Tuesday, August 4, 2015

August 4, 2105 - The Summer Marches On And On (Hurrah - Hurrah)

Totally stole the subject line of my mother's e-mail... Plus, I just heard the classical piece with my companion, so it's stuck in my head. Thank goodness my companion likes classical music!

Not much to report on this week either. We won't have a baptism this week, but that's because our Bishop, baptizer, and Ward Mission Leader are out of town. She wants them all to be present, so we have moved it back 2 Saturdays. We're looking forward to then! She is doing great, very excited to go to baptism. Hope that we can report on that to y'all later on this month!

But, yeah, the week moves onward. My companion and I have just begun coming up with story ideas for us to start batting around as we walk. They always stem from something crazy we see or say, and it has been a blast to just come up with stories that actually are half-baked goodness from something funny. My favorites have been the zombie story we came up with after seeing the giant chasm in our area and trying to put it into a setting where it is the only safe place, and the story in which science and magic are two different, accesible systems and how the fallout between using them would go down. Lots of fun with Elder Greciano!

Let's go to the Q's, then!

What have you learned this week?


I've been sort-of re-learning how to follow promptings. So many times these last few weeks, we have been going along, felt we needed to turn somewhere, done so, and ran into a person that we've needed to talk to that's been unavailable. It's been great, and really cool to just see keep happening when we most need it. There was one time when we were walking, mentioned the fact that we hadn't seen someone yet that we really needed to give something that we were carrying around, and then almost ran into him at the next corner! When you need to be somewhere, you get put in the right places. It's great.

What have you taught this week?

We have been going through the things like Family History and Temples with our investigator. Like I was hoping, she really likes it! It was cool to see how excited she got about the whole thing. We are trying to set up a chance for her to go see around the temple grounds, so that she can get a little tour of the place and know more about it. Fingers crossed that that goes well!

What have you studied this week?

I was going a lot through the smaller books in the Bible that we tend to gloss over. I found myself reading bits of the one (Nememiah? Something like that?) where they are trying to rebuild Jerusalem, and the rulers nearby don't want that to happen, so they keep petitioning for the head guy to stop and "talk" (insert ominous tone here) with them. It reminded me of the Pres. Bednar talk about the same subject, the one where he encouraged us to adopt that same attitude that the head guy answered back - "We are doing a great work, and cannot come down." Pretty good encouragement even for yourself when you think about it - you're doing something that is "building the kingdom", and you can't let worldly distractions call you down in that responsibility. (Took forever to find the talk because it was actually President Uchtdorf... Here's the link! https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/we-are-doing-a-great-work-and-cannot-come-down?lang=eng ~Mom)

What has your weather been like? Ours has been all over the place.

Alternating rain and sunshine. Normally at the same time, actually. And when it rains, it really does pour. Quite a bit of wind, too. Reminds me of home.

Are there any weird traffic laws in Finland?

It only really gets weird when you factor in the fact that, like, a million people ride bikes everywhere here. The car rules interacting with the multitude of bikes gets a little crazy. Thankfully, they don't often go on the highways. But yeah. Not much weird other than that. They also have TONS of roundabouts here, and I've never actually gone through one driving myself in America. You learn quick.

Have you noticed any strange driving habits? (In Argentina you never knew the driving laws because the boldest person had the right-of-way! ~Dad)

Here's the thing with most Finnish drivers on the road (and those Finns reading this, understand that I have seen you all drive, and you do not fall under this category of driving) - Finns are fantastic at driving and knowing the rules, all the way up until there is another car on the road. Whenever one car in coming up the on ramp, and trying to merge, they get the same thought as the person who sees them coming, and both try to accommodate the entrance of that on-ramper. This generally results in two cars driving side by side, matching each others' speeds, down two lanes that are know becoming one. This has happened almost any time I see a car coming onto the highways, so. I feel justified in saying this! (Sounds like very POLITE drivers to me! What a dream! ~Mom)

Have you heard of any weird laws in general?

Actually, no! I was asking around earlier in my mission, hoping to get some ammunition for the Balderdash games when I return home, and no one knew any crazy ones! If any of the Finns that read this can think of one, I'd much appreciate it. Or, if y'all in America can Google it, have at. I wanna know what crazy rules there are in this country.

( 1. All people in Finland must pay a TV tax whether or not they own a TV. 
2. Taxi drivers must pay royalties if they play music in their cars for paying customers. 
3. The amount you get fined for speeding on the roads in Finland depends on the amount you earn. ~Mom)

That's all! I hope y'all stay safe, and thanks to everyone that writes me!

Vanhin David Milligan
Vanhin Greciano and Vanhin Milligan
Sent by a visitor to Finland from Utah! Sweet!

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