Week 30 - Hallowed Ground

First off, as I was writing the title I remembered that although the word for 'halloween' in Finnish is written 'halloween' it's pronounced 'hallohvehn', and that reminded me that sometimes because the letters w and v are the same to Finns they'll say words like 'visiting' as 'wisiting'. That was really random but there you go!

So this week. I guess first off I should tell you all that throughout the last few weeks I've been meeting with some different medical professionals, and the second to last time I was on the phone with one I was told I was ill with something that would require me to return home to be treated, and likely be unable to return to the mission field. This obviously shocked me immensely and dealing with it has been difficult, but luckily I have one more appointment with a very good professional in Espoo (right next to Helsinki) on Wednesday so we can be absolutely certain about the condition and best method of treatment. Thus I'd appreciate to be kept in your prayers for a spell, mostly that I'll be able to accept and understand God's will as being greater than mine, in whatever happens.

Predominantly I want to be the greatest envoy of Heavenly Father I can possibly be, extrinsic influences forgot. Of all that I've experienced and grown to love in Finland, I sure as heck don't want to leave. I suppose we'll see!

Missionary work wise I had a wonderful week! We had an investigator in church and got to meet with her afterwards! Also during exchanges in Lappeenranta I taught the Word of Wisdom to one of the most humble investigators I've ever met. We gave him a blessing and he gave us all of his cigarettes. We threw them away. Good stuff!

Anyway, the library is actually closing early so I need to hurry, but I love you all and have a great week!
--
Elder Hancock

Hei my name is Elder Hancock. You want a book?

Our view off the deck.

Us in Lappeenranta on some fire exchanges.

Week 29 - cat hair day

Hello everyone! This week was pretty great. 

First off we were able to do exchanges in Mikkeli this last weekend because my comp had a training meeting. I went and did work with Elders Krause and Van Buskirk, two of my roommates from my MTC group, which was awesome! 

Second for this week is cat hair day, which was yesterday. Just a crazy day. So we went to buy a snack super quick and I just grabbed some stuff and at the cash register it cost 3,30€ - guess how much money in coins I had in my pocket? yeeaaaahhhhh 3,30€!!! then we met with an investigator who dropped us but then his cat got hair all over me and my nice suit dang. We went tracting whilst I was trying to get cat hair off of me and got stopped by a lady who asked if we gave out blessings. we gave her a Book of Mormon. She done got blessed! And then we got asked by a drunk guy if he could use the bathroom in the public square and we were like ummmm definitely not. And then we took a bus to do more tracting and he was on the bus too yelling at my favorite bus driver sunglasses man, who always wears sunglasses and every time you get on he flashes a smile at you and goes hei hei hei while nodding his head a bunch. Anyway so we got back home and through this entire day I was getting cat fur off me still but when we got back to the apartment and I took a shower at the end of the day I chemically burned my entire head and neck by leaving body wash on it for too long without washing it off whoops. Then I sent a text to the north zone leaders and they got ticked at me for some reason and set the assistants to the president on me, luckily they were way cool. Anyway, just a crazy day and that happened. 

I love you all and have a good one!

--

Elder Hancock

1 - us in mikkeli on exhanges

2 - some savages on the elevator about to knock some doors

Week 28 - We ran through a forest this week?

Hello everyone! Not much to report from this week, but I have a couple stories.

First off is we missed a bus one evening, and there was another one coming in twenty minutes but it was on the other side of this mountain. So I was just like 'let's go!' and we started running through the forest up this hill. Turns out it was a lot futher than I thought and we ended up having to run through bushes, trees, mud, a field, a swamp, and came out in the middle of nowhere on some highway. I had been praying throughout this twenty minutes of running that we'd be able to find the bus stop, and there was nothing in sight when we emerged from the swamp onto this highway. So I was like 'well what do we do' but then literally ten seconds later a bus came out of nowhere and I flagged it down, and it accepted our bus passes and everything and took us back to our apartment! That was for sure an answer to my prayer, and if we had gone any slower we would have missed it. I'll attatch pictures of how sweaty and dirty we were (oh well).

Another thing is one night when we were eating dinner I just wondered out loud 'I wonder what it would be like to be Elder Näslund?' (he's a Swede who works absolutely insanely hard) and Elder Winder was like well, we'd just be running everywhere and talking to literally everyone so I went 'hmm let's try it!' and then we both dropped our bags and left the apartment at 5:20 and ran, like actually ran to the nearest apartments and talked to everyone on the way, and ran in between the apartment buildings taking two or three steps at a time on the stairs. One time I went back to try and get these people who had already said no to take a Book of Mormon like ten minutes after. We went hardcore until 8 (which is when it would be illegal in Finland to solicit) and were so exhausted. But we got out two pass along cards and a book so at least there was that.

Finland's a very interesting place. I definitely love being a missionary, but Finns are very quiet and not much interested in religion. However we press on and even if I don't know if I'll have the opportunity to baptize anyone as a missionary I continue to emulate the Savior and go about doing good. Keep the faith, everyone, and I love you all!

--

Elder Hancock

Us after running through the woods

Sad guitar photo

Week 27 - Kouvola round two

Hello everyone! Probably the most anxiety-inducing thing here this last week was transfer calls, and we are both staying here for another two months but Elder Winder will be the district leader, which means we'll be able to conduct exchanged in Kotka and Lappenranta (which is like 20 miles away from Russia) as well as do some in Mikkeli with the Zone leaders, so that's exciting. I'll also have extended mission leadership conference splits with Elders Krause and Van Buskirk (who were in my MTC group) so good! Split split banana splits.

We had a few lessons this week which was nice, and extended the baptismal invitation to and older couple in one but sadly even though the wife really wants to be baptised AND her husband has received multiple crazy spiritual experiences including miraculous healing and visions in dreams and ACTUALLY HAS A TESTIMONY et cetera he still didn't want to get baptised and won't let his wife either which is dumb. Whatever I'm not bitter. Other than that we met with a guy who hates Americans except for us because we talk about Jesus, so that was fun.

Anyway, not too much. We changed pday to Monday still because tomorrow's transfers and we're having a couple elders hang out with us throughout the day until their comps come from Rovaniemi and Kemi respectively (also the two northernmost branches in Finland, whee) so we'll do splits then too. Weow! 

I hope you all know that I do have a testimony of Jesus Christ. my sufferings are absolute nil compared to his. I love this gospel and the opportunity I have to share it even if people reject it.

Have a great week!

--

Elder Hancock

1 - it's been a misty time lately! 

2 - TREES

Week 26 - life beith a partyeth!

Well helLLLLOOO everyone! This week has truly beeneth a party. 

First! We had Zone Conference in Mikkeli!! I haven't been able to visit a lot of Finland yet having been indungeoned in Helsinki for a while and now an hour and a half northeast in Kouvola, but we just drove through the forest the whole time and it was so pretty!! We also had a wonderful time. 

Also, general conference!!! Good GRAVY a lot of stuff happened! My favorite part was receiving my own revelation from God that President Nelson is the prophet on the earth today. I know now, and I am so excited to see what he does in service for the Lord in the future. Also, shoutout to RUSSIA GETTING A TEMPLEEEEE that is so cool! As well as Layton, where two of my sisters were born! I thought about a certain Kaysville family I know, how awesome!

Funny experience this week! So we had the Kotka Elders over here for two nights to watch conference, and one of the things they did was make me try this Finnish food called Mämmi. My comp said it tasted like a fudge brownie, so I was like yeah bring it on! He dumps like this lump of paste on my plate and man this thing tastes like garbage! I was like what?? Then he said that Mämmi is literally just ground up old rye bread and water, which made sense. Apparently they eat it with a vanilla sauce too and that was okay but I didn't have much of an appetite after that. Also, when the President of the good ole USA came and visited this one time and saw Finns eating it he was like 'someone get these people some food, please!'. The next day this member, Veli Hyvärinen, picked us up for a lunch appointment and he asked if I had had Mämmi yet and I was like yeah that stuff is the pits. He laughed and then at the actual lunch appointment after lunch they came out with this box of Mämmi!! Then Sisar Hyvärinen told this story about some elder that prayed way hard to like this random Finnish food throughout his whole mission and by the end he loved it, and then Veli Hyvärinen was like 'Veli Hancock, you should do the same!!' to which I just said we'll see about that haha.

Anyway, I hope you all know that I know that Christ really did rise again! I hope you all can find your own testimonies of the same thing because it changed my life. I love you all and have a great week!

(PS I put a video of me in my Elder Hancock's Flippin Mission Pics drive folder drinking the vinegar we dyed our eggs with. I don't know why we all did it but we did so.)

--

Elder Hancock

1 - a frozen lake coming back from Mikkeli

 2 - I saw some random guy on our porch

3 - us in aprons slaying eggs