Dear Family and Friends,
I Love Missionary Work
This last week I hit my year mark. In a year, I will be on my way home. What a terrible thought. As I read in my scriptures this week I was pondering my love for my mission and I came accross a scripture in the Book of Mormon that describes my feelings exactly. When Ammon was captured by the Lamanites and brought before King Lamoni, he said, “I desire to dwell among this people for a time; yea, and perhaps until the day I die.” I was overwhelmed at how my feelings matched Ammon’s. I really don’t think it is any coincidence that I came across that scripture when I did. I wish I could stay here until the day I die.
In fact, this week was really really rough. But throughout the whole week I had a constant burning in my heart that I have only felt a few times in my life before my mission that I have to associate with the feelings of the Holy Ghost. I love this work!
Struggle With Commitments
The biggest “problem” for us right now it people’s free agency. There are so many sweet people that we are teaching who have some serious potential who just don’t keep commitments or appointments or who are incredibly hard to get a hold of. For example, the Bega family. Claudia Bega will tell us to come by at night and when we do, she is either late getting off of work or something came up and she can’t do it anymore. Her husband was supposed to come back into town last night after being in North Carolina working for 6 months. He sounds like a great guy so hopefully he will be an influence for good in our teaching that family.
But there are so many people who we just can’t get a hold of. And, trust me, if they didn’t have potential we wouldn’t keep trying so hard to reach them. But we’ve had such spiritual lessons with some of these people that it would break our hearts to drop them. The Bega family … there is just something special about them. I care so much about them … it is literally breaking my heart to see them not progressing. I love them! It’s crazy on the mission how you just start caring about people. I guess there’s a lot of crazy emotions you feel when you go on a mission. There is no way for anyone to know what I mean unless they’ve gone on one. But I know that it’s nothing I’ve ever felt before I came here.
After a rough start to the week, Elder Cope and I were feeling a little bit disappointed and weary. We had a great Zone Conference on Friday that helped us feel refreshed and excited again. It was perfect!
Juan Padilla
Juan Padilla is doing great! He is reading in the Book of Mormon and liking what he reads! He is such a humble man. SO HUMBLE! Y’all should hear his prayers. When he prays, he is so respectful. Like, he doesn’t even feel worthy that he should be talking to the most powerful Being in the universe. Which, really, it is how it should be. But he’s really great.
He came to a Thanksgiving dinner that we had in Port Arthur with the Spanish branch down there. And then he came to church the next day. He is excited in getting ready for his baptism on the 15th. So far, so good. His wife actually says hello to us when we come by and he said that she was reading in the Book of Mormon so that’s progress.
Miracle Sunday
Well, I am excited to tell y’all about our MIRACLE SUNDAY that we had yesterday. I love miracle Sundays. There are three different miracles that I want to tell y’all about that strengthened my faith.
Santiago and Eva
First … while on exchanges with Elder Olsen, one of our Zone Leaders, on Wednesday, we were knocking in the “little Mexico” of Beaumont. We knocked out a street, and Elder Olsen started walking away. But I noticed one more house on the street. It was right in front of “Cristo Rey” the only Spanish Catholic church in Beaumont. And EVERYONE goes there. Literally. If you’re Hispanic, and you’re Catholic, you go to Cristo Rey. So everyone in this neighborhood had told us, “I go to Cristo Rey,” and slammed the door. I’m not exaggerating. So I’m thinking, “they live right in front of the church. They have to go to Cristo Rey.”
But I called Elder Olsen and we went to knock it. I remember, as we walked up to the house I told Elder Olsen, “I have a good feeling about this one.”
We knocked on the door and a man, maybe 50 years old opened and let us right in. He had a Book of Mormon in the past and he knew a lot about our beliefs and Joseph Smith. He used to go to Cristo Rey, but saw a lot of things he didn’t agree with, and concluded that there is no perfect church on the earth today and he is waiting for the truth. But until then, he won’t join any church. So since Elder Olsen didn’t speak Spanish, Santiago and I had a really good, excited conversation about the Restoration. His only doubt was that there are no witnesses that Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus Christ. But he told us that we could come back, but to watch out for his wife. Because she hates “church people.”
Well, we had some time to kill yesterday and I told Elder Cope that we should go try this Santiago guy. We knocked but no one answered. Then, he came from out back and told us to come into the backyard. He and his wife were out back, grilling some meat and drinking a couple beers. But we were really nice to her and she warmed up to us a lot.
In the end, we had a really good conversation about the restoration again and I think we really gained her trust. She seemed genuinely interested in the pamphlet we gave her and she invited us over next Sunday to share more and eat some barbaque.
They are great people and of course, there is plenty of work to do before they get converted but the point is that we have someone great to work with. Santiago and Eva.
Abel and Ashley
Second … a while ago, Yaneth gave us her friend Christina as a referral. We passed by Christina’s house several times. There were three different ladies that lived there. Christina, Maira, and Maribel. Every time we came by, we found a different one of the three so we never got to teach them together. We would just go out back on the back deck and talk to whoever we found. Maria seemed really legit. Maribel and Christina listened too, but didn’t seem as interested. Well, after a while, we couldn’t get a hold of any of them. We would come by and call and nothing.
A couple weeks ago, Elder Hatch and I had nothing to do at 8:30 and we prayed and felt like we should go over to Christina’s. We went and there she was! She told us that she had been busy working and she wanted us to meet and help her sister in law. So we sent up an appointment.
A couple of days later we went and met her sister in law. Her name is Ashley, and she is married to Christina’s brother. Ashley is American but she speaks fluent Spanish. She said that she loved her husband and family, and her husband is a great guy, but when he drinks, he turns into a monster. She had a way cute baby girl and boy. We taught her a restoration lesson and it clicked for her. It was so different teaching someone who has actually gone to school here. She understood it. She said, “it makes sense that there should be prophets here on Earth today. How can I know who the prophet is?” I just clicked. Anyway, she said she would come to church but she never did.
We were never able to get ahold of her again, and since she didn’t have a phone, and she didn’t live at Christina’s house and we were never able to get a hold of Christina either, we kinda just forgot about her.
Fast forward to last Thursday. Elder Cope and I are out in the dark knocking doors during Hour of Power. We go up to a door and Elder Cope says, “Elder Viitanen, we are going to find a sweet family here.”
Knock on the door and this man with long hair answers the door and behind him is a 2 year old boy and 3 year old girl. They were so stinking cute! Anyway they seemed really nice and so did he and we set up a return appointment with him for Sunday.
Fast forward to Sunday, we had some things to take care of so we stopped by a little bit early for the appointment and no one was home. But we felt like we should come back right at 4:30 when the appointment was. So we did, and right as we walked up, pulled up this man, his two kids, and … ASHLEY! All of a sudden it all hit me! I totally knew that I recognized those two kids! So we finally found the family! Last night we had a really good lesson with him, Abel. He admitted to us that he wants to change and he doesn’t believe that he is doing the right things and that he is far from where he needs to be in his relationship with God (which is way more than the average Hispanic will ever admit). So now we have that family to work with as well!
Beto and Yaneth
Third … A couple of weeks ago, Yaneth gave us a “tracking number” for the package that her mom sent from El Salvador with her and Beto’s birth certificates in it. They need those so they can get a marriage liscence and get married and then baptized! We have been waiting for the package for over 2 months and every week that went by we lost more and more hope of it getting here. We were wondering if Yaneth’s mom maybe didn’t want them to get baptized so she was lying to them, maybe it got lost on the way here, who knows.
So Yaneth gave us this number and President Garcia tried to enter it online but it was invalid. On Saturday night, Yaneth told us that she talked to her mom and she had said that she went to the post office in their town and they confirmed to her that the package had been delivered. So Yaneth got from her the correct tracking number. She also told us that it was possible that they tried to deliver it but no one was home, so they maybe left a note in the mailbox. Well, their trailer park’s mailbox system is pretty much a black hole. Crazy people opening up random boxes. So it wouldn’t be a surprise that the note got lost and the package was just waiting at the post office.
On Sunday, we told Presidente Garcia that we had the right number, and we were really excited because we were sure that it was here. The more we talked about it though, the more we realized that – since the package had been sent so long ago, it was really likely that it either got sent back or shredded. We didn’t even have any idea what post office it might possibly be at. We decided to go check it out the nearest one the next day, but our hopes had dropped quite a bit again.
As we were sitting there in Sunday School, President Garcia walked in, smiled at me, and gave me a folded up piece of paper. Elder Cope and I opened it. It was a page printed from the USPS website that had all the information on Beto and Yaneth’s package. An attempt to deliver it was made on October 30, and according to this paper, it was still here in Beaumont!
This morning, Yaneth and her brother, Innmar (who had to come with us because the package was addressed to him. He wasn’t very cooperative, but Beto and Yaneth got kind of mad at him so he finally came along.) drove to the nearest post office. Our hearts were pounding the whole way. They told us to try another one on the other side of town. We went there, gave them the information, and the lady went into the back room.
Sorry for the novel this week, I just wanted to share some stories with y’all from the week that will hopefully strengthen your faith as they have mine. I just want everyone to know that I love being here and that I never want to go home. I love it here. I know that this is the best thing I could be doing. Thanks for all your love and support. Have a Happy Thanksgiving, and see y’all in a year.
Love
Elder Viitanen
Dear Carlos!
Yes, that good feeling is Holy Chost. I am very happy because that expedience. You can keep it in your life after the mission, too.I am very happy every time, when I can feel it.
Thanks very much for your interesting mails. I can’t wait next letters. I love them all. You are a good writer,I can see in my eyes all events, you write.
We have snow now. Last night there was terrible snowstorm in Finland.It caused chaos in traffik There is not so dark anymore here, because snow. I am afraid of slippery. I must not fall down because my new knees.I am very very careful.
I hope that you get my Christmas packet. I hope that you have a nice Christmas. You are allowed to call home.
There are very nice missionaries here. 2 elders and 3 sisters. I have not seen Andy Green. He is not in Tampere area.I hope that he would come to Tampere.
I am going to visit Jari in Rauma. Hes choir will sing there and I like to listen it.
I was in the temple . It was wonderful, like it always is. I love my church, temple , sisters and brothers, especially missionaries and leaders..
Most I love my family and my Lord,
I miss you Carlos, especially on Christmas time.
I love you ,you know. Please ,take care of yourself. Be happy!
Love, Mummi