Subject Line Smudject line... Can't think of a good one

How's life? How's work? School? The dog... oh wait no dog. 

Life in Lahti, Finland is going pretty swimmingly. From awesome neighbours who bake for us, receiving texts from people who randomly want to go to church, to stake conference in Tampere, to feeding ducks in Hämeenlinna before district meeting things are great. 

Sister Schellenberg and I have been having a lot of fun this week talking to people, and serving. And we had some cool experiences, like always! But to make it even better, last Wednesday we had district meeting, in Hämeenlinna, and the train got Sister Schellenberg and I there an hour and a half early. So we walked around for an hour and a half, trying to talk to people, but no one wanted to talk to us. We went to district meeting, had a way cool lesson about talking with people. What prevents us from doing it? We had a huge list! And then we talked about why we do it everyday all day, when it's so hard. And it kinda all came down to love, and charity. That we love the people, and Heavenly Father. And when we're filled with that love we are able to really touch people's hearts even if they don't know us, or want to know us. On the  way home, Sister Schellenberg and I got to talk to three different people about the gospel, and it was great!

One kind of interesting miracle happened this week. We had made a goal to have at least one investigator in Church this week. A bit low, but it was stake conference and we've been struggling at having them get to church. We had two of them set up to go, a mom and her son, but they cancelled at the last minute because the mom ended up taking care of her friend's children while her friend was out of town for the weekend. Then Saturdaymorning we received a text from an unknown number asking what time church was the next day, and what were good sections to read from the Book of Mormon. We told him it was stake conference and we'd be taking a bus there at 8:30 am, but was welcome to come. And he came! And we get to see him again tomorrow, and he wants to come to a baptism that's happening on Saturday. Way cool! (A note about him. He's a bit extreme looking. Younger. Not at all mainstream. But he referred himself to the church, found out about the church from the website. It was interesting because I had just read that scripture about how God looks not on the outward appearance, like the day before. And it built my testimony that really everyone has been prepared. I had been anxious about talking to younger finns about the gospel before, now though I'm really excited!)

And Stake Conference was FANTASTIC! Especially the last talk. It was a member of the Seventy speaking and he talked about how everything is built upon laws. One of these laws is that when we give Heavenly Father what we have he multiplies and adds unto it until we have so much more than what we started with. For example the story of the loaves and fishes, or the law of tithing etc etc. It is also interesting to note that the Lord always asks us for what we do have, not what we lack, It doesn't matter what we don't have because the Lord makes up the difference. In my own life I can see how that works. Like, when I came to Finland, even though I was a missionary, talking to people about the gospel, especially in Finnish, was terrifying. But I was able to start with smiling, and then saying hi, to then asking how peoples' days' were going, and now my ability to talk with people about gospel (which is by no means any where close to perfect) has increased. I'm comfortable bearing my testimony to those around me. So next time a challenge comes focus on what you do have, bring it to the Lord, and he will multiply it...or at least make up the difference. Isn't the gospel great?

Anyhow, I'd better go. I've attached a picture of myself in front of Hämeenlinna's Linna (castle) and the long list of challenges we have about missionary work... 

Love you all, Hope you have a fantastic week! You're the best... etc etc.

Sister Rachel Kastendieck

Happy Father's Remembrance Day

It's funny how you can forget what happened in an entire week. But I'll start off by saying Happy Remembrance Day!  I remembered! And I even managed to wrangle my own poppy! Yesterday at church the family that we had Canadian Thanksgiving with (The Solitts) were sitting behind us, and I noticed the Dad had a poppy. I asked him where he got it, and his mom had sent it to him, and then he gave me one! I was also  informed by the Elders just a few minutes ago that they too observed Canadian Remembrance Day and had a moment of silence at 11, and then prayed for Canada... and the U.S.A as today is also Veterans' Day in the States. 

Yesterday was also Father's Day here, which meant it was a flag day, and also we couldn't go tracting at all, or show up anywhere unexpected. Sister Schellenberg and I didn't really have very many plans, oops. We did get to meet with one older lady in our ward though, and it was nice. We didn't have any talks about Father's in sacrament yesterday though, because it was the Primary program! Which was fantastic!

Oh. I also lost my wallet this week. Good opportunity to learn basic Finnish vocab that I didn't know before. The word for wallet is kampakko just in case you were wondering. Okay don't worry I found it again. We had had a lesson with a really cool investigator at a coffee shop here in a mall. The lesson went well, and then we all parted ways, I without my wallet. Unfortunately I didn't realize until nearly 9pm that night. But I was able to go back the next day and find it, and nothing was missing! Hooray for honest Finnish people! The next day  President Rawling, my mission president came into town! But just for a few minutes to do interview with all of us here. Received some great advice, and then split ways again. This time we thought we locked our phone in the church building. But, it turned up in one of our bags that we had checked like 6 times .  So it really was just a week of lost and found.

We were able to help a member in our ward move this week, which took a bit of time. But it was worth it. She's a single mom, who was baptized a couple years ago. This week due to the move, her one son's baby blessing and her other son's baptism, she had a ton of family in town. Sister Schellenberg mentioned to her that if they ever want to learn anything, we have missionaries everywhere around the country. On Sunday she came up to us and said she had talked to her aunt in Kouvola and that she was really interested! We got to talk to the Aunt for a few minutes and she is really excited to hear about the gospel. Hooray! 

We also had a ward activity. Where everyone came together and sang old traditional Finnish songs. Really fun. Wouldn't have known what half  of them were about, except the lady beside me was translating for me a bit. There were also a ton a non-members there! The ward is really excited about missionary work, and we've had a few people come and say to us that they have friends they want us to meet! So fun! 

Anyhow, I'll wrap this up. I feel kinda scatter-brained today, so I hope this will suffice for this week! 

Love, Sister Kastendieck!

Snow? Nope. Let's talk about rain.

I just read all of your emails and it sounds like the snow has arrived. Not so much here. Today it is happily pouring rain outside. But, most finns cannot wait for the snow to arrive. Right now it gets dark at about 17:00 (5pm) When snow comes however, it seems like it's lighter longer because the snow reflects the light. But enough about the precipitation here, because it has also continued to rain miracles! (cheesy I know)

But seriously, this week has been fantastic. Not only did Sister Schellenberg find new investigators for our first time, but we also got to meet with some less actives, whom we had had a hard time contacting before, and we also had a Halloween themed district meeting (sorry, no pictures... but I was a pirate). 

Sister Schellenberg and I have really been trying hard to follow counsel, and have a lot of lessons set up for the following week by Sunday. The fun thing is that a fair few of the lessons changed, moved or got cancelled, however the Lord was able to make up the difference. For example  we had arrived at a dinner appointment to find out that the family had completely forgotten we were coming, and the mom and dad weren't even home. Sister Schellenberg and I decided to walk to the grocery store and pick up some chocolate to make cookies for a former we had plans to meet with. In the candy aisle of the store there was a man in a wheelchair, to whom I said 'Hi'. That was all I had really intended to say. But before I knew it we were teaching him, exchanging phone numbers and giving him a Book of Mormon. Say what? It turns out he's really cool. He doesn't have legs due to some medical circulation problem, but is one of the most happy, friendly people I've ever met!

The less active we got to meet was another miracle. We had gone by her house a couple months ago, and she was really grumpy and didn't want to talk to us at all, and would even take the cookies we had made for her (we make cookies a lot). Last weekend it was raining, again, and we had a couple minutes on our hands before the bus left. We decided to try and drop by her again, and she totally let us in! Although, she does not want to ever come to church, she is happy to talk to us. Crazy.

Halloween was fun. We had a Halloween district meeting. Funny story. We were supposed to get up early and play Sähly with the four other elders in my district. But between us missionaries, there's only one key to the church, and they locked us out by accident. So we went home and made pancakes! Truth be told though, they don't really celebrate Halloween here. Not too much. But Saturday was Pyhäin Päivää, which is All Saints Day in english. Finns go to the cemetaries and light candles at all of their dead ancestors' graves. It's supposedly really beautiful. I didn't get to see it, but they also do it at Christmas. Perhaps I can go then. 

Anyhow, I got to go. Have an awesome week. Be happy. Stay Safe. Remember who you are and what you stand for. 

Sister Kastendieck

Rock Bottom: Where the miracles start

Guess what! This last week was amazing! Yup. And this next week is going to be even better. Why was it amazing? Partly because I'm a missionary, partially because things are looking up, a little because Lahti has Elders and mostly because Heavenly Father has been giving Sister Schellenberg and I miracles pretty much daily. 

So, last week when I emailed it was a few days after we had reached rock bottom. I felt like no one wanted to talk to us, none of our investigators were progressing, we were never in our area long enough to actually do something good even though I was trying the best I could. In other words I felt like the wheels were spinning and I wasn't headed anywhere. Really discouraging. And then Saturday came along with the baptism, and afterwards we met a really cool potential, and I felt happy again.

Monday, after emails we had a dinner appointment out of town. Really fun! We got to play "Kuka pelkää musta miesta?", which is just like British Bulldog with the four kids. We missed one bus, but were able to catch the next one. After we got back into Lahti we still needed to do grocery shopping. And so we did. at like 8 o'clock at night. As we were checking out and bagging our groceries we heard this voice behind saying "Hey, it's the sisters!" (it was in english even!). We straighted up and guess who it was? It was our way awesome potential from the Saturday! So cool. We talked with him for a bit, found out he's trying to quit smoking and drinking. Say what? he then told us to text him sometime, as we hadn't yet. Sister Schellenberg and I were both really giddy walking away from that contact. But just think about that for a minute. In order for us to meet him "randomly" that night so many things had to happen. We first of all, were doing groceries at a WAY different time than we normally did, second, miss the first bus back into Lahti, and third forget to pick up cheese so we had to go back, so that he would be right behind us in line. And a few other things! Miracle? I think so.

Wednesday Elders arrived in Lahti! Elder Jeffries and Elder Call! Elder Jeffries is from Virginia, and is pretty much like a perfect model missionary. Elder Call is a greenie, is very loud, American and has an awesome testimony. They were picking up potentials by the bucket load the first day they were here! We are so excited. Elder Jeffries plays guitar, as does the potential that we met those couple times. And Elder Call is way good at basketball, which one of their investigators loves doing. 

We were able to find out why one of our investigators was hestitant to go to baptism. Due to a bit of a language barrier she thought that to be a member of our church you had to wear Sunday dress all the time, you couldn't go to movies, listen to music etc. and she was worried that she couldn't keep all those rules. It was a huge relief because Sister Schellenberg and I had been way confused. We knew she had a testimony of the  Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith, and everything but couldn't figure out what her big concern was. We have a lesson with her this week to outline the commandments a bit better for her.

Also, a missionary got back home from his mission this week. He was serving in Finland, and has actually been in my zone for the past change. We're way excited to have him back in Lahti. First, he can really testify to the Finns that missionary work is really going forward in Finland. Second, guess who's going to be going on a lot of teaches with us now? Perfect member missionary! Hooray! 

 

One other miracle I wanted to mention. Sister Schellenberg and I are terrible at asking for referrals. Mostly we're just terrible at remembering to do it. This week however, we started to get better. And we asked a lot more people than we normally do. Not quite up to the standard of everyone, but most people. And we did not get a single referral. Until last night at 9:30. We got a text from a member that said "Good News! Soittakaa minulle vielä ennen kuin menette nukkumaan!" (Which being translated is Good news! Call me before you go to sleep!)  We called and this member has a friend, who asked if he could come to church next Sunday. We have a meeting with this referral Thursday! A fun note about this member. Half of his family is inactive, and we've never met with them, although we've been trying to get over to his house to do service for the last month. Even though we've never been over, it's my personal belief that he wouldn't have called us if it hadn't been for our efforts to try to help. Just cool to think about.

So before I go I just have one request for all of you. Look for small miracles in your lives! They're there! 

Love you all! 

Rakkaudella

Sister Kastedieck

First Snow!

This was once again, a crazy week! But a great week! 

It involved moving, exchanges, organizing and baptism, change calls and even a bit of missionary work!

I'll get all the suspense out of the way as far as change calls go. Sister Schellenberg and I are both staying in Lahti! Hooray! We are really happy. We just had finally gotten to really know the ward, and were starting to really get into the groove, and we were worried that we would be separated. I am also happy to be able to stay some where longer than three months! Being here for two changes makes Lahti the city I've served in teh longest, and also it's the longest I've stayed with one companion. Lahti is also receiving Elders again! Way exciting! So much is going to be done now. Just wait. This city is going to explode.

A lot of this last week has been involved in moving. Tuesday a whole crew... okay three people, came up from Helsinki to help us move. Two of them were senior missionaries from the office, the third was my former district leader who had served in Lahti. Moving took most of the day. But it was fun. We also had a great lesson with this young daughter of a new convert! This little girl got baptized on Saturday. I'll send you pictures next week!

Wednesday we went to Tampere for district meeting, then to Turku for exchanges! I was really excited to go and see another finnish city! I actually didn't get to see much of it, but I met another new finnish convert who joined the church while she was nannying in the states. She actually reminds me alot of Savannah.

Friday we came back. Saturday was the baptism. The baptism was mostly organized by us, while we were out of town. Okay I lie, it was mostly organized by my companion, because she's great!  Sister schellenberg and I both gave talks... in Finnish... oh dear.
After the baptism we met a really cool potential investigator this week. We had been walking to the centre from the chruch, and decided to go up a path we had never gone down before. While walking there wasn't any one around. And then we saw one man a ways down the path. Sister Schellenberg slowed down, and we started talking about how beautiful the view from the hill was. One we had stopped and taken a picture, the man was really close and so it was really natural and normal to talk to him. He stopped, and said he was one his way to go rehearse some music, but we ended up talking to him for over 20 minutes. He promised to read the Book of Mormon, and said he has a family that prays together! He also said he doesn't really like churches, but we'll work on that. Really promising! Things are looking up!

Sunday, was another great day. Today we got lights in our apartment. One funny thing about Finnish culture is that they really love their light fixtures, and so when they move out of a house they take their lights with them. Sister Schellenberg and I have been suriving on using just the entrance light and stove lights these past few days. Which is okay. But it's great that the office has granted us light fixtures for our bedroom and what not. Now we can see what clothes we're changing into in the morning.

Anyhow, got to go. Love you!

Sisar Kastendieck

Things just got crazy!

I have so far decided that there are two laws that rule the mission universe.

1) No matter what you do, the week before change calls come will be the most insane week of the whole change.

2) You never have enough time to do anything.

So first off. This last week. It was mostly really good. I had a kielikoulu (language school)! Which means I got to see most of my MTC district. Not all of them. Just the ones in my zone. It was really fun though. Even if it took me out of my area for a whole day.

Sister Schellenberg and I have seen a quite a few small miracles of how the people are being prepared. For example, we have made it a goal that at most of our dinner appointments (we receive quite a few every week) we would like to have either one of our investigators present, or for the members to have a friend over with us. I was a bit afraid when we made this goal, thinking that members would be quite reluctant. On Saturday we were invited to a DA and my companion straight up asked the member if she could have a nonmember friend at the dinner with us. Straight way the member replied, "yes! I actually have a friend I've been wanting to introduce more to the gospel. She even came to church a couple years ago to watch me give a talk". 

We've had a lot of good time to do service this last week. We've had two families move into the ward, and it's been really good to get to know them. One of these families is a recent convert from Kouvola, who is friends with  an investigator here. We are really excited to have her here, especially since the new convert and our investigator speak the same mother tongue. And to make it even a bigger miracle, the live in the same building, one floor apart!  The other family, which just moved in, are amazing member missionaries and we are excited to start working with them!

As far as crazy things go. Here's the low down. Last week Sister Schellenberg and I found a new place for the sisters in Lahti to live, since Elders are coming back and moving into our current apartment. We found out this morning that we are to be out of our current apartment, tomorrow morning. I  guess it's a blessing that all of our plans, backup plans, and  backup backup plans fell through, because now we have to pack and deep clean a whole apartment before tomorrow at 9 am. 

In addition to moving this week we are headed to Turku for a day for exchanges, have district meeting Tampere and are trying to put together a baptism for our new convert's (who just moved in) eight year old daughter. We'll see how this works.

Anyhow, I should go. Good luck with the wedding! Onnea! Olekaa Onnellisia! Get along! Play nice!

Love you. 

Sister Kastendieck

p.s. Look! pictures! 

Let's get down to business!

So this last week was ridiculously busy! Again! It never seems to let up so long as your a missionary. Ever! Which is good I guess, always moving forward, always learning more, always attempting to brign people closer to Christ.

As you probably have all heard, I was in Helsinki last week. Helsinki, a great place to visit, I love going there. Don't know if I'd ever want to serve there. I think it would lose some of it's magicalness if I did. Sister Schellenberg and I had the privledge of being trained by the mission president and his wife for three days straight! We did role plays, go talked to, took notes, learned how to shine shoes, wash our faces and spread the gospel. (No joke about the washing faces one... in case you're wondering you're supposed to cleanse twice with soap or cleanser stuff, use toner and then moisturize/sunscreenize (morning and evening). Also... exfoliate twice a week). By the end of the three days, we were pretty pumped to get back to our area and get to work. The fourth day in Helsinki was Sister Schellenberg's 6 week kielikoulu, and the temple was closed. I mostly endend up hanging around the office, while other missionaries got to go on splits and set baptismal dates. sigh. Although, I was able to see Sister Fronk, from the MTC, and email you guys AND say goodbye to my district leader who was transferred down to Helsinki to replace another missionary who went home. We then got to go home.

Friday, we got to have district meeting in Lahti! A rare occurance! We could just bike to the church, and not be on trains for a total of four hours! A real blessing! We had a really good, inspirational meeting in which we were able to talk about setting goals. We set some really good ones and by this time Sister Schellenberg and I were more eager than ever to share the gospel and to get started on our goals!

But, we still couldn't very much! We still had weekly planning AND conference over the weekend. All of which went well. I was only able to watch 2.5 sessions of conference (plus the relief society one). We were even able to bring conference to one of our investigators, who doesn't understand Finnish or English very well. In the end, I got to watch the Saturday afternoon session twice, once in english and in once in portugese. Aika hauskaa! I really love conference though. It really hit me, just how special it is to listen to the words of true apostles and prophets. Who else gets to do that? Well, everyone should! But, how many generations of people have gone without it, and how many there still are who don't have it.

So, now today, it is really time to get down to business. To implement plans, use training and bring people to Christ!

Wishing a hyvää viikkoa kaikille! Rakastan teitä aina!

Sisar Kastendieck

Hooray Helsinki!

Sorry my email is so late this week. I have had a pretty crazy last couple weeks here in Finland.

I guess it all started with my birthday! I turned 22! And we had absolutely no appointments set up for that day, which means we spent the day walking around Lahti, trying to get into contact with some former investigators, and less actives. Out of the eight people we had set up to drop by... only one was home... and she claimed she didn't speak Finnish or English. This is somewhat confusing, because she's been taught by missionaries before. But whatever. We also dropped some flowers and a note by an investigator's house whose had a really busy life lately, and another member's who's had a really hard life lately. It made both of their days! It was great to be of service.

Later that day some sisters from Turku came, to do exchanges with us on the next day. Really fun! Sister Schellenberg ended up going a splits with a missionary from her MTC group. They were amazing together! I think The Lord really blesses the younger missionaries. I had an almost cool story. I was wearing my Canada mittens that day (it was hailing...borderline snowing that day) and  a car pulled over and said she had seen me walking around and wanted to know if I was from Canada. Of course I said yes. Sister Kunz (my companion for exchanges) and I told her what we were doing in Finland. And then... she just wanted to sell me Amway. SO almost cool.

Thursday then was Zone Conference. Fun, but exhausting. 

Friday.... Lots of appointments.

Saturday. We had a baptism!!! But not really. It was the Elders' from Kouvola. BUT the lady that went to baptism is moving back to Lahti in a couple weeks. She started investigating while she lived in Lahti, moved away and is now moving back. So that is great! The ward is really excited.

Sorry I dont have tons of time. I need to head. Love you all have a  great week! 

Sister Kastendieck

No rest for the wicked...or sthe missionaries

Things are going pretty great! This week included 3 or 4 unplanned dinner appointments, giving away flowers, installing a light, moving a couch and culminated in one investigator and two less active members coming to church. Oh and a 10 minute hailstorm.

 

So first, let's talk about the dinner appointments. One thing I've learned as a missionary is that old ladies love the missionaries. They love to have them visit, often because they are lonely. And then they like to have you eat all of the food that is in their house, and won't let you proceed to your next appointment until it's gone. Sister Schellenberg and I had appointments with about three older ladies this week, and they all fed us. A LOT. It's really fun though, to see how much you brighten their day. I guess it also helps when you give them flowers.

 

We also had an apartment inspection this week. It was really fun. And we were tipped off about it about a day before it happened. A senior couple came up from Helsinki and checked it all out. They liked the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling, but noticed we were missing a couple key things. We then went to a kirpistori (second hand store) and bought some things that the apartment didn't have. For example, floor rugs, and a couch (well we had a couch it was just broken). They also gave us a new light fixture for our room (which I installed by myself! I thought you'd be proud dad.. even though it was really easy).

 

As far as missionary work goes, it's been good. Hard as always, and I always am trying to be better, but good. Sister Schellenberg and I have not been very succesful in the finding people to teach department, but we are getting better at talking to people on the street. Hooray!  

 

Sundays are funny days for missionaries. While the rest of the Mormon world gets to use this day as a day of rest, a day for families, a day for spiritual nourishment, the missionaries just keep working. I love going to church and partaking of the sacrament. I really love it, especially when we can ride to church with an investigator and see two of the less actives we've been working with there with us, like we did yesterday. Church goes for three hours, finishes. But, missionary work is not over. Yesterday Sister Schellenberg and I ended up having a planning meeting with some ward leaders, visiting another sister in the ward (no unplanned dinner appointment this time), and then walking home. We still had three hours of studies left (we only get personal study in before church) and also weekly call-ins. On the way home we got stuck in a hail storm, which was fun! And then studied, and made goals. Which is great! I just sometimes wonder how the day of rest applies to missionaries.

 

Over my mission I've really learned to not compare myself to others, and to be content with who I am, while still striving to be better. It's helped to save a lot of stress, but at the same time I want to accelerate more at being an awesome missionary. I know I can't change all at once, but I want to change faster than I have been while not going crazy. Don't really know where to go from here.

 

These next couple weeks will be fun! We have splits this week, with the sisters from Turku. We then have Zone Conference. Then next Monday Sister Shellenberg and I get to travel down to Helsinki for her 6 week interim training! So, my emails might not come until a bit later. And following that it's general conference! Things should be great! Can't wait to learn and become better!

 

Rakastan Teitä!!!!

Sister Kastendieck

Another week, another couple miracles

This week was hard. Mostly because I felt really distracted for a good portion of it. Don't know why. But that's okay. I'm better now! But really and truly, I love my mission. There's been a couple times in my mission when I've looked back and thought, "Wow, the Lord has sure taught me a lot" and then I think "what in the world does he want to teach me next... I still have a bunch of my mission left"... and then I think "and then the rest of my life... and then eternity". So I guess in reality I've probably changed such a tiny amount that it's negotiable. If you look at it with an eternal perspective.

So this week, Sister Schelleberg and I have definitely seen miracles. 

Firstly, we both made it a goal to try to talk to everyone, or at least more people. The first couple weeks here we hardly talked to anyone, as we were worried about getting to appointments on time and what not. We decided to change that last week. So we started to talk to people. And it seemed for the most part like no one really wanted to talk to us, but we kept talking. And then on Friday we were walking home, and it was almost 9 so we we're in a hurry. We walked past a couple and just said "moi" and kept walking. The wife stopped, called us back over and we started a conversation with her. In the end we taught her how to pray and it was a great experience. When we put in our effort the Lord really does make up the difference. That being said, we still have a lot of people we are missing on the street and everywhere. Vähitellen though. Little by little. I really do want it to become 100% natural and normal for me to talk to people. Sometimes I really think that it's almost unnatural that no one talks to each other. We're all brothers and sisters after all! Why do we ignore each other half the time?

Another miracle. One of our investigators was turning into an eternal investigator, when we heard her niece was being taught by the Kouvola elders. The baptism is probably going to be here in Lahti, and so our investigator can now attend, and really feel the spirit. She's been hard to teach because she already does all the things we teach in church, for example, she already fasts, prays, reads scriptures. But we're hoping that through her witnessing this baptism she'll be able to feel the power of the restored gospel. Okay, that last sentence was really cheesy, but seriously she needs to see that priesthood power isn't just something we talk about. It really is necessary!

Sister Schelleberg and I have really been talking a lot about baptism lately, and why we baptize people into our church. We've discussed how we don't baptize to increase our numbers, or to be bigger and more influential. Sister Schellenberg then said, "we baptize because it's God's plan. Not because of our church. But because it's really the only way to happiness". I liked that. The church, and the programs thereof is really a huge toolbox of things for us to endure to the end together. The gospel is what we live to receive happiness. Maybe I don't understand it completely because I'm having a hard time describing it in words, but it's fun to think about.

Anyhow, I think that's all for today. Don't stress out about life. BE happy. Remember who you are and what you stand for! Te olette parhaita! Kirkko on totta! 

Rakkaudella,

Sister Kastendieck

It gets dark at night?!

This probably isn't going to be the longest email. Just a quicky. I changed things up this week and did personal responses first. 

This week was long. I'm having a hard time remembering exactly what happened. Nothing overly exciting I guess. Quite a few of our appointments fell through, but we got to meet with a bunch of the older ladies in the ward. Visiting old ladies is actually one of my favorite things to do on my mission. They are really quite fun to hang around. And sometimes they have surprise tea parties with you, or make you eat a whole huge plate of cookies before you do anything else, or just talk about how they thought they were going to die the a few days ago... but didn't. They all love missionaries though. It's fun. 

One of the challenges of serving Lahti is that all the buildings are locked. I suppose this needs some back up story. In Finland. most people live in kerrostalot, or apartment buildings. In most cities if you live in the Center, you have a locked building that you can get into only with the key, but as you get further out from the center there are more and more buildings that you can just walk into and go tracting. Not so in Lahti. Everything is locked here, so if we find ourselves with free time on our hands we have to go contacting. I think this is a bit of a cruel joke Heavenly Father played on both Sister Schellenberg and I as we are both terrible at contacting people on the street. But it's fun anyway. We meet some really cool people, some of which may or may not be intoxicated. But that's life. Mission life. 

Things are fairly slow here for the moment, but steady. And every week we get a bit better. And every week the hills we have to ride up and down all day get a bit easier. (there's a lot of hills in Lahti... it's killed for the first couple weeks).

Fall is beautiful here! I've never actually seen so many maple trees, and they are gorgeous in the fall! Also, it's weird because it is really dark at nights now. It's almost dark when we get home in the evening. Really weird!

Anyhow, got to go. I'll tell you more about actual missionary work next week. 

The church is true, and so is the gospel! It's fantastic because you can always learn something new from it! 

Love you all,

Rakkuadella,

Sister Kastendieck 

Almost back to normal. Kinda

This week everything is going great! I am now enjoying my time in Lahti, in the elders old apartment, with the best ward!

Okay. So here's the run down of this week. Ready? I can't believe that it was just a week ago that I was in Tampere, and with Sister Holt and her wheelchair and Sister Feher. So much has changed. On Tuesday night we got a call from President Rawlings saying that Sister Holt needed to go home as her leg was not getting better, and she needed further care from home. She had less than 24 hours to pack everything and be in Helsinki to leave with the other departing missionaries. This made things crazy! and sad! I wasn't completely packed yet, and there were five sisters at my house, and we were all trying to help Sister Holt pack. And thank goodness for the Elders. We could never have gotten around or done anything without them. Finland, by the way, has the best elders in the world. Also, we didn't leave before giving her doctor a Book of Mormon though. So that's good.

Early Wednesday morning I got to head to Helsinki, after getting around 4 - 5 hours of sleep, to pick up my trainee!! Scary. But I'll now tell you about her. My new companion is Sister Schellenberg and she is 19. She is from American Fork, Utah and is the oldest of seven kids. She is ridiculously good at speaking Finnish, and I am pretty sure she's training me to do missionary work and not the other way around.

Now for Lahti. This is the first time in about 10 years that Sisters have been in Lahti. It's a university town and we live right in the Centre (or downtown if you will). The apartment is the only apartment in Finland actually owned by the church. It is also the most (quote by President Rawling) "run down apartment in Finland"  and has the smallest bathroom. The church owns it because an old lady that used to live there gave it to the church in her will. Sister Schellenberg and I both love it and think it just needs some TLC. My current District leader actually used to serve here in Lahti... and so he knows all the quirks... actually added most of the quirks to the apartment. i.e. light up shower head, glow in the dark stars on the bedroom ceiling, and knows why we have like 50 cans of pea soup in the pantry (those would be a member donation).

The ward in Lahti is pretty small. Reminds me of Tofield branch, where there are two or three families pretty much in charge of everything, and have always been in charge of everything. They are all really awesome and want to try to help the missionaries as much as possible. The first day in Lahti we had dinner with the bishop and he is really cool. Said that he's available to help teach milloin tahansa (whenever). As for investigators... we haven't met any yet. All of our appointments fell through last week and that kinda was not fun. Instead we went contacting and tracting, and got told that the Book of Mormon would be burned at the coming of Christ along with the Koran (sp?). Fun Fun. But seriously, we also had some really good experiences with people.

This week things should pick up. We have several lessons with less actives and investigators and am so excited to meet them all! Things are going fantastic, even if I am a bit scatterbrained and have really no idea what I am doing.

Anywho, I should go. Wishing you all a marvelous week from Lahti! 

Sisar Kastendieck

Craziest week of my life thus far!

SO last week I believe I left off telling  you that Sister Egan was in the hospital, recovering from appendicitis, and things were falling apart and I was ridiculously stressed. Voi ei! Pretty much that was my whole week.

Later on last P-day we found out that our mission president was sending up another sister missionary from Helsinki to help us out. At first all four of us didn't want  her to come, because we thought it would make things way more hankala (awkward) trying to make sure we all had companions, and having member splits all the time and everything. But  it turned out to be a HUGE blessing. President sent us Sister Feher, a Hungarian sister who only has a few weeks left in the country. She arrived on Tuesday and declared "We are on LOMA!" (loma = vacation). That day she got to see a ton of members and investigators she knew while serving here, and it was great. Stressful, because they were all from my area, and I was thus expected to have a lesson, when I hadn't studied very deeply for the last couple weeks, but good. Sister Holt was a bit upset because she was at the hospital all day with not very much food. Wednesday was zone meeting. Got a parking ticket. bleh. But had a good lesson with a less active where we shared our favorite scriptures. Thursday. Not much happened. Friday was insane! Sister Egan got out of the hospital, Sister Holt had a physio appointment, one pair of sisters had a lesson with an investigator, and our investigator had a baptismal interview... and it all happened at the same time! Pretty much we were all on splits for a few hours that day. I also got to go on member splits with Sister Juottenus... who's husband is the area 70... who also ended up coming to a lesson with a potential investigator. It was really a little bit nerve racking. But really good. We now have a new investigator from Africa. He is really cool and really interested in the church. And then came change calls. But I'll get back to that later. Saturday there was a BAPTISM! Our investigator was so excited! And everything went really smoothly. Smoother than I expected, especially because we didn't have anyone lined up to baptize her until the night before at 10:00 pm, and the program wasn't even fixed until the day of.  Sunday was pretty relaxed. 

So, change calls. Are you ready? So I am headed out of Tampere to the town of Lähti! Not only that. Lähti currently is an Elder city. But not for much longer. I get to kick the Elders out... with a brand new missionary. This is because as of this week nine elders are leaving and only three new ones are coming into the country. So I'm opening a new Sister city, and training. I'm not sure where President Rawlings is finding this trust in me, but it will sure be great to feel and act like a real missionary again. This last week has pretty much killed me. 

Things will soon be back to normal. Whatever normal is. 

But, cool experience today. We got to give a Mormonin Kirja to Sister Holt's doctor. We were waiting for something during this checkup and he asked us "So why are you in Finland?" And we told him. We got to tell him all about the Book of Mormon and where it came from. He was like "why doesn't everyone use it. It sounds cool!" And we told him we didn't know. But we gave him a copy and he said he'd read it. Really cool experience. Hopefully we get to talk to him again. Although, it's a bit doubtful. He said that he hasn't seen anything like Sister Holt's condition in his 20 years of being a doctor and is referring us along. He does want to know what the results are though. What her real diagnosis is and everything. So maybe when we talk to him about that we'll be able to talk to him more about the Book of Mormon. 

Anyhow, I should go. I have a couple pictures from this week for y'all. Including: Sister Egan getting out from the hospital, the baptism (with all the sister missionaries who were in Tampere at that time), and Sister Feher, Sister Holt and myself. Enjoy.

Hyvää vikkoä teille! 

Rakaudella,

Sisar Kastendieck

The Plot Thickens eli The Drama Continues...

I can honestly... and quite sadly, say I really have not felt like a missionary for the past couple weeks. Between Doctors appointments, Physical Therapy, MRIs and now Sister Egan having appendicitis missionary work has gone down the drain. 

Let me explain.

So here in Tampere there are two sets of sisters: Sister Foster and Sister Egan, then Sister Holt and myself. Sister Holt has been suffering with her foot this whole past change (exchange) and so that has been slowing things up. On Saturday I got to go on splits with Sister Foster as there had been next to no missionary work being done in mine and Sister Holt's area of Tampere. It was fantastic! I got to go tracting, contacting, teaching! I even got some doors slammed in my face and it felt pretty okay! No one incredibly interested or anything, but I was doing missionary work! During this time Sister Egan and Sister Holt were at my apartment. Sister Holt's foot was in pain, and Sister Egan was feeling nauseous. The sisters went back to their house, and Sister Holt and I continued into a fairly normal Sunday (although not normal... it was the first Sunday with the wheelchair... so we got mobbed by the ward members asking us about it. At least we know we're loved). Halfway through church we find out Sister Egan is in the hospital, but not much more. Later at home we got a call, saying she had appendicitis and that Sister Foster needed to stay at our place for the night. CRAZY! I don't know what's going on! 

Today has been insane to say the least. I'm quite exhausted and haven't even done any P-day stuff yet. Just spent a lot of time with hospitals, and doctors. Both with Sister Egan and Sister Holt. Sister Foster and I are on splits so that we can email our families and buy groceries. We're going to try to cover both of our areas this week while our companions rest it up. It's going to be intense.

In happier news, one of our investigators is getting baptized this week. That's going to be a highlight. She's this really cute older lady who is ready to jump into the font! Hopefully everything goes smoothly. 

Also happening this week is change calls! Next week there are 12 new sisters coming into the country, and along with like nine elders. I could be a trainer next week. I used to never want to be. But if it means that I can do normal missionary work again I'll be very grateful. I'm starting to run out of patience (although that's usually restored via napping) and I really just want a normal schedule again, where my biggest concern is "how are we going to fill in that two hour gap tomorrow?".

So yes, the craziness continues. Never a dull moment in Tampere. 

Rakastan Teitä!!! 

Sisar Kastendieck

From feet...to crutches...to WHEELCHAIRS!!!!

So things... missionary wise have been really slow. Things Sister-Holt's-Foot wise is really dramatic. Here's what's going on. So her foot wasn't healing, and one of our Senior missionaries was worried that she had this rare nerve damage type thing. Last week we went and saw a specialized doctor. And they were like... "yes she has nerve damage.She has to get an MRI, use these really strong pain meds and start physical therapy asap!". So we started physical therapy... and her physical therapist said she needs a wheelchair. So as of this morning we have a wheelchair. And we get an MRI this Wednesday. And every night, because of her meds she goes all "David After Dentist" like. The worst part is is that they are not telling us everything, so we don't worry. So we're kinda in the dark. But hopefully things turn around soon. That being said... she might have to go home early... which is harmi. 

Now, I said missionary work was really slow, and that's true. However, every time we do get to teach and tell people about the gospel, people are always really open, and nice... and sometimes emotional. And that's when Sister Holt and I have no idea what to do! Crazy! missionary work is always crazy! 

Sorry, I don't have too much time to email today. But, that's pretty much everything that is going on. Hopefully I have a happier email next week! 

Love you all thanks for your support! 

Sister Kastendieck

En tiedä

Rakas Perheeni! 

How are things? I hope summer vacation is going fantastic, and you're soaking up all the sun and enjoying the outdoors... that is what summer is for after all!

This past week has been somewhat uneventful. Sister Holt's ankle for some reason has been in more pain than ever, despite having the car and not walking around. So, we got to stay inside all day a couple times this week. Ei Hauska! But, we have a doctor appointment tomorrow, and a senior missionary (who happens to be a retired doctor) is coming up from Turku to come with us. The most recent theory is that she has damaged some nerves and so they are firing off like crazy. Worse case scenario... she'll need surgery. bleh.

Oh a happier note, we had a zone meeting this past week. I never dreamed I'd be like this, but I love getting together with lots of people. I always thought that while I was on my mission I would just want everyone to go away, and to have more alone time. But now, I really look forward to district meetings, zone meetings, church etc. Anything where lots of people get together. And then I get really sad when it's over. It's weird. I may have also told you all that before. It still is crazy to me though, so you get to hear it again! Anyhow, zone meeting was really great. We have a few missionaries in the zone who are departing in the next couple weeks and we got to hear their testimonies. It is really neat to hear how the mission has gone forward in the last couple years. And it's only going to continue to grow! More and more people are getting interested and wanting to know more, all around Finland. 

Umm... what else. Yesterday for church I was on splits as Sister Holt needed to stay at home to rest her ankle. So I was on splits with a member, who doesn't speak any English. I got to give the whole weekly report to the ward council, in Finnish. Little bit nerve racking. The hardest part was that I was sitting next to a man who was interpreting everything I was saying into English for our High Priest leader (who is 100% American... doesn't know any Finnish). After church I got to join the sisters from Tampere 2 ward, and meet with a member from their ward. It was really fun! 

Also, the Tampere 2nd ward sisters had a mini-missionary for this past week. Mini-missions happen once a year here in Finland. Youth get to go and live with the missionaries for a week and help with the work and whatnot. It's really cool. I wish Sister Holt and I could have had one, but it's probably best we didn't. Their mini-missionary was from Turku, and was so awesome. And way willing to help us all out with our Finnish. I was only with her for a couple hours, but she really helped! Awesome! I've decided I'm going to master this ridiculous language! Somehow. Still have to come up with a plan. I really do want to be fluent though!...I want to talk with everyone, and understand what everyone is saying... instead of zoning out half the time, or only getting part of the message. It would be awesome! 

Yup, I think that's all for this week! So be happy! Remember who y'all are and what you stand for. Keep Smiling! and all that other good stuff! 

Love you all! 

Sisar Rachel Kastendieck

No Niin Perheni!

Dear Family,

By the time I come to email I feel like I cannot remember anything that has happened the past week. I suppose I need to keep a better journal, and then bring that with me when I email. 

Mission are crazy things. I don't know if I've ranted about this before to you guys, but here we go. Missions are crazy. One moment you feel like you've been on the mission forever, and it extends forever, and you're not getting anywhere, and there is just no end. The next moment you're completely happy and you realize, I only have a year left! I have so much to do! I want to be a missionary forever! Missions may help many people become great and awesome, but they really don't seem to be designed for building one's emotional stability. 

So what can I tell you about Tampere? It looks like a postcard... as does everywhere else in Finland. They have an absolutely gorgeous three storey chapel here! And there are two wards that meet here. (it's where I'm emailing from right now). They used to have a Canadian in the 1st ward (the ward I'm serving in), but he moved back home the week I came. Missionary work is a bit slow, at least for us sisters. Sisters were put into the 1st ward just nine weeks before I got to Tampere, and so we're still trying to get a better base, and to know the ward. But the ward is really great!

We now have possession of the Elders/Zone Leaders car due to Sister Holt's ankle. We've used it a bit before, but now President Rawlings has assigned it to us. Apparently he was going to take the car completely away, because he wants missionaries out on the streets, but then sister Holt sprained her ankle. But the Zone Leaders are still a bit bitter. And so am I. I have to drive, as Sister Holt's wallet and everything was stolen a few months ago and she no longer has a drivers license (she really has had the worse luck on her mission!). That and her ankle make it hard to drive. Leaving me to be the chauffeur. bleh!    

I love how fast you can get to know people on a mission. It was weird. During my last Sunday in Oulu I was looking around the chapel and thinking 'wow! I'm really going to miss all these people!' and I had only been there for three months, and yet I knew them all so well. I boiled it down and came up with the key ingredient of SERVICE! Service is great! It brings you closer to people and allows you to love them. It's starting to take effect here in Tampere too! 

Another thing I love about serving in my district, is there are more sisters! Serving alongside Sister Egan and Sister Foster is really amazing! 

Also, this last week I got to go on exchanges with a sister serving in Turku. It was really fun. Not only could we work all day with out having to break, but we also talked to everyone! Well, not literally, but that has been something I have struggled with a lot during my mission time. Around this other sister though, it just seemed so natural and normal. It was great fun. Nothing really resulted from it, but it was a good experience. I want to be better. Aina! 

Anyhow, that is what is going on in the mission right now. Nothing incredibly exciting. But I hope y'all have a fantastic week. Sounds like you have some good stuff planned!

Rakastan teitä! Muistakaa kuka te olette! 

Rakaudella, 

Sisar Kastendieck