Flying South for the Winter

    Heido! :) How are you all doing this lovely fall/winter day...it's more like winter here, but man it is beautiful! I hope you are all doing so great! Well, I usually ramble a lot before I actually write anything important, but there is just too much to write about this week...so much good and sad news, but mostly good! :) So here we go!!!

    Well first off, I have to start off with change calls. Let me first explain, change call weeks are super stressful...well they aren't so much anymore, but I used to get way stressed out. They usually come on Saturday, so Saturday morning I woke up and was pacing all around and messing up my normal morning routine...I was just a little anxious! I had no idea what was coming. Anyways, at about 8:30, President called us and said, "Sister Pace, you are staying in Vaasa and getting Sister Jones as your new companion." That's right...SISTER JONES....MY SISTER JONES!! I am SO excited for these two to be companions. Sister Jones is the most amazing missionary on the face of the earth, same with Sister Pace and they are definitely the dream team! I am so excited for them! They are going to do amazing things together!! 

    Anyways, continuing with change calls, "And Sister Bitner we are bringing you down south to Espoo to be our new Sister Training Leader with Sister Nielsen." HOLY COW. I am flying south for the winter!! WOOHOO!!! I am so excited I can't even tell you!!! I have always wanted to serve down south. The best part is, A, I get to be a Sister Training Leader which is AWESOME, B, I live right next to the temple, C, my new companion was trained by my same trainer and she is wonderful, and D, I am in President's ward and E, this means I have officially served in all 3 zones of our mission!!! hahahaha can you believe it? Man, I am so stinking excited I can't even contain myself! It was definitely the best change call I have received!! It really is way humbling to get to be a sister training leader for the Helsinki zone...there are a lot of sisters down there and I am so excited to work with them. I have always loved going on splits, and we get to do it all the time. I am sure I will have more information about how it all works next week, but I love learning from all the sister missionaries that serve in this mission. They are wonderful and I have so much to learn from each of them. I am really really happy!!! :) Anyways, Sister Jones comes up from Tampere on Tuesday and I head down to Helsinki and then to Espoo. I can't wait to tell you all the things about it! This means bus contacting again (YESSSSS!!!!), I won't be riding my bike (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO) but don't worry, I am taking it with me, and I get to go to the temple at least once a month! I AM SO HAPPY!!! 

    Now, on the other hand, I am still trying to figure out how to say "knife to the heart" in Finnish, but man, I am so beyond sad to leave Vaasa and my greenie! This is hard. It's real hard. I was so excited about change calls and I still am, but man, church yesterday was ROUGHI sent you like 9000 pictures, but I could not leave this place without getting pictures of all the wonderful people I have met in Vaasa. They were all so sweet to me and they all made me cry the whole blasted day. Aren't relationships the most wonderful thing in the world? Honestly, I have met and had the privilege to get to know some of my best friends in this ward. Some of them are 85, some are 18, but I literally love every single member here in Vaasa with my whole heart. I couldn't get over all the kind things they said to me...I wrote them all down in my journal so I will remember, but I am definitely leaving a big old piece of my heart here. It is the best place in the world...honestly. I am so lucky I was able to serve here for so long! It will always be my home ward in Finland!

    And I am leaving my greenie....goodness gracious...this is real hard. I have never had a companion for 4 months before, and it really is harder to leave someone the longer you are with them. Sister Pace and I were weekly planning a couple weeks ago and we wrote in some packing time, just in case someone was leaving. I said, "Ok, so one of us will probably need some time to pack so we can do that after church................................." silence for like 5 seconds....then we looked up at each other and man, tears just shot to my eyes. I was like, "Wow...this is weird." I was so sad to even think about it. My relationship with Sister Pace is so special to me. She is a wonderful person and an amazing missionary. She has so much good to do in the world and it really was a privilege to be her trainer. I learned so much from her and will always be grateful that we were companions. I know that Vaasa is in good hands...the best hands! God's hands and Sister Jones' and Sister Pace's hands! It's all going to be great and I am excited to see what happens!!

    Man....isn't change the weirdest thing in the world? I know without change, we couldn't ever grow. It's funny because as sad as I am to leave, I wouldn't really want to stay in Vaasa. It's like when I left home, I wanted to stay so bad, but not really. I knew I had to move on with my life. It's like that quote that says, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." That is such a healthy way to live your life. We can't live in the past or pine over it, but we can be grateful for it and move on. It's a lot easier said than done, but I am so grateful for change. I am grateful for this new adventure. I am so excited to go down to Espoo and to do some missionary work down there! Man...it's going to be great! :)

    I'm not going to lie, it's been pretty strange these past few days. I have been in Vaasa for so long, I kind of felt like life was on a standstill or something. I always used to say to myself, "As long as I am in Vaasa, my mission will never end." Now I am leaving and the reality of my time left here in Finland has hit my face like a sack of bricks. This isn't meant to last forever, but man, I wish it could. I love being here. I wake up every single day, even on the hard days, with gratitude in my heart because I have been given the opportunity to be a missionary here in Finland. I know everyone thinks their mission is the best, but Finland really is the best. It is so challenging, but it is SO REWARDING! I can't even begin to express my feelings about Finland. I love it with all of my heart and I am so excited to finish these last six months strong! No regrets! Leave it all on the field, as I used to say! :) Let's do this!!

    Speaking of rewards, time for the next best news of time and all eternity...the kids guys....THE KIDS GOT BAPTIZED! Oh my goodness, it was without a doubt the most spiritual baptismal service I have ever been to. But let me start at the beginning. So Sister Pace and I came to the church super early to fill up the font and make sure everything looked good. We were so excited. There was definitely a buzz in the air :) But anyways, the kids got there at 5 oclock, looking all cute in their new church clothes. We went and got their white clothes for them and they changed. Sister Pace and I were in the chapel practicing our musical number (I played the piano and Sister Pace sang "I am a Child of God" with the kids) and the kids all come running in, all dressed in their cute white clothes. I kid you not, I about lost it. My heart was so full. I love those kids so much and seeing them all ready to be baptized made every cancelled appointment, every frustration SO WORTH IT. I wouldn't have traded anything for that.

    Their parents both came which was wonderful. The support of the members was amazing. We were super worried because there was this activity for members down in Lahti this weekend, so a lot of them were away, but man, people came out of the woodwork to support these kids. I was so humbled and grateful to see it. We sang "I'm trying to be like Jesus" as the opening song and there was not a dry eye in the house. I realized something as we were singing...this baptism really meant a lot to this ward. They have tried to work with this family for a long time, but they really needed a lot of attention and thankfully, we as missionaries have that time. There are so many people in the ward that love this family, even though the parents don't come regularly, it was so wonderful and inspiring to see the way they reached out to each of them. 

    I also realized, again, how beautiful and important and wonderful baptism really is. There is nothing more special than seeing someone you have helped teach be baptized. Honestly, it is the most rewarding thing in the world. I was so happy. I can't remember another time in my life when I was that happy! :) When the kids came out of the water, each one of them had the biggest smile on their face. They were so ready and so excited to be baptized. We asked them afterwards how they felt and they all just smiled and said, "So happy!" It was wonderful. Afterwards, the youngest, the boy, was confirmed because he is 8. The girls were confirmed in sacrament meeting yesterday and man...I am just so grateful I have been able to teach those kids and that I was able to be here for their baptism. They are very special to me. I wrote them all letters yesterday and I just cried and cried. I didn't want to leave. It's funny because during the process of your mission, you don't feel like you will ever leave. It just kind of feels like this is your life now, but writing those letters was a big reality check. I told the kids to send me emails and I know we will stay in touch. The oldest girl turns 12 next May and she is planning on going to the temple. She wants to do family history work already. They are so wonderful! I hope you got the picture of them! I love them so much!

    Well...those were definitely the highlights of the week, but the rest was really good as well! We went to Seinäjoki for my last time on Tuesday. There is this member there who is awesome. She is in her 20s and drives an hour to get to church every Sunday. We went to her house on Tuesday to visit her and she had made us "Sushi from a Kit" and she bought us doughnuts! I think she thinks we are american or something :) We talked about patriarchal blessings because she just got hers a few days ago. She said that she really gained a testimony during that process of her ability to receive personal revelation. Her testimony inspired me, so I read my blessing the next day and I realized something I hadn't thought about before. The scriptures are the way God speaks to all of His children, but a patriarchal blessing literally is our own personal scripture. Through studying our blessings, we can come to learn more fully how Heavenly Father communicates with each of us, personally...or in other words, what His voice sounds like to each of us. What a great tool! Each blessing is unique and individual and that's how our relationships our with Heavenly Father. Anyways, I love my patriarchal blessing and am so grateful that God has allowed us to have that special gift from Him. We need to use them more!!

    So I think you can tell from one of my pictures but we had our first SNOW DAY this week! YIPPEE!! It is finally coming! It made me really happy! That day, we had an appointment pretty far out...almost to the edge of our area, but we had decided previously that we were going to ride bikes that day. We looked out the window in the morning and thought, "Oh dear, we don't have snow tires" but figured that it would still be alright. Well we drove pretty slow...it was pretty dang cold and slippery, but as we came around a corner, (I was leading) and all of a sudden I hear a scream...one that I recognized...sidenote: you know that little animal thing that Jabba the Hut has in Star Wars...the one that has that crazy laugh/cackle thing? Sister Pace is really good at imitating that so that was what I heard :) but anyways, I jumped off my bike and looked back and Sister Pace had fallen off her bike....she told me to say that it was like on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull when Shia Lebauf slides under the tables in the library...that's what it was like! Thankfully she has a real nice, PUFFY winter coat and a helmet...she had a lot of protection which was good. We talked about how much less fun drifting is with a bike as opposed to a car! haha It was so hilarious but I felt way bad! We definitely need to get snow tires! But we made it to our appointment safe and sound! It was pretty funny! :) 

    Anyways....It's been a really good week. I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father. I have learned so much this past year about who He really is and how He really works with me. I have learned that He knows so much better than I do, what I need in my life to be happy and successful. He will never lead me astray. I know that. I have learned so much about prayer and how powerful it really can be. I never used to feel particularly edified before when I prayed. I mean, I loved praying and always did, but my prayers have changed. I literally talk to Heavenly Father and I walk away feeling like I have just talked to my best friend...because that's really what it is. I love Him and I know He lives.

    I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I have made it a goal that, before Christmas this year, I want to read the entire Book of Mormon and highlight instances and mentions of Christ's atonement, and also I want to finish Jesus the Christ. I am about 200 pages into Jesus the Christ and I am in 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. Definitely plugging along :) I want that to be my Christmas present to my Savior, that I got to know Him better. My favorite scripture from the New Testament is Matt 11:28-30 which says:

28 ¶Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

    I never really liked this scripture before my mission. I didn't really understand it fully. But I have REALLY studied it during my mission and I have realized that making covenants is what it means to take Christ's yoke upon us. Elder Bednar taught me that. The other aspect of that sentence that I forget WAY too often is where it says to "learn of me." That's a commandment. I have noticed as I have been focusing my studies recently on my Savior, my burdens have ALL been lighter, they have been easier. I haven't even particularly changed anything I have done, but just having His stories, His words, His spirit in my heart has lightened the world around me. Sad things really aren't so sad, bad things aren't so bad, but the joy is amplified. It's incredible. I think just learning of Him changes us so much because we feel happier when we read about Him. It feels comfortable and normal because we really do know Him, we just sometimes forget. I love my Savior. I know He lives and I know that it is only because of Him that I can change and become better. He is everything!

    I love being a missionary. That's really all there is to it. I am so grateful for a new chapter of my mission. I know it will have challenges and struggles, but man, if it's half as good as the rest of my mission has been, it will be the best thing ever! I hope you all know how much I love you. I pray for you daily and think about you often. You are all my "angels round about me bearing me up." I feel your presence every day and I am so grateful that we are an eternal family. Thank you mom and dad for being sealed in the temple. Thank you for being righteous parents and for teaching me so many wonderful things. Thank you Jocelyn, Anne, Lauren, Luke, and Caroline for being my sunshines. I love you all more than anything! This church is true. We have a living prophet. Christ is our Savior. God is our Father. It's all real. I know it! Have the most wonderful week and remember to SMILE!!!! The gospel is happy, we should be too! :)

    Rakkaudellani,

    Sisar Olivia Bitner


    P.S. Something Finnish. Did you know that Shell Gas Company started in Finland? WHAT? as well as Nokia, but I think everyone and their dog knows that! Speaking of dogs, how is Mack doing?? There are so many golden retrievers here, but none are as pretty as Mack! Tell him I said Hi! :) I love you!!!

The elders in our district

FIRST SNOW DAY OF THE SEASON!!!

Me looking like a dork in my hat, helmet, winter coat...but we saw some swings so I wanted to take a picture

Grandma, Anna, and Rachel's cake for the kids baptism

THE KIDS!!!! Tinja, Ronja, and Caspian!!!

"Ai yah"

    "Good morning, good morning, we've talked the whole night through, good morning, good morning, to you!" What a great song! How are you all doing? I hope life and October back in good old Kaysville is just going great. First off, I have to start off by giving my cousin Emma a shoutout...first day of your mission tomorrow! How wonderful is that? I am so excited for you and I will definitely be praying for you and your family! You will love it so much! :) Also, Mom thank you so much for the surprise package. I got a call from the office missionaries the other day and they said, "Sister Bitner, you have a package." I was way confused...I definitely wasn't expecting one but man, I love New York sweatshirt, luscious lemon bars...which were still DELICIOUS by the way, and your sweet note...man it just made my day! Thank you so much! One sidenote: I was wondering if you could send me some more lotion and my orange cardigan with the chevron pattern on it...hopefully joce didn't take it to school :) Anyways, that would be great!!! Also, mom I was thinking this week that your big halloween party is coming up! Man...it's hard to miss it two years in a row, but I hope someone decides to wear the blow up ballerina costume! It's a 1st placer for sure :) Anyways, I just hope you have all had the greatest week ever! You all deserve it!

    This week has been really good. The weather is nice and cold in Finland...not going to lie, Dad, we have busted out the Christmas music. But let me explain myself...last year during Christmas season I was in the MTC and didn't get to listen to anything and since they don't celebrate Halloween or Thanksgiving in Finland, it technically is Christmas season so MERRY CHRISTMAS everybody! :) Hopefully it snows soon so I feel like less of a goob jamming out to MoTab's christmas album! I am definitely making up for lost time! In all seriousness though, there is nothing quite like Christmas music. Nothing brings the spirit of Christ into a room quicker than that and what a wonderful first Christmas present God gave to us all! The birth of our Savior. It's pretty wonderful!!

    So we have been working on our lean machine again in good old Vaasalandia! It's been going really well. We have a lot of less actives we are focusing on and working with and there have been so many miracles lately as far as they are concerned. It's amazing to see the hand of the Lord in this work. He is with us every step of the way. We have been trying to get in contact with this less active J lately but she is always busy. We went and heart-attacked her a couple of weeks ago...btw, heart attacking means putting hearts on their door...just in case you didn't know...and while we were in her building, we decided to do 10 doors. Well we had a pretty good conversation with one of her neighbor's so this week we decided to go back and try that door again. Well as luck would have it, the potential wasn't there but as we were coming down the stairs, in walks J!! We had a great conversation with her and she told us her boyfriend really doesn't want her coming to church, but she still wants to meet with us! It was such a tender mercy! 

    A few weeks ago when Sister Pace was on splits with Sister Hubner in Seinäjoki they found this investigator, we will call him A. I am not going to put first names of finns or investigators anymore...President talked about the privacy laws again in Finland and I just want to make sure I am not doing anything illegal. Anyways, A is from England, he is in his 40s and used to be a hard core, rock and roll guy. He is living in Finland now...I am still not really sure why, but they met him tracting and he invited us to come back. We took a member with us from Seinäjoki who is actually a less active which was AWESOME!! She really enjoyed herself and said she would like to come with us again to another lesson. Way cool! 

    Anyways, A was quite the chatterbox. He talked about all the things he has done in his life...it really amazes me how much people get around in the world. He said he was born a Catholic and always went away from the church, but always found himself being drawn back. This guy really is golden. He basically explained the whole Restoration lesson and talked about how frustrating it was that there isn't just one true church on the earth....or so he thinks :) Anyways, he talked so much during the lesson, we just were able to talk a little about the Book of Mormon. It was really interesting though, we showed him how to download "Gospel Library" on his iPad and while we were on it, he stops us and says, "Hey I was actually reading something about the Book of Mormon the other day on the internet." He starts scrolling to it and the spirit said so strongly, "Do not look at what he is going to show you." When he started to show us I sort of pushed the iPad away and said, "No, we don't want to see that." I really don't know what it was on the iPad, but man I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost. It keeps us safe from physical and spiritual danger. I really appreciate though when people come to mormons to learn about the Mormon church. The internet is full of so much stuff that just isn't true. It's also full of a lot of good things, but it's so important we don't get caught up in that stuff. Just focus on the Book of Mormon, lds.org, and other things like that. It was definitely a good reminder for me.

    After our lesson with A, we went and had lunch with the L family. They are wonderful and super hilarious. Sisar L is super classy and if I were 50 years older and lived in Seinäjoki, I would definitely be her best friend :) It's way funny though, the title of my email is "Ai yah." I don't know if you can get the right attitude into it when you say it, but Sister L ALWAYS says "Ai yah" after everything. It basically just means "uh huh" or is something you say when you are agreeing with someone. Anyways, apparently I have started saying this. Sister Pace thinks it's pretty hilarious and always jokingly calls me Sister L. Apparently it's something only older finns say, but I think it makes me sound more finnish! :)

    So a couple of weeks ago, Sister Pace and I were walking into the gym to play sähly, when we saw this kid playing basketball by himself. We went over and started talking to him just a little about why he was here in Finland and stuff like that. Anyways, we got his phone number and invited him to family night and sähly and all the other activities we have and he has been to everything. He is really cool. He is about 20. Is from Vietnam and is pretty dang hilarious. Most of the vietnamese people I have met are super sassy! It's way funny, but anyways, he is our new investigator and we are really excited about him!

    My year day was on Thursday....that was really weird in a good way. I remember leaving you all and how hard it was, but I was just so grateful all day that through the Atonement and with the help of my Father in Heaven, I have been able to change and have the best year of my life. Anyways, on Thursday morning, Sister Pace and I both felt very strongly that we should bike out to this random less-actives house. Not random, as in the person, but it was just a way out of the blue feeling. We both felt good about it, however, so we set off on our bikes. It is super cold...my eye water was freezing, but we were all bundled up and just plowed through that nice icy ocean breeze! :) Anyways, as we are coming over this hill, we jumped off our bikes because we didn't want to slip and this lady comes up to us and says, "Are you Jehovah's witnesses?" We said, "No, actually we are the mormons" and she said, "Oh, do you know Sister N?" (this member in our ward) and we were like "Of course we do, she is wonderful, how do you know her?" Anyways, come to find out, this lady that stopped US on the road is the same person our member Sister N has been telling us about for 7 months. We have tried to be able to meet with her, but it's been the biggest struggle and we have never received her phone number or anything. So we talk with this friend, R, for about 45 minutes on the street about Jesus Christ and His Atonement and how through him we can find comfort and strength and she told us to get her phone number and address from Sister N and that we could definitely come and see her...TENDER MERCY. Seriously, it's amazing how much the Lord takes care of us. Who would have thought on a freezing cold day we would meet this lady. We really hope she becomes a new investigator this week!!

    We had zone meeting in Oulu on Friday which was really fun. We had a language test again before, however. I was pretty nervous, but it was a lot easier than last time, I think the test was just an easier test, but I am just so grateful for the gift of tongues and for all of your prayers. It's still a miracle to me, every single day that I can sort of speak this language. It's amazing! But zone meeting was really good. We talked about unity and area books. It really is amazing how crucial it is that we keep good records. Area books can be our biggest tools to find, teach and baptize people as missionaries. I was thinking about unity during the meeting and how much more successful I have been with each of my companions as we have worked in unity. There is so much power in unity. It's like with oxen. They can pull so much more weight when they are yoked together and are pulling at the same time. It's just the same in life. When we have people with us, all working together, we are able to do so much more than just by ourselves. It especially applies with the Savior. We are able to do so much more and endure so much more as we yoke ourselves with him through covenants. I am very grateful for inspired leaders that have helped me throughout my life and my mission.

    So best news of my life...THE KIDS ARE GETTING BAPTIZED THIS WEEK!!! Holy cow, I am so excited! The stars are just aligning and can I just say how grateful I am for a Branch Mission Leader? He has helped us so much with this whole thing. The ward had a sign up sheet for refreshments, people are helping us with the clothes, and everyone seems really excited for the baptism, especially the kids! They are so excited and keep asking and asking us every time they see us, "When are we getting baptized?" We still have a few things to figure out, but we are just so excited. Hopefully I can send a picture of them to you next week...I just realized you have no idea what they look like! :) I really have loved teaching them so much. I love teaching the gospel to kids...whether as a primary teacher or a missionary, I love it because we teach it so simply and they ask the best, most pure questions. We asked them all why they wanted to be baptized this week and their answers were so sweet and honest. "Because I love Jesus." "Because I know Heavenly Father wants me to and I love Him." "Because I want to go back to Heavenly Father someday" "Because I know the church is true." Man...become as a little child! The youngest boy said, "Because swimming is fun..." hahaha we had a way good laugh over that and explained that he wasn't swimming but he is only 8 and has the sweetest testimony. He loves singing the hymns in sacrament meeting...REALLY LOUD. I think he is really enjoying the fact that he can read finnish better than Sister Pace and I can! haha but for real, it has been such a privilege to teach them and I am really excited! Pray for them all this week though! Its going to be a good week!!

    I have been thinking a lot this week about self-reliance. That is something the church is very big about. Self-reliance and hard work. I am so grateful I have had such great examples of that in my parents my whole life. We know that God wants to help us, but we also know that He expects us to do all that we can do as well. Sister Pace and I were talking this week about how we can better help our less actives and investigators and members rely more on Heavenly Father. There seems to be a recurring theme with less actives or people who fall away from the church. In my mind, it seems that they are pulling their strength from sources other than Heavenly Father. They rely on the church members, the leaders, the missionaries, maybe a family singing group (The Osmonds...yes someone in Finland joined the church because of the Osmonds) :) or other things like that. They have built their foundation on the sand. I always loved that song as a kid in primary, but the message really is so true. If we put our trust in the "arm of the flesh" or depend on other people for our spiritual needs, one day, that won't be enough. There comes a time in everyone's life where we have to stand up and take ownership for our own lives and our own testimonies. It's not always easy or fun, but once you put your trust in Heavenly Father and our Savior and realize that in the end, they are really all you need, you are free. You are no longer dependent. I think that turning point is really when one can find hope. We have hope because no matter where we go, we always have prayer, we always have our testimonies, and because of Jesus Christ, we always have our families. There will be things that will happen in our lives that we have no control over, but we do have control over the most important things. Heavenly Father's plan is that way for a reason.

    I am just so grateful for spiritual self-reliance. This gospel is so personal and individual. We all have a loving Heavenly Father who wants to hear from us personally and wants to help us in our daily lives. In Moroni 6 it talks about the purpose of the "church" as an organization:

4 And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.

 5 And the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.

6 And they did meet together oft to partake of bread and wine, inremembrance of the Lord Jesus.

    We have the church so that we can be nourished by the good word of God, so we can stay in the right way, to keep us watchful unto prayer, to talk to each other about our welfare, to fast and to pray, and most importantly, to partake of the sacrament. That's what the church is for. It should not be our only source of spiritual experiences or the only time we pray or fast or are nourished by the good word of God. That is also our responsibility to do those things everyday to keep ourselves in "the right way." In Nauvoo, I remember I wrote in my journal, "This is the definition of Zion, being with people you love and working together." I still think that is true. We have the church to build Zion, but in order for Zion to be strong, we as individuals have to be strong. We can't depend on other people to take the place of God for us in our lives. We need Him. The best part is, He is always there. We can rely on Him for everything in our lives. I just love that so much. We really don't have to depend on anyone else. Yes, we are given family and friends and leaders and all other people in our lives to help us grown and learn, but in the end, it really only matters what God thinks and we can know that as we pray. I have such a strong testimony of prayer. Especially being honest with Heavenly Father as we pray. He wants to know everything. He is one person in our lives we can tell everything to and he will never judge or think less of us. He always wants to hear from us and as we pray always we can conquer the darts of the adversary! I love you all so much! Change calls are this week, so if I leave Vaasa, I may not get to email next week, but hopefully I do! Have the most wonderful week and always remember to do the little things every day. It makes the biggest difference! :)


    Minä rakastan teitä!!!

    Rakkaudellani,

    Sisar Olivia Bitner

    P.S. Something Finnish...they have a lot of American food products here...like Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce...you better believe I always have some on hand! :) I love you guys!!

The L family and I

SURPRISE PACKAGE!!

I LOVE NEW YORK BUT MOSTLY I LOVE YOU

Sister Lund and me

The Oulu and Vaasa Sisters

Sister West

Sister Bunting

Vaasa and Kuopio Sisters at zone meeting

I am still pretty.... pretty ugly :) 

Retrospect :)

   Man...you know when you start off your family e-mail and you are already crying, it's not a good sign...it's really hard to type through tears! :) My heart is literally bursting at the seams right now. I am so grateful for everything in my life, but especially all of you! I have been looking forward to writing this e-mail for a long time. I wrote in my journal in the MTC, "I wonder what kind of a missionary I will be when I have been out for a year." Man...I don't know how great of a missionary I am, but I do know that my life has been changed forever. Being a missionary and having the opportunity to serve my Heavenly Father has been the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I can't believe I left you all 1 year ago this week. Today is the anniversary of my farewell. Retrospect is the most incredible thing. I just love the life that Heavenly Father has blessed me with. He has taken a broken vessel...aka...me...and helped me get on the right path. Through the Atonement, I have changed. I have SOOO much more to do, but holy cow, talk about the greatest year of my life. I just love being a missionary and I love all of you so much! Thank you for who you are!

    I am just going to warn you all, this letter may be a bit of a monologue...shocker! :) Each Sunday night after we plan, I write out a list of all the things I want to talk about in my family email the next day. I really love doing it. It helps me to be grateful for all the things that have happened each week, but I also get SUPER EXCITED to talk to you guys and to tell you about all the wonderful things that have been happening. Well, I was writing my list last night and I was bawling. I have been pretty emotional this week. I feel like all the thought, feelings, impressions, experiences I have had on my mission have shot into my memory. Man...I have just cried and cried. I am surprised I am not dehydrated...sidenote....I actually was dehydrated this week...who knew you have to drink water in the cold too? Go figure :) Anyways, I am better now, so don't worry. But for real, it's just been the most amazing week. I started my missionary journal the first day I went into the MTC and I am planning on finishing it on October 16, 2014. Exactly one year from my departure date. My journal is one of my greatest treasures. I am so grateful I forced myself to write in it at the beginning of my mission. The things I wrote make me laugh and cry every time I read them. I am just so grateful for all that has happened! 

    Mom, you asked me to share some experiences about seeing Love change people on my mission. Man...where to begin? How much time do I have? :) Love is the essence of the gospel, just as President Monson said. It's incredible how it changes people. The first example I have of it is love towards me...when I was in the MTC, my companion, Sisar Thayne loved me so much. I don't know why she did, but she did. I never doubted that once and in my darkest days there when I felt like no one loved me or cared, I always knew she loved me. She helped me feel of my Heavenly Father's love. Although I didn't understand why I was serving a mission, he sent me a companion who loved me and through that, I knew that He really did want me to be happy and that everything was going to be ok. Sister Thayne is one of my best friends. I love her so much!

    The second lesson I have learned about love is the power that the pure love of Christ has to change our individual hearts. I remember I had been in the country for about 4 weeks. I was so frustrated with everything and wondered if I was ever going to be able to love all the companions I would have, if I would ever love Finnish and if I would ever be able to understand and communicate with these people, if I would ever love the dark, cold, winter..still working on that one :)....if I would ever love the finns, and if I could ever love myself and all those around me. Honestly I just felt like death. I felt like my heart was frozen over. I fasted and prayed SO hard and as I was sitting in sacrament meeting in Tampere, I remember the exact spot in the chapel, I was sitting there praying and the thought shot into my head, "Love your companion." I remember being totally shocked and asking out loud...in a whisper of course..."What? How on earth does that solve all my problems?" I sifted it over in my mind a few thousand times and then I decided, "Ok...what do I have to lose? I am going to focus on loving my companion." It wasn't always easy...not because my companion wasn't easy to love, but I was so consumed with myself. I was consumed with MY problems, MY challenges, MY insecurities...it was all about me. I learned then, very clearly, that important lesson that Christ taught us that when we lose ourselves, we really find ourselves. Everything changed after that day. Not immediately...boy oh boy...it was quite the process, but I felt myself beginning to change. I looked for little ways to serve and love my companion. I complimented her, I did what she asked me to do #trainee, I did the very best that I could to love her. That simple thing changed EVERYTHING. The winter wasn't so dark, the people weren't so rude, finnish wasn't so hard, but most of all, I felt my heart "melting" in a way. I felt like Heavenly Father was taking out my old, hard, cynical heart and replacing it with His. I haven't been the same since that day.

    Another lesson about love I have learned is how love can save people. My friend Annastina from Tampere was less active when I first got there. No one had ever really put forth the effort to go and help her, so the bishop asked me and my companion to work with her. We were actually going to contact a former investigator and we saw her name on the teaching record as one of the "fellowshippers" of this person. We called her up and asked if she would like to come with us. She agreed and we went to this lady's house. The lesson was super sketch...the lady ranted for hours...literally...about how poetry is God to her and how poetry is her means of salvation. Man it was nuts. I remember sitting there and thinking, "What the heck? This is the biggest waste of time in the world." I was way frustrated. We left the lesson and I had the thought to ask Annastina about her family. She and I and Sister Jones were walking back to the bus stop just talking about all the things and as we are about 20 yards from the bus stop, our bus zooms past and doesn't stop because no one was there to flag it down. I ran after it for about 15 seconds, got frustrated, plus I almost slipped on the ice and killed myself, and then I came back to Annastina and Sister Jones. I was so mad. I thought, "Great, now we are late going home, the next bus doesn't come for 45 minutes...what are we supposed to do?" Man, as I look back now, I can't help but laugh as I think of how perfectly this all worked out. Because we missed the bus and because Annastina needed to take the same bus back, we were able to talk to her for a good solid 1 1/2 about her life. We talked about her mission, we talked about her family, we talked about her goals, we really just helped her feel loved and important. After that day, she came to church every single week. We always went and talked to her. I remember complimenting her on her clothes and just telling her how much we loved her. We took her on lessons with us, went with her to lunch, and made her feel important. My last Sunday in Tampere, she was being interviewed for her temple recommend. I took a picture with her and she said to me afterwards, "Sister Bitner, I have always known that you love me and because of that, I know that God loved me enough to send you here. Thank you." Wow. Crap...I am crying again. I will never ever forget Annastina and the powerful lesson I learned about love.  It is one of my greatest joys of my mission! 

    I think I have learned more about Heavenly Father's love through intently studying the gospel than any other way in my life. As I have come to understand and apply the principles of the gospel and the more I look at the church and the prophet and the Book of Mormon and temples and family history and mostly the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I am just floored EVERY TIME by the love Heavenly Father has for us. Every single thing in the gospel is evidence of his love. In finnish, the word "todiste" means evidence and the word "todistus" means testimony or testament. So on the front of the Book of Mormon in Finnish it says, "Mormon Kirja: Toinen Todistus Jeesuksesta Kristuksesta." Each time I look at that book and particularly the word "todistus" I just think, man, Todistus and Todiste. The Book of Mormon is evidence of God's love Everything is evidence of His love. God loves us SO much that he has given us literally every thing we need to know to return back to Him. He is not leaving anything up to chance because he loves us that much. His love has changed me so much during my mission and I will never be the same because of His love for me. I am so grateful that love is the essence of the gospel!

    Sorry mom, I don't know if that answers your question, but I am so grateful for all the love that I have felt and learned about on my mission. I love being a missionary! 

    Anyways, I better get started on this week....there have been a lot of good things that have happened this week! The first thing is I was able to go on splits with my BEST FRIEND Sister Lund. She was trained by the one and only Sister Fronk, who by the way, I am so happy you all love...she is wonderful! But anyways, Sister Lund and Sister Hubner came down on Monday night and we were on splits on Tuesday. Sister Lund and I stayed in Vaasa and went around by bike all day because Sister Pace and Sister Hubner were in Seinäjoki with the car. Sister Lund is seriously the greatest person I know. She reminds me SO much of you, Mom. That's probably why I love her so much. We had such a great day. We talked with everyone and had really good conversations with people on the street. 

    There was this one girl we talked with who, after about 1 minute of talking blurted out that her best friend committed suicide about a year ago and that it was super hard for her. It's amazing how Heavenly Father helps us to be where we need to be as we follow the spirit, because we both had felt like we needed to go a certain direction. Nothing really happened other than that girl being there, but it was so worth it. We had a great conversation with her. She said she is way busy with school and work so she didn't want to meet, which is a bummer, but it was just wonderful to leave someone better than we found them! Sister Lund and I just talked all day about how wonderful it is to meet the amazing people that we meet on our missions. It is so easy to talk with Sister Lund and we came to the conclusion that she and Sister Fronk and I are "kindred spirits" to quote my favorite red head! :) Oh, funny sidenote: We were laughing and joking as we rode our bikes down the rode and this guy, about 25ish was running and he stops right in front of us. I was a little shocked, but I awkwardly tried to stop and my foot got caught as I was turning so I kept flying down the road, but Sister Lund was able to compose herself a little quicker and she stopped and talked to this guy. I came back to them and this guys says, "You two are very bright happy people. It's nice to see smiling girls." hahahaha a little awkward, but still really nice. It was a good reminder to me that people really notice us and pay attention. It kind of changes how you think about things! :)

    So I have told you a little bit about Ha, our Vietnamese less active. We have been trying to organize a cooking night for her with the young women FOREVER where she could come and teach them how to make food...she is a chef. Well, it hasn't worked for a long time, but this week, the stars finally aligned and it WORKED!! She came and taught us how to make shrimp salad with rice vermicelli and fish sauce! YUM. It was way good and she had such a great time. It's funny, because I have thought so much how she needs to get involved with the members here. The members are awesome, they are just so tight knit, it's hard to break in. But she made such good friends with Sister Linna and Sister Pärkkä. It's been so great to see them take her in and help her feel loved. It was just a really good night with good people and good food! Talk about recipe for success right there :)

    Sidenote: So I guess the longer you serve in a ward, the more comfortable members get with you...well duh...but this week, Sister Nåsman and Sister Linna asked me when I was going home. I told Sister Nåsman and she said, "Ok, there is a boy I want you to talk to when you go home. He served here as a missionary and is really cute." Uh...ok....awkward. I mean, don't get me wrong, I appreciate the gesture, but still awkward. Then Sister Linna comes up to me at the cooking night...she is my way good friend...and asked me when I was going home. I told her and she said, "Ok, I want to set you up with one of Mikko's," her husbands, "mission friends." She was super excited to show me his pictures on Instagram. It was really awkward, but nice! I have heard that everyone and their dog tries to set up returned missionaries when they go home, but I thought I had a little bit longer before it started...anyways, I thought it was funny. No one else should do that to missionaries though...not cool! :)

    So this weekend we had district conference again...it's like stake conference. Pretty crazy, I was here for the last district conference, 6 months ago and I was pretty 900% positive I wouldn't be here again, but hey, I'm not calling the shots here! :) Anyways, It was a really good experience. We were able to drive to Pietarsaari from Vaasa which is my FAVORITE DRIVE OF ALL TIME. The road is completely lined with trees and then when they part, you can see the ocean. It's beautiful!! Especially in the fall. Definitely a tender mercy I was able to see that! Oh by the way, it has gotten REALLY cold here the past week. Man...raining and dark and all the good stuff. It's funny because Sister Pace is freaking out because it is so dark and cold and I feel like I am coming home. This is the Finland I know and love...this is the Finland I was born in! Dark an cold! Man, I love it :)

    President and Sister Watson were at district conference and President gave a couple really good talks. I love them both. They are great! But I have to tell you, Mom and Dad, your emails last week really made me think a lot about my expectations for myself. I have never thought I was hard on myself, but this week, I realized I am and it's not good. Dad, I really appreciated all the wonderful things you said about me...gosh, you know how to make me cry, and Mom as well. Both of you are wonderful and I am so grateful you are my "primary gospel teachers" to quote Elder Callister from conference! :) But anyways, I have noticed recently that I have not been feeling too great about myself. I was just getting really down on myself and feeling frustrated beyond normal when I would make a mistake. I prayed about it and read the scriptures and read my parent's emails again. I realized that I was being hard on myself and that my expectations were higher than Heavenly Father's. I prayed to know what His expectations were for me, and one morning during personal study, I realized that I have been focusing so much on overcoming my weaknesses, which are innumerable, and I have neglected to serve as a missionary using the gifts and talents that I have been given. I was looking for the bad, in myself, and I found it. I realized that I can't be the missionary my Father in Heaven wants me to be if I feel sad and depressed all the time about my abilities. Sooooo I decided to shift my focus.

    I read my patriarchal blessing, I read through a bunch of letters from family and friends, and I wrote a list of all the things other people say I do well. Some of the things are way not true and way too nice, but I realized that there was a common theme to what people say. I kind of found the "nuggets" so to speak and I have been praying to know how I can better serve people from my strengths. Each of us are individual and Heavenly Father has blessed us with certain combinations of gifts and talents so that we can further the work of salvation. We should never compare ourselves to others, although its tempting and is way natural. It really is completely unfair and unrealistic. We aren't supposed to be the same. I just have found myself being incredibly grateful over the past few days for the gifts and talents I have been given. They have become even more sacred to me this week, especially the ones from my patriarchal blessing. I think we all forget a lot that we really are special. Not too special...don't want a bunch of big-headed people, :) but Heavenly Father puts us in places specifically because we are who we are. We have things to do that only we can do. I have felt so much love from Heavenly Father this week and I have really noticed that I have been a lot more happy. It's been great! Granted, we always need to improve but we can't get so caught up in that that we forget to "enjoy the journey" as my mom said. We need to enjoy what we have and be grateful for it, not feel guilty because we aren't good enough for what we have, at least in our own minds. Anyways, I am just grateful for this realization I had this week. Man...I love being able to study the gospel everyday. I know life gets busy, but we HAVE to make it a priority in our lives. It's the only thing that will keep us safe!

    Anyways, the church is true. God is our loving Heavenly Father. He hears and answers every prayer we give, whether spoken or not and He wants us to be honest with Him when we pray. Jesus Christ is God's Son and the Savior of the World. He loves us. He knows us. He understands us and He is with us every step of the way. His love can change people. It has changed me. Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. Through him, the Church of Jesus Christ is back on the earth. President Monson is our prophet today. The Book of Mormon is absolutely the word of God. It is the most wonderful book in the world. I love it with all my heart. There is power even when we open the book. I have felt it countless times on my mission and have come to love it with all my heart. I know that we can be together as a family forever. That knowledge brings me more joy than anything else in the world. I know this is God's work. It is because imperfect, teenage kids like me can do it. We all can do it. We all must do it. I love being a missionary with all my heart, but the best part is, I didn't start being a missionary one year ago, I started when I was 8. I took Christ's name upon me at baptism. This never has to end and thank heaven for that. This love and peace and joy I feel every day never has to go away. I know that there is more joy to be found in the service of the Lord than in any other way. I love the gospel. I love my Father in Heaven. I love my Savior. I love this church. I know it is true. I am so grateful for everything that I have. I have had the best year of my life and I am so excited for 6 more months of this wonderful life! It really has been and always will be the greatest blessing of my life! I love you all and hope you have the most wonderful week! I will talk to you soon! :) Heipä! 

    Rakkaudellani,

    Sisar Olivia Bitner

    P.S. Something Finnish...all the finns have these books called "Vieräs Kirjat". It's a big deal here and whenever they have a guest, the guests write their name and a little note in it. Well, this is something the finnish missionaries have adopted so I have a "V-book" and all my mission friends write in it. I am way excited to show you all one day! I love you!!! 

    P.P.S.S. Dad, do you know LeLand Bitner? I have had like 345 members ask me if I am related to him...apparently he served a mission here! Just wanted to know! I love you!!

Kebab with the district...except I got a burger...kebab is grow

Two of the young women from the ward at the cooking night

Cooking night

The church in Pietarsaari for disrict conference

"....I will give you rest".

Beunos dias! Psych...that's not my language either...Hyvää huomenta rakkat veljet ja sisaret! That's more like it! :) What's up guys? Man thank you so much for your wonderful letters and everything this week! It is always so good to hear from you all. I hope you have all had a wonderful, inspiring week. Can I just say how grateful I am that we have a living prophet on the earth today? Wasn't conference incredible? Man...for real I was just blown away, once again. I am sure everyone else felt the same, but I loved the themes of Conference this time around. Prophets, temples, the sacrament. Man...what else do we need? Nothing. It was just such a privilege to once again listen to the prophets, seers and revelators of our day. As I was walking home from the church last night, the thought came to me that people we pass by everyday don't even believe in God. Like think about that for a second....they don't know they have a Heavenly Father. After watching conference I was just floored at that. The thought kept coming to my head, "No one could watch this conference and not believe in God." It was straight up awesome. Anyways, I think conference as a missionary is one of the greatest things ever. I love sitting with the members. I love seeing the conference center. It reminds me that I still do live on planet earth and I really did live before my mission somewhere far, far away :) Sometimes I forget, but it's good to be reminded! 

First off I have to give a shout out to Janiece. Thank you so much for your package. It was so wonderful and the sweaters are perfect for a nice cold finnish winter! The cookbook is also AWESOME and we are planning on making some of the recipes this week! That couldn't have come at a better time, so thank you! Also Abby G, Taryn P, and Jocelyn B...my sisters! Thank you so much for the notebook and bracelet. I read through all our old notebook entries and just laughed and laughed and cried and couldn't believe how much things have changed. I am so grateful for you all in my life. I am just so grateful for everyone in my life. I have been so blessed. Seriously, every person I know has influenced and changed my life for the better and I will be forever grateful to all of you for that! 

So this week has been pretty hard...not going to lie. But it's been good. We are still plugging along and just trying to figure some things out. First off, I have to tell you about Milla. So we went to lunch with her last Monday after we e-mailed and it was awesome. We had a great discussion and had a really good time. I told you last week how we had organized the YSA activity to be watching the Joseph Smith movie so that she could come, but literally like 5 seconds before, she called and cancelled. We were bummed, of course, but didn't really worry too much about it. A couple days ago, we get a text from Milla that says, " I'm so sorry, but I have to cancel our movie date on Monday. I'm feeling really confused and I need time to figure things out in my personal life....I would highly appreciate it if we could cancel all our discussions for some time. And this isn't about you, or about the church and stuff, you've been so great and loving and it has given me so much strength. Love, Milla." Man...that was rough. I love Milla so much. I know that she is in Heavenly Father's hands now, but it's just hard to see these people you love back away from the one thing that really would fix all their problems. Sister Pace was super upset...she was crying...she doesn't cry normally...that made me upset and I started crying...man...it was just a rough time, but we were on our way to contact a referral and we just went into the woods for a second and said a prayer for Milla. It was a really powerful experience and I immediately felt right then that we had done all we could do and that Milla was going to be ok. Of course, it is still disappointing, but the Lord will take care of her. Thanks for your prayers on her behalf. I know she kept meeting with us as long as she did because you have prayed for her. You are wonderful!

I am just going to get the bad news out as soon as possible...Lili isn't our investigator anymore either. We had a lesson with her and when we got there, the first thing she said is "I don't want to get baptized." As bad as that is, it is something we can still work with. A lot of investigators get scared at the prospect of being baptized. As the lesson went on...she pretty much straight up told us that she wouldn't ever come to church. Now as bad as that is, it's something we can work with, but it was a really interesting experience. As I was sitting there, looking at her, thinking about what I could possibly say to fix this problem, I had that same feeling of peace come over me as with Milla. I knew that Lili wasn't ready right now to learn about the gospel. How could anyone not be ready to learn about the gospel? I don't know, but some just aren't. We walked away from the lesson and both Sister Pace and I knew and decided we needed to give her to the Lord as well. We needed to give up. It's amazing how much I have learned this week. I am competitive, I don't like to give up on people, and I definitely don't go down without a fight. My dear companion likes to call me "the Pitbull" because she says I just go until I can't go anymore. In the lesson with Lili and when Milla sent us that text, my mind was just racing at 1000 miles per hour trying to think of what I could do to fix it. What could I do? What could I say? What did I do wrong? Both times, however, the spirit shot into my heart and I really felt the words, "Peace, be still." God will take care of all of His children. When they don't want to listen or when they reject us, it isn't a failure on our part. God will provide a way for each of His children to learn about the gospel. That I know. We just have to have faith. And man, that's sometimes really hard! 

Anyways, I am really grateful for hard times in life. I always used to hate when people said that. I was like "How on earth can you be grateful for hard times?" But I have come to realize that they really are opportunities for us to grow and stretch. It's all a part of life. I realized that things like this...disappointments, frustrations, and trials are always going to come. It's inevitable. The real question is, how are we going to respond? That's the only thing we have to figure out. With the gospel on our side, it's a lot easier to make the right choice. We do have this one investigator though, Joni, who is pretty hilarious. He has Asbergers...but not severe enough to really notice. He just is hard to keep focused, but he really has such a great desire to learn. He was a former investigator and he has come to every activity we have invited him to and has kept all of his commitments. We are really hoping things work out with Joni. 

Sorry to be all debby downer, man, that doesn't feel good! But I am glad to get the sad stuff out of the way! The kids are all ready to be baptized! We have taught them all the lessons, the bishop is meeting with their dad, and everything just seems to be going great with them. They are super touchy and huggy, which has been an issue. I feel like each time we teach them ,they just get more comfortable and want to hug us and hold our hands. Man...it's hard and awkward sometimes when these cute little kids want to hug you. I just think of all my little cousins coming up and giving me hugs and it's really hard to side step it sometimes, but better to be safe than sorry. We are really excited for the kids though. They are with their dad for the next two weeks, so the only lessons we get with them are at their door, but that's ok. We are both just so happy and excited for these kids! They are great! I love them a lot! 

Sidenote: I was just named the new district meeting accompanist. Do you want to know the funniest part? I can't play the piano! hahahaha just kidding I sort of can. Thanks to Jill Voss and years and years of practice...man I know this will sound lame, but I really wish I had practiced piano. I am going to take lessons when I come home. It's such a good skill to have and what's more beautiful than piano music? Nothing! But I played "We thank thee O God for a Prophet" and "Come Follow Me" on Wednesday. I was shaking SOOOOOOO bad. It's way intimidating. It's hilarious because I can play fine by myself, but man, once someone starts singing, GAME OVER. I was praying so hard that I could make it through, and Heavenly Father definitely helped me. This week I am working on "Be Still My Soul" and "Choose the Right." The classics! :) Just thought you'd like to know!

Man, I don't have a lot of time to write today, we haven't seen the last session of Conference yet so we are shortening e-mail time to watch it, but last week my friend Sister Farnworth sent me a talk my Sheri Dew called, "You were born to lead, you were born for glory." I have been reading that this week and it is AWESOME. I am going to forward it to you...definitely all read it, but I wanted to talk a little about Conference. I had so many thoughts during conference. I just have to tell you though, I have been amazed at how much my Father in Heaven loves me and how much he loves all of us. Everything in the church, prophets, temples, sacrament, callings, missions, commandments are just evidence of that love. The world is getting worse. We all know that. We see it everyday, but literally we have everything we need. We can hold it in our hands. All we need to be successful in this life, really, is scriptures, prayer, and church. That is freedom. Another thought I had was that the prophets and apostles literally can't lead us astray. They are such consecrated men, that their will really isn't their own anymore. They have devoted their life to the Savior and when you do that, something changes inside of you. We can always look to them and we will ALWAYS be ok. I know that and am so thankful for that!

The other thought I had during conference was that I need to get to know my Savior, Jesus Christ better. I love Him. I know He is my Savior. But I want to know Him. I want to know Him like I know my best friends and family. I love what President Monson said about how walking where He walked is not half as important as walking AS he walked. It's so easy to get caught up in the little things of life and even the little things in the church, but we HAVE to focus on the Doctrine of Christ. We have to make His gospel the CENTER of our lives, not just something we do. I know that as we "Take His yoke upon us" by making covenants and "learn of Him" by diligent scripture study and church attendance and obedience, we will find that comfort and peace we all so desperately want because He will "give us rest." He is the source of all peace. He is the source of love. He is the center of everything and I love Him so much.l am so excited to get to know Him a little better, day after day, and to apply what I learn into my life. I love this gospel. It's all true. It's all wonderful. You are all true. You are all wonderful. Never forget how much I love you! I pray for you every single time I pray and can't wait for the day when we are all together again! I love you so much!! 

Something Finnish for the week....They really like earrings...especially the men...I have seen more men with earrings this week than ever before in my life! Kind of lame something finnish but I will think of something better next week! I love you all and hope you have the best week ever!! Rakastan sinua!! :) 

Rakkaudellani,

Sisar Olivia Bitner