First week in Oulu

You say Oulu like oolew.

My new companion Sister Cooper is from Payson, Utah. We get along super great. She is funny and open and we seriously have so much fun together :) The new area is beautiful! When I think of Finland this is what I think about….and all of the trees are losing their leaves and everything now, and it is gorgeous. It truly felt like coming home getting off the train here. And the ward just took us in and ward members have been helping us so very much. I am so blessed to be here and I know this is exactly where I am needed.

We saw the ocean yesterday too, so that was legit. It’s gorgeous! So many ready people here so it’s been a blast. We do not have a car. Only about 3 or 4 sister areas have cars. We ride bikes! I am riding an elder’s bike that he let us borrow and Sister Cooper is riding an old bike that a sister left. We are still trying to figure that one out, but we get around for now. I am getting good at navigating by map though. We have been lost a few times, but luckily there are always people to talk to. It’s awesome cause you can still do missionary work even when you are lost!

You asked how the language is going... and I can say that I do well enough to do work! Sister Nelson and I survived last transfer. J I definitely feel like my capabilities increased a ton in the last two months. I understand most of the time, it just really depends. I am just good at pretending and reading people and getting the gist and then guessing. But hey! We teach in Finnish and it’s fun! So I don’t know if that answered your question, but let me just say that learning the language is still a process. The gift of tongues is real, it’s just not how I pictured it. The great thing is that the Lord helps us to be able to do what we need too. It’s amazing.