Polar Bear Club Member

Well, Brother Vorimo from the temple president made us an offer the other day that we couldn't refuse.  He invited us to the sauna on a lake's edge with a large hole broken in the ice for a quick dip.  I thought he was kidding at first, but he wasn't, so a number of we "men" went and slowly entered 1degree C water.  Well folks, it was cold, cold, cold and then we went to the sauna.  But one trip to the lake wasn't enough, so after the first trip to the sauna we went into the lake again and then back to the sauna.  A couple of the more intelligent men just went to the sauna and didn't get into the lake, but most of us got into the water.  Below is my proof of this once in a life-time adventure.  I am now a true Finn, through and through.

Rick in the ice water

Notice the snow in the back ground on the edge of the lake.  Honestly, a few seconds after I got out I couldn't feel the cold anymore.  I think that my nerve ending stopped functioning and I didn't know any better.   For you information, the young elders and sisters in Finland are not permitted to sauna, swim or even get into the lakes like we did.  It is allowed for the less intelligent senior missionaries that want to do it.

Below, is my dear wife at the end of a rough day.  She just couldn't resist trying to make an angel in the snow outside the guest house.  She didn't succeed very well, but she managed to get her clothes pretty wet.

Lynne and snow angels

Well, enough about our "P" day this week.  It has been a fairly slow week at the temple.  We are on the afternoon shift and most of the Finns come in the morning.  Friday evening and Saturday we have members coming from Estonia, so that will be fun working with them and their language.  You cannot help but love those that come to the temple.  They are so proud to have a temple in their area and sacrifice much to attend.

God bless you all and may He watch over all of us.

Rick and Lynne

Life goes on.

Haven't added much to the blog lately as there hasn't been great deal going on except what we do in the temple everyday. We have been quite busy lately but it comes in cycles and depends on whose stake or mission is scheduled for the week.  I thought that I might use this time to update us all on some of my observation of Finland since we have been here almost 6 months so far. The country is extremely progressive in its stores and marketing.  The picture above is a shopping center in the middle of one of the towns where we visited on our trip north.  The towns that I have seem for the most part have a really nice shopping center right in the center of town, many times with underground shopping, and some have walking traffic only through the middle. Because of the long, cold winters, these centers are exceptionally popular because it gets people out of the weather.  On the other hand, I don't know how many Finns have the resources to buy much in these centers because the prices of goods and services in the country are many times twice what it is at home.

One of the big changes that I have noticed since coming back is the public transportation systems and how effective it seems to be.  There are a lot of buses, electric trains, airlines, metros, ferries, and trolleys in the country and cars all over the place.  They have fallen in love with their automobiles and they really enjoy using them.  They are usually fairly small because of the cost of owning and operating, but the biggest problem they face is parking.  The buildings and streets in this country, especially the cities, were not originally designed to handle all the cars and trucks that are now being used.  I am sure that it is a sign of prosperity, but prosperity has many hidden costs also.  Gas is about 1.60 Euros a liter (multiply a Euro amount by 1.32 and you get the price in dollars for about a forth of a gallon of gas).  Milk in the store is about 1 Euro per liter, and beef products are extremely expensive.  I think that some wages are pretty good but on the average a bit less than what we have at home.

Below is the train station in Helsinki.  It is the hub of all the train travel Finland.  You can easily walk out of the train station and be in walking distance of almost all of downtown Helsinki.  You would all love Helsinki with its trolleys and cobblestone stone streets and all the shops, theaters, and just beautiful scenery.  If you are here in the summer, you certainly don't have to look very far to find ice cream-it is everywhere.  They have to eat more than we do at home, and coming from Utah that has to be a bold statement.

Other interesting facts about Finland are they are part of the European Union but do not belong to NATO or any other defense alliance that I know of.  They are proud of their independence and are determined to stay that way.  All young men must serve in the military at least 6 months around their 18th birthday.  If they want to become an officer they can remain longer, but all serve.  I don't think they have women in the military, I haven't seen any but I am not sure.  They believe strongly in education and it has been reported that the literacy rate in Finland is close to 100%.  Most students study at least 3-4 languages with Finnish and Swedish being mandatory and English probably the 3rd most studied language studied but probably the 2nd most spoken.  Russian and Spanish are becoming more popular all the time, especially Russian as they develop more and more economic ties with their neighbor to the east.    

Thought I would let you know that Lynne still knows how to iron, just in case you thought this was all a vacation. 

As you might guess, they love the outdoors around here and the state supports it also.  They provide a number of facilities for their people to get outdoors to walk, bike, cross-country ski, run, take a stroll in the forest, play ice hockey, soccer, swim, sauna, theater, movies, libraries, sail and motor boats, horseback riding and many others.  Lynne and I were out walking the other day and we noticed that they actually make the tracks or grooves in the groomed snow for the cross-country skiers.  Oh, I forgot a big past time and that is walking their dogs.  Another really fun thing to watch are they baby carriages and parents taking their babies and infants out for strolls in the winter in their baby carriages.  Oh, by the way, I think that these carriages are a status symbol around here.  They are fancy and durable, and expensive.  We stopped by a store that other day that specialized in baby carriages and the cheapest were around 200 to 300 Euros, many at 500 and 600, with one that was over 1000 Euros.  Also the cheapest bicycle that I have been able to find is over 200 Euros.  Oh, where is Costco when you need one?

Below is the inside of the train we took north during Christmas.  It was nice and clean and quiet as almost all the trains in Finland use electricity.  The nicer ones have internet connectivity, dinners, sleepers and even car haulers.  Many people use trains in Finland to go from city to city, they are so convenient and comfortable and a great way to see the countryside.   

Well, I have rambled on long enough.  One thing that we found near us is an IKEA store and their Swedish meatballs.  The price is even a bargain and this is a really nice store that is just like the IKEA stores at home. Other than all the labels being in Finnish or Swedish, not much difference at all. 

Lunch at Ikea in Espoo

Time to quit for now.  It is a quiet Sunday afternoon in Espoo.  We went to church today in the Espoo where one of the temple missionaries spoke along with others.  We enjoy attending their meetings and we try to attend as many different wards and branches close to us as we can.  Our temple president likes the temple missionaries to go out and be visible among the members and it is good for us because we see so many of the same good people working in the temple each week.  

We enjoy working in the temple with the members and our missionary friends.  We have been extremely blessed the last six months both in Finland and with our families at home.  Hope that all of you are doing well and the we pray that the Lord will continue to bless you all.  Love, Rick and Lynne

Estonia and Back

Good friends, we got back from the North, got everything settled down at home during the last week of the temple being closed for cleaning, cleaned our apartment, did some shopping, shoveled a lot of snow, did a bunch of walking in the woods, tried to catch up on organizing our pictures, and basically just got ready to start back in the temple tomorrow afternoon.  But wait just a minute, we did take a two day trip to Tallinn, Estonia on the ferry out of Helsinki.  We stayed at a quaint little hotel in Tallinn, ate too much food on the ferry and in town.  We went with our friends, the Williamsons, and two Finnish couples, Ojalas and the Heiniläs.
      Before I tell you about the trip, let me keep you up-to-date on the snow situation around here.  You can see from the picture below that it is still winter here but we do have considerably more daylight than before and things are warming up a small bit.

The next picture is of us leaving for Tallinn on the ferry from Helsinki.  It was a fun trip and we sat in the music lounge watching the travelers dance, drink, and have a good time.  Don't be fooled by the lack of a coat for Lynne and me, it was very cold on the outside decks.

This is the group in Tallinn after our arrival.  It was a fun group and we did a lot of walking together.  Tallinn is about  85 kilometers from Helsinki over the Baltic sea.  A lot of ice in the ports but not much on the open sea.  It took us about 3 hours each way to travel, but the trip was enjoyable and we had a great time.

One of the many churches in Tallinn.  It is a beautiful with an old and a new part to it.  The history goes back hundreds of years.  They people of Estonia have been ruled by so many people throughout history that it is difficult to keep track when and who had control of the country.  However in 1993 they were allowed to become independent and they have struggled over the years but seem to be doing better right now.  

Part of old town Tallinn, with all its forts, towers, walls and cobble stone streets.  Much has been preserved, but a lot of it has just weathered itself through the years.

Again another church, but look at the narrow streets in the town.  Brigham Young certainly didn't lay these cities out in Europe.  And now with all the automobiles in these countries, roads and parking are really a problem because of the crowded situations.  Tallinn is really a tourist's town with all the shops and shopping that goes on.  I don't know how many cruise ships come in everyday, but even in the winter there are quite a few.  During the summer, this place is probably mobbed with tourists, but it is a beautiful town and country.

Below is the hotel that we stayed in.  It was very nice and comfortable and right in the middle of town, just a short walk over to the old town part.  It was more of a German hotel than anything else, but the food was good and the room warm 

 We went to church in Tallinn to the Russian sacrament meeting.  The missionaries translated for us.  Later in the day was the Estonian sacrament meeting in the same building.  It is a really nice building for the area and the saints were very warm and kind.  There are about 14 missionaries in Tallinn.  I think about 8 Russian speaking and the rest Estonian speaking.  There is also a senior couple in town helping with all the odd details and chores that they are assigned to do.

And the "gang" back in Helsinki at the boat dock.

Londons, Ojalas, Heiniläs, and Williamsons

  It was a great, fun trip and we had a wonderful time.  However, if you ever decide to go to Tallinn, I would strongly suggest that you do it in the summer time when the weather is much nicer.  We had two beautiful days of sunshine, but it wasn't all that warm.  There was much ice on the streets, and in the narrow streets not a great deal of sunshine made it to the street melt the ice.  You can easily walk around the whole old part of town in an afternoon and see most of the sights.  However, if you want to go out in the country and look around, that is a different story.  Many automobiles came with us on the ferry, so that is always an option for travel in Europe.  In fact, in Finland, many of the trains have automobile carriers, that allow you to take the train somewhere and then have your car with you when you get there, just like the ferry.

Back to the temple tomorrow.  We are really looking forward to being back doing what we came to do.  It is Russian week, so we should be busy.  Hope and pray that all is well with you and your families.  Just a side note, Mark was put in as first counselor in the bishopric in his ward in Williams, Arizona yesterday. We are proud of him and wish him and all our kids the best in whatever they are doing.

Love,  Rick and Lynne

Home from the North

Well, the vacation travelers are home after being on the road for almost a week.  We had a great trip and we all got along well in the close quarters of the van.  The roads weren't always the best but we were blessed and had a very safe trip.  We had great time in Kuopio, Rovaniemi, Oulu, Larsmo, and Seinäjoki visiting with the members and talking about the temple.  We also saw some sights along the way.

After leaving Rovaniemi, we decided that since we are so close to the Finnish-Swedish border that we should drop-in and say hi to the Swedes.  We stopped for a while, looked around, and then headed back to Finland.  The border crossing is like going from Utah to Wyoming.  In fact, we wanted to get our passports stamped and they just laughed at us for asking.  All the EU countries have the same understanding.  When we came to Finland, we had to go through passport control in Germany as it was the first country we stopped in, but that was the only country as when we got to Finland, there was no checking at all because Germany and Finland both belong to the EU.

After we left Sweden, we went to Kemi to see the Ice Castle.  It is an interesting place.  It is a building entirely made from ice and has a chapel. a restaurant, and a number of hotel rooms for people to stay overnight.  The rooms cost over $100 per person per evening and there is a special sleeping bag they use.  I think it said the average temperature is about -5 C and it was cold while we were touring it.  Below is the chapel.

 All kinds of ice sculpture in the Ice Castle and it was very "cool" to see what had been done.

 This is where you eat in the Ice Castle if you don't freeze to death while you are eating.  It was a very interesting place, but not too practical.

 And of course, if you want to stay overnight in the Ice Castle, this is what the bed looks like in one of the larger suites.  I don't know if I would like to stay overnight and have to wear my "long johns" to bed.

 This is a picture of the Ice Castle from the outside.  It really is a neat place and a lot of work goes into building it each year.  It would be difficult to see it melt down each year.

This is the spot near Larsmo where the country was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel in Finland.  Brother Back took us through the snow, up a little mountain, and then showed us a plaque on the ground.  He had boots for all of us and did a wonderful job of explaining what happened in Finland a number of years ago.   

  This is the LDS chapel in Pietarsaari where all the meeting are conducted in both Finnish and Swedish.  They have been doing it for years and they seem to get along just fine.  Nice building, Brother Back is the Branch President there for the second time.

 From Pietarsaari we went to Seinäjoki and gave a fireside. It was a really nice meeting with a number of people in attendance.  They rent their building there.  It was a bank previously and this former vault is the library now.  I have known some ward librarians that would be right at home with a library that had a vault door on it with a workable lock.   

We stopped in the way home in Tampere to look at the newest chapel in Finland.  It is a beautiful three story building.  A few years back the old building burned to the ground by a fire that had been started by some youth.

Well, we made it home and all is well.  Since then we have had much snow outside in Espoo.  Well, I guess I had better close up for now.  Hope that all of you are well and happy.  Love, Rick and Lynne

Arctic Circle and More!

Good Friends,  this edition of the London Blog is from Rovaniemi, Finland right on the Arctic Circle in northern Finland.  We are on break from the temple while it is being cleaned and eight of us decided to go north on a mini-vacation during the winter.  Not a very smart idea, but we did it anyway.  The first night we drove to Kuopio, stayed overnight and spoke in church the next day.  Kuopio was the first town in Finland that I served in and it was just a cold last Sunday as it was almost 50 years ago.  I didn't recognize a whole bunch of the town, especially since it has grown so much over the years.  A very modern town now with parks, lakes, churches, and whatever else is going on there.

Here is the gang in front of the Kuopio Chapel last Sunday.  Sister Williamson took the picture, so she is not in it.  The biggest leg of the journey was to Rovaniemi right after church on Sunday.  It took quite a while and the roads were not in the best shape, but we made it to our hotel in Rovaniemi, which is about 1 1/2 star hotel.  But it is a holiday week in Finland and we were lucky to even find a room.
We have had fun in Rovaniemi going to Santa's Village where all the letters addressed to Santa Claus in Finland go to.  The post office there is really quite the place with people all over the world writing letters to friends and loved ones from the Arctic Circle and Santa's Village.

Well, here is we are at the Arctic Circle and all is well.  We have had a great trip north.  Today, Tuesday, we went to the Arktikum museum in Rovaniemi which has a lot about early life in Lapland. The weather has been pretty good,  but it has been close to 30 degrees C below zero here this winter already and could do it again if conditions are right.  We had a lunch at McDonalds here the other day and found out it is the most northernly McDonalds in the the world.  Look on your map where the Arctic Circle goes around the world and you will realize how far north we really are.  It is up there in Alaska and northern Canada and Siberia in Russia and all the other cold places in the world.  We went to a little branch party this evening there and it was fun to visit with a few of the members and see how they are doing.  

Certainly one of the main attractions at Santa's Village is the reindeer herd and the reindeer rides. They raise reindeer around here like we raise beef cattle at home.  It is very traditional of the Laplanders to raise reindeer for many of their needs.  They use them still to pull sleds and for a source of meat in their diets.  Also their furs provide a lot of comfort and warmth.  

I was doing pretty good in the gift shops in Santa's Village until I came across this ancient looking leather aviator hat hand-made by the guy in the picture.  We had quite a discussion, but I would have hated myself later if I hadn't have purchased it.  I did talk him down 10 Euros but that didn't help much.  It is a cool hat and very practical to wear in Finland with the cold weather.  Besides I needed a new hat anyway, Dad's Finnish hat that I brought with me is falling apart and I can't afford to buy one like that now.  Men's and Women's hats in Finland are quite a status symbol, so you can really see some far-out looking winter head gear.

  

Driving back to the motel the other afternoon we ran into this sunset.  Now matter how hard we try, man will never be able to match the handiwork of our Heavenly Father.  Tomorrow we are off to the Snow Castle (Ice Hotel) in Kemi and then to the Swedish border at Tornio, after that we will be on our way to Oulu for a fireside that the missionaries are putting on.
Hope all of you are doing well.  Love from the north,  Rick and Lynne

More Snow

Terve all,

Remember how I was commenting on how little snow we had in Finland a while back?  Well, I have quit talking about it since we have received a fair amount of snow.  The picture below is our maintenance man Matti using one of the new snow blowers that the church acquired for us.  I think that we received it at just the right time.

This is another picture of one of the older buildings on our walk to the grocery store.  No question about it, it is winter in Finland now.  

Aside from all the snow, we are doing very well.  We don't get out to walk as much but we try to do the best we can.  Everything at the temple is going well.  We have a really great group of missionaries and local members that work together in the temple each week.  Many of the Finnish temple workers are retired, like many of us at home, but there are many that take time off work each week or month to spend at least half a day in the temple.  Almost all the shift leaders are local Finns and the subordinate shift leaders are the full-time missionaries.  It works out pretty well, as we hope that some day all the workers will be Finns and they will be self-sufficient.  Missionaries come and go, but those that are native to the country will be here their entire lives.

Well, one last shot of the temple with all the snow.  It is a beautiful building and what happens inside is even more beautiful and wonderful.  Our love to all of you.  Rick and Lynne

Other duties as assigned!

In my job description at work at Hill AFB they would always end the list of responsibilities with the statement "and other duties as assigned."  Well from this picture below you can see that it applies to our mission as well.  Today we had "official" snow blower training for the missionary couples. I think that out of 6 couples only two of us had any experience at all with snow blowers before.  They are really nice blowers, big and will move a lot of snow, we will just have to be careful with them.  However, so far we have not had enough snow to justify using them, but I am sure that will change in the near future.

After the snow had been removed Lynne and I went on a little walk.  It was only about 10 below zero Celsius,  so it was pretty warm.  This is what a typical walking path looks like in Finland on our way to the store today.  Many babies out in elaborate baby carts that cost hundreds of dollars.  The cold weather doesn't seem to slow them down much.  The ice rinks are all filled with people playing ice hockey and just skating around.  Our fall walking paths are now all used by cross-country skiers, so we have to be careful where and how we walk.

 Doesn't she look great all bundled up?  Well this is a scene we see all the time when we walk to the store. We like to walk to the store because it gets us going and allows us visiting time together without any interruptions.

We are fine and keeping warm.  Our quarters are more than adequate and we still love each other, even if we are together 24 hours a day. We continue to progress each day with the languages and with our other assignments.  We love being here in Finland, it is still a dream come true for both of us.  Hope all is well for all of you.

Love Rick and Lynne