"Uutta vuotta" ---What? Is this "Happy New Year"?

Dear Dad,

Ok I am going to try and answer some of your questions right below where they are asked like I do with mom. This way I can remember all of what you asked. lol I forget things so quickly.
I thought it was really quite funny that grandpa didn't have anything backed up on his computer. But that must have been a fun process to pick out which files he needed. So now that grandpa has an ipod, do you think he will use it or will he just have it sit around.... I think you may need to get him some music via jump stick or something so he will use his ipod. Thats probably the reason I didn't use my ipod as much as I would have. It took me so long to get music onto it.

hmm, so Park city must have been quite fun!! I would have loved to go... also we just got like 5 inches of new fluffy powder in Kajaani just yesterday. Too bad we aren't allowed to go skiing on the mission. I did make it back from the Christmas dinner with the Kovanens. It was really nice of them to invite us over, and I have already thanked them quite a bit... but I will try to get you their address or email address so you can thank them yourselves.

That new years eve party sounds like it will be a really fun thing! I'm sure Jason will like having his friends over in that new bonus room. I remember how nice it was to have a place for my friends to go so we could do what we wanted without bothering the family. Also, I wanted to thank you for going over our family conversation that we had with Emily...I'm sure she liked that a lot. And also, thanks for trying so hard to get her in on the line even if it was just for 8 or so minutes. It was nice to be able to talk to her. Thanks for being so nice to her for me.

Well, news update really quick.... the rest of the week went fairly ok. After Christmas, we took the next day to deep clean and organize the appartment. We also ended up going to a rest home for handicaped people and singing for a couple of the people there. That was probably our only service that we have done for a couple of weeks actually, so that was nice. This Sunday, we had a neat sacrament meeting. We had our branch president bless his newborn son, as well as our Christmas oriented program thingy. I ended up singing in the makeshift choir "Oh Holy Night" and "I Am a Child of God". Then after that, we went to a little dinner party that we were forced into going to...and then the rest is boring...

And ...now here I am. So I want to wish you a "Uutta vuotta" and an awesome party. Have a good week and tell Jason to have fun. (Carol, I tried to look up these words, but I'm not sure if Trevor used them correctly...translation please!)

Terveisin,
Trevor

The Christmas Phone Call

Mission Zone Conference, Christmas 2009 --Trevor is 5th from the right

As instructed, we called Vanhin Christensen at 8:00 a.m. Christmas morning. It was very hard for me (Linda) to not get all choked up when I heard Trevor's voice. It's an emotional thing for a "mom". Trevor was at a member's home about an hour away from Kajaani. Apparently, Kajaani (pronounced Kiani) is a town much like Preston, ID. It has a small city center with stores with farm land surrounding it. There are outlying towns around Kajaani and some of the members live from 1-2 hours away. Sometimes, Trevor and his companion travel by bus or train to these areas to do tracting. So if they find investigators, they may not get back in that area again for a few weeks since it costs them about $150.00 (US$) to travel to these outlying towns. Sometimes the members will come into town and pick the missionaries up and take them out to tract. Wow! that would be like traveling to Provo and back for the day.

Most of the members in Kajaani are older widowed or single women. So Trevor and his companion visit them on their bikes. Also, the most recent investigator was a young man from Beijing, China. He is attending school in Finland and was very interested in the "peace" the gospel brings to his life. Since he didn't even understand about Christianity, Trevor and Elder Henderson had to begin their discussions at a very basic level....in English. So far, it seems that it is truly a world-wide church since they have taught Finnish, Chinese, Swahili, Cambodian, and Croatian investigators.

On Christmas morning, Trevor and Elder Henderson went to the members' homes in Kajaani and sang a Christmas carol to each of them. The dad of the family they visited for Christmas dinner drove to Kajaani to do his home teaching (they live an hour away from Kajaani) and then picked up the missionaries (Trevor and Kurt) to join the family back at their home. The father and son both served missions in England. Most people don't really speak English in Kajaani, but this family does because of their mission experiences. We are so grateful for good members watching over our missionaries.

Right now, there is about 30 minutes of daylight. On December 21 (Winter Solstice) the sun never came up and it was completely dark for the entire day. Trevor is approximately 30 kilometers from the Arctic circle. He hasn't seen any Northern Lights yet, but the temperature was -20F on Christmas Day. He said it wasn't that cold riding his bike, but he was using his skiing clothes and gloves. (Smart boy) Trevor said the food in Finland is pretty bland...not as spicey as American food. The chocolate is very good however, and he put on some weight indulging in treats when he first arrived in Finland. (Smarter still...)

Trevor told us to say "hi" to all our family members. We actually had Helen & Glayd and Janice & Gary listen in on 3-way calls so Trevor was able to talk to them as well. We even had Emily (Trevor's special friend) join in on our call so they could visit. One hour was not long enough to really get all the visiting we wanted with Trevor. But, we are grateful that he is doing well and learning the language. He is truly being blessed by our Heavenly Father and he is happy doing the work and sharing the gospel.

Merry Christmas -- "Iloinen Joulu"

Zone Conference December 2009-Having a Little Fun!


(email received on Dec. 21, 2009)
Dear Family,

You can call me on Christmas Day at 5-6 pm (Finland time) which is 8-9 am your time. I will be expecting you at 5 pm to 6 pm --we only get like an hour of calling time. I put a gap in between my hour and Elder Henderson's time so if something happens we can still get in contact. I will call you if you don't call in the first 15 minutes. Um yeah, I will be at a members house so I can give you on the land line when you call me. ..that way its cheaper. They may not have a land line though. I'm not sure.


T (our investigator) is not doing so hot with our discussions right now. She just recently got sick and her boyfriend just had to get surgery. She canceled the baptismal date. But, she still loves the BOM and we are trying to keep her reading. She is telling us it is getting harder to read it. lol . ...go figure. But we are trying to get her to set another date to be baptized. Our other investigators are not doing much right now.

I have CDs that I am putting pictures on. We have a photo shop her in Kajaani, but its a little expensive. Your Christmas package just got returned because I put an areosol can in it. But I'm sending it out again soon... maybe today. Sorry, I will try to send some photos to you soon.
I may get transfered right after Christmas, but I'm not sure.

I just got your Christmas packages last Friday at zone conference. The mission office didn't call me when the package arrived so I didn't know they were there yet. I will look for your other package, and I'll eventually get it so don't worry about it. The posti store told me that things would be about a week late because so much mail is coming through around Christmas time.

Rakastan teitä kaikki. pysykää terveisia ja lämmin. (I love you all. Stay healthy and warm.)

Trevor

The Book of Mormon and the "Spirit"

Dear Mother,
Well, this week has been quite busy...lots of investigator stuff to do. We have an investigator that is quite interested. Her name is T and she has been looking for the right church for some time, and she also told us she has had a spiritual experience after meeting us the first time. Here is the story. So we taught her at her door tracting, for maybe 15 min. Then she told us to away, and we did. She told us that after she shut the door, the Spirit hit her and she felt really bad that she told us to go away and she almost went to go get us back. But she didn't. Then later the next week, Elder Henderson contacted her with another missionary on splits and ended up giving her a BOM and asked her to call us back in a week. She did call and she had read about 100 pages already. She really likes the BOM, and we have taught her twice (2 discussions) and she has come to church to see if it is the correct church. That's about it so far. We have a teach this coming Tuesday with her and we hope we can commit her to baptism. We have some other investigators, but that's probably the most exciting one.

Oh nooo... I didn't think that the tape would go through a machine thingy in the mail. I will try to make another one. but that last one took me a couple of weeks. so it may be a little bit... maybe a New Years gift. Thanks for all your prayers and lovely imaginary gifts...lol. I really appreciate your support and love while I am up here in the North. Btw, how are things coming at home. I forgot the number that you need to call me at for Christmas... that and I don't know when my call time is allowed. But I am going to send it to you in a letter and also in a email next week. That way you can know how to call me. Rakastan teitä kaikki ja toivotan että te olette onnellisia tätä joulua.

Rakaudella,
Vanhin Christensen

PS I'm sending the Christmas gifts off today!!!!! Hope you all like them. Trevor.

Website for St. Lucia Day...a Scandinavian Christmas celebration...very interesting to see inside their church and see the program.
http://svtplay.se/t/123386/luciafirande_i_svt

"Anteeksi" --- Sorry

Dear Family,

Ok, I'm not spending a lot on christmas gifts. But, I wanted to get you all something from Finland if I could. It will take me a little bit of time to make some videos. I will try and send those to you all next week, and they should get there just before Christmas. I am going to be able to call sometime on Christmas Day. We don't know when quite yet though --anteeksi. Also, the calling card will work and you can plan on calling me, not me to you. So, I think you will have to call our cell phone, and you will have about an hour. And if I am at a member's house, I can probably give you the number to their landline. Not all people have landlines here in Finland, though. Everyone here has a cell phone. I will email you either next week or the following week with more information.

I will try to ask about the pen pals for the Young Women. But I am not so sure the girl will know that good of english to write letters back and forth. I'll have to check with the family. The girl here in the ward hasn't been in church lately. She has been sick for a couple of weeks---anteeksi.

Our work with the P's has slowed down. We're not sure they are really interested in moving forward. I will try to see if they would care to email Carol Armstrong. (Carol is from Finland and has ancestors that may be related to them) They have told us they are quite busy with school and work, but we will see. The Swahili and Cambodian families ...we haven't been able to get ahold of this week. We got another investigator this week. He is a single father about age 23, I think. He is quite interested at the moment, and he has been reading the BOM quite a bit. I think that he is our best investigator so far. Also, we finally got a Croatian translator at church this last Sunday. The translator helped us talk to this old Croatian lady who has just showed up at church the past couple of weeks. It turns out she has a lot of family problems and is financially unstable, so she decided to come to church and ask for help. We met her son and his family and found out about them and had them come to sacrament meeting. However, the mother and the family aren't on good terms, so its a little up in the air how things will turn out. Hopefully, we can teach the grandma and the family and help them out that way. Also, the father and mother of the family have a drinking and smoking problem. It is so bad its causing them to not have enough money to help the grandmother. Well, thats about it for our investigators.

I haven't gotten to go to the temple here in Finland just yet, but maybe if i get moved into the Helsinki area, I might be able to go on a change day. My companion went a couple of weeks ago when I was in the language classes in Helsinki. Umm, my new bike is good. It is a little hard to stop, but it rides well. Your package has not arrived just yet at the mission home, but it should.
Thank you for trying to support me more by going to the temple and especially your prayers. I am feeling just fine about the mission. Mostly, I'm doing great. It is a little depressing at times when I can't talk so well to people on the street. Mainly my frustration comes because they want the information right then and its really fast talking and communicating. I haven't quite gotten down the speed with the language. I always have to pause and say, "anteeksi" and try to think of the word I want to use or don't remember. But if I am with the members, I can comunicate just about what I need to or want to say. However, my chit chat still lacks quality and speed. Luckily, I have a knowledgeable trainer who knows when to bail me out....Elder Henderson!! lol

well g2g thanks --- "kiitos" (bye)...
hugs, Trevor

P.S. Yup, I have a picture of Thanksgiving dinner with Elder Henderson and I. We got the table cloth and table decorations. The dinner from Sister Henderson was great.

Finnish, Swahili & Kieli Koulu School

Train Ride to Helsinki for Kieli Koulu School

Dear Family,

Well, this week has been interesting. I've gone to Kieli Koulu Language School. It's a thing where we travel to Helsinki and work on our language stuff and how to study better. Also, we had district meeting this week in Oulu. So this week has been nothing but train rides everywhere.
Your package arrived the day I traveled back from Helsinki. So I missed it by a couple of hours. So, now I have to wait till zone conference which isn't really that far away. Plus, its a good thing I didn't get it. I would have opened it before Christmas. So it makes me wait. I'll look for your other package in the mail this week. Thank you. I will be here in Kajaani through Christmas. There is a chance I may be leaving just before New Years Day....possibly the Tuesday or Wednesday before, so don't send anything too late.
Lessons have been scarce, as in none. But since we have been traveling so much, we didn't really have a full week. We have two investigators, the P's and an African family. We found the African family by tracting. We ended up getting a Swahili Book of Mormon for them. We will see how interested they are as time goes on.
I have a letter written for you. I just need to get it sent off before it gets too late today. I'm also going shopping today for Christmas gifts, but you may need to tell me if you want something in particular. I'm trying to send them off next week on monday, so that they get there on time. I've already picked out something for Jason though. I have no idea what to get Dad.....uh, tools don't ship very well...lol... well, love you all.
Trev
PS I am sending a tape this week as well ....it will be coming soon.

No "Turkey Day" for Me

Thanksgiving Dinner at our apartment

Dear Family,
Our week has been a little busy but good for the most part. I haven’t found a new winter coat yet. I’m waiting for the Christmas sales, and plus, everything in Kajaani is melting. So, it’s not cold here. Well, I still wear a jacket. It’s pretty much about 2 degrees Celsius. The sun comes up around 10 am and goes back down about 3 pm. Our days are pretty much the same every day. We study, do chores and go tracting. Yesterday, we went to a member’s house and had dinner. It was sort of like home, except I couldn't actually relax too much. There is one family that we know well enough. They are a family which has investigated for years. They have two daughters and a dog. They are quite kind and like to have us over. They don't either want to know or haven't tried to find out about the Book of Mormon. We are trying to work with them again. It is very funny here. Little kids come to the door undressed. I’m not sure why. This week, I tried to communicate in Finnish and I said “this way” instead of "on the back". It is very hard to get all the words in the correct form. Ok, so I can understand and talk with people for the most part. It just takes me some time. lol..

So, I could use some recipes from you and Arica. Something simple and easy to make would be nice. And I’d prefer something less fattening. I am trying to keep my weight down. We are being fed too much by the members. They always tell us to be a friend and take more.... guilt trip. Thanks for the recipes when they come and I will write a real letter to you. It will take too long here on email. My companion, Elder Henderson, and I are getting along great. We are really trying to work smarter and enjoy this city and the people. It is helpful for me as I’m trying to get used to the language and the mission.

Anyway, say “hi” to Laurie and the family for Thanksgiving.

Love, Trevor

Santa Land at the Arctic Circle

Bro and Sister Call, a missionary couple, took all of the missionaries in the Finland Northern Area to visit Santa. They gave Santa a Book of Mormon as a district group. Here is the link for a video of Trevor's group at Santa Land and also links to Finnish Lapland.

http://s879.photobucket.com/albums/ab359/diannecall/?action=view&current=41-005.flv

http://www.santaclausvillage.info/eng/video.htm

http://www.santatelevision.com/lapland/index.html

Dear Family,

Hey, next week we will be on the computers for email at 11:30 am our time. So like 9 hours back for you…um, like 2:30 am your time. We have the computers reserved this time, so I should be there. I don’t know if emails are delayed. I guess we will find out. I don't expect you to get up in the middle of the night just to chat a little…but thanks for trying...

Sorry Mom, I didn't get the package from you yet. But, I’m sure it will arrive this week. Um yeah, I'm back in Kajaani, and it’s about the same--just whiter. The snow is here to stay. Last week in Oulu was nice because we had a car. Not that I drove. The other drivers were really slow. They don’t drive very fast here…not like me or dad. Elder Smith was nice and pretty easy going. He really loved his food and likes to cook. I am gaining weight like crazy. I am now 160 lbs and am trying to eat less so I can lose some of it. Yikes, I’m a fatty. I also gave a prayer in the Oulu ward and we got some service opportunities last week in Oulu. Elder Smith and I chopped wood for a while and moved some clay shingles for a member. We also raked leaves again just before it snowed.

We have about 6 good hours of daylight, but we are usually inside during that time. It’s lighter in the mornings, but we are studying during that time. It is usually overcast most of the time as well. I have not found a new coat, but I am doing great with what I have and I don't really need a coat just yet. So you don't need to send me a coat. I’m not using the blue coat…it just sits in my closet resting. lol. We don't have a CD player, just my Ipod player for music. No one here in our ward plays the violin and Elder Henderson does play 4 songs on the piano for church.. yup, we’re pretty good here on the music department. Um, I am working on a tape for you all and what not. So it should be coming in a week or so. Well, hei hei. Rakastan sinua, Trev

PS… For Christmas packages, don't send any candy...just letters, some tapes and pictures.

Finnish Missionaries...Trevor is in the grey suit on the left.

A "Vaihtaa" -- of Time and Location

A park in Oulu

Dear Family,
Sorry about changing times for emails. I just figured out today that we can reserve a computer a week in advance. I am going to try to get a more concrete time each week so you will know when I’ll be on line. (Today, it was at 2:30 am Utah time. Last week, it was 5:30 am) Thanks, Dad, for your insight about not being so stressed out about hitting the payment all the time. However, we are working very hard to find people that we can teach. The people we meet will either agree to look at the Book of Mormon for a little bit before they agree to let us teach them, or they say they are good with where they are in their lives right now….Which really means “No thanks.” We’re trying not to too feel bad when we don’t fine anyone that is interested.

Trevor, Vanhin Smith, Vanhin Henderson

This week, I’m in Oulu. My companion, Elder Henderson, is working with the district leader and getting additional training this week. So, I’m working with the district leader’s companion, Elder Smith. Elder Smith has been in Finland for about 4 months and is pretty easy going and fun to be around. Since it is P-day, he is taking me on a tour of Ollu. I will be sure to take pictures and send them. We are using a car in Oulu. It is a lot warmer than our bikes in Kajaani and much faster. Lol We are teaching 3 people here and one has a baptismal pending date. He is still trying to give up coffee. The other two people are not as interested, but hopefully they will be touched by the Spirit. Zone Conference was very interesting and good to see the “MTC 8”. It was nice to see familiar faces. I liked it because I didn't have to worry about what was going to happen next. It was a good time to sit down and rest a little and recharge my Spirit and testimony. It was nice to get ideas and talk with the other missionaries, ya know. Also, we got instruction on things that we need to improve upon in our proselyting.

So here is my advice to the Priest Quorum at home: Get ready for a mission by reading and studying the Book of Mormon every day for a couple of minutes. Get to know where things are in the Book of Mormon and Bible. Also, start talking to people where ever you have a chance, especially adults. It doesn't have to be gospel related just yet, but just get used to talking to people. This will help you if you ever decide to serve a mission, because that is what you do all day. Oh, and start keeping your room clean at home. It will solidify a good habit on the mission for your companion and for when you get home and get married. Serious. Well. I'm all out of common non-language related ideas. Study, pray, go to church, and keep your room clean, follow the spirit….that’s about it. Good luck and have fun!
Love, Trev
Check out Oulu, Finland http://www.oulutourism.fi/en/etusivu.aspx

Pyhä Päivää -- "Holy Day" or Halloween

Dear Family,

Yeah, I got the package today! It's the 2nd of Nov. yay!
Let's see, this past week was interesting. We ran around all week and got 4 new investigators or was it 6. Anyways, we dropped all of them but 1. And we will probably him too by the end of this week. It's like there is no one here who really wants to hear anything about religion at all. We've been told by all of the people who speak English that no one talks about religion. Yup, lots of slammed doors. But besides that this week has been going great.

Also, their Halloween is called Pyhä Päivää or holy day.... its a time when they respect the dead by lighting candles in the grave yards. I took some pictures for you. Also, I got some extra SD cards to send home with videos and recordings and I will probably send home a tape too. um... also, they have this kekripuki or goat that they make in the start of fall...dunno when. Then on Halloween, they light it on fire. It's sort of like celebrating the begining of winter. We didn't get to see the goat lite on fire. We had to go across town for more tracking. But, we didn't find anyone at home. They were all at the festival. But, I have a picture of it before they lit it up.

Also, zone conference is this weekend, so I will be traveling a bit. Yesterday, there was ice everywhere. Our bikes were a little hazordous. lol. My companion, Elder Henderson just about died 6 times. (Maybe these two should invest in studded bike tires...would they work on ice?)Well, yeah I think thats everything. By the way, the tape is good and I am enjoying it thouroughly. Thank you. I haven't gotten to read the letter just yet. But, will see if I can't write someing back before the end of today, via posti. Ok, I'm going to go check to see if you sent anything again. You said you were up at like 10 30 am, my time lol (BYW: I was up at 3:30 am Utah time--got to love those "night feedings"---I have to go to bed at 9:00 on Sunday..Linda)

Love Trevor



From Elder Henderson:

Dear Family, Thank you for the package and all of the good stuff. This week has been awesome. We were able to teach 8 times this week, meaning open, closing prayer, commitments. That is a teach. We taught one that is about 20 and he was taught before 2 years ago. We were pretty straight with him. He wants to talk about church, then hang out. I want to tell you what Finland nights are like. So, about 8'clock we have to stop tracting because it is the law. So picture us on a a 1932 Jupiter bike, toes frozen, chin numb, big grins on our faces, blue lightning helmet, leather gloves, fly jacket, conjugating a sentence, and peddling crazy in the muddy black streets through the forest from the neighborhood. The air smells like wood burning stoves and sometimes cooking; the smells at night are so good! Usually we buy some Kinder Chokolata, that is German. I usually buy a small chocolate stick on Mondays to split with my companion to give us a little boost to dominate the streets. We pull into the small city center that has about one street that goes right down the middle, park our Harley's (bikes) and talk to as many people who are sober and talkable.There was one lady that let us come back and teach her and she was sweet; she is an older lady who wears white gloves and is so happy. Her husband left her when she was young and then her son committed suicide. She fed us hot soup from meat that her neighbor shot and then we had to teach very tactful. She was happy to allow us to share our belief in God and we testified of Christ and the love God has for us. She didn't accept the message but I felt such a love for her. Sirppa was her name. Elder Christensen and I are eating well and working very hard. We have Zone Conference this week on Wednesday. Love, Äldste Henderson

News from Vanhin Henderson

This is part of Trevor's companion's letter:

Dear Family,

We have been working smarter and smarter this past week. Slowing down is one of the hardest, very most humbling experiences. I want to go go go and just go, but that is not how the Lord works. Our language study is interesting because there are so many words with patterns and conjugations and rules. Finnish words can mean many different things and it depends on how we use them that determines the definitions. Just as in life, how we decide to live and learn determines largely the happiness that will come to pass in the future and coming days.

We are working hard on doing things at a wiser pace and more sound. I have to tell you about this old lady that is in our ward. She is 87 and the first member in Kajaani. I love to just sit by her and talk to her because she just loves it. She can't hear or see well so I speak very slow and clearly. She is a pearl. My companion is doing well, I love him! He is working hard to get fundamentals down and building a foundation of teaching. Kajaani is getting freezing, I must say I don't remember Finland being this cold when I was here last winter. You just have to laugh and peddle faster. I thank you all for the prayers and faith. I hope to accomplish what I am here to accomplish. I hope to stand back and see the Lord's hand at work.
Rakkaudella, Love, Vanhin Henderson

"Lyhyt Kirjain" -- Short Letter

Hi Family,
This week we taught 3 discussions to people that were already taking them. But, we found one new investigator. This is a small branch and an area that is kind of new. I’ve been on splits once. It was nice to meet more Elders and get to know them. Our mission conferences are every 6 weeks. If the missionaries are assigned to the northern areas, we only go to the mission home when we have our conferences. Any letters or packages sent to me there will have to wait until we meet at the six week mark. Or I can pay to have them forwarded to my apartment. It’s better to just send everything straight to me in Kajaani. Well, we finally visited the Kajaani Castle that you asked about. I took some pictures and will be sending them to you. We also visited an old cemetery, but we didn’t take any pictures, sorry. It’s cold here and, no, I haven’t purchased a new coat yet. I have two jackets to wear already and that’s almost as good as a full shell coat, ya know. We are planning to go shopping today and there are some sales going on right now. So, don’t buy anything for me. I’ll let you know if I can’t find something and then you can send it to me. I’m sending a letter, but it will take a week to get there.

Love, Trevor

Kajaani Castle

Kajaani, Finland -- Week 2

Hi Family,

My companion’s name is Elder Henderson. We will have transfers every 6 weeks. So since I’ve been here for two weeks, I have a month left before transfers come for us. It’s quite safe to mail anything here. It’s a lot like Logan, so send anything you want to send. We are riding bikes now.


I just bought a bike this past week. We haven’t had much time to go site seeing. I haven’t been to the “castle”. There doesn’t seem to be much opportunity to really do service projects for people here. So we are mostly tracking and trying to find people who will let us teach them a discussion. There are only 22 members in our branch. Last Sunday, my companion and I did the whole sacrament meeting. We lead the music, my companion gave a talk, we did the special musical number and said the closing prayer. I met all the members the first week. It was a little overwhelming to meet them all at once and try to memorize all their names. I didn’t really understand what everyone was saying but they are very nice to the missionaries. Most people we met are nice, but they usually tell us they aren’t interested and just walk away. We taught one discussion this week to an older lady. She finally told us not to come back and that she didn’t believe the things we were teaching her. I guess she was just lonely and wanted some company. There are about 55,000 people here in our town. Logan feels a lot bigger than Kajaani. I haven’t tried any weird food. The food is very bland. They don’t have very spicy food and we aren’t eating tons of fish like we thought they would. They do celebrate Halloween here in Finland, but we aren’t supposed to participate. I’m not quite sure what it will be like. Some people try to speak English to us, but most everyone speaks Finnish. If we were in Helsinki, there would be more people who use English. Its humid here sometimes in the summer, but right now it isn’t. I didn't notice any stink coming from the paper mill factory. The fall leaves were gone when I got here, so I missed the fall season. Sorry. I would have sent a picture of those to the family. Well, I’ve written some letters. They should take about a week to get there. Thanks for everything you do for me.

I miss everyone…give Baby Kate a hug and kiss from me. Trevor

"Tervetuloa" -- "Welcome" to Finland

Dear Family,

I am in Kaijani. It is a little town up in the middleish northish of Finland. It's cold here and it's a really small town. The branch here is like 15 members, I think... maybe less. I don't understand anything being said in Finnish. I get every 6th word maybe if they talk about the gospel. It sucks. I can't understand what anyone says because they talk so fast. I survived the jetlag with no problems. It is already pretty cold here. I haven't found a coat yet, but I will try to do so today on my P-Day. We usually have an hour if we are lucky for email time, but today its only 30 min again. We email from the library. I'm still trying to figure out how to get picture attachments. I'll try again next week. Not sure if we can.

"Tervetuloa" means welcome in Finnish. It's on a lot of the doors here so I picked up at least one word here. Umm, yeah so my companion is a little crazy or "kulu". He is just up and at em all day long. He is always smiling and super happy at the smallest of things. He keeps quoting scriptures, and that is a good thing. I am getting a lot of help with the language. I hope I can survive the next 6 weeks with trying to understand and learn Finnish.

My apartment is actually pretty nice...its quite roomy, I think. It has a bedroom, hallway, kitchen and bathroom and a familiy room all separate. Oh ....and a washing machine room. We have wood floors too.....even though I think they are fake. Well, I need to go. bye...

Trevor

PS...I'm trying to send a letter, you should tell me when you get it. Oh, its 1:30 pm my time and 4:00 am yours.

Up, Up and Away-- "Ylös, Ylös ja Poissa"

Hi Everyone,

Well, we received a phone call from Trevor. He was at the Denver Airport and was assigned to be the group leader....not to worry, everyone seemed to know what to do without much guidence from Trevor. A group of 8 would be hard to miss. Trevor said a member of the church offered to buy him and his companion lunch at the Salt Lake Airport...it was very much appreciated by the two boys. Also, some members talked to their group in Denver to find out where they were going on their mission. Wow, thanks to the members for keeping an eye out for our missionaries. It's great that we have such a "big family" out there to watch out for each other in this world. Now, it's our turn to watch out for those missionaries in our midst....I need to be better about emailing or sending info back to moms of missionaries here in Logan. I hope the members in Finland will keep in touch with us regarding Trevor.

We are anxiously waiting for news of his "safe arrival" in Finland. We expected a call from Trevor while he had a 7 hour layover in Frankfort, Germany. But, alas, no call came...We aren't sure if the calling card didn't work or if the jet lag got the best of the missionary. We will update the blog site with new mailing addresses and info when we receive more news.

Thanks for all your support. Trevor loves to hear from all of you!

The Christensens

Email Update--- 9/24/09

Mom,

Actually, I'm feeling a little bit better today, but I would like to hear some funny stories from all of you. I really enjoy hearing funny things like Dad taking too many pictures. lol He really outdoes himself sometimes. Tell him to chillaxs from me.

Again, I really just love letters, I could go without eating for days if I only got letters instead. Go figure,...well I didn't really take time to eat at home anyways so thats no surprise. well, I'd better re-log on to see if you are on email. Bye

Questions on Email for Trevor:

Still sick? No, I am better thank you

Need new shirts? Ties?
I am good on shirts and ties. Although my middle strand has broken on a number of them. So I sewed them all up... no worries

Buy a Winter coat for Finland here? What did other guys do in your district?
um, they all have done different things. But I don't know what I should do with my coat being so bright.

Did you take your black sweater?
yes. I have it and am taking it with me. I think I have a couple.

Need anything besides letters? Lol
Nope. Well some encouragement. I have been having a hard time this past week. ..feeling pretty down about everything.. I'm usually not one to despair or be down in spirits.

Thanks, Trev

"Aikoa Suomi" -- Going to Finland

Dear Family,

So this past weeks has been about like the others, not a whole lot of change here at the MTC. However, I have been learning quite a bit of Finnish. I am sending you my Finnish book that I won't be using anymore. It's not very good, but I put some stuff in it to help you learn a little more about Finnish. I want to send you a tape of Finnish. The words sound very different than they are written.

My orthodontist appt went well. It was just a re-gluing of my permanent retainer. It shouldn't cost a lot, I would think. If it does, I apologize. I'm sorry for being more of a problem out in the mission field than at home. (The office lady that called for our insurance information informed me (Linda) that Trevor looked very good and was doing great. But, she wouldn't let me talk to him on the phone. Rats!)

I'm supposed to leave a week from Monday! Oh and there are no rules about calling people at the airport. So this Friday when I get my flight plans, I will tell you when I will be calling you. I should have some layovers on the East coast or in Europe as well. I will only be able to email one more time before I leave and I don't know when I will be able to email you from Finland.

The temple was sweet today. I did some sealings as a child & was a witness for several proxy marriages. Um, the sealer made sure we paid attention to what he was saying. (lol) Little did he know, but I really did want to pay attention so I could understand what happened in a sealing session....by the way, you and dad should go do a sealing session again. It was very cool.

I think I may be beginning to be a little homesick...Don't send stuff though. I really just want letters from everyone! I would really like a tape recorder so I can hear everyone's voices.

Bye, Trevor

P.S. Tell Jason "good luck" in golf this week.

"Puilitiessa" -- Midway through the MTC

Dear Family,

Last week, there wasn't really anything new or exciting to tell you. Sorry if I didn't make everything super long. I still only have like 30 min to email. I have not recieved my passport back yet. It may have come, but the office won't let us know when it comes until like the last week we are supposed to be here. They don't want us to have them so we don't lose them which is good for most elders. But, I am being really organized and haven't lost mine yet. Oh well, I 'll keep you updated and tell you the first second I find out where it is.

I don't want any food items, but thank you. I am still trying to keep my weight down. I am doing a lot of excercises at night except the last day or two when I was not feeling so well. Just letters is what I would like to get.... also, some news about what is going on in the outside world would be nice. Ya know? We had a fire in the valley I think, but couldn't find out anything. It was quite smoky at the mtc. so I was curious.

Um It isn''t hard to send anything from here. I just have to pay for it myself when I send large items. The rest of my letters and stuff are covered by the mission fund. Wierd. I didn't think it would be so, but it is. The number of missionaries at the MTCgoing to Finland are as follows: 4 left 2 weeks ago, 8 more go with me, and 4 are coming in today. I sent a letter today that explains this in more detail. No, I haven't had to give a talk at the MTC yet in church. If I have to talk, its only a 5 min one. So I should be able to pull it off fairly well. NOT to mention I have written like 5 talks already. I am starting to get better at writing talks. I've seen Andrew just alittle bit. I just sent a cd with all of the pictures I have taken and will send another one before I leave the MTC.

Um, lets see, I have learned all of the cases that I will be using except 2. And I have taught my first lesson in complete Finnish. I can understand a lot more of the language than I can say. I am a little unnerved about speaking it because I can't ever remember what something means in Finnish. I've sort of made some good friends with my companions and with some of the elders in my district. Elder Jones is quite funny and makes me laugh. And my companions are great so far, a little wound tight on the rules though. I guess that comes with being zone leaders though, because we have to remind everyone of those rules. bummer. um... yeah I can't think of anything really. I can communicate a simple lesson in Finnish, but haven't the vocabulary to expound upon the doctrines too well. Yeah, speaking Finnish is hard. I've been doing full days of Finnish Only speaking to try and boost my fluency but I am not so sure its helping that much. And, the Finnish we are being taught is not what they speak. We are learning the writen language. We have to pick up spoken language when we get there , ex. "Mina olen" is i am.... spoken is "oon".

I dont know when I am coming back from my mission. It looks like some time in August actually, but I will take care of it. Thanks for letting me know when schoool starts in Fall 2011.

Love Trevor

"Tunto määr Henki"---Feeling the Spirit

Hey um... I just wrote everything in my letter to you. So I'm going to try and tell you something new, but it may just end up being the same thing. I feel like there really is nothing to tell you because life is always the same here. day after day. I swear its been 3 months already when I am only at 1/3 of the way through the MTC.

Yeah, my spelling has always been terrible. However, Finnish is completely phonetic, so I sometimes catch myself spelling things really weird. So that is why Emily always makes fun of my spelling in letters and such. Last Sunday was nice. I had the opportunity to really feel the spirit in sacrament meeting. But best of all , I listened to a talk on prayer and how our heavenly father wants to hear from us, how he cares about us and the desires of our hearts, especially when they are trodden down or desiring righteous things. I was very grateful to be able to feel the spirit there.

I am doing ok with Finnish, but am having a very hard time getting my vocabulary words to stick. I forget like 30 of my 120 words every day, and I have to spend hours a day trying to come up with mnemonics or some way of remembering them. If you have any suggestions, I would like to hear them. Did you know that there isn't a "sir" or "mame" or "please" in Finnish? Its like you can't offend anyone. Weird.

Off subject... but I wanted you to know that I love you and that you are a great support to me. I can't imagine how hard it is at home without help and you being so busy at work. I hope you can find the time to get all of your stuff done. Also, have a good time in Park City with Dad. I'm sure you will. Its always nice to get away and not have to think about anything. Where in Park City are you going to stay? Are you taking Jason with you? When does Jason start school?

Please pass along my love and well wishes to the rest of the family. Oh yeah, one more thing, keep me updated on small stuff. and I will try to tell you as much as I can.

Love Trevor

The MTC "Seikkailu" (Adventure)

The email saga continues with very few lines of information. I (Linda) was busy at work and didn't get the "I'm here" email....Celeste and Trevor exchanged a few lines, but nothing substantial. However, Emily received a couple of letters with some interesting information we thought would be fun to share. We are still hoping for a letter in the mail this week.

Letter info from Em:

"I spend a lot of time studying Finnish. I have made a goal to learn so many words a day. My goal is to learn 40+ words a day. I have learned how to pray in Finnish and am studying the scriptures. We also study Preach My Gospel." He can "feel the difference at the MTC and is"feeling his calling work upon him through the Spirit." (Thanks to all for your prayers in his behalf.) "It seems impossible to be ready to be a missionary, but if I rely on the Lord, I hope I'm able to do it." He is realizing how important the temple and ordinances are ....and that it is a "gift to feel the Spirit".

They have volunteers or return missionaries that go to the MTC so the missionaries can practice teaching investigators. "We try to teach them as much as we can in Finnish and then switch to English. My companion and I made it about 20 minutes in Finnish! Well, it was terrible in all actuality. We were teaching two return missionaries...it was 20 minutes of "getting to know you" and 25 minutes of lesson in English. We are still plugging away at it. I am struggling to memorize my vocabulary words. I think I'll make some flash cards. So enough, but the TRC's are my favorite part. This last Thursday at TRC, I struggled with the language for a while...like, I thought the guy asked me if I had ridden a horse, but he really asked me if I liked horses. It was fairly similar, but I was like 'yeah! thinking I had understood him'....The teaching part went a little better. We went through the lesson fairly smoothly, but when they ask questions. Oh my gosh, I tried my best to explain the answers. Well, I guess it went better than I thought."

"P-days are interesting. It starts out with personal and companion study. Then we go to breakfast and the temple. We get back for lunch and can email around 1:30 . We have 30 minutes for emailing and then letter writing time. At 3:00, we do laundry and write letters some more...like now, I am writing while I wait for my socks to dry...it takes forever! Then we can do whatever until 6:00 pm when we go to dinner....more study and then bed."

A funny part...."Oh yeah, so today I taught Elder Sharp how to shine his shoes. It was interesting....funny actually. And I have to stop eating food! It's complete buffet. Normally, I wouldn't even eat the size of the meal they give us. I am going to have to eat salad for ALL my meals. And do a lot of sit-ups....maybe some running."

"The MTC has divided the missionaries in wards...around 50 members per ward. We have a speaker, which would be from the presidency or the bishop and a randomly selected missionary. .. that means I might have to speak, so I wrote a talk last week on Diligence. Oh my, worst talk ever...I will continue to work on it in case I'm called on to talk. " After one of the Sunday meetings, Trevor went for a walk around the Provo Temple (with his companion, I assume). Here are some thoughts from Trev: "Today was pretty good. We had a lesson on the Abrahamic covenant and how the prophetic keys have been restored. We heard from the new missionaries and the ones that are leaving on Tuesday. Very uplifting and edifying. Also, Andrew Chen is coming in on Wed! I can't wait."

They have learned how to distinguish a progressing investigator from a non-progressing investigator. "We had a lesson on "how to tell a NP investigator "goodbye". Well, not "goodbye", but "we'll be around" kind of thing. It was an interesting lesson, but oddly enough it made me motivated to work harder. We also learned about taking every opportunity to talk to random people." The missionaries also answer calls from people. He got a person who swore at him or was speaking Spanish. "But it's not too bad. One of the elders talked to a lady for 40 minutes and is calling her back tomorrow. She is ready to hear the gospel and has a Book of Mormon now. Amazing."

Apparently, Trevor is a senior companion. In response to Emily's question about this, he said, "It doesn't really mean anything except that I am obligated to be an example, and I can tell the other two guys what to do if there is a dispute. Mainly, I don't have to tell them what to do...they are both good studiers." Trevor is studying Isaiah as part of his scripture study. "My personal study time is, for the most part, in a classroom rather than outside. Sad! Maybe, I could ask to go outside to study..."

We can feel the change starting to take place in Trevor...living each day as a "Sunday" is uplifting to your spirit. "Ok, I got back from the devotional meeting tonight. It was amazing. It was focusing on Charity and focusing on others. I had such a strong witness that I need to do this, but not just on my mission. I mean, it's so easy to give of yourself when you are here but I had the Spirit testify to me how important Charity is....to change my outlook towards others....I also found out better how the Spirit communicates with me. Absolutely a blessing."

If we all could remember Charity in our daily lives, how blessed the world would be! Today, I think this is the blessing of having a missionary...being reminded to be a better person and feeling the Spirit testify of truth through their testimony of the doctrine and having our own hearts grow with charity. Our prayer is that you will be blessed each minute of every day!

Email? Just Write Me A Letter

Well, it seems email isn't working for us these last two weeks. But, Trevor is doing well in the letter writing efforts. Most of our information came in two letters. So I just combined the emails and letters into this posting. Nathan laughed at me when I tried to pronounce Trevor's Finnish words. Jason said he would have been happy to stay home from the Teton hike and send Trevor in his place (it was an endurance hike...not as much fun as expected). And Nathan wants to go to a session at the Provo Temple on Wednesday at 10:00 am.....yes, we miss Trevor, but are happy he is serving the Lord as a missionary. Thanks for supporting him...so, read on!

"Lähteä Kolme Vikko"-- Beginning Week Three

Hey Everyone,

Hi, its 2 40. Sorry, power went out for an hour. I'm sorry to inform you that the power has been going on and off all over the MTC on P-Day. So, I haven't really been able to email you. I sent the first "I'm on" and lost power again. Maybe later tonight we can try again.

I found a building with power by the way. Its in the laundry room. So my other time for email is like 4 or 4 30 depending. Yeah, I'll try to shoot for 1 30 or 2 next time. ok ? sorry. I missed it but we didn't have power anyway.

Thanks for the packages. The peanut butter and honey have helped because I am still having trouble adjusting to the food here. But I think I'm set on food here for the next week. I'll let you know when I need more. I haven't been eating as much, but still have been feeling like I have gorged myself. I think it is because I don't do any physical work here like at home.

Finnish is coming along...well, here's a little to show you. "Minā rakastan tiedat" means "I love you all". I have loved the firesides here and am doing great. I can't get pictures by email. So you will have to mail any pictures. If I can go to the blog page, maybe I can see them there. Here is an interesting fact: the Bible (well, Finnish Bible) had to be bought from the Luteran Church and they still have the printing rights.

Tell Jason that it is way cool that he made the LHS golf team. I am also jealous that he and dad got to go hiking in the Tetons. Way Cool. Wish I was there. Also, I got the letter from your Sunday School class, Mom. It was very nice and I think I'll put the drawing up on my wall here at the MTC. If you want to study with me, Mom, instead of picking a time to study, let's study Isaiah. I have already started a couple of chapters. So I'm at Chapter 9.

I think it's cool that Celeste is working already. Sounds like Kate is doing well and growing fast. Bear Lake and boating sounded like a blast. Good luck with work and since you asked, my favorite food yesterday was cereal because it doesn't make me sick. I love to get DearElder.com letters...and questions. Also, we leave the MTC at 9:20 am to go to the temple. If Devin wanted to do a 10:00 am temple session, we are usually there on Wednesdays. Don't go out of your way if it's not convenient, Dev. We went today to the temple. I love going there.

Tell Arica I'm sorry she is sick. But, its awesome that she is expecting. Tell her congrats for me again. You will have to send those pictures of her if I can't get them here at the MTC. Also, stop addressing my letters from the family as "Elder Christensen". I get called "Elder" all day long and it is getting on my nerves, sort of ...address my letters to me ("Trevor"). Thanks for all your support, letters, and packages.

Rakastan sinun, Trevor

"Ensimmainen Viikko" -- The First Week

"Hei" (Hello) from Zanhin Christensen:

Well, it wasn't the email we were expecting...no details or answers to questions. But we do have an email address now. Here is the email message we received: "Hello, its trev emailing for the first time at the mtc. its my p day and so far I am doing well in the mtc. the food is ok, although of course it is sort of making me sick. I am going to schedule my emails at 1:30 for now so you can anticipate." (Mom's reaction was: What! That is all I get?)

We also received a letter today (or yesterday...we have a hard time remembering to get the mail). We will check the mail on Tuesday so we can email our responses before Wednesday. His letter was a little more enlightening.

"I have been having a good time with my companions. We were more energetic by the 3rd day in the MTC. I enjoy being with them most of the time. One of my companions is Elder Peterson from Chicago. The other one is Elder Sharp from Bountiful, UT. The food is bad and it upsets my stomach. I brought drugs with me, so I'll be fine. Tell me about Dad and Jason's high adventure trip to the Tetons when they get back. I want some happy news.

I am verrrry busy. I am working hard to learn the language, but it is very difficult. I just found out why Finnish is so hard to learn. It has 14 cases. I learned some new words in Finnish like 'commandments' is "Kasky" and 'God' is "ymela". Only they don't sound anything like how you spell them. The 'Y' makes a "u" sound. Tell Arica "thanks" for the advice. I have had some pretty cool stuff happen already. The meetings here are so good to help me get started on what we need to be focused on for our mission. It has been challenging. On the first day, the Finnish teacher just started talking in Finnish!

Thanks for the short sleeve shirts. I'm sure they will come in handy. I've already gone through 3 shirts. The suits are holding up fine. Tell Jordan I'd like to thank him for calling me before I entered the MTC. It's nice to know your family is thinking about you. I would appreciate another letter from everyone. Bye, Elder Christensen"

You can go to www.DearElder.com and send a free letter to the MTC for Trevor. He said the letters through them were great. You will need his MTC information so just refer to this blog for it.

"jhk asti lahinna viikko"

Until next week.....

The "Alku" or Beginning

Hello Friends and Family,

We hope you enjoy keeping up with Zanhin (Elder) Christensen as he serves the Lord in the Helsinki Finland Mission. He entered the MTC on July 22, 2009. We took a few pictures by the main entrance sign before driving in to drop him off at curbside. We had a great time taking pictures with two other missionaries from Logan. One of Trevor's best friends, Ryan Clawson, was there, as well as Nick Borgogna. They were supposed to report at the exact same time on the same day. We were excited to see these 3 awesome guys ready to serve the Lord. It's amazing that they can coordinate all the missionaries arriving all day long. We hope the "swine flu" doesn't affect many more missionaries. However, the drop-off arrivals are supposed to be permanent. There wasn't much time to think about being sad. You pull up to the curb, unload suitcases, take one picture in front of the MTC buildings, give everyone a hug and off your missionary goes into a maze of buildings....and (drum roll) never to return...at least for two years. I liked it better when the missionaries could go to the University Mall and discreetly meet their family while they did their shopping on P-Days.

We received our first letter from Trevor on Saturday. It was short and sweet, but Trevor seemed excited that they had starting learning Finnish on his 2nd day. We asked Carol Armstrong to share a few Finnish phrases and words. The first one we learned is "Zanhin" means "my eldest brother" That is the official title for the missionaries in Finland. So feel free to address your coorespondence to Trevor with it. "Kuinka voitte" means How are you? and "kseksi kirjeeseenne" means "in answer to your letter". I'm sure he would love to use that phrase....letters are a missionary's best friend.

He would appreciate any letters or packages from you. We are including his mailing address for the MTC. He will be there for the next three months. His departure date for Finland is October 13. Since he survived at home on peanut butter and honey, we've already sent him a loaf of bread a jar of peanut butter and one of honey to get him past the midnight snack hunger attacks.

His mission president instructed Trevor to ask his family and friends to pray that he would receive the gift of tongues as he strives to learn Finnish and get ready to teach the gospel to the people in Finland. Please join us in seeking for this blessing in his life. The people of Finland are kind and supportive of the missionaries that come to their country and are so impressed that they are willing to learn their language. There are only 50 missionaries in the entire mission so they have a big work to do.