Week 20 - Pickles

HellooOOOOOOOOOOO everyone! This week has been WONDERFUL as ALWAYS and I love being a missionary!

This week I'm just going to share a couple of quick experiences!

First! So yesterday I took a quick five minutes after a lesson at the church to practice/select my songs for district meeting tomorrow, and we got a call from one of our previous investigators (he was drunk when he called us). He heard me practicing and asked if I would play a couple songs over the phone for him. So that I did, and he started crying and told me he loved me over the phone. That night we got a few texts from him about how he was going to move to Thailand and get married there in a Mormon church, so I guess I may be taking a trip over there sometime soon. 

Also, yesterday when we were going into the Helsinki Main train station we met this really cool guy and a couple of his friends, and they were all from Iraq, so we spoke some Arabic to them and they were really cool. Fast forward past us getting lost in the ghetto yet again, and two hours later on the train back to Oulunkylä we met these super nice guys from Iraq as well, and got to know them, and then at the stop in Pasila the guy and his friends we had met earlier got on, and then they came and sat by us because they knew those other two Iraqis! So we all had a blast going back home, just me and my companion in the middle of all these Iraqi dudes, and we got a few numbers out of it. :) It was really fun.

Also, yesterday we were able to share the talk His Grace Is Sufficient with one of our investigators yesterday, and it really cleared up his understanding of the Atonement. I LOVE that talk, and I invite you all to read it, for the first time or again.

This week I made the conscious decision to give away my personal wants and take upon the desires of Christ, and the second I did that it was just like a snap, I just felt all of these burdens light off of me and I felt so amazing! As I've lost myself in the work I've really found a love for it.

I love all of you, have a great week!

--

Elder Hancock

1 - cereal 

2 - where do we go to church?

Week 19 - Helsinki pt 2!

Hey everyone! This week has been great, and I'm so excited to spend another transfer here in Helsinki! Elder Jordan is a wonderful guy and a very hard working missionary, so I'm excited to see how this transfer goes!

We've been very blessed to receive a new investigator every day for the last four days! That blows my mind, and we've been working so hard to make it happen. I love this work!

I don't have a lot of time this week, but I love all of you and I'm so excited to see where this transfer goes. The work continues on!

I love you all!

--

Elder Hancock

Week 18 - I own Helsinki. (does a cool dance)

Helloooooooooooooo everyone! First off, a joke. How do you get holy water? *chirping* You take normal water and boil the heck out of it! *silence*

Anyway, this week transfer calls came! It was about five hours late so I had a pretty stressful Friday but that's the norm round these parts. So my comp Elder Childers is going to Rauma, and I'm staying here and getting Elder Jordan (not in my MTC group) from Pietarsaari! He's from Georgia and I'm really excited to meet him tomorrow!

Fun fact - so Sister Huber, from my MTC group, had responsibility over the main part of Helsinki with her companion (we're in the same ward) (I had the ghetto woo). But now Sister Huber is training, but not for three weeks! She'll be in Marjaniemi as a trio for those three weeks while her trainee is in the MTC, so basically, I have pretty much all of Helsinki for the next three weeks. Except the Zone Leaders have East Helsinki (Marjaniemi), but that doesn't count because there's nothing there, not part of the main city and it's ghetto too. Also, Elder Childers leaves at 09:30 on Tuesday but Elder Jordan gets here at 14:29! Sooooo for five hours tomorrow I will be the only missionary in the world assigned to take care of Helsinki! Haha, power. I will convert thousands. 

Anyway. This week's been pretty fun! We got a new investigator, which brings up our total to three new investigators this transfer!! That probaby sounds pathetic, but I've been working my tail off so there you have it. Finnish is great! I'm not fluent, but I don't usually have any problems talking to people, which is nice. Overall, my time in training was really great, and I'm glad to be going senior companion this transfer! (no, I don't still have three weeks left of training, and yes, I'm lying)

So yup. I love missionary work, and I love this gospel! Shout out to Holden d'Evegnee, one of my best friends in high school, getting his mission call to the Ivory Coast! He still hasn't told me himself so maybe the combination of those of you who know him telling him to email me will get something out of it.

This Church blesses all who seek those blessings. It's led by Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world and of all mankind, and I could not be more humbled to be his representative in this amazing land. Suomi ikuisesti! 

I love you all!!! Have a great week!

--

Vanhin Hancock