Second week in Espoo

Terve!

I love libraries. I also love Finns. So it's really easy to just laugh and smile when I find out that the reason my new library card was impossible to work with last week was because the librarian accidentally entered the current date instead of my birthdate in the slot intended for my birthday. Something about a one week old kid setting up time to use the internet just didn't sit well with the library system, and I think I can understand that. On the bright side, the time-space continuum has been rectified, and I'm now twenty years old again.

This week was an absolute blur. Easily the fastest week of my mission so far, and Elder Linden was absolutely no consolation as he reminded me, "It only gets faster." Great.

My journal tells a very interesting story about this week. I began every day complaining over this and that, some random problem that arose, and how frustrated I was about it. However, the mood always changes as I get to the end of the story for that day, as I realize that nothing was as serious as it appeared in the beginning. In fact, the opening lines of all my journals this week actually appear rather ridiculous considering the ending.

Take Monday for example. The story above about my library card had me upset. I was pretty ticked off about how it hadn't worked and no one had been able to address the problem. It had wasted my time and my companions'. However, it forced me to use Elder Esplin's computer and his leftover time, while he just had to stand around awkwardly, placing him in exactly the right position to talk to a couple of people who were sitting across from us, had seen our nametags, and were looking up information about the church because of it. He had a wonderful discussion with them and cleared up a lot of the "facts" they had found on these "credible internet encyclopedias." ("Everyone can write whatever they want, so you know that you're getting the best information possible" -- Michael Scott). We also had a Family Night out in a place called Lohja, and had such an incredible evening. We watched a couple of the "Mormon Messages" clips, and just had a small discussion about each. My favorite one right now is one called Reclaimed. Go watch it. The Spirit in those short discussions, and in the chatter of fellowship that followed as we ate, was enough to make me forget all the frustration of earlier. Plus there was a little four year old with absolutely no fear. Just said whatever was on his mind to whomever he wanted. Yeah, it was pretty great.

Or how about Friday. First driving lesson. It did not go well. Tried to reverse. Stalled. Tried again. Stalled. Get halfway out of the spot. Stalled. Finally got out of the spot, around the corner, switched gears, pulled up to an intersection, got cocky. Stalled. Ripped the E-brake and yelled to Elder Linden that he was driving. Yeah, it was pretty bad. It could have ruined my whole day. But, instead we went off to do service for an investigator. It was way fun, chatted it up with her nine year old son while we pulled ivy down off the fence and got to tear apart an old deck. I was still apprehensive, though, because our very intense, slightly impulsive ward mission leader had scheduled Member Exchanges with us so that we could have a member go along to a lesson, but not have all three plus a member there. That left me to go tracting with another member, something I've never done before, and didn't like the idea of doing. But against all odds, it worked. And I felt way happier the rest of the day. Frustrating moments will always be a part of life - that's just the way it is. Like how I accidentally left my jacket in H&M in the middle of writing this email, causing my companions to have to go back and get it with me (There's a reason I get called "junior" in this companionship). But the next time I feel all that stress start to build, I'm going to try something I've never done before and just see where it takes me. I bet I'll wind up happier. That said, I'm working on a list of crazy new things to try -- any and all suggestions welcome.

Speaking conveniently of brand new things, I had the chance to perform a baptismal interview on Wednesday. I thought at first it might be a little bit awkward or strange, but it wasn't. It was new, exciting, and the candidate was incredibly prepared for baptism, which made it really fun. After the interview was over she turned to the missionary who had taught her and said. "now go find some more young people." There was just a good spirit throughout the whole visit.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked into church on Sunday. Nine months in a small branch got me very accustomed to seeing forty to fifty in sacrament meeting and having a small, cozy atmosphere. In Pietarsaari, the missionaries are nearly integral. In Espoo, the missionaries might actually get lost in their own chapel. The first ward was great, lots of good people and some pretty impressive youth speakers, but when the second ward showed up, my companions kept laughing at the look on my face. I felt like I'd stepped back into the United States. The Espoo second ward is one of the largest wards in Finland. The whole chapel was packed all the way to the back row, and all of it was families.

Other random notes about our new area: We have a lot of American families living here for work. One of them had us over for dinner last night. Homemade pumpkin pie for dessert. Yeah. I could get used to Espoo.

Also, the first night I arrived, we were sitting around when all of a sudden a siren starts blaring. Esplin and Linden got all excited and Linden told me it was a bomb. I laughed and asked what it really was and he just smiled back until I heard a small clap and then a rumble in the distance. Turns out it was a bomb. They're doing some blasting not too far away from us, so we get to hear it.

Any questions? Man, I love you all so much. Thanks for all your support and encouragement. Have a great week!

Elder Hansen

First week in Espoo

The only problem with Espoo right now? Going south didn't get rid of the rain.

Hei everybody,

Unfortunately going to have to keep this one a little shorter than usual, because missionary rules are causing a slight inconvenience in the form of a library card that declares me still under fifteen years old, and my slightly less than convenient inability to leave my companions to go take care of it....

That's the way my day started this morning. Fitting with the type of week it's been. Left Pietarsaari after a couple of last goodbyes. Once I got on the train it was hard to look back, because I was looking forward so much to being in Espoo with Elder Linden and Elder Esplin. The train ride went suprisingly fast this time, and left me wondering how many times I'd be making that same trip the rest of my mission. When I got on the platform, the elders grabbed my stuff, threw it in the back of the car, and took me straight to dinner with a member family. Pretty great welcome to the area.

Friday was Zone Leader Council, which meant a trip to the temple in the morning! Decided to try a session in Swedish, and it went really well. It's really interesting to notice the things that stick out more when heard in a different language. Sometimes it changes my understanding of things just slightly. The funny part about this whole trip to the temple was actually that it almost didn't happen for us...Elder Linden and Esplin had to get their recommends renewed, because the thought had slipped their minds to request an interview with the President. Oops. So Thursday night we drove to the mission home. President Rawlings was in skype meeting with his mission presidency, so we spent some time helping Sister Rawlings in the kitchen, getting lunch ready for the next day. We had a great time, Elder Linden had some funny questions to ask that had been on his mind for a while, including everything from how can I improve my relationship to my Heavenly Father to are engagement and wedding rings both essential to what should we call our tri-panionship? Sister Rawlings gave some pretty profound answers - our favorite being her suggestion for our tri-panionship nickname: The Troica (or Troika not sure how to spell it, it's Russian).

We spent the night at the mission home and got up early to go play sähly with the assistants, the Tampere elders (who had stayed with the assistants when their car overheated outside Hyvinkää), and the Marjaniemi sisters. Not gonna lie, I felt a little sore afterwards. Probably need to take it easy in the future, but it was a lot of fun.

General Conference was amazing of course, made all the better by being surrounded by so many wonderful Finnish members. (Plus one member from Stockholm that knew Elder Linden! Fun surprise.) We had one man, not a member, just sort of wander in off the street and no one knew where he was from, so we got him a seat with some members and eventually got his information. He lives in Neitsytpolku's area, and he was interested in having missionaries come to visit, so we'll be excited to hear about what the Elders down there can do to help him.

Gotta go for now, time for grocery shopping and then Elder Linden is going to teach us to drive stick. Wish me luck. Pray I don't break the car.

Love,

Elder Hansen

Transfer to Espoo

Good Morning everyone,

We helped a man in our branch move a few things from to his new home early this morning, and while we were doing it, he showed us what he called his "Holy of Holies" - the room where he keeps all his fishing nets. He's a fisherman, and he loves it, and after hearing they way he talked about it, I thought about being a fisherman when I grow up. Maybe it's just because I've been living with so many fishermen for the past eight months, but there just seems to be something pleasant about it. "Almost thou persuadest me to be a fisherman..."

So the big news this week is that change calls have come and gone once more. This time, I will be leaving. Eight and a half months ago, I arrived late on a dark winter night with a wonderful Swede as my companion. I had no idea then, nor can I fully comprehend even now, how significant my time in this beautiful city would be, and certainly will be for the remainder of my life. I cannot express how much I love this city and its people, this chapel and its branch. President Rawlings has many times called Pietarsaari his "Garden of Eden." I disagree. While Eden was something of paradise, this place has been for me more like a small piece of heaven on earth. It's been strange. Due to some recent circumstances, President actually had to spill on my change call a week ago, so I've known this entire week that I would be leaving. It's made me appreciate so much more everything that has happened here, and I tried so hard to soak everything in over the past week. But no amount of pictures or journal entries (which I realized last night have been seriously lacking - oops) or stories will really ever capture the experience I have had here in Pietarsaari (Jakobstad).

Monday of this past week was fairly normal. We've had a regular schedule with M and N on that night, which has been a real blessing. This past week, I began the lesson by simply asking, "So, what questions do you have about the church?" They've developed a habit of throwing tons of random questions on us at the end, and since N has to rush off to work, it's hard to answer them effectively, so I thought we'd just start with that and see where it went. It went quickly to them baring their souls to us. I couldn't believe how quickly the conversation transitioned from them talking about the differences between our church and the Lutheran church to them telling us story after story of why their life has been so difficult. Just a simple question and some loving responses, and their trust in us seemed to blossom like never before. I could not believe how powerful the Spirit was as we bore testimony to them of how their lives can and will be changed through the power of th Atonement. I'm so grateful that I know how wonderful the Atonement is, so that I can share that beauty with others.

We also had the chance to stop by a former investigator on Monday. She wasn't home, but her husband was. I chatted with him lightly for a little while, thinking to just build a nice friendship with him as we teach his wife, because he hasn't previously shown any interest. As I was wrapping up the conversation and starting to walk away, my companion pipes up and starts to ask this man why he became interested in the church in the first place. After the man answered that it was his wife and not he, who had actually met with the missionaries, my companion again boldly asked, "Oh, well, why not?" The man just looked back at him funny, as if he didn't know what to say. I asked if his wife had ever talked about the Book of Mormon with him. She hadn't. I pulled one out a showed it to him. We talked about the "questions of the soul" and how the Book of Mormon answers them. I showed him the introduction and he immediately began to read, almost as if he had forgotten we were there. I awkwardly tried to slip our card into the page so he wouldn't lose his place when he closed the book, but he just pulled the card out, set it in his pocket and kept reading! As we left, he seemed so excited to read this book. All because my companion was bold enough to open his mouth.

Tueday was my final visit to A and the kids. They were with their dad on Sunday, so it was the last time I will see them, perhaps for a very long time. A had explained to her daughter that I would be moving and her daughter just kept asking her, "but why?" It was almost painful to say goodbye. In their true spirit and fashion, the lesson was as hectic as ever. A's daughter even decided to give me a kiss at one point. uhhh....yeah. A scolded her a little, my companion just laughed, and I tried to flip to the next scripture in the lesson. Kids. Actually turned into a great lesson. We talked about the law of the fast and tied it to the law of consecration and church history. Finally we found something to teach A that she didn't already know and hadn't already researched on her own. She's so great. When she said goodbye to me on Sunday, there weren't really words left. We've been through a lot in these past eight months, and there wasn't a lot left that needed to be said I guess. Just a firm handshake and a "Vi ses." She bore her testimony in sacrament meeting, and I really felt good knowing that she's here to stay. Her faith really exceeds almost anything I've ever seen.

I found it almost as hard to say goodbye to K, my good friend in his wheelchair. We visited him a couple of times this week, and when I told him I would be transferred, he said he wanted the mission president's phone number so he could call him and demand that I stay. Even his wife, who hasn't really shown much interest in participating in our lessons, was surprised and a little disappointed to hear that I would be transferred. I'm not really sure what I did to deserve the kind of respect that they show me every time I'm there, but I've been so grateful for all my visits in that home. He's taught me how to listen, and how to be patient when I need to listen longer than I want to. He taught me how to love despite what's on the outside. He also taught me to speak Swedish, because with only American companions for the first three months of teaching him, I really had to learn fast. He taught me to trust in the Priesthood that I hold. Once when he asked for a blessing, I was worried that it somehow wouldn't work the way he wanted or something, and he would lose interest because of it. That, and the fact that we had no oil to perform a blessing. But, we put our faith in the Lord, went to the store, bought oil, consecrated it, then went and gave him a blessing. Two days later, he felt like a completely new person. He still talks about that blessing (now almost a month ago) every time we see him. I hope and pray that he will let Elder Kääriä continue to come, and that he will trust in him and this message more than he just trusts in me. I haven't done anything special. I've only been the instrument. And what a joy it's been.

This Sunday was a hard one. I actually managed to keep my emotions in check for all the meetings, but walking away from the chapel I took a look back and got choked up. A lot of people had nice things to say to me. I felt so loved and so blessed. One old lady came up and, with tears in her eyes said, "You have meant so much to me." I don't really remember what I would have done to deserve the kind of praise I received. My BML's wife said to me, "Some missionaries you forget, and some you remember. You're one of the ones I'll remember." I never thought I would be one of the missionaries to travel back to the places I'd served in after my mission, mostly for fear that it might not be the same when viewed from a non-missionary perspective. But now, I'm not so sure. I wouldn't be surprised to find myself back here before too long.

I'll be heading to Espoo on Wednesday. From the smallest city in the mission to the largest suburb of Helsinki, covering two wards. Luckily, we have a car! I'll be with my great friend Elder Linden again, and we'll be in a threesome for the next six weeks. The temple is in my new area, and I hope I can see it often. I love the temple. Elder Borcherding, a German, will be coming here to take my place, and I'm so excited to see what he'll do for this area.

GREAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING HERE!

love you all,

Elder Hansen

Apple Season

Tervesaurus Rex (that greeting brought to you all by Elder Hoggard),

With Fall comes apples. And when members have food that they don't know what to do with, they give it to the missionaries. Translation: We're drowning in fresh apples, apple pies, apple crisps, apple cakes, and now these little sliced, dried apples that our branch president gave to us last night. I love this time of year! Those dried apples have a pretty cool story actually, they're rings. They cut them with this cool device that has a big vice-grip that locks it onto a counter, a two-pronged spear on the end that cores the apple while a drill screws all the way through it, slicing it into horizontal rings. That probably didn't make sense but, essentially, it looked more like something that belonged on Dad's workbench than in the kitchen. That's Finland. I love it.

This week was so hectic. I don't think my companion will ever forgive me. We had a couple of great lessons set up for Monday, but we also needed to be in Seinäjoki for companion exchanges on Tuesday, so the only solution was to get up at 5.00 to catch a 6.00 bus to Pännäinen to get on a 6.30 train. Elder Kääriä hates mornings, so he wasn't too pleased by the idea, but it worked out just fine and he got to catch up on some sleep on the hour and a half train ride. I thought it was beautiful at that time of the morning. Everything was so quiet. Plus, we got so much done that day.

Tuesday night, everyone slept over in Seinäjoki, so we would all be ready for District Meeting the next morning. Actually, it was mostly so that we could all get up a 6.00 and go play soccer together in the rain. We had a blast. Plenty of collisions and stumbles, leading to a lot of muddy clothes and wet backsides as we marched back home. One of our new missionaries scored the winning goal on an assist from yours truly. But who's counting?

Wednesday was district meeting, which means we talked about a lot of stuff that probably doesn't mean a whole lot to all of you, except for one thing. Mosiah 22:14. We spent a long time in district meeting talking about how we help people attend church. There are a lot of details they need to know before they step into this entirely new environment, but the most important, at least in my mind, is that we do as King Mosiah did, and "receive them with joy." I've always liked it when someone came up to me and said, "hey, are you new here? Welcome. It's good to have you here." Or something to that effect when I was visiting somewhere new.

Wednesday afternoon, our Branch Mission Leader picked us up straight off the train and took us home for a dinner appointment. His one year old daughter has really started to love the missionaries. We even have a nickname there now. She calls us "Na" because she can't quite get "missionärerna." She also was very happy to show off how she could mix the vanilla cream all by herself, and feed her daddy his cake. We always laugh, because our BML (big, strong, moose-hunting man) turns into a huge softy around his daughter. He always just looks back and goes, "just wait till you have your own kids."

M and N are doing really well. They've developed this habit now, though, of asking tons of questions right at the end, and it makes it really hard to wrap up lessons and commit them to act on the message. So we'll see how it goes. When we invited them to be baptized, they said they would discuss it together during the week. While not a yes, it certainly wasn't a no, and in any case, that's not my point. It made me so happy to see them pursuing this idea together. They are a family, and we want them to be an eternal family, so the two of them sitting down, talking about it is about as perfect a way to decide it as there can be. Plus prayer and including Heavenly Father, of course. We had some really fun discussions with them about the Word of Wisdom this week. Everyone gets hung up on the fact that we use water instead of wine in the sacrament.

District Conference yesterday was amazing. I took a question there and thought about it during the whole meeting, and came out with a full page of notes as an answer to my question. Chalk one up for personal revelation. Also got to hear a testimony from a mother in our branch who sent her daughter off to the MTC last week. A bit of a strange experience to see that from the missionary point of view, but it made me so grateful for all the parents and families who support their children in making this decision. This is the greatest experience of my life. I asked that same member about her daughter's progress in the MTC and she said, "oh she sent an email telling us how she's not homesick at all. She's just being mean to her poor mother." I laughed pretty hard at that. I do miss you, fam. You're great. Love you all to pieces. But it will take a lot to pull me away from this beautiful country.

Have a great week! Thanks for all your emails, they make my day every preparation day.

Love,

Elder Hansen

Bikes and UFOs

Hey everybody,

This was one of the most fulfilling weeks of my mission. We had some wonderful, happy experiences, learned a ton, and are really happy about where the work is going in Pietarsaari right now. The week started off with a really full P-Day - had to get Elder Oberhansley his bike that got left behind when he was transferred. Remarkably efficient. Just dropped it off at the bus station, filled out a form and we were gone. Ran straight from that to a meeting with our Branch Mission Leader. We had such a great talk. We went through thw whole ward list and talked about all the people we could be doing more for. Also talked about more ways to get people excited about doing member missionary work. Looks like we're going to be teaching priesthood in a few weeks. Hope I'm still here!

Monday night with M and N was one of the happiest lessons we've had with them. Usually they are pretty quiet, but this time we found the right lane to run down (talking about their children and blessings for families) and the change was indescribable. They brought up a lot of their questions and concerns that had remained dormant for this whole time, and we really helped them see how Mormons are normal people too. Yes, we still have Christmas and Easter and birthdays. They may or may not have asked about UFOs and the member who taught with us may or may not have given them a less-than-Preach-My-Gospel-type answer, but that's ok because the Spirit was there, and it covered for my mistakes in teaching.

We've also started meeting with an older man, E, whom Elder Dastrup and I found together all the way back in April. He's a really nice man who has been through a lot of hard tragedies in his life, but has remained humble because of it. He just sincerely wants to learn more about Heavenly Father and the plan for his life. He tends to tell a LOT of stories from his life in our lessons, making it tough to actually teach, but he's a nice man and he's teaching me patience. In one of our lessons, we just read from the Book of Mormon with him, and something changed. He was quiet. He listened when we taught, and had perfect answers to our questions. The Book of Mormon really is a pure channel for the Spirit to use. He was great at our ward harvest festival on Saturday, too. We showed up to bike with him there (did I mention he rides a sweet tandem?), and he had on a sweet blue suit, bright yellow shirt, and purple tie. This guy is just golden. He also mentioned how, since he started meeting with us, he hasn't felt as tired and doesn't feel as much of a need for his allergy medication anymore! Love seeing miracles that come from the Spirit.

Speaking of miracles, the Lord really worked one through us with K, the wheel-chair man. He was sick, and decided to try "our way" as he called it. We gave him a blessing through the priesthood and a few days later he told us, "I feel like a whole new person." He's such a great man, but unfortunately we're worried that he's starting to feel this is true, and doesn't want it to be, because he's been hard to get ahold of for a few days. He also doesn't know my name, have I mentioned that? He just calls me Äldste Broder (the big brother) and Elder Kääriä is the little brother.

He's not the only one to forget my name this week, though. Our Elders Quorum President forgot it in priesthood meeting. Good humbling experience. Look, they only like you because you have a nametag that says, "Elder". As Elder Uchtdorf said, "They will love you...but don't you ever inhale it."

Gotta go. Have a good week.

Kip

Follow the Spirit

Hey everybody,

 

P-Day somehow ended up being more packed than ever this week, so this might be a little short, like last week's. Okay, actually it's because we've been putting off a lot of things that really need to get done around the apartment (like shipping Elder Oberhansley his bike) so, it was bound to be this way. Plus we have to get ready for a trip to Vaasa for companion exchanges this week. Losing a day in our proselyting area means extra work on the other days to make up for it.

 

This past week was definitely better than the week before. We regrouped, reevealuated, and redoubled our efforts to make last week's faliures and disappointments look like flukes.

 

This week has been a great one for us in finding. We found in a way I had never thought possible before: former potentials. One day, when we were on our way in, I felt prompted to try a former potential that had been dropped for many months. She had never shown interest after the initial contact. At first, I thought it might just be someone on the way that we ought to speak with, so on the way to this former potential, we talked with a wonderful mother. We both got very excited. Unfortunately, she wasn't interested. So we continued. We eventually made it to the home, and to our surprise the former potential was not there, but her daughter was. We spoke with the daughter and introduced the questions of the soul. She took the Book of Mormon and promised to read. When we arrived for our follow-up appointment, the daughter was not home, but the mother, the former potential, was. She let us in. Her daughter had left the Book of Mormon behind and this woman had begun to read it on her own! We sat down and taught her the Restoration. She has many questions about which church is truly God's church. Miracle.

Our visits to A have become a bit of a routine. The only problem is that, that routine is one of absolute bedlam for nearly an hour, consisting of her two little ones pulling our arms, legs, fingers, hair, and occasionally noses to get us to come play with them, yelling and jumping off the couch on top of us, and us valiantly trying to both quiet them and share a short (usually very short) spiritual thought. Now, whenever we walk in the front door, her one year old boy comes running down the hall yelling, "Hasen, Hasen, HASEN!" (As close as he can get to Hansen) and grabbing for my nametag. I usually give it to him, at which point he procedes to try to clip it onto his own shirt. Then his sister wants one, so I take off my other one and give that one to her. We have a small piece of cake or something that A has made (the one year old just eats the whipped cream), and then we try to sit in the living room to have a lesson. Commence bedlam. This week we thought it would be a good idea to let them watch the Restoration DVD, thinking that might keep them interested and entertained quietly for a while. It, uh, didn't. A's daughter spent most of the time trying to keep Elder K covered with blankets and pillows, and when I would try to say something, she would put her small hand over my mouth and say, "Shh, there's a movie on." Kids. A is doing really well, though, all things considered.

 

We had something of a small miracle with one of our less-active members this week. We sang! As we were talking in our lesson, his wife brought up the words to a hymn she really likes. We sang it as our closing hymn in that visit, and this old less-active, who hasn't shown a lot of interest or participation in previous lessons, sang with us. There was a light in his eyes. There was such a wonderful spirit in the home. And, while he stll didn't come to church on Sunday, he at least woke up on time! Baby steps, baby steps.

 

I wish I had more time to tell you all about the craziness that's happening here right now. Life is wonderful. Even if it's getting darker and a lot colder really fast... The district is doing great. We have two baptismal dates for the end of the month! Pray they go through!

 

I love you all, and miss you all very much.

 

Elder Hansen

Time Flies

Hej,

Easily one of the fastest weeks of my mission. With all the travel we'll need to do this change, it's probably going to go by even more quickly. Somebody help me!!!

Zone conference came and went like a blur. President Richards and his wife were wonderful. They have a powerful testimony and a profound understanding of the scriptures. Also, given the counsel we received there, combined with the large amount of paper President has sent out (pretty sure it rivals the five books of Moses now), they are 100% committed to making this mission, and Europe in general, the best it can be. Despite what people think, there are people prepared here. People all over Finland have been walking up to missionaries on the street and saying, "Hey, can I talk to you guys about joining your church?" Or, "So I've been reading a lot and I think you guys are probably right. Will you come tell me more?" I'm not kidding. It's happening. In FINLAND.

That being said, life hasn't been all fun and games here. Elder K and I tried to be diligent and work hard, but we just couldn't quite make each day what we wanted to. We had nearly every one of our appointments fall through. Kevin and another of our investigators have simply fallen into limbo and we haven't been able to have any contact with them at all for over a week. Still, we know this is the Lord's work, and that must simply mean he's giving us the time to find others who are more prepared and more ready to receive what we have. It would just be nice if they could walk around with bright neon signs over their heads saying, "I'm ready please coming talk to me about (Insert gospel topic)." But until they figure out how to do that, we'll stick to trying to rely on the Spirit.

My time is short, and to be honest and blunt, I don't have that many inspiring stories to share from this week. Sometimes they're like that. But, I'll close with some thoughts that have really touched me this week. In our district meeting prior to zone conference, I quoted from 1 Corinthians 13: "Charity never faileth." I talked about how that word "fail" actually has two meanings. The first is the one we always think of. To not succeed. To come short of a goal. To miss. When we have charity, we are promised that our lives will be considered a success because the true measure of success in life is the joy and progress we bring to the lives of others. It is not tied to a number. However, consider another connotation of the word fail, particularly used in the scriptural language. Very specifically, I think of the use of the word by the prophet Elijah to the widow when he promises that her oil will not fail. "Charity never faileth" may also mean something to the effect of, "charity always exceeds," "charity always goes the extra mile," "charity never runs out, loses hope, lacks courage, or slackens its pace." In light of those ideas, I think it very fitting that it is the Relief Society's motto. I mean, come on, we all know the men in this church are always trying to be as good as the sisters. When we have charity, and are filled with it, these other attributes will become part of us. There will be no stress, there will be no tiredness neither wearyingness in doing what is right. There will be no longing for a better world because we will become a piece of heaven, creating heaven on earth wherever we are.

At least it had a great effect on me this week.

I love you all so much. Have a great week.

Elder Hansen