bikes are the best 08/21/18

Moi everybody!! 

finnish word of the week: pyörät (p-eww-rat) - bikes

sisar kokkola and i have been using our pyörät everyday this week!! we live in the corner of our area and the only way to get to the rest of it is down this huge hill and wowow it's fun to go down but it's the worst biking up it haha our legs are crazy sore. I also ate it wayy bad this week and almost took out two finnish grandma's haha sisar kokkola got a good laugh out of it but then she wiped out the next day sooo karma 

in district counsel 2 weeks ago we set a goal to teach 8 mini lessons per companionship to people on the street a day!! we definetly didn't reach our goal every day haha but i noticed sisar kokkola and i really made more of an effort to share our testimony and to really give people the chance to know a little about this gospel before they rejected it and it made such a difference in our missionary work this past week!!

earlier this week one of the elders in our zone said around this time of year the dark comes and before we know it we're not gonna see the sun and i couldn't help but think that's a total lie cuz we've been living in the sun day and night for as long as i've been in finland lol but last night the dark came early and wowow it was weird to walk around in it!! i

so i decided imma give our investigators better nicknames so you can all follow them a little better!!

haha pet has been investigating the church for a while now!! he's finnish and the most awkward person ever but we love him so much!! we invited him to be baptized and he confessed about an addiction he has but says he wants to be baptized!! woot woot!! so we're working with him on it!! 

he's really our only investigator right now.... so we've been doing a ton of tracting and contacting this week!! earlier in the week sisar kokkola and i were having a blast tracting this building and on our very last door for the night a man answered and bashed us pretty bad in english when we realized we didn't fully understand everything he was saying finnish....one question he asked us was if we knew what we were doing out here and we were able to share our testimony about Christ and i felt the spirit testify so strongly of Christ when we shared. I know He lives. I feel it stronger every time i testify of Him. I'm so grateful for this opportunity to wear His name on my name tag and be a disciple for him. 

hope you all have a hyvä viiko 

love sisar larson

moi from tampere!!! 08/12/18

finnish word of the week: tampere (tom-pear-ray)- the city i was Transferred to

after a 2 hour train ride i made it to tampere!!! woot woot!!! it is SO beautiful here!!! our area is HUGE!! we have half of the city and a ton of neighborhoods and forests in our area!! we also do a lot more tracting out here!! people in tampere are a lot nicer than they were in the helsinki!! even if they're not interested they still take time to stop and listen to us!! it's way awesome!! 

my new companion is Sisar Kokkola!! she is just darling!!! she's from layton utah!! she likes to golf and play piano and she's a really hard worker!! her grandpa is from finland so that's where her last name comes from!! her last name means little hill in finnish!! she has been out one transfer longer than i have!! it has been so fun working with her!! she knows how to enjoy the little moments in life and make the most of tough times!! i'm super excited to learn and serve with her this transfer!!! 

we speak and teach a lot mostly in finnish here!! it's way awesome and i can tell my finnish is already improving!!! we taught a super awesome lesson earlier this week with a guy who has been investigating for a long time!! hopefully this week we can commit him to be baptized!! 

the ward here is old but amazing!! i got to share a lil about myself and my testimony in church on sunday and everybody here is super supportive of us and so willing to help us with lessons and the language!! they even knitted me a pair of socks (haha it's a finnish thing)!! every week we meet with some members and they answer our questions and teach us more about the language!! it's wayy helpful!! 

sisar kokkola and i get to take an hour and a half train ride to district meeting in jyväskylä each week. it's a super pretty ride!! we travel through tons of forests!! we're not part of the tampere district because there are so many missionaries here, but we get to see the tampere district at church and sports day on saturday so it's fun for us.

some members in the ward gave us bikes!! woot woot!!! we've only been able to take them out once cuz it has been raining cats and dogs here but they're super fun to ride!!! 

i saw my first sunset since....the beginning of april? i think? hahaha it was SOOO pretty!!! wowow i forgot what they looked like lol and the street lights were on last night....it was wayyy weird!! 

anyways have a great week everybody!! 

sisar larson

anddddd i'll send a lot more pics next week of tampere and my cute comp!!!! 

6 months!! woot woot!! 08/05/18

moi everybody!!! 

finnish word of the week: vaihdon soitot (v-i-don soy-to-t) - transfer calls!!!!!!!!!!!

I have some exciting news!!!!! vaihdon soitot came!!!!!! annnnnnnnd I'M GOING TO TAMPERE!!!!!!!! woot woot!!!!! i'm so excited!!! An elder in my district served there for 8 months and he said it was his favorite area so i'm pumped!!! also i reach my 6 month mark this week.....WHAT!!!!! where has time gone?? 

so, since i'm leaving i had to say a lot of goodbyes!! i have one more tonight that i'm not looking forward to. we have one last lesson with our Estonian investigator and i have really grown to love her so much!! it's sad saying goodbye but i know we'll keep in touch! She has definetly taught me wayyy more than i have taught her!! now that i'm leaving i am able to see how much i have really grown to love the people here in helsinki!! I'm crazy excited to go to tampere to share the gospel and to learn from the people there. I know I will grow to love them too!! 

we got a new investigator this week!! woot woot!! he is from mexico and he's just the happiest guy!! his first lesson went really well until we extended a baptismal commitment to him and then he got a little nervous but he said he would think about it and the sisters will be meeting with him after i leave so hopefully all goes well!! 

my last lesson with our old finnish grandma was so fun!! when she found out i was leaving she was sad but still made fun of me until we walked out the door. i don't think she understands that i understand when she makes fun of me....but it's alright, haha, she's the best!!! 

our other finnish investigator is progressing really well!! she has read SO much of the bOM and she asks really good questions so i'm excited to hear what happens with her this next transfer!! 

also....i broke my camera.....but not before i captured a few pics this week!! so, idk when you will be getting pics of tampere!! sorry everybody. 

have a great week!! 

sisar larson

i ate more beans 07/31/18

Moi!!!! 

Finnish word of the week: kiva (key-va) - nice

It has been another great and hot week here in Finland!! 

Our Estonian investigator has been progressing so well!! She has been really committed to give up coffee and she's doing so well!! 

Our Bulgarian investigator moved to Turku so we had to give him to the Sisar's up there. We miss him lots but we know the Turku Sisars will take care of him!! 

Soo our fav old Finn grandma is starting to get reallllyyyy old...and things are starting to get hard for her to do. So, we try to serve her once a week now. Oh, and her battery to her hearing aid died so she can't hear us very well but she always asks us to sing songs so we sing as loud as we can. We sound terrible but she loves it soooo it works haha!

I ate refried beans this week........I think it was the first time I've ever eaten them (my mom tries to convince me that I have eaten them when I was little, I disagree with her) lol...not my fav but I don't hate beans anymore haha! This is an improvement!

Sisar Jarvis and I visited an older Finnish woman in our ward yesterday and woooowwww I have a lot of Finnish to learn!! She told us a story about her brother and his child and his life in Italy and a lot of other things I didn't understand... at the end of the story I said kiva, which means “nice” and Sisar Jarvis gave me a really scary look then burst into laughter!! She quickly explained the story to me and it was about all these illnesses he has and these tragedies he has faced so I apologized and we all laughed haha! So, even though “nice” was not the appropriate thing to say she is still friends with us!

Anyways, Finnish has been a struggle!! It is a very hard language haha! I don't always understand what people say and I know I say a lot of things wrong. I am still learning! I do love the power of prayer. The more I pray with a sincere heart to understand Finnish and rely on the Holy Ghost the more I understand!! I have such a strong testimony of prayer!! Heavenly Father really does hear our prayers and he wants to help us!! All we need to do is get on our knees and ask with a sincere heart!!! 

We get transfer calls this week so I'll let you all know what's happening next week!! 

Have a great week everybody!!  

Sisar Larson

An insert from the Larson’s: This week we received a few different emails from random people who ran into Sisar Larson & Sisar Jarvis. They sent us sweet little messages about these amazing Sisar’s with pictures! It makes us SO happy to receive these little tender mercies!!! 🇫🇮

happy 24th everybody!! 07/24/18

finnish word of the week: kuuma (koo-mah) - hot

so remember that investigator that was in the mental hospital?? yeah.... he disappeared...we can't find him haha we think he might of ended back up in the mental hospital so we're gonna go check there later this week when we have some time!! 

OUR ESTONIAN INVESTIGATOR IS BACK!!!!!! oh my goodness i love her so much!!! she is just the best and is totally ready to be become a member of this church she's just a little nervous and really wants to make sure that this is the right thing to do!! 

our bulgarian investigator is doing awesome!!! he shared a cool experience with us about the word of wisdom!! he said he had a bottle of alcohol in his hand and he said a thought came into his mind, he could choose the alcohol or he could choose God, so he threw the bottle of alcohol away and hasn't had it since!!!!! he is starting to recognize the spirit!! it's so cool!! he will always place his hand over his heart and in the little english he knows he will tell us how the holy ghost touches his heart!! it's so powerful!!! 

our other investigators with baptismal dates are progresing well!! we tried to commit the "sister wives" girl to live the word of wisdom and she said she would give up everything but coffee so we still got a little work to do with her but she has read SO much from the book of mormon and she says she knows that what she has read so far is true!! so it's progress!!!!!! woot woot!! and our last guy with a baptismal date is from africa!! but he's in america until around transfers so idk if i will see him again.

the weather has still been crazy kuuma!! sister jarvis has moved her bed from the top bunk to the floor cuz we just can't deal with the heat, hahaha! 

alsooo remember how i told you all i don't like beans but i ate them anyways haha so i decided to give them another try cuz i realized they aren't that bad...so we're gonna eat some tonight!! lol 

have a great week everybody!!! 

love

sisar larson

protests, jeans, and sunburns 07/17/18

moi everybody!!!! 

first off i have to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DAD THIS WEEK!!!!!! woot woot!!!!!! if you see him sing him a lil happy birthday song and give him a hug for me!!!! 

finnish word of the week: farkut (far-kuu-t) - jeans

sooo lots of you have asked me about trump and putin and yes!! they were in my area on sunday and monday!! haha it was crazy!! no i didn't see them but we had a lot of protests so lots of the public transportation was down and running different routes so it was a little crazy for us but we're good now haha 

last pday we got to go to suomenlinna with our stl's (sister training leaders) and we got to wear farkut!!!! woot woot!!!! one of the stl's hurt her foot and needed to wear more supportive shoes so president told us we could all wear casual clothes!! it was sooo weird to wear farkuts but sooo fun!!!!! 

it has been CRAZY HOT here in finland. sisar jarvis and i are always sweating...always....i'm even sweating typing this email lol sorry if that's tmi haha it doesnt help that the sun is out for soooo long every day haha. we got a little sun burnt too but that's okay cuz it was worth it!! 

saturday we got to do a photo night!! it was so fun!! an elder in our district is super into photography and videography and he got to bring his nice camera and it was a hit!! we took a ton of peoples pics for them at the church!! it was so fun!! and we had him take some of our pics which i'll send!! 

we extended three baptismal commitments this week and all three accepted!!! they're all during next transfer i don't know if i will be around for them but it was a super exciting week!! we extended one to a man from Bulgaria!! he's so cool!! it was on his first lesson too!! our second lesson with him we taught him the word of wisdom and he said he is struggling with a lot of substances but he is so willing to give them up!! he keeps sharing with us how he knows that this is Gods plans for him!! we also got a new Finnish investigator this week!! she was watching sister wives and wanted to learn more about the church so she called us and now she has a baptismal date in September!! woot woot!! 

it has been a great week here in Neitsytpolku!! thanks for all your fun emails!! 

sisar larson

tämä ei ole mikään nauru asia  06/09/18

Moi everybody!!

finnish words of the week: tämä ei ole mikään nauru asia! (tam-ah ey oh-lay me-can now-ru aw-see-aw) - this is not a laughing matter!

It's been another great week here in Finland!! Sisar Jarvis and I made a goal to syl (speak your language) every time we're out side of the apartment!! It has been tough but i've learned so much!! 

We visited our fav old finn this week!! She's so cute!! she really opened up about a lot of her concerns this week which was a big blessing for us because she always trys to avoid talking about them!! so we've been able to help her and she's doing awesome sauce!! We stopped by her house on our way to church again and she had lost her keys, hahaha, so we were trying to help her find them and then she asked us what day it was. she just could not believe that it was sunday!! she was convinced it was thursday and i couldn't help but laugh. she got really mad and serious then said tämä ei ole mikään nauru asia, hahaha i love her!! 

we had another lesson with our crazy investigator man!! he's currently homeless because he's refusing to live in a homeless shelter but he's progressing!! he hasn't been able to charge his phone but he always comes to finnish night so hopefully we'll be able to set up more lessons with him then. 

i don't know if i've ever written about finnish night? but every thursday missionaries in our ward (so just us and a pair of elders) teach a finnish class at a library in our area! we have a ton of english speakers here in helsinki so we get to teach them all how to speak finnish!! it's super fun!! 

we were supposed to have a lesson with the man from india but he had to cancel, so hopefully this week we can meet with him!! the Estonia girl gets back from her trip this week so we're gonna teach her on friday!! i'm so excited!!! 

we also went on exchanges this week!! we got to go to espoo!! it was SO fun to see what life is like outside of the city!! it's kinda crazy to think i've been in the city for so long!! 

After reading Alma, the other day, I thought I would share one of my favorite verses with all of you!

Alma 17:11 "And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren and establish my work; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls."

 This verse has helped me a lot her in crazy lil Finland. The struggle out here is real, people aren't always nice to us, the language can be hard and the combination of everything can make you easily miss home. A huge lesson I am learning is patience! It's been a hard lesson but as I show patience and as I do the things the Lord has asked me to do I have been able to see how I have been an instrument in His hand.  I have seen the promise in my mission scripture come true.

D&C 84:88, "And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."

I have seen the spirit go before me and touch hearts. I have felt angels lift me up and help me. I know this gospel is true. I know we have a loving Father in Heaven who wants to help us. I know the Savior suffered for each of us so that we can find peace and joy! 

i hope you all have an awesome sauce week!! 

love sisar larson

an awesome sauce week in Neitsytpolku  07/02/18

alrighty!! this week was crazy sauce, where should i begin!! 

finnish word of the week: rukous (roo-ko-oos) - prayer

We had a wonderful zone conference this past week!!! i have to say, we have such amazing missionaries! Our theme was "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not." DC 6:36 & "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7.

I felt sO much love at zone conference! It was very powerful! I totally forgot to bring my notes so there will be more to share on this next week, to be continued...

so we got a new investigator this week. he has been in a mental hospital in our area for a hot minute so the elders were teaching him. he was there because he has some pretty crazy stories but it turns out they're all true. sooo he's out and we get to teach him now, haha! we have our first lesson with him this week so i'll let you know how it goes. 

we tried to visit our fav finn grandma investigator this week but every time we knocked on the door she wouldn't answer!! we knew she was home because we could hear her inside!! so sunday before church we stopped by and again, we could hear her inside but she still didn't answer. so when we were walking outside we noticed that her porch door was open.

so i convinced sisar jarvis to go stand in the doorway and yell her name, haha! after a few minutes of doing this we shouted as loud as we could and as we were walking away she came flying around the corner to her front door!  she finally answered, woot woot!!!! turns out she hasn't been wearing her hearing aids for a while so she couldn't hear us, haha!!! our lesson with her that day was awesome sauce!! we talked to her about baptism and she's considering it!! woot woot!!! 

we had a lesson with a man from india this week, it went really really well!! we talked a lot about rukous and how god works in small and simple ways!! it was a really cool lesson!! his mom was visiting him from india so she joined in on the lesson and she was very interested!!

at the end they gave us some traditional indian treats that she brought with her and they were SO spicy and SO good!!  they also gave us this really gross mint seed stuff and they all laughed at me cuz i guess i was making a face, lol! i tried not to but it was sick nasty. 

anyways it's been crazy rainy here but i love it!!! hope you all have an awesome sauce week!! 

love Sisar larson

I gave a talk in sacrament meeting!! woot woot 06/26/18

hi everybody!! 

finnish word of the week: sininen (see-knee-nen) - blue

so we had our last lesson with our Filipino investigators for a while cuz they're going to the Philippines for 6 weeks. they always feed us reallllly yummy food!!  it was sad saying goodbye, i probably won't see them again unless i get to stay next transfer!! speaking of transfers a few of you asked how long my transfers are haha they're 9 weeks!! woot woot!! 

we got a new investigator this week!! woot woot!!! she's older but she looks SO young!! haha she's also a native finn!! she's super cute and very interested in the gospel!! we have our next lesson with her on monday!! i am SO excited for her!!

Sisar Jarvis and i were on the metro the other day and it was packed full of people!! so i got talking to this finnish lady about her cute purse and she said thanks and we got talking about colors haha she told me her favorite color was sininen then i looked down at my hands and saw a sininen book of mormon so i held it up, pointed at it, and i asked her if this was her favorite color of sininen. she kinda gave me a little eye roll and said yes that kind of sininen. then we got to talk about religious stuff haha and she took a pamphlet so that was awesome!! haha 

we had another lesson with our 84 year old investigator annnnddd it was kinda weird haha she kept talking about how her aunt is her real mom and that her dead husband was resurrected and leaving green thread all over the paintings in her house and all over the tables and in her coffee so she couldn't drink it (haha which is good) but she asked us if we could see it and we said no haha and her house just felt kinda creepy after that so we sang some primary songs with her and said a prayer and it felt better!! we're visiting her again tonight so i'll let ya know if she's doing better next week!! 

I also gave my first talk in sacrament meeting on sunday!! it was the scariest thing of my life haha but people said they could understand me and i know it was all the gift of tongues!! I am so thankful for the gift of tongues and i know it's real!! there is no way i could learn this crazy language without it!! 

I hope you all have a wonderful week!! 

love sisar larson

hyvä isän päivä!! 06/18/18

Hi everybody!! 

finnish word of the week: isän päivä (i-san pie-va) - fathers day

HAPPY isän päivä DAD!!!! i'm so grateful for my father!! he has been a huge support and a great example of a kind, loving, patient, and hard working person for me throughout my life!! i love you dad!! 

so as a said last week my new companion is Sisar Jarvis!! she moved to utah right before she left on her mission. Her mom is finnish so she's half finnish and grew up speaking finnish with her family!! She is an awesome singer and loves to draw!! this is gonna be an awesome transfer!! woot woot!! 

our Estonian investigator got a preisthood blessing this week!! she has been really doubting that she can do this so it was a really cool experience for her! she is going to be out of town for about two weeks which is sad but she is going to try to read the book of mormon and pray every day while she's gone!! she also attended church on sunday and took the sacrament for the first time! she said she felt a lot of peace and strength so it was a really cool experience for her!! 

this week we also had a lesson with an investigator who owns a restaurant. he tried to bash with us the whole lesson and didn't let us speak much. at the end he told us he wouldn't benefit from our lessons anymore so we had to drop him. it was a sad day. 

Saturday i woke up sick so we stayed in most the day and did area book work. 

we had a lesson with our 84 year old native fin investigator!! she's so cute!! at the end of every lesson she gives me a hug and pats my butt and i feel super awkward but i still love her haha.. we tried to get her to come to church on sunday but she didn't want to so hopefully next week!! 

we have an american family visiting our ward for the month and invited us over for dinner and it was soo nice to be with americans!! haha it was kinda weird because they're super outgoing and talkative haha but i loved it!! 

My personal goal this transfer is the 3 L's!! listen, love, and learn!! i have a goal to really try to understand the people we meet so i can know how we can help them more and so we can love them more!! i also want to humbly learn from my comp and our investigators so i can improve as a missionary and as a person!! woot woot!! gonna be a good transfer!

talk to you all next week!!! 

Love, 

sisar larson

Transfers 06/11/18

hi everybody!!! 

Finnish Word Of The Week: Poro (poor-oh)- reindeer

so i officially made it through my first transfer!!! woot woot!!! (transfers here are 9 weeks) annnnd i have a story to tell you all!

so once upon a time Sisar Huber trained Sisar Jarvis right out of training. Sisar Jarvis left on her mission the same time i did but she was already fluent in finnish so she was only in the mtc for three weeks. friday President Aura called us and i get to stay here in Neitsyltpolku (Helsinki) and Sisar Jarvis is going to be my new companion!!

sister jarvis finished her training three weeks ago and now she is going to finish the last three weeks of my training!! i'm a lil nervous because we're both super new haha but mostly excited!! we're gonna have a lot of fun adventures!!!

Sisar Huber is going to be our sister training leader!!! so she won't be too far and we'll get to go on exchanges with her.. 

this week our district got together and sang in a park. sisar huber brought her guitar and we got a lot of attention!! it was super awesome so i think we might try it again this week. 

sisar huber and i were at the train station the other day and a guy yelled at us to stop. he ran up to us and started speaking finnish but we were having a hard time understanding him so he "i don't know if i can say it in english very well....but...i've been cursed....by a very...bad...man." hahaha

we had to bite our tongues to keep from laughing!! he said it in such a dramatic way and we're pretty sure he was a little drunk, haha but it was funny.

i ate Por0 (reindeer) for the first time this week!! haha it was surprisingly good!! 

I just gotta say i'm crazy grateful for Sisar Huber!! she's been an AMAZING trainer!! i have learned so much from her about loving everyone & lifting others burdens! She has been a huge blessing for me this transfer and i SOO look forward to going on exchanges and learning more from her next transfer!! she's gonna be an awesome STL!!! 

love and miss you all

sisar larson

guess what i ate? 06/05/18

Hi everybody!!

finnish word of the week: pavut (paw-voo-t) - beans

it's been another great week in finland!! 

we had a lesson with our investigator from Nigeria this week annddd it was a lil scary!! for a while now we weren't sure if he could read, so we finally asked him to read a verse for us and he kinda can but not very well. we also discovered that he might get deported and he told us that if he got deported he would know this church wasn't true haha. 

so we called him the day after he found out and he said he stayed up all night reading the book of mormon and that he felt great peace and he knows that god has a plan for him. it was a total switch!!  we're still not 100% sure if he got deported so i'll let ya know next week. 

so almost everybody in finland has a sauna, even our apartment has one!! we're not allowed to use it Though :( haha but anyways sisar huber and i think that ours is somehow connected to our neighbors next door because lately they've been smoking something sick nasty in there and it's been stinking up that area of our apartment!!! also we have a friend upstairs who has a dog that doesn't stop barking and sisar huber and i can't help but just laugh hahaha finland is awesome sauce!

we had exchanges this week!! woot woot!!! it was super fun and i really got to practice my finnish haha.

one of the sisars taught me how to ask a question and then let me try. i had no idea what some people were saying so i would offer a book or pamphlet then testify of it and i would get a weird look but people accepted them!! haha 

most of you might not know this but i veryyy strongly dislike pavut. i haven't eaten them in years and i have been able to avoid it up until this week of my mission. a few weeks ago we got invited over for dinner by this cute family in our ward and when we were asked ahead of time if we were allergic to anything i was about to say pavut.. but then i felt bad lying so i said nothing. this whole time leading up to the dinner appointment i just knew we were gonna eat pavut, and that's just what we did. hahaha they had some spicy sauce stuff so i put a lot of it on my plate so i couldn't taste the pavut lolol sisar huber said she couldn't believe i actually ate the food hahaha and honestly i can't believe i did it either lol 

1. sisar hubers first face masks!! woot woot!! 

2. ocean

3. sick pic

4. tuomio kirkko

Moi everybody!! 05/29/18

Finnish word of the week: kellertävän (kale-er-taa-van) - Tan

I have a few new countries to add to the list of people I am meeting!! Hungary, Slovenia, Israel, Uganda, Turkey, and Latvia! It is really amazing how people from all over come to live here!

We had a lot of lessons fall through this week so we got to do a lot of contacting!! Sisar Huber has a guitar so we went to a few different parks and sang primary songs to anybody that would listen then explain a little about the gospel!! It was way fun!! and I got a kellertävän hahaha so that's a bonus!! 

We have an investigator who is 84 years old and she is just darling!! She thinks I'm really bad at speaking Finnish so she always makes fun of me to Sisar Huber. I don't understand everything she says but I always understand when she makes fun of me!! hahaha but we just have a good time with it and Sisar Huber and I have a really good laugh afterwards.

This week we got two new investigators!! woot woot!! One is a man from Sierra Leone and the other is a man from Cameroon. They both told us about how they have seen Gods hands in their lives and I'm super excited for what the future holds for them!! 

We also taught a man who owns this yummy restaurant called Chalupe. Seriously, it was SO yummy!! It was spicy mexican food and man I didn't know how much I miss spicy food until we ate there, haha. He is from Afghanistan and he doesn't speak much English or Finnish so it is really hard to communicate with him but he seems interested in the gospel so we are hopeful to see where it goes! I'll let ya know how are next visit with him goes!! 

Anyways, I love being a missionary here in Finland!! I love sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with anyone who will listen! I am so thankful that Heavenly Father is aware of each of us and I know as we take the time to notice, we too will see the hand of God in our lives! This reminds me of a really great talk,                 O, Remember, Remember by Henry B. Erying. If you are not familiar with this talk, I encourage you to read it!!

Love you all,

Sisar Larson

P.S. Sorry for the overload of pictures!!

en ole kiinalainen (im not chinese) 05/22/18

first off i gotta say a quick HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my cute sister Sammi!! i can't believe you're turning 14 this week!!! that's crazy sauce!!! 

finnish word of the week: kiinalainen (key-na-lie-nen) - chinese                                                                                                                                                                                                                

so this week was a blast!!! we got to go to return and report!! woot woot!!! on monday the sisters from kupio stayed the night with us so we could travel to return and report the next morning!! it was so fun talking to them and seeing sisar kristinsen (a sister from my mtc district) again!!

so return and report is where all the new missionaries that just got to finland go back to the mission home with their trainers for a few days and learn a bunch of awesome sauce things!! we learned how to plan better and work harder and over all how to be a better missionary. it was SO fun seeing all of the missionaries from my mtc group!! We also got to go to the temple and it's SOO pretty!! i'll send some fun pics! 

finland has reallllly started to warm up!! the sun stays out until about 11 at night and wakes me up around 3 am haha soo things are getting pretty warm here!! also finns don't have air conditioning.....sooo the trams and trains get reallllly hot and kinda stink lol

this week we were contacting in student housing and a Vietnamese man answered the door haha and said "en ole kiinalainen" which means i'm not chinese hahaha but i think he meant to say "en ole kiinosta" which means i'm not interested!! haha 

this week we taught three investigators!! since we had some extra missionaries with us monday evening we went on splits and i got to teach a lesson with two of the three kupio sisars!! it was super fun!! we taught our investigator from Nigeria about the plan of salvation! also he walks an hour and half to church every sunday...EVERY SUNDAY!!! i'm excited to see what the future holds for him!! we also taught our investigator from greece!! this was his second lesson and he had a lot of questions about what we do on sunday so we gave him a church tour and he decided to stay for sacrament meeting at the end so that was awesome sauce!! 

have a great week!!

sisar larson

1. finland temple

2. finland temple trip

3. cool statue, Eino Leino...a famous finnish poet and writer

4 a fun return and report pic

5 a harbor on the ocean

Happy Äidinpäivä!!! 05/14/18

HAPPY ÄIDINPÄIVÄ MOM!!!! I am so grateful for my mom and the huge support she's been for me!! She's been an awesome example of how to work hard and trust in the Savior!! I love you mom!!! 

finnish word of the week: äidinpäivä (i-deen-pie-vaa) - mothers day!! 

Summer is FINALLY here!! Most all of the trees got their leaves this week and the weather is getting hotter and hotter everyday!! 

I had my first zone conference this week!! It's so fun and motivating to be with so many missionaries! Zone conference is awesome sauce!! Also, I got to see some of the Sisars from my district in the MTC so ya it was crazy fun!! 

I've been asked by some of you why I can't use my investigators names. I can't because of privacy laws in Finland!! Sorry everybody!! 

We have an investigator from Nigeria and he is just awesome sauce!! He doesn't know very much about Christianity so he has a lot to learn but he's progressing pretty well!!

This last Sunday was stake conference and we had two area 70's with us! Elder Johnson and Elder Gilmore! so after the meeting we were talking to our investigator and Elder Johnson came up to us and talked with him!! I think our investigator was a little intimidated but it was still way cool haha...

We also invited one of our other investigators from Estonia to live the word of wisdom this week!! She was super nervous about giving up coffee so we offered to give up sugar and go through this together!!! so that's what we're doing!!! I miss eating yummy finnish treats and it's only been one week but life is good!! hahaha 

So a few emails ago I told you all a few of the countries that people we meet are from!! My list has grown a lot since then so I thought it would be fun to share all of it with you!! so far I've got...Canada, Russia, Germany, Spain, Holland, China, Japan, Ecuador, Egypt, wales, Sierra Leone, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Romania, France, India, Nigeria, Estonia, Iraq, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Australia, Somalia, Cambodia, Greece, Poland, Scotland, Philippines, England, Sweden, Lebanon, Gambia, Ethiopia, Peru, Brazil, and Ghana! 

Miss you all!! 

Sisar Larson

1. skyping my cute family!! 

2. train stop in helsinki

3. a cool church

4. last sugar we ate

Moi everyone! 05/07/18

Finnish word of the week: ruotsalainen (roo-oats-a-line-en) - swedish

The beginning of this week was really rainy and cold. Vappu was crazy sauce, but everybody still went to the park in their winter jackets and had a picnic haha. 

the good news is things are finally starting to warm up in finland!! woot woot!!  

Earlier this week Sisar Huber and I visited a less active in our ward. On the walk over Sisar Huber tried to explain her situation to me and told me to be super careful.

When we walked in the door I thought we were in Harry Potter. There were stacks of books and really random thing everywhere!

So we're in the lesson and our less active sisar is speaking crazy fast so i'm trying really hard to understand what she's saying, then out of nowhere she yells in perfect english "the winner takes it all! the winner takes it all! and I am the winner!!" hahaha we're not really sure what she was talking about haha but she was fun to visit! 

The work here in Finland is going good!! All of our investigators are progressing pretty well!! We meet somebody from a different place everyday! Also almost always when I introduce myself to somebody they point to my name on my name tag and say "oletko ruotsalainen?" which means are you swedish? haha 

anyways love and miss you all!

love sisar larson

1. vappu picnic

2. rainy finland

3. sisar huber and i at a park

4. Finland

happy vappua everybody!!   05/01/18

finnish word of the week: vappu (vaw-poo) - May Day

these past two days have been crazy sauce!! june 30 and may 1 are vappuaatto (vappu eve) and vappu. so everybody in finland celebrates graduation from high school and college and so on. on vappuaatto we had over 35,000 people in our area celebrating!!

they all gathered around a statue and washed it then put a graduation cap on it. then everybody parties and drinks and things got super crazy last night haha!

everybody was also wearing these things called party pants hahaaha they have stickers and stuff all over them. i'll try to get a pic this week so you can see what they look like next week!! on vappu everybody has a picnic and stuff so since today is our pday we're gonna go check it out!! i'll let you all know how it goes!! 

finland is awesome sauce!! it's still cold and rains all the time. the trees don't have leaves yet but i love it here!!

the sun is up before we are in the morning and usually wakes me up before our alarm does haha and then it sets right before we go to bed!! 

this week we had exchanges!! we got to go to espoo! it was very different from the city!! people are a lot nicer haha and we got to see the temple so that was crazy fun!! 

talk to you all next week!!

love sisar larson..

1. vappuaatto

2.graduation hat

3. vappuaatto

4. finland temple

        04/23/18

 meeting people from all over the maailmaa  

terve!!!!

 

finnish word of the week: maailmaa (my-el-ma): world

 

this week has been crazy awesome and i am really short on time today sooo this email is gonna be a short one!! 

we meet so many people from all over the maailmaa!! so i thought it would be fun to make a list!! here are a few places...Hong Kong, Cambodia, Greece, Malaysia, Iraq, Iran, Taiwan, Australia, England, Scotland, Somalia, Romania, India, Nigeria, and sooo many more!! 

we have had some awesome experiences this week!! our investigators are all progressing and doing really well!! a few of them came to church on sunday and they said they loved it!!

the other day sister huber and i were walking past a graveyard and we had a feeling to walk around the back of it. So we did and there was a little park hidden behind some trees and a man from india walking around with his young daughter! we both got the impression to talk to him soo that's just what we did haha he was so excited to hear the message we shared with him and he even set up an appointment right then and there for us to meet with his family!!!

woot woot!!! this has been a great week!! i love being a missionary!! 

 

love sisar larson

 

i am out of time so i'll send pics next week!! 

finland helsinki mission 04/17/18

terve!!

finnish word of the week: lentokone (lent-o-cone-ey): airplane

soo after a flight to dallas and a long flight to london we finally made it to finland!!!

 the flight was SO long hahaha london was super foggy so we couldn't see anything!! we couldn't leave the airport. the airport was HUGEEEEEE biggest airport of my life oh my goodness

our mission president and his wife are both awesome sauce!

they took us to the temple and it's so pretty!! i'll send a pic of it!! after the temple we went to the mission home and stayed the night.

the next day we had lunch, met our trainers, then left to our areas!! my trainer is Sisar Huber!! she is just the cutest!! she has been in finland for about 4 months and she speaks the language SO well!!

we are serving in Helsinki!! we have all the cathedrals and the ocean and lots of touristy stuff in our area!! it's awesome sauce here!! 

we use public transportation to get everywhere haha it's way cool!! we talk to so many people that way!!

people here talk SO fast haha i have a hard time understanding everything that they're saying

 i can't even speak finnish i think we learned the wrong language in the mtc. haha!

but my trainer is so awesome and she helps me a ton!! I've learned so much from her! 

it's totally different here...culture shock is real..  i'm smack in the middle of the city. the pics i sent of the ocean were like thee islands with resturants on them. 

before i left the mtc i ran into a friend from idaho, HYRUM!

it was so fun to see him, he was called to serve in india...

Love you all

Sisar Larson

4 more days  04/05/18

terve!!

finnish word of the week: suomi (sue-oh-me) - finland

T-4 DAYS UNTIL WE GO TO SUOMI!!!!!!!!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!! 

we just got a new member of the mtc presidency this last sunday and he served as a mission president in suomi. so he talked to my district yesterday about suomi and i am SO pumped to go!! i never thought this day would come! 

this last sunday we had the opportunity to watch general conference!! it was so powerful watching all the missionaries sustain our prophet Russell M. Nelson. i wish you all could of heard the missionaries gasp and cheer when temples were called in their missions!! i'm so grateful i get to be a missionary at this time!! 

during priesthood session sister Elaine S. Dalton spoke to the sister missionaries!! it was amazing!! she told this awesome sauce story about how her husband and her were running one day and they came to this hill so since she is a competitive person she started running quickly up the hill to beat her husband.

part way up the hill he raced past her so she stopped running and yelled "okay!! i will wait for you in the car honey!!" she turned around and felt her husbands hand on her shoulder then he said "don't you know, you never make a decision to turn back or quit when you are on a hill."

then they finished their run. i love this story because hills are opportunities to make you stronger!! don't ever make the decision to quit on a hill because you can do it! go on!! have hope in the savior and you can do all things!! 

love you all

sisar larson

pics

1. the zone

2. 6 of the 7 sisars

3. mtc

4. last pic with some of the mongolians

guess who spoke in sacrament meeting!!  03/29/18

moi!!

finnsih word of the week: synnti pukki (sew-n-tee poo-k-ee) "a sinful goat"

okay so you're never gonna guess what!! so you know how every week I talk about how the finns haven't spoken in sacrament meeting?? soo this last week our district was joking around as we were writing our talks about synnti pukki. It has multiple meanings and it's just a weird word haha so i was like okay i'll use it in my talk if i have to speak. soo i wrote it in thinking i wouldn't have to speak on sunday then sunday comes and guess what... i'm the only finn that has to speak lol so i get up there and i said it hahaaha all the finns were cracking up and everybody was asking us what i said after haha it was awesome sauce

guess what else happened!!!!! we met a native finn here at the mtc!! but we could hardly understand him!! he spoke really quietly and he was speaking spoken finnish!! so right now we're learning written finnish and next week we learn spoken finnish!! ahh which is crazy sauce cuz we only have a week and a half left!!! 

our swedes and nords left this week!! it was so sad saying goodbye!! not gonna lie it's hard watching so many people progress from the the mtc, but we only have a little over one week!! ahh i'm seriously so excited for finland!!!!! 

anyways love and miss you all!! 

sisar larson

apostle #3!!    03/22/18

this weeks finnish word of the week is : viikko (vee-ko) - week

MOI!!!!!

how are you all?? i know i say this almost every viikko (week) but this week went by soo fast again!!! ahh i can't believe how quick pdays come and go!!! we have 2.5 more weeks until we leave for Finland which is CRAZY SAUCE!!! i'm so excited!! there's a chance we get our flight plans tomorrow so cross your fingers they come!!!! 

sisar smith and i are doing great!! she is the BEST companion ever!! tuesday sisar smith had to go to the dentist cuz she ate a wall in her sleep, jk idk if she ate a wall but she did chip her tooth in her sleep hahaa. so it was fun leaving the mtc for a lil bit. 

our danes are gone!! it was sad saying goodbye!! but the new danish district came in on wednesday!! there's only one elder haha we also have to say goodbye to our swedes and nords on monday!! EVERYBODY is leaving us!!! but i'm so excited for all of them!! 

also the finns still have not spoken in sacrament meeting haha and this sunday is the last sunday we have to do it soooo i have a filling lots of the sisars are gonna speak!! 

we had our third apostle speak to us on tuesday!!! Elder Renlund!! he gave a really awesome talk!! he shared a quote i love but i didn't get to write the whole thing down! so i'll share with you what i wrote..."the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives. HE (Christ) is the joy." and i love this koska minä tiedan etta jos me keskipistemme miedan elämä jesus me voimme löytää onni!!! 

minä rakastan teitä!!

sisar larson

pics

1. sisar hansen and I

2. our cute lil finnish district!! 

3. veli (brother) edwards! one of our teachers

4. cutest zone ever with our danes that just left and there's a random guy we don't know too haha

oli hauskaa viikioa  03/16/18

Moi!!

finnish word of the week: hauska (how-ska) - fun or funny 

how are you all?? this week went by SO fast oh my goodness time is flying by!! i can't believe how close finland is but at the same time finland doesn't feel real haha

the daines in our zone leave on monday for denmark! super sad but super exciting!!

nobody from our district spoke on sunday haha we're all getting a lil nervous!! 

next friday we get to skype members in finland and teach them lessons!! i'm so excited!! 

we've learned SO much finnish this week!! wowow did you know that finnish has 15 cases?? and we've learned about 10 so far!! 

sisar smith and i got a new investigator this week!!

soo when i say investigator i mean one of our teachers portraying one of their investigators in finland. haha he's the most chill person EVER!! so we were teaching him and he was acting kind of depressed so sisar smtih asked him if he was okay and he said ya i'm just peaceful and some other stuff and i must of had a weird look on my face or something because when he looked at me he let out this little squeak of a laugh and i BURST into laughter hahaha i just wasn't expecting anything that had happened in our lesson and the person our teacher was portraying is the complete opposite of him so i was literally crying from laughing so hard and that made my companion laugh so since we were both laughing our teacher started to laugh and long story short we had to take a time out haha sooo ya that was a hauska experience haha 

Bishop Waddell spoke to us at our tuesday night devo!! it was SO good!! he talked about our role and how important of a tool the book of mormon and spirit are!! he encouraged us to seek the spirit always and wow just such a great talk!! 

anyways i gotta go!!! love you all!

sisar larson

1.view from our classroom

2."texting" one of our investigators 

3. prettiest comp ever

4. laundry rooms

halfway there!! 03/08/18

terve!!!

finnish word of the week: penki - a bench

sooo this week went by crazy fast!! we reached our halfway mark this week!! which is crazy sauce!! i feel like i've been here forever but at the same time the mtc is flying by! finnish is going good!! we learn a lot each day! our teachers encourage us to speak our language as much as we can so the sisars and I will have random lil conversations about random lili things haha 

sooo one evening our zone was walking back after class to our residencies and sisar smith and i were chatting with some of the elders and one them ate it SOOO bad on what we call the henki penki (a bench) hahaha it was SO funny!!! we laughed about it ALLL night long!! 

so i think i've told you this before but sisar smith, johns, hansen, and i all share a room and they have allll tell me i sleep talk hahaha in finnish and italian and obvi english too lolol

so everybody in our zone has to prepare a talk for sunday because you dont know if you're speaking until they announce the speakers after the sacrament!! guys!! none of the finns have spoke yet so i'm convinced imma be speaking this next sunday haha 

elder m. russell ballard spoke to us for devotional tuesday evening! he did a Q and A with us!! it was so cool!! i learned to study, pray, and trust. that even though i may feel inadequate and i need to trust in the lord!! pray to have the spirit with me at all times, and trust that i will receive help in times of need. i love being here!! i love this language, the people, and most of all my savior!! 

love and miss you all!! 

sisar larson

pics...

1.sisar johns, me, sisar smith, sisar hansen

2.sisar hansen and i

3. package from the fam

4. cousin, Sister Cortney Larson

5. my cute companion sisar smith

minä rakastan soumeski!!  03/01/18

Terve!

I. LOVE. FINNISH. oh my!! guys!! it is the best language everrr!! it's finally clicked this week and everything is making sense!! i mean we still have a lot to learn but so far everything is just awesome sauce!! also i thought i would do a finnish word of the week just for fun haha so this weeks finnish word is hyvä (who-va) which means good! 

every wednesday evening we teach trc. trc is rm's from finland that we get to teach kinda like a family home evening and it's soooo fun!!! the returned missionaries that come are all super fun and outgoing with us so it makes for a really good lil lesson!! 

guys.. i'm a pro at volleyball now. jk, not even close to a pro but i'm improving!! i have some gnarly bruises as proof! i'll send a pic! 

sunday evening byu mens chorus sang a bunch of songs for us at devotional!! THEY'RE SO GOOD!!! oh my goodness!! i died!! and Tad R. Callister spoke to us tuesday evening about evidence that the book of mormon is true and not to underestimate the power of the book of mormon!! it was really cool to hear!! 

guys our district has been asked multiple times this week what asian language we're speaking hahaha i dont think finnish sounds very asian but i guess other people think it does!! 

so sisar smith (my companion) has a cold so that's been sad. ummm i'm trying to think of some other stuff to tell you guys but this week hasn't been super crazy or anything.... 

every week we get to write a talk for sacrament meeting on sunday because you don't know if you're speaking until they announce your name!! guys!! none of the finns have spoke yet and i just know it's gonna be me this next sunday!!!! hahaha 

anyways i miss and love you all!! 

sisar larson

1. volleyball bruises 

2. sisar smith and sisar nielson arm wrestling 

3. veli (brother) spiers one of our mahtavaa teachers 

4: our classroom and some of my notes haha

minä rakastan olen lahetyssaarnaaja! 02/22/18

Moi!!

wow! week 2 has been sooo good!! last pday was a bit crazy so I didn't get to tell you all about our zone! our zone consists of missionaries going to sweden, norway, denmark, netherlands, mongolia, and us!! mongolia is here for 10 weeks, us 9, and everybody else 6. our zone is mahtaava!! for exercise time we all play volleyball and it's SOO fun!! haha so ya..that's a lil about my zone! 

finnish is SOO fun but SOO hard!!  Veli (brother) ryan could tell we were getting kinda stressed one day so he taught us a lesson on how to manage our stress but he taught it in finnish so it was actually kinda really stressful lol. 

also i forgot to tell you all i saw sister shinsato last week!!! i was walking to lunch with my district and i heard somebody yell sister larson so i turned around and she was running full speed at me!! it was so happy to see her!! and i saw sister cordner yesterday!! i was waiting in the hall for my comp and i heard a voice that sounded like hers haha so i looked over my shoulder and she was just there!! haha i totally cried when i saw her hahaa but ya! some of you were asking if i've seen those sisters so i thought i'd tell you once instead of writing it multiple times!! 

Elder Holland gave a devotional tuesday evening and i have never felt the spirit stronger in a talk!! my favorite part was when he talked about Joseph Smith. i can't remember exactly what he said but i remember thinking this... Joseph Smith had an elementary school education and he translated the BOM. he wouldn't of been able to do that without the gift of tongues!! the gift of tongues is SO real! i notice it in each lesson sisar smith and i teach, i notice it when we study and guys it's just so incredible!! and i'm so very grateful for it!!! 

anyways i miss you all SO much!! keep sending me updates on your lives!! i love reading them throughout the week!! minä rakastan sinuä!!! minä rakastan olen lahetyssaarnaaja!!

sisar larson

 p.s. pics from last week aren't working! hopefully next week i'll get them to you!

TERVE!!!! HELLO!!! 02/14/18

you guys!! i miss you all so much! before i tell you about how awesome this week has been i've gotten the same question from a lot of you! so you guys have been asking me if i can read emails throughout the week and i can but only when i have time and i can't respond until pday! also i know spelling and such might be bad but i don't have enough time fix stuff so sorry in advance!

so we have 7 sisars in our district (people going to finland) so no elders. all the sisars are very smart and just really awesome people!! my companion is sisar smith! her dad served in finland so he taught her some finnish and it's been super helpful for both of us! i love having her as a companion! sisar johns and sisar hansen share a room with us! the four of us have grown so close in the past week! i love each of them so much!! also i've seen SO many people from lp haha it's crazy sauce!! 

you guys! finnish is SO hard!! 48 hours into our stay st the mtc we taught an investigator in finnish. the lesson wasn't the best but we tried!! monday was the hardest day this week. after teaching the investigator, veli (brother) ryan got a little frustrated with us because we were writing out word for word what to say! so he had us put all of our notes and books away and practice teaching each other. we all struggled through it and by the end of class we were all crying haha. tuesday morning we go up at 1:30 and left to cali so we could get our visa's. we were all still super bummed from monday but when our shuttle driver picked us up we got talking to him and we taught him about the gospel and he accepted a book of mormon! guys we talked to a bunch of other people about the gospel and even placed one more book of mormon on our flight home!! it was just the experience we needed after monday. Wednesday veli ryan told us we couldn't teach the investigator with our notes anymore. i don't think i've ever been more scared than i was right before sisar smith and i walked into the lesson. when we started teaching words kept coming to me and the spirit was so strong!!! guys the gift of tongues is so real!! \

soo pics aren't working and some of you have asked what finnish looks but i can't use umlats on this computer so here is kinda what it looks like

mina rakastan ollemalla myohmpien aikojen pyhien jeesuksen kristuksen kirkkon lahetyssaarnaaja!! 

love and miss you all

sisar larson

p.s. pics aren't working this week so be prepared to get a million next week