January 23, 2017 ~ Week 67

Hello! So transfer calls came in and I am going to leave the blessed area of Lohja in the nice warm south and venture to the untamed north of Finland landing myself in Oulu. I have really loved my time here in Lohja and have met fantastic members of the church here as well as soon to be members of the church! Lohja is a blessed Place and a nice little get away from the hustle and bustle of Helsinki and Espoo!


But the with my final days in Lohja we are working extra hard and trying to teach as many people as possible! Yesterday we met with a young father and his wife who are both atheists. we did our best to try and teach the nature of God and His plan for us while testifying as we teach. I don't know if our message made much of a difference in their lives or not, I don't even know how they feel about our message, but I do know that the Spirit was there with us testifying of our message! We walked out of that lesson knowing that it was a success because the Spirit testified of what we said. We were unable to make a clear return appointment with them there in the lesson but my companion and his new companion will return later this week to teach some more.


Other than that it was a finding week, we knocked a lot of doors and climbed a lot of stairs. Just for fun I counted the number of stairs that we climbed in a 2-hour block and let's just say it was over a 1,000. we are quite in shape here in as we quite literally work hard here in Finland. I do however still prefer apartments with elevators haha.


The church is true and ever growing! I am blessed to be able to serve here in Finland!


Love,
Vanhin Robison

January 17, 2017 ~ Week 66

Another week has come and gone here in Finland! The temperatures are still hovering around freezing and we are half way through January! I am hoping that we are going to squeeze by without a real cold winter her in the south of Finland.

The week went really well though! I went on exchanges with the AP's in my district and wow they are two solid human beings, I love them! While contacting with one we basically taught two lesson in a row. WE got off the train and started to walk down the road and we met a man form Ghana waiting at a bus stop and we talked to him for a good 15 to 20 minutes and taught about baptism and then the restoration and gave him a "watered down version of the Book of Mormon" and set up a return appointment while closing it with a prayer to seal the deal. It was really cool!

We then crossed the street and walked a little further down the road and met a lady from Ethiopia and taught her as well about agency and how to find answers to prayers and also gave her a "watered down version of the Book of Mormon". It was super cool to have two of those experiences all with in 3 minutes of each other! It also makes the tracting block really short as well which is nice sometimes.

But this week we gave really been working on teaching in a contact so that the Spirit can have something to testify about. I have seen a lot of success in this as we approach someone, try to get to know them and teach from their needs so that it will be both powerful and meaningful. The Spirit has been able to guide our words as we have "treasured up in our minds" the doctrines of this gospel and then expounded them to others on the street.

We also have done a lot of traveling this week visiting members that live a ways out there and have little contact with the church. One of the richest blessings of my mission thus far is the relationships that we have made with the members in the areas where we serve! Not long ago at the temple I was reunited with a married couple that lived in my first area and it was so cool to talk to them again (this time I could understand them and they could understand me for the most part) and see how everything was going back in the city of Lahti!

I hope all is well at home! I love you!

-Vanhin Robison

January 10, 2017 ~ Week 65

Well another week has come and gone here in not so frozen land of the north! This week was a blast as we got to participate in all phases of the work! Awesome training, finding, teaching, working with members and so on!

Monday night we had a packed schedule trying to fit everything in that needed to get done and cutting P-day short to do so and because of that we had some rich blessings come our way. Due to fallen through lessons we were given extra finding time during which we found some really cool people being prepared to receive the gospel!

On Thursday we got to attend the temple and that was a blessing to be able to sit in the Lord's house and ponder his unimaginable glory and power! Not to mention the overwhelming love he has for us, his children.

However my favorite part of my mission hands down so far is seeing the gospel of Jesus Christ work in someone else's life! I know it works in my life, I try my best to live according to it, but when I get to see a child of God go through the repentance process and see the change that comes because of it and joy with naturally follows, I can't help but smile for hours on end! I still remember a few months ago when my companion and I had just finished a particularly spiritual lesson with a less active member who had been humbled to the core of his soul. We sat there after nightly planning just thinking about it and smiling to ourselves! We had another experience like that this week working with another man trying to help him back on his feet. It was awesome to feel the spirit that came as we asked inspired questions and taught him according to his needs!

I love my mission and the opportunities that i am given everyday to represent Jesus Christ! The church is true and Jesus Christ lives. I am learning the importance of making sure that i strengthen m,y testimony in Him everyday and strive to come closer to Him everyday!

Have a great week my dear friends and family!

Love,

Vanhin Robison

Finish Wool SOCKS!

 

January 2, 2017 ~ Week 64

Happy New Year everyone! Thsi one is off to great one as we had a great meeting in church yesterday! This week was full of teaching, finding, companion exchanges, testimony building, soccer playing and a lot of eating!


I accomplished my mission goal of playing a pick up game of soccer with some kids on the street this week! We were walking up to follow up with a potential investigator of ours when we see her (a 80 year old lady) and two 9 year olds in an arguement. We broke it up kind of By showing up and our potential explained it all to us that the kids were being an annoyance to her and she just had had enough of it. She told us to go and help those kids as she has been praying for God to help them not annoy her so much and to be respectable men in the future. But this potential knows us all too well, even though we have only talked a few times. As we walked up she said "hey these are the mormon boys called here to preach the word of God. one is from Michigan and the other is from Sweden, and do you feel that peace that walks with them? that's the Holy Ghost, now behave around them ya hear!" Wow, that's pretty impressive knowledge she has for us not even teaching her yet! After she left though i asjed the kids if they had a soccer ball and challeneged them to a game so that they could bother soemone else for a turn. it was a blast, and yes my companion and i beat them!


Also a quick update from mymiracel story of last week! We heard word from the elders in Helsinki that the lady we found has been contacted and that the teaching provess will begin next week! OHH too exciting!


I hope all is well! Winter has come again here in Finland with snow arriving today and freezing temperatures! Have a great week! I love you!

December 27, 2016 ~ Week 63

Wow was this a magical Christmas! I apologize to my family who has already heard this story from me on Christmas day, but it's just too good that it has to be retold! This story is one of faith and contains, at least to me, a very important lessons of going throw the motions in life or trying to apply ourselves. It takes Place on Saturday morning, Christmas Eve. The sky was dark, rain was falling and the streets... empty. Due to respect for the culture we didn't knock any doors aór make phone calls seeing that Christmas Eve is more sacred than Christmas here in Finland. But nonetheless we hit the streets at 11 o'clock trying to get the hour of proselyting in before we would make our stops at various members homes. As we are walking on the street, there is just no one, we are tired, a little trunky (because who isn't on Christmas) and having a hard time seeing why we are even outside. I just saw it as another day, something to go through the motions, get it over with and onto the more fun things. Meanwhile my companion is actively seeking, searching and applying himself too what the Lord would have us do. The hour is coming to a close and just before we go in Elder Näslund says, "let's go down to the bus station, there are usually people there". Seeing no better choice I complied and we were off. As approached we saw one person on the far end of the terminal, a young woman trying to carry multiple bags. We hurried over and offered to help her carry her bags and she complied. That was the first miracle because out of my year in the country no one has let me help carry their bags! But as we are walking we ask where is from and what brings her to Lohja, and in return she asks us what we are doing in Lohja. She opened the door right up for us to bring in our unique message to the world. As soon as we said we were from our church she was locked onto us and the spirit started to work on her. We showed her the #LighttheWorld Christmas video and tears flowed from her eyes. She told us that the night before she had been looking for someone that she could meet that would help her strengthened her faith and progress closer to God. She said the Bible just wasn't doing it and she needed more light. Wow we brimmed with joy as we unfolded the restoration to her! Unfortunately she had to leave to get to her friends home, but we exchanged phone numbers and she willingly took a Book of Mormon, we said it was a Christmas gift:)


This was a major testimony builder for me that the Lord is preparing the hearts of his children to receive his gospel! If my companion hadn't been praying and actively applying herself, we would not have been the answer to her prayers! Christ lives, he has established His church back on the earth again!


Merry Christmas and a happy New year!

December 20, 2016 ~ Week 62

Hello. Christmas is rapidly approaching and our use of the new #Lighttheworld video has intensified! Last night we went tracking and we changed the pace a little bit and decided to go too some personal homes to tract instead of condos or apartment buildings. we found a lot of success ot there! I have usually been against those, mainly because it's winter and it's cold and there is no heat out there, but my companion convinced me to go so we did and we found a lot of success. we got let in to 2 doors in the short span of 2 hours to watch the video with a family! That was a cool sight to see as we are aiming for a family to teach and bring unto Christ through baptism!

This week was also have had a lot of success in teaching our already existing investigators! We are truly blessed with some pretty awesome investigators! The people that progress the most in the gospel are those that have an open mind, they hear something and then follow the perscribed formula to know if it is true or not,and because of that they grow so much! For example, in October my last companion and I found a man, (actually he found us as we were knocking on his door when he walked up the stairs) with whom we shared our message. He was an atheist and had a lot of tricky questions to answer. Long story short, he has an open mind and will listen to anyone, we started teaching him this past month and he has progressed tremendously! He went from being atheist to now receiving and recognizing answers to prayers that he has. We committed him to pray in between lessons a while ago and now he continues to pray! Needless to say, i don't think he is an atheist anymore, and it was all because he had an open mind and then followed the formula given in James 1:5 and Moroni 10:3-5. If we walk around with a closed mind we will miss so much in our life! I have learned that form my companion who is very good at seeing things, just a little bit differently than I do, that causes me to have an open mind and because of that our work together has exploded!

The Church is true! Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and it is Him that we try to represent! Hyvää Joulua kakille!

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Robison

December 14, 2016 ~ Week 61

Hello my dear family and friends! My apologies for not writing last week! With last Tuesday  being Finland's independance day things got a little crazy emailing, meaning all the libraries were closed so we had to find another route to email, that cut time short leaving me not enough time to write a griup email. However we did have a lot of fun last Preperation day because we got to visit some members homes and exeperience the pride of these amazing Finnish saints!


This week was awesome as we got to see how the Lord works in mysterious ways! Last Monday (the 5th) we met a person on the street and set up a lesson for Wednesday (the 7th). This person lived in a town that was a bit of a drive from us so we planned carefully on how/ when to go there seeing as we wouldn't be there very often. Alas on Wednesday after district meeting ended we scampered out and ead to our lesson only to find that his address did not actually exist. But we weren't going to give up that easy so we tried all the streets that sounded like his street name thinking that I may ahve written it down wrong because my Finnish skills still aren't quite to the expert level. We looked and looked but we found it not. So much for "seek and ye shall find" right? Wrong. As we were looking we were also talking to people that passed us, although none of them actually stopped, excet for one did, and after we talked to her we felt that she was the reason we were to be out in that area today, not to teach a lesson, (although teahcing the lesson would be nice too). We met the politest, most sincere young mom that i have met on my mission thus far. It was a great contact and Elder Näslund did a great job of testifying of our Saviour and His Atonement. We traded contact info (unable for her to meet right at the moment) with the agreement to meet in the near future.


Through out my mission I have seen that we have no ruined plans, but rather when guided By the spirit our plans get shifted a bit though, and then we find some great people and miracles happen!


I know that Christ lives and that this is His church established on the earth. He is the Savios and the Light of the World!


Have a Merry Christmas and a happy time preparing for these busy hollidays!


Rakkaudella,
Vanhin Robison


Ps. #lightheworld #valoamaailmaan

November 29, 2016 ~ Week 60

Wow another week has come and gone! The work here in Lohja is picking right up and moving right along! Many thanks to my new companion who is a work horse! His name is Vanhin Näslund from Luleå Sweden! He is a great servant of God and loves to just go out and do the work! I picked him up Wednesday and we came back and jumped right into the work! Our first contact was in Swedish, so talk about me feeling like I was in my first transfer again! I just sat there as he preached the gospel and i gave the occasional smile when the other guy looked at me!

We have had a lot of success when it comes to finding people! We found a couple people and one even came to church, which is a big step because our church is 45 minutes away! the members just ate him right up and I'm sure it was very whelming! he's probably never seen Finns so social before haha! But teaching his is a blessing because he is so humble and looking for peace in his life! I love when someone brings up hat they are looking for in life and the gospel answers the need! Getting to promise specific blessings and testify about things specific to peoples needs is awesome!

Thanksgiving was great! It was so great i forgot it happened on Thursday haha! So my usual big fancy meal which i enjoyed at home has been traded for a good Hardy bowl of cereal, but that's just for this year, because I will be home for next years Thanksgiving feast. But just because I forgot it was Thanksgiving doesn't mean that I wasn't thankful:) It was  a great day where we experienced a lot of things to be thankful for! An example is teaching that one investigator about whom I've spoken.

Well, time goes on, the work goes on! I love you and am very grateful for this gospel in my life, the pure doctrine of Christ and a living prophet! I am also thankful for all the prayers that are sent my way! Have a great week!

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Robison

November 21, 2016 ~ Week 59

Hello my family and great friends! If you still read these you must really be a great friend!

But this week we got our transfer calls and i will be staying here in Lohja for the next 9 weeks that is to continue to bring in the sheeves of the Lord's work! My companion Elder Parry is going a long ways away to a town called Espoo, the next city over. But it is a 45 minute drive so it is kind of far away.

But this week we got to strengthen our testimony in the power of the Priesthood! The preiesthood of God is on the earth and we were priveledged to use it! On Thursday we drove to Espoo to give a blessing to an investigator that the Sister's were teaching. it was a cool thing to see the faith of an investigatór be put into action!

The next day we were working in one of our tracting areas and got a call from the nonmember husband of a very active member, requesting that we give her a blessing. The hometeachers, Bishop and surronding members were all unavailable so we were blessed with the opportunity. After a brief consideration of "should we go or not" we left right away and drove to the members house. When we arrived I looked like the member was on their death bed, extremely sick and hardly able to speak or breathe. We administered unto her and later that night we got a text from her talking about the miracles that resulted from the blessing, and after calling ehr yesterday to follow up, she has miraculously recovered!

Then the next day during a member visit we again we asked to give a blessing to a member who was recovering from an illness. The power of the preiesthood is strong and what a priveledge it is to exercise it!

We also had Stake Conference this week and it was awesome to hear so many incredible talks and to be able to understand the greater part of them!

Life is continuing to move on and time is speading up! I love you and pray that this Thanksgiving will be a wonderful one for all of you as you delight in the service of the Lord!

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Robison

November 15, 2016 ~ Week 58

Hey! I am one happy camper here in Finland! The work continues to move forward and we are being challenged to do ever better! We are excited for the potential that we see here in Finland!


After going on companion exchanges this week with some extraordinary Elders in this mission Elder Parry and I were filled with a new sense of determination and drive! We worked extra hard going out of our way to talk to everyone and we saw the rewards as our numbers increased in every category! Our big focus right now is finding a family!


Transfer calls are this Friday, so my P-day could potentially be moved to Monday, just so you are all aware. I just can't believe it is already time for transfers and our 9 weeks are up! It could go either way the way I see it, I could leave or stay, but I know that the Lord has a good plan laid out ahead of me!


This week we have seen an unusual excitement about politics in contacts with people, where it's our thick accents, our complexion or just the fact that we are missionaries, people always seem to know that we are from America and when that happens the next line from usually goes as follows; "how do you feel about that Trump guy?" It just begs the question of, who is this Trump guy? I am so out of the loop that I didn't even know we got a new President! But luckily for me my innocence about this situation makes the political side of the conversation end much quicker because I have nothing to add.


Other than that there is the increasing Holiday excitement here! We are finding that people are generally more likely to stop on the street and are willing to listen to a brief message on how Jesus Christ lives and about his Restored Gospel. We are so blessed to live in a day such as this! I often ponder on President Uchtdorf's talk that he gave on Saturday morning in the last session of conference where he talks about the wonderful news of this gospel! he said "We tread a path covered with diamonds, but we can scarcely distinguish them from ordinary pebbles". Looking for the good in the world is something that I have learned on my mission!


Well my dear friends and family, it's all true. Christ lives, He loves us. His Church and Gospel are back on the earth!


Have a great week!


Love,
Vanhin Robison

November 8, 2016 ~ Week 57

Hello! This week we got dumped on with snow! It was awesome! It's been snowing for over a day now! I love it so much! But my companion thinks I'm nuts for liking the snow this much! But when you go a dark and cold November with no snow here in Finland, you'll see why the snow is great!

This week I got a strong testimony builder that when we declare the gospel boldly and simply the Spirit testifies and the work goes much better! We were correcting a false doctrine that was taught concerning the Word of Wisdom and the correction we had to give would make it a little harder on our investigator, but we told him how it is, why it is this way and how he can know. The Spirit filled the room as He confirmed the truthfulness of our message. After as we were leaving our member present said "whoa, I could really feel the Spirit testifying that this was true!" I promise that as we teach correct doctrine the Spirit will testify, hearts will be touched and lives will be changed!

Another thing my companion and I talked a lot about was how we need spiritual confirmations to spiritual answers, something my oldest brother Austin talked a lot about in his homecoming talk. As we ponder Jesus' life we see that not everyone believe Him. It's baffled me as I've thought about that, how could they not have known that he was and is the Messiah? Well one crutial part of receiving a spiritual confirmation is by acting on the doctrine (John 7:17). As we act and exercise faith, we invite the spirit into our hearts and therefore receiving a spiritual confirmation. But much like King Benjamin tellin us that he cannot tell us all the ways to sin, for there are many, I cannot tell you all the ways to receive a spiritual confirmation, for there are many.

Sorry for my speech, this is just something that was on our minds this week as we walked down the snowy streets of Finland! I love you and hope all is going well!

-Vanhin Robison

October 24, 2016 ~ Fun Pictures

Trying to Cook.

Can't even make jello.

Our Lightsabers

October 11, 2016 ~ Week 54

Hello dear family and friends! This week I just got to sit back and watch the Lord do his work on many people around us! But I guess saying that I got to sit back and watch is a bad expression because I had to do some work too in order for that to happen. God won't work a miracle until my companion and I start it.

This week while talking to people we got to see many people whose hearts changed right  in front of our eyes. Here are two examples:

1. My companion Elder Parry and I were tracting and we get this door and nice Finnish woman opens the door, we give our message and she express' her disinterest in it. We try a little harder, by offering her a book and she again says no. This time we decided that we just need to bare our testimony to her about the truthfulness of this book and the divinity of our message. While testifying, we literally see her facial complexion change and the light in her eyes start to burn brighter. We then again offered her a book and she accepted it. We have not been able to go back to visit yet, but this week will.

2. Example two, happens while on companion exchanges. We are once again tracting and we run into this atheist man, a very nice man who for some reason or another has chosen not to believe in a loving Father in Heaven. We try too access a little more as to why he is that way at the door. After teaching one or two truths we ask to see if we can come in and share more to which he replies in the negative. I was about to thank him for his time, but my temporary companion keeps prodding, explaining our purpose and how he can come to know the truthfulness of our message. After that the man lets us in. Although he was not interested in learning more we were still able to see the change that can happen inside someone.

We as missionaries are blessed with these kind of experiences almost on a daily basis, if not every day. As we testify of our Savior we can see the Spirit working on those whom we teach. Because of this great opportunity we have, we get to see these miracles everyday and then report them home to you, in hopes of building your faith in this Gospel and in the One who makes it's all possible.

The church is true. 'I am a disciple of Christ' and have been called to share that message.

I hope you all have a great week and that you can still enjoy the beauty of the turning leaves before they are gone! I love you!

-Vanhin Robison

There is a tree growing out of building.

October 4, 2016 ~ Week 53

Hello Hello! The sun is shining and aren't we all refreshed from the great Spirit of Conference? I really enjoy it adn the love that I felt from our loving Heavenly Father! it was so great to have the truths of these messages confirmed in my heart by the Holy Spirit and then to have my mind illuminated from the power of the Book of Mormon! The Lord truely blessed those watching in Finland and I'm sure he blessed those watching in the States or abroad as well!

Fun fact i have 2 conferences left on my mission! (I come home the week after the next General Conference). I am a lucky Elder who gets 5 general conferences on his mission!:)

This week we got to experience the beauty of Finland as we drove down to Tammisaari and visited some very good and faithful members and even got to talk to other nonmembers while there! We were blessed by their kindness and loving feelings towards us.

We also got to see the blessings of working hard. As my companion and i have tried to work as hard as we can we have felt the love of the Lord and have seen His hand in the work! Unfortunaly time does not permit for me to expound on that, or on anything else. Just know that I know the church is true and Jesus Christ is our Savior!

Have a great week!

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Robison

September 27, 2016 ~ Week 52

Hello, hello this is Elder Robison! It is great to be able to be back and talk with you all again! I have a lot to say and so little time to say it, so we'll see how this goes! 

 

This week my mission changed quite a bit as I was pulled down out of the north, off my bike and put in the very south in a car. I don't know how that happened, or why they think my driving the on busy road of highway 89 qualified me for driving in a forgein land, but they did. I am now in Lohja, a very beautiful city in the south of Finland, 45 minutes from the Temple!

 

My new companion is Elder Parry from Bountiful and he is work horse! Juts happy to be here and happy to serve! I think that we will get along great this transfer!

Our area is huge! (hence the car). To get form the east side to the west side is 2 hours and from the north of our area to the south of our area is 2 hours. Good thing we live right in the middle!:) But wow is it beautiful! Yesterday we visited a member who lives on a ranch in the middle of farm fields and right on a lake (one of the 100,000+ in Finland). The trees were changing colors and the view was gorgeous! It almost made me trunky, but I'll rise above that! 

 

We are blessed with an incredible investigator! He is progressing very well towards baptism and he is just awesome! he understand stands, accepts and live the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he's a Finn! We love that!

The only down side is that we are 45 minutes away from our church (in Espoo) and so we trvel there twice a week. Once for district meeting and then for church!

Well unfortunately my time has expired. I love you all so much! Keep up all the hard work and the 

 

Lord will bless you! 

 

Love,

Vanhin Robison!

September 19, 2016 ~ Week 51

First things first, happy birthday to my grandfather Walker! He is a great example of hard work and the American dream! He also gave a very good talk on patriotism on the 11th of Sunday in case you hadn't heard.

But this week was great the work is going super well here in blessed Kokkola! We have a strong branch with members that love the Lord and that want to help us! I was blessed yesterday with the opportunity to address these faithful saints in sacrament meeting! They love the Lord so much that one of them corrected my doctrine after I gave my talk. I said that Christ was born of Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem (implying that Joseph was not His literal father but an earthly role model), but after I gave my talk she let me know the God is the Father of Christ. I guess that my implied doctrine wasn't fully received. It was a great reminder to me that this doctrine needs to be taught so simply that it is impossible to misunderstand.

We also received some hard news to take. Friday was transfer calls, and turns out that Kokkola is going to have to be placed in the rear view mirror as I have been assigned to serve in Lohja (a small suburb of Espoo). My dream of a transfer has come to an end and it comes with a new scenery too. I love Kokkola, the Lord has made his hand shown to me here as Elder Martin and I have tried to serve with all of our might! Here is Kokkola my testimony has received so much strength and confirmation of the truthfulness of this gospel. I have also experienced peace, happiness and confidence that I have never before felt! Leaving this place will definitely be a tear jerker, but I have confidence that the Lord is mindful of where I need to be!

Yesterday we taught the Restoration to a new investigator and this time I was blessed with the opportunity of reciting the First Vision. When I said it this time, the spirit entered into my heart as never before, confirming to me that these words are true! I know that this is Jesus Christ church on the earth. Joseph Smith was His prophet and today it is Thomas S. Monson. These are days to never be forgotten!

I hope you all have a great week! I will talk to you again next Tuesday!

 

 

 

 

September 13, 2016 ~ Week 50

Hello! What a beautiful fall day here in Finland! The sun is out!! The sad thing about fall is that means winter is coming! At the beginning of my time with Elder Martin we could go the whole day and the sun would be up when we woke up and when we went to bed. But now the sun is just rising as we wake and is down well before we are inside at night:( But it makes me grateful for days like these! Opposition in all things haha.

This week was awesome as we have grown close to the Lord as He draws closer to us! Yesterday we had Zone Training in Oulu and I absolutely enjoyed it! We talked a lot about using the scriptures when we teach and the impact they can have. As well as teaching our investigators the pattern of receiving personal revelation and finding answers to their questions. I was truly enlightened and grateful to be apart of that training session! 

 

Also since I have hit my year mark of being on my mission I now have a year of journal entries. I have started to go back and read my previous entries on the corresponding day to exactly a year ago. For example on 9.9.16 I read the journal entry on 9.9.15 (my first day at the MTC) and have continued that. It is really funny to see my poor sense of humor which I still find funny occasionally. But the coolest part is seeing the changes that have happened. I had questions in the MTC and I have found answers to them throughout time on my mission! Such a great testament to writing in a journal daily and recording events of the day and lessons learned. 

 

The work is going really well here! Our area before I came has been noted as a hard area to serve in because it's pretty small and not much happens here but my companion an I have found a lot of success but I don't know what we do differently, we just try our best. We are blessed with many people to follow up with and teach as well as places to go and be productive outside, although every time I look at the area map, it just gets smaller and smaller. 

 

But life is great here! I love these people and I love my mission! A cool principle I leanred is that we show our love to God by keeping his commandments (John 14:15), and we show our love for the Work by how hard we work is this great work. Simple concept I'm sure you all figured out before me, but true nonetheless! Have a great week!

Rakkaudella,

Vanhin Robison

September 6, 2016 ~ Week 49

Alright I think my week counting thing got messed up.. because i think technically this is my 51 week in the field as I hit my year mark this week! Or I've lost what math skills I ever had and I'm wrong... The only math I use is counting up the weeks numbers for call in reports. But nonetheless what a week it was!

We had super humbling experience as we were out an about on morning tracting and it was just a rough series of days, long days with lessons falling through, a lot of people not answering their doors and if they did answer their door it wasn't open very long. Not even long enough for Myöhempien Aikojen Pyhien Jeesuksen Kristusken Kirkko to make it out of our mouths, but I'll be honest, that is a long church name! Anyways we have had a ton of people this week who are just super stuck on the Bible and basically quoted 2 Nephi 29 word for word. After a particularly hard no, we stood on the street to take a breath and make some calls to calm ourselves down a little bit, when the next thing we know a Finnish lady holding a plate of pulla (a Finnish pastry to die for) stops and asks us if we want one. Taken back we were like "are you sure?" and she insisted. We took one each and the warmth of it from the oven softened my taste buds, but melted my heart. At the moment I had realized how I had slowly but surely come under the false accusation that people outside of the church could show any Christ like love. I was humbled deeply and made me take a self evaluation to see if I was living up to the standard that is put to us as members of this church. Yes I realize that just because we are members doesn't mean we are perfect, in fact far from it and we are no better than anyone else. But this one simple act of Christ like love has changed my views! I mean she crossed the street and came to us, when other people cross the street to avoid us.After that experience I really tried to hon in on the positive aspects of those not in covenant and my love for the Finnish people has grown immensely!  

Other than that the work is going great! Our investigators are doing well! And we are having a ball here in Kokkola as things are looking up! Transfers are a few weeks away and if it happens that the Lord calls me a different way my heart will burst into a million peaces. I have found my own "Waters of Mormon" here is Kokkola. 

I hope this week goes well with everyone! I love you and will talk to you all next week!

 

Love,

Vanhin Robison

 

All the missionaries in my MTC group, I finally got to see again.

Letter from a primary Kid in my branch.

 

On the train to Mission Tour

August 30, 2016 ~ Week 48

Hello! Wow this week was awesome! This week we were blessed by the presence of Elder and Sister Sabin and Elder and Sister Johnson form the area presidency in Europe as they were here for a mission tour! I learned tons under their counsel! I especially felt the love that Heavenly Father has for each of us! They spoke a lot about our True Identity and how knowing that changes everything! They said that those who forget their True Identity fall into trouble later in life. I think that is so true and thought that it would be worth sharing with you all. 

One of the coolest experiences was studying in the chapel before the meeting actually started. As I was studying the topic of Faith and chapter 13 of PMG, I just had this awesome subtle feeling of complete peace and that I am doing the right thing. This mission has blessed me on many fronts! I have come to know more of my Heavenly Father, felt in the smallest degree what it was like for Christ, learned simple truths of the Gospel that I skipped over as a younger youth and have learned how to handle different situations! I love my mission! Just typing this brings great joy to my heart!

Another awesome thing about my mission is the members! The members in Finland are some of the greatest in the world in my mind! They make many sacrifices and love the Lord so much! They also apparently love us haha and they show that through food! Let's just say I haven't had to eat any of the food that I bought last week on P-day because they have given us so much food! Wow it's been awesome!

The weather has also seemed to brighten a bit. It's now sunny or at least it has been for two days now, however last night temperatures hit 0 degrees Celsius or in other words 32 degrees Fahrenheit.  But the work continues in the midst of fall!:)

I love you all and hope that this week is a great to one and all!

 

Vanhin Robison

August 23, 2016 ~ Week 47

Hello hello my family and friends! This week has been splendid! The rain has come which only makes this place more green and more beautiful! Elder Martin and I learned by experience that umbrellas are a must to carry around in the fall/late summer in Finland!

We have been doing a lot of promoting for our branches family history party coming up on September 10! It has been stressful as it is our (the missionaries) idea so we are in charge of it all, and very very few members here know English so we have been challenged with our stretching vocabulary. Finnish is a very rewarding but very frustration language! But I won't go into that, you study it yourself and see what I mean by that. 

 

We have meet some really awesome people this week! In fact anyone who stops to listen to what we have to say is an awesome person! People are so busy in life, but those who will take the time to stop and listen are just super awesome! We spent a lot of time on the streets finding and following up with people! The super cool part about out here, especially in a more isolated city its that within 10-20 minutes in either direction you are either at the sea, or in the dense beautiful Finnish forest! We experienced that last night as we tried to follow up with some one and got a little lost on the way. Luckily we found our way back, but next time I will leave the orienteering to my companion. I'm sure he got that merit badge.

 

We also had an American couple move into our ward this week which is super awesome! The husband is here playing Volleyball for the Kokkola Tigers! He just graduated from BYU this year and is here to play professionally for a year and then they will head back. But wow they are pretty awesome and the branch here just ate them right up! They got so many DA's haha!

Also a side note, hats off to any translators out there. I got to translate for the husband in priesthood and that is some tough tough work. So good work to all of those translators! 

That's all for this week! The Lord continues to bless us as we keep his commandments and do our best! Have a great week!

 

Love,

Vanhin Robison

August 16, 2016~ Week 46

Hello family and friends! This week was another great week learning that 'small and simple means are great things brought to pass'! Elder Martin and  have just marveled about how the small things have shaped our mission and our lives.

This week we have been blessed abundantly with rain, nails in the road to pop bike tires, more rain, cold wind and many lessons! It was truly a glorious week here in the blessed land of Finland! We love the Lord! It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord blesses us in every aspect of our lives! We have noticed so many blessings that we can't figure out how we earned them. Over my mission i have become more aware of the small and simple blessings in every day life that add up to big things over time. Little changes especially, make big changes over time. I have noticed that the spirit whispers "do better tomorrow", while the adversary whispers one of the two (all in my opinion by the way) "be perfect tomorrow", or "you'll never improve" or something along those lines. Heavenly Father knows that we won't achieve perfect in this life, that's why he gives us the the small and simple things to work on. 

Also some highlights of the week were that we got let in tracking and the person was normal! That was awesome! He has no mental issues or nothin'! We got to really experience the blessings of the Lord that day!:) Also we have seen the hearts of some of our investigators soften as they take the steps necessary towards baptism! As well as continuing to find ad teach those that are ready! 

The work moves on! The church is true! 

Love,

Vanhin Robison

August 9, 2016 ~ Week 45 Happy Birthday !!

Hello all of my family and friends! First of all thank you for all of your warm birthday wished! I surely felt the warmth in the frozen north!:) But the highest priority here is not my birthday, it's the Lord's work so that is where our effort goes into! 

This week we had a lady ask us why we do what we do. She said "you're so young and handsome young boys, why are you wasting your time here doing what you're doing? You should be with girls and studying, not talking about Jesus with people." My companion and I humbly tried to testify that there is no better thing that we could be doing than this. Although she didn't believe us, we walked away knowing why we are here and feeling a deep sense of gratitude for our calling here! 

But it's interesting how the Lord works. He blesses you, so you do your best to show your appreciation for him by working harder and trying to bring more people unto Christ, but before you can even make a dent in what you owe to him, you are blessed again, and so you work even harder, and more blessings come. Heavenly Father really is a loving father! He loves to bless his children! As my companion and I have tried to make little improvements everyday we see the Lord blessing us with tremendous blessings. Luckily for us, our blessings can be measured in numbers, but not all blessings come that way, in fact in my experience it comes mostly in changes inside of me or around me, and I notice those as I write in my journal each night. As I write the Lord reveals treasures, even hidden treasures of blessings that would have gone unnoticed if i had  not taken the time to write down the events of the day and looking for blessings from him. Writing in a journal regularly is a great way to notice the blessings of the Lord in our lives as we focus on the things of the spirit, or the uplifting happy things. I don't want to remember 50 years from now someone saying no, but in fact someone saying yes, or being a great example in doing what Christ would do.

And one great example is a member in this branch (I will with hold there name for Finnish security reasons). But this member, we'll call him Ralph, is such a great example to me of the kind of member that ii want to be when I return. For example, we brought him on a lesson, the lesson fell through, so instead of getting mad, or blaming people, he pulled out his phone and started ot call his friends adn asking them if he could come by with us, the missionaries. Although none said that he could, he then took us to less actives house. But it doesn't end there, he has since given us two referrals in two days. I mean wow, what a member! He knows his role and he does his job. 

The blessings of the Lord come in many ways, some obvious (like Ralph) and others not so obvious, like not getting angry(because the Lord softened my heart) when my companion does something that bugs me.

I know this church is true. It just has to be! Jesus is the Christ! 

Have a great week! 

Love, 

Vanhin Robison

The District

The Beautiful Sea

August 5, 2016 ~ Week 44

Hello my dear friends and family! Isn't it just a great day to be alive! I wake up everyday (at what seems too early) and marvel that I am in the beautiful North of Finland doing the most important thing that I can be doing! It's amazing at the joy that can be brought when focus on the present! I have found that looking forward and backward is not bad, as long as we are focused in the present. The more I focus in the work, the happier I am. The more I ponder about life before the mission, the more longing I have to go back, and the more I think about life after the mission the more trunky I become. The present is where we are and at least for me focusing on that brings me happiness and a focus. But I don't write home to give lectures on what I've learned or my doctrine, rather I write to inform you all of what the Lord is doing in this part of his vineyard and to strengthen your testimony in Him.

This week was awesome! it was a little slower this week numbers wise but we did just as much work as the week before! We had a lot of fun trudging through awesome storms and also basking in the warm rays of the sun. We have had great success as we rely on the Lord. There have been many times in lessons where my companion and I just can't say what we want to say or understand what is being said to us, but amongst all of that, the spirit is there and because of that, lives are touched. I always thought that i needed to be a master teacher and master in the language to find success in missionary, but that is not the case! The Lord calls upon the weak things of the earth to thrash the nations, or the scripture goes something like that. Anyways, we are definitely the weak things, being humbled in many situations but then again strengthened shortly there after! 

 

The Lord is truly guiding this work and he does it by the spirit! It is an incredible thing to ponder and think about, the impact that the spirit can have on a soul. I love the Lord, and i love this work! I have seen so many great blessings and been apart of so many cool experiences because of serving a mission, doing things and meeting people that i never would have done/met any other way. This is the only true and living church upon the face of the earth, and Christ is at it's head. 

 

I hope you all have a great week! Sorry I get so preachy... I still love you!:)

 

-Vanhin Robison

July 26, 2016 ~ Week 43

Hey family and friends! I love you all! The longer I'm away the more my respect and love grows for you all! 
This week was s great so I will just dive on in! My companion (Elder Nelson) went home:( He was a great missionary, one of the best! I have learned so much from him! But quickly came Elder Martin to replace him and Elder Martin is just as good! He's a champ and a work horse! We worked pretty hard this week to point where climbing into bed at the end of the day has never felt so good! 
 
We found a lot of success in finding this week! One of the biggest lessons we learned was that if we have a direction, God will make miracles happen, but we need to start them! The more I ponder this principle, the more I believe that God is our loving Heavenly Father! He is just waiting to help us, but we've got to get going first, so that's what we did! We found 5 new investigators together this week, which is unheard of especially in a town this small, and all of the credit goes to Heavenly Father, he placed people in our path that were willing to hear and are willing to accept his gospel. However I would say that most miraculous part is that they all came to church this week! We were blown away at that! It was so awesome to see the members (without being asked) go up to our investigators, introduce themselves and then sit by them in the church! Wow I love this branch!
 
However this did come after a lot of prayer and planning! The Lord blessed us more than I could have imagined, not to mention 3 less actives came to church too! 
We are just trying to stay humble enough to receive the needed blessings to carry this work on! But over all I would this week we learned to keep pushing and to keep improving even when things seem to be going "a okay". We are trying not to be content with where we are at but at the same time being hungry to improve and become better!
 
Of course we can not accredit the success we have had to our teaching abilities, because if the spirit were not there with us we probably would have been kicked out of their houses long ago! But because the spirit was there and we can testimony of simple truths it worked out, even if we can't teach an ideal first lesson. When we love them, and we love the Lord and our message it all works out! 
 
This week has tried my Finnish abilities and I have been lulled into a deceiving false sense of confidence with my Finnish capabilities, but now I see it as a chance to grow, where as a few months ago, even a few weeks ago i would have seen it as a weakness, become discouraged and give up. 
 
How sweet is the work in which we are involved, and how set eh reward! "Called to serve him Heavenly King of Glory... Onward ever onward" The church is true! I hope you all are having a great week! 
Love,
Vanhin Robison
 




 

July 18, 2016 ~ Week 42

Hello Friends and Family! Transfer calls came in this week and I am staying here! Unfortunately my companion got his transfer call to go back to America seeing as his 2 years has expired. I have learned a lot from him in these short 3 weeks! It is sad to see him leave!

But this week we didn't slow down at all, in fact we worked harder and smarter this week than we had the past 3! We powerfully testified of Christ on the streets and his restored church! We did so by using the knowledge and testimonies which we had received from "much prayer and fasting". WE could feel the spirit as we taught people in their homes and on the streets! The love that lord has for us is abundant! 

 

We got the opportunity to visit many members homes this week for the purpose of strengthening their faith in Jesus Christ, and what a blessing it was! The saints here in Finland do so much for us and the church! They are great examples to me, especially in how I want to live my life when I am home. They teach us the kind of members we want to be.

 

This week we also got to see a lot of the beauty that Finland has to offer! While on our bikes or walking down paths lined by trees and rivers and such green green grass! Also the Finnish forests are unreal! They are so beautiful! This land has put its mark on my heart thus far, and I still get to go a long way with it in the future!

 

This week I got to see a lot of my weakness' as well as some strengths which is always a great blessing! Each thing helps me to see that i'm not perfect, but through Christ I can become! 

 

I love you all and hope all is well with you all! 

 

Love,

Vanhin Robison

July 12, 2016 ~ Week 41

Hello family and friends! This week was great! I learned so much about the atonement of Jesus Christ and the power thereof! At the first part of my mission when people would just go "oh it's just Jesus people" and at first I didn't really like it because those kind of people where always super passionate and a little weird, but I realized how wrong I was! I mean everything we do is for Jesus Christ and because of Jesus Christ! I don't think that those people on the street know just how right they are. In my opinion LDS missionaries are the most 'Jesus people' that I know of! He is the center point of all we do and this week I felt that I have grown much closer to him and one way that Heavenly Father will help us do that is by trials. This week wasn't the easiest week but I can surely see it forming me into the person that I have been praying for that I would become but more importantly the person that Heavenly father wants me to become! Its amazing how when we step back take a new look on things we can see how he is sculpting us and fine tuning us! He likes to knock off big chunks at first, but the fine tuning is where we truly become something! But the fine tuning is a process, little chips at a time are taken off of the statue and we become better people with every hit of the hammer! I can truly say that Jesus is the Christ and the Lord is working ever so slowly in changing those around us and us. He is there, we just need to take a step back a look form a different view to see the work he is doing and to see why. Opposition in all things in so crucial! The more I study the gospel and teach it the more I love it and the more it just makes sense! The Church is true Jesus is the Christ. I apologize if this doesn't make any sense!
 
Have a great week! 
Love,
Vanhin Robison

July 5, 2016 ~ Week 40

Hey all family and friends! How are you today? I hope all of you enjoyed the 4th of July in memory of our free country and I hope we remembered those who fought to make it free as well! Also special shout out to my old older brother Austin! Happy Birthday!

This week was pretty awesome! We received a lot of blessings from the Lord including 2 less active families came to church! We decided that we had better go and visit them and we talked with them earlier in the week, challenged them to come to church and they came! That was such a big blessings from the Lord in our eyes! It was super cool to see them their back in the fold of God!

Elder Nelson and I also sang a song in sacrament meeting for the branch here and it was really cool for us to be able to share our testimonies through song to the branch and let the spirit make up for our short comings in our singing abilities! 

Also we were walking home on Friday night when we feel something hit us like a rain drop, but after further examination we noticed that this was an odd looking rain drop that appeared on our suits and we were saddened to have learned that a bird had flown over head and decided to drop a care package on us. We were so angry because it go our suits, but also it was so funny that we just laughed so we laughed it off and now looking back, it's quite comical! 

The Lord just loves to bless us! especially when we give him a reason to bless us! It's o cool how when we try out best the grace of God kicks in and our short coming are made up! I love this church and it's doctrine of eternal progression, just becoming better and better everyday! 

The church is true! 

Have a great week  to one and all!

June 28, 2016 ~ Week 39

Hello family and friends! This week I am writig you from Kokkola, a far cry from Helisnki, because I have been transferred! Yeah I was pretty bummed when I found out but wow, Kokkola, such an amazing place! I have had so much fun here and my new companion Elder Nelson form Alpine, Utah is so great! he has taught me so much! it is a bummer that he is going home in 3 weeks! I will miss him! He's already influenced my mission so much! 

But this week was Juhannus (a big Finnish celebration celebrating the mid summer mark) and we were not allowed to go tract so that was a bummer but we made our time worth it in the apartment, doing lots of role plays and practicing teaching and such! But backing up, we got the call on Wednesday Morning that we would be transferring and we would be leaving on Friday Morning, so Elder Johnson and I said good bye and off we went! But wow I have learned the importance of setting goals this week! The weather has been beautiful here! Nice and sunny mixed with some rain! Anyways my time has been cut short, but know that I am in Kokkola and loving my mission, finding true joy in talking to people! 

Love, 

Vanhin Robison

June 14, 2016 ~ Week 38

Boy oh boy what a miraculous week this week has been! But first things first, happy birthday to my grandma Walker, the one who really holds my high school diploma, not me! She edited every single one of my essays that I wrote in high school, and some of those must have been painful to read , trust me I know. 

But buckle up because the description of my week will sound like I'm in South America, but I'm not, I'm in Finland! So to get things going I will start off with a bold power statement like we use in contacting. This week culminated in 6 new investigators and the addition of one other investigator yesterday and someone actually called us back! That last line right there makes any missionaries jaw drop. But believe it or not they (investigators) were all found through the area book! When I first got here we decided to do tons of area book work and follow up with or attempt to follow up with them many times. Our system is start with the former investigator, call 3 times, after no answer or response send them a text and if still no response visit them when possible. This of course is spread out over a monthish. We had set up 2 lessons from the area book for Thursday when we had splits with the zone leaders (Elders Suorsa adn Nissen) and a lot of names to follow up on. So we we split up, Elder Nissen and I took on one area while Elders Suorsa and Johnson took on another area. In their area we had a potential family which we found through following up on a former who had no longer lived in the same building so we tracted it and ran into them there as we knocked on their door. AS they followed up with them they let them in and taught a lesson with a return appointment set up. Boom, 2 new investigators (husband and wife). After them Elder Suorsa had a thought to follow up with a different former he had in that area back when he served there. As they went there they came to find out that they no longer lived there, but someone else was now living there and invited them in. There were two people, both listened and they invited them back. Boom, 2 more new investigators. Then both of our lessons went through that night totaling to 6 new investigators, in one day. But it gets better. 

We got a few pretty solid contacts it seems from our finding efforts that day as well. Any ways, skip ahead to Sunday where we go back to teach the two friends again, although they weren't there, but a different guy opens the door. We didn't recognize him at first (assuming he was our investigator) we ask him if he has time to meet right now and he says "Not today but tomorrow I do." After a  second we realize that this was not our investigator and that it was indeed his roommate. Anyways we went back on Monday and taught him the first lesson, committing him and many other of our new investigators to baptism in the first lesson. Then after our lesson as we are going to catch our bus to take us home we stop a Chinese man who is Christian and we set up a lesson with him on Wednesday. And this morning a potential we called a while ago calls us back and we set up a lesson with him for Friday! Wow I can not believe this week! Miracles upon miracles! We have been blessed tremendously!

 Have a great week! I love you all!

-Vanhin Robison

May 31, 2018 ~ Week 37

Hello all family and friends! Before I get the ball rolling with this weeks headlines, lets stop and take a moment to thank and to remember all of the Veterans that have so bravely sacrificed everything they have for us and for those around us. I feel very blessed to have one in my very family. We love you so much Grandpa Walker!

This week was pretty average though, they don't celebrate Memorial day here it was another plug and chug type of day in the daily grind here. Our pool or interested investigators is drying up so we are working building that up and finding those that God has prepared! In order to do so we need to talk to every one, so that has resulted in some really awkward conversations as well as some great ones! We aer also going right through the area book and calling/visiting every former investigator and potential in there! Now we have quite a long list because our area book has been combined with another since we took over an area after it closed.  

 

I wish  Ihad more to report but is really all that we have done this week. But if you are feeling prideful in your language abilities here in Finland, either try to read the head lines on the news papers, or talk to drunk guy on the phone, you'll be humbled as is my experience here haha. 

Although life is great! Its a nice cozy 70 degrees here almost everyday and very sunny, even when you don't want it to be (like at 3am).

I love you all, have a great week!

 

Love,

Vanhin Robison

May 24, 2016 ~ Week 36

Is this week count even right? If its not, oh well! Anyways, I have successfully survuved my first week in the suburbs of Helsinki! I came down on Tuesday morning and arrived in Pasila after my 50 minute train ride from Lahti. My companions name is Elder Johnson from Arizona and he is one transfer ahead of me while he has got a complete grip on the language, so thats good that he's got it! He's also our district leader. We got right to work teaching a lesson a few hours after I got in which is always a great start! ANd we have taught a few more since then. Our apartment actually isnt even in our area, its in the sisters, and it takes us 15ish minutes ot get to our area by train so it was super inconvenient and uneffective. But that has all changed as yesterday we packed our apartment adn moved to a nother apartment in our area now! Last night was our first night in it.

Alright now I'll just skip right to the good stuff. Saturday was a weird day. We were in the downtown Helsinki for a lesson at the church. When we were walking back to the tram stop with our investigator some drunks in a bar on the side of the road stopped us and wanted to know if we are selling tickets to heaven. My comp. responded with no, but we have this book. The lady looked at it and said I don't want to read it, it's too thick! She said I just want to go to heaven, I'm a good person, I wake up every morning, I get ready for the day, I clean the dishes, I'm a good wife, I'm a good person, what more do I need to do to go to heaven. By this time our investigator is like what the heck, and our tram had arrived so as much as I would have loved to teach the whole bar about baptism, we had to leave and catch the tram. But they have our card and when they come to, hopefully they will call us. 

Story #2 happens 5 minutes later, when we get off the tram and start to walk into the train station to catch our train back home. A drunk lady grabs my companion and is vehemently yelling bless me bless me! And we are like alright we'll say a prayer for you and she is like no bless me and then she starts to bow down like she wants us to put our hands on her head and we are like uhhh.. There are crowds of just drunks all around watching us and if I had payed more attention to them probably mocking us, but we go on and we say a prayer for her and she keeps talking to us during the prayer telling us who to pray for and then she grabs this random guy and is like bless him and his mom too. And was like, hey arent you from the Church of Jesus Christ, and we are like yep, and he goes cool. So we walk away while the crazy lady is distracted, meanwhile our investigator who was with us has now left. And story #3 happens 15 seconds later when these two guys come up and start dishing anti on us and we are like we dont have time for this, if you want to bash come to church tomorrow and we can talk after. They didn't come...

Anyways it was a crazy few minutes and all of this followed a super awesome first lesson! 

Anyways, I love you all! Have a good week!

Some man at the train station preaching from his wheelchair.

May 16, 2016 ~ Week 35

Well this week has brought the change that I have been looking forward too/dreading ever since I arrived in Finland. We received our change calls where President informed me I would not be spending my next 9 weeks in Lahti. Rather he told me that ii will be spending it Helsinki! I love Lahti so much, it has become my home since I have been here for 6 months! The ward and my investigators now feel like family, adnm the feeling of getting on that train tomorrow is a lot like going to the MTC again. Lahti has a special place is my heart! But dont get me wrong, I am very excited about going to serve in Helsinki. Alhtough I am not right in the downtown Helsinki, (I am as close as you can get to the city center without actually serving in the city center), I am very thrilled to go there! Althought I think the Lord has some lessons in store for me seeing as big cities are not my favorite thing in the world, I think I'll grow to love them.


That was the highlight of our week. We spent this week following up on every potential investigator that we have found during this transfer and had not been in contact with recently. So this lead for a lot of awkward conversations of people kind of remembering us and us kind of remembering them. It was great fun!


On P-day we decided to test our skills and go fishing! Although fishing here is a little different for us, because in oreder for us to go legit fishing (a fishing pole, reel and all) we need a lisence, which we dont have. But there is something here that if you go with a pole and without a reel, you can fish without a lisence. So we found a long stick (a broom handle) and tied a fishing line on the end of it with a bobber and a hook and Elder Ford bought some worms and we gave it our best shot! Although our maximum cast distance was only about 7ft off from where we were standing, were it was still shallow enough that our hook hit the lakes floor. Needless to say, we didnt have much success, but niether did the other pro fishermen around us so we didnt feel to bad. We just felt like wierdos holding a broom handle with a little fishing line over the water. But it makes for great experiences anways! Plus we got a nice sun tan as I am trying to decrease my neck tan line form my collard shirt.


That's all for this week and thenext time you here from me I will be Helsinki! Have a great week!
Love,
Vanhin Robison