Monday, November 24, 2014

Du-du du Du-du! Incoming Update! - November 24, 2014

Well, everyone, this week has just been stretching out really long. I'm still not quite sure what we actually managed to accomplish this week... We have been preparing for the 2 baptisms in our area, and they have been working well!

I guess I'll just quickly say a few things that I want to, and then I'll just answer questions.

Bike Safety Surprise

So, this week, despite us not owning bikes, we had to watch the bike safety video, partly because I haven't seen it up 'til this point. As we were watching this short thing, I heard a recognizable voice, and then a recognizable figure. Matt from Studio C is in it! He pretends to steal some missionaries bikes with some other guy, and they talk (as they cycle around with the 2 stolen bikes) about how to secure your bike correctly, and stow it properly as well. It was a bit amusing, more shocking to see him in it, though!

Tornado Chemist?

A few days ago, I was talking with some members about what it's like living in Oklahoma. They were all very interested in what it's like to live in an area with tornadoes, and I told them that it wasn't so bad, most people quickly walk outside when a tornado siren goes off to see where it is. They also joked that maybe I should just become a Tornado Chaser, because it'd be awesome, according to them.

Well, a few days after that, we got a call from some of the same members that were updating the bulletin for the ward. Despite me being here almost 3 months now, they had not yet put a picture of me up on the board alongside all of the other companionships. So, they decided to interview me about a few things so that they could put one up. At the point where they asked about my "dream", I said "Becoming a Chemical Engineer". They said that they needed something a little more exciting than that. Then they started to laugh, and said, "Tornado Chaser!" I laughed, and then said Miksi ei, Why not, put it up. They did. But mixed up with my Chemical Engineer dream.


My dream: Tornado Chemist. Hmm.

Language Sentence

So, I've decided that I should put in a random sentence that I've said this week to just throw into my emails. So here we go.
En halua lunta kengoissani.  I don't want snow in my shoes.

Well, that's all for stuff I want to say, so here are all the questions!

How has your health been this week?

Well, I believe. There's nothing anatomically wrong with my heart, so all that's left to do is go through a Stress Test, where they hook me up to a treadmill and heart ECG stuff and test how well my body handles physical stress. I will be the human gerbil.

Are you enjoying snow?

We did see some light snow this week, but no more than that. The ground is more than cold enough for it to stick, but it's just not coming.

What is something you learned this week?

I studied quite a bit about the Savior's ministry on the earth, and what it is he taught and when it is he taught it. Very interesting thing: I keep noticing that most of the miracles and important lessons that the Savior shares happens on the way. He'll be going somewhere, doing something, and that's when He "find's the one", per se, and aids someone in his path that just needs His help. It's very inspiring as someone who also believes that they are ministering to others in the name of our Father in heaven.
Also, I read Ezekiel 34 and about how I need to be a shepherd that the Lord can trust with His flock, to shorten the chapter. Quite good.

How much daylight is left?

About the same, things haven't really changed now in regards to more or less light. It's just dark all the time instead. Sigh.

What are some lessons that you have taught this week?

We taught about the Gospel of Christ again to one of the people getting baptized, because we felt that it would help them to see the things they need to do after baptism and how what they've already done beforehand (Faith in Jesus Christ and Repentance) will aid the last part of the gospel: Enduring to the End. It was pretty nice, because then we talked about temple covenants and that we can be sealed to our families forever, which they really liked.

What is something you enjoy teaching?

The Plan of Salvation, the first ½ especially. The idea of there being a life before this Earth life where God outlined His plan regarding us and why we need to come to Earth just makes sense to quite a few people out here. The necessity of Christ in the Plan of Salvation, or Pelastussunnitelma, if I spelled that correctly, also is pretty nice as an additional testimony that we are Christians, that we believe in Christ and wish to follow His example on earth.

How goes the Finnish?

I really don't feel as though I've gotten any better than the MTC, but I have found myself able to understand everyone surprisingly well. The hardest thing to get used to was phone calls, because you can't rely on things like gestures and face/body movements, but now thanks to daily calls from an investigator to just talk about stuff, I have gotten pretty good at deciphering phone calls!

Have you learned of any Finnish holidays that we don't celebrate in the U.S.A.?

They have their own Independence Day here, on the 6th of December, so that'll be coming up soon. It's labelled as a "red day", so we have to be careful about what we do on that day due to things like drunk people and riotous partying, I guess. But, other than that, I don't recall anything right now that is too much different. We're going to an American member's house this Saturday for a belated Thanksgiving Dinner, and my companion just received this morning a package filled with Thanksgiving goodies, like a Pumpkin Pie mix and recipe, and tons of other food stuff. Looking forward to the feasts!


Well, that's all on this end, I think I'll wrap this one up for now. Love y'all, be safe, be strong!

Vanhin David Milligan

Monday, November 17, 2014

Another Week Gone By...

Well, this week has been pretty interesting. I'll explain. So, I have been really tired and exhausted, probably due to the fact that it is SO dark and relatively cold as well. Interesting fact: My parents have said that the weather in Oklahoma has been about 10 degrees F cooler than my area of Finland this whole past week. Very weird.

I was hooked up to that Holter Monitor for just 24 hours, against what they informed me in the office when I first went. So, that was a relatively short trial, but it went fine.

We had a Zone Conference this last Wednesday, where we talked a lot about the importance of Finding and teaching simply with the Europe Area President, Elder Teixeira, or something like that. I got to see a lot of the missionaries that were with me in the MTC, since the Helsinki and Tampere Zones met at the same time down in Haaga's chapel, where David A. Bednar came near the beginning of my time here. I'm thinking that Haaga is just meant to be a place where all things spiritually uplifting happen in the ways of meeting leadership.

We also had a Restoration Concert here in Tampere, organized by the Tampere 1 Sisaret of the last 2 changes (current and previous). It went over really well! We had a surprising amount of nonmembers show up, and I got to sing in 4 different songs. The missionaries here are trying to get me to sing stuff for the Christmas concerts and ward activities as well, but I'm not too sure that I want to dive that deep into singing in Finnish, because then my grammar gets all messed up... Finnish Sung is quite a bit different than Finnish Spoken, which is also quite a bit different than Finnish Written, which is what I strive to speak (since it's the most correct).

Well, I managed to come up with a surprising number of things that happened this week, so, on to the questions!

How is your health this week? How has it been wearing the monitor?
Well, like I said, I only had it on for a surprising 24 hours. I was a bit concerned that the time of monitoring would be very unlike my normal state of health, as we were participating in P-Day activities and studying for that duration, but I feel that I managed to go through enough symptoms to give them a pretty good general picture of my heart concerns. I also kept a log religiously (get it? Ha-ha...ha...) to show them what I was doing at what time that I displayed concerning things, like an elevated heartrate just from riding a bus, a heartrate that is 200 beats per minute at only a jogging rate of 2 minutes of exercise, and a few other things. Other than that, though, I've just been tired. I've been eating fine, though. I've been avoiding greasy foods for the last month and ½, so I don't think that these symptoms are heartburn related, although I have considered the option.

Is there anything specific about your health that you would like us to pray for?
Just that the doctors can know any and all things that are concerning... I'm getting an Ultrasound and finding out the results of the monitor on this Wednesday.

Oh, I wanted to explain the monitor! I had 7 different electrodes on me (3 near my collarbone, 4 near the bases of my ribcage) and they felt SO itchy. Think of a bandaid holding a needle in place, and you CANNOT touch it. That's what it was like. It was kinda funny though, to see this weird bulge on my left hip where the box was. (It was held in place by a belt that they put around me, they were a bit shocked that the smallest belt they had made the tightening strap go all the way around me, TWICE. And ½.) But, no problems resulted from wearing it, other than a giant rash for a day after they took it off. Ouch.

What is your weather like? Do you have damp cold or dry cold? We are guessing damp since you are between lakes and oceans...

I think it's a mixture of both. It's definitely drier than normal, because I keep having bloody noses and skin issues, but it's not to the same level of Utah dry yet. Apparently, it will actually turn into a VERY dry cold despite the water bodies. And all of the fog. That'll go away too, the Finns say. Too bad. 

Is your apartment staying warm?
Surprisingly, yes! We have a pretty nice apartment, and it retains heat pretty well. Unless my companion opens the window. Which he does a lot. Sigh. There's nothing even to see out the window except the backside of the Lutheran Church next door.

How is your suitcase enjoying the sauna?! ;)
Now that? That was a low blow. ;)  Did you know that our bathroom actually has a FLOOR WARMER? I only found out about it around 2 weeks ago, because my companion uses it in the mornings to just lay on and fall back asleep... All this time, I thought he was using the bathroom/prepping for a shower... But, hey. I think I'm going to start turning it off on him, it seems like a waste of electricity, not to mention time.  

What are your investigators up to?
Well, the one that we have been postponing the baptism of? The one that agreed with us and has really felt the Spirit each time we teach? He's gone. We don't know where. Every time that we call or text, there's no answer (although he did tell us he was going to switch phones soon, so maybe that's it). Also, though, every time we pop by his house when he's normally home, he's not. All the lights are out and he's just not there. He'd been having some financial difficulties, so he might have moved in with his fiancee (they live in separate talos) to ease that burden, but he hasn't come to church in quite some time and we don't know exactly where his fiancee lives. Just the general area. So, I'm a little concerned about that.

On a happier note, the 2 baptismal dates that are happening on the 29th are definitely happening! We had a concern with one perhaps getting a surgery a bit early, but she rearranged things to make it work. She's really excited to be baptized, and the other one is also quite excited. I believe I have said this, but he's already calling himself a Mormon to his friends. I'm very happy to be a part of this!

Are you going to be able to participate in the musical numbers you mentioned a while ago?
Already did! They were quite good, we did the 2014 Youth Theme Song, Come Unto Christ, as a missionary group, and then I was in a 5-person men's chorus for 3 other ones, including one of them being a Latin Choral hymn translated into Finnish! Quite fun.

Have you done anything new and different this week?
Nope. Well, whenever we've been at the church early, I've been teaching myself how to play piano with the 2 hands playing very different rhythms and parts. It's gone pretty well, I taught myself... now, don't laugh, these were the ones I know both parts the best... Song of Storms and Gerudo Desert. Okay, yes, both Legend of Zelda songs, but they were pretty simple to do, since the left hand uses repetitious beats on both! I promise, it was just for the separating in my mind of left-right hand playing.

Have you found any strange Finnish signs or statues?
I have found quite a few strange monuments here in Tampere. The first thing that I should say is that all statues here, with VERY few exceptions, are nude. That's just the art style. That's why I haven't taken any pictures of those. Okay. The other things I have found are little plaques that talk about war times and planes they used and stuff. They all have the Nazi symbol on them, since Finland was against Russia and utilized the Nazis to clear out their countryside. Didn't work as well as they wanted, but they got some pretty good stories from that!

Are there any lighthouses in Finland? (Those who know my mom, know she asked this!)
Well, we don't quite know... Neither my companion nor I have served on the oceanside, but I do have a friend serving in Espoo, and their apartment is right on the beach, so I'll ask him!

How has your testimony grown this week? What is something you have learned or studied?
So glad you asked! A Vanhin that just came into the mission field and is in Rauma, my district, asked me a question about praying for others. He has been uncertain as to why we do so, since obviously, people that are one of the only Christians in the whole area, not to mention country, would not be prayed specifically for nearly as much as a Utah-born-and-raised youth. He felt that the unbalanced amount of prayers would mean that God would be prone to only answer those that are directed most in common towards this Utah youth, but since that's not how God works, that it is therefore weird to pray for someone, so why do we do it?

After assuring him that he knew enough about the nature of God and that he does answer our prayers, I then proceed to bear testimony about things I had never consciously thought before. This has made me a believer in the idea that "a testimony is found in the bearing of it". I told him that prayer can be intercessory, or directly petitioning for the aid of someone that we are able to do no more for, whether due to far distances (physically or relationship-wise) or due to already having done all we can.

However, there is a much more powerful way, I feel, to pray. While certainly, we can pray for the aid of others in ways we cannot aid them, it is important and CRUCIAL that our prayers be directed towards aiding them personally. Much like Faith being an action yet leading us to others (namely repentance and baptism), Prayer, although an action, should also lead us to other actions, in this case, Charity. The desire to personally aid another's situation should be one of the most important reasons that we pray for others, or at least aid someone else by directing another their way.

During my scriptural studies of this later, I came across quite a few good scriptures. The most helpful one, I felt, that explained my testimony on this was 2 Nephi 33:3-4. Nephi talks about how he prays for his people, knowing that they need the gospel of Christ in their lives. He then says that he knows that God will consecrate his prayers for the gain of his people, "And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them". In other words, the actions that Nephi takes, writing about his testimony and experiences, will be the answer to his prayers of aiding his people. From this, I drew this answer:

When we pray for others, it is both a Commitment and a Consecration. We commit to do all we can to help them, and ask the Lord to consecrate our efforts that we may be inspired to act correctly.

I love this time I have out here to experience not just the world, but my own testimony which I have had and can make stronger. Thank you, everyone, for the influences you have had on me! I bring this email to a close now, but my experiences continue. Keep on keeping on, all!

Vanhin David Milligan

Monday, November 10, 2014

Snow, Snow, Snow, SNOW!!!!!!!!

Guess what happened this week?!!!!!!!

But, more on that later...

Today I am going to be outfitted with a Holter Monitor. I am a little anxious about it, but that's bound to help determine if anything is wrong with my heart. Hopefully there's not a problem that makes it difficult to perform as much missionary work as I would like!

This week has been interesting, as we have dealt with doctor visits and concerned members. They saw me faint when I got whacked really hard with a door, and now are all on board with trying to get me fattened up. I'm not as enthused about it, but at least they have shown a lot of concern that has made me realize just how much people here can love and care for the missionaries!

The questions for this week are pretty easy to answer, so I'll just yammer on about what else happened this week.

Kebab Sauce / An AWESOME Dinner Appointment
Well, this last Tuesday, our investigator from Turkey/Afghanistan (he describes how that works much better than I can) invited us over to his house to have dinner. We didn't even ask or make ANY comment about food to him, he just randomly said, "Hey, come eat at my house. I'll make you some traditional food." So, of course, we said YES. I should have really thought about what he meant by "traditional", because I probably could have guessed what he was going to serve us. That's right. KEBAB. So, I was able to ask him about what's in Kebab Sauce, and he told me how to make it. It's basically oil, onions, tomato paste, black pepper, and then whatever you want to add. Sounds simple~ish, I think I could wrestle a recipe out of him for it specifically.

One more interesting thing about this Dinner Appointment. When we walk in, he was playing music that I recognized from my companion's workouts. This investigator had stumbled upon EFY music, and started to really like it. I love this man. The whole conversations we have with him switch between English and Finnish at weird point, but no one ever gets confused, even me!
(Mom: EFY stands for Especially For Youth, which is a church camp the kids can go to between the ages of 14-18. They have music written especially for it each year.)

Member of the 70 in Tampere who looks really familiar...
There is a member of the 70 in our ward in Tampere. We've helped his wife pick potatoes and he's helped us in teaching lessons to our investigators. The really weird thing is that he looks EXACTLY like Spock. I'm not even a Star Trek fan, but he looks EXACTLY like him. He doesn't sound like him, but if you pointed his ears a bit, you'd have a very convincing imitation.
(Mom: "the 70" refers to "The Quorum of the 70" which is made up of men around the world that oversee/lead parts of our Church in one area of the globe. They can be sent from anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world!)

The Testaments in Finnish
You remember that The Testaments movie that shows the Book of Mormon times before Christ came to the Americas, and it kept flashing over to specific events in the Bible where Christ was ministering? Yeah, that movie. That movie is AWESOME in Finnish. All copies of it have the Finnish audio and subtitles, even though they don't match up like they should. After hearing the Finnish audio and seeing the people, I had thought that the English must be pretty good. (Since it was filmed, you know, in English? And the actors are speaking, you know, English?) But, just recently, the other Elders turned it on with English audio and Finnish subtitles. Then I heard the voices. Now I am certain that the movie was SUPPOSED to be with Finnish audio, because it looks amazing but sounds so weird. Just try watching it in Finnish, and then switch over really quick to hear the difference in voices. SO weird.
(Mom: The movie he refers to is shown in LDS visitors centers around the world. It is also available on DVD with all the fun subtitles and audios he mentions! Here is the link for ordering a copy: $4.50, and I think it is free shipping?
OR, even easier, we do happen to own a copy if you just want to borrow it! After we watch it in Finnish!!)

American Diner
So, we went to a restaurant called American Diner. It was pretty good, even though I just had a Kid's burger (I couldn't handle much more of the greasy food than that), but the real prize was that the Kid's burger came with a giant paper car! It's really sturdy, too, so I think it'll be holding some stuff like small papers for the rest of my mission. It looks pretty sweet.



Finnish Father's Day!!!
Yesterday was Father's Day in Finland! So, Happy Father's Day! The Young Women in Tampere 2 made little packets out of envelopes that look like Sunday shirts to hold a gift of candy for the dads. I thought it was pretty nice, and then they came up to us and gave us special ones: Sunday shirts with Missionary Tags! So cute!


Question Time!
1. How much daylight?

I can say this: we are emailing, it is 9:51am, and I am now finally seeing light. Not sunlight, just light. I can't even remember the last time I saw sunlight. It is pitch black at 4 o'clock now, and that's just really weird, because then it is difficult to contact anyone, because people are understandably hesitant to speak to strangers when it is cold and dark and no one is around.

2. Any snow?

YES. AND IT STUCK. I'm SO happy! It was around for 3 full days, but has basically all melted now. Kinda sad. But, I was really happy during that whole time! Now it's just dark all the time. Sigh.

3. How is your health?

Hmm. Well, I've fainted twice this week, both on Thursday. In the morning, the doctor said I went into shock from cold-to-warm happening a bit too fast and I freaked out my companion right before I was about to eat lunch by collapsing with no warning. That night was when I got whacked by the door of the church (it was switched on automatic and closed a full 2 seconds before it should have) and fainted in my companion's arms (he caught me pretty quickly). But, yeah. Getting a Holter Monitor today so that I can know about my heart, and then not this Wednesday but next, I'm going to get an ECG and an Ultrasound done by a cardiologist.
(Mom: I am not freaking out. I am not freaking out. I am not freaking out. Really.)

4. How are your investigators progressing?

Very well, can't wait to see them get baptized! Sadly, I can't really give a lot of specifics since their progress has been in small bursts of testimonies here and there, but suffice it to say that they have a knowledge of the truth of the Book of Mormon and are anxious to hear everything that prophets are telling us about in our day. So exciting!

5. What is your typical schedule for the day?

If you look at the Missionary Handbook, that little white one, that's basically exactly it. The morning changes a bit, since 8 is Personal Study, 9 is Companionship Study, 10 is looking at the 12 week Training, and 11 is Lunch, but then from 12 on it is missionary work, like contacting on buses and in the streets, visiting/calling potentials, meeting investigators, meeting members (we have been challenged to try to have "investi-members", where we teach a fully active member the lessons and then inviting them to share with others or come with us to teach), and meeting less-active members. Pretty varied, but I love it! Dinner happens at different times between 4 and 6, but it does happen. 9 is Planning, and 10 is final preparations for the next day, including updating our Area Book.
(Mom: We also have a copy of "the Missionary Handbook" if you are curious!)

6. What is your typical p-day schedule?

Umm. This is pretty Unorthodox. We do Personal Study at 8, normally also do a Comp. Study at 9, email at 10:30, wash the car at 11:30, get lunch, and then... random. We shop for groceries for next week, look for stuff we need, shop for what we want (Elder Nemelka always wants to spend about 2 hours bouncing between shoe stores only to buy absolutely NOTHING. Grr), and then preparing to teach investigators after 6, after we've had dinner at 5. Yeah, so it gets kinda random, and sometimes we have to teach on those days, too. Or got to the doctor. Like today.
(Mom: I'm sure he just forgot to mention laundry...right?)

7. What is something you learned this week?

I have been studying from Christlike Attributes again, and tried to each day, pray for different areas of help in attaining those. But yeah, that's what I've been focusing on!

8. Have you made any funny language mistakes lately?

I've only known about one, and I knew it the moment I said it! I have a habit of treating Finnish like a code, where I say what I'm thinking in Finnish after a direct translation, which sometimes gets me into trouble. For example, this one was when I was talking in Institute, which we taught because it was about Missionary Work. I was trying to bring up that when we are in areas with not as many members, unlike Utah, we feel a bit alone sometimes when we are trying to make correct choices. (They'd just given my companion a hard time since he's from Utah, and said he can't understand, so I popped up and said I could!) When I was trying to say that I was one of the only guys that was a member in school, I accidentally said that I was Only a man who is a member in High School. As in, I was JUST a Member Man. As soon as I said this, I said, wait, that wasn't right, and then I was called Man who is a Member (implied Gangster status) for the rest of the evening. It was fun, though.
(Mom: Institute is a religious class for college students. I am doing a lot of translating during this email! And it's not even in Finnish!)

9. What is an interesting Finnish word you have learned?

Jaksaa. It doesn't have a straight translation into English, but it's a verb that essentially means To feel like, without always that lazy connotation. For example, it is normally said, En Jaksaa, as in I don't feel like, but it's more like "I can't work up the energy to". It's kind of interesting. Pronounced like, En Yawksaw. Missionaries say it all the time, as in, I can't jaksaa enough to do this. They just throw the Finnish word into the English sentence. Interesting.

Well, that's basically it! Hope that you all are doing well, can't wait to hear from all of you again! Be strong! Lots of exclamation marks your way!!!

Vanhin David Milligan

P.S.  Ok. Maybe ONE Snow Picture:
This is the church parking lot when it was snowing the day following the snowy night.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Very Short Update - November 3, 2014

So, lots of medical complications this week that I don't want to bore/scare anyone with, so suffice it to say that I have been a bit out-of-commission and have been with some Finnish doctors and lots of needles.
Now, to some more fun things! I have spent the first half of this week with investigators and experiences, so I'll just dwell on that a bit!

What's in Kebab Sauce?!?

I still don't rightly know, but I haven't been able to ask anyone potentially in-the-know yet. We have a few Turkish investigators that might be able to tell us, since it is a Turkish food... I have been told that you have to hunt and shear the Kebab animal to get the meat portion, but...
By the way, I believe the meat is something like lamb... Might wanna trust Google on this one.

Burger King is in Tampere!!!

Now, I don't remember going to Burger King in America, but we might have gone at some point pre-Oklahoma. Now, the fact that Burger King is now open in Tampere is not really so exciting, it just means that my companion desires a different source of greasy food than just Kebab, but the experience we had with Burger King was pretty awesome. Last Tuesday, when we were walking from the bus to lunch at home, we were stopped by an enthusiastic person in a Burger King uniform. She asked if we had time to talk, and after asking if we enjoy Burger King, (my companion said Totta Kai, Me olemme Amerikallinen) she gave us a coupon thing for a free meal in Burger King if we went RIGHT THEN. So we did. And their definition of a "meal" is quite expansive. I got a Whopper Meal and an Oreo McFlurry for free, and my companion managed to get €20 of food/desserts for free as well. We had a lot of fun! I couldn't eat all of my meal, so thankfully the Tampere 2 Elders happened to pass through too and ate with us, so I gifted them my fries and ½ burger remaining.
(Mom Comment: You can tell Vanhin Milligan has little experience with fast food as he thinks he got a McFlurry at Burger King...)

That's really it in the way of experiences, so... Questions!

1. Daylight - How much do you have left every day?

Well, yesterday at 5 PM it was entirely DARK, and I seem to recall light appearing around 11, so, that means at least 7 hours of daylight. Not sun. It's getting really dark!

2. Snow - How much have you seen this week?

None. The weather has gone up into the upper single-digits, but according to Finns, that's a precursor to it dropping REALLY bad, REALLY fast. Lots of rain, though.

3. Investigators - How are they doing? Any new ones?

They're doing well, progression on all counts, and the 4 baptismal dates are still strong! One of our investigators accepted the Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity immediately, and we weren't even planning on covering it! He offered us tea, so we said no, he asked why, said he'd give it up too, and then asked in curiosity about dating, which led into Chastity. He apparently has already been calling himself a Mormon to people that ask! He, as an investigator, has invited us to a Dinner Appointment this coming week. My companion says that's the first time that he's ever heard of that.

4. Testimony - How has it grown this week?

I have an even firmer belief in the simple things of the church. I have, in personal studies, decided to study things in the lessons of the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation. I love to study about how it is that Heavenly Father has created a plan for us, and how simple it actually is.

5. Study - What have you studied this week?

Whoops. Answered that!

6. Food - What have you eaten this week?

Burger King. And bread. And apples. And a bit of pasta. That's all I've been able to handle.  We were gifted food by members!

7. Prayer - Is there anyone/anything you would like us to pray for? (Can be yourself!)

I would like prayers for myself, and for a specific investigator of ours. I can't share her name because I haven't asked her, but just know that her health is pretty badly off right now, although she still desires to go to baptism, even at the threatening of her friends to abandon her as soon as she does so. Pray for her comfort, and for my health!

8. Health - Has it improved this week?

Father and Nathan have an email about that, but yes. And no. I'm not sick anymore, I'll put it that way!

9. Fun - What is something fun you did this week?

Umm... Not much. I was bed-ridden Saturday, so. But, Burger King was just a fun experience, so I'll say that. Oh, I have something else too!

Leading up to Halloween, we were going to a Potential that wasn't home, which means we tract a bit in the area before leaving. The very first door we knocked on on the top floor saw us, heard us start to talk, and then said, Wait a moment, 5 minutes! So, we waited, not sure what to expect as he ducked back inside. He then popped out in his Halloween costume, which made us immediately burst into laughter! Here he is with us.
We met Jesus.


Well, I love you all, be safe, and have a great week!

Vanhin David Milligan