December 8, 2014

I had a lot of break through moments this week. One of them was this: The restoration could have happened with or without the Book of Mormon. Priesthood power could have been restored, revelation to restore lost truths could have happened and a prophet could have still been called without the Book of Mormon, but it wasn't because all of US needed evidence to pray about in order to receive a spiritual confirmation of all of the above. It sounds like a "duh" comment, but it hit me hard. The Book of Mormon really is a gift to us all from a loving God. If we study it the way He wants us to we will continue to have the spiritual strength we need to be faithful in this crazy world. I love it.

We had a fun week. We had training with President Watson last week for a couple of days and were able to go to the temple afterwards. It is such a blessing to have a temple here. I love the temple. There is a peace there that you can't feel anywhere else. It's amazing to hear the members speak about when President Hinckley was here to dedicate the temple. One lady received a blessing from one of the apostles while they were there and explained that as he put his hands on her head, she felt as if they were the Savior's hands. I thought about that. The priesthood is the power of God. Those who hold this power truly are only vessels of that power. And God, because He loves us, has restored His power to the earth so we can be blessed by it. Every priesthood blessing is as if it were the Savior's hands. What a miracle and blessing we have.

Dad it was great to hear about your missionary moment. It is wonderful that you are aware of the other people. You have always been good about noticing new or visiting people at church and talking with them. It is great to be able to simply explain the profound meaning of things like sacrament. It is simple things like that that I have always grown up knowing, but maybe not understanding and being able to teach that to other people is a gift. You have a great opportunity as Young Men's president! You will have a lasting influence on them. oh and it's about time that you got new sheep stomachs!

The plan for when I get back sounds great. Is Tras already on Christmas break? wow that seems early! Sounds like you have a fun trip planned out. quick but fun. So are you still in the same office as you were before or have you changed as well?

I love you all. Have you seen the " He is the Gift" video the church put out? Great to share with friends. Have a great week!

Rakkaudella, Sisar Heggie

December 1, 2014

I am very impressed! My companion kept calling me scrooge when I wouldn't let us listen to Christmas music until today, but I am now enjoying the Christmas music! The tree looks really nice!! Very different than previous years, but I guess that will have to be part of the trade when all of us are out of the house!

I have not heard anything about our travel plans, but yes that is what I handed in was that I will fly into Las Vegas. The previous group of missionaries sounded like they didn't get their plans until a few days before. President just said to plan on being home around 7:00pm on January 1st. 

Yeah dad we use the metric system. If I remember correctly, -16 Fahrenheit is pretty cold!!! It has still been pretty warm here, around -2 or -3 today.

The talks and Sunday school lesson sound like they went well. We had the primary program this week which was a lot of fun. It was cool to see the parents of part member families there to support their children. Sometimes I think the best way to their hearts is through their children so it's cool that all over the world primary put on a program teaching the most plain and precious parts of the gospel. I love the primary songs, they are so powerful. 

Sounds like you all had a great thanksgiving! I learned that they now make meatballs out of fish. That makes this the 6th time we have had fish this month. I think that is a record :) it's like a fish stick, in a ball, but different. I would stick with mashed potatoes and turkey. They don't celebrate thanksgiving here, but we did have a dinner appointment that night so we called it our thanksgiving. I love the members. They have such good hearts. 

Can’t believe its December already. This last month has gone by fast. Exciting to hear that Brian and Annie got moved. Hopefully his first day at work goes well. 

This week I noticed a lot about pondering. The ability to ponder is a gift, and a gift we should take advantage of. Many great prophets have gained greater knowledge and guidance while they were pondering. I’ve been reading in Helaman and the Lord guided Nephi as he was pondering Hel 10:4. I think it would do us good to take time to ponder the things we study every day! and then share them! Share your testimony of the things you do know. Hel 7:29. They are facts. Plain and simple. God lives. Jesus Christ is our Savior. Without Him we would have no hope. Through Him we can have peace and joy and live with our families forever. His church has been restored. I love you all!

Have a nice Monday back at school and work!! 

Rakkaudella, Sisar Heggie

November 24, 2014

Happy thanksgiving!! I think this is the first ward I have served where there isn't at least one person is married to an American, so enjoy some pumpkin pie and homemade rolls for me! 

this week we were helping at the house with the family renovating. They have 3 little ones and when we got there they were tired and hungry. After working for a bit we came back for a message and it was hilarious to see the 180 difference that some good food made! They were happy and talkative and playing with us. I love getting to know new people. So many good people all over the world. 

We were teaching an object lesson this week using the "egg in a bottle" experiment that i thought i finally had figured out. well the lesson is supposed to end in the egg fitting in the bottle representing us being in God's presence. As the object lesson went, the eggs ended up getting destroyed and not fitting into the bottle so our object lesson wasn't as effective as hoped. but we learned some good things anyway and had a good laugh as they were excited that "Yes! half of me gets to be in God's presence!" well.....we're hoping for something more in real life! it's always good to laugh though. 

As we were teaching one of our friends she asked if we have actually received and answer that this is God's church. It was interesting because my companion and i were just talking about it the night before how members in other churches don't exactly follow something they don't believe to be good, but once you receive more light, or in other words-- receive an answer that the Book of Mormon is true and that God speaks to us today through a living prophet that leads Christ's restored church--you don't go back to less light. But it's light available to anyone who asks. I confidently replied that yes, I know that this is God's church. There are eternal consequences/blessings on the line here and that's why it can be incredibly frustrating to see people reject it. But also so sweet to see people experience the peace and joy from living by the principles that Christ teaches. 

I hope you all have a great thanksgiving week! I love you!! 

rakkaudella, sisar heggie

November 17, 2014

 . .  It's been surprisingly warm here, 1-2 degrees and the sun has even been shining a bit :) My sense of style has changed or something because Bertha isn't looking so bad. It hasn't been cold enough to wear it yet, but it probably will soon. I'll send a picture when the day comes :) 

My taste buds have even changed. I, of my own free will, made pancakes this week and enjoyed them. I also cooked with mushrooms and ate a sweet potato and loved it. I was telling my companion how they were all things I used to hate. She is learning also to like fish :) . . . . . . 

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Keep up the good work with seminary. countless stories i hear, even here, about how seminary was a turning point.  

We had a zone conference this week with the area president and he talked about different ways to make our missionary work more effective. It was really good and he taught us a few things about contacting and teaching and finding. I was studying PMG this morning about "missionary work" in the covenants part and am still wondering how I missed so much of how missionary work is part of the covenants we make with Heavenly Father! As I read in the Book of Mormon I am always wondering when they added in all that stuff about missionary work, or how I missed it the first few times! We have a simple and powerful message to share through our example and testimony we bear. Alma is talking to his son in Alma 39:15-16 about this responsibility. Playing basketball and boating and volleyball and being with friend and eating good food is all fun but doesn't compare to the joy that I feel when I am teaching someone about our Savior Jesus Christ. 

We had FHE with one of our friends this week and it was so much fun. She said when she told her son that we were coming over that he was really excited. She said that he has met nice people before but was never that excited to have people over. She pointed out that he must feel the spirit around us. Such an awesome mom and family. 

The other day we were coming back from an appointment and it was a long walk back to the train station and I was praying for someone to talk to when we came around the corner and a cute older lady asked if we knew which way to the train station. We chatted and she has seen our temple her multiple times and heard how beautiful the inside was. We walked all the way back and she called us angels and said thank you and hopefully she will go to church in her city. cool experiences like that always reminding me that this is the Lord's work. 

Thank you for your love and prayers :) I love you all, have a great week!

Rakkaudella, Sisar Heggie

November 10, 2014

Weird to hear that Teal and Miranda have reported. Have you talked to bishop at all about when he wants me to report? I was just thinking about that with me only being home on fast Sunday in January. Going to be a crazy transition :) Dad you traded Maverick? good horse. Sounds like you were busy with the scouts! Fun that Kaysie and Quinn went to the unlv game with some football kids. Maybe more fun that you and mom got to have Kambrie.

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It has been such a fun week!! We had 2 ward activities this week. During one of them we didn't have any investigators there and so my companion and I felt like we should take a Book of Mormon and go out. We left and started talking with people. One guy we talked to was super nice, but said it wouldn't matter to him to know if God existed or not(still don't understand that). Another person insured us she was NOT interested. Had some friendly conversations but nothing was really happening. When we were almost back to the church we ran into a guy whose friend is a member and he had visited church before but never had a Book of Mormon. We got to talk with him and give him one and we were grateful we were in the right place at the right time.

The other ward activity was a relief society activity. The members are amazing. It was a great activity and it was hilarious for one of the activities we designed dresses out of newspaper. One member is originally from Brazil and had a runway walk like a pro. My companion also got to be a model and they made her a nice...sunhat? that looked more like a ginormous sombrero. My companion and I sang a musical number. The whole activity was a lot of fun and it was good to get to know people.

The members here blow my mind. They are so dedicated and it's so motivating to hear their conversion stories. One member told his family he was joining the church and his son-in-law told him he would no longer be welcome in their home, and to have nothing to do with their daughter. The member couldn't deny what he had learned and respected his son-in-laws wish. I don't know what broke his heart more--not being in contact with his granddaughters or that his son-in-law was so hard hearted to the gospel. I have heard multiple conversion stories this week that just humble me.

Oh dad! Happy Father’s Day!! It was yesterday here. I told a couple dads happy father day on the street yesterday and I got the "thanks you too!" reply, as they were taken by surprise, and then they realized that that didn't make sense. Reminded me of the Bryan Regan "Have a nice flight" "You too!" comment.

This week I have been focusing on the message of the restoration. The more my testimony grows about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, the easier it is for me to testify. I love Joseph Smith's record of his experiences and just strengthen my testimony that it actually happened. It should sound crazy, but it doesn't. It feels so right. So peaceful.

It's amazing how our daily study of the Book of Mormon becomes applicable every day. What we read in the morning will come to our minds at some point throughout the day.

I love the gospel. Thank you for your support. The church of Jesus Christ has been restored. We have a living prophet.

Love you all:) have a great week!

rakkaudella, Sisar Heggie

My new companion, Sisar Reynolds, and me! Kerava here we come!

November 3, 2014

fun to hear from grandma and grandpa. sounds like you all had an enjoyable time. i love family. just warms my heart hearing about the fun times. card games. food. mad gab. sounds like grandpa enjoyed it. cute cake :) 

you have more snow than i do :) 

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Glad you got the picture. Way good lady. The members here are just taking us in!! I love it. Smaller than Espoo and slower paced. people are more likely to talk. always an adventure getting a new area figured out. lots and lots to do!

love you, have a great week :)

rakkaudella, sisar heggie

yep i got the letter just fine :)

the weather has been a little overcast the last couple of days, but no snow yet. we had daylight savings last week as well and it has been so weird, it gets dark pretty early. They celebrate halloween here only because of the american influence. it's not really a holliday here, but some of the members had a party at their house so we had a lesson with one of our friends then got to know a few new people. My new companion is Sisar Reynolds, she is from Milford and her mom just started teaching science, including ag this past year i believe and sounded like she was trying to get ffa going. it's a small world it was fun to hear our similarities. 

Our new area is Kerava, a smaller city about 25 k north eastish of helsinki. it has about 35,000 people. i really like it. people aren't as busy here. i visited kerava a couple of times and said that i wanted to live here if i had to move again. here i am :) and i love it. the members are amazing. they have just taken us in. the ward is smaller, about 110? 

Ii've decided to give matching a rest for now, so trasie better get her game on :) fun to hear that she was home again this weekend. ely is a good place. hopefully she is getting to know people at school as well!

i've been wondering about buck. haven't heard anything about him for awhile, how is his broken leg? good to hear he is still around. and that the herd is growing :) 

sounds like mom had a good trip back home. i imagine it would be pretty fun and i'm sure grandpa loved it. 

it's been a really good week. i could go without the daylight savings right now, it gets so dark at night! but we have met some great people and the adventure continues. i love being a missionary. i was just reading in the book of mormon when alma is talking with Korihor, and korihor is arguing that the church/gospel is putting people into bondage. alma responds asking why he would want to take away something that brings the people so much joy. it's how it works, we live God's commandments and he blesses us with joy, even amongst trials. thanks for you love and support. 

Dad it's good to hear from you. I am spoiled. thanks for your patience and wisdom and guidance. have a great week. love you:)

sisar heggie

pic with one of the temple missionaries at church. sis nielsen and i wore fur vests, we have been matching for the past 4 months and decided to go out with a bang!

October 27, 2014

I'm moving to Kerava this week and I am so excited. it is a smaller town, about 33,000 with a ward of about 110. i have visited twice and loved it since the first time i went and now i get to serve there!

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i'm grateful for tender mercies of when you leave your wallet or something and it's still there. every day miracles. dad i have the same problem of getting frustrated in a time crunch. i have learned a lot about that on the mission and still working on it. those are the times i feel i have no time to pray but when i really should be praying the most. 

stake conference sounded like a powerful meeting. Carolyn gave me her take on the conference. it's cool to hear about the focus on missionary work. it may be because i am a missionary and pay more attention to it now but i feel like there is a huge focus on missionary work now. we're getting closer to the last days. what a responsibility and opportunity we have to bring others closer to Jesus Christ our brother. 

tell grandpa happy birthday!! how long will you be up there? have fun and be safe! how is Tanner doing? how is Riley? 

I am so blessed. I love this gospel. It brings me so much joy. I'm grateful to Heavenly Father for giving me the experiences I have had in my life and especially here on my mission. The church is true. This is Jesus Christ's church. We know the path that leads back to our Heavenly Father and all the blessings He wants for us. And like a friend here said yesterday in church "we all have to fit through the same, tiny, little, gate of baptism." the path is narrow and straight. and the gate is only the beginning. thank you for your love and support. have a great week. love you!

rakkaudella, sisar heggie