8/31/10 Refreshing my French ???

Dear Family,

Well, It has been another exciting week then in Logan.... what with Allens coming down and Jason's games and also Emily's farewell. So Nathan, how are your fingers doing? I thought you werent' supposed to do anything really strenuous.... like wakeboarding. Seems like you could re-injure them doing that. I thought I would let you know that I'm still working on a letter for Jason and I've just been a little busy this week. I shouldn't be as busy this week but we will see. lol .....things always seem to come up.

So as for me, I have been doing good this week. Lots of good things happening here in Savonlinna. First of all, we have been finding more people on the streets and at doors to teach. Good possible investigators. For example, there is a congo french speaking guy that we gave a Book of Mormon to about a month ago, and he is about half way through. Best of all we asked him if he thought it was true and he said yes. Now we just need some stuff in French to be able to teach him. .....by the way could you look up the verb ( to pray) on the internet for me in French. I can remember some of my French but its really rusty.

Secondly we met a lady, when we were both trapped by a huge rain storm, who really wanted to know about our message of families. Its just going great. Unfortunately there is some bad news. "M" has been sick for the past week and so she didn't come to church and she has to have her baptisimal date postponed. But not to fear, I believe she will go in a week or two... also the ward is really supportive here.

Well, thanks for letting me know about Logan. ...and also thanks for going down to Emily's farewell. BTW, how did you like Emily's parents and family? I just am curious... ok well I'll let you know what happens this next week. Oh and would you try looking into my checking account. I don't have a valid VISA card for that account. Maybe go into the bank and ask them about it. Nathan has full access to my stuff so he can do what ever he needs to. He just has to go into the bank to do it I think. ...thanks.

Oh and this week is Elder Slade's birthday, so I'm making him that chocolate cake recipe Mom sent me. Thanks for the emails....I love you all and wish I could tell you more, but I've got to go so bye,

Trev

Long Letters & Tapes 8/23/10

Mom and Fam,

So first off to tell you about the questions you asked... It is getting cooler this time of year and it rained a lot today. We have had a couple of thunder storms.... mainly, today and Sunday though. The temp is usuallly around 70, I think.... I don't have a thermometer here. I did get my Visa activated...I'll explain that in the tape.

I don't think I really have an experience to share for this week. It was a pretty normal week with nothing interesting happen. As for anything I need, I dont know, maybe more gum..... the orange kind.not so hot.... but nothing really did. "M" cancelled all the teaches because she had guests the whole week and now she is sick.... so we are just waiting until we can go over.

Oh I thought you should know, those big letters to girls take some time... usually a bus ride to the next city is involved. besides tapes are better for family. I actually recorded a tape today for you. (Nathan and I run into some of Trevor's friends who tell us they have received a letter from him...we always ask, out of curiosity, how long the letters are...most respond that they are 2-3 pages...! So we were giving him a hard time about it. lol)

Thanks for going to Emily's farewell. I know I don't have to "thank you" but still, thanks. Ok I'm going now. Love you all and say "hi" to the family.

love, Trev

Short and Sweet -- good goals

Family,

Yeah, so this week has been really good for the most part. I'll summarize to get it all in.... not a lot of time. The computers are really slow today.

So this week, we really worked with "E" We actually found out her name is "M". We heard her name wrong the first time and it took us a while to figure it out. lol....funny story. So this week we were working with her, and she agreed to be baptized this next month. "P", we finally got ahold of and he said to call back next week becaue he had a lot going on. Later this week, we met with our branch president. He talked to us about how slow the missionary work is going. We have made some good goals with him.

The weather has been a little cooler...tell Jason good luck with school. Thanks for your prayers and love. Elder Slade and I each made a fishing pole out of sticks...so dont' worry about sending one. I'll take pictures of it.

love you.....terve kaikkille --hi to all.
Trev

Need Prayers for Savonlinna

Hey family,

Well, first of all, here is the weekly update of the missionary work. This week has gone really well. “E” our investigator has continued to progress. She has been reading the Book of Mormon and also even came to church. Which is huge!! I am pretty stoked. Anyways, this last week we have just been working with “E” as best we could. We taught her the plan of salvation and she was pretty interested, and at the end of that lesson, she had a whole different question about repentance. Also, she had some good questions about the gospel being preached, which she had gotten from her BoM reading this past week. So at this point, we are going to commit her to be baptized… tomorrow in fact. So far she has been like, when I find out its true… I'll be baptized, But tomorrow, we want to set a date for her. I would appreciate your prayers for her to accept the commitment. As for “P” our other investigator…WE aren’t really sure what is going on, but we are trying to meet with him. This Tuesday, we are going out to his house to see if he is even in town. Maybe he left on summer vacation without telling us or something. That’s about it though. So yeah… it’s a good week to be in Savonlinna.

Actually, this week has been really hot… 33° C or that’s 94°F for you Americans. And it’s been almost this hot for the past 3 weeks. Really…very un- normal for Finland. (Elder May said it was the coldest winter and hottest summer the Fins can remember.) I have some funny stories for you about Fins and the summer...but it should wait for a tape. lol. So my bike…I just got my old bike from Seinäjoki and am selling it soon. I am using and have bought Elder Behnke’s bike that was here in Savonlinna because it is better… sort of. (It has studded snow tires.) And I just had some left over money that I pulled out forever ago. That is why my account didn't read a pull out. And on that subject, Nathan actually has access to my account at the bank. He should be able to go in and ask them what is going on with my account. Go ahead and send the card to me, I will activate it and all that when I get a chance.

Oh, I almost forgot, I did get your letter… just today actually. It was really nice to get all the letters from the family. Thanks for that. I'm sure the picture of me “without mail” worked.
Hmm, so I also wanted to tell dad “good luck” with his broken fingers. I have been and am praying for him. Just tell him to keep his fingers straight so they can heal. One last thing from your email about getting a new car/keeping the Jetta..... You should wait at least till next summer to buy a new car. I need one when I get home you know. lol…. Sorry, I couldn't help but joke.

Well, I hope that this week goes well for all the family, and remember I'm praying for you all too. I miss and love you all.

Love, Trev

PS One thing I would like is a recipe for a certain pasta that mother would make. It has chicken and tomatoes and a whole bunch of spices, and the noodles with holes in them, short even. I can't remember what it is but it was really good. You made it for Emily once. (This is a pasta dish from Kris Monson that I make very frequently…ahhh, finely appreciated….)

PSS I looked at fishing poles and I found a telescoping one for 29-39 £. I don't know if that is very good or if it would be cheaper to have you send one. Let me know what you think.

New Investigator and Fishing Anyone?

Hi Linda,

So Elder Slade's birthday is coming up soon about a couple of weeks. I haven’t planned anything out just yet. But, I will try to do something soon. Maybe I can get him some ice cream or something. Do you have any suggestions for me? Maybe I'll make him pulla. By the way, I am sending you the recipe for that. It will get there in about a week.

I did get your package this past week. It was really sweet that I got the gum I asked for and also the shirts were much appreciated. I've already started using them. For some reason
Finland has been especially HOT this past month. All the people say at the doors is either "It's too hot” and “go away" or “come on in...” I've been trying to stay cool though. Another thing about the weather was that this past week, we had a huge storm. We had like a bazillion trees fall over. No one got hurt, but a couple of houses had some trees fall on them. It was the only thing I heard from the members for a couple of days. lol. Crazy weather! The rest of the story goes that there was a huge city celebration at midnight with fireworks and all. And at the end of it, this huge storm all of a sudden whisked up. It was almost like the perfect lightning storm finally....

Hmm, lately we've had a little success with a new investigator. Her name is “E”. She is about mid 20's. I'm not quite sure what it is, but she is just a little different. Luckily though, she really wanted to know some stuff about the gospel and so now we are teaching her. She has already progressed faster than our other investigator “P”. I told you about him last time, I think. But she is quite easy to work with. So it's really a lucky thing we were able to find her. I'll tell you more about her later when I get a chance to write more.
Wow, does President Brown usually write you about what we are doing? I didn't think so, but that is cool. Yes we are currently trying to turn around the missionary work here in Savonlinna. It has had such a down turn for so long we are trying to boost the members faith, which really means we NEED a baptism here and soon. As for Elder Bailey I hadn't heard anything, but I will pray for him. Hope he turns out all right. (Pres Brown sent us a letter indicated Trevor had been in the mission for a year and that he and his companion were working hard in Savonlinna. Elder Bailey had a burst lung after he arrived home from his mission and has been in the hospital for about a week.)

Well, I need to go. But I'll keep the family in my prayers. Nathan's finger and Steven’s shoulder... thanks for the emails. I love you all and will talk to you next week. Love Trev

PS I'll try this week to find a license and pole for fishing. If it’s a lot, then I probably won't do it. But maybe fishing won't be so expensive. So hold off on the pole for a little while. Thanks though anyways.