April 19, 2016 OLDEST CASTLE IN FINLAND!!! AND our BOMB AWESOME TUKIJA!!‏ (Supporter)

Its been a great week! We just see miracles after miracles every day! 

Our investigator, T, is the most prepared person I have ever met. She really has such a strong desire to learn and she really knows from countless experiences that this is the true church that Christ established. I have not seen such a desire to learn. She has literally asked for almost the entire gospel library and before lessons she says things like "so I researched that in 1 year from my baptismal date I can go to the temple?" and "so at my baptism, two men need to watch it to be witnesses" and she even studies what we plan to teach her BEFORE we meet so she can ask us questions. She is such a diligent and driven Finn. I love her and we can feel so much of Gods love for her!

People really do come prepared to us--its also amazing to see how much of this happened for a reason. Turns out that the elders acutally did have her contact information but every time they tried to contact, she wasnt home or her number didnt work, then for a referral that we got after she referred herself another time, we called, she answered that day and we taught the following day. I just feel so strongly that ALL of this happened for a reason and I am amazed that just in 4 weeks she is so ready to be baptized. You should see my journal entries...I never want to forget these amazing things!

Sisar Jacobsen and I are doing great. We have so much faith that sometimes I think we literally could move a mountain...except there arent any here in Finland-maybe a lake.

Sisar Cardon

Oldest Castle in Finland -  built in 1200

The white ghostly legs and HUGE door.

Back tunnel escape

 

Great Pictures of Dressing Up

Worlds BEST selfie
(our backs and necks were literally sore because of how heavy this stuff was)

chains on

April 12, 2016 Kevät tulee!‏ (Spring is coming!)

What a great week! I cannot believe how fast time flies by. I feel like we just came and emailed yesterday. (totally not the first missionary email to ever say that)

Well, that is what happens when you get lost in the work. Thought on that: "getting lost in the work" is really not only forgetting yourself but its being on a spiritual high. When our spirits are lifted and close to God, it is as if taking a step out of time because God is outside of time. It is one of His creations, and coming spiritually close to Him literally is like us taking a step out. I feel that so much as a missionary, but especially this transfer as we have gotten SO lost in the work. 

Setting goals: In complete honesty, I do not think I have ever in my entire life set goals and actually completed them like I have this transfer. With the amount of faith and diligence we are putting into the work here, its as if there is no possible way that the goals we set wont be achieved. The important thing is also that we are not trying by ourselves to reach our goals. We have family, friends, companions, etc. but most of all, we have the Lord and the Holy Spirit. 

A wonderful quote my mom wrote me this past week that I loved hearing was "you can count the number of seeds in a flower, but you cannot count the number of flowers in a seed". I love how this not only applies to missionary work so much, but really all the deeds we do in life. Every act of service has an impact. 

Its been a fabulous week and a week of miracles. :) 

Cool Story: This week we set an insane record...We passed out 12 copies of the Book of Mormon in 2 hours. If anyone told me that would happen just months ago, I proably would have been the "oh ye of little faith". SO FUN REACHING GOALS. 

Sisar Cardon

more pictures from April 5, 2015

April 5, 2016 You are never gonna believe this...‏

What a week! First things first thank you everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes, letters, emails, pictures and packages. I am so blessed to have you all as cheerleaders!! I wish I had the time to write you all back mile long emails and thank you notes but I just dont, there is too much work to be done here! Love you all!! s\o to Elder Pärkkä for the sweet Swedish package, to my other half Andria for the BEST Japanese treasure package and BoM, and Kristen for the Jello and party in a bag plus others, Kelly for the literal party explosion and gifts and all the others. You all are the best!!

So funny funny funny story for you all. (trust me there are about 10 billion more where this came from but I don't have time) Last p-day we took our p-day time to go on a walk with a Finnish senior missionary who is 71 years old. She reeeeally wanted us to come with her to train for the half marathon but we are so busy we had to do it on p-day. When we got with her she showed us the map and informed us, after we had just had in mind that we would be walking a small poriton of the trail, that we would be doing the entire half marathon!! Yes, its true. We walked for over 4 hours, the entire trail. It was splendid, but we SO DID NOT SEE THAT ONE COMING. When we got home that night we had so many blisters and did our nightly planning sitting on our kitchen counter with our feet in ice water. 

We have done so much work this week! (I feel so happy to be able to say that every single week). Its so amazing what a good relationship and healthy companionship can accomplish. I am so grateful for what I have been able to learn from past companions to get to this point. I don't think I have ever felt like I have accomplished this much work in my whole mission. Its amazing. We had a day where we passed out 4 books in the 30 minutes before going inside. This isn't the first time this has happened. We had a goal, we knew we didn't have much time to pass out with the appointments that we had that day, but we brought out 4 books and had the faith that by the time we went home, they wouldn't be in our bags but in the hands of some of Gods waiting children. Its amazing the miracles that happen when we have the faith and the goal of actually accomplishing it. 

My companion and I were definitely close friends in the pre earth life. I feel so blessed and so happy. I didnt think I could feel like this as a missionary. I feel so blessed!

I loved loved LOVED conference this weekend. We really are so blessed to have such amazing servants of God speak to us. One of the many things that stuck out to me this conference was President Dieter F. Uchtdorfs talk in the Sunday morning session. His story about the giant Lutheran church that burned down during the war, was later built back up again, with some pieces of the old remains. This is how our lives are. We have times where we stand tall and strong, and times where things seem to all be fallen down and burned and rubble. But, the important thing to remember is that there is ALWAYS hope. We can always be made tall, beautiful and strong again because of the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. We still have our scars, but they are to remind us of the hard journey that we went on. I am so grateful that even in the hard times, when we have faith in God and love those around us, actaully, when we have Charity for those around us, the highest degree of love, we will be made whole and find true joy. p.s Michelle Lynn you have a conference lookalike Mary R Durham....yes.

I feel so blessed this week. 

Sisar Cardon

 p.s we missed 3 busses one day and we were stranded...
for wayyy tooo long..in the middle of nowhere. so fun!!

March 29, 2016 Life is Good, Life is Great Life is Wonderful #20yearsbaby‏

Its been a great week! I cant believe how fast time is going by but then again looking back at the week and seeing how much we did and what was accomplished! Its amazing. 

#20yearsoldbaby!!! Who knew mission birthdays were so fun?! (probably only the people who served and got to be doing the best work...preferrably in Finland....Turku...with Sisar Jacobsen...) Its crazy the amount of love I have felt form this ward and investigators and friends and 
​and comanion and God and and and and--goes on and on. So blessed. Thank you. 

We ate our favorite oatmeal on the harbor in celebration. Picture attached. Prime. 

We have been waking up early these days and going on runs by the harbor as well as TO THE OLDEST CASTLE IN FINLAND!!! It was literally the best run I have ever been on. 

My companion and I stay up talking every night because we just have so much fun.

Our bishop and I bonded way fast because he played on the national Lacrosse team here in Finland. WHAT!!!! So cool. We seriously talked about LAX our whole DA. Then it bit me in the butt...it made it really easy for him to ask me for giving a talk. We were already friends haha

We met our new investigator right after our Zone Conference in Tampere this week. SHE HAD REFERRED HERSELF!! It has literally been incredible to see how prepared and willing she is to learn. She has that Finnish drive and we have a lot of confidence in the success that the Lord has in store for her very soon. Its amazing because we have been able to see that everything really does happen for a reason. She had asked for a Book of Mormon 2 months ago and it didn't come in the mail until actually the day of transfer calls, then she received it and contacted missionaries which resulted in us teaching her. There are no coincidences. My companion and I have felt SO much guidance and blessings from the Lord with this. 

We are really doing so well. I am doing so well. I don't think I have been this happy on my mission thus far. This week I am studying Hope and I have found so many ties with Faith. There really truly is always hope and with Faith, that Hope becomes reality.

 A Fazer Chocolate Egg!!

Make a wish!

The Turku harbor

March 22, 2016 TURKU minun uusi maani‏ (TURKU, my new country)

Its like I am serving with a best friend!!This has been such a good start to the transfer. I am amazed at how hard we are working and how happy I am and how well my companion and I are getting along. Really, Sisar Jacobsen is a great missionary. We have just clicked so well and I can feel that we are going to have some incredible work done this transfer. Its amazing because I honestly feel like we have clicked more just in one week than I have in the past months with other situations. We. Work. So. Hard. We literally laugh constantly and I don't think there could be a dull moment!
We have made so many goals and WE ARE ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISHING THEM! It feels so good to be on the same page with the goals we set. We take time to recognize the blessings all around us. Its incredible. I mean, we have one goal to give out 200 copies of the Book of Mormon this change and we are well ahead of getting there. In one day we passed out 8 books before dinner! and we had SO MUCH FUN doing it! I feel like I haven't laughed this much in 

months. We come home tired and exhausted every night, but we push ourselves and everyday the Lord helps us the rise and have full energy to do His work again (right after a nice morning run along the river in this oldest city of Finland) #amidreaming. I am blown away at the blessings that I have just seen in one week.
Also I am studying a Christlike attribute every week this transfer. This week is Faith. In a whole life working on this attribute, I know I will just scratch the surface, but I cant wait to get scratching. 

This ooooollldddd lady in our ward here made us KNITTED SKIRTS!! Best item of clothing I own. We wore them to church on Sunday and matched her. We may or may not looked like knitted models, trust me, it was prime. She is the CUTEST!! Only in Finland. 

Fun fact: It is said that the Finland Helsinki Mission is one of the strictest missions in the world right now. (I keep telling myself that everything happens for a reason no matter the rule...my momma can testify that maybe I have always been a little on the rebellious side when it comes to rules and times...but its good for me-at least I keep telling myself that ;) ). 

Turku is the coolest city. It is the oldest city in Finland and there are such old and beautiful buildings, churches and even a castle!! 

Also everyone feel free to pray that Sisar Jacobsen and I get to stay together for the rest of our missions. 

Sisar Jacobsen is RAD! She is from Florida and wrestled alligators. She grew up on a ranch and has a horse. We have such similar personalites and we just get along soooo well! We laugh constantly.

Wow. This was definitely my longest email ever. Gotta love it!

Also we might be able to run a half marathon here in Finland the end of next transfer because a ward member is doing it and REALLY wants us to do it and wear shirts that promote the church...we have been role playing how we are gonna ask president if we can do it. Its just too perfect not to work out because we both have already ran one before and have a rocking training plan for it. So we are literally praying that our president says yes....EVERYONE PRAY FOR IT!!!

Man, this was just the best week. We did SOOO much work.

Okay now I am really saying bye. You all are great!

Rakkaudella,
Sisar Cardon :)

The oldest castle in Finland, built about 1280.

I just love this place. And my comp. And oatmeal.