July 31, 2017 ~ Week 93

 Good day friends and family. This week was transfer week, though it came a little earlier than expected. we normally get our call on Friday and then leave on Tuesday, but I got my call on Thursday and left on Friday, just 24 hours later. it was quite the day! Thursday night we met with our most promising investigator and she accepted a baptismal date for September 2. It was very sad and difficult to have had to say goodbye. we have gotten to watch her grow a lot in testimony over the few weeks that we've known her. Then the next Friday morning we taught our other extremely promising investigator and he almost accepted a baptismal date. With him it's not if, but when he will be baptized. Both of these people are Finns so that is a great blessing! 

After is lesson the assistants picked me up and took me to my new area which boarders my previous one and is only a 15 minute drive by car from apartment to apartment. I was sad to leave my other two companions but I am very excited to work with Elder Smith. He is a younger missionary but a workhorse and genius. He's from Lehi, Utah. It appears that I will have started and finished my mission with an Elder Smith as my companion:) In speaking of Elder Smith, my trainer came back to Finland this past week, he tried to visit but things got a little busy for him. Turns out that his brother served in Holland and there he was with Rob and Amy Teske, my old baby sitter, cool connection:)

My new area is great, we live in Vantaa, the next county (if you could call it that) above Helsinki. We live in Myyrmäki and travel by bus and train. We had a large area to cover, geographically and population wise. We have endless amounts of work to do and we are grateful for that. We are always busy talking to someone. My biggest challenge this transfer will be to make sure that I take the time to enjoy my surroundings while going 100 mph. The ward that I am in is called the Helsinki Second Ward or the Haaga ward. It is the biggest ward in Finland members on record wise and it's a great one! 

This past week I got to go on exchanges in my old area where I served a year ago called Pasila. It was cool to be there but I was only there for 5 weeks so it didn't leave the deepest impression, other than it was my second city, but I am now serving in my 8th city. We went to Pasila because that is where the district leader is and he was giving a baptismal interview at the same time they were supposed to have had lessons so we came down to make sure the lessons happened. 

It was a great week! I am grateful for the revelation that President Aura received for me in assigning me to be here!  Have a great week!

Love,

Vanhin Robison