You know you serve in Vaasa when...

    Well Hyvää viikko teille minun perheetta!! How are you all doing? Man I have to admit, I missed you guys pretty much A TON this week during conference. It is like one of the only times on my mission when I know exactly what you all are doing at that moment! I hope you all loved it. Conference was incredible!! Honestly it was so good! On Saturday at 1700 aka 5:00 we watched the women's meeting...so good...holy cow!! I love how they do that now! then at 1900 we watched the Saturday Morning session live with all of you! Then on Sunday, the men watched priesthood at 1200 and we watched the saturday evening session recorded at 1500 aka 3:00. Then at 1700 we watched the Sunday morning session live and me and Sister Foster are hoping to watch the fourth session sometime this week with a group of our recent converts! Sorry, I know that Dad, you would be interested to know the times and how conference works here so ya...there you go! We watched it in English...actually a lot of Finns watch it in English because most of them can understand a lot better than they can speak! It was pretty great! I will talk about my FAVORITE talk later!! It was all so wonderful and I am so grateful we have a prophet and apostles. Conference as a missionary was a really cool experience. I had a whole different perspective on everything and I really learned so much! I am sure you all did as well! :)

    Oh ya, I LOVED all the pictures from Disneyland. You guys are all models...seriously, who is my family! You are so cute and Anne, I didn't even know who you were. It took me like 5 minutes to realize it was you! STOP GROWING UP!!! Man I feel like I am your mother or something and all my kids are growing up in front  of my eyes...on the computer screen :) I hope you all had the best time and hopefully you had some mint chocolate chip ice cream or a dole whip for me! Who wants to road trip with me to Disneyland next summer? Cause I am going!! :)

    So the title of my letter this week is "You know you serve in Vaasa when..." because this week has been pretty crazy! I don't even know where to start but I made a list of all the funny/crazy/is this really my life? moments that happened this week so hopefully I can share them all with you!!

    First off, you know you serve in Vaasa when your investigator Michael who is GETTING BAPTIZED NEXT WEEK, comes to conference in a snappy suit and takes notes during the whole thing. He loved conference and afterwards I asked him what his favorite part was and he literally said this to me, "My favorite part was the talk that Elder Russell M. Nelson of the quorum of the 12 apostles gave about faith and becoming my true self." Uh...mitä? Ok Michael...he is incredible!! hahaha I was floored, then he asked me what my favorite part was and I forgot the name of the seventy (by the way it was Elder Zwick...what an incredible talk) and Michael said "Oh, you mean Elder Zwick of the seventy who talked about no corrupt communication and viewing life from the other person's eyes." Uh...ok Michael! It was hilarious and I was so happy that he enjoyed it so much! 

    After conference, since Michael was just on fire, we taught him about the Law of Chastity and Word of Wisdom...sometimes it's best to get those in there when the spirit is strong...haha just kidding. But for real. Anyways, we taught it to him and after the lesson, he held up both of the pamphlets, looked Sister Foster and I straight in the eye and said "This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. This is awesome. The only problem I have is with the Word of Wisdom. I am going to have to start eating more fruit." HAHAHA oh my goodness, there can be miracles when you believe folks! Michael is on fire and has 5 brothers and they are all going to be baptized and carry the church in Ghana! Vaasa is the promised land!! Oh and hopefully I have some sweet pictures of his baptism to send to you next week! My first baptism on my mission folks...Needless to say I am pumped, but mostly I am so excited that Michael has found this church. He is so prepared. He is so ready and now he gets to experience the joy of the gospel! There is nothing better than being a missionary!

    Second, you know you serve in Vaasa when it takes 2 hours to drive to district meeting and you eat some really sketchy kebab for lunch afterwards. Have I told you about kebab? Oh man, k so a lot of foreigners live here...did you know that? :) But anyways, the middle eastern/greek foreigners all have these kebab shops all over Finland. It is like the big thing to have a "pizza and kebab" store. Anyways, I have had kebab a few times...basically what it is, well at least what I think it is is lamb and they shave it off of this giant spit thing...it's pretty disgusting when you look at it, and then they put it on pizza or french fries or make a wrap out of it and you eat it. It's really sketch...it's actually not even legal in America. I now know why that is the case! I have always gotten the kind in a wrap cause I figured it was the "healthiest" psh...ya right, but this time everyone got the french fry thing so I wanted to try it. Oh my goodness...talk about stomach bomb. It was disgusting and we had to drive two hours back from Kokkola to Seinäjoki and then to Vaasa and I wanted to throw up the whole way! It was gross, but lesson learned! :) Just thought you would want to know that! haha sorry if it was TMI, but such is my life here in good old Vaasa!

    Third, you know you serve in Vaasa when your Polish, less active member friend invites you and your companion to lunch at your other Vietnamese, less active friend's restaurant. Seriously, Vaasa is the melting pot of the world. I am buying a map and keeping track of all the different people I meet and where they are from. It is so exciting! But anyways, Konrad is the Polish guy and Ha is the Vietnamese girl. Konrad is hilarious and tells you straight up how he is feeling. He told me that I needed to sit closer to the table when I eat...I hadn't even spilled or anything, and he told me that sometimes I say "Um" too much and I really need to stop because it is irritating him...thanks Konrad! :) Haha but I really like him and Ha as well! Ha is super cool and moved here four years ago to open her own restaurant. She is only 27 and she just left her home when she was young and has put herself through school and now she has a restaurant in Finland and she is pretty dang successful! I really admire her a lot, but also I really feel bad for Konrad...he joined the church a few years ago, but he has just lost his testimony and needs to find it soon. We are really trying to get him to activities and get him coming to church. He really just needs friends and support.

    One of the hard things about Finnish culture is that they are EXTREMELY private people. Like they NEVER just drop by their friends or call someone up...they are pretty by the book, very scheduled, and they don't like to waste time...I know I know, it sounds like me, but it's really hard for all of these foreigners here, and especially foreign members because they just don't have a lot of friends. It really is true that when you make friends with a Finn, they are your friend for life, but getting to that point is pretty difficult. It's ok though...we can help them! President Rawlings talks a lot sometimes about teaching people to be each other's friend. I never thought that would be a part of my mission, but I am so grateful for all of the wonderful friends and family I have who have been such an example to me of being someone's friend and of really loving someone! But anyways, we are working on building some friendships here...it is starting to work slowly, but surely! Line upon line, precept upon precept! :) 

    Fourth, you know you serve in Vaasa when you have to do a DTL with your investigator...determine the language....because they don't speak English or Finnish very well...and you have to excuse yourself from the lesson because you are laughing so hard at the situation and thinking "Is this my life?" but anyways here is the story. So we were on our way home one day actually and we saw this cute little Thai lady walking on the street so we went and talked to her, in Finnish, and she started speaking back, in Finnish, pretty simple Finnish which was great, but in Finnish. We told her we were here as church representatives and she said, " I want to see your church" so we walked her over to the church...and gave her a church tour. While we were in the chapel, she just broke down and started crying and kept saying "Kiitos Jumala" or Thanks God! It was so sweet and we were feeling the spirit pretty strong! Her name is Laksana, she is married to a Finn, has one son, and we set up an appointment with her for a couple days later! 

    During our next appointment, the language barrier became a little bit more difficult...we tried to explain the Restoration as simply as we could, and we told her about the Book of Mormon, but when we were done, she said "Oh I have a Bible and a Book of Mormon, the New Testament and the Old Testament"...Er...dang it! Apparently we didn't explain it right. Anyways, after about 30 minutes of acting things out, drawing pictures, holding a Book of Mormon in one hand and a Bible in the other, we realized that we might have a serious problem! There came a point in the lesson where I was so flustered and frustrated that I just burst out laughing. It was the funniest thing and I couldn't believe what was going on. Oh man....the life of a Finnish missionary :) But anyways, we gave her a Finnish Book of Mormon and told her to have her husband help her read the Introduction. As she left, we decided that next time we should try teaching in English and see if we have more success! Man it was definitely one of the funniest experiences of my mission!

    Well I am sure I will have more "you know you serve in Vaasa" moments to share, but I don't want to give all the good stuff just yet! Things are a little different here in Vaasa. Everyone marches to the beat of their own drum, but I love it and am so grateful to be here!

    So my favorite talk from conference...there were so many great ones...but the one that really got me was President Uchtdorf. You can always count on him to give something great but how awesome was his talk? Some of my favorite parts were, "We should see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life...instead of being thankful for things, be thankful IN OUR CIRCUMSTANCES...The choice is ours, we can limit our gratitude based on the things we lack...This kind of gratitude overcomes all disappointments...How much of life do we miss waiting for the raindbow instead of thanking God that it is raining...Gratitude doesn't mean that we are happy with our situation, it means that we are looking forward with faith...My testimony of Christ can help me look past the disappointing endings of mortality to the bright hope of the future...Why do we resist endings? because we are made of the stuff of eternity...Endings are not our destiny, only interruptions, pauses...No true endings, only everlasting beginnings...how much we have to be grateful for...gratitude is the catalyst to all Christ-like attributes." 

    Man...he is great! I love that talk and it is my goal these next few weeks to really try and apply this. I love how he talks about being happy in our circumstances. Sometimes in my life it has been really hard for me to understand how I could ever be grateful when something is going wrong or when life is hard. But I love how he also brings up that having an attitude of gratitude doesn't mean that we are always happy go lucky and everything is sunshine and roses and happiness...that's not realistic, but it does mean that we are always looking forward with faith to the future. It means knowing that even though life is incredibly hard sometimes, it will all work out. It really means to me that everything that comes our way is what is supposed to happen and we have the choice to accept it and make the most out of the cards we have been dealt, or to sit and whine and make everything more difficult than it needs to be. The best part about all of this is that we don't have to do it alone. We don't have to be strong alone. I think it was Elder Bednar who said that there is nothing we can go through in life that Christ didn't go through first. One scripture that has come to be my favorite on my mission is D&C 122:7-8...I am sure you have all heard it, but it is when Joseph Smith was in Liberty Jail and when he really started doubting God and himself and everything that had happened to him. He really did ask "God, where art thou?" and Heavenly Father in response said:

    "And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep, if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than He?"

That last question really gets me every time. Art thou greater than He?

     Anytime I start feeling bad or getting frustrated when someone makes fun of us, or when really anything hard comes and I sometimes think, "Why?" this question, comes back into my brain, "Art thou greater than He?" The answer will always be no, but because of Christ's love and his mercy, I have a friend to walk with me through all the aspects of life. We all do and he is the most perfect wonderful friend we could ever have. Now, by that fact alone, by the fact that we all have the gift of immortality and the possibility of Eternal life, we have SO much to be grateful for. I love this gospel. I love my Savior. I love my Father in Heaven. I love the Book of Mormon. I love this work. I love being a missionary. Man, I just love my life. Life is good. God is good. My family and friends are good. Even when life isn't always perfect, it is always good! There is always something to be grateful for! Like today, I am grateful that in one month, I get to skype all of you!!! WHAT??? I just realized that as I looked at the date! I am so excited to see you all and I hope you know how much I love you! Have a wonderful week and remember to be grateful!! :) You are the best!!

Rakkaudella, Sisar Bitner 

THis is the Hedins..the senior couple here...they are great!!

This is Konrad...oh my word he is crazy! :)

This is all of us making balloon animals on Monday Night! Our investigator Colleen was there so we got to go!!! 

The BEAUTIFUL sunrise in Finland

Me at lunch with the Hedins and Konrad..Konrad bought us lunch

Me by the ocean!! 

Born in the Blessed Place, Raised in the Promise Land

    Voi että!!! Where have you all been? I feel like I haven't talked to you for melkein 6 months! :) No more missing your weekly e-mails...it was too hard, but I am so glad to write to you today! I am in Vaasa. The Promised Land. I have arrived and it is wonderful! Honestly...I am so excited to tell you all about this week, you have no idea!! I hope you are all doing so well and have had such a great week! You were in Disneyland right? If not, I need to go apologize to a woman wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt on the road because I told her my family was in Disneyland to start a conversation! But hey, she is a pretty solid potential investigator so whether or not you were there, you were being missionaries! :)

    Well I have to admit that leaving Tampere was super hard. I was crying. I know...lame but I love that place. It's the "siunattu paikka" aka blessed place and always will be in my eyes! The members are great! Sister Jones is great! Vincent is getting baptized. Man! I think my problem is I get attached to things way too hard and too fast! Tampere was no exception, but I know I will go back one day! I hope you all enjoyed the pictures I sent of some of my besties in the ward! All I can say is thank heavens for Facebook! They said they have all added me already! :)

    Anyways, last Monday, I got on a train and headed up to Seinäjoki to switch trains to Vaasa. I really felt weird leaving Tampere. I felt like I was running away or something and didn't feel like a missionary at all. It was a really weird experience. I knew that I had to leave, but I just kept thinking "How can this be part of Heavenly Father's plan for Petteri to be creeping and me having to leave Tampere." The whole day was just weird...I really don't know how else to describe it. I didn't feel like myself and I didn't feel safe or anything. Not my best day. But on the funny side, you should have seen me trying to get all my suitcases on an off the trains...holy cow. I was sweating up a storm, trying to speak Finnish to this man who was "trying to help me". Really he just kept pushing my suitcases at me and mumbling under his breath! It was super funny! But I got to Vaasa in one piece and Sister Thayne and Sister Foster were there waiting for me. It was so great to see Sister Thayne! She is awesome and I knew she will do so well in Tampere! Sister Foster helped me get all my stuff to the car and we were off. It was kind of a funny experience standing at the train station in Seinäjoki waiting for my other train to come. I was looking at my suitcases and my bag and I just thought, "Man, my entire life is in these bags. I can literally carry my life with me." It was pretty interesting, but such is the missionary life! Nothing better :)

    So let me tell you a little bit about Vaasa. They definitely march to the beat of their own drum here. Not the missionaries, just the people in general. Vaasa is right on the coast and a large majority of the people here speak Swedish. They are "swedish-speaking finns". No one told me I had to learn some Swedish too, but hey I am attempting Finnish, might as well just throw some Swedish on there too! :) They have two major universities here so there are SO MANY FOREIGNERS: Seriously, I walk outside and don't even know where I am. The good news is, they are mostly chinese! I love chinese people! I will talk more about them later! But, things in missionary life are a little different here as well. First off, we have a car! I LOVE DRIVING!! I missed driving so much and am so excited to be in a car city! They don't really have public transportation here...nothing compared to Tampere but we have a car! Kaikki on hyvää! :) All is good! We have a huge apartment! Our apartment in Tampere was tiny but this one is pretty big and nice! I don't have to sleep on the top bunk anymore which is great cause now I can't fall asleep kneeling in bed to say my prayers :) Sister Foster and I also have gym memberships! I know...who the heck am I? It's great! THe gym is 20 euros a month and is like 1 minute from our house. We have been getting up at 6 everyday and working our for an hour and I feel SO much better! Working out is good...everyone should do it! It makes you happier :) We also have a senior missionary couple here in Vaasa, The Hedin's. They are from Albuquerque and are basically the greatest people I know! I love having them here! They are great! Sister Hedin is a fluent spanish speaker and she told me she would teach me some. Have I told you all I want to learn Spanish and German when I come home? Don't ask me why...I just do! I'm going to Rosetta Stone the heck out of those languages! :) ANyways, Sister Hedin gave me a spanish Book of Mormon. I am focusing on Finnish though...don't worry! There is enough there to keep me busy for time and all eternity!! All the missionaries here in Vaasa, Me, Sister Foster, The Hedin's and Elder Lee and Elder Findlay all love Vaasa. Everyone calls it the "Promised Land" and I really believe that. I know good things are going to happen here!!

    We have 12 investigators right now. Best news though...we have 4 baptismal dates!! We set them all this week! It has been incredible! My first day here, Sister Foster(who I will talk about later) said "I am so sorry, we have no baptismal dates so this might be tough". Now after our first week together we have 4. Sister Foster and I teach really well together. Good give and take. I give, she takes :) No but really, I have really enjoyed teaching with her and at this rate, we're going to have some baptisms in good old Vaasa! Our investigators are quite the international bunch. We have 2 from Finland...one has a baptismal date, 3 from Ghana, 1 from England (yes her accent is the greatest thing ever) 1 from Gabon, 1 from Vietnam, 1 from China, 1 from Thailand, and 1 from Nigeria. Ya...I don't even know where I am serving anymore! It's such a cool experience to see all these different nationalities coming together. Growing up in Utah, seeing a foreigner is like a fly in the milk, but here I am like a marshmallow in the chocolate! Bad comparison...but you get the idea! I love it here though and it's so exciting to meet people from all over the world. We had a lesson with our investigator Michael. He is from Ghana and has a baptismal date, but we brought one of our recent convert Chinese members, Li. She was actually just baptized last Saturday and she was testifying to Michael about her baptism. I was sitting there watching her and I just felt so much love for both of them. Looking at them, they couldn't be more different, but as they were talking about the gospel, I really received a confirmation and testimony that we are all God's children. It doesn't matter what we look like or where we are from and the best part is, this gospel is here for everyone! How amazing!!

    Let's see...let me tell you about Sister Foster. She is incredible! Seriously, best sister missionary in Finland, hands down. She speaks Finnish like a PRO and she and I have set a goal to SYL every time we are outside of our apartment. It has been super hard and frustrating, but I know that Heavenly Father has blessed me with the desire and strength to keep trying and keep working at it. She really has helped me so much with the language. Answer to my prayer...number 1! She is from Atlanta, Georgia and is the oldest of 6 kid as well. Guess what else, her younger brother and sister are twins too...way cool! :) I really love her already though and we get along great, in Finnish and in English! haha

    I have to share this way cool experience that happened at church yesterday. Well first things first, they have a branch here in Vaasa, about 100 members so pretty small! The chapel is tiny but really nice and their church is only 2 hours long. It was fast sunday yesterday and I had fasted that I would just feel at peace with everything as well as other things. Like I said before, this week was kind of weird "feelings wise" and I just didn't feel like me. But during testimony meeting, 2 of the recent convert Chinese members got up and bore their testimonies...with a Finn translating and then an african man bore his testimony and a russian member was translating and I was just sitting there next to our british investigator and another chinese recent convert and I felt like I had come home. There are a couple people in this ward that I know I have seen before. It is crazy...like I am not saying I have had visions, but in all of my dreams about Finland before my mission, the people in my dreams were all from Vaasa. It was super humbling and amazing and man...my heart just felt like it was going to burst!! I was super emotional and then my heart started pounding in my chest. I can't remember a time when I felt the spirit prompt me that strongly to bear my testimony. But, I got up and bore my testimony to "my family" and man it was the greatest experience of my life. Honestly, my prayer was answered and my fast was answered as I was standing up there. I was so grateful to be in Vaasa and I was so grateful for everything that had happened that had made it so I was here! I love this ward, I love these people, and I am so excited to do some serious missionary work here!!

    Sister Foster shared a quote with me this week and I wanted to share it with all ya'll cause it's pretty great! So it says "What we hear is what we think, what we think is what we say, what we say is what we do, what we do is who we are!" I have been thinking a lot about how powerful words are and how powerful the things we watch and listen to are. General Conference is coming up...SUPER PUMPED...and I really think that if we all focus on listening to good, uplifting things this week, we will be so much more receptive to the spirit during conference. That quote really is so true. Our thoughts shape our realities and our thoughts come from what we hear and listen to. Let's all work this week to keep our lives pure, clean and uplifting. It may not seem like a big thing to listen to a song that swears or to watch a movie that isn't the best, but those things add up over time and then pretty soon, the spirit isn't with us anymore. We can't afford to let that happen. We have to be on our A-game. Satan is working hard, we have to work harder! But the good news is we are going to win, but it will require a lot of effort. I am so excited for conference! We get to listen to a prophet of God. We get to receive counsel from someone who receives it straight from the source. How great is that?! I am so excited!!

    Well I hope you all know that I know this church is true! I love it with all my heart! Jesus Christ is our Savior. I read Matt 11:28-30 this week and really researched and studied it. I realized that one thing I want to work on is getting to know my Savior more. I want to become like Him. That is the purpose of the gospel...it is here to take imperfect people and make them perfect one day! Thank you all for your prayers and support! I love you so much and hope you have the greatest week and greatest conference weekend ever!! No falling asleep! :) I love you!!

    Rakkaudella, Sisar Bitner

    Oh...one more thing...I had a huge love burst for you all when I was writing in my journal the other night, and I wanted to share what I wrote with you.

    From my journal:

    My dad is so strong. He is so honest. He is so passionate. He does everything whole-heartedly. My mom is an angel. She is so loving. She is as close to Christ like love as you can get in this life. She loves everyone unconditionally and is the most unselfish person I know. Jocelyn is so incredible. She knows who she is and what she wants in this life. She is so accepting and makes everyone around her want to be a better person. Anne is a saint. She is so compassionate and looks for the good in everything. She has the sweetest heart and always looks for those who need a friend. Lauren is a leader. Lauren is the best friend you could ever have. Lauren brings out the best in everyone she meets. She is so passionate about what she does. She wants everyone to be happy. Luke is a stud. He has the most genuine, sincere heart. He loves people so much and he knows that everyone is important to Heavenly Father. He is an example and leads with love. Caroline is my little sunshine. She is a little sparkle who can make anyone's day better. She loves making people happy and has such a gift to love and bring out the best in others. She is a wonderful friend!

    Man...now I am crying! You are all the best people I know! Never forget how much I love you!! :) Happy Conference Week!!! 

These two little ladies are my FAVORITE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!! This is the Partanen mom and grandma and they told me we have to come stay with them! They are Filipino! Can you tell? hahah

This is me and Sami. Sami is a rockstar and came on lessons with us all the time. He took us out to lunch and ice cream before I left. He is getting ready to go on a mission...but he is 25. what an example to me! BTW, he is the funniest person I have ever met and is HUGE and has a bright blue winter coat!! He is legit!

Me and My best friend Annastina! She was a less active when I came and we have been working with her and really trying to bring her back. The day I left Tampere, she got her temple reccommend and is planning on going to the temple! She has been reactivated!!! BEST DAY EVER!!! I love her!!

This is Matti. Another rockstar who came on lessons with us all the time. We are really good friends and he also is preparing to serve a mission! Look at these Finns go!!

This is Me and my BFF Anni Lehti. She is 35 and has never been married but she LOVES the sisters and had us over for dinner my last night in Tampere! THis is at her house!! 

My last pic with the sisters in Tampere I love them all so much! SIster Jones, Sister Pack and Sister Hubner

And this is me and my new toveri Sister Foster! She is legit! I love her!

This is me and my new best friend Li. She was just baptized on Saturday and I love her SOOOO much. HOnestly the funniest, most awesome, most sincere person I know. Her testimony is SO strong!

Li wanted to wear our nametags and teach us about the Plan of Salvation. It was the greatest thing of my life so I had to take a picture! :)

Greetings From Vaasa...                                                                                             March 23, 2014

Sup guys? Hey so guess what...the title of my email is greetings from Vaasa. Vaasa is a city on the west coast of Finland. And guess who is the newest missionary in Vaasa? That's right...Sister Bitner. So I am being transferred! Now I know what you are thinking, it's not supposed to be transfers for another 5 weeks, and you are so right, but I want to tell you the story so sit back, relax, grab some popcorn if you want...this is really exciting! Ok, not exciting...but still...here it goes...

So last Sunday was just a great old regular Sunday here in Tampere. Vincent came to church, the sun was shining, birds were singing...literally...and it was just the best day! Church was really good, as always, and afterwards, someone called my name and said "Bitner, get over here". So I turn around to see who it is and my good old friend Petteri is sitting next to the Elders. So I am sure you remember who Petteri is, but he is the investigator we had to give over to the Elders because he was not being appropriate and it was super uncomfortable and everything so ya, that's him. But anyways I kind of just waved and started to walk away and he said "What are you too scared to come talk to me?" And in my head I said "Ya" but we went over and said Hi! We were standing there and he started saying inappropriate things and it was really uncomfortable. I am sure you would just love to know everything he said, just kidding...but needless to say, what he said wasn't appropriate and I was probably the most scared/disgusted/shaky I have ever been in my life. But, Sister Jones and I left and we just kind of proceeded with our day at church, avoiding Petteri at all cost!

After church was over, we were standing in the foyer talking to Sister Oksi...she is legit and has purple hair! She is great! But we were talking, trying to schedule a time to come meet with her, and someone came up behind me and gave me a hug and kissed my head....ya it was Petteri. So I freaked out and jumped about 20 feet and it was just awful. I was so upset and so embarrassed and it was easily one of the worst experiences of my life. Things with Petteri really haven't been very bad until now, and it has just gone from bad to worse. We were in District Meeting on Wednesday and Petteri showed up and he was drunk and he tried to come and sit next to me with all the other missionaries there and then he was just being really weird and so Sister Jones and I left as the Elders tried to keep him in the room. I was really shaken up and Elder Jefferies and Elder Durrant...the zone leaders...came in and apologized for what happened. They hadn't heard the whole story of what had happened with Petteri, so I told them. I asked Elder Jefferies for a blessing, and in the blessing he said that I needed to call President Rawlings. So I did, and I kind of watered down the truth. I know, not the smartest thing to do, but I knew that I would be leaving if I told him exactly how scared I am of Petteri and everything. Anyways, we got off the phone and nothing had happened, but then I felt prompted to say a prayer. Sister Jones and I prayed and I asked Heavenly Father to help me see things clearly and to understand his will. Afterwards I really felt like I needed to call President back. So I did and I explained the situation, and now I am being emergency transferred to Vaasa and Sister Thayne is replacing me here in Tampere!

 I don't have a lot of time to write, and I know it's weird that this is on Sunday, but I wanted to tell you about it. I really could have used the safety and security of home this week. I have never been so scared of someone in my life, but I know that Heavenly Father is watching out for me. I am SO sad to be leaving Tampere. I can't even tell you how many times I have cried this week knowing that I would leave, but all I can do is go to Vaasa with faith. I need to be there. I know I can't stay here. But it is still hard and frustrating. In the blessing Elder Jefferies gave me, he said that all of you were happy and safe which has given me so much comfort this week. I am sorry this email is so lame and short, but I will write from Vaasa next week and fill you in a little bit more! I am so sad to be leaving Sister Jones...we are such great friends! I have grown so close with this ward. I will send all my pictures with them next week. Vincent is getting baptized on April 19th and it is killing me that I won't be here. He is a rockstar and is going to be the first stake president in Tanzania! 

I know the church is true. Life is crazy and changes all the time. It never turns out the way we plan, but the most comforting thing to me is that this gospel, the Book of Mormon, our Savior and Father in Heaven will never change. We always have this constant support and strength in our lives. What a blessing! I am so grateful to be a missionary! I love it so much! Tampere will always have a very special place in my heart and I love the people here so much! All the members told me that my family is always welcome if we come and visit, so everyone plan on a trip to Tampere sometime soon! I love you all so much! I am safe and well, but pray that everything this week will work out! I leave to Vaasa tomorrow morning, but I am way pumped because I get to see Sister Thayne!! It's going to be great I hope!! I believe it will be! A lot of Chinese people live in Vaasa...I love Chinese people! :)  I am turning back into a greenie! :) Oh man...the greenie life! It's the best! i love you so much!! Have a great week!!!

Oh, P.S. Dad and Lauren HYVÄÄ SYNTYMÄPÄIVÄÄ!!!! I love you both so much and hope your birthdays have been just wonderful! Lauren you are a teenager...uh what? Who said you could grow up! Dad you are turning 35....wow, you look great! :) I love you all with all my heart!!! 

Rakaudella, Sisar Bitner

Feeling the Prayers Man, Feeling the prayers...

    Holy Cow! I love my family and friends. I am so convinced that you are all the greatest people in the world...I can't even take it! Thank you so much for all the prayers this week! I am now fluent in Finnish...haha ok no. That was a lie, but it has been so much better! I have decided to have fun while learning Finnish...they say it can't be done but I am here to prove them wrong! :) Thanks for all the advice and support though! I really can feel your prayers and strength and I am so happy that I have all of you in my life! How did I get so lucky? I will never know! :)

    So man...this week...this week...where to even begin! Talk about a week of miracles. I will start with the ward! So the ward here in Tampere is bomb awesome! Seriously the chapel is full every week, there are tons of families, tons of youth, tons of old ladies, literally every missionaries dream. But....they are also very private and reserved, not just the ward, but all Finns, and so it has been a real challenge to get to know them and to know who to ask to come on lessons with us and stuff. It's been frustrating but Sister Jones and I have been praying so hard that they would catch the missionary fire and that we could start meeting with some of them. It has been such a struggle for us with the ward that President Rawlings even called Sister Jones and I last week and we talked for about an hour about how we could help these people here because missionary work really has plateaued and it's not good. He told us to really focus on individuals and families. He said to strengthen them one by one and to help them develop missionary plans. We met with the Elders, divided up the ward and tried to set up appointments with the people we are assigned to, but no one wanted to meet. Like literally, no one. 

    Since I have been in Tampere, at least before this week, I have had 1 dinner appointment. 12 weeks...1 DA. That's pretty bad. Tampere apparently has had a history of being pretty sketchy when it comes to dinner appointments and just any appointments with members in general. Sketchy as in you don't get any. Well I am here to tell you that prayer and love work. So last Sunday when Sister Jones and I asked all these different members if we could come to their house just to get to know them...we said we didn't need food...and they all still said no. Still, we tried our best to show them that we loved them and that we wanted to help them and their families. On Sunday night, no lie, 4 members called us and set up dinner appointments for this week. Honestly...it was a miracle. I know this is going to sound bi-polar but we have the best ward here! Missionary work has totally taken off this week and I know it is because the members and missionaries are working together. That's when the real work gets done. I have such a testimony of that!

    Man, I just wish that all of you could be here to meet all this amazing members here! The Finnish privacy laws are preventing me from writing their names, but when we all come back to Finland, I can't wait to introduce you to these people! They are incredible and have the strongest testimonies. Seriously, it's so humbling to be serving with them. I love them so much! One of the members we met with this last week is a single, older sister. She has always kind of scared me...not going to lie...but she really wanted us to come have Sunday dinner with her. I was a little apprehensive about going just because, well, she scares me. We went to her house and at first it was vahan hankala...a little awkward...but after dinner, we shared a message with her about prayer. I felt the spirit so strongly when we testified to her that God loves her and hears her prayers and that he is concerned about her life! You literally could taste the spirit and afterwards she just broke down and told us her whole life story. She has had the hardest life. 3 marriages, none of her kids are members, and now she lives alone. Seriously about broke my heart. But she has the strongest testimony and told us that she knows we are here representing the Savior. She gave us a referral...which is a HUGE thing especially from a member! And it's not just any referral, it's her daughter. Earning the trust of a Finn is no easy task, but the feeling when you do is like nothing I could ever explain. I left her house with the biggest smile on my face. I just kept saying in my head "Thank you Heavenly Father for letting me be here, thank you for this language, thank you for this weather, thank you for these people." My whole perspective had changed. It is still hard, but I know with the members and especially with the Lord on our side, I can learn this language. The Finns can join the church. We can build the church here. Nothing is impossible with his help.

    Our investigators are doing so well! I love them so much! Anna told us this week that she wants to be baptized! I about cried...I actually did cry but it was later in the evening! :) She told us that she needs time, because she doesn't know how to tell her family about the church! I really admire her courage and strength. She wants this so badly, but her family means so much to her. I was thinking about if I were in her place, it would be so hard for me to not have my family supporting me and to wonder if they would like shut me out if I joined this church. Although this is the right path for her, I am just praying that her family will understand and will support her!! And I know if my bomb awesome family prayers for her, miracles will happen! I hope to be sending a baptismal picture home very soon! :)

    Vincent has been kind of sketchy this week. We didn't get to meet with him until yesterday morning, but let me tell you, it was incredible! I woke up yesterday morning and was super nervous about our lesson with Vincent. We had planned to meet with him before church. I didn't know why, but I just felt sick. We wanted to watch the Restoration movie with him so we got the church and watched the movie. The whole time we were watching I was praying harder than I have ever prayed before that Heavenly Father would help Vincent know the truthfulness of this message. As the movie went on, I could literally feel the spirit filling up the room. You could have cut it with a knife. It was amazing! When the movie ended, Sister Jones and I testified that this message is true..and then we invited him to be baptized. I expected him to respond super quick but he just sat there...and sat there...and sat there... and 15 minutes later we were still sitting there...in silence. Just try and picture this. Straight up silence for 15 minutes. Vincent had his Book of Mormon in his hands and was praying so hard. After 15 minutes, he looked up at us and said "I need time" and walked out. Sister Jones and I just looked at each other and ran to the window and watched him walk away. We said a prayer right there that Heavenly Father would not let that be the last time we saw Vincent. We were both pretty skeptical but this morning he called us and he said yesterday changed him forever. He said he wants to learn more and needs to watch the movie again. He said he was so grateful we had given him the chance to be baptized, but he needs time! I know he will be baptized! PRAY FOR VINCENT!!! He needs it!! :)

    I have been thinking a lot about love this week and how if that is the motivation for everything we do, we will never go wrong. I really am trying to love this language. I am trying to love the people here even though it feels like they want nothing to do with us. I am trying to love everything about Finland. I have prayed so much these past few weeks about being filled with the love of Christ because sometimes, I just don't want to get up at 6:30 again and go out and have no one be interested in our message...again. It's hard work being a missionary. But this week I have really had a change of heart. I know that change of heart came and is continuing to come only through the Savior. President Rawlings sent us a story in his letter last week that I wanted to share. It is from the book "The Hiding Place". If you haven't read it, you should. It's about WW2 but anyways this is the story:

     Corrie ten Boom, a devout Dutch Christian woman, found such healing despite having been interned in concentration camps during World War II. She suffered greatly, but unlike her beloved sister Betsie, who perished in one of the camps, Corrie survived. After the war she often spoke publicly of her experiences and of healing and forgiveness. On one occasion, a former Nazi guard who had been part of Corrie’s own grievous confinement in Ravensbrück, Germany, approached her, rejoicing at her message of Christ’s forgiveness and love: “‘How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein,’ he said. ‘To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!’ “His hand was thrust out to shake mine,” Corrie recalled. “And I, who had preached so often … the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side. Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. … Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. I tried to smile, [and] I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness. As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me. And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.” Corrie ten Boom was made whole.

    I know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can all be made whole. Not only did he suffer for our sins, but he felt the pains of all our shortcomings and weaknesses. I can't love this language and these people on my own. But with his love, I can love anybody and can do anything. Nothing brings me more comfort than that. I am reading 3 Nephi right now in my scriptures and today I read in Chapter 11 when the savior visits the people in America. I always get excited for that part because I just keep thinking, "Oh man, Jesus is coming, this is the good stuff". It really is and the best part is, he is coming again! I don't know when but that is why I am here, to prepare the world for his coming. That's why we are all here. It is no coincidence that any of us are members of this church at this time. God needs us to prepare the world for the coming of his Son. That is a big responsibility. I know that with the Savior's help, we can all rise to the challenge and honestly bring the world his truth. It's the best work we could ever do! God doesn't ask us to do more than we can. He just asks us to give everything to him and he will make up for the rest. I love that last line in the story, "When he tells us to love our enemies, he gives, along with the command, the love itself." That is so true. ALl we have to do is trust him and it will all work out! I love being a missionary! I love you all so much and am so grateful to be your daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin, and friend. Thanks for all you do! You mean the world to me and I hope you all know that! Have a wonderful week and bring the world his truth!! :)

Rakkaudella, Sisar Olivia Bitner 

    Oh PS....I am done with training!!! YIPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! Best day ever! I am now just a normal missionary! :)

This is winter in Finland...blue skies and sunshine! Oh and the sun was red the other day! :) 

My view every morning!

This BOMB AWESOME sweater from Sister Jouttenus! My bestie in the ward! I will tell you more about her in the letter but this is a legit FInnish wool sweater...they don't make them like this anymore :) 

 Keskityä  

    Wazzup home skillet biscuits? K that was probably the lamest thing I have ever said! I am in a really interesting mood today so I hope this e-mail makes some sort of sense! :) First off, How are all of you doing? I hope you are all just loving life and being missionaries! That's where the good stuff is! I promise! Haha so Mom and Dad are going to Paris and Portugal...um that's the coolest thing I have ever heard! Now when you come pick me up from my mission, we can go to Paris and Portugal and you will know how to get around huh? Vitsi vain...Just kidding! :) I am so excited for you! That will be so great! And you are going to Disneyland! Holy cow that's awesome! Don't worry mom, I don't feel bad...well not too bad. I would love to be there, but we can go when I get back! ROAD TRIP ROAD TRIP!! It will be awesome! Just send me a jawbreaker sucker or something and it will all be fine! :) I am way excited for you and I just know you are all doing awesome!!

    This week has been really good. First off I have to tell you about the weather. It is hot here. Like seriously, Heavenly Father is blessing us so much. Every person I talk to says they can't remember a winter as warm as this winter before in their lives. Isn't that crazy? Someone is looking out for us missionaries here right now and I am so grateful for it. Today is the first day it has snowed in like a month and it isn't even sticking because it is so warm. Apparently February is supposed to be the coldest month of the year! I survived one and almost brought out the short sleeves! Who would have thought! :)

    So yesterday we had 3 of our investigators in church! It was INCREDIBLE! Seriously, another fast sunday miracle! I know the numbers I send home probably sound lame compared to other missionaries you all know, but 3 investigators in church in Finland is like a miracle! Vincent, our Tanzanian friend came. I guess he isn't a Finn, but it still totally counts! He loved it so much and really felt the spirit. He was singing his heart out to all the songs. It was so hilarious though because we obviously sing in Finnish but we gave him an English Hymn Book so he could understand what we were singing, and he started singing in English...like loud...like yelling. It was HILARIOUS! I couldn't help but laugh! He is so golden! We are working on setting a baptismal date with him this week so please pray for that! He knows this is true!! I know he will be baptized!

    Anna came to church as well but she only stayed for the sacrament. She is doing really well, but she really misses Sisar Egan. It's hard when people get attached to the missionaries and then they leave, but I know that we can help her and that we are here for a reason! We want to set a baptismal date with her as well! That is the two things we are focusing on as a mission...baptismal dates and church attendance. Those are the two biggest challenges in Finland but we have plans to improve and we are just working at it, day by day... pikku hilja...that means little whispers in Finnish but they use it to mean step by step or day by day...honestly I don't know why! This language boggles my mind...for real! :)

    Our third investigator in church was Sarita. She is the one I met on the bus after I prayed to find someone who was ready to receive the gospel. She has kind of been sketching out on all of our appointments, but on Saturday night, we had the thought to text her and invite her to church and she said "Ya, for sure!" and she came! Like truly, it was a miracle! She really enjoyed it and she also sang very loud. I guess these people just are looking for an excuse to sing their hearts out! What better a place than church? Anyways she set up our next appointment herself and was super excited to learn more about our church! It's so amazing to me how we can literally do everything in our power to get people to come to church. We find them a ride, we have a member invite them, we offer to come and walk with them to church and they don't come. But when we trust in Heavenly Father and just say, "We have done everything we can...we need your help" then three investigators show up. Man, I am so glad someone else is in charge of all of this! We could not do ANY of this alone! 

  Oh...sidenote...how did talking to someone about the gospel know? I want to hear all about it from everyone! :)

    Oh another sidenote...all my siblings will appreciate this...so you know the YouTube video with Stuart on it...the one that dad doesn't like, well Sisar Jones does almost as good of a Stuart's mom voice as Anne. Seriously, she always talks in it and it is hilarious. I laugh every time! All the time! Sisar Jones and I have way too much fun together! We get along so well and pretty much laugh all day every day! It's a blast! :) 

    So the title of this e-mail is keskityä which is the verb for "to focus". I have been struggling real hard this week with Finnish. All the weeks have been a frustration, but this week has been especially rough. It's really my fault. I have been putting off dealing with my lack of Finnish know-how because there is just so much I don't know, I couldn't even go there. But I really received a prompting from the spirit the other day that if I don't start focusing on improving, it's never going to come. I think in my mind I have just been thinking, "Oh, one day it will come. It will be fine. Heavenly Father will help me." Now all of that is true, but I have not been doing my part. I know this kind of sounds like a confession, and it is. I know you guys won't hate me for saying this and if you do...then dang it! :) Haha but I really could use some prayers from my faithful family and friends for help with this language. Just pray that I will be able to focus and have strength to keep trying even when I make mistakes...which happens all the time. One funny story from this week...I wanted to ask a lady in our ward if she could come and do a church tour with us this week so I say "Saatko tulla meidän kanssamme täällä vikolla? Meilla on kirkon kirros meidän tutkijan kanssa." So the word for tour is "kierros" but I said "kirros" which means curse! So I asked the member if she could come give a church curse with us this week and she laughed for about 20 minutes and told the whole relief society about it so that was fun! haha I am really working on being humble and accepting that I am going to make about 9 million more mistakes, but its really rough, especially when I really am trying so hard. I think what is so hard for me about not being able to communicate with these people is I love to talk. That is one of the biggest ways I show people I love them is by talking and listening so when I can't do that, it's frustrating! I know I need to learn other ways to show love...man all the things you learn on a mission. What would I do without this in my life?

    Sorry to be a debby downer, but I need your help. I need your prayers! This isn't easy. It is so worth it, but it's so hard! My spiritual thought for the week is about the Book of Mormon. I have been thinking a lot this week about why we needed the Book of Mormon. Most people in Finland believe in the Bible. THey haven't read it, but they believe in it. SO when we tell them there is another book of scripture like the bible, they basically think we are blasphemers and will be thrust down to the pit. Ok, that's an exaggeration. :) But I was seriously thinking about it. Then, I had the thought to read the title page of the Book of Mormon. I don't have time to quote the whole thing, but it basically breaks it down to three reasons why we have the Book of Mormon. One, to show us how merciful the Lord has been to his children regardless of who they are or where they live and how much he has blessed them, Two, so that we can know the specific covenants that we have to make with God in order to return to live with Him, and Three, so that everyone can know that Jesus is the Christ. Those three reasons are so simple, but SO important. In 3 Nephi chapter 5, Mormon makes a little insert into the plates of Nephi and he says in verse 20, " I am Mormon, and a pure descendant of Lehi. I have reason to bless my God and my Savior, Jesus Christ....he hath given me and my people so much knowledge unto the salvation of our souls." That is what the Book of Mormon is. It is knowledge unto the salvation of our souls. Without this book, we wouldn't know how to return to live with God again. To know that the Book of Mormon is true is to know that God and Jesus Christ love us. It is to know that life is beautiful and eternal. It is to know the true meaning of family. It is to know that each time we sin, we can repent and try again and we will always be forgiven. It is to know that the Holy Ghost can be our constant companion. I really think that to know the Book of Mormon is true is to know love. It is evidence of God's love for us. I know He loves us. At the end of the day, I may know nothing else...but I know that He loves us and wants us to come back to Him. That's why we have this book. That's why I am in Finland. I love the gospel. I love The Book of Mormon. It is true. I know it is! I love you all so much and hope you have a grand week!!!!

Rakaudella, Sisar Bitner 

My favorite building 

This way creepy church we pass by a lot

Me and Sisar Jones in this super sketch elevator that squeaks SO bad when we ride in it 

Me shining my boots...I love the boots I bought so much! I take way good care of them...aren't you proud dad? :) 

This is the new planner that I made! The three most important things in my life, Jesus, the scriptures and my family! I love it so much!!