voi että

I read you and Nathan’s letters and my heart dropped. I think it would have literally stopped if that ‘little three liner’ was really the only thing I sent to you last week, but it wasn’t. It was just a little info I shot off after my first letter to you. I LOVE you and I would never without reason or explanation send something like that to you and expect it to last the whole week. I do not know why my main letter did not send. I am taking all the precautions this week to make sure it gets to you. I sincerely apologize for the worries and questions it caused. I will try and write about last week and this week today.

Last week we had the most investigators I’d ever seen in my mission. It was a very interesting time, because they all just came…..and then left. It’s like a bunch of people were just curious about the gospel for one week. This week we lost almost all of them. It was very interesting. I keep asking myself, was it something we did? But the sweet spirit of the Lord comforted us. In church I felt that He let us know he was pleased with us.

Last week I also wrote a ton about Elder Nielsen. He is a rock solid obedient Elder who came from the plentiful springs of Tremonton Utah. He is tall and FULL of motivation to serve. He brings a lot to our companionship, despite the fact that he can’t speak much Finnish yet. I am again so grateful to be blessed with such a pure vessel of the Lord as a companion. I know that because he is so dedicated to the Lord that he will be blessed to do this work, learn this language, and see many miracles here in Finland.

Just like all of us, the more we give of ourselves to the Lord, the more ability he gives us. I have learned a little bit about this in the past few months. A few months ago I decided to ‘test’ the Lord. In my mission call it says that when I leave all behind (except my family e-mails:) that I will be blessed in the work. I read that and decided to in essence ‘recommit’ myself to the work. Not that I wasn’t committed, but I decided to take my commitment to the next level. The Holy Spirit of the Lord told me of a few things I could have been doing better. These things were hard for me. I didn’t want to change. I was like a raccoon, not wanting to loosen my grip. This was a serious thing for me. I prayed, I wrote things down, I pondered. In the end I knew what the Lord wanted me to do, and I committed to do it. I did it full heatedly with an eye single to the Lord. I have never felt so full of love in my life! The Lord is our God and Father. He loves us. I let go of what I wanted. And know the Lord is now giving it to me His way. I know that as we are obedient to the Lord, we feel the sweet and gentle touch of His enduring love. When we let go of what we want and serve the Lord he knows whose side we are on. He knows he can trust us. And because of that trust he gives us more. I am so grateful for my mission, I’ve been able to come and start internalizing the things that I’ve known to be true my whole life. (Read that sentence again.)

O.K. off the soap box. Mom you asked me to keep the rules or standards of a missionary. YES MAM! We are striving to do just that in Pori. With regards to that matter, please do not loose sleep. I have had no problems with her. I think the Lord knew this would happen, and for that very reason we were in the same ward at BYU. She has actually helped the missionary work here. Especially among the youth. But yes, my companion and I are missionaries. We are devoted to the Lord. And I feel no need to discuss the matter more. If you have questions more, feel free to ask.

This week we also sent one of our investigators off to Canada. It was sad, but he is a good person and I have faith the Lord has a plan for him. Also one last thing. I am SO excited for tonight. We are going to help one of our investigators clean his house. He has stopped smoking AND DRINKING. This will help him a lot. I’ll take pictures.

Read Elder Nielsen’s e.mail too. I bet it’s good!E-mail Laurizoe9@yahoo.com Please Pray! All my love,

Vanhin Quinn