Week 31 in Kouvola (You didn't see that one coming?)

As the recording above details, if you listened to it, we've got a bit of a bombshell this week:

I'm getting E-transferred to Helsinki!!! We've no idea why, but President Aura called us yesterday night and told us that on Thursday Morning, I'll be packing up and heading to Neitsytpolku, Helsinki(That's smack in downtown)! I'll be with Elder Jordan, who I know absolutely nothing about! Isn't the missionary life awesome?

Elders Bolingbroke & Winder on the train.

On the rooftop of their apartment!

L to R: Elder Olson (Blake's MTC District), Elder Bolingbroke, Elder Bond (from Weber High with Blake), and Elder Winder!

L-R Elders Bond, Olson, Bolingbroke, Winder

Phinneas & Ferb

Eating Finnish cuisine

Wow, that's crazy. I've only been in Kouvola for 5 weeks, guys! I was just starting to love this city! And while I may or may not be stressing out big-time over the necessity of packing over 2 tiny days, all still goes well.

On the flip side of all this, not much else has happened this week. We've taken/are taking some good pictures for my last days in K-city, and over the past week we spent a ton of time going out to new areas - going where no missionary has gone before - and tons and tons of tracting!

Before I sign off this time around, I'd just like to bear a small testimony to y'all:

I've seen God's hand in my life during this mission. Especially during this mission. The first, and most apparent sign of this is my language skill. I've found that I'm already able to have nearly fluent conversations with most natives. This isn't a testament to my own skill, but to my submissiveness to God's will. He is working through me to do the work that He needs. He leads me and my companion, and He protects us, and He sends His angels to prepare people for us. I promise you that.

Anyways, next time you hear from me will be from Helsinki! I love you all, stay strong!

Love,

Vanhin Bolingbroke

Week 30 in Kouvola (Far over the Misty Mountains cold...('cept there aint no mountains, just mis

That's right, folks. Guess what happens when the wind blows in from the Northeast? That's right. That cold, frigid, arctic(did I mention cold? Like -25 or colder cold) air just sitting in Siberia, Russia comes right down through our loverly little K-city right down through the greater Helsinki area. In other words, all of Finland. Oh, it's awesome. We got a text this morning warning us to dress especially warmly today(kind of like the kid in Christmas Story).

But don't worry - my eightypercentwooltwentypercentcashmere coat will keep me quite warm.

As far as, you know, missionary work goes, there's not a ton to report today. Last Tuesday, we had interviews with President Aura, and we're trying to really focus in on a baptism - just one - for Kouvola. The members here need it. We're also going to a ton of new areas, places where missionaries haven't been in years. It's all very exciting. But, in other news:

- We ate at our favorite members' house - twice. We have weekly dinners with them, and they feed us a lot. We also had an awesome discussion about family history.

-We... tracted. And contacted. And wow. Not much - yet! We'll be finding people soon, worry not!

-I gave a talk on Sunday! (That's my fifth talk in this country, people)

-Because not much else happened this week, we took a bit of time to make these gems for your enjoyment(don't worry, we did it after 9:00 - we had work to do, after all!)​

Here's a short video of Harry Potter!

So, to summarize: Although it's been a slow, cold week, with not much to report, things are going very well. I love this city, I'm learning this city, and the people here are just awesome.

You know who else is awesome? You! Keep on keepin' on, everyone. Stay warm, strong, and always feel free to email me if you have any questions or just want to talk(and by talk, I mean start a conversation that will last a few months because of the slowness of my responding...)

Love you all,

Vanhin Bolingbroke

Week 29 in Kouvola (Happy Friend's Day?)

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's been a busy week here in Kouvola, and we're having fun!

Fun fact: the city does not have 134,000ish people like I assumed - that number refers to the Kouvola area. Oh darn. Neither do we have a car, we ride the buses everywhere. (And holy cow, they're hilariously scary. The buses go fast - if you're not sitting down within 5 seconds after entering the bus, the driver stomps on the gas, as if he's driving a rally car, and you're thrown halfway across the bus while the other Finns on the bus pretend like they didn't just watch you fall flat on your face at 30 miles per hour. I may or may not be joking.)

Speaking of buses, our bus cards aren't currently working. They need to be refreshed, but we have not yet received confirmation that they are working, so it's been cardio week! It's okay, I need the exercise, now that I'm not biking anymore...

Anyways, here's the weekly recording(I've tried to consolidate it to under 10 minutes), but let's go over the week:

-We talked to two hilariously drunk men. They each wanted a Book of Mormon, but remember, they were also stone drunk, so they might have woken up the next morning and wondered how these little blue books got on their desk.

-We tracted. Like, a ton. It's kind of a struggle, since there actually aren't a ton of buildings around here. Definitely more than Savonlinna, but this city's still fun!

-One of our investigators owns a Latino restaurant! (How random can you get?) We help her clean there every once in a while.

That's most of our week for ya. I've got some pictures for you, but until next time! Love you all, stay strong!

Sincerely,

Vanhin Bolingbroke​