Post #18 How Finnish has blessed my life/ Kuinka Suomen Kieltä on siunannut minun elämää

                I am very grateful for the Finnish language.  I have been able to learn so much because of the opportunity I have had to learn Finnish.  Finnish first and foremost taught me that I can learn and do hard things.  I learned that if I just put the effort into it will be able to progress and succeed.  The Lord defiantly knew what He was doing when He called me to Finland.  Before I left on my mission I was very much the type that would quit something if I didn’t think I was good at it.  This was a devastating thing in my life because even though many things came naturally, I didn’t have the skills necessary to learn hard, new things.

                When I entered the MTC I learned very quickly that speaking Finnish was hard.  I was not going to be able to be my usual self and quit because I really wanted to go to Finland and be an effective missionary.  Because I had desire I was able to buckle down and face the language head on.  It took many months of struggling before I finally felt like I could have a good conversation in Finnish.  By the end of my mission however, I was able to speak proficiently and help people learn the gospel in Finnish.  It was a huge blessing.

                Finnish continues to bless my life.  I am still able to keep in contact with those that I came to love in Finland.  I also speak Finnish for my work, so I am able to keep up my language skills.  The job I have now has blessed my life immensely and I have it because I was called by a prophet of God to serve a mission in Finland.  I have now learned that I can learn and do hard things and I am so grateful for it!  I love Finnish!