Moikka Moi

Hei there . . . like most of you said, another week has flown by and here I am again! I cant believe it is February again. So weird.

Well, another week, another e-mail to type out in condensed time. here goes . . . .

- We had splits this past week. Vanhin Karlsson and Vanhin Larson came down from Mikkeli and spent the day with us. Vanhin Karlsson is going home to Sweden in a couple weeks, and he used to serve here in Kouvola, so it was fun for him to be back in his old stomping grounds. Before he and I headed in for the day, we found a playground with a thing that you can get in and it'll spin you around like a washing machine, haha . . .yes, I'll admit it . . .I tried it out. :P Playgrounds these days.

When they caught their train back, they soon realized that they forgot a cake that a member here gave them. Not wanting to let the distance keep them from their cake, we devised a plan. The next morning, Vanhin Balls and I went to the train station, and put the cake in a locker on a train headed to Mikkeli, where the Elders there were waiting to pick it up. We called it Operation Illegal Posti. haha, brilliant, who needs postage. Nah, we won't be doing that again, don't worry.

- This week we had a teach with O and a member couple came along. O is doing quite well, and I feel he is very close to making a decision. He has been investigating for almost a year now and knows a lot. It reminds me of a quote I just found from Pres. Monson, ''The goal of gospel teaching . . .is not to 'pour information' into the minds of the class members . . The aim is to inspire the individual to think about, feel about, and then do something about living gospel principles.'' We thank thee O God for a Prooooophet. :)

He is the nicest guy you'll ever meet and needs to be baptized.

- We taught our other investigator E this week as well. We have always had pretty good teaches with her. This time she was alone, but we were able to get some progress made and continue 'orchestrating the conversion process' as President Brown puts it. She has been reading and even was warming up to the baptism idea. :)

- The rest of our week went something along the lines of . . . . . .FINDING. Lots and lots of FINDING. There were many nights of throbbing feet and exhausted missionaries, but we ended up finding a few people who could be good potentials. We also were able to set up a few teaches for this week with some new people. This next week is looking to be quite eventful, and we are very excited about getting some progress made. It's quite amazing how Dad just so happened to e-mail me this week and talk about Finding. It is something we do a lot in this mission and there is always room to improve, and ideas to make it more exciting. Following the Spirit is vital, or else it is just hours on end of tired feet and lost missionaries. Yes, I'll admit again, we did have some of that this week. But, We are getting a lot better and we are starting to realize how we can do this more EFFECTIVELY, not just EFFICIENTLY. I found a quote from Pres. Uchtdorf from a previous conference that says, ''For what we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are - and who we will become.'' Applicable to all of us, don't you think? Amazing.

-Well, to end on I'll tell you that we got let in the other day by a drunk mummo . . .grandma. We were able to literally see her go through all the moods possible: Angry, Sad, Happy, Lost, etc. As funny as it was to us, it was also sad to see. The world . . . .EVIL . . . but as Pres. Brown said . . ''it's crammed with Heaven.''

- Yesterday was an especially spiritual day for me . . .I mean it's Sunday, what'd ya expect? I found a space of opportunity and bore my testimony in Fast and Testimony Meeting. And then throughout the day I just had those 'good feelings' and the chills of the Spirit. Love it.

Wells I best be off. I Nephi 19:9. read it. I know the Savior lives. He knows us. He feels for us. He walked every step to Calvery for you, '' . . and He suffereth it.'' Wishing you all a good week and a Terrrrrrrrve from Suomi!

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Watson