And the Norway Trip.

Well after being home for a day we left again for Norway.  This time with Gary and Kaisa as traveling companions.  We flew out of Helsinki to Oslo and then on to Kirkenes which is way up north in Norway, just a few kilometers from the Russian border.  In fact we stayed in a little cabin that was only about 1/2 km from the border.  The picture below is the area around our cabin.  Notice that all the leaves have changes colors already and winter is not too far away.l  This place is so far north that it took us at least 3days on the boat south to cross the Artic Circlee.  (And I thought that was pretty far north.)

 Of course we have to have a picture of the tour group.  We had a good time together.

Is this a beautiful place?  I doubt if they say the same thing in the middle of the winter when it is 30 below zero.

As we traveled south on the boat we stopped at all kinds of little towns and burgs.  In fact, the boat stopped at about 33 ports on the way south.  Some we got off the boat and got a look-see but after a while they all look pretty much the same.

We have got to have a picture of the boat and here it is.

The captain took this big boat into some pretty close spaces.  It was cool and fun along the way.

The day we passed the Article Circle we had a fan club waving at us from the shore.

 And what would a trip to a northern country be like with out a church.  So here it is.

So, even after all this travel we are still talking to one another.  It was a fun trip.  The food was exceptionally good and even Lynne found something to eat.  It was relaxing and interesting.

Just looking from the ship across the water to the little farms along the way.  This so typical of a nice summer cruise up the coast of Norway.  The sun may not shine all the time but they are used to it and they all press on.

Finally after almost a week we arrive in Bergen, Norway to rain and a hurried ride to the airport back to Finland.  All went well, and we made it back to Helsinki and our own beds.

Did we stay home then?  Heck no, there was a couple of days remaining in our vacation so we decided to drive up to Jyväskylä and visit the Hintikka's over the weekend.  More on that next blog.

Love to all of you.  Rick and Lynne

What to do when the temple is closed? Russia trip!

Friends, every year our temple in Finland closes for a couple of weeks for major cleaning and repairs.  So, what do temple missionaries do when their temple is closed?  Well, this couple took the opportunity to travel this September and this blog post will show some pictures from our travels.

First of all we left the same day the temple closed for St. Petersburg, Russia.  We traveled by ferry from the Helsinki harbor overnight and arrived in Petersburg the next day.  In fact we arrived in time to go directly to church and meet with many of our temple friends.  They have a really nice building in St. Petersburg.  The Sunday after we got back we heard that they were made a stake, making it the second stake in Russia.  Our tour guide was made the second counselor in the stake presidency.  Anyway, we had a great time in Petersburg and were awed by many of the sight.

Picture above is the Hermitage and the Winter Palace.  Our tour guide did an excellent job of covering both of them in less than 3 hours.  There is so much in the Hermitage that you could spend the rest of your life looking at everything.

There is so much gold and silver and just so much other stuff that it is impossible to describe it all.  You have to see it for yourself.  Peter the Great played a big role in the life of Russia and they treat him like a God.

Not only precious metals but all kinds of paintings by the masters.  Is this place for real?

 We went for a walk in the evening and as we crossed the Neva River this sunset came into view with much of St. Petersburg in the background.  It is an old town but they are trying to clean it up and make it more presentable.

Of course you don't go to St. Petersburg without traveling to Peterhof with all its gold and fountains.  A beautiful place on the banks for the sea looking out over the water.

Just two old dudes in the picture with Peterhof in the background.

From there we went to Pushkin and viewed much more Russian history in the form of gold and castles.

One place that I really like was a monument and memorial in the middle of town honoring the people of Petersburg for their gallant efforts during the Nazi seige of their town back during WW2. It is almost a sacred place to visit because of all the death and destruction that it represents.

 Back in town again we visited Peter and Paul Fortress and much inside.

Driving around town we stopped and toured the Church of the Spilt Blood which was fantastic.  Not one single painting in the entire church.  There no paintings in this church at all, but there are hundreds of mosaics depicting the Saviour's life and all the bible stories that go along with it.  One of the highlights of the trip, totally awesome.

Believe it or not.  This is a large dome in the church and this is a mosaic made inside the dome.  Unreal with all the work that it took.

 Another church, St. Isaccs's Catherdral is a famous tourist place in Petersburg.  Again, fantastic Christian artwork in every form.

 Wonderful day in Russia looking down the water canal.

We enjoyed our trip to St. Petersburg very much.  The boat trip there and back was not bad and the two nights in our hotel room there went very fast and we were able to see much.  City is about 5- 6 million inhabitants and the food was really good especially the borsch.  Driving in the city is crazy and no one in their right mind would even think of renting a car.  It was great to mingle with the church members there and just look around the town.

We left there in the evening on a cruise ferry and arrived home the next morning.  We took a day off and left for Norway the next day.  That trip will be on the next blog.

And the time passes by

I happen to look at our blog today and quickly realized that a whole month had almost passed since I updated it the last time.  Our time in Finland is going by so quickly that in less than a month the first year of our mission will have been completed.  I guess the message to all of us is that if there is something that you want to, or should be doing; it is best that we get it done right now because there will not be time tomorrow.

Probably one of the neatest things that we have done while here is that we and the Williamson put together a 50's party for five couples here, that are, or will have, in the near future have their 50th wedding anniversary .  Certainly Lynne and Karla did most of the work.  It turned out really nice and we had a great time.
 Left to right, looking at the picture, are the Roger and Janice Fuller, Kari and Auli Haikkola, Donna Kay and Jon Carpenter, Kirsti and Pertti Vorimo, and Sue and Warren Thornock.

The food was excellent and the game played with the guest of honour couples was really fun and exciting.  Lynne put together a special paper with each couple's picture and the temple where they were married.  It was a fun time.









The next day one of the special sisters in our area had invited us over for a walk in the forest and a bowl of pea soup. It was a very enjoyable and the soup was great.  She said that she had made enough soup for only part of us to start with, but when more showed up she added a couple of cans of commercial pea soup and the end result was outstanding.
Sister Tapola was a great guide and showed us quite a bit of history about some of earlier aristocracy around her home.



The following Sunday we had the opportunity (??) to speak in church again at a branch in Kouvola.  Brother Fuller and I spoke and Brother Fuller sang also.  Their branch is on a two hour block where they alternate Sunday School, PH Meeting and RS every other week after their sacrament meeting.  Interesting concept, but it seems to work really well for the remote small branches.

 We had a wonderful meal afterwards with the Hyvärinens, Matti and Kaija.  I knew Matti in Kuopio years ago when I first arrived in Finland as a young missionary.  What a wonderful  couple and an outstanding day going to the Kymenlaakso Branch and then spending the afternoon with this family.  Facing the picture, Lynne and I, Matti and Kaija, and Janice Fuller.  Roger Fuller is taking the picture.






The following Monday afternoon President and Sister Roto had all the missionaries out to their home near Tampere for any afternoon of fun and relaxation.  We went to the sauna, ate, picked all kinds of berries, jumped in the lake after the sauna, ate a wonderful meal, and just visited and had a great time.  Brother and Sister Roto have been called to replace President and Sister Haikkola as the next temple president this coming November.

Their home is a remodeled officer's home from many years back and is way out in the country.  I could not believe how many strawberry, raspberry, red and black current, and gooseberry bushes they had around their home.  I have never eaten so many raspberries in one day.

This is the Roto's back yard.  Pretty nice.




They following Sunday we went to a special presentation given by Sister Fuller on Emma Smith.  It was really good and Sister Fuller had spent a lot of time in preparation.  After the fireside, Sister Horning from the mission office celebrated her birthday.

On Monday, 20 August, we were invited to an afternoon with the Petri Jäkkö family in the country about 30 km from the temple.  It was so kind of them to invite us to their home and feed us and allow us some more time to enjoy the country and their family.

Brother Jäkkö is the temple engineer in charge of all the physical facilities at the temple.

Again a wonderful day and great hosts.  They are so kind to the temple missionaries.

Here is the whole family together. One boy and four girls.  Great family.

Thought you might want to see what their son has done with all his Legos.  It was quit a sight.




Time to go to the store.  We have this going away celebration this afternoon and Lynne has to fix something. Just want you all to know that we are fine and the temple work gets better every day.  The Lord continues to bless us and our family everyday.  Hope all is well with you and your families.

Love,  Rick and Lynne

Suomen Kesä (Finland's Summer)

Sunday afternoon and all is well on the Finnish front.  We have had a great day together going to church and just doing our Sunday "thing."  The weather has been nice, a bit warm but it is a bit cloudy now and cooler.  We went to church at Neitsytpolku where enjoyed the block meetings.  We may not have been able to understand everything, but the spirit was there and all the members were very friendly.  The Finnish Mission office is located just above the chapel on Neitsytpolku.  In fact it is exactly the same office that I served in almost 50 years ago.

We have had a very busy week at the temple.  A large number of Estonians came with their youth and adults.  Many more sisters than brothers, which makes it interesting for the workers to accommodate the differences, but we made it and the week turned out very good.  Certainly the language is always a challenge.  During one session this week, we had Russian, English, Swedish, Estonian, and Finnish.  All in a days work.

 Quite often out our living room window we get some great pictures.  This is one of them.  They have beautiful sunsets because the sun sets so low in the horizon.

Last Sunday we went for a walk along the waterfront near the chapel in Helsinki.  It was a beautiful day.  This picture was taken by a man sitting on a bench near us.  I asked him and later found out that he was from Idaho.  Not a member but visits Finland every summer .

This is an interesting picture.  Because of the apartment construction there is very little wall-to-wall carpeting, mostly large throw rugs are used.  So, near many of the docks there is a place where the residents may take their throw rugs and wash them in the sea or lake.  Then they have drying racks for the washed rugs.

The fast boat to Tallinn from Helsinki.  I think that it cuts the trip to Talliin by an hour and a half over the regular ferry.  Personally,  Lyune and I are happy with the old slow ferry, it is a lot of fun and considerably cheaper.  

This is a picture of the kids from Talliin playing a game of Sneaky-Peeky that we taught them.  It took about one round of the game for them to learn.  They did baptisms and confirmations for a week.  The young sister dealing the cards spoke English, Russian and Estonian, so she ended up translating for everyone.  It was fun to see them learn a new game and have a good time. 

One of the Finnish temple missionaries have this wall sign on their apartment door.  I thought it was pretty good, but Lynne thought it was even better.  I guess I will have to duplicate it when I get home, even though I don't have to be reminded how wonderful my wife is.

Again we are fine and doing great.  Getting old and missions don't slow down that process at all.  We have been travelling around quite a bit but nothing exceptional.  Our good friends, George and Margaret Hopkin, are home from Austria and Germany serving their mission. They reported to us a great mission.

Keep in touch.  Our email is Londonrt@msn.com and we would love to hear from you.

Love, Veli London 

Rauma and blueberries

Sunday afternoon, overcast and raining outside, temple looks great out the window, returned from church several hours ago, Lynne is making me oatmeal-raisin cookies, Richard Smith and family stopped by to visits and brought goodies from the states, and we are just having a relaxing Sunday afternoon together listening to church music and catching up on things that need to be done.

Last Sunday morning eight of us drove to Rauma to attend church and visit some good friends that have been trying to have us come for several months now.  We were invited to the Mäkinen's, Ritva and Vesa, for a couple of days and had a fantastic time.  Our hosts worked in the temple when we first arrived in Finland and we have been friends every since then.  They were wonderful hosts and we had a great time.  The weather was a bit rainy in Rauma, but that didn't stop us from having a wonderful time.

This is a picture of the Rauma Chapel and a few of the folks leaving after church.  It was a fun meeting and we met a lot of temple friends.

From church we went to the Mäkinen's home for a wonderful formal dinner.  Sister Mäkinen prepared an outstanding meal for all of us and we played a few games the rest of the day.  We stayed at their place that evening and the next day we visited the town and walked the streets.

This is Brother and Sister Mäkinen together for our second meal of the day Sunday.  They have a wonderful home.

 This is the whole gang together in front of Mäkinen's home.  Londons, Williamsons, Fullers, and Mäkinens.  The Carpenters stayed with another family while we visited with our hosts.










Monday for lunch we went to an old home on the beach front.  It was fun and we enjoyed visiting with our Finnish friends and members.

This Saturday was our day off from temple duties so we went for another walk in the forest.  The trail was in a national forest and it was just beautiful.  The weather was overcast, but we only experienced a few drops of rain.

But earlier in the week we had to go pick some strawberries in the big field  up the road from us.  It was quite an experience.  You just weigh your bucket, pick your strawberries from the row that you were assigned, and weight it after the picking and pay by the kilo.  It looks like a great family activity from the picture to the left.  This cute little family was picking in the row next to us.  The great thing about the experience is that you can eat all the strawberries you want while you are picking.  I am sure that these three young children probably ate their fair share.

 When we got home the work started and we hurried and froze what we had picked.  I think that we picked about 5+ kilos of strawberry.  Boy, they were good.

 Yesterday we went out into the Nuuksio National Forest for a hike.  This is a picture at the trail head.  It was beautiful day and just a good time to be together.

Two old dudes taking a break on the hike.  We ran into people from Sprain, Poland, and England on the walk, plus many Finns.

 I thought that you might be interested in the root structure of many of the trees along the way.  It makes that trail very rough and dangerous because every step has to be watched.  The ground in many places is so shallow because of all the rock substructure, the root structure of trees does not go very deep into the ground.  Therefore, we see many tree in the forest that have fallen over because of a weak root system.  Also it rains much over here so the roots do not have to go very deep to find water.



Oh my, we could not just walk along the trail without eating a few blueberries found in the forest.  They are in season right now and all over on the ground. They actually encourage visitors to the forest to pick all the blueberries they want.  From what I can tell from the locals, people from all over northern and central Europe come to Finland and pick blueberries.  Also, interestingly enough, you can pick and sell as many of them as you want without any type of sales tax attached.  So I am sure that many folks find substantial income from picking these berries every year.

Well, as you can see we are doing okay and the two of us are well and happy.  Days are getting a little shorter all the time now and before you know it, it will be winter time again.  Fairly slow at the temple right now because everybody, who is anybody, goes on vacation in the summer usually during the month of July.  And these folks like to vacation, especially to their summer cabins or travel into all the countries around here.

Hope all is well back home.  Thanks for all you prayers and concerns for us and all the missionaries in the world.  Keep the home fires burning and we will do what we can over here.

Love you all,  Rick and Lynne