July 17, 2014 Pictures (We Hope)!

So far, every time I (Mom) have tried to post a picture, the blog has crashed. Here's hoping today is my lucky day! Thank you to all the people who emailed him this week! He was very grateful!! Keep it up!

David: My nametag! The letter 'y' makes a guttural ''euw'' sound, which is hard to describe... the Ö sound isn't much better, it's just a little lighter! Fun, Fun!

David: The only label of an Entrance that the MTC has anymore. They used to have a big one outside, but so many people would just jam up the area taking a picture by it that the signs were ripped out.

Mom: I was heartbroken during Spring Break when we couldn't take a picture near the old sign...

David: Both Finnish Districts on our first Sunday Temple Walk. I obviously did not take this picture!

 Dad: Most missionaries in this group look like they will fit in just fine in Finland. Just like David.

David: ​A very impressive picture of me with my companion, Vanhin Wilson.

Mom: Another blonde with blue eyes...and a red tie. They could be twins...

David: A surprise shot of the other district at work! They are also going to Finland, but the classrooms are too small for us to all be 1 district.

 David: Ah, so these people (with the exception of the Elder on the far right) make up the rest of my district. From left to... back of head... They are Vanhimmat Reyes, Bailey, and Hastings.

 David: ​Conjugation of Pronouns: Part 1. Seriously, there are so many ways to change what it is that you want to say!!!

 Mom: Think I will stick with English for today.

 David: ​These rules describe how we conjugate Nouns and Adjectives. If it ends in something on the left, the stems/partitives can be found on the same line, with a few exceptions. Seem like a lot of rules for conjugating Nouns and Adjectives? There are actually around 19 rules total, but we only have 15 up since 4 of them are VERY seldom. If we ever use the word, we'll know that it is one of the 4 unlisted rules. For example, if a Noun/Adjective ends in Ri, Li, or Pi, OR is a "loan word" (Word from another language, like Aadam for Adam), there is a different rule that we must rely on a different chart for. It's all very fun.

 David: This is a description of 6 of our 16 cases. They, of course, do not stop at physical location conjugation, but can change other words to other situations. For example, if I were to say something was "for David", the subject (if we are to temporarily ignore Partitive/Nominative/Accusative endings associated with "David") would become Davidsta. Not Davidlle, which you'd think, "to David" = "for David", but Davidsta. "From David" = "For David". Confusing, huh?

Mom: I guess we prepared him for this when we used to call him Davidista. We can't remember why we called him that, but obviously it was inspired...?

 David: ​This is the "key" to telling which English Hymn is which in the Finnish hymnal. The Finnish hymnal leaves out quite a few English hymns, but only adds in like 7.

Mom: Thanks to Brother Les Bassett for giving David a Finnish hymnal so he can compare!!

 David: This is the verb case with the least amount of rules: only 4!!! My favorite, since everything else literally has around 19 different rules for different endings. It creates the "have verbed" situation, and can be utilized to also create "had verbed", "have not verbed", and "had not verbed". There are a lot of uses for it, if you are relying on telling of something past.

David: The dreaded Orange Juice of the MTC. We think what it is (from looking at the Nutritional Label) is that it has far more fiber than most people are used to, so when they drink it, they can't handle it, and it achieves the reputation of instant-naseau-inducement, with more than one person having thrown up from it!

 Mom: It looks so innocent. Like it would taste really good! So sad that it hurts so many.

Dad: I remember drinking the Creamery OJ and being just fine. Around 20 years ago. I have trouble believing it has changed that much!

Mom: Cast Iron Stomach.

David: Okay, so sometimes I want to put my Finnish studies to some practical use. I decide to translate known-English into unknown-Finnish and have the teachers tell me what I could have grammatically done better. It's very practical, I promise! This is a Disney song that I chose to incorrectly translate in order to fit the amount of syllables to still sing it. It makes sense as sentences, but isn't a direct translation of the song. Figure it out! (Hint: my classroom is all Elders, so this song is something we sympathize with!)

Mom: I have a guess. If you do, put it in the comments!