Week 13 - Savonlinna (Tracting in a Winter Wonderland/This is Horrorween)

Good morning or evening to all! I dunno what the weather's like back home, but over here, we've gotten some snow over the past few days! It looks like Christmas morning, but it's actually only Halloween morning! Or, as the European candy companies like to call it, 'Horrorween.' There aren't really any Halloween traditions around here - it's mostly an American thing, duh. I did, however, go trick-or-treating... at the store. They had an awesome deal on candy, and I got more than was healthy, as is the American way.

I'm trying something new this time! I've compiled a bunch of recordings from the week, and I'll be using them instead of a big huge email, so I'll stop writing now!

NOTE: Sorry for the short blog post from Blake the last few weeks. He's been doing more and more voice recordings and I haven't figured out yet how to embed his videos/voice recordings to the blog posts.

Week 12 - Savonlinna (Who needs to Sauna when you've got like 7 layers of jackets and coats?)

Dear family and friends, and everyone in between, I hope things are well at home! I also hope that the predominant color of the country in which you live isn't grey - 'cause it sure is here! That's actually a lie - there's a lot of green trees here too. And orange trees. Also brown ones.

I've compiled the most interesting parts of the week onto the voice recording, as usual, but I'll sum up some stuff here, some happenings over the past week!

I stayed in Mikkeli on... was it Friday? I think so... I was with Elder Henderson - our companions had a meeting at the mission home in Helsinki - 'cause they're going home after this transfer! So in the meantime, Elder Henderson and I walked around all day, eating blueberries and picking exotic mushrooms.

I gave a talk on Sunday! And with that, I have some wisdom to share! If you're asked to give a talk in church, don't even talk to me about how scary it is - I gave a talk in a language I've been studying for nigh on three months. But hey - it was awesome. They say there's no comfort in a growth zone, and no growth in a comfort zone.

We biked for approx. 30 kilometers in 0 degree(Celsius) weather! That one's described in detail in the recording, so I'll just leave that there. Suffice to say it was truly awesome.

At the moment, I can't think of anything else noteworthy that happened this week - I'm (im)patiently waiting for those really funny, slightly awkward missionary experiences that everyone talks about. When will they come? Who knows - but in the meantime, y'all better remember that I love you! If you've got anything to tell me, or ask me about, please do! I've not got a ton of time to email, but I'll try to do what I can!

Love you all again, stay strong, and don't get too cold!

Sincerely,

Vanhin Bolifdgkh(No, they still can't say my name right)

Week 11 - Savonlinna (What do you mean, this bicycle doesn't come with an automatic transmission

Good morning from Savonlinna, all! I hope everything's well at home, and that the sun shines back in Utah, because it doesn't here!

I'm trying something new this week. Last time around, I spent most of my allotted time for emailing - an hour and a half - composing this massive group email. Didn't have a whole lot of time for responding to individual emails! It made me sad! So I'm trying something out. I'm gonna start taking voice recordings and sending them instead! I want to know what you all think - I'm sad, because I like composing these stories to share with everyone, but we have much less time here to do so. The work doesn't leave much time for it!

However, I'll shortly highlight a few... highlights!

Firstly, I SAW CASEY BOND!!! I love this man! The picture's attached, and on the drive, but we met up at the train station on the way to the mission tour!

Next, we had talks over the past few days from Elder Massimo De Feo, Elder L. Whitney Clayton, and Elder M. Russel Ballard! He came and gave a little devotional to just us missionaries in Finland! It was really a treat. He shared a powerful testimony, it really gave us a lot to think and talk about as missionaries.

That's really all for this week! The recording I have for this week is included in the email, and I'll be sure to keep everyone updated on the happenings in Finland!

Godspeed to you all! Love you, and stay strong in the gospel!

Vanhin Bolingbroke