Hyvää Pääsiästä!!

Well, I don't know about all of you but it is still Easter here in Finland. Yup, it's a 2 day holiday here . . but honestly . .I think it's just an excuse for the Finns to have just one more day off work, haha

Another week is gone, but now there are more stories to tell, no time to write them all, more sunshine to enjoy and a tan to accompany it. :) Yup, the sun has been shining brightly here, getting to nearly 20 degrees Celsius, almost 70 F!! Ahh, we love it. 2 days ago we blew the dust off our short-sleeved dress shirts and we've been wearinf them ever since. Everyone is eating ice cream in the streets. And all this and the trees STILL aren't green yet, haha. We're in for a hot summer. I thought I was called to Finland?

It really was an exciting week. We were able to help a lot of people, physically and spiritually, and as a result, we now have happy branch members, clean yards, and 5 progressing investigators!!

To start out our week we did a bunch of service for some members. Helping them out with the Spring Cleaning and clearing out their yards. One of them lives on a farm, so we had to take a bus out there. Well, the bus never stopped at our specified stop, even though I pressed the STOP button multiple times and the sign on the bus lit up and said STOP. After some confusion, I walked up to the bus driver and explained my confusion. It seemed that I broke a daze of his and he was all surprised and pulled over on the high way and let us off, in the middle of no-where, on the highway, haha. We called up the members and they had to come fetch us. Anyways, the service was fun. It was soo weird being in normal clothes again. They aren't my 'comfies' anymore, haha. A few blisters later, we were able to get back to the real work, the work of angels.

So, we have 5 progressing investigators!! 3 of them are still pretty recent. 2 of them are those that came to church last week. They are both room-mates and both are doing very well. It has been awesome teaching them because they are just soaking it all in and accepting it all! To hear an investigator say that they know that the Book of Mormon is true is music to my ears, especially if we hadn't even asked them yet! I love the gospel!

Another one of our progressors is the Italian! She got back from her vacation and we were finally able to meet up again and invited her to church . . and she came!! Wow, the branch did an awesome job fellowshipping her even though she only spoke english. We hardly had a chance to talk to her ourselves! The branch is on Cloud 9, they are so excited.She was the 3rd new person in 2 weeks that they've seen in church. We are on Cloud 9 as well seeing all these people progress!

Easter Sunday was amazing. We started it all out by opening our little Easter baskets that we received from Elder Balls' mom. That was so nice of her to send me one too! In church, the stake patriarch came and spoke and it felt like he was speaking right to our investigators and their needs. I was all smiles the whole time he was up, just hoping all of them were paying attention as he literally was blowing away all of their concerns and fears.

Ahh, their is soo much to write and so little time, I can't get my thoughts our straight!

-The branch had an Easter Party on Friday, to which a lot of less actives were able to come. We were asked to have a little part in the program so we decided to read to them the Living Christ and bear our testimonies of our Savior.

-A member family invited us to their place for Easter. This is the family that a former Elder I know from Sweden married in to, Elder Kääriä. So he was also there! It was awesome seeing him again. He was a stud missionary and a great example to me at the beginning of my mission.

-Easter, unfortunately is not that much of a sacred holiday anymore, at least here in Finland. It's just another vacation and an excuse to go out an get drunk. We had an experience yesterday when we were stopped for a break at a bench. A few drunks came up to us and started asking us questions. One of them was running her hand through my hair and almost trying to pull my hair out. Then the same one tried to hug my companion. The other 2 weren't as bad and they were trying to leave and get their friend off us. This weird experience actually has a good side because one of them has a sister who is a recent convert here in our branch, and she had questions for us because she's been curious, so she got our number and promised to call us when she is sober. All in all, after they finally left, I just sort of chuckled it off but my companion was pretty upset for a while, but now he too chuckles about it. Better then getting hit in the face, right? haha

Well, I better get going. We have an appointment with our new branch mission leader coming up where we get to fill him in on things and how they work. I hope you all had a good Easter and that things are going well. Happy Birthday to Layne and Dad!!! I sent you both something, so hopefully it gets to you on time!

I don't know everything. We live in an unsure world. But of one thing I am certain, Jesus is the Living Christ, our Savior, our Master, and our Friend. He is the Risen Lord and the Only Begotten of the Father. He stands with arms out stretched to all that are willing to receive His help. I am thankful for the enabling power of His Atonement. I am thankful that I could be here as His representative. I am thankful for my family . . .for YOU. I love you all and I'll sign off till next week and hear from you in 2! Moikka!

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Watson

MOI

Hei Fäm! Wow, it's P-Day again already?! It was another week full of drama and success. I best get to the details:

We had a lot of cancellations this past week, which is never fun, but we worked with what we had and actually ended up keeping pretty busy. I think the highlight of the week was the fact that we were able to go to the temple on Saturday! The branch put together a Branch Temple Day and took us along. It was a pretty good turn-out and the temple workers were pretty grateful we all came and made the day a success. It was a long drive down, and back, and both ways I had to sit in the middle, so I was squooshed the whole time. The member on my other side was a good buddy to converse with though, and he had me show him my watch and some pictures and stuff . We were able to do 2 sessions, both right in a row . . . and the first ones I've done in Finland . . . . it's been 15 months!!! . . . . and I did both in Finnish, so that was cool. I love that place. :)

Another highlight of the week, haha, we got to scoop some chicken poop. . . .yeeeah. Some members have a farm here and they called us to help out for a bit. We were able to spend time with the ever so lovely smelling chickens. By the time we finished cleaning out the coop, most of them had pooed all over the place already, but the funny kung-fu noises they were making kept us entertained, haha. The same members want us to come back on Wednesday.

We helped another member couple by doing some service for them. We were able to change their winter tires and put the summer tires on their car. This couple also wants us to come back this week. The beautiful weather recently and signs of summer are getting everyone riled up and excited, so here comes the service work! We're excited to help though.

Friday night was some sort of special shopping night here in Kouvola in the center area, because all the stores stayed open way late and there were parties and music blasting everywhere. Well, our window overlooks all of it, so we watched THOUSANDS of people, mostly youngins, swarm the Keskusta, center. It was crazy. I've never seen it so lively before. My companion was waving at people and gettting their attention and taking pictures of them and stuff. I just put on some cun-glasses so no one would recognize me when, in the future, i might stop and talk with these people in the street. It was crazy. We even saw a girl get arrested right by our window for underage drinking and boy did she put up a fight, haha.

On Thursday we had a district meeting in Lappeenranta. There are a few new missionaries in our district, so it was cool meeting them. When we all went out to eat afterwards, in the pizza place was a tv showing the European Womens Weightlifting Championships . . . . scary stuff I'm tellin ya. I had to sit awkwardly just so I wouldn't see it.

Sunday was a day to remember. We had 3 investigators in church, and 2 of them had never been before. The are both roommates and we've already taught them a couple times and it has been going really well. After sacrament meeting one of them had to leave, but the other one stayed and we had a little teach with her and a member. We taught the Plan of Salvation and the Spirit was strong as her eyes were opened to these truths of the Restored Gospel. The branch was really excited that some new people came and they just swarmed and fellowshipped them. :D

Olavi is doing well. We had a teach with him and were able to find out one of his concerns, or barriers from being baptized. It's about time! It was Tithing. We, and the member present, explained it again and I feel like that barrier is crushed. We'll see, we want to teach him again this week and see if we can get him to take the next step. fingers crossed!

There is an Easter dessert here called Mämmi . . . .it basically looks like a plop of poo, haha. My comp tried it for the first time yesterday at a DA and was too embarrassed when the members watched anxiously for the look on his face when he tried it, haha. It's not to bad though, but I sent a picture. Also, mid'DA the Branch Presidents kids stopped and did another Finnish Easter tradition, trick or treating with a twist. It was pretty cool. They sang and stuff by I'm out of time to explain.

Well, I'm out of time. Spencer, I don't know if it was too late but I put your name in the temple!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jacob and Layne!!! I sent you both something. You can tell I only had 5 minutes to get something in the mail, but I send my love and best wishes!!

Mosiah 2:9 . . .awesome scripture for those of you seeking personal revelation . . aka . . ALL of us! I love you all. I love my Savior and hope we all remember Him this week as we commemorate His life and resurrection. He lives! I know it and I say it with all confidence.

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Watson

Onward and Upward

Wow, this past week has been full of blessings and many teaching opportunities. We got a lot accomplished and I feel like the work here is just antsy to explode. I'll go into the details in a second, but first I wanted to thank all of you for your e-mails today!! Eden and Layne get brownie points because they sent pictures. :) I can't believe all of you are commenting on the weather already . . . . it's just BARELY starting to look like Spring will make an entrance here soon. The above zero factor is quite nice. :)

Well, I best get to business . . never have enough time to get everything out in these things . . . .

-Well, EVERY day of last week we got let-in, and received the opportunity to share our unique message with others. This has hardly ever happened on my mission, and I think we were on Cloud 9 all week long. Sure, not all of those people turned into investigators, but we at least left every house\appartment leaving them with a positive experience and a new respect for our church. How did this all happen you ask . . . .? Well, at the beginning of the week I went through all our potential sheets and tracting book looking for people who said we could stop by some other time or something and were eventually forgot about. I made a big list, sorted it out by areas, then throughout the week we have been trying all these people and have met with some big success. I can tell you quickly what I remember about each one:

-A man we talked to in a stairwell let us in and he and his wife listened . . or tried. Turns out, they too have been on missions in their church and were quite satisfied with where they were at. In the end, the man got our phone number because he wanted to call us up one day, when his wife makes Pulla, a delicious Finnish desert, so they can give some to us. He also commented on our clean, neat appearances, saying how in his church, and all around in general, youth are getting way too shabby looking, haha. Score.

-A lady I think I've mentioned before was finally home and let us in, and became a new investigator. This is the one who recently separated from her church and was now 'looking for the truth.' We hope she feels like she has found it! Her little boy was interrupting the whole lesson though . . . he kept wanting me to look at all his toys and would place them on my lap. He even brought over a bunch of Disney movies and would point on the covers and show me who was good and who was bad, haha . . kids.

-Some people I had tracted into before Christmas let us in. This older couple was very nice and listened to what we had to say. Man, did they love to talk though. We were glad to finally get out. haha

-An older lady let us in, probably thinking we were from the Lutheran Church. She kept telling us that she hasn't been coming to church because the benches there are too hard for her legs and she gets uncomfortable, but, rest assured, she is sure to watch a church service on t.v. right there at home. When she found out who we were she was kind of taken back, said she is staying where she's at, told us we were interrupting her time where she has to take her meds, and told us to leave, haha . . . old people.

-A single father let us in. He listened to our message, asked questions and really got into it. In the end though, he couldn't accept it, his beliefs were pretty strange and kept coming up with excuses to not belief in what we do. It was at this point that I felt like Alma and Amulek in the Book of Mormon in their cross with Zeezrom. In that story Zeezrom was shocked because he knew they knew the thoughts and intents of his heart. Well, in those few moments, I felt impressed to do the same and told him how I know he knows there is a God, that this is true, and that although this is a hard road to take, it is the way, and a few other things. The Spirit was strong and it was helping us help this man see the light. In the end he respectfully let us go, but I have a feeling he'll be back soon. The Spirit touched him that day. I hope he never forgets it.

-We got let in by 3 college students! 2 of them became new investigators and the third was already a former investigator from a few years ago apparently. They let us in, gave us soup, croissants, juice and cookies, then listened to our message, haha, a big surprise for us. We're excited, teaching the younger people has always been fun.

-Lastly, a man with a really really nice house let us in. He never really let us get into teaching because he would always interrupt and try to prove us wrong. I finally asked him if he even believed in Moses . . . .he said, No. He didn't even believe in Christ, even though he was in a Christian church. This man is pretty confused if you ask me, we left feeling sorry that he took pride over truth, but, it was a good experience for us all.

Our Italian investigator apparently left to Italy for 10 days without telling us . .sooo . . yeah. And our other investigator, Olavi, got in a skiing accident and busted his knee, so he missed conference by being in the hospital for 7 hours. But, he told us yesterday he has started watching it and has the intent of watching it all the way through. Also, our new investigator from last week is doing well, even accepted baptism if he came to know it is true. He's a big fella, but is truly interested and a good guy. Also, yesterday was Branch Conference here in Kouvola, so the Stake Presidency was there and a few other people. It went very well. There are some amazing members here in Finland.

Well, I'm out of time. I'll leave you with D&C 52:33, which speaks about building on your own foundation and being the best YOU you know how to be. It's something we must all realize, even me. I know I was called of a prophet of God to be with the people in Finland because of something in ME, that someone needs to feel and know as well. I love you all and wish you a happy fresh new week!

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Watson

Conference

Well, the busiest week of my mission is now over. We had quite the schedule. P-Day, District Meeting, Weekly Planning Meeting, Over-nighter in Espoo then off to Helsinki so Elder Balls could have Language School the next day, School Presentation, Service in Kotka, teaches, and a grand finale in Lahti to watch General Conference to finish it all off. WOW. Despite how busy we were, we were still able to get a few teaches in, and even found a new investigator! I guess I can go into a little bit more detail on these things:

-First, CHANGE CALLS . . . . . . . nope, I will stay in Kouvola for a 4th change, and with Vanhin Balls for a 3rd. We were honestly expecting a change call because there were soo much changes going on this time. As my mission is winding down, the want to get out and see more and experience more of Finland and the work all around it is growing . . . seeing how I have only served in 2 cities . . .but Thy Will Be Done, I must be needed here and must accept it and move forward.

-We had a good District Meeting on Tuesday. The Zone Leaders were able to come this time and even delivered some new bedding supplies for us . . .yessssss . . . . .if any of you have been to an old missionary apartment, you'd feel my joy when I say that we got NEW BEDDING!! haha

-So, we were in Helsinki for a little bit so that Elder Balls could have his Language School, in the meantime, I was with Elder Burt in Espoo doing some work there. Elder Burt was in the group ahead of me in the MTC, so he is an old friend and it was cool being with him again. The rest of the companions whose 'other halves' were in Language School ended up going to the temple. Looks like I was a special pick to stay out this time because the work is picking up here and they need the extra help . . .so every once in a while they'll take a missionary or two out and put them to work instead of having a 'day off' at the temple. Would have been nice, not gonna lie, but it was a good experience for me to see how the work is done in a big city . . . it was a whole new ride . . . awesome.

-We had another School Presentation. it was at the same school as before, same teacher, just different class. This time, everything seemed to go by a ton faster as we were pressed for time, but it went well, and around 10 kids accepted a Book of Mormon to take home with them.

-We went to Kotka, a visiting city we have, to help a member family with some service. They are going to be putting up new wallpaper, so that means the old stuff had to come down. It took around 3 hours, but we got it done and they were very appreciative. They fed us steak afterward and even drove us home to Kouvola since we missed our train. Nice of them. Cool family.

-We got a few teaches in. Our Italian is still doing well. She is a cool investigator and is really trying to do what we say . . . she just needs to see how THIS IS the ONLY way. She was asking some indirect questions that were pretty much about her problems . . . so we had to answer them in an indirect way, even when we knew they were about her. It worked really well and we're hoping she was able to check out general conference like she said she would. We'll find out soon . . .but we don't have her phone number, it doesn't work. Also, we got a new investigator, a young man here studying, who got interested when the subject of a living prophet was brought up. . . .PERFECT TIMING dude . . . .General Conference!!! haha Man, I love the church. We teach him again today.

-We ended up watching General Conference in Lahti, with Elders Christianson and Higginson, my baby Finns, in the group after me in the MTC. They are both doing really well and it was great being with them for the weekend. I learned a lot from their examples and with General Conference as a big booster, I'm determined to get out on the front lines and move this work forward.

-WASN'T GENERAL CONFERENCE AMAZING!!??? Ahh, I love it . . . .it all went by wayyyy too fast though, I'm sad it's over. I love how Pres. Monson started it all out my saying, 'Missionary work is the life-blood of the kingdom.' YEAH! Everything was inspiring. I noticed a few themes, and a few unique topics as well. Covenant keeping was one, Charity slash Welfare was another, Power in our callings, Power in the Priesthood, Desire, Service, being in the world not of the world, etc etc etc . . .I could go on but I don't have time. Since most of the members live far away from the actual broadcast places in Finland, most of them just watched it at home on the internet, but we did have a few members from Kouvola show up for a little bit and they brought one of our investigators along, which was good. Oh, a Finn was called as an Area Authority, Matti Joutenus! Boo-yah! Finland represent!!

Ahh, not time anymore. I love you all more than General Conference and Posti (hint hint). :P I hope and pray that now, after just receiving wonderful divine guidance and instruction, we can all begin to apply it into our lives. It is our duty, it is our privilege. It is the ONLY way. I know it. Kiitos kaikille. Moikka!

Raukkaudella,

Vanhin Watson