Week 49 in Rauma (July the 4th, Trench coats, and driving in the Baltic...again!)

Get ready for some stories, this week is full of 'em!

Well, let's see - Last Tuesday, we visited...

a modern art museum?​

​Yup we did! I'm not sure all of it was art, but it definitely was modern... and there's a bunch of funny little museums all over Rauma, so you'll be seeing more of these in the future..

On Wednesday(The FOURTH OF JUUUUUULY), we had a little party/district lunch!​

​Ah yes, the wonderful little Turku/Rauma district. What a crazy bunch we are!

Aaand, the day right after that, we had splits with the Tampere Zone Leaders!!! I got to do some work with Elder McOmber, my old companion, and Elder Jacobsen, my old District Leader!​

​(Also, let me give my thanks to Morgan Jensen, who gave me a recipe for Jalapeno poppers - they turned out fantastically. I made them as our appetizer for our dinner with the ZL's, and they loved them!)

We also did some lawn-mowing for a member, that was fun. Felt just like I was home again(I'm looking at you, dad).

Saturday, one of our members asked us to come and visit his mökki! We headed out there, and found that his mökki is out on an island in the Baltic. Fortunately, there were a series of bridges, so we made it out there. Shared a spiritual thought, and got to take a picture with his car:​

​What a beauty. (And for those of you who have no knowledge of cars beyond "the thing with four wheels", that's a Bentley Continental GT. Yes, I'm still obsessed with cars, even though I'm a missionary.)

Monday afternoon, we visited with our Bishop an old member - I'm not entirely sure how the conversation got onto this, but her late husband owned some pretty cool coats, and she had no use for them, and they just so happened to fit us perfectly. Result? This:​

​They. Are. Awesome.

That's what happens when you have awesome members.

Also, that evening we just happened to spot this while tracting...​

​You see something new every day, eh?

Also, a few funny pictures:

​Herry Pooter's waitin' for the bus to go to HOWARTS.

​Seriously. Our members give us food almost every day here.

​Never leave me alone with a camera

Well, that's what I've got for ya this week! Stay tuned for my future adventures! And remember: Suomen kesä on vuoden paras päivä!

Love,

Vanhin Bolingbroke

Week 48 in Rauma (Choppin' and teachin')

Welcome to another lovely week in Rauma, ladies and gentlemen!

Firstly, here's our official Tampere Zone Conference picture:​

​Look at us. So adorable.

This week, we've done a ton of solid proselyting work. It's been super hard, but super fun. And through it all, we found these people! ​

​Jean-Baptiste and Caroline! A little while ago, they were on vacation in America, and ran across the Church's monument in Palmyra, New York! Just a few weeks later, back at home, we ran into them, and we had an awesome discussion about God's Plan of Salvation for us! We're very excited to be teaching them!

We also went out to a member's mökki(summer cottage - every finn has one) and did about 3 hours of woodchopping! My back is still sore from that one, but hey - his mökki is right next to the beach, so we took some fun pictures!​

On the way back, our car's GPS told us to drive into the ocean.​

​That's what I get for driving a Toyota...

We also took a trip to one of our proselyting area's satellite cities, Uusikaupunki(which translates to New City. You see, that's funny, because the city is nearly 500 years old.) It's a bay city, so we took some pictures with the boats!​

​In other news on the mission, being a district leader is amazing. It's pretty tough too, it's a sacrifice on my already-packed schedule! Sometimes, it's easy as missionaries to see these assignments as a 'hierarchy', or as a rank of advancement, but as I've served in this capacity, I've realized that it's honestly, just what the Lord needs you to do. I've found time and time again that the Lord will put me in situations that I, specifically am prepared for. The Lord needs me to be District Leader here and now, so I will be. Our assignment as saints isn't to strive for greatness, but to strive to serve where we are called, and to magnify that calling. I always feel inadequate for the work I do, but I know that God "qualifies whom he calls", as the scriptures say. I love this Gospel, and being able to serve it with all my heart right now.

And I love you! Keep staying strong, and I hope you have a wonderful summer!

Love,

Vanhin Bolingbroke

Week 47 in Rauma (They went where this week?)

Rauma, Tampere, Pori, Helsinki, Espoo, Pori and Tampere again. Yep, all in one week. It's been such a crazy one! Let's take a look at our week!

EMLC in Espoo! Got to see a bunch of my old companions! (especially Eldste McOmber, my lovely Zone Leader)​​​

Also, we had Zone Conference in Tampere! So fun, and we had a ton of training on proselyting skills. That was pretty incredible.

Elder Ames calls this one the Brad PittNL special. Not sure why.​

We found this really creepy bunch of scarecrow-style people in Uusikaupunki the other day...​

Aaand, a bunch of us goofing off.​

It's been a ridiculously busy week. Travelling all over the country, and having tons of meetings. Is this the life of a District Leader? But nonetheless, sorry that I'm not giving too many more comments on stuff this week. This gospel is awesome, and I love being busy in the service of our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Love,

Vanhin Bolingbroke