Holiday Season Begins in Suomi (Finland)

Today, 28 Nov, 2011 and we are having our Thanksgiving dinner in the visitors' kitchen down below.  I will try to take a picture and include it later in the blog. Lynne and all the sisters have been very busy getting ready for the event.  We have a number of locals coming also, so it should be a really fun day. More later.

However, this past Saturday we had an opening of the nativity scene with a little program that was really nice.  There were a number of Finns and missionaries there.  There was a short talk by a member of the temple presidency. We have a great temple presidency here in Finland.  All of them are certainly veterans of the basic founding of the church in Finland.  As I read the early history of the church in Finland, which really only began in the late 1940's and early 1950's, I recognize many of these early members in the temple all the time. The Helsinki Stake patriarch, Tauno Kasper Savolainen, is 87 years old and just as active as one could be. I have been reading his autobiography and what a story of faith and dedication.  It has taken men like him and many others over here to establish a firm foundation from which the church has grown.  From that foundation, 3rd and 4th generation active Finnish families have resulted.  What a blessing it is to work in the temple with these stalwarts of faith all the time.  True, they are getting older, like ourselves, but the opportunity for Lynne and I to associate with them is outstanding.

Here is the nativity scene that is on a little hill between the main highway and the temple.  It will be seen by many who travel by.    

Nativity Scene by Helsinki Temple

And of course, the children had to sing.  It was fun to see these Finnish children perform.

Finnish Youth Singing Christmas Carols

Thanksgiving in Finland 28 Nov 2011

Below is a picture of our group starting to eat their Thanksgiving Dinner.  It was really fun and everyone helped.  The food was excellent and we had a good time.  We are a pretty close group and all seem to work to help everyone else.

Love you all, we are doing okay.  The weather is getting more winter-like all the time but we have been really lucky and have not had any snow yet.  Mom's yams were a big hit this evening with all.  We did have turkey with all the trimmings and much more of everything else.

Lynne and Rick at Thanksgiving Dinner

Love you all, Rick and Lynne

Trek to Kouvola

Kouvola Branch building. The church is one the bottom on the left and in the middle, then there is a store on the right of the bottom floor.  The store is closed on Sunday, so everything works out pretty good.

Yesterday we went to Kouvola and visited a small branch there.  We attended both their meetings.  I had a chance to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting and Lynne helped with the music.  After the meetings we were invited to the home of Aimo and Nellie Jäkkö deep in the heart of Finland or about 50 kilometers from Kouvola to their home.  And are they ever deep in the forest.  They had us and the another couple, Williamson's,  to dinner and it was great to visit with them.  We had a wonderful dinner and then visited and saw her internet business which is selling miniatures of everything.  If you would like to visit her site, it is www.finnaimo.fi. We had a wonderful day in the country.  Church was really great, not a lot of people, but the spirit was neat and the members were super.

Below is a picture of the Jäkkö family near Välijoki, Finland.  Notice the old fuse box on the wall.  The house they live in used to be a dormitory for a teacher's school. This was a great experience.  They live in the kind of home that I used to tract out all the time when I was here before.  But they also have satellite TV and internet connectivity and heat the place with a modern ground heat-exchanger.  Don't for one minute think that these folks are behind the times, they are modern and up-to-date in all aspects that I can see.  I saw a robot at the pharmacy the other day filling prescriptions totally automatically .

This is a picture of the Mäkinen's who we worked with for a while at the temple.  Another couple from American is coming and their mission to the temple was completed.  Wonderful people whom we learned to love and appreciate in the short time we knew them.

We are doing great.  A bunch of Russians from St. Petersburg are in the dormitory this evening and will be in the temple tomorrow. We need to learn some Russian to help with the sessions, but we have got to get the Finnish down first.  Love to all of you.  Rick and Lynne

Our Trek to Hämeenlinna

Hämeenlinna, Finland  November 13, 2011

Well, our first experience speaking in church is over and we are still alive.  They didn't stone us or throw rotten food. It was in a small branch in the town of Hämeenlinna about a100 kilometer drive from our home in Espoo. It is in a rented building right now because their old building had mold and they had to exit it.  There were about 50 members present.  They hold Sunday School first and then have sacrament meeting.  Only a two hour block at this time.  No piano, they used the recorded hymns and it worked fine.  A sister that started her missionary work the same time that I did in October of 1965 translated for Lynne's talk and I gave mine in Finnish after laboring forever to get it written.  Anyway, it was a really enjoyable day and we had a great time driving up and back.  The Brother and Sister in the photo above is of a brother that I knew in Finland when I was here before.  Not many left in the country now, but I run into a few all the time.

On the way home Sunday, I had to stop at one of my old towns where I used to labor and found the old train station is still in use.  It was unbelievable, but I used this station so many times years ago.  The town has definitely changed but it brought back many memories.  This is in the town of Järvenpää.

What would the town named after a castle be without a castle in the town?  The is a side shot of the castle in Hämeenlinna, which translated means Hämeen's castle.  It is a beautiful location and site is right on the edge of lake.

Just took this picture a few minutes ago. We just had to share this sunset with you.  All is well in Finland, the Finns are starting to get ready for their first big snow storm and also for Christmas.  We love the temple and all those that are connected with it.  Love all of you.  Rick and Lynne

All Saints Day

Well, it is time again for an update from Finland.  Today was our every 6th or 7th Saturday off and we spent the All Saints Day holiday puttering around the apartment and getting ready for our Sacrament talks a week from tomorrow.  It will take us that long to get ready to speak.
Anyway, all is well and we are doing okay.  It was Estonian week in the temple so we have had all kinds of different folks around here speaking all kinds of foreign tongues.  They are great people and so dedicated to their  temple assignments.  We have also had a number of folks from Russia this week, so it has been quite interesting to say the least.
This first picture is a of us and our good friends, Roger and Janice Fuller in front of the Haaga Chapel in the northern part of Helsinki.  The younger sisters are some friends that help us at the temple. We go to many different wards, so I really don't know which one is ours.

The Finnish people celebrate All Saints Day differently than we do.  It is a pretty quiet holiday with all the stores closed and in the evening candles are place on graves by family members and others.  These two pictures are of one of the headstones.  The first one is without my flash and the other with the flash turned on. It is really quite a sight to see all the candles in this particular cemetery.

Well hope all of you are doing well and winter has not set in too much.  We have not had any snow yet but I am sure that it will come.

Some have asked for our mailing address:

Since we have opened our blog to the public, I have taken our address off.  But if you need our address, blog address, or phone number.  Just email me at Londonrt@msn.com.  Rick and Lynne