The Sun will come out...TODAY AND HOPEFULLY TOMORROW!!                   1/13/14

      Moro minun perhetta!! Miten menee? That's what I say to every person I sit next to on the bus, except the perhe part! How are you all doing? I hope you have had a great week! Finland is very much alive and well and snowy and freezing and beautiful and man it's great! I am starting to fall in love...it was inevitable! You all need to come visit...not now of course. That would be a sin! :) But one day, we are all coming back! We will get some risipirakka...my favorite bakery food EVER...and we will just party in Finland? Who's with me? K cool. So from my subject line I guess you can tell that THE SUN CAME OUT TODAY!!! It was my first exposure to sunlight in 1 month! Ask me if I skipped down the street singing and taking pictures! It was so beautiful! I can't wait for the summer here! It is going to be incredible!! 

      Speaking of incredible...this week takes the cake! So you know how I told you about our 4 new investigators last week? Pretty impressive right? WRONG. This week we found 9 New investigators!! Can you believe that? We found an aethiest boy, a former investigator family, a man who thought all mormons were men, a man who makes the most delicious pizza I have ever eaten, a man who literally walked in off the street (I will tell about him later) and the other two are Sisar Egan's investigators...but I will explain that to! We broke records this week in Tampere for finding and for lessons taught. It is seriously a miracle. We are being so blessed here. Now we just need some BAPTISMS!! I am so excited for this week!!

       Ok so story time. The first part of the week was SO stinking hard. No success and Sisar Egan and I had the 1 month itch pretty bad. On Friday, we had the opportunity to do splits with the Sisaret from Jyväskylä. Sisar Dixon and Sisar Cribbs. Sisar Dixon was in the MTC with me so we were way pumped to see each other. Anyways, split day comes and I am getting all ready to head out with Sisar Cribbs and my dear trainer, Sisar Egan decides to tell me that Sisar Dixon and I are being companions and I am now the senior companion...uh, mitä?? What?? I about died. My brain went into overdrive!! I totally freaked out! We had two lessons set up for that day with investigators. One of the investigators is Malik, the guy from Pakistan who went to church. We had such a great lesson. We stuck to the basics and taught the Restoration and the spirit was so strong! Then we had a lesson with this kid from Thailand who thought that Sisar Egan was flirting with him when she contacted him on a bus. He came to this lesson thinking it was a date. It was so hilarious to see his face when he saw Sisar Dixon and I standing there!! hahaha man good times on the mish! Anyways, he brought his friend with him, Jarno. Jarno is aethiest so that's fun. We taught them the Restoration as well and both of them were listening SO intently it was insane!! Jarno had SO many questions and said he wanted a Book of Mormon!! Can you believe that? We are meeting with them again on Friday. Miracles all over the place folks!!

      So after that lesson, Sisar Dixon and I were feeling pretty good. We decided to go get some food and we walked to the foyer of the church, and there was this guy standing there talking to one of the members in our ward. The member ushered us over and basically, this guy, Petteri, just moved to Tampere, was looking for stuff to do, googled Mormons in Tampere, found the address to our church and decided to drop by. He has such a sad life. He and his wife just got divorced, they have two kids, and she has done everything she can to hurt him. He can't see his kids anymore. Oh man, he just looked so sad, it broke my heart! He told us that he wants a new start and for some reason, he thought our church was the right place to be...dang right Petteri! :) I am so excited to teach him. We have an appointment tomorrow so I will let you know how that goes! Pray for Petteri!!

       After our miracle meeting with Petteri, we went and did service at this "home" for people with disabilities. It is right next to the church. It is actually a way funny story how this all came about. So sisar Egan and I were walking by the church one day and we passed this place and I had the thought to go ask if we could do service. I asked Sisar Egan if they had ever done service there and she said no, so we went and asked. The lady was way sassy and rude and said no, but took our number for some reason anyways. A few days later she called us back and said that they would love for us to come sing for the people that live there. Service changes hearts folks! :) ANyways we went and sang some Finnish primary songs. We sang families can be together forever. I was so emotional for two reasons...A, I have the best family in the world, and B, I remembered that we sang that song at Grandma Russell's funeral and I know that she was here in Finland with me when we were singing that song. It was such a special experience. I am so grateful that we know that we can be with each other forever with our Heavenly Father. Nothing brings me more joy than that!

      I am sorry this e mail is kind of crazy and all over the place but I hope you all know how much I love you! YOu are so important and special to me! I am so grateful for each and every one of you. One little thought before I sign off, in church on Sunday, a member shared this quote with me...in English hahaha he said, "For every worry under the sun, there is a remedy, or there is none. If there's one, hurry and find it. If there's none, nevermind it." That is my new mission motto!! I hope you all have a wonderful week! Remember to really talk to Heavenly Father when you say your prayers. He is there listening and wants to hear how you really feel and what you really need! I love you all so much! The church is true and the book is blue...just like my nose in Finland!! Rakastan teitä!!!

Rakaudella, Sisar Bitner