October 18, 2016 Moi There! (Hi There!)

"If you treat a man as he is, he will remain 

as he is, but if you treat him as if he were 

what he ought to be and could be, he will 

become what he ought to be and should be" 

                                                        -someone great I cannot remember the name of

We are all Children of God and need to help people recognize that by treating them that way. 

Sisar Cardon

P.S. I love Finland!

P.P.S. This week Sister Carter the AP's and I took a road trip across Finland for zone meetings. It's was quite the adventure. Did you know that Finland has pine trees that turn bright gold and shed their needles? Yep, pretty cool and breathtaking.

October 11, 2016 (BUSY WEEK!)

Valerie didn't send out a letter this week. She did share with her family the letter she wrote to President Watson. The very first and last part of the letter tell why. She and her two companions visited sisters in the mission. Her entire letter focused on the sisters they have stewardship over. 

This is the first and the last of her letter:

President Watson,

Its been a very busy week, I cannot believe that it was only a week ago we were in Lappeenranta. Time is a funny thing....

....I think one of the biggest reasons I came here to Finland was to meet you and Sister Watson. We are forever friends and family. I love you both deeply. 

Sisar Cardon

October 4, 2016 Lappeenrannassa! (Lappeenranta, Finland!)

Huomenta!!  

(Good Morning!)

We had a Finnish language hour and
Sis Carter and I taught pronunciation
...we love our star students!

We are out here in Lappeenranta right now and it's a nice windy morning. These sisters are doing well and seem healthy and strong. It was a surprise exchange we had not been planning for and it resulted in us spending P-day out right next to the Russian boarder! WhAT?!

 

I have such awesome companions. Where would I be without them? Well...we were sprinting to our train yesterday because I thought it was a different platform...so in a literal sense I would probably be in Russia right now without them.

A few of my thoughts from conference:

Firstly, how incredible it is that we have a living prophet. President Thomas S. Monson, called of God to lead us and guide us in this day. I felt power and peace hearing the words that Heavenly Father has for us specifically in this war of a world. I know that he is chosen specifically for now and I am grateful for his testimony.

Secondly, "ye lift me, and I´ll lift thee and we´ll ascend together" is such a simple phrase that was used, but so powerful. We have the blessing and opportunity in this life to lift those here with us. One way of lifting others is to share the truths that we learn from conference. Life someone that is close to you, could be close to you, or isnt close at all. We are all children of God. Our joy will be great as we ascend with our fellow brothers and sisters.

Thirdly, we need to be bold in our testimonies and teaching of Christ, as Bonnie L Oscarson shared. Just in giving her talk she was a great example of what she was teaching. There are truths of the gospel that we must stand up for in a world of changing morals and values. The important thing to remember is that boldness is not overbearance when companioned with charity and love.

I am excited to apply what the Spirit taught to me personal in my missionary work and life.

Sisar Cardon

The Finland leaves are perfect
...find the missionaries in them!

 

  

Sisar Cater and I making calls on the teeter-totter
...Apparently it looked really funny to sister Norman

My outfit....yes I rocked the tights AND velcro shoes.

Me leading Progressive Relaxation Routine this morning
...we love these things! didnt know I could have such a
soothing voice to put all three to sleep.
 Spiritual gift? Perhaps, yes. 

September 27, 2016 "vahva kuin härkä" ("strong as an ox")

Helsinki

This past week SO much happened that I feel like it was a month or something..but then again it went by so fast! 

Saying bye to Sister McAllister was so sad! That next transfer in America will be good for her to find a new comp though ;) So grateful for all I can learn from my companions.

The "dream team"

Sister NORMAN!! Yes, she came pre-trained. She is great! From Star Valley Wyoming, 21 (almost) years old and went to Utah State just like me! Its so fun to be with Sister Carter again! We always dreamed of this happening when we had a few weeks together in the MTC! We literally cant stop saying "dream team"...its so funny. We feel like we have been friends forever-probably have been. These sisters truly are "strong like bull"!

SISAR PAAKKARI SURPRISED US!!!

Sister Norman also reminds me a lot of my dear Sister Jacobsen...who I said farewell to this past week...ya dont get me started on the way my heart broke again...We helped bring the departing missionaries to the airport this week by waking up at 4:15 am and well..It was good but hard to see them go! At least its not goodbye forever!

Isnt it incredible the relationships you can make in such short amounts of time?

Spiritual thought for the day:

I was reading in 3 Nephi 17:15-17 this morning. Jesus Christ appears to the Nephites on the American continent  and heals the sick. Then he prays in a way that people couldnt even write the words He spoke unto His Father. 

Why was Christs prayer so powerful?

I pondered this, and thought of a quote I heard in the MTC that is somthing like "if we even had a small sliver of understanding of WHO are are, we would be completely changed." 

Jesus Christ knew who He was. He knew who His Father was. This made the acts that he did so incredible. He not only is the Only Begotten of the Father, but he understands who The Father is.

I hope we can each ponder more of WHO we truly are. As we understand this, we will be changed. 

First time driving...crazy!

I love you all and have you in my prayers!

Keep smiling :)

Sisar Cardon

September 19, 2016 Change brings growth

The view from where we had our picnic.
Yes. Finland is unreal.

We got change calls this week. My current companion Sister McAllister is going home, I am going to be in a trio with Sister Carter (we were together for a couple weeks in the MTC!!!) and training a new missionary! I am staying in Espoo...we are going to be busier than I ever have been on my misson. Wow. Like, we are traveling for something once a week, at least. Our little trainee will be "babysat" by other missonaries when we are gone. I literally feel like my change call made me into a parenthood with sister Carter...haha 

This week was incredible. I saw a miracle of being able to see my family here in Finland! She is called "sokeri serku" translating to "sugar cousin" and it means 3rd cousin. It was just too perfect! I never thought I would be able to meet my long lost cousins here in Finland! I am just grateful that those sister missionaries in Tampere were led by the spirit and talked to her on the bus two weeks ago! I love Maiju!

A cute street in Tammisaari the tiny Swedish town

A little spiritual thought for the day...so we are currently teaching this old woman who lives alone and has for her whole life. As we have been teaching her about the plan that Heavenly Father has for her and the Book of Mormon, I have seen her countenance change. I think every time we see her (today we picked some apples from a nearby park and brought them to her before emailing) she looks younger and more and more full of life and light. I know that it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is making the difference in her life. Seeing her in church last Sunday brought me so much joy. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will bring each of us a new light and life.  

We made home made cafe rio (sweet pulled pork) 
that was beyond heaven and ate it as a picnic out on the lake

September 13, 2016 Terve Kaikille! (Hello Everyone!)

The sky from our hike on the island in Lohja last pday

I cant believe how many dinner appointments we get sometimes. Just on Saturday we had three!! What is this, UTAH?? 

I found my knew mission scripture: 

"and into whatsoever city ye enter, 

and they receive you, eat such 

things as are set before you."      

  Luke 10:8 

...I love it...also my new big smiling cheeks show it.  

I LOVE MY MISSION

its not an exchange without ridiculously expensive ice cream

This couple serves here in the Finland Temple.
He served in Finland when he was younger,
then worked for NASA and knows Neil Armstong
personally...
he is SO COOL.
I had him sign my planner...Well have a nice week and remember 

Sisar Cardon loves ya!

September 6, 2016 Lappeenranta ja Interim! (Lappeenranta and interim)

Sunflower patch we found

Thanks everyone for the sweet emails! I wish I had time to respond back to you all personally but the clock is hyper speed, I swear. Just know that I love you and treasure the sweet words you send to me. 

This week was a busy one (arent they all?). We had 5 days of training with all the new missionaries and their trainers, called Interim. It was President and Sister Watson, the APs and my companion and I doing the meetings. Wow. Those things stress me out sometimes, but it was so good! We ate way too much food...Sister Watson spoiled us. One thing we talked about was obedience and I really like the analogy that President Watson gave. It was about the speed limit (yes daddy, I definitely thought of you). He said that when you are driving above the speed limit, you have to always be worried about "is there a cop?" or "can I get away with this many over?" and it takes away your mind from the beautiful journey around you. I thought it was so profound. When we are clocked right exactly on the speed limit, we are more free to look out the window, and see the 80,000 lakes of Finland and the thick forests and the fields. Its so true, when we are obedient, we are free.

Helping Sister Watson unpack groceries for interim...
we played real life tetris with the fridge. 

We went to Lappeenranta for an exchange Sunday night and came back this morning. Its about a 2.5 hour train ride, and breathtakingly beautiful. Its the closest city to Russia where the Finnish missionaries serve, just some miles away from us. Darn it I should have learned how to do a contact approach in Russian! It was a breathtaking city. I love the opportunity to learn from so many different sisters in the mission. 

Morning runs in Lappeenranta
on the biggest lake in Finland

FUN FACT: We have a jar of peanut butter in our car at all times because there are so many apples outside EVERYWHERE that we just pick them and eat them...it helps when we dont have enough time for meals at home. All the Finns think we Americans are obsessed with peanut butter..we are.

GREAT WEEK LOVE YOU!!

Rakkaudella, 

Sisar Cardon

AT the temple for Interim

Phone calls with President Watson in the trains
ONE PERSON phone booth...nice squeeze.