Week 46 in Rauma (You hear that? You hear the winds of change?)

Back to the small-city life!

Welcome welcome, everybody, to Rrrrauma! It's been a crazy fun week. I got to Rauma on Tuesday evening, with my lovely companion, Elder Ames:​

It's such a magnificent little place here. Even though the city's absolutely tiny, we have a huge ward, with over 100 members! Also, Bishop Vesterinen is the best. Didn't get pictures, but he fed us teriyaki chicken on Saturday. It was glorious.

Aaanyways, here's a few pictures from good ol' Rauma!

Also, we have a car:​

Yes, all my stuff fit into the elevator:​

A few other notes from the week:

-I'm district leader here! Don't have any pictures from our two district meetings we had, but I get to lead those meetings every week! I'm also in charge(in a way) of six other missionaries, all in Turku, the neighboring big city! We've got Me, Elder Ames, then Elders Lawson and Viitanen in Turku 1st, and Sisters Nordin and Gedris in Turku 1st, and Sisters Hansen and Jensen in Turku 2nd. Awesome group!

-On my travel from Helsinki to Tampere(one of my stops between Helsinki to Rauma), apparently the AP's scheduled my travel so that I was alone with two of the sisters... for an hour and a half on a train. Ah well. ​

-We also have EMLC(extended mission leadership conference) in Espoo tomorrow, so tonight, I'll be heading back to Helsinki again!(Just like I never left, eh?) And I'll have some awesome pictures from that next week!

-I was sad to say goodbye to both Helsinki and Elder Jordan, but I know(even if I don't yet know why) that the Lord needs me in Rauma. I'm praying and studying and working, and I know that the Lord is already using me as an instrument here in His work.

-Also, driving a car again is so awesome, even if it's just a little Toyota Yaris.

Well, this new transfer's just warming up, and we're so excited for the work here! Hope all's well at home, and I love you all! Keep me posted on your summer happenings!

Love, Vanhin Bolingbroke

Week 45 in Helsinki (Two down, two to go)

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I need to ask you all to please buckle your seatbelts... 'cuz it's 'bout to get LIT in here. The transfer train is LEEAAVING the station, and we're heading straight to Rauma!

MVI_8198.AVI

Thaaaat's rright, folks! I'm going to Rauma! It's a place just north of Turku! We got our transfer calls on Friday, and I'll be heading out there tomorrow! I'm gonna be serving with a certain Elder Ames, and I'll also be District Leader! Our district covers Rauma and Turku(eli, yksi Suomen parasta kaupunkia!), and I'm beyond excited to get there! I'm broken-hearted to leave Helsinki, especially when I've met so many good people here, but I'm excited to use this new opportunity to serve the Lord in a new way!

In the meantime, let's get going on those pictures from this week! There's like, eighty of them!

Firstly: Temple trip!​

​Wow, the Helsinki Temple is incredible. We were able to attend a session there with Veli Stålhane, one of our awesomest members! I've got a strong testimony of the Temple. It truly is The Lord's house. Especially important because Russia doesn't have a temple(yet), the Russian Saints come to Helsinki. It's such a wonderful place.

Also, we had Kebab afterward. Love that stuff.​

IMG_8185.JPG

Next: We made cookies! Or... we tried...​

Aand, we had our last district meeting in Haaga District(the Best District).. So sad to leave!​

This is Markus' impression of the 'Elder Jordan face'(You know, the one Elder Jordan makes in every single picture he's ever in)​

Aaand, we sang some primary songs in Esplanadi, one of the parks in Helsinki!​

BUUUUT, the highlight of the week was probably just a few hours ago! We stormed my SECOND castle in Finland! There are four big ones - Olavinlinna(Savonlinna), Suomenlinna(Helsinki), Hämeenlinna(Hämeenlinna), and Turunlinna(Turku).[Linna means castle, if you didn't catch that one already] Gotta say, this one was quite a treat! ​

​Well, you start with some pretty nice water pictures(It is an island fortress, after all)

​He makes me take these pictures... Dunno why...

​Ahh, yes, the canyons and caverns and bells! All necessary parts of a castle! But as we walk along, lo and behold, we find the shire!​

​Such a pretty little area! I feel like I could live there(I am a hobbit, after all. It's my habitat.)

Wow, though. What a beautiful castle. Beautiful day, beautiful transfer. It's been a wonderful time here. Can't wait to get to Rauma, and my new assignment there, but I've had such an awesome time - such a testimony-building time - here in Helsinki.

Onward with the future!​

​Rakastan teitä kaikkia. Toivon, että ymmärrätte miten paljon rakastan Jumalaamme, ja miten paljon haluan palvelaa häntä. Jos teillä olisi mitään kysyttävää minulta, kysykää vaan!

Love,

Vanhin Bolingbroke

Week 44 in Helsinki (Yes, I still get lost. A lot.)

Case in point: Last P-day, we tried to find Suomenlinna, but my magnificent internal compass led us west instead of east. Ah well, we found it eventually. And I got a cool Finland baseball cap out of it!

Got some super cool pictures as well, as we cantered along the beach:

Ah, walking along the beach. Seeing the sailboats, and the people playing volleyball, and the seagulls attacking whoever has food. Love it.

We had an awesome lesson with Anh! She's a friend of Huong's(investigator in Haaga ward, he's the best), and we had such a fun lesson! She's going to Vietnam for the summer, so when she found out that we might not be in Helsinki when she gets back, so she made us an oreo cheesecake! ​

Tons of other adventures this week - tons of blessings given, lots and lots of lessons!

We also ran out of toilet paper, so we had to make an emergency trip:​

​Aaand, we took pictures of it.

​Elder Jordan makes me take the strangest pictures...

Buut, in any case, we're going to the temple today, as soon as we finish emailing!

Also, transfer calls come this week, so next time around, P-day will be on Monday! And you'll know whether or not I'm leaving Helsinki! (Honestly, we've tried to guess, but I really have no idea which of us is gonna leave and which is gonna stay. We'll find out soon!)

Well, I love you all! Hope all's well at home, and that you're enjoying summer! Rauhaa Ulos, Rakastan teitä!

-Vanhin Boliboli