Terve perheni

Moi Perheni!

Vau (wow) what a week. I don't know where to start. Awesome is the word I'd describe for it. I don't have time to write everything, but in short, Pres Brown is awesome! We spent the night at the mission home Tuesday night and then in the morning we went to the mission office in downtown Helsinki. Vau. Cool city. Seems straight out of Pixar. The old ladies ride bikes and scooters, and every Finn has their own unique hat that makes me chuckle. The stoplights turn yellow before they turn green, and they are placed in the most random spots, and there are no stop signs, just yield.

At the office we went through some opening orientations and stuff then we went downstairs where the Neitsytpolku Branch meets for church and we had more opening orientations but this time our trainers were there. We didn't know whose was whose though. After lunch we finally found out our cities and trainers!! I AM IN JOENSUU (look it up, haha) and my companion slash trainer is Vanhin Struthers from Lehi. He's awesome, he's been here are a year and a half and he knows Finnish really well, yessssssssss. :) We have been shotgunned (both are new to the area) and will be opening the city to missionary work. It has been closed for about a year and a half or so. :D

After we found out President Brown sent us out into the streets for 30 mins to tract. I love Finnish, haha, it sounds awesome but they speak really really fast. No luck, but it was fun.
After coming back we said our goodbyes and set out for the train station. Our ride was for 4-5 hours and for most of it we had the whole cart to ourselves, which was fun. There was no one on the train it seemed like. We stayed the night in a city called Kuoppio where we are stealing the elders car there, since my comp is a District Leader too. And we get a new cell phone :) We stayed the night there and in the morning we set out for Joensuu, about 130 km away.

Our Pispa (bishop . . . . haha, you'll like that one dad) Jarvinen (who has had his calling for 9 years) met us there and showed us our apartment, which is said to be the nicest in the mission . . . . . and it is!! Sooooo nice. Newly painted, big, and new furniture and everything. Most of the stuff is from IKEA, totally unexpected. I'll send you pics. We looooove it.

I loooove Finland. Awesome food . . . .most of the time. The Juice and cheese are awesome, the people are awesome, the language is awesome. Just toasted bread and cheese is awesome. Bread is in every meal here.

We've been trying to contact members and tell them we are here and trying to get referrals. Most of them are old, but funny. One old man has a smile ALWAYS on his face. He's hilarious even if I can't understand him. He reminds me of the guy on the Pixar short film where he is playing chess with himself. Imagine that guys smile ALWAYS on his face, hahahaha. Love it.

At one members apartment, t(hey are all apartments here, no homes), she got her neighbor friend over and had us sing. We sang 'I Believe In Christ' in finnish. They loved it. Whew.
Last night we knocked on a members door, she looked out her window, saw two black, bundled up shadows and left and never answered the door, haha, I think we scared her.

Church was fun, only two hours because it's so small a branch. They speak so fast and just flow it all together, but I was able to pick out some here and there, but was lost most of the time. They already assigned us to speak in a couple weeks. Yikes! haha, no topic yet.

Last night we had dinner at the Pispa's. He almost fed me raw swordfish, haha, but we aren't aloud to have raw meat . . . .worms. eeeewwwwww

Sorry I'm speaking all over the place, not much time.

It's COLD here. it was -28 C yesterday and the sun rises at 10 and sets at like 3 or 4. The cold is different from Alaska, it BITES you, haha, I don't know but it's really really cold, haha.

Well, Finnish is hard but it's definitely possible to learn, I am lost most of the time but that is what companions are for. It's District Conference this week here in Joensuu so Pres Brown will be here. Then this Sunday is Ward Conference so he will be here then too and speaking, in Finnish, yep . . . .he knows it too.

Well, I gotta go. Love you all. Glad the funeral went well and you were all together. Can't wait to see pics.

-Vanhin cold bottoms, language confused, happy Veli Watson