March 14, 2012:
I’m going to Jičín!
Oh heeeey everyone! Welp. This mail is going to be fantastic. SO I GOT TRANSFERRED. I sure did. No more Brno. I am going to a TINY little village called Jičín. It’s so small that there is only one bus, and it runs from one side of the town square to the other, hahah. And guess what, my companion and I are going to be the ONLY missionaries for that whole village, and our area includes two other villages next to it as well. AND because I have an international driver’s license now, and I am the Senior Companion, I get to drive a little car around when we go visit the less actives in the surrounding villages. Haha, isn’t that fantastic. I am working with Sister Jorgensen. She and I are already getting along very well. I am excited to see what this transfer brings. She said they only have one investigator at the moment, but that’s ok. I am very ok with starting up again from ground zero. When I got to Brno we had ZERO investigators. And now look what Brno is doing. It's not me obviously, it's the Lord. But I know when you put your ALL into your investigators and you work your hardest and sacrifice that He blesses you and things work out. I love that, and I love this work.
It was SO hard for me to say bye to everyone in Brno! You have no idea how much you can just fall in love with people! I was there long enough to really, and I mean REALLY, get to know the branch. We were having SO many member lessons a week because we'd had time to build relationships, and they trusted us and wanted to help us out. I hope that I can do the same here in Jičín and get to know the members. I hear the branch is actually pretty big in comparison to how tiny the city is. About forty or fifty people come to church every week. Hollah. That means we can get tons of member lessons and get the party started. Members are the WAY TO GO. I mean that. Once I listened to that and actually put real effort into praying for the members, loving them, and serving them whenever I could, the missionary work just skyrocketed.
I loved Brno. I am going to miss it. I lived there for SIX months! Six months. I know it well, and I can’t wait to take you guys there! I still talk like a Brnacka with slang and everything. OH ahha, and I told the [Mission] President that if he transfers me he needs to stick me in a "Czech pit" because I want to learn CZECH! Everyone in Brno seems to want to speak English with us, good golly. SO [the Mission] President stuck me in the smallest village ever. And I'm stoked about it. It's going to be a totally different world than Brno. So that's the big news :). I got transferred!
Other updates: Sister Brimhall is training a Czech greenie in Brno, and Sister Smith is going to be there with them as well for 2 weeks. There are no native Czechs here [on a mission] but, this girl Melissa speaks Czech because her parents are Czech. She grew up in Utah, though, so it's kind of like my situation with Finnish. She was actually in my freshman Brigham Young University (BYU) ward, and I visit taught her, so I know her. My first week here her parents were in Brno, and they said, “Hey, you’re the Finnish one Melissa knows!” Haha, so funny. So that's going to be really nice for Sister Brimhall to have a native! How lucky is that. Her Czech is going to be SO GOOD. I hope I get to serve with Melissa. It would really help if we got some natives out here. The missionaries don’t speak too well if you know what I’m saying, haha, me included. Good gosh. The more I talk to people the less Czech I seem to know! But I think this village thing will help. Sister Smith will be going to another city in two weeks, because one of the greenies sprained her ankle or something at the Missionary Training Center, so she's coming in two weeks. So, until then there has to be a threesome in the mission. Sister Smith is going to be with a Sister that's been out here the longest of all the sisters, and then another girl from Sister Brimhall’s Missionary Training Center group will train the new greenie. Sounds complicated over mail, haha.
Ok, so this weekend was FANTASTIC. I loved it. Guess who came to town? Elder Christofferson, the Apostle. There was a big conference in Prague. We invited our investigator, and she SANG WITH THE CHOIR at the conference with the Apostle. Isn’t that fantastic?! She had come to church two weeks before that, and a member invited her to choir so she went, and then the Brno choir combined with the other cities [to] sing, and she was up there. It was SO BEAUTIFUL. At the end of the conference I was feeling the Spirit so strongly, and then the choir got up and sang, and I just watched [our investigator] sing her heart out, and I thought about how proud Heavenly Father must be of her right now. And right behind her was a young man in his twenties whom I call every week to get to church, who came, and he was there, and he joined the choir, too, and he looked like an angel. Tears just busted out of my face. It was so beautiful. And many of the Brno investigators were there, and I talked to them all, and they had all felt the Spirit, and they just loved it.
Plus the night before had been a big Young Single Adult Conference which [our investigator] had also gone to (the Church rented a bus, and so she got to go with everyone, and she stayed at her friend’s house) and she said it was SO GOOD! Aaaah, I was so happy! And then after that all the missionaries rushed over to the Church building, because Elder Christofferson was going to talk to us. We got ready for a big group picture, and then he walked in, and we took it and then filed out to go shake his hand. His son actually served here 17 years ago, too, so he was there as well as Sister Christofferson and Elder and Sister Caussé from the [Quorum of the] Seventy. So I got to shake their hands, and it was wonderful, and then I got to his son, and he looked at me and said, “Hey, are you the Sister who speaks Finnish?” and I said, “Yes.” and he said, “Oh, that’s great, my nephew just got back from Finland!” and I was very happy to hear that, and he asked for my first name and everything so that we can hang out when I get back at BYU. So that was great, and I felt really special knowing that somehow the Apostle’s son knew I spoke Finnish. Haha.
And then we all filed back into the chapel, and we got to hear from everyone. Elder Christofferson’s son spoke, and he said when he was here he hated it at first. He said the only thing he ever wanted to do was to serve a mission. And then it came, and he was so excited, but then he became so miserable. No one talked to him, and no one came to Church. He told us of one Sunday when the missionaries came to the room they had for the Church building, and no one was there except for them, so they all went outside to find someone to come to Church, because they couldn’t start Sacrament [Meeting] without some people. And he said it got to the point where he had a dream where he got run over by a tram and had to get his feet amputated and he felt RELIEVED, because that meant he could go home. He said it was so hard, but then he started to love it, and he choked up when he said, "Someday you will LONG to be back with these people." He told us how much the Church has grown already, and how we need to keep our heads up even though the work here is slow. I guess some Apostle has prophesied that the Czech Republic and Slovakia will just tip over, and that all of a sudden, all at once, the mission work will explode. I didn’t know about that, but Elder Christofferson confirmed it.
He held a Question and Answer session actually. I didn’t ask anything, but he said some interesting things. He told us that in the office when they assign missions they actually bring up this side of the world first, the Eastern European countries, and then they go through the missionaries and find those that are the "best" to fill the spots. He told us that everywhere is special, but that he can tell us that every Apostle knows that these countries are the hardest on missionaries. So he told us that we were chosen, because they read through our profiles, found the best ones, prayed, and assigned. It was weird to hear that from an Apostle to be honest, but I believe him. And I'm really excited for when the Czech Republic is just going to open up the way someone has prophesied.
And then, I had such a cool thing happen to me. Someone brought up in the Question and Answer something about goals and how Elder Caussé has told us to have more faith etc. It's been this big thing. And, for some reason I'm known in the Mission for my goal setting. The Elder mentioned how some missionaries set high goals, and how he's been trying to do that, but then he struggles with being realistic and setting high goals. Elder Caussé looked at [the Mission] President and said, “How about you take this one?” and so President stood up. He started talking about the importance of goal setting and mentioned how there is one Sister in the room who knows how to really prayerfully and faithfully set high goals. He then said, "I don’t want to embarrass anyone here, but she's sitting right behind me." Haha, I just smiled, and the Apostle looked at me, and then President mentioned me by name and said that I not only can make high goals, but I achieve them. I felt so honored. It was very kind of him, and Elder Christofferson smiled at me and then moved on to the next question. I'm so glad that President is proud of me, but I'm also glad that I have something to offer here. Even if it's just keeping people stoked, haha. So anyway, it was a beautiful moment, and I felt so honored, and I don’t know. Special I guess, even though that sounds weird. But I did. An Apostle found out how hard I try to work, and that made me feel even more closely that Heavenly Father had maybe noticed as well.
After the conference we all filed onto a bus, which was just for missionaries, and I sat by Sister Brimhall. We got all settled in, and I looked to check the phone. I did a double take, and without even realizing what it was, tears started streaming down my cheeks. My emotions realized what had happened before my brain had. [A former investigator], whom I've been praying for almost daily for months now, and who never contacts us back even when I randomly call or text every few weeks, had texted. Right then. And you know what? I'd been praying so hard that, ”Please, Heavenly Father, if it's Thy will, can I please see [this investigator] once more before I leave Brno?” I would pray every time I got onto the tram [that] I'd see him on sometimes, and I'd pray that maybe he'd come to English [class] sometime. But he never did. Well, the week before I'd called him [to tell about] the conference, but he hadn’t answered. Until then. And all the text said was, "I have had a lot of work, I will come to English sometime when I have time." But I just cried and cried. I knew right then that I was getting transferred and that Heavenly Father had heard my prayers. He hadn’t forgotten [this investigator], and He'd sent me that tender mercy and that little reminder about that. It was a miracle. Something that I needed so much and something I will always remember. I showed the text to Sister Brimhall, and she cried from happiness with me. It was beautiful, and then this Elder turned around and said, “I guess I missed something?” Hahahah! Man. The Spirit was strong that day. Then on the bus ride back we watched “Seventeen Miracles”, a pioneer movie. And I cried. I cried because I knew that the Church was true. And I knew that this work is worth every tiny sacrifice. And I knew that Heavenly Father loves His children. The pioneers, [our former investigator], and me.
So we got back to Brno and got back to work. Sister Brimhall found out that night she was training, so I knew I'd be getting transferred. Monday we got the calls that I'd be in Jičín, and then Tuesday was English [class]. I texted [our former investigator], and he said he was coming. I was so excited all day. But he didn’t come. I texted him afterwards and asked where he was, and he said on the Namesti. But do you know what? He called me Tuesday night. [Our former investigator] who never calls, called me, and I could have just died right there, I was so happy. I asked him how he'd been. And he said that he was so healthy, and he'd started his own business, that he had his own website, and that life was so good. I was SO happy for him, and I told him that him calling me was a miracle to me. I feel my tears coming on right now. I feel very strongly that I knew [him] from before. There's no way I didn’t. And if I didn’t, for some reason I just feel very close to him for some reason. He is so special, and he is meant to be a part of this Church. I asked [him] if he was still praying and if he was still a believer, and he said, “Of course Sestro! I pray every day!” And I was SO HAPPY. And then we talked about his Mom and about life for just a few minutes, and he laughed and I laughed, and it was beautiful. I told him I was sad I couldn’t see him before I left, but that my parents would be coming around Christmas time, so maybe then. He readily agreed and said, "Write down my number, you have it! And then we can all go get food." So parents, get ready for it. It was all I needed. All I needed to be able to leave Brno behind me with good memories and to feel the closure I needed and to be able to hold onto that beautiful memory and to go to Jičín and put my whole heart into it. I'm so happy [he] is doing well. Work does wonders for the soul, and as Elder Francis put it, the Holy Ghost is working on [him]; he'll be back. I know that's true. And I know that's true with all of God's children.
I am so in love with this gospel. It is true. When we live by its principles we are better people. I work harder and am happier when I do what God wants me to do. I love you all. We are still in Prague, so time to go to Jičín. My suitcases are full of rocks, I swear! Haha, I don’t know what I packed, but it's going to be an adventure taking them all the way to our apartment in the middle of the village! OH, plus I got two packages from you, Mother dear! Thank you! I can’t wait. I love packages. Haha, everyone does. But especially me. Thank you for taking such good care of me. Seeing things from you lifts my spirits. We aren't so far away after all. I love you all. You're in my prayers always. Every day. I love you so much, and I appreciate what you've done for me so much. Thank you for raising me in this gospel. Thank you for making it a priority. I just told a member at the Church building about how I was there when I was 16. What a beautiful memory. And it wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t have parents that make Church such a priority. Thank you for all you do. I love you more every day!
Love,
Satu
I’m going to Jičín!
Oh heeeey everyone! Welp. This mail is going to be fantastic. SO I GOT TRANSFERRED. I sure did. No more Brno. I am going to a TINY little village called Jičín. It’s so small that there is only one bus, and it runs from one side of the town square to the other, hahah. And guess what, my companion and I are going to be the ONLY missionaries for that whole village, and our area includes two other villages next to it as well. AND because I have an international driver’s license now, and I am the Senior Companion, I get to drive a little car around when we go visit the less actives in the surrounding villages. Haha, isn’t that fantastic. I am working with Sister Jorgensen. She and I are already getting along very well. I am excited to see what this transfer brings. She said they only have one investigator at the moment, but that’s ok. I am very ok with starting up again from ground zero. When I got to Brno we had ZERO investigators. And now look what Brno is doing. It's not me obviously, it's the Lord. But I know when you put your ALL into your investigators and you work your hardest and sacrifice that He blesses you and things work out. I love that, and I love this work.
It was SO hard for me to say bye to everyone in Brno! You have no idea how much you can just fall in love with people! I was there long enough to really, and I mean REALLY, get to know the branch. We were having SO many member lessons a week because we'd had time to build relationships, and they trusted us and wanted to help us out. I hope that I can do the same here in Jičín and get to know the members. I hear the branch is actually pretty big in comparison to how tiny the city is. About forty or fifty people come to church every week. Hollah. That means we can get tons of member lessons and get the party started. Members are the WAY TO GO. I mean that. Once I listened to that and actually put real effort into praying for the members, loving them, and serving them whenever I could, the missionary work just skyrocketed.
I loved Brno. I am going to miss it. I lived there for SIX months! Six months. I know it well, and I can’t wait to take you guys there! I still talk like a Brnacka with slang and everything. OH ahha, and I told the [Mission] President that if he transfers me he needs to stick me in a "Czech pit" because I want to learn CZECH! Everyone in Brno seems to want to speak English with us, good golly. SO [the Mission] President stuck me in the smallest village ever. And I'm stoked about it. It's going to be a totally different world than Brno. So that's the big news :). I got transferred!
Other updates: Sister Brimhall is training a Czech greenie in Brno, and Sister Smith is going to be there with them as well for 2 weeks. There are no native Czechs here [on a mission] but, this girl Melissa speaks Czech because her parents are Czech. She grew up in Utah, though, so it's kind of like my situation with Finnish. She was actually in my freshman Brigham Young University (BYU) ward, and I visit taught her, so I know her. My first week here her parents were in Brno, and they said, “Hey, you’re the Finnish one Melissa knows!” Haha, so funny. So that's going to be really nice for Sister Brimhall to have a native! How lucky is that. Her Czech is going to be SO GOOD. I hope I get to serve with Melissa. It would really help if we got some natives out here. The missionaries don’t speak too well if you know what I’m saying, haha, me included. Good gosh. The more I talk to people the less Czech I seem to know! But I think this village thing will help. Sister Smith will be going to another city in two weeks, because one of the greenies sprained her ankle or something at the Missionary Training Center, so she's coming in two weeks. So, until then there has to be a threesome in the mission. Sister Smith is going to be with a Sister that's been out here the longest of all the sisters, and then another girl from Sister Brimhall’s Missionary Training Center group will train the new greenie. Sounds complicated over mail, haha.
Ok, so this weekend was FANTASTIC. I loved it. Guess who came to town? Elder Christofferson, the Apostle. There was a big conference in Prague. We invited our investigator, and she SANG WITH THE CHOIR at the conference with the Apostle. Isn’t that fantastic?! She had come to church two weeks before that, and a member invited her to choir so she went, and then the Brno choir combined with the other cities [to] sing, and she was up there. It was SO BEAUTIFUL. At the end of the conference I was feeling the Spirit so strongly, and then the choir got up and sang, and I just watched [our investigator] sing her heart out, and I thought about how proud Heavenly Father must be of her right now. And right behind her was a young man in his twenties whom I call every week to get to church, who came, and he was there, and he joined the choir, too, and he looked like an angel. Tears just busted out of my face. It was so beautiful. And many of the Brno investigators were there, and I talked to them all, and they had all felt the Spirit, and they just loved it.
Plus the night before had been a big Young Single Adult Conference which [our investigator] had also gone to (the Church rented a bus, and so she got to go with everyone, and she stayed at her friend’s house) and she said it was SO GOOD! Aaaah, I was so happy! And then after that all the missionaries rushed over to the Church building, because Elder Christofferson was going to talk to us. We got ready for a big group picture, and then he walked in, and we took it and then filed out to go shake his hand. His son actually served here 17 years ago, too, so he was there as well as Sister Christofferson and Elder and Sister Caussé from the [Quorum of the] Seventy. So I got to shake their hands, and it was wonderful, and then I got to his son, and he looked at me and said, “Hey, are you the Sister who speaks Finnish?” and I said, “Yes.” and he said, “Oh, that’s great, my nephew just got back from Finland!” and I was very happy to hear that, and he asked for my first name and everything so that we can hang out when I get back at BYU. So that was great, and I felt really special knowing that somehow the Apostle’s son knew I spoke Finnish. Haha.
And then we all filed back into the chapel, and we got to hear from everyone. Elder Christofferson’s son spoke, and he said when he was here he hated it at first. He said the only thing he ever wanted to do was to serve a mission. And then it came, and he was so excited, but then he became so miserable. No one talked to him, and no one came to Church. He told us of one Sunday when the missionaries came to the room they had for the Church building, and no one was there except for them, so they all went outside to find someone to come to Church, because they couldn’t start Sacrament [Meeting] without some people. And he said it got to the point where he had a dream where he got run over by a tram and had to get his feet amputated and he felt RELIEVED, because that meant he could go home. He said it was so hard, but then he started to love it, and he choked up when he said, "Someday you will LONG to be back with these people." He told us how much the Church has grown already, and how we need to keep our heads up even though the work here is slow. I guess some Apostle has prophesied that the Czech Republic and Slovakia will just tip over, and that all of a sudden, all at once, the mission work will explode. I didn’t know about that, but Elder Christofferson confirmed it.
He held a Question and Answer session actually. I didn’t ask anything, but he said some interesting things. He told us that in the office when they assign missions they actually bring up this side of the world first, the Eastern European countries, and then they go through the missionaries and find those that are the "best" to fill the spots. He told us that everywhere is special, but that he can tell us that every Apostle knows that these countries are the hardest on missionaries. So he told us that we were chosen, because they read through our profiles, found the best ones, prayed, and assigned. It was weird to hear that from an Apostle to be honest, but I believe him. And I'm really excited for when the Czech Republic is just going to open up the way someone has prophesied.
And then, I had such a cool thing happen to me. Someone brought up in the Question and Answer something about goals and how Elder Caussé has told us to have more faith etc. It's been this big thing. And, for some reason I'm known in the Mission for my goal setting. The Elder mentioned how some missionaries set high goals, and how he's been trying to do that, but then he struggles with being realistic and setting high goals. Elder Caussé looked at [the Mission] President and said, “How about you take this one?” and so President stood up. He started talking about the importance of goal setting and mentioned how there is one Sister in the room who knows how to really prayerfully and faithfully set high goals. He then said, "I don’t want to embarrass anyone here, but she's sitting right behind me." Haha, I just smiled, and the Apostle looked at me, and then President mentioned me by name and said that I not only can make high goals, but I achieve them. I felt so honored. It was very kind of him, and Elder Christofferson smiled at me and then moved on to the next question. I'm so glad that President is proud of me, but I'm also glad that I have something to offer here. Even if it's just keeping people stoked, haha. So anyway, it was a beautiful moment, and I felt so honored, and I don’t know. Special I guess, even though that sounds weird. But I did. An Apostle found out how hard I try to work, and that made me feel even more closely that Heavenly Father had maybe noticed as well.
After the conference we all filed onto a bus, which was just for missionaries, and I sat by Sister Brimhall. We got all settled in, and I looked to check the phone. I did a double take, and without even realizing what it was, tears started streaming down my cheeks. My emotions realized what had happened before my brain had. [A former investigator], whom I've been praying for almost daily for months now, and who never contacts us back even when I randomly call or text every few weeks, had texted. Right then. And you know what? I'd been praying so hard that, ”Please, Heavenly Father, if it's Thy will, can I please see [this investigator] once more before I leave Brno?” I would pray every time I got onto the tram [that] I'd see him on sometimes, and I'd pray that maybe he'd come to English [class] sometime. But he never did. Well, the week before I'd called him [to tell about] the conference, but he hadn’t answered. Until then. And all the text said was, "I have had a lot of work, I will come to English sometime when I have time." But I just cried and cried. I knew right then that I was getting transferred and that Heavenly Father had heard my prayers. He hadn’t forgotten [this investigator], and He'd sent me that tender mercy and that little reminder about that. It was a miracle. Something that I needed so much and something I will always remember. I showed the text to Sister Brimhall, and she cried from happiness with me. It was beautiful, and then this Elder turned around and said, “I guess I missed something?” Hahahah! Man. The Spirit was strong that day. Then on the bus ride back we watched “Seventeen Miracles”, a pioneer movie. And I cried. I cried because I knew that the Church was true. And I knew that this work is worth every tiny sacrifice. And I knew that Heavenly Father loves His children. The pioneers, [our former investigator], and me.
So we got back to Brno and got back to work. Sister Brimhall found out that night she was training, so I knew I'd be getting transferred. Monday we got the calls that I'd be in Jičín, and then Tuesday was English [class]. I texted [our former investigator], and he said he was coming. I was so excited all day. But he didn’t come. I texted him afterwards and asked where he was, and he said on the Namesti. But do you know what? He called me Tuesday night. [Our former investigator] who never calls, called me, and I could have just died right there, I was so happy. I asked him how he'd been. And he said that he was so healthy, and he'd started his own business, that he had his own website, and that life was so good. I was SO happy for him, and I told him that him calling me was a miracle to me. I feel my tears coming on right now. I feel very strongly that I knew [him] from before. There's no way I didn’t. And if I didn’t, for some reason I just feel very close to him for some reason. He is so special, and he is meant to be a part of this Church. I asked [him] if he was still praying and if he was still a believer, and he said, “Of course Sestro! I pray every day!” And I was SO HAPPY. And then we talked about his Mom and about life for just a few minutes, and he laughed and I laughed, and it was beautiful. I told him I was sad I couldn’t see him before I left, but that my parents would be coming around Christmas time, so maybe then. He readily agreed and said, "Write down my number, you have it! And then we can all go get food." So parents, get ready for it. It was all I needed. All I needed to be able to leave Brno behind me with good memories and to feel the closure I needed and to be able to hold onto that beautiful memory and to go to Jičín and put my whole heart into it. I'm so happy [he] is doing well. Work does wonders for the soul, and as Elder Francis put it, the Holy Ghost is working on [him]; he'll be back. I know that's true. And I know that's true with all of God's children.
I am so in love with this gospel. It is true. When we live by its principles we are better people. I work harder and am happier when I do what God wants me to do. I love you all. We are still in Prague, so time to go to Jičín. My suitcases are full of rocks, I swear! Haha, I don’t know what I packed, but it's going to be an adventure taking them all the way to our apartment in the middle of the village! OH, plus I got two packages from you, Mother dear! Thank you! I can’t wait. I love packages. Haha, everyone does. But especially me. Thank you for taking such good care of me. Seeing things from you lifts my spirits. We aren't so far away after all. I love you all. You're in my prayers always. Every day. I love you so much, and I appreciate what you've done for me so much. Thank you for raising me in this gospel. Thank you for making it a priority. I just told a member at the Church building about how I was there when I was 16. What a beautiful memory. And it wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t have parents that make Church such a priority. Thank you for all you do. I love you more every day!
Love,
Satu