So, looking at this week, I'm not sure how the sanity is going to fare... We have had all sorts of CRAZY already, and we have more on the way. We just spent a day down in Kouvola, and now we are back here for P-Day, but then we will head down to Helsinki for a few days of meeting, and then we will drive back to Mikkeli with the new car. After that, we have to get splits up in Joensuu set up, and then Elder Smith will pack and change calls will come for the new change. WOW.
So I'm a little scatter-brained. Christmas holiday was great - we spent it with a lot of good members and sung a lot of fun Christmas songs in Finnish! I have a lot of stuff to look up once I get home for next Christmas, the lyrics were pretty funny for a few of them.
Due to the aforementioned-scatter-brained-ness, I will switch over to the questions!
Did your package arrive?
Yup! Got it just barely. I haven't gotten much time to peruse the contents as of yet, but I like how it looks so far! Thanks for all of the thought poured into it! I'm happy that I got one last package to open after the Christmas holiday was over. Kept the spirit of Christmas alive a little longer waiting for it to come.
Did snow arrive?
No snow. None coming, at least this week. We are rather solidly in the negative temperatures, though. So if there is any precipitation, it will snow. Yay!
What did you learn this week?
This week, in order to help me out with a part of my responsibility as a Zone Leader, I did a lot of personal study over "correction" and "reproof/reprove" as found in the Bible and Book of Mormon throughout the prophets talking to the people. This Zone is awesome, and I don't think I'll need to put a lot of it into practice, but it was still a good study. I think the thing that I most got out of it was that it is important to make sure that the audience you are talking to, be it Israelites or missionaries, know why the correction is being made - normally to help them recieve more blessings by obedience to the things the Lord has asked for us to do at this time. It was a little more in depth than just that one thing, but I thought that would be good to share now.
What did you teach this week?
We talked with members a little bit about the different kinds of attitudes there are with studying the gospel and acting upon it, as I've gone over earlier. Kind of a recurring theme in what I like to talk about, I guess. Most of our investigators were out of town for Christmas, so it was a little hard to teach them, but we have stayed in pretty good contact! Hope that this new-year-time will bring the people back to Mikkeli.
What did you share this week?
I gave quite a few little origami Missionary-shirts out this year. We thought it would be a good little thought to the members to remember that we came around and that they really helped us out. They all seem to like it so far! It's been fun to see them get excited over what ties I've drawn on the shirts, and the little notes on the back are normally signed "Lähkäriltä". Which makes them laugh.
Megan wants to know what your favorite shape is. Be creative.
Hmm... I think I'll have to pick a square. Two shapes in one - rectangle and rhombus! How's that for dredging back up those 7th-grade definitions... Plus, I can make a lot of origami with a square. Maybe I should have said rectangle, though, so I could have a square AND a rectangle... grrr, missed out on that opportunity...
Millie wants to know what dog treats are in Finland.
Millie, I don't know yet, but I'll help you find that answer. I will personally execute a search for such treats. If any fit in the mail slot, you can help me out on the how-do-they-taste part. (To make me seem a lot less cruel to whoever is reading this - Millie is our pet dog. Just FYI. I'm not telling a friend and/or relative to eat dog food.)
What is "Tangled" (the Disney movie) in Finnish, again? We forgot already!
"Kaksi karkutiellä". If I remember correctly. "Two on the loose" is a good translation of what it is meaning in English.
What is your favorite Finnish idiom that you learned recently?
I learned a good idiomatic phrase to answer how everything is going! Normally, if someone asks how I'm doing, I say "Leipä on vielä ansaitava", "the bread is still earnable", but I just learned (when I tried to answer "vielä hengessä", "still breathing/alive", yeah, kinda the same word in that case...) the new phrase, "henki kulkee, ja veri kiertää", "the breath goes, and the blood flows", if I can take some liberties with how we in English might say it. Please make that an idiom said in America by the time I get back... "How're you doing?" "The breath goes, and the blood flows." I would die laughing. Breath stops, blood flops. Give me a break, I don't speak English anymore!
Love y'all, I hope that the holiday seasons treated everyone well! Thanks for the letters and thoughts, I got quite a few this year! Be safe, be strong!
Vanhin David Milligan
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