AMAZING SUNDAY......

And this week we only had to drive 35 minutes to church and did not have to stay in a hotel last night! That is amazing all by itself......

BUT....the real amazing part to end our Sabbath was getting an e-mail from NIINA MYLLER in the Joensuu Branch. Two weeks ago when we were there we met Niina. She is being taught the Gospel by the missionaries serving in the Branch. Because the church was close to our hotel in Joensuu, we decided to walk to church. I wanted to give Niina a little cross stitch picture but had forgotten them back at the hotel. We had dinner later that day in a member's home and the young missionaries were there as well. I gave a little picture to them with the instruction that the next time they taught Niina they were to give it to her and take a picture to send to us. And let us know when her baptismal date would be! Tonight, we got the picture of her holding the picture and her baptismal date has been set for NOVEMBER 27TH!!! We are so happy and excited for her.

Today we attended church in the KERAVA WARD right here in the Helsinki Stake! Close to home sweet home. During part of the meeting block I had a meeting with Katarina about some LDS Family Services material. It feel good to be 'back in the saddle' again.....just like old times!

After church we had a dinner appointment (literally as we walked into the chapel!) with Veli ja Sisar Airaksinen. She is not a member (yet!) and he is in the Bishopric. He is also a very active temple worker. We love working with him each week!!

They have just the cutest dog ever!!! I fell in love with him and I think he liked my paying attention to him!! I wanted to put him in my pocket and bring him home! AAAHHH.....

We had a little group picture after dinner and before we left! Wayne and I with the Airaksinen's next to us then the Peciulus and Johnson's. It was a delicious dinner...what a grea cook she is! I will be making a little cross stitch picture for them!

It has been a wonderful Sabbath!

CAR CZAR AT WORK!

Yes, Outside of our temple work, we have other responsibilities we have to take care of. Wayne has been 'assigned' to be the CAR CZAR.....the temple missionaries have access TWO VANS. Wayne has to take care of 'all their needs'.....and that includes washing them when they need it.

The afternoon turned out to be fairly nice so we decided to head over to the

DO-IT-YOURSELF-CAR-WASH. Just in case you aren't sure how to wash your vehicle, the instructions are listed above!

He has gotten very EFFICIENT in his efforts....he wash the whole van with just 1 euro!

FIRST.......spray it down with water....

and once you have done that.....

SECOND........soap it all up

THIRD.......scrub it with the brush, rinse and ALL CLEAN!!!

See how easy that was.......nothing to it!

And that is how we spent our 'free time' after working in the temple this morning!

FAREWELL TO

ANNE-BRITT KRÖNQUIST

Anne-Britt has been working as a full-time Office Manager in the Helsinki Temple the entire time we have been here. I think she worked here a total of about 3 1/2 years. She had to 'retire' based on her family situation.

Thursday night was that 'going-away' party. The refreshments were just delicious....and very cute as well.

Pavel also works in the office. He does NOT like to have his picture taken at all. This is his 'normal stance' when it comes to pictures!! Crazy him......

And the OFFICE GIRLS are Left to Right: Sisar Hlinonsky, Sisar Krönquist, Sisar Lindross and Sister Hyyli. In fact, Sisar Hyyli broke her arm several months ago and is just getting to the point where she might be able to come back to the office again soon. We miss her. All of the sisters above are volunteers in the office....except Anne-Britt of course.

The party was held in the President's apartment after the temple closed. All of the temple missionaries were there along with the office staff and the entire Temple Presidency.

We had our picture taken with Anne-Britt along with the Grobergs. What a fun evening!

CAN WE 'BOTTLE' THEM UP AND BRING THEM HOME WITH US!!??

ALL of them too!! My goodness, these people here are ALL so wonderful we just can't imagine we will have to leave here someday! :-(

The end of the TAMPERE WEEK is coming to a rapid close. They have been wonderful this week......and a great turnout of patrons too.

Here is Sisar Lampinen is from OULU. She has a few minutes and was working on a Christmas present for each of her 5 children........Christmas TABLE RUNNERS!!! Cross stitch at that. Well, say no more......

I wanted to sit down beside her and make me a set!!! They are just gorgeous! AAAHHH......I am jealous!

Sisar Merliläinen and her children have been here all week.....they leave this afternoon to head back to OULU!!! Can we just say that we see a trip to OULU in our future. Probably not until January because it is a L - O - N - G trip up north not too far from the Arctic Circle!! That will be a train ride and rent a car when we get there.

They are such a great family. The day / husband is not a member. This mother is so faithful and the children and just as strong in the Gospel. We saw them, as a family, at church when we visited in Kajaani a few months ago. I made them a little cross-stitch temple picture, just because!

Over the past two week-end trips we have made Wayne bought 3 little hand-held wooden 'trick' games. He decided to give one to each of the 3 children just because they have enjoyed playing with them this week. They were tickled to have them! The above picture shows the youngest daughter showing how she 'discovered' the secret to solving this one.

And they each proudly show off 'their' game! See ya in OULU Merliläinen and Lampinen families.....and our other friends up there!

QUICK NOTE......

It continues to be a GREAT week with TAMPERE VIIKO. Lots of friends here this week. Good to see each one of them.

Staying here in asuntola this week as well as attending the temple every day are JENNI and her mother (aiti), HELGA MASSINEN from Savonlinna. We had them over for dinner tonight. I made each of them a little gift to take home with them.

I fixed Norwegian salmon, boiled potatoes, beets, yummy Fazer bread (tomato and pepper!) with some a great ice cream 'roll'! I have to say it was delicious, even if I did make it!

Sisar Massinen was one of the 3 original members of the tiny little Savonlinna Branch where Wayne served as a young missionary 45 years ago. It has been wonderful to get to see her so often while we have been here in Finland. She has remained so faithful through all of the challenging years that she has had! Bless her little heart. And her daughter is just as faithful!

HOME AGAIN

ANOTHER WEEKEND HAS FLOWN BY!

Before we left Jyväskylä this morning to head home, there were a few 'things' we needed to do around town!

We headed over to the Koivito's to visit with them. They invited us over to visit with them. We have never met Sisar Koivisto. She doesn't get out much because she has MS and is wheelchair bound. What a sweet lady she is. We had a wonderful visit. Veli Koivisto invited us along with the Michie's to attend some sort of 'retirement lunch' where they have speakers come in and speak on a variety of topics. These meetings are held maybe once a month. Barbara and I decided we would go shopping since we would be just 'sitting there' and not being able to understand anything being said.

GOOD CHOICE we thought! It was a bit nippy outside however! That was okay....we still enjoyed our time.

Veli Koivisto brought the guys over to meet us when they finished. He helped us load our luggage in the mission van so we could head home.

I LOVE the Finnish sculptures they have all over the country! We 'found' this one on our way out of town. Yes, it is a bit blurry but that is what you get when you are driving and trying to take a picture! I still thought it was cool!

We made one quick stop on the way out of town to see the house where Wayne taught the Gospel to Olevi and his brother Antero 45 years ago. We visited with Olevi on Sunday night. It was just as Wayne remembered it. So neat!! So glad he is having these wonderful experiences!

I want to share a little of what Wayne wrote to the kids in an e-mail sharing his feeling about our weekend here.....seems to be typical of these weekend trips we have! Love it!

"Just like last Sunday in Joensuu, we got to see a lot of people we've come to know in the temple, as well as others with whom I was able to renew ties with the past, like Br. Allonen who came up to me and said he was 14 years old when I was here as a missionary, and he still remembers me. I think this is incredible! He reminded me that his father was the branch president back then. I got a little chuckle out of the congregation when I told them that I had helped build the chapel there and added "You're welcome." I also told the story of how the building construction foreman, a member of the Church, called me over one day and pointed up to a man on a ladder and said, "Elder Allgaier, that man needs to hear the gospel message. Can you teach him?" I told the congregation that we started teaching Br. Kuronen, but I left before he was baptized and never heard what became of him. After Sacrament Meeting, three individuals came up and told me that he and his wife remained humble and faithful members of the Church until they died. Heartwarming.

After church we had lunch with the Lampinen's, then along with Br. Lampinen (a member of the bishopric) we visited Olli Hakala, an inactive member whom I had taught. Nice visit, and he was agreeable to have members of the Church come visit now and then.

Although we were exhausted by the end of the day, it was a satisfying feeling of exhaustion. Hopefully some day all of you will be able to return to your mission areas and be able to have similar experiences."

SUNDAY IN JYVÄSKYLÄ

It was a wonderful day here.....Wayne and I along with Veli ja Sisar Michie spoke in Sacrament Meeting.....all in Finnish of course. We also sang a little song "I Love To See The Temple". I think they went well! Below I am pictured with the Järvinen's daughter who is married and lives here. We visited in her parents home last weekend when we were in Joensuu! I made her a little Temple picture. She lived in Maryland for a couple of years....Chevy Chase area. Small world in the church. We see her often in the temple.

Veli Koivisto was at church today.....we saw him a month or so ago in our apartment in Espoo. Wayne knew him a little 45 years ago. We will visit his home on Monday morning before we leave town to head back home. Made his a cross stitch picture as well!

As we were leaving church and heading to our Dinner Appointment, these cute little kids were playing in the church parking lot with the snow piled up from yesterday's snowfall!! They had so much fun...

Our DINNER APPOINTMENT was with the Lampinen family.....she is a Multämäkki daughter, the family Wayne taught and baptized 45 years ago! So fun to be in their home.....7 children and the oldest is serving a mission in Sweden right now.

Their little 7 year old daughter grabbed our camera and took this cute picture of Wayne! She did a great job.....

and then she took this picture too......she has talent!

Here is a FAMILY PICTURE with all but the missionary son.....great looking family!

I made and gave a cross stitch temple picture to the wife/mother, Kaisa.

As we were leaving, Wayne noticed the beautiful pieces of BIRCH BARK laying on their front porch!! He has truly been looking for a nice piece for the past 1 1/2 years!! They gave him several pieces.......he was in HEAVEN!

Then it was a drive north of where we were......80 km! Out in the country. It was just starting to get dark. This is where OLEVI lives. This is a guy that Wayne taught and baptized 45 years ago. You see, Wayne served in this area for 6 months!!! A long time for missionaries!

Olevi has not been active for some years. He was excited to have Wayne and I come by. He was very talkative! Wayne invited him to come back to church. I did not hear him say 'no'!! We will see.

I made a little cross stitch temple for he and his non-member wife! We will see what happens from here.

It has been a wonderful day here in JYVÄSKYLÄ. Tomorrow morning we will meet the Michie's back here at the Hotel (they are spending the afternoon and night with the Hintikka family). We will drive back to Espoo......

THIS WEEK AT THE TEMPLE: TAMPERE STAKE! They always come in mass! Can't wait to see our friends!

JYVÄSKYLÄ

Another weekend.....

Another trip

This time it was only a 4-hour drive north of Espoo.

But this time it was ALL in daylight hours. We drove up with the Michie's.

There was MORE SNOW up this way. Quite a bit more actually. And beautiful sunset developing too!

These BIRCH FORESTS are just so cool......and with the setting sun hitting the trees.....just perfect.

Tomorrow all four of us speak in Sacrament Meeting. We have a dinner appointment at the Lampila's home after church. We will then go visit some people Wayne taught and baptized 45 years ago. Should be a great day.

Our Friday is almost over....we worked the morning shift this week.

BEGINNING OF ANOTHER

WEEKEND.....

AND WE WILL BE HEADED TO

JYVÄSKYLÄ

after the temple tomorrow (Saturday).

We woke up this morning to a beautiful FULL MOON setting. Hard to get a good picture, but Wayne did a great job.

After we finished our shift this morning, we went over to Sello to do a couple of quick errands (as usual). On the way over, we noticed an all-too-familar sign:

"TIRED CHANGED WHILE YOU WAIT.....8 A.M. - 6:00 P.M."

FORTUNATELY, Wayne got the tired changed on both mission cars this week. Good thing because they, by law, have to be on before the first snow.

We stopped at the APTEEKKI to get some vitamins.....CALCICHEW D3FORTE. All Finns take those several times a day because of the lack of sunlight. Why not?? We are in Finland......may as well do as the Finns do!

The DOORS in the parking of Sello are on 'WINTER MODE' now ....... the doors open and close automatically to keep the cold air out and the warm air in. Kind of cool.....

Stopped at the SHELL station for Wayne to fill up at least one of the mission cars. If you look carefully you can see the snow.

The SNOW was very pretty as we drove home.....in fact, Wayne took the above picture out of our living room window ..... and caught President Haikkola walking up to the temple.

I am sure we will be SICK of snow in a few months but for right now it is very pretty and we are ready for it!

MID-WEEK REPORT......

This is FINLAND MISSION WEEK, meaning the outlying wards and branches are here at the temple this week. It is quite busy and we love being super busy! That is what we are here for. And the asuntola is FULL as well. HYVÄÄ.........HYVÄÄ!!

This morning as we headed up to the temple, it was about 7:40 a.m......and you can see how dark it is at that time now. Days are definitely getting shorter....and very quickly at that.

Along with the Finland Mission District coming, we also had a large group of RUSSIAN MISSIONARIES from NOVOSIBIRSK here this week. They had to leave, with renewed passports in hand, this afternoon and head back to different parts of Russia. There were familiar faces amongst this group....and some that we saw for the last time today because their missions will be ending and they will be heading back to the states. AAAHHH ...... we will miss them! They have become good friends.

I crocheted a red lace doily for Sisar Järvinen. We visited their home while we were in Joensuu over this past weekend. They are so sweet.....just a little 'extra' I wanted to make for her.

She seemed very pleased to have it.

Our GOOD WEEK continues.....the arrival of more saints from OULU will take place tomorrow! Can't wait to see our friends from there.