Week 28 in Kouvola (Livin' it up in the big(ish) city!)

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Kouvola. Say it with me. KOU-vo-lah. KOU(like cold) VO(like row row row your boat) LA(do re mi fa so LA ti do). KOUvola. Good. You can speak Finnish. Congrats.

Well, everybody, it's been a crazy good week here in K-city! As usual, I have this

recording...

hold on.

I forgot this week. It's been such a busy one(also we've been doing a ton of cleaning at our apartment), that you don't get to hear my sultry voice this week. My apologies, everyone.

BUT, I have pictures!

​Let's outline the week for y'all:

-Came to Kouvola on Tuesday

-Taught a lesson on Wednesday!

-Tons of tracting, but it's a huge city so hey it's awesome

-We made cookies during weekly planning on Friday

-The Veturi(Kouvola's mall) here is bigger than any mall I've ever seen in America. No joke.

And much more! I'll be sure to outline more this week, now that I'm getting adjusted to this place.

Until then, everyone, be safe, enjoy my quickly taken videos and pictures! Stay warm, stay strong, I love you!

-Vanhin Bolingbroke

PS - Elder Bolingbroke is now serving in the same district with Elder Casey Bond with whom he was a good friend during high school.

Week 27 in Savonlinna (You know your life is strange when all of your belongings can fit into 3 suit

"Kyllä, nimeni on outo. Bowl. iing. bröök."

"Ei, emme nähneet Super Bowl... Ei, meillä ei ole TV..."

"Liian kylmä? Liian myöhää!"

Common phrases in my Finnish vocabulary, anyways.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, today is officially my last day in Savonlinna! Come tomorrow morning, I will be going by train to Kouvola! I'm beyond excited, it sounds like such a fun city!

Here

is my recording, enjoy!

In all honesty, not a whole lot happened this week, except that it went by really stinkin' fast. We've taken pictures of some of the last sights I got to see in Savo, but tomorrow we leave, and here we come Kouvola!

A few comments from the coming times:

-Whenever I mention Kouvola to our members, they get this weird look on their face and describe interesting stories. Dunno what it means. Katsotaan!

-As Valentine's Day is coming up, I thought I might give a small commentary on the hilarity of that day here in Finland: Nothing says 'romantic' like being in a country where the native word for 'Valentine's Day' is actually 'Ystävänpäivä' which actually mean's 'Friend's Day.' Ain't it sweet?

Aaaanyway, that's our week for you! Next time, I'll be in Kouvola, you'll be seeing me soon!

Stay strong, warm, and happy,

Vanhin Bolignbroke

Week 26 in Savonlinna (Zombies and Kebab and Buses, oh my!)

That's it. That was our week. Those three things:

Well, as usual, here​ ​is the recording (Click Here), summing up my week - however, I'm going to cover the most eventful events of the week, just in case my tired, 9.30 P.M., justgothomefromworkingandbikingandsweatingwhilstsimultaneouslyfreezingmybuttoffandtryingtoremembereverythingwedidoverthepastweekwhilealsobeinghungryandcravingcereal self didn't quite explain it well enough.

-The Buses: We've been trying, due to the perpetual problem that is our bikes, to make use of the bus system here. It's been working out well, albeit having to sprint to the bus stop to make it before it leaves. No worries, I needed the exercise anyways...

-The Kebab: Pronounced KAY-bob. Not kay-BOB. Ahh, the mystery meat of the Arabs. Now, the reason you've never heard of kebab is because it doesn't exist in America. Because America's food laws don't allow meats such as kebab - if you can call it meat. Nobody actually knows what kind of meat is in there - some places, it tastes like mostly beef, and in some places, it has a toughness that we've guessed could be horse or reindeer. Sometimes I refrain from asking. It's sketchy stuff. In the oh-so-eloquent words of Elder McOmber, "Watch it happen. There's a huge roll of who-knows-what kind of meat spinning on a stick. Then a huge, hairy, ape-man of an Arab takes a razor, and fzhhhhzzhzhhh, shaves some of the meat off into a container that probably hasn't been washed since this place opened, and then he takes a plate of similar cleanliness, dumps some french fries onto it, slops the kebab on top, and puts some sauce on, and hands it to you. Enjoy your meal!"

Elder Bolingbroke, why in the world would you eat there? Because it's freakin' delicious, that's why.

-The Zombie: We had a referral from one of our investigators. Now, referrals don't happen, like, at all, over here, so we jump on the opportunity every time we get one. We knock this guy's door, and(this is where it gets weird) a long, gnarled hand with 3-inch-long fingernails opens the door, and I hear a raspy, smoker-voice "tulkaa sisään." Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into? Then the smell hits me. Now, some of you may have heard one of my famous and most embarrassing stories about how I climbed into a small septic tank in Bear Lake, but in case you haven't, trust me on this - I have experience with bad smells. And this one probably tops them all. There is no way on this good planet earth to describe it. (We're still trying to get the smell off of our coats - see the picture) We walk in, and there are tons old movies, old food, and old... how did I phrase this in the recording?... magazines of material not appropriate for children. Or adults. Or anyone, as a matter of fact. We talked with the guy for an hour, and it was a stunningly good gospel conversation. Unfortunately, however(or fortunately, depending on your perspective), he wasn't willing to learn more.

I'll leave it up to you to decide how our week went! Until next time, then! Love you all, Stay warm, stay strong in the gospel!

Love,

Vanhin Bolingbroke