MTC: Handwritten letter

A handwritten letter for Easter was a nice treat!

MTC: Letter #6

Hello everyone! This is Vanhin Tippetts reporting live from the MTC in Provo, Utah. It is a sunny day with a high of 65 and the Church is True! I have had an amazing and humbling week. I have realized that I have been given so much in my life it would be impossible to show enough gratitude for it! I am so grateful for my family! Also I have realized that I don't speak Finnish very well considering in a little over two weeks ill be in Finland! Its super scary but I'm getting kind of sick of not talking to real investigators!

Everybody: there is no such thing as too much mail!

Last night we had a special choir practice for the Easter Devotional. We don’t know who is speaking, they like to keep that a secret until he walks in the door! The choir song is called The Lord is my Shepherd. It sounds pretty awesome! The best part about being in the choir is we get reserved seats for Devotional!. Oh and they will be doing a MTC-wide Sacrament Meeting during the Devotional!

This week has been much of the same. We wake up and learn until we go back to bed. The routine is becoming part of my very being! I also am trying to eat healthier but I’m failing miserably. I’ve gained 25 pounds since I’ve been here... Just kidding! Haven't gained an ounce! whoo! Today is P-day and we have it down to a science! we went to the temple this morning and are now writing letters where after we have laundry and while that’s cooking we have our hair cuts scheduled and it leaves just enough time to prepare a lesson that we have to teach tonight!

We are getting 7 new Estonian missionaries today which will be nice because the Hungarians just left and it has been just us two Finn Districts for a few days. Elder Durrant and I have a few things to do to help the new missionaries get settled in so we are busy preparing that as well.

This week, I learned the Ensiminen Naku (First Vision discussion) which was surprisingly difficult because the literal translation is a little weird but i busted it out in a lesson and the teacher started laughing at me because i was making grunting faces. It was a little embarrassing but ill live! I also learned Moroni 10:4-5 in Finnish! Memorizing really helps me learn grammar principles.

So I have mentioned that there is a spoken language and a written language. Well some native Finns have been trying to show us the differences and it makes me want to cry! Even the numbers are tonally different! It’s okay though because I’m a missionary! All our teachers have been telling us not to worry because Finnish is totally different in different parts of the country. Also all our teachers I am convinced are going quorum of the seventy soon! Veli Hamner or Elder Austin J. Hamner as he will be referred to as a general authority is a stud! I was having a rough day this last week and he pulled me out and talked to me one on one and I can say it redirected the course of my mission to this point.

There’s a part in 1 Nephi where he is receiving the vision his father had received and he is being guided by and angel and the angel keeps saying Look! Behold! and Nephi will look and learn something totally crazy! 

1 Nephi 11:32 "And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was ^ataken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was ^bjudged of the world; and I saw and bear record."

This is how I feel every day. An angel is continually pointing and saying Look! and I’m like wow! That’s it! That’s what i needed! I want so badly to be a great missionary like my teachers were and continue to be. I know that everything I need I was born with and I just need to figure out how to bring it out and let it motivate me to work harder!

I am sorry I don’t have much detail to share but this week was fairly normal and repetitive of last week.

I love all of you and love hearing from you! I hope all is well out there in the real world!

Mina Rakastaan Teita!

Vanhin Tippetts!

MTC: Letter #5

Mita ylos minun perhe! How are ya? I'm doing awesome here at the good ol' MTC!

First off, D&C 33:3 is the scripture I would like on my plaque [to be hung in the hallway at the church at home]!

So, this week 7 Finnish missionaries left for the field. We got word that the missed a flight in Chicago but they should have arrived in Helsinki by now! There are currently 14 missionaries here going to Finland. Two are Sisters and the rest are Elders. Our baby Finns will be arriving the day after we leave for Finland so we will not get to meet them until we get into the field. Our zone is made up of Estonians, Albanians, Hungarians and Finns. The Albanians left with the Finns and the Hungarians are leaving on Monday! Then it will be just the Finns for a while until 7 Estonians come next week! Elder Durrant, who is from Lehi, and I were pleased to find out that we will be getting our whole suite to ourselves again this week! on that note we got a perfect score on our clean check this week and I’m not bragging or anything but my bed was made so well I could bounce a quarter off of it!

MTC President Nally

The weather is actually warming up quite a bit up here. President Nally has asked that suit coats remain on at all times and it’s actually warm enough to where that’s pretty tough sometimes! I see many friends here quite frequently and they all look happy! I am distributing my business cards liberally with hopes of getting some contact while we are in the field!

As far as Visas go, we were told that it takes 6-8 weeks to get them after we went to LA so they should be here just in time for us to leave. Finland is pretty easy and fairly routine to get into as a missionary. I caught word that Elder Willardson may be having some trouble with his visa though! His spirits are high though! We do not have a for sure departure date but as far as we know it is April 16. I will let you know as soon as i find out!

Our branch president, President Hicken just got called to serve as a Mission President in Kenya! Our whole branch is just incredible!

A cool experience happened this week. We were all given a scripture that we had to testify of as a companionship in Finnish. We were given 2 Nephi 33:10-11 and I bore the clearest testimony I have ever given and I even started to cry a little bit. Afterwards I had no idea what i said but my teacher complimented me on how much improvement i had been making. The picture you received last week is of me and Durrant and two other Finnish elders, im not sure which ones, and also our teacher Veli (brother in Finnish) Christiansen. He is a stud. He was an AP under our current mission president. His investigator name is Veijo. We are also teaching Rai and Jaako. Both teachers and former AP's and RM's from Finland!

There is a native Finn learning Greek on our floor. His name is super cool, it’s Aksel Kopenen. He is super friendly and gives us Finnish candy and phrases we can learn. I shared some of the American Candy that was sent from home which he appreciated but said he didn’t like it as much as his countries candy! Either way, I have been receiving all the packages and love everything I get. I am currently looking at a package slip that I need to go redeem right after this!

I will make sure to find Elder Randall today and say Hi!

On Easter we are having a MTC wide sacrament meeting. We ate dinner with the choir director and he said we wont want to miss it! My guess is Henry! Either way we are signing in the choir! 

I currently do not need anything specific, I am being taken care of!

  

I’ve always wondered how the church finds such incredible people to lead it, but i realized that that’s what the gospel does. The gospel makes you incredible. Use it and I guarantee it will change you for the better!

My calling as ZL here as really helped me to forget about myself. I gave a blessing to a sister in our zone and it was a super special experience! The Lord knows exactly what I need to do His work and He is hitting me hard with it!

I am grateful for everyone back home and for your love and prayers! Keep it up!

Love you all!

Vanhin Tippetts

P.S. Elder Durrant loves his shirt, we wear them at night together when we go and visit everyone in our zone!

MTC: Photo

Elder Tippetts with Sister Painter.

FINLAND FACTS

Fun & Interesting Facts about Finland:

• Finland is situated in northern Europe and shares its borders with Sweden, Norway and Russia.
• Finland is a constitutional republic and became a member of the European Union in the year 1995.
• The capital of Finland is Helsinki. A quarter of the country’s total area lies north of the Arctic Circle.
• Forest covers about 75 per cent of Finland and water bodies, around 188,000 lakes, make about 10 percent of the country.
• The principal archipelago and the self-governing province of the Åland Islands lie off the south-west coast, while the main lake district of Finland is in the east.
• Finland is the seventh largest country in Europe, in terms of area, but has a very low population density.
• Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. However, majority of the people in the country have Finnish as their native language.
• The majority of people in Finland belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church and a fraction of them follow Finnish Orthodoxy.
• Initially a part of Sweden, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, in 1809. The country declared independence from Russia in 1917 and became a republic in 1919.
• Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and the Nordic Council in 1956.
• There are as many as 180,000 islands in Finland.
• The Finnish currency is euro (EUR), divided into 100 cents (sentti).
• Finland is the home of the Santa Claus. He also has an office in the North of Finland, on the Arctic Circle.
• Finland was one of the last regions in Europe to adopt Christianity.
• According to the World Audit study of 2006, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world.
• Finland ranked 1st at the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report Index Ranking in 2006 and 2nd in terms of Growth Competitiveness Index.
• Nokia Corporation, a Finnish company, is amongst the largest mobile manufacturers of the world.
• Finland is the only country in the world, which broadcasts news in Latin.
• Halti, 1,327 m high Artic hill in Northern Finland, forms the highest point in the country.
• There are 1.8 million saunas in Finland, of which approximately 500 are traditional smoke saunas.
• The famous wife-carrying competition originated in Finland.
• Finland was the first country to enforce the right to vote act to all the adult citizens, including women.
• According to the UN, Finland is the second most stable country in the world.
• Karaoke in Finland is very popular. One can find karaoke bars almost everywhere in this country.
• In Finland children do not go to school until they are seven.
• Known as a land of thousand lakes, Finland is home to more than 180,000 lakes.
• Finland is also called the land of midnight sun, because in the months of June and July the sun shines all day and all night.
• Surprisingly, there are no public payphones in Finland! More than 5 million mobile phones are used by a population of 5.4 million.
• Keeping the headlights on all the time while driving, is a law here.
• Finland won its complete independence in 1917.
• During World War II, it resisted invasions by the Soviet Union.
• Per capita income is now among the highest in Western Europe.
• Finland's has a high standard of education, equality promotion, and national social security system.
• Their Social Security System is currently challenged by an aging population and the fluctuations of an export-driven economy.
• Finland is slightly smaller than Montana.
• Border countries: Norway, Sweden, Russia
• There are more than 60,000 lakes.
• Arizona has about 1,000,000 more residents than Finland.
• Natural resources: Timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone
• Ethnic groups: Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.6%, Russian 0.5%, Estonian 0.3%, Roma (Gypsy) 0.1%, Sami 0.1% (2006)
• Religions: Lutheran Church of Finland 82.5%, Orthodox Church 1.1%, other Christian 1.1%, other 0.1%, none 15.1% (2006)
• The average age of a first-time mother is 28 years.
• The life expectance of a Finn is 79.8 compared to 78.6 in the U.S.
• 36% of adults in the U.S. are obese while in Finland, it’s only 23%
• Finns have a 100% literacy rate compared to the U.S. at 99%
• Their current constitution is only 14 years old.
• The president is elected for a 6-year term.
• Citizens have a military obligation until age 60.
• The Finland unemployment rate is 8.4% compared to the U.S. at 7.3%

MTC: Class

Elders Tippetts and Durrant on the right.

MTC: Letter #4

Well hello from the MTC! I have one thing to say... my knees hurt [from kneeling] ... I used to think I was pretty good at this stuff but it turns out I need more help than most anyone here! I have felt everyones love and support from back home and want to thank everone for it!

All my BYU-I friends: Shout out! Thanks for writing me!  BYU-I friends, I love you all!

What a week it has been in the MTC! Our minds are exauhsted and are bodies are even more tired. I finished my last week as district leader and Vanhin Durrant and I were made Zone leaders on Sunday. What's nice about this one is we get to work together and just love everybody in our zone! It also helps to forget about myself and serve others! our roomates left yesterday and as far as we know Vanhin Durrant and I will have the entire suite to oursleves!

Its been super awesome hearing about all the mission calls everyone is getting! The work is moving faster and faster every day! It becomes more and more appearant when you see 1,000 missionaries come in every wednesday! Word of advice, you can never know enough about the gospel... STUDY!

Because i just remembered, use 1 Samuel 17:47... I think, it has something to do about this being the Lords battle and how swords and spears wont do anything against it. when you quote it you can leave the part about "delivering you into my hands" out!

Dad, youre right, the teachers are great and super nice to us but, the food isn't exactly thhe same! I have to admit every day is a miracle here because they can feed all these people! Ive seen Mary Hendryx a few imes and she is always checking to make sure i get enough food! She's the best! Elder Hendryx is also doing good. Him and I talked for a while yesterday!

Choir is probably one of the funnest things we do here! We heard that this special easter service were gonna have hear might have someone big speaking at it so Im pretty excited about that!

Our papa Finns [senior MTC missionaries] are leaving next week and we are all feeling their excitement! They fly to chicago then London and have a 6 hour lay-over and then they go to Helsinki! Im so jealous that they are leaving so soon but also am ok with it because i do not speak nearly enough Finnish. Even though I am not fluent yet I have already fallen in love with his language. It is so complex, it makes things so much clearer when spoken in Finnish! For example, look up the word for French Toast, its like 10 words long!

One of our "investigators" [MTC volunteers] has commited to baptism! We've got one that was "baptized" when he was a baby and he's being real difficult! The third "investigator" just asks so many questions! Whats amazing that is that we understand and are answering the questions [in Finnish]!

Well as always, time is short. I love you all and love hearing from you!

Rakastaa,

Vanhin Tippetts

P.S. My key board is kinda funky so sorry for any mistakes!

MTC: With Elder Hendryx at the map

MTC: New photo

This was just sent to us from a volunteer at the MTC.

Elders Durrant and Tippetts

MTC: Photo

With Elder Willardson

MTC: Letter #3

I am so excited that its P day i cant express it with words! yesterday Vanhin Durrant and I went the entire day speaking only Finnish! it was soo hard but i can already see how much faster i can conjugate and express feelings and such! The amount of prayer that is required from us here at the MTC is staggering! We pray minnimum 20 times a day. all in Finnish too! I love hearing from everybody back home and can not encourage you enough to keep writing! It makes my day whenever I hear from you!

We have been growing so close to the lord thes last couple weeks its insane! The big thing weve been taught (thats not finnish) is becoming converted. A testimony is not enough to get by in this life. We cannot be saved and inherit celestial glory by simply thinking that God loves us, we must DO to BECOME what the Lord has asked of us. A member of the Quorum of the Seventy spoke last night and told us if we were okay with not going to the Celestial Kingdom then we are already doing too much but we may not be doing enough to enter into the same dominion that God himself lives in. I am working on becoming who the Lord wants me to be and I know not how but I do know that if I put my trust in him and work as hard as i can he will make of me what he desires.

If i can give any advice it is to always keep The Lord and serving him in our sights. We saw an Elder go home after 3 days because he did not want to be here and I couldn't help but feel sad for him because the blessings that one recieves from missionary service will go on into eternity! Don't back down from the service of our GOD!

Well anyway, all is well here in Provo! Vanhin Durrant and I are getting along well. He is an amazing example of a leader and I am so grateful to be his companion! The Papa Finns [those missionaries getting ready to go into the field] started their consecration week [the week they dedicate all their speaking in Finnish] where they speak only Finnish until they leave. Elder Durrant and I were inspired to start now so every day but Pday and Sunday we speak only Finnish. We even made a constitution! Its difficult but no one said it wouldn't be!

We got two new "investigators" [these are volunteers that help at the MTC in role plays] this week and they are not as easy on us as the first one was! Every time we tell this one guy something he says "miksi?" which is why? and it is super annoying because it makes me laugh because hes our teacher and its just like him to do that to us! All throughout our lessons Elder Durrant and I recieve promptings left and right on what to say and its super fun! The whole teaching program is crazy efficient here! The teachers are all return missionaries from Finland who served under President Rawlings [the current Mission President in Finland]!

Something cool about our Pday [Preparation Day is the one day a week where part of the day is used for letter writing, clothes washing, etc.] is its the same day as all the new missionaries come so they make the food extra good! haha. Also there will not be a conference choir at conference this time! darn, oh well Kirko on Totta.

I want to challenge everyone who reads this to make daily scripture study a priority. The words alone have power along with the meaning they carry. If you do this I promise that it will bring a certain peace into your home that cannot be achieved any other way. As you experience the change in your own life and in the lives of those around you please share those experiences with me!

Friends preparing to go on missions: Dont drink the orange juice when you get here (ha ha) and really work hard on studying the scriptures. There is a lot expected of you when you get here and a large knowledge of the scriptures is on of those things epxected!

Thats all my time, Mina Rakastaan Tieta kaiki. Hyva onea tama vikko.

Rakastaa Vanhin Tippetts!