 2015

This week, we lit the biggest birthday candle (yes, I know missionaries are not supposed to have candles). We were on exchanges with a former companion of mine and it was her birthday! We were having super fancy frozen pizzas and because there were five of us, we threw a bunch in the oven at the same time. Too many pizzas. The baking paper on one touched the top of the oven and promptly caught on fire. I, having gained much wisdom as a missionary, yanked it out with my hands, and ran over to the sink way too close to my companion. She, having gained great reaction time being my companion, launched backwards onto the counter. I threw the flaming paper in the sink and turned on the faucet. I don't know what mad science was happening, but that was the wrong move. The flames shot up way bigger. My companion grabbed a box of something and started dumping white powder all over at the same time one of the other sisters grabbed the fire blanket. The powdering put it out, wow I'm grateful for my companion and her ability to be much calmer in emergency situations. No one was hurt, now we know where the fire blanket is, all of the pizzas were still edible, and my former companion got an impromptu birthday candle! All of the blessings!

This week I was thinking about the words to "If the Savior Stood Beside Me", a children's song I really love. It goes:

If the Savior stood beside me,

Would I do the things I do?

Would I think of His commandments and try harder to be true?

Would I follow His example?

Would I live more righteously if I could see the Savior standing nigh,

watching over me?

I noticed that at the beginning of the verse, it says "if the Savior stood beside me", I read it like this, Is the Savior really there? If He was there what would I do? It's like when we first start to build our faith. When we first try something new, it's always a little shaky, and very easy to doubt it's future success. The song goes on to talk about what we do when we want to follow the Savior. We keep His commandments, we act as He would. Finally, at the end, after we have kept the commandments and lived as He would, it says, "if I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me". This really rang to me as doubt free. It's no longer, is my Savior there? It's BECAUSE He IS there, what will I do? There isn't a question anymore as to His presence, it's a stated fact, He's there watching over me. I was reading today about faith, how much power it has to change us, build us up, comfort us, and truly heal us. I love this simple scripture about this power, "Yea, and even all they who wrought miracles wrought them by faith, even those who were before Christ and also those who were after." (Ether 12:16) Faith is an amazing source of light and strength. I'm so grateful for everything that develops my faith every day. Faith is always worth the energy, time, and heart.

This week we got transfer calls! I'll be staying in Espoo, one of my companions is headed home, and the other is staying here with me!

Also, a member gave us a crock pot so we celebrated by eating pig heart! It was pretty yummy.

Have a great week everybody!

Love Sister Mendenhall

A Year.   

(Finland – Week 43)   

03 Nov 2015

ONE YEAR AGO... I was in the MTC, probably studying Finnish, or dreaming about Finnish, or eating my way through a bowl of tomato slices (wow, I love tomatoes). I can't believe it's been a year! I never could have dreamed up all the amazing experiences I've had, how I would change for the better, and the fantastic people I would meet. I'm so, so grateful for my mission, and I still have so much more to live and love! Wow, that sounds cheesy, but truly I'm so grateful.

I get asked a lot why, why do you learn Finnish? Why do you leave your family? Why are you talking to me? Why do you care? I get so happy when I hear these questions, because the why is amazing. Why? Because, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, came. He came for every single one of us. Through Him, we need not be sad forever, literally miracles are possible. Christ is literally the way for each of us. I have felt His influence so much over the past year, for which I will be eternally grateful. But, we don't have to be missionaries to feel and experience the love of Christ. This past week we had a family home evening with recently baptized members and we watched Meet the Mormons! That movie is a fantastic example of missionary work, those people are such great examples and sharing the video is wonderful too. (It's on Netflix, you all should watch and share it!) I really loved how a few of the people on this movie said that they aren't perfect in anything, except that they are perfect in trying. I love this, because it shows optimism. They aren't perfect, but that never gets them down. Continually progressing to become more like the Savior brings them joy. Sharing the gospel brings joy, that's promised in the scriptures, and becoming more like Christ brings joy, that's also promised in the Scriptures. I'm so grateful for the chance that I have to be here on earth, so that I can experience these two amazing things.

And to end, one of my favorites, 2 Nephi 22:

" 1 And in that day thou shalt say: O Lord, I will praise thee; though thou wast angry with me thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

 2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.

 3 Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

 4 And in that day shall ye say: Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

 5 Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things; this is known in all the earth.

 6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee."

Much love to you all! Have a great week and enjoy the Finnish sunset!

Love Sisar Mendenhall

We Three Sisters and Perfect Public Transportation  

(Finland – Week 42)  

27 Oct 2015

     Tuesday night phone call from President: "Hey sisters, is there room for three in your apartment?" "Yes there is!" "Ok, thanks, have a great night!" ...President knows how to pull a cliff hanger.

Wednesday morning call from President: "Good morning sisters, you're getting a third companion on Sunday." 

And then there were three. I've spent quite a bit of time in a trio already, and the past day and a half have been great! There's a third more energy, a third less cleaning, and numerous other good things. 

     This past week we've had quite a few remarkable public transportation experiences. We sprinted to the train and caught it just in time (not remarkable or unusual) and dropped into seats gasping for breath. With a chuckle my companion said to the lady in front of her, "Sometimes it's hard," and the lady said back, "yes it is, my daughter is very sick, I'm coming back from taking care of her all day." And instantly we switched from laughing and being worried about our legs to a deep conversation about this woman's needs and the love of Christ. We were so surprised, because Finns don't like sharing personal things. On public transport "What is your work" and "what is your family like?" are often viewed as too probing. To have someone open up unprompted like that was very unusual. It really showed to me how Heavenly Father provides. We don't see a lot of the work He does, but He is always there. That lady needed us right then, people that would listen and want to talk. Each person is so precious to our Father in Heaven. I've been learning more and more about how I really love people. I spent my whole life watching movies about interesting people, but all of those pale in comparison to real people. People that matter, that really have their own unique and individual purpose. The more people I meet, the more I see "that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth" (Alma 26:27) and I just want to keep meeting more and more of these wonderful people. 

     A second awesome transportation experience was on the bus. I turned to talk to a lady, and instantly she went off, loudly telling me about her very negative opinion of missionaries. The bus went dead silent, and then a man at the front stood up, walked back to where we are sitting, and said, "I don't know what kind of experiences you've had, but I am very grateful for the work you missionaries do. You are a very peaceful people. Jesus bless you." and then he went and sat back down. As unexpected as the first story I shared was, this was even more so. I am so, so grateful to that man whom I did not recognize. Grateful for the missionaries that talked to him before, and grateful for the Light of Christ in each person which inspires them to do and be good. The power of our Savior is everywhere, our job is figuring out how we can best use it in our lives. I pray I all of us and use it well. 

     Here are some pictures from our exchanges in downtown Helsinki last week. There was quite the storm! We stopped a man in the storm and he said, "Of course I believe in a higher power! Look at this storm around you!" I love how this man found his Heavenly Father in all around him.

 

Have a wonderful week!

       

Rakkaudella, 

Sisar Mendenhall

 

The Best Take Three in the History of Everything and Fridge Improv  

(Finland - Week 41)  

20 Oct 2015 

Everybody take a look down at the photos, one is of the gorgeous Helsinki temple. Guess what the other is? For all of you that guessed my fridge for the past week and a half, fantastic job! Finland always provides, our fridge waited to break until it was cold enough to keep everything outside. This has seriously improved our healthy habits: nothing to discourage over-snacking than putting everything in the frigid air. We are having fun with it (as are our neighbors I am sure), and grocery shopping is way easy with no worries of everything fitting into the fridge! We've even organized everything into different bags. Our landlord wants to buy us a new fridge, toivottavasti se tapahtuu nopeasti! But in the meantime, I have moved my ponderizing scripture onto the back door, thus it is still on the door of my fridge and I will see it often. 

This Saturday was written by the most hopeful of missionaries. At 12:00, our investigator was baptized! At 13:30, we made sure all was clean. At 14:00 a boy in the ward was baptized! At 15:30 we made sure all was clean. At 16:00 the downtown Helsinki sisters' investigator was baptized! And at 19:00 we ate a snack! Truly it was an amazing day. Our investigator was so incredibly prepared, and our mini missionary (who taught this investigator and made a huge difference) was able to come! It was definitely a day to bask in God's abundant love. I don't even know how many times in the scriptures we are invited to come unto Christ by being baptized. This morning I read in Moroni 7:34, "And he hath said: Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved." The chapter goes on in verses 36 and 37 to say, "Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men;" This past Saturday was the showing of great faith of three precious souls. I know that faith is real power and I love learning more about it, finding how I can tap into this power. I love this verse (41) in that same chapter, "And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise." In a world with so many distractions, it's so important to remember where our hope comes from, from our Savior Jesus Christ. Why are we baptized? To follow Him. To return back to our Heavenly Father, through Him. I am so very grateful for my Savior, I love Him so much.

I wish you all the best! Have a great week! 

Love Sisar Mendenhall

Let’s Learn From All the Whippersnappers  

(Finland – Week 40)  

13 Oct 2015

   Yesterday we were going to teach a family that we teach in French and Finnish. We usually use the Book of Mormon that they have at their home (which is in Swahili) but this time I felt like I should grab a French Book of Mormon too. On the train there we sat by a man, and after talking with him we could tell his native language was not Finnish or English. We asked him what it was, and he said French! I whipped out the Book of Mormon that I had in my bag in French and excitedly gave it to him. He was excited too! He stood up, and took off his hat, giving us a little bow. He could tell that the book was important, and he was so excited that he could read in French again. I'm so grateful I felt the need to grab that book; the Lord knows exactly how to take care of all of His children.

   This past week we met a man whose wife had just had a baby. He was so excited to tell us about the new child, and happily invited us back! It was wonderful to share his joy and see the effect this child had on him. The scriptures talk a lot about the power of a child, and how we need to become pure and full of love, like a child. Mosiah 3:19 reads, "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." I love so much that of all the names God could be called by, He has chosen to be called Heavenly Father. He is our father, and He loves us more perfectly than even the most tender of parents. After we met this man we went to church, and it was our turn to give a missionary moment in the Primary. Wow, they treated us like superstars. Children have an easy tendency to love, and I loved being able to sing and share with them. 

   This past week I got to see the last session of General Conference, and I love the idea of ponderizing! I'm on my second scripture now and every time it or the first one comes up I feel a special connection to what is being said. The more we know the scriptures, the more they can help us, and I am so grateful for the help and comfort they give.

   Also, there is a fantastic street in Finland called, "kotiopetajakuja" which means, home teacher street!! Every one there must have 100% home teaching:)

        


This is a picture of me, reveling in the joy of a companion's package:) Her dad is from Tahiti, both her parents live there now.

Much love to all! Have a fantastic week!!

Love Sisar Mendenhall