ANOTHER WEEKEND.....

ANOTHER ROAD TRIP!!

BUT FIRST....back up to Wednesday! We have a meeting every Wednesday night with the Temple President and Matron in their apartment. Us Temple Missionaries that is. This picture was taken just before the meeting was to begin......just wanted to 'slip' that one in!

NOW.....on to this weekends road trip.....to KUOPIO! KUOPIO is located about halfway up to the middle of Finland......in the lake district....so lots of lakes around

This is the view out of our hotel room window......

and our room is on the very end......and as a result,

we are located nearest the OUTDOOR SAUNA!!!! People running around in towels wrapped around them. At least they have towels!!

Tomorrow we speak in the KUOPIO BRANCH....all four of us....Kent and Barbara Michie and Wayne and I.....

A TYPICAL DAY IN THE LIFE OF

VELI WAYNE JA SISAR VICKI ALLGAIER

HELSINKI FINLAND TEMPLE MISSIONARIES

I decided that with the pictures I have taken today, it totally 'describes' a day in our Missionary Life here in Finland......

6:00 a.m.....SUNRISE (days are getting shorter already!)

7:30 a.m.....as we walked up to the temple (we are on the morning shift this week) there was just a pretty cloud reflection in the upper window of the temple!

This afternoon we noticed that the asuntola grounds just looked 'pretty'......plush green grass, pretty flowers.....so pretty

Wayne went to a local hospital to visit Veli Leopnen. He had some fairly major surgery about 2 months ago and he is still recovering. He has been wonderful in visiting him as much as he can.

And while he was doing that I was making and delivering a cross stitch picture to BRAT MERUZHAN ja SISTRA OLGA BAGDASARJAN. He is the Branch President in the OHTA BRANCH in St. Petersburg. Doesn't he look exactly like my brother Jacob??

We just LOVE every day here!! Always so many wonderful things happening!

SUCH SAD NEWS TODAY!!

You will recall the bottom picture below from our Sunday blog post. It is SISAR HAANPÄÄ from the LAHTI WARD. I gave a cross stitch bookmark to her.....she and SISAR TAPPER are such sweet sisars! They are such faithful temple workers. They come every week....make the long drive with several others from their ward.

Sisar Haanpää was so excited when I gave her bookmark to her. And she accepted Sisar Tapper's bookmark as well. You see, Sisar Tapper had major surgery about 5 weeks ago. She had come to church for the first time since her surgery on Sunday. She was only there for Sacrament Meeting and then had to go home. It was terribly hot.....she didn't feel too well.

And you can see she is holding TWO bookmarks!!

Got an e-mail from Sisar Haanpää this morning at the temple. She was sorry to inform us at the temple that Sisar Tapper passed away last night......Thursday night.... at about 9:00 p.m.!

That hit me like a lead balloon!!! I was shocked! As were others. We all thought she was recovering nicely....and so did she.

Sisar Hannpää talked with Sisar Tapper yesterday morning and told her about the special gift I had made for her and the girls were going to get together in a day or so and get the gift to Sisar Tapper! Sisar Tapper was so excited. She knew the gift was made for her!

I am so sorry I did not get to give it to her on Sunday. I am so happy she knew I had made it for her. I have asked Sisar Haanpää to give it to her husband for him to keep, if he wishes!

We will see when the funeral will be held. I am hopeful we will be able to go!

SWEDISH YOUTH GROUP TODAY!!!

THIS IS......'TEMPLE DISTRICT FAMILY WEEK' here at the temple. There are mostly RUSSIANS from Samara and Novosibirsk and maybe 2 Finnish families staying at the asuntola. BUT......we had a YOUTH GROUP from STOCKHOLM SWEDEN today!!

These youth ALL earned their own money to come to the Helsinki Finland Temple. Don't know how long they have been planning on this trip....but a while I am sure!!

A total of 16 youth and 3 adult male and 3 adult female leaders ...... they were very well behaved and seemed to have a great time!! Wayne and I were privileged to be workers in the Baptistry with them.

They took the ferry boat from Stockholm and will be leaving tonight to take the ferry boat back.....18 hour boat ride each way....rooms to sleep in! Not a bad way to travel!!

Fortunately, most of them spoke good English!! SWEDISH will be my language of the 'week to learn next week'!! I should have moved it up to 'this week' so I would have been more prepared to greet them properly! Barbara Michie (far left, green sweater) and Wayne down in front had their picture taken with the group....Barbara being 100% Swedish and Wayne being 25% Swedish!!

Kent and Barbara Michie enjoyed talking with them for a while after we left......

P-DAY ALREADY!

BOY......the weeks just seem to fly by

We had been invited to visit the home of Veli ja Sisar Marjanen who live in LOHJA several months ago. Because of schedules we have not been able to get there until today!

It was a nice day.....little overcast and cooler.

We walked around their yard and just relaxed for a few minutes.......and enjoyed their comfy hammocks!

After a light lunch we headed out for a little sightseeing around their nice little town (about 35,000)......

First stop was the TYTYRIN KAIVOS LIMESTONE QUARRY

It is located about 100 meters below the earth. After getting our hardhats we were driven by van down to the location of the tour. It was about a one-hour tour. In Finnish but I was able to read the english translation on the signs around. It was very impressive.....and cold and dark and wet.....as any 'cave' would be.

Back above ground we drove to the LOHJAN PYHÄN LAURIN KIRKKO (The Church of St. Lawrence Lohja). It is a very impressive church in the center of town. It dates back to the 14th Century!! WOW.....that is old.

It has been beautifully kept up........paintings on just about every bit of the ceiling and walls!!

We made our way back to the Marjanen's home for a little dessert....delicious APPLE CRISP and ICE CREAM!!

And.....of course!......I made a bookmark for Sisar Marjanen!

And a picture of VELI JA SISAR MARJANEN by their door sign!! What a great day!!

FINNISH BLUEBERRY PIE

As shared with us by Leena Kataja's son who is a great cook!!

We will be making this recipe this week!! For sure!! We have Loganberries we will be using instead of blueberries...

3 kananmunaa (eggs)

3 dl sokeria

4.5 dl vehnäjauhoja

3 tl leivinjauhetta

3 tl vanilliinisokeria

1.5 dl maito

150 g margariinia (melted)

200 degrees 18 minuuttia

HOT......HOT......HOT

&

FINLAND

IN THE SAME SENTENCE!!

There has been a real HEAT WAVE going across RUSSIA for the past week or so.....Finland is getting the 'tail end' of it I believe.....it has been unusually HOT.......the worst in about 100 years the Finns say!! GREAT.....and the coldest winter in about 40 years this past winter!! I might add that NONE of the buildings in Finland have AC because they just don't need it. Needless to say......it is HOT everywhere we go.....and Sunday was suppose to be the HOTTEST DAY of the summer!!

Wayne and I, along with Barbara and Kent Michie, visited the LAHTI WARD. Wayne and I spoke (in Finnish) and the Michie's sang a song. And yes indeed it was quite WARM......above is our Sunday School class. They brought in a fan and sat in the middle of the room. That helped a little bit. And in Relief Society, glasses of cold water were passed out to all of the sisters. Now, that is a true RELIEF SOCIETY TOUCH if ever I saw one!!

Sisar Haanpää (above with me) and Sisar Tapper (who had to leave after Sacrament Meeting) come to the Temple on a weekly basis. I made them a BOOKMARK and gave to Sisar Haanpää. Sisar Tapper had some major surgery done a couple of weeks ago. She ventured out to church for the first time today. She was not feeling well because of the heat and headed home. Her bookmark will be delivered to her by her best friend, Sisar Haanpää!! They are like the 'bobsie twins'!

After church we were invited out to the KATAJA perhe for dinner. Leena is a daughter of Sisar Multamäki

They have two little KITTENS......KISSA....this one reminded me of CHESSIE!!!! Don't you think so......Chessie as a baby! And that is what she looked like when we got her oh so many years ago!!

The 'spread' was wonderful! So much and so good.....they are a great family and great hostesses!!

Now that is the way to 'pile you plate high'!! This is their oldest sons plate.....they have 6 children.....3 boys and 3 girls.

Their oldest son is quite the cook (can't remember his name)......he made a FINNISH BLUEBERRY PIE just because he was in the 'mood' to bake something. No recipe in sight....all from memory because he has made it so often!! Don't worry....we got the recipe!

And NO DESSERT is complete without a HUGE bowl of ICE CREAM to put on top!!

Of course, I made a cross stitch bookmark for LEENA as well!!