heeiiiiii . . .

Well, I'm sitting at a computer with only a 15 minute limit, because all the others are taken . . .katsotaan . . . hopefully no one comes and kicks me off . . . .

WOW . . .it was soo good to talk to all of you a couple days ago. We went WAY over the limit missionaries have to talk to their families, haha. . . . . time flies when your having fun. It really did just fly by though. I had to put more money on my phone card in order to make that call even possible . . .but without the new VISA . . (yet) . . .I had to use my card that the church gives us for groceries and stuff . . .so I'll have to make that up to the church here in the next few weeks. . . if you notice any action on the card and it's all in finnish and its a grocery store. . . now you know why. :)

Umm . . . .I really don't know what else to say . . .we kinda talked about everything over the phone. We didn't talk too much about Christmas though . . .so I'll give you a short run through of what I did. .

Christmas Eve was spent with a family, the Suurinkeroiset. We helped them decorate their house and clean and get ready, then we were able to make pastries and cookies and have fun. Then we ate the first course, Riisipuro, like rice pudding with cinnamon and raisons and stuff. Then we set up for dinner and were stuffed with a Christmas Ham and cassoroles etc etc etc. All quite good. After that Santa showed up . . .a member . . .and he was wearing a head light because he had some car light troubles and he couldn't see anything . . . or I guess Rudalphs nose was out of gas or something . . .anyways, it was all pretty funny and we all sang some Christmas songs to him and he left us with a HUGE bag of presents that we passed out. They ended up giving us a few funny things in the process, like shower gel and chocolate and a BIG box of crackers from the local bread factory.

On the ride home they took us by the local cemetery where, as tradition goes, every tombstone had some candles set up. It was way pretty.

Christmas Day, we went and sang to a member who is pretty old and thankful, then we spent the rest of the day with an older couple and an extra older lady who all just love missionaries. We feasted till we were nauseous then struggled to the couch where we talked and even sang a couple songs. They then drove us home in time to talk to YOU!

Yesterday was Boxing Day, TapaninPäivä. Church was only an hour long, and an 8 year old who was just baptized gave a talk and sang in sacrament meeting . . . the youngest speaker I've ever heard. Very cool though. After church we went to Kotka where a member family let us come and spend the day with them. Since we can't watch movies or play games, we ended up spending 7 hours of eating candy, delicious cheeses, and doing a 13,200 piece puzzle of the Last Supper . . .no joke. It was HARD. We must've connected only 50 pieces in all that time, hahaha.

What about all of your Christmas Days???? I didn't hear about what you all got or what you did?! haha, Next Week. :)

Package Requests:

-Deoderant (ask Dad, he knows the kind I like :)

-Toothpaste . . . the Finnish stuff ain't cuttin it

-Stain-Remover for laundry

-I'm sorry I said no Food to all of you over the phone! Really, I like all of it and I appreciate all of it, so don't stop completely, seriously. Kiitos!!

HYVÄÄ VUOSIMERKKI Spencer and Eden!!!!! (Happy Anniversary!!)

That's all I got, enjoy the pictures: from frosty eyelashes to graveyard candles, to my mountain of candy and chocolate.

Love you all so much and I thank my Father in Heaven for giving me such a wonderful family. Best Wishes and a Happy New Year. Moi.

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Watson

Hyvää Joulua!!!

No Niin!!!! Hyvää Joulua kaikille (Merry Christmas)!! Christmas is definitely in the air here in Finland . . .the reason why I know is because you'd think that in the holiday season, there would be a lot of traffic and people out . . . . . . .nope. Everything is deserted. There is a thing here called 'Koti Rauha' or 'Home Peace' basically. It basically makes it impossible for us to tract and contact, because everyone is gone, or everyone doesn't want to talk until after New Years because they have guests. haha . . . so missionary work has really slowed down. We ended up taking buses and visiting members and less actives this past week, and that's probably how it will run this week too. We just want to spread the Christmas cheer! So far, all have been grateful for our visits and for our message on the true meaning of Christmas.

We ended up traveling to Kotka and Loviisa, two beautiful cities in our area. The members and less actives we visited have all been awesome . . .they just have transportation problems or health issues and they live so far away. We were fed Glögi, an awesome holiday drink here that they heat up and put almonds and raisins in. I think people have given it to us at least 6 times this week. They serve it usually with these little gingerbread cookies . . . yumm . ..

. . . . .I probably won't say much this time since I will TALK to all of you here in a few days!!!!!!!! My companion and I have been thinking about it and we might make a confirmation call sometime tonight or tomorrow to make sure everything works and set up the time. I remember a few of my sistas doing that back in the day. :) The call should last only a few seconds because it's VERY expensive. I have to go renew my phone card today and put more money on it . . . it had over 80 euros on it last time and the Mother's Day call drained all of it . . . .daaaaaang. . . . . .hopefully I get that new VISA card soon, or I'll have to use the church's card they give us, which is no prob, I'll just have to pay it back somehow.

SHANNON and LAYNE: we just this week taught a guy from Italy!!! I told him all about you two, haha. He lives here now with a family and everything . . .vespa included of course. He's not too interested, but he will accept a copy of the book of mormon. He speaks finnish, english, and italian . . .but he agreed to get a copy in Italian. So, what I was thinking, while the mission office gets that to us, can you two write in your e-mails next week a little entry\testimony I can print and cut out and put in the cover and give to this man? . . . .in Italian of course!!!! . . . only if you want. Kiiiiiiitosssssss! . . . I mean . . .Grazie!

We had splits with the District Leader this week. Elder Karlsson, from Sweden, is my District Leader, and Elder Balls, from Utah, is his companion. We had a fun time serving together for a day. All four of us at the end of the day were invited to a little Christmas social slash Glögi party, which we attended . . .good missionary work opportunity. The italian guy ended up being there too, haha. It was put on by a former investigator who just loves the missionaries. Around 15 people were there. I can tell you about it later.

Earlier that day, Elder Karlsson and I contacted into Santa Claus!! He was just walking down the main street where we contact and we decided to stop him . . .he told us to talk to someone who has time, haha. Santa Suit and all, haha.

In church yesterday 3 couples that serve as missionaries in the temple came to visit. Good ol Americans. In Sacrament Mtg. Veli Mikkola in the stake presidency spoke. He gave an awesome talk about Christmas of course, but instead of talking about the birth of Christ and everything, his talk was focused on everything that happened BEFORE that all happened, it was way cool. He talked about Mary and Elizabeth, and how they were the only 2 people on the planet for a time that knew who and where the Son of Man was to be born.

This Christmas we will be spending it with an older AWESOME couple, the Hyväriset. But here in Europe, like some of you know, Christmas Eve is bigger, so we will be spending it with the Suurinkeroiset family, another AWESOME family here.

On that note, I better go, but I leave you all with my testimony, especially at this time of year, that Jesus is the Living Christ, the Master, the Savior, the Only Begotten, and my perfect older brother. He is my light. He is my joy. He is the One who I call others to go to in this magnificent work, where His hands are stretch out still. Rakastan teitä. Kiitos kaikesta ja kuulemiin joskus pian!!!!!!!!

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Watson

no heeiiiiiiii

No terrrrrrve Family!

Wow, it's Monday already and here I am . . .taas (here again). Christmas is in the air and it's even tangible through all your e-mails. I can't wait to talk to all of you soon!

So . . . sorry . . .the list thing is all I usually have time for because I still have to send out my weekly letter to President Brown in the same hour I am allotted per week. soooo . . .

-Monday was ItsenäisyysPäiva . . .Independence Day . . . here in Finland. Pretty sweet. I've been told it's the only time you'll see a grown Finnish man cry. Very patriotic here.

-Tuesday was spent in Helsinki!!!! There, we had a Specialized Training Meeting for our Zone. In it, President Brown shared a Christmas Message that he, and some of the world's top Mormons in the Church Office Building, put together. It was completely centered on Christ. For a few touch ups, we watched a few music clips of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing their Christmas cheer. IT.WAS.AMAZING!!! I usually never cry for movies or anything like that, but I got pretty close there. The Spirit was strong and undeniable, testifying of the divinity of the Living Christ, Our Savior. We also watched a Mormon Message titled, Lifting Burdens . . . .WOW. Check it out.

-The snow was DUMPING down in Helsinki. We've been hearing that there is more snow in Helsinki than in Lapland . . .Arctic Circle area, right now at least.

-We have two pretty solid progressing investigators here, O and S. One has an anti husband who won't let her get baptized. Then O just won't get baptized yet. But we were able to teach them and a few other people this week with a few less active visits along the way.

- My bike is pretty much fixed now. There's another story for ya for when we are a talkin' later, but after a few hours of trying to fix it, I just took it to a shop and the guy fixed it in less time and for only 10 euros. . . .yeeeeah. :) Next step, new seat that isn't a sponge.

-Friday was the Branch Christmas Party here. We were assigned to have a little time to perform something in it. We decided to ask a bunch of fun trivia questions to the whole group about a bunch of random subjects, Religion, Candy, Sports, America, etc etc. It went really well and everyone, young and old, got involved. At the party, there was some confusion for a little bit because 2 Santa Clauses showed up, haha. Whoops.

-On Saturday we spent half the day with a now dropped investigator. She lives so far away, so we take a bus to get there, then she picked us up at the bus stop and took us to her house, where first we did some snow service, then she fed us, then we taught her. By the time to came out again to leave, there was already a good 3 inches more over the freshly shoveled yard. That same day, we hoped on a train that took us a half hour away and we taught a potential investigator. 45 minutes after he let us in, we were running to the train station to catch our train home, haha.

-Looks like a few of us had something in common on Sunday . . . yup, I gave a talk to in church! It went pretty well. I decided to talk about a recent quote from Pres. Monson that goes something along the lines of, "Why do we keep the commandments? . . . . So we can have the Spirit." Yeah, so I talked about ways to feel the Spirit and stuff.

-Eden, I wore that Christmas tie you sent me last year and it was a big hit here, haha.

-After church, we hopped on a bus to Elimäki, where some SWEET members live. The dad was the bishop here for 23 years!!! Watch out Dad, haha. Now he's in the high council and the whole family is awesome. They fed us . . .salmon . . .yes, I ate it, haha. Pretty good. :) The branch here is awesome. I love it. They even gave us a HUGE box of food after church yesterday.

- When I was in Helsinki I got that package that Sister Stoehner sent me!!! WOW. Tell her thanks. I sent her a thank you card too.

-Update on Christmas Call . . . it looks like my companion will try and call his family around 7 pm my time . . . .So that means I'll call some time around 8:30 pm my time. Next week we should know for sure, but that's what I know for now.

Well, time has already flown by, gotta go. Thanks again for all your love and support. Thanks for the updates and the testimonies. Love you all. Moi.

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Watson

P.S. Pics attached: Volswagen for Vanhin Watson, Audi for . . . .yeeeah. :) That's me, and Niina.

Moi

Hey Fam,

Well, today just so happens to be Independence Day in Finland, Itsenäisyyspäivä, so everything is closed and shut down. So we are e-mailing at the church this time. Just a note for future reference, my e-mails might come an hour earlier some p-days now . . . .just a new schedule in a new city . . . so if you've been up to the wire to get an e-mail to me . . . .watch out. :)

So, where to start . . . ummm . . . . .I'm in Kouvola! My new address is:

Kauppalankatu 10 A 9

45100 KOUVOLA

SUOMI

So packages go there until further notice. :)

Kouvola is quite a different city in almost every way . . .at least from Joensuu. The branch here is pretty strong and actually has people under the age of 50. haha The investigators are new. The city is unfamiliar. The cell phone and apartment are ANCIENT. And . . . .I have a visiting city: Kotka . . . .a city that did have a branch 6 years ago but it crumbled and now they have to travel to Kouvola for church, about a 40 minute drive. The adjustment though has been nice. I am excited to be here and serve in a new environment and with new people.

This week was pretty slow action wise, being a transition week and all, but I do have a few stories to tell.

-We stopped a lady and she gave us her phone number . . . .her business card . . . .turns out she's a belly-dancer . . .with a work name, haha. We had a good laugh about that.

-There is a man here who thinks that he literally is the King of Finland . . . . yeeeah.

-We've had 2 DA's already, which is strange for me because in Joensuu we got only 1 a week.

-A member had a graduation party after church yesterday, more like a little luncheon slash social and everyone was invited. So basically the whole branch was there and also a ton of non-members that we got to talk to. Great opportunity. A missionary here who completed his mission last spring was also there. Elder Kääria. he's from Sweden, but he's getting married to a member in this branch. Anyways, I've been on splits with him and everything so it was way cool to see him again.

-We visited our visiting city, Kotka for a day. The whole city smells like bread because there is a huge bread factory there. We were able to visit a couple less actives and members who live there. After running after our bus and helping a drunk man get out of the middle of the road we finally left, haha.

-My new companion, Elder Cassity is from the Draper area in Utah. He's around 6'3" This is his greenie city and he's been here since around June or July. The transition is going smoothly and he's a hard worker and knows the area well so he's been showing me around and catching me up.

-The church here is actually located on the lower level of an apartment complex . . .new experience for me.

-The drama slash chaos of how I got here will have to wait to be told till I talk to you all in a couple weeks. :) Speaking of which . . . . we have to work that out still huh!? umm . . . . . Christmas is on a Saturday, I'll probably have to call the conference number, and it'll be around night time for me, but with a time difference it'll be morning-noon for most of ya. As for a specific time . . . uhhh. . . i really don't know yet. But hopefully it'll work like last time, and my call drama won't happen again. I can't remember right now how I got it to work last time . . . .haha, I should get on that huh.

Time is running low again and I'll try and send pictures again. It was good to hear from you all this week. Changes keep happening and the challenges, old or new, will always come. But the gospel remains constant and His hands are stretched out still. I love all of you and wish you all a holly jolly season of cheer and gratitude. Moikka.

Raukkaudella,

Vanhin Watson

Changes

Well, lots of big news but not enough time to share . . .as always. Well, it's Tuesday, and I am now writing you from Kouvola . . .YES, I got changed!!! It all happened so fast and it was so chaotic, but I am here, in a new place, with a new companion, with new responsibilities (I'm Sr comp . . . .AHHHHHHH!!!), and new adventures lay ahead. But lets not rush ourselves shall we . . . .the Joensuu Finale is yet to be told . . . :

-We hopped off a train from Oulu where we had another amazing Zone Conference, and an hour later, we had a baptism. Niina Myller is the newest member of the church and she went in style, haha. 37 people showed up to her baptism!! That's more than that come to church! 15 of them weren't even members and we've been hearing recently that it might be a Finland record. Everything went smoothly and with some nice refreshments afterwards, it was already done. We ended up talking to EVERYONE of course and got some good conversations in, a phone number, a request to make us pie, and a teach set up with 3 of them. WOW. With that now past, and with her confirmation sealed on Sunday, 6 months of efort have now payed off. I was able to confirm her and give her the gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday, and it was a powerful experience and testimony to me. I really said nothing special, but the power that was felt was undeiable and unforgettable. It felt exactly the same way when I got my patriarchal blessing, and when I layed my hands on her head. Amazing.

-With Niina now taken care of, I guess my work in Joensuu came to a close, because the same night, change calls came. I am now in Kouvola, south, bigger, and already love it. With 11 months and all my time in Joensuu, packing was an ancient forgotten practive for me, but through it all, it all fit. I might just have to finish that story in 25 days when I can talk to you in person, because through all the chaos and business, it was a miracle I made it to my train. True miracle. Talk about close, haha. Make sure to remind me, because it's quite the story!

-My new companion is Elder Cassity, from Utah. This is his greenie city, and he's been here in Finland for about 4 changes. I have been made Sr companion, and boy am I humbled. I don't know why, but I am now a senior companion and I'm scared out of my mind, haha. Talk about pressure slash responsibility. Vanhin Cassity is pretty cool though and I'm excited to begin this new chapter. My old companion will now be training in Joensuu.

-Quick story . . . . so back in Joensuu on Sunday night we were out tracting. We come to a door, it's my turn, so the man answers and I say we have a message about God's Plan. He looks at me, walks a bit closer, and punched me right in the right eye, yes, the man decked me in the face. This never happens in Finland and I cannot tell you how many times I have received apologies from the Finns (who heard about it) ever since. Both me and my companion didn't even flinch, we just looked at the man as he swore and swore and told us to leave, and tried escorting us out of the complex, pushing and shoving me against the stairwell. I finally had enough and stood my ground and looked him in the eye. . (don't worry, I wasn't about to fight back, haha). .which made him even more mad, and he tried kicking me, so we apologized for any inconvenience and told him have a nice day, said we were leaving, and left. I'm fine, I was kind of in shock for a while once we left the building and I couldn't talk for a good 10 minutes, until I suggested we leave to a whole different complex, which was nice, because when we left the premises, I felt a whole lot better . . . . something wrong with that place. Oh well, I'm fine now, no soreness or anything. Interesting experience.

Well, all I have time for. I try sending a few pics now, then I got to go. I DID get the Thanksgiving Book and am very grateful for it and for all of you. Up in Oulu for Zone Conference we did get a Thanksgiving meal. Thank you all so much. Hei hei.

Rakkaudella, Vanhin living in a dream Watson

p.s. hmmmm . . . pics won't work right now, sorry! toivottavasti next time

Kiitos Päivä!!!

When I was in Helsinki, one of the Elders I was staying with is from Great Britain . . . .Elder Gorringe (the one I went down with) forgettfully asked this Elder if they celebrate Thanksgiving in England . . . . after a blank stare and a couple laughs . . . Elder Gorringe threw in, What about the 4th of July? as a joke this time. hahaha

Well, unfortunately they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here, BUT, Zone Conference is this week up in Oulu, and the whole Zone will be there Thursday Night, where hopefully a nice feast will be waiting for us. :)

It was quite the week again. We had a lot of teaches cancel on us, or just not show up, but we have some new stories and experiences to share kuitenkin.

-We got let inside at least 3 times this past week. One turned out to be crazy. Another one shut up like a clam when he found out we were Mormons, and denied us being Christian, and the last one, the finale, was AWESOME. Just last night a young couple let us in. They said they don't want to change or anything, but they are pretty interested in learning more. It was cool because they actually treated us like human beings and were honest with us and everything. The Spirit was there and we left with thankful hearts. Katsotaan . .

-we've received 2 referrals recently . . .first ones in months. One of them we set up a teach with today, and the other one we biked 7 kilometers in 5 inches of snow to contact . . . but the address was a fake . . .just 2 numbers off . . .yay. On the trek home we stopped and talked with a guy by the same name of our referral, haha . . . .he gave us his number. God works in mysterious ways. :)

-It gets dark here at around 3 nowadays, a bit worse than Alaska from my rememberence. It's dark and cold and toe freezing fun . . . . .anyone have suggestions on how to keep toes warm . . . .I try everything . . .NO, toe warmers do NOT work, haha. (I knew you'd say that) :P

-We had a District meeting in Kuopio which went well. My district has been the same, without any changes, for 3 changes now . . . .with Change Calls coming this Saturday . . . katsotaan

-Last night was a huge Christmas Lighting Ceremony here in Joensuu. it was HUGE: Santa, Frosty, Bunny and Wolf (don't ask me where they came from cause I have no idea), fireworks, makara, a childrens choir singing christmas carols, and thousands of people!! I've never seen so many people here. I got a picture of Frosty watching the fireworks, pretty priceless . . . and random. haha

-We visited a potential yesterday who was in the middle of making dinner and changing diapers and stuff. I've never seen a happier baby. :)

-NIINA gets baptized this Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!! Vanhin Ranzenberger will baptize her and I will confirm her. WHOOOOO!!!!!!

- Well, that's all I have time for today. I'm especially grateful for my family in this season of thanks. I thankful for my Savior. I'm thankful for weekly e-mails. I'm thankful for you. best wishes and love from Finland . .

Raukkaudella,

Vanhin Watson

Helsinki

Hei Family!! It was a humbling experience to read your e-mails just now. A lot of things are going on from the looks of it. These are trying times, but I'm grateful for the family that I have and the unshaken faith I see in them.

So, I actually spent this past week in Helsinki. I was able to go down with Elder Gorringe, my District Leader and MTC friend (awesome Elder). For the whole week, 30 of us (about half the mission) from 9 to 5 we received the wonderful opportunity to sit and be taught and trained by President Brown: How to become better teachers, better missionaries, better people, and the importance of the role of the Spirit in our lives. I learned a lot and unfortunately I don't have enough time to share all the things I learned, but it was fun and we all were edified and rejoiced together, haha. Each day, after the meetings, we split up and went out back to work to apply what we learned. Elder Gorringe and I stayed with the zone leaders that live in Espoo (where the temple is), so we were able to do work with them. There are a lot of stories to tell about that, but only the journal will know for now I guess (dinner appointments, chocolate milk, let-ins, car in a ditch, metro, music recitals etc etc etc) haha. Lets just say I was in culture shock because Helsinki is a whole other world . . . . .BIG.

Meanwhile, back in Joensuu news, we are down to 2 baptismal dates, one with N on the 27th (still going strong) and with J on Dec 11th (kinda iffy). We were supposed to have a baptism on Saturday, but he didn't make it to church last week or this week, AND his parents won't give permission yet (he's 16). So, there's some drama going on here too, haha. It snowed a bunch while I was gone so biking has become pretty difficult, especially without snow tires and a tired racing bike. Each day is a new adventure. :)

Yesterday was actually Father's Day here in the Scandanavian countries, so we made cookies for all the dad's at church, then gave the leftovers to people during the rest of the day. Since you already had your day this year Dad, I decided to dedicate it to my Heavenly Father instead, no offense, haha. Still thought of ya though. :)

Not much else to report on today. I love you all and I know that with unshaken faith and a firm trust in the Lord, the blessings and miracles will come to each of us. Thank you. Love you.

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Watson

moikka

No niin fämily, a week has gone by already and with the clock ticking down I should just dive into the details. . . .

-Yes, even with the snow and everything I am STILL riding a bike, haha. It's been quite the adventure. On Monday I was trying to put something in my pocket while riding, then when I looked up, another biker was headed in my direction for a collision. As quick as I could I reached for the breaks . . . just happened to be the wrong one, the one that snapped a few weeks ago. The collision was epic, but no fatalities and both victims are ok. :) Speaking of bike crashes, my companion got in a pretty epic one the other day . . . . gotta watch those turns, it's icy! I think we've both crashed 3 or 4 times just because of the slipperyness in the past week.

-So, we were supposed to have a baptism this past Saturday . . . .no go. We haven't been able to even get a hold of him for a week now, so yesterday we went over again and he was home and we had a pretty good teach. Turns out he was just busy with school and even went to Helsinki for a bit. He's from Pakistan. Speaks Urdu, Arabic, English, and trying to learn Finnish now.

-Another investigator with whom a baptismal date is set also has to reschedule his date because he didn't show up to church yesterday. They have to be at church at least twice before being baptized. It was a big bummer too because this past Friday our District Leader came down from Kuopio and had the interview with him and everything . . .AND it went pretty well . . . .still didn't show to church. Reason still unknown, but no baptism this Saturday either.

-N on the other hand is still doing amazingly well. She even took us out to eat on Saturday at a new Chinese place . . .which was also amazing. The whole time we've been teaching her she has told us that she wants to be baptized in a lake . . . . not anymore . . .we all went down to the river before we ate and put our hands in the water and basically immediately lost all feeling to our hands, haha. In the church is ok too :)

-Saturday was Pyhäin Päivää in Finland (All Saints Day I think) so everything was shut down. On this day, the Finns light up candles everywhere so it looks really cool, especially because it gets dark here at like 3:30 now a days. At night when we were biking home we went past a cemetery and at each gravesite was at least 1 candle, so everything was lit up and looked awesome.

-District Meeting was held in Joensuu this past Friday. We all went out to lunch afterward and through the window we saw a drunk guy crash his bike into a bench. We went out to help him up, then noticed it was one of our kinda investigators . . . always drunk . . .glad to see us though, haha.

-I'm headed to Helsinki for the WEEK this week. No, no transfer, just a training meeting. My comp went to this meeting last change, now I am going. It's for all the leaders in the mission and those who the leaders bring with them. Most of the mission has been to this meeting, so this should catch everyone up. But I am excited to be there and to learn from Pres Brown for a whole week!! I hop on a train with my DL, Vanhin Gorringe (MTC Bud) today and we come back on Saturday. So I have a little suitcase packed . . . . haven't done that for a year now, haha.

As always it was good reading all your e-mails and I appreciate the news and the thoughts. Your all in my prayers. Love you.

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Watson

No Niin!!

No niin fäm, are you ready???!!!!! . . . . . . . . . . . . the 6 month event has finally come to a close, Niina is getting baptized!!!! Yes, her name is Niina, not N, I figured I'd say it just this once. :) We met with her on Tuesday, where we followed up with her on the commitment we gave her a while back: about envisioning her baptism. She said she loved it and even had another vision about her going under the water and coming back up and feeling those indescribable, overwhelming feelings. At her request, we went over the baptismal interview questions again. After that she said she wanted to show us something. She went to the blackboard behind her and drew a diagram that I drew a few teaches earlier (with a line to heaven and a gate in between (baptism)). At that time we drew it to ask her to tell us where she was at on the line. She drew it right at the gate. This time, she drew it right on the gate. With smiles from ear to ear, we asked her, ''What are you going to do about it?'' . . . . .''I want to be baptized!'' She originally wanted the date to be in December, but when she found out we might be changed by then, she stumbled and decided to pray about it again (because she wants us to be there for it). The next day while tracting, she called us up, and when I answered, basically the first thing she said was, ''THE 27th!! THE 27th!!'' (of November). She was screaming and laughing and so excited . . .AND, she was outside walking down the road, so I'm pretty sure she got a few stares, haha. It's happening, it's finally happening. NOW, I know why I'm still in Joensuu. And that's not the only news for the week . . . .we set ANOTHER baptismal date as well!!! Joensuu had 3 baptismal dates! This young man is 16, open, and really trying to find his answer, so we set this vision for him to strive towards. Nov 13th!!! Kiitos Jumalalle!! THIS, this is why I am here. We have been so blessed. The drought in this city of 2 years is about to flood over.

District Conference was this past weekend, held in Kuopio (like Stake Conference). Niina was able to go and she had an amazing time. When Pres. Brown spoke, he said there were two miracles in the room at that moment. First, was a recent convert from Kuopio. Then second, was Niina!! He had her stand and told everyone of the light in her eyes and the testimony he can see. She was so surprised and very grateful, and even shed some tears. She thought we set it all up, haha.

In other news, pretty quickly:

-We tracted into a man who must have been 7 foot 5. When I saw his shadow come to the door window I whispered out loud ''Daaaaang, I hope he's not that tall.'' Then he opened it and when we saw him I almost burst out laughing because he was. I struggled through the approach with two or three huge smiles and a couple laughs. haha, hey, at least he said we could come back!!

-While in Kuopio we had a little splits, and I went tracting with our District Leader, my MTC bud, Vanhin Gorringe. It was an 11 story building and I was in awe, haha. Joensuu only goes up to 5 at least. Each floor had interesting smells and experiences, but on the very last door we got let in!!

-We heard the ice cream man while tracting in the freezing cold again, haha. Finns.

-We got let in last night by a 90 year old mummo. She couldn't hear much or do much, but we prayed with her and left her a pamphlet.

-So much to say, so little time!!!

I hope you all had a cavity-free Halloween and a blessed week ahead! Rakastan teitä! Hei Hei.

-Vanhin Watson

Viisi

Wow, each week just keeps getting better and better with all of your e-mails . . .I LOVE IT!!

Since I'm always in a hurry time wise I figure I should get to the beans, soooo . . . .:

-Change calls were on Saturday . . . . . . . . . . . . ... .. .. .. . ..........I am staying in Joensuu, my greenie city, for my 8th change. I've heard that the record for being in the same city, at least here, was 7. Yay for record breaking. Better yet, I am still with my same companion, Vanhin Ranzenberger, for our 5th change together . . .also a mission record. We joke that our pictures must have fallen off the change board in presidents office, haha. There you have it . . . .Still here. No surprise this time though. We kind of expected it. We're excited too because we have a baptism coming up, and, better yet, N has been thinking about baptism too!!!!!!!! She didn't know that Change Calls were coming, and yesterday she was telling us in church that she was thinking over the weekend about baptism a lot and setting a date and stuff, and how she came to realize how much she really wants us to be there for it. . . .(we've been teaching her for about 6 months now). BAM! God answered her prayers and here we are, still here. We meet with her tomorrow and we'll see if we can get this train rolling.

-I have a new planner of me right now, so I can't remember everything that happened last week, haha . . . .umm . . .

-It has been a while since we've received some success in tracting, but that all came to an end when we were let in 3 times last week. All said we can come back, and one is already an investigator. The other was an older man that reminded me of Grandpa Johnson. And the last let in was a family! Not too interested, but quite nice and a good, spiritual teach.

-We had District Meeting in Kuopio on Friday. That means we sat 3 hours on a bus there, and 3 hours back. Man, I think I could drive that bus route by now, haha. The muumos always sit in the front, then the farther back you go, the younger it gets.

-On Saturday we did some service for a member at their Mökki (cabin). It had snowed pretty good all morning so that made it fun. We moved and chopped wood and wheel-barrowed dirt around the place. We are pretty sore, but it was nice to chop wood again . . . .reminded me of Alaska, during that fall where we cleared up the yard and burned it and stuff. Afterward, the kids (10 and 12), who aren't members because of the anti-father, but a member mother, got in a snowball fight with us. They are usually pretty quiet and shy and don't talk much, but they were laughing and speaking and really opened up to us. The mom says they like us a lot and so that adds them to the list of people here who probably pray that we never leave Joensuu, haha.

-I translated in church yesterday!!!!!!!! Daaaang, it was tough, but our investigator with a date can't speak finnish, and my comp was on the stand for the sacrament, so I had to translate.

-No new bike crashes to report on. But the other day when we came out of a teach we realized that someone had let all the air out of our tires. We only realized about 20 meters into the ride, and after all the little parts in the bike valve flew everywhere . . . . into the snow and grass and everything. We were 5 kilometers away from home, and curfew was in an hour and a half, so we had no time to walk, so we searched for an hour in the dark, in the snow and grass for these tiny parts. Luckily we found them, and luckily we had a pump. Close call. We know who did it too, and we wanted to put a note on his door that would say, 'God Always Wins' but just a few seconds later we lost the parts again in the snow, so we laughed, apologized to God, and then found them again. haha

-Sorry, that's all I can remember for now, and all I got time for.

Of all the things I've noticed while I've been on my mission, the greatest would be that my family is so blessed. You're all in my prayers, especially you Lindsey!!

Until next time, Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Watson

Water Shut Down

Terrrrrrrrrrve Fämily!! Wow, always the best way to start the week by hearing from you. I'll get right to it since I don't have as much time today. A member couple is going to feed us at a food shelter type of place, haha, then right after this we are going to the hospital to give a blessing to a member here from Helsinki. So . . . . :

We've had a couple water shut downs this past week. I guess they are working on something. So that means we get to pop out the buckets and live off of reserves. :) They shut it off again this morning right as we were doing our dishes.

Winter has struck . . . on my year mark too! Songs from White Christmas were popping into my head all day. The temps have dropped and the wind chill is back. . . . .meaning the winter coats are out. N even gave some mittens and a scarf to the both of us which was way nice of her. We were freezing our tails off one night while tracting and all of a sudden we heard the Ice Cream Man's little jinggle, haha . . . .Welcome to Finland. The change in weather has taken a toll on us because we ride bikes. I've already crashed twice . . . not too bad though. :) My comp said that he saw one of them and asked me afterward if I knew what I just did. I said no, then he told me that out of reflexes when I started to go down, I apparently put a foot up on one handle-bar, and the other foot up on the seat and surfed my bike to the ground with a roll to finish it off. haha, bike surfing . . . . gotta love it. My back brakes have snapped, my tires are thin, and my seat has a tear in it that turns it into a sponge which, in turn, turns my butt wet whenever I sit down. haha, yay for bikes!!

We had splits this week with our beloved Elders from Kuopio, Elders Gorringe and Pond. We set up 4 teaches, 2 for each pair, but mine were the only ones that actually worked in the end. They went pretty well, and the member who was at the second one really liked my Finnish and the way I taught and lead it all. Splits are always fun and give us chances to show what we got and put us in all kinds of situations.

We have a new investigator who we met on the street and gave a church tour too. Turns out that he is 18 . . .and already speaks 7 LANGUAGES. He even teaches Finnish through some of these languages at the university to the foreigners who are trying to learn it.

3 couples serving in the Temple came up to Joensuu yesterday for church. The 3 men\elders all gave talks . . . all had previously served in Finland as missionaries way back in the day. It was nice to have their added spirit in the meetings, and we were able to speak with them afterward and get pictures because they were invited to the same DA as us.

We taught J, our 24 year old investigator from Pakistan who has a baptismal date for November 6, during church with another member who is from Tanzania in Africa . . .here studying. It's still his date!! Katsotaan.

So many stories, so little time. Sorry for the shortness. Love you all. In my prayers. Moikka!

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Watson

Koli

There has never been a normal week for me while in this work. What is normal? haha. It all started on Monday . . . .the true start of the Finnish week, not Sunday . . .even on calendars and everything. . . .

MONDAY: One word, four syllables . . . .DOMINATION. Monday was our P-Day, but as it turns out, we accompanied 2 home-teachers to their appointment an hour away and didn't return until 7:30 at night . . . . yeah. Awesome member though, she seriously has one of those Cinderella story's . . . just waiting for the ending still valitettavasti

TUESDAY: Normal day, getting ready to go in for lunch, then our branch president and his wife called us up and said they'll be picking us up and take us an hour away to one of the most beautiful spots in Finland . . . see pictures. Turns out it was probably the last good day of weather of the year, with all the leaves still on the trees as well. So we got ''kidnapped'' for that, and made it back to the city just in time for our scheduled teaches. Also, that day we had a stretch of 10 minutes of contacting where we got 2 phone numbers and a church tour set up with a 3rd.

WEDNESDAY: 4 teaches planned . . . only 1 survived . . . tis life

THURSDAY: We went to Kuopio for a District Meeting, this time President and Sister Brown were there too, only happens 4 times a year now. We each got our individual interviews with President, which went well. Afterward, we ran across the city and arrived at the train station just in time to see our train riding into the sunset . . .ouch. We caught another one a few hours later and got home at 11.

FRIDAY: New investigator . . . . we just found out that he is only 16 years old, but hey, he's still interested and pretty cool. Also, we ALMOST set a baptismal date with one of our progressing investigators . . .he got scared though and ended it.

SATURDAY: Branch activity 20 minutes away at a members Mökki . . .Summer Cottage slash Cabin . . . pretty sweet. Complete with Makara, cucumbers and bread. ALSO, we FINALLY got a BAPTISMAL DATE!!!!! from a new investigator too!! He's in his mid 20's, from Pakistan, raised Christian, fluent in English, here studying. . . . and we were just teaching the 1st lesson too. He knows the Bible very well and wants everyone to be Christian, and he just wants to follow Jesus! Set for Nov 6 . . . katsotaan.

SUNDAY: Our 2 new investigators came to church and it seemed like they had a good time. although the one with a date doesn't know a lick of Finnish, but wouldn't accept a translator. It's ok though, the Spirit is the only language he needs to know. :P

Well, Lindz HYVÄÄ SYNTYMÄPÄIVÄÄ!!!! I sent you a lil sommin sommin, hope you got it or get it soon!! To all, thanks taas for your e-mails, pictures, thoughts, encouragement. Always nice to start the week with a booster from the family.

Not enough time, got to go. Rakastan teitä. . . .WAY WAY more than cold, dark night bike rides home, and e-mails from YOU.

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Watson

Yleiskonferenssi!!!!!

Wow, General Conference was AMAZING!! I practically wrote a novel of notes and for most of the speakers, they said so many good stuff in so little time that I couldn't write everything down and just had to write, ''See Liahona, Conference Issue.'' haha I only have a little time today. I know I say I'm always in a hurry, but this time I really really am. We have an appointment with a member who lives an hour away coming up, and we still have to write our e-mails and do our shopping for the week.

We were in Kuopio for the whole weekend, where they have the satellite broadcast capabilities. We saw the first session at 7 at night live, went to bed, saw the Priesthood session Sunday at 12 as a rebroadcast, saw the Sat. Afternoon session at 3 on Sunday as a rebroadcast, then saw the Sunday Morning Session live at 7, then we just had to miss the Sunday Evening Session valitettavasti. It all just flew by way to fast. Things I liked:

-the simplicity, the love, the feeling of gratitude and hope.

-In each talk I was able to see a person in my life, either in the mission or back home, to whom that talk applied. Truly amazing. Hope they were listening. :P

-I honestly can't tell you a favorite yet because it's impossible, all were just too good. The ones you all mentioned in your e-mails I simply was going, ''Yup, true, yup, ok''

-The simplicity still gets me. Over and over again, they spoke slow, they spoke about the basics, the fundamentals . . . .just as it should be!! Elder Uchtdorf taught it well. Trees and planes, and pencils in space, haha.

- ''Integrity is not naivite, what is naive is to think we're not accountable to God.'' Elder Christofferson

- Elder Nelsons story in Priesthood Session about telling his friends to TAKE IT BACK (BoM) and READ IT this time!! was really comparable to this work. There is no way ANYONE can say it's nothing special, or not true, UNTIL they read it. We see that a lot here.

-''We find healing and relief only when we come to the feet of the Physician himself.'' Elder Kearon

-''Discover humility not by thinking less of ourselves, but by thinking less about ourselves.'' Elder Uchtdorf

-about the BoM . . .''Written by the mariners who too sailed the seas that we too must cross.'' Pres. Monson

-''We become what we want to be simply by being what we want to become.'' Elder Scott

-Elder Eyrings emotion and powerful testimony was amazing

-Elder Packers kitten story was hilarious. . . .CAN'T and WON'T change, even by battle or ballot!! haha

-Elder Oaks 2 lines was really good too, ''Those who reject Organized Religion reject the Master'' . . .I'll have to say that to a few people here, haha

-Finally before I go, Pres. Monson's talk on Gratitude was a good finale . . .for us in Finland is was the last one we saw. The humor, the love, the Optimism, and the power.

-No one, NO ONE could deny the words spoken in that conference. The church is so TRUE!!

We got robbed. Yeah, it's true. Sorry I switched subjects, haha. We were in a teach in the church, sitting in the chapel testifying about Joseph Smith and closing it up when a random young lady walked into the building. We could see her through the windows in the back of the chapel. We were pretty excited because she started looking at the freee give-a-way things by the entrance and started looking through a Book of Mormon, Well, our investigator left her purse by that table while we had the teach. My comp and I saw this lady kneel down, get up, and leave the building and it all clicked to us. I ran down the isle and out the chapel doors to see that our investigators bag was gone! I ran outside, saw the lady walking away, went back inside to tell them, then my comp and I went out and caught up and stopped her. The investigator caught up, snatched her bag away and we stood there in silence while she checked to see if everything was still in her back. My comp and I offered help to the robber, spiritual help, haha, all we could do in the silence. Eventually the investigator let her go. She was a narcodic, homeless, and looking for money. Now, she has our number. :)

While waiting Sunday morning for Conference to start, we 6 Elders went to a Lutheran Church Service. . . . .my first time in another church. Quite the interesting experience.

All I got for today folks. Anteeks. General Conference only put my testimony in concrete that this church is absolutely true. I know it. I know that whoever watched those servants of God speak know it. Love you. Moikka.

-Vanhin Watson

terrrrrrrrve

No niin . . . .Terve Terve y'all. Once again all the e-mails were quite enjoyable, so a deep and profound THANK YOU to you and you and you. :) . . . . and you.

Well, like I said in last weeks e-mail I was kinda sick recently. For the rest of the week I didn't feel too good, but I am doing a lot better right now, besides the constant sniffles and occasional coughs. I was the whole week in Kuopio with Elder Pond. Elder Ranzenberger and Elder Gorringe went together to Helsinki for a set of training meetings. I am now part of a dying breed of missionaries in Finland that still haven't been to that meeting (there's been 2 now). haha

Kuopio was a different experience . . .the first time I have served in another city. It's twice the size, so there's a ton more people to talk to. Elder Pond and I did a lot of finding and found a few potentials for them to work with since their teaching pool is kinda shallow because they had 2 recent baptisms. Elder Pond and I are from the same MTC group, so we were pretty dependent on each other language wise. I found myself stepping up my game and leading a bit more, which was a weird feeling, but apparently it helped because Elder Ranzenberger has already told me that my Finnish and my teaching is better. :) In Kuopio we tracted into a guy with a tube in his throat and he was only wearing a towel. He was pretty angry at us so we just left and went to the next door . . he watched us, then angrily told us to leave and stop disturbing people and proceeded to escort us out of the complex. Elder Pond said that it was 2nd time he felt like hitting someone on his mission, haha. The man was pretty rude and with the tube and all, he was pretty hard to understand Finnish wise, haha. Nevertheless, a child of God. :)

We had one scheduled appointment and we didn't have a member yet to come along. It was a half hour before the teach and just then we got a text message from a younger member in med school there in Kuopio asking us if we needed help that day . . . . .YES. haha My comp and Elder Gorringe had a similar experience that same day when they were taking the train back home . . . Turns out they hopped on the wrong train and ended up traveling all day to fix it. They didn't know what to do because the mission office was closed so they didn't know the train times or anything, It was then when a member here in Joensuu texted them and just said, Do you two need some help? She just felt inspired to randomly text and ask . . . .YES. Wow, the church is true. Love it.

So my comp and I didn't get back to Joensuu until around 8:00 Saturday night . . . then a member picked us up and hurried us to their house for a DA because their fridge broke earlier in the day and all their food was going bad, so they called us up for 'help' to eat it all . . . . this is just an old couple here. So we scarffed down a fridge worth of food then hurried home to get there in time for curfew . . carrying our luggage, and not to mention our stomachs, with us.

Yesterday in church I had to give a talk. Since I was in Kuopio all week I didn't get a chance to write it, until yesterday morning, haha, whoops. Once I repented I was able to whip out a decent talk about the Book of Mormon. I got compliments afterward from members about how clear and well I spoke. yeeeaaah :)

Well, back to P-Day . . . always in a rush.

Oh, we'll be back in Kuopio this weekend to see Yleiskonferenssi (General Conference)!!!!!!!! We'll miss the last session Sunday :( and the rest will be all screwed up because of the time difference, but I can't wait!!! Best time of the year!! I can't believe it was this time last year when I was in a hotel room with 2 throwing up sisters, a crying baby, and a grumpy ol man . . .haha, just kidding Dad. :P Love you. Pray for you. Miss you.

''Let us realize that the priviledge to work is a gift, that the power to work is a blessing, that the love of work is success.'' -David O. McKay I love this work. Happy days and crunchy leaves to all. Moi

-Vanhin Watson

Kiitos teille!!

Wow, thank you everyone for all the wonderful e-mails and the birthday wishes!! 2 decades and counting . . . . .woa. Everything went well and smooth and I enjoyed celebrating it in the service of the Lord, as a representative of Him . . . that's the greatest present. Not very many people knew it was my birthday, which was nice because it made it a day to focus on the work. At a DA after church with our branch president and N, who was invited along, V. Ranzenberger told them on our way out and so they all sang to me. Another member gave us a small cake on Saturday as we stepped off the train. Then, last P-Day we bought a small cake at the store. Both were delicious . . . I took pictures. :)

Well, guess what?! I'm writing you from Kuopio . . . not Joensuu! No, no transfer, haha. There is a leadership meeting for all the mission leaders in Helsinki this week, so, our DL invited my companion along for this one, since last month he and his companion went to the same meeting. So, we're kind of having splits for the week, and now I am in Kuopio with Vanhin Pond from my MTC group!! It's a nice refresher for a little bit, haha. Vanhin Ranzenberger was really excited to go to Helsinki . . . . . could mean he's training or going District Leader soon . . .just my guess. :P We woke up at 5:45 this morning to catch a train to Kuopio, then V. Gorringe and V. Ranzenberger got on the train to Helsinki.

About this past week:

-2 new investigators, both from let ins while tracting. Both are pretty nice. One of them we met the next day in the building next to theirs. We met her there and she took us to the 2nd floor and into this huge private library . . .and there we taught the first lesson. Sweet.

-It's been raining off and on, which means we get stuck in it while tracting, which means we get soaked. Yay! Weather is changing already. I have now seen Joensuu in all the seasons.

-We had a Specialized Training Meeting in Oulu last Friday, which means that we spent most of Thursday and Saturday traveling to and from home. It was a really good experience though. We're learning how to teach the Fundamentals of Preach My Gospel more simply and powerfully. No new lessons, just training. I like it. :)

-After the meeting on Friday, the Oulu Zone Leaders overbooked their schedule, so my comp and I had to go to one of their teaches for them.

-We taught the lesson in Priesthood yesterday.

-We had 3 investigators in church yesterday!! It was the first time for one, and she cried for most of it. Yeeaah! She made really good friends with one particular member, too bad that member was visiting from Helsinki, haha. But, Sunday in general was a good day for church, very spiritual and welcoming.

Sorry, I'm getting kind of sick, so I can't concentrate right now and I still have to write Pres Brown his weekly letter, so I have to go.

Not too much info for ya this week, sorry. But I was glad to hear from all of you. I'll attach some pictures . . . I got some good ones. :)

Rakastan teitä. Moi.

-Vanhin Watson

p.s. Alright, the pictures weren't sending . . . sorry, I have some good ones, but you'll have to wait for next week!!

Syksy on täällä

Fall is here. Leaves are changing. The days are cooling. The mummos are scootering. Ahh, Terveluoa Suomeen. Another week of chills and thrills has come and gone. And now, I'm back at the library with the hour that I have to give a shout out to the wonderful family and friends that I have. . . . here goes nothin. . . .

N has been having a rough time lately as far as the family situation goes. After a tough phone conversation with her dad, she felt impressed (what else is new, haha) not to hang up, but wait. As it turns out, her dad forgot to hang up and put the phone in his pocket and proceeded to talk to his wife, her mother, all the while bashing their daughter and the church she wanted to be a part of . . . with this same daughter hearing the whole thing. Words cannot describe how horrible that would feel. N being N, she has toughed through every storm and every trial thrown at her, but she is struggling to find direction on what to do about the burdens that unceasinly seem to be piling up on her back. Of course, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has and always will be the answer, and we are in the process of showing that to her. She is still as ready as ever to be baptized, but she's waiting for reasons only known to her. On another note, she made us muffins and gave us a note written like it came from the pen of the prophet himself, haha, very hreartfelt and appreciative of what we have done with her. :)

As time is of the essense, here goes the list . . .

-tracted into a man that no limbs, all amputated, he hobbled to the door on his stubs, interesting experience

-contacted into an Olympic athlete, a Finn who competed in cross country in Salt Lake, got 4th. . . has been caught doping 3 times since . . . ouch

-had a DA yesterday with a pretty wealthy family who fed us steak . . . .yes, it's true, STEAK on a mission :P . . . . .and I sleep on a queen size bed, haha

-yesterday I ran over a HUGE thorn on my bike, yay for repairs

-this weekend we are heading to Oulu, but not for Zone Conference, but a Specialized Training Meeting . . . we can't wait!

-this past Friday we had District meeting in Kuopio, yay for 3 hours on a bus

-I love my Family :)

-We had a DA slash teach at a less active's house where the father and the kids aren't members. The father is extremely Anti, but he was out of town so they invited us over. The whole time we were scared out of our minds that the Dad would burst through the door. We were ready to dash for the backyard fence in our socks at a moments notice, haha.

I still don't know what we'll do for my birthday . . . so weird that it's already here. But there's no better way to spend it than in the service of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Love ya all TONS more than crunchy leaves and e-mails from loved ones. Moikka

-Vanhin Vatsön

P.S. in the pics. . . . yes, kangaroo meat in the store, haha . . . . .my comp has grey hair, hahahaha

History in the making . . .

So . . .I bet the fact that I am writing you all a day late has led to some questions . . . . .transfer or no transfer . . . . . . . . . .I, Vanhin Watson, in my opinion, am probably making church history . . . yes, me . . . .because I am STAYING in Joensuu for a 7th change. 7: the heavenly number. You know what this means? I will hit my year mark as a missionary in my greenie city, hahaha. To add to the history making, I am with the same companion!! hahaha You heard it right, 7 changes in the same city, and this'll be my 4th with the same companion . . . probably never heard of. When the change call never came Saturday night, we've been laughing ever since. Me jäämme!!!!

Well, back to business . . . . . I'll probably resort back to the list thing this week of all that has happened recently. Yes, it was another week full of stories and experiences for the journal pages. Here's the news from Lake Wobegone . . . .:

-our last P-day was DOMINATED because a member was teaching us how to knit for 2 and a half hours . . . .yay! No, I still don't know how. Tough stuff. Needles everywhere.

-We had splits on Tuesday, and the 2 Elders that came down were both in my MTC group, Vanhimmat Gorringe and Pond. It was a day full of teaches and fun. They even found a chinese man while contacting, set up a teach for later, and in that teach the man said,''well, if baptism is the first step, I guess that's what I need to do!'' This man was actually friends with our other chinese investigator that recently flew back to China. This investigator apparently told his friends about us, and 'the Book' and this one was interested, and BAM, missionaries stop him on the street. Wow, the church is true. . . . .the bad news is, is that he called us up later saying that he can't meet with us because his mom doesn't want him to break up their heritage and tradition as Buhddists. :( He's gone. But, from what we've been experiencing, China is soo ready to be opened!

-We gave a church tour to one of our new investigators and brought a member along. When we opened the doors to show her the font, she immediately put her hands over her eyes and said that she had just had a dream, and THAT font was in it!! She then, with eyes still covered, proceeded to describe what it looked like, everything being correct!!!! AHHHHH!!! The church is true.

-While on splits, the four of us elders went and gave 'N' a blessing, her first one. She's still amazing as ever. In a couple hours we are going to a teach with her, in which she requested that we speak about and draw out Jacob 5, and how she can apply it in her life. Amazing. Maybe I'll finally send you a pic of this amazing elect investigator.

-An older member couple took us out to eat . . . .it ended up being at a Food Kitchen slash shelter type of place. haha

-We had a couple experiences with drunk people . . . early sunday morning, a younger investigator called up wanting to meet and show us something. We went over, and it ended up her was drunk and proceeded to walk us through the cemetary. The other experience was a let in by a potential, but he and his friends were stoned.

-Just yesterday we gave a church tour to a potential. At the end we gave him a Book of Mormon. To show his appreciation for this free gift he sang some type of Finnish song of thanks or something to us right then and there, haha.

-Last but not least, we got J-Dubbed yesterday . . . mummos. Gave us pamphlets, told us to not be decieved, and started to walk away, but I flipped out a pass a long card and gave it to them before they could leave, haha. The battle is ON.

Well, there you have it, at least the parts I have time to write about. I loved reading your e-mails and updates this week, as usual, but it seems they just keep getting better and better. Kiitos teille! I want to write you all so bad to answer questions and stuff. I'm trying!! Hahahaha, I feel like the old rusty barbed wire fence President Hinckley once talked about . . . .still here. haha Love you all. Moi.

-Vanhin Watson

p.s. attached some pics . . . .2 are the same place, just diff seasons! Another one is my comp and 'N'

Cheesy Toaster

Yes, by the name of this e-mail I do have a story to go along with it. So there we were just making some toast. It has a cool pop up grill feature that I decided to use while my comp had his bread in below, so I could melt the cheese. Well, his popped up, knocked mine over and into the toaster, making us the proud owners of a cheesy toaster . . . . .took me a while, and a bit of smoke, to clean up. :P

There are so many stories to go along with this week that I fear I cannot tell them all. We've been seeing a lot of success here in Joensuu recently, basically everything but baptisms, haha. On Tuesday we were stuffed with a lunch appointment with a member, then we biked on full stomachs clear across the city to another member who insisted to feed us chocolate and ice cream . . . hey, I'm not complaining, but my stomach was . . . . Personally, I chowed down 5 ice cream bars. After that, we biked back to the center to a teaching appointment with a member and her kids who aren't members . . . .and they brought desert. . . . . . . after all this I am proud to say I have NOT gained weight on my mission . . .actually lost some. :) haha

Our Chinese investigator is probably on a plane back to China right now. We were able to meet him a couple times and really see a change in him in just a week. He left with a belief in God, a knowledge that he can live with his family forever (which he was really happy about), and a basic background of the purpose of life and the gospel. Hopefully he finds a way to the church in the future.

I wish I could go on, but there's too much to say. By no means, when I say every week that I'm always in a hurry, does that mean you all need to shorten your thoughts and e-mails, haha . . . . . I can read faster that I can type. And I really appreciate everything you say and tell me every week!! Kiitos teille.

Bullet points of the week:

-Caught in a rain storm while tracting . . . . .even with an umbrella and rain coat . . . .SOAKED.

-A Jewish man who plays his guitar and sings in the streets really likes us

-We got let in 2 times this week, with 2 new investigators, one had a bunny roaming the house

-We had District Meeting in Kuopio on Friday, learning more about this new Simplified Curriculum the church has released. Good Stuff! We got back to Joensuu just in time to see an outside demonstration of Ai-ki-do, where 'N' was a participant. She's been doing it for 7 years. She's about the size of Layne and she was throwing grown men around her back, haha, then in turn they threw her around like a rag doll . . .crazy stuff.

-Today, a member is going to teach us how to knit socks, haha, yay! She already made me a pair. :)

Well, transfer calls are this Saturday, we'll see what happens. Still send me letters to the Helsinki Address, as always, unless I tell you otherwise. If it's a package, then tell me beforehand and I'll tell you my real address next week, if I'm still here or somewhere else.

I miss you. I love you. I'm really trying to write you all soon in letter form so I can say more and answer your questions!!

Fall is in the air!!

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Watson

No Moiiii

Hey Howdy Hey . . . .We've been seeing ads for Toy Story 3 everywhere, so i was just in the spirit of things . . .crazy though to hear, because I was something like 6 years old when the first one came out right? Daaang.

Every missionary gets a chance to serve China in some way during their mission . . .such was the case this past week. We met a pretty cool Chinese dude while out contacting and have now met with him twice. The second time when we walked in he had the Book of Mormon up on the Internet and was reading, and listening along! Unfortunately he leaves back to his mother land at the end of the month, and he doesn't speak Finnish, and very little english . . .which has been a blessing for us because it has helped us teach simple, VERY simple.

It's been quite the unique week, we had at least a teach or two every day and some funny stories and good experiences to go along with it. As you know, I don't really have the time to write all of it, but just know that I can testify that in the 8 months I have been here, the work has progressed a lot and we are seeing a lot more success. The next step, and our challenge and barrier, right now is BAPTISM. 'N' is ever so close. And we have a few potentials.

Some cool things that happened this week:

-A man tipped his hat to us, yeeeeah

-A member gave us 2 huge tuperware containers of Gooseberries (first time for me) and a bag of Beats

-We had a little helper while tracting one day in a neighborhood . . .a little boy decided to follow us around on his bike and watch us at work. He'd tell us if the people were home or not, or where they were, haha.

-an older couple in the branch took us out to eat at a Pizza Buffet, and as we were doing our shopping afterward, we were overcome with upset stomachs and livers. It must've been funny to see 2 Mormon Elders rushing through the store because we were dying to get home and make it to the bathroom first, haha.

-Finland has Hedgehogs . . .and just in the last 2 days, while tracting, we've spotted a couple. We laugh because they are funny to watch, because the way they walk looks like Spiderman climbing a wall.

- . . .that's all I can think of right now.

It was soo good to hear from all of you this week. I enjoyed the stories and the updates, and pictures (thanks Eden). I felt so close to you all this week, and especially as I was reading your e-mails. Thank you.

The work is moving forward all around and it's great to see. The excitement and the awakening is here. I'm an eyewitness. Love you all. Good luck to all the back to schoolers, the workers, the sistas and the brothas . . .and Fritz, haha. Heippa

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Watson