August 2010 Update

Well, summer might as well be considered over in Finland. It has been one of the hottest that it has had. I think that one day was the hottest in 75 years. I usually played the “I’m from Texas, you people don’t know what hot is” card, but at a couple of points, it was pretty warm. I think I even told one Finnish friend that it was hot, but mind you, I had been running up and down stairs carrying chairs in a building with no airflow. Nevertheless, this has been a very beautiful summer, and there have been quite a few enormous changes to our team here. I think that I am going to deal with this chronologically, even though two of the events are related.
The Pauls, a family serving short-term (2 years) in the city of Jyväskylä, ended their time here in late July. They managed to put two years of their lives into 5 suitcases. We met at some of their close friends’ home in Espoo for a send-off dinner. The kids were playing, the dog only responded to Finnish commands, and we took the opportunity enjoy each other’s company over some very Finnish dishes. Of the dishes I had kalakukko (literally: fish-rooster) for the first time. It is a dish from the Savo region. It is shredded chicken and whole sardines cooked inside a round loaf of rye bread. My supervisor was quite happy about this dish because he is originally from that area of Finland…you know, kind of brought things back. After the meal, and before the ice cream covered with the best strawberries in the world (yes, I said “best in the world”), the children were off running around playing when a game of “You had to have eaten this food while you were here” broke out. At one point it was determined that the food silli must be tried. It is a pickled herring in a honey mustard sauce, all of which comes conveniently in a little glass jar. I liked it, but it got a negative response from the better half of the Pauls. We discussed another food, viili (like a thick, sour cream yoghurt), but there was not a jar of it to be had, so no eating it. Fairly early in the evening, we said our good-byes, in which red-eyes and sniffles were at a surprising minimum. Pray for the Pauls as they had yet another curve ball thrown at them. Jason had returned to the States with the plan of attending Southwestern Seminary in Ft. Worth, but a ministry opportunity came up in California, so they are there now. I don’t know what the opportunity is, but it obviously changed their plans drastically.
The last week in July was the Nuorten leiri, youth camp, in Kuru. I was asked to speak one night, and I decided to do it in Finnish. I wrote a paper about false idols and the lies around them but there is truth and power in Christ’s blood. Jere, our church’s civil service worker and my roommate at the time, corrected my errors, which were not as many as I had expected. The camp overall was great. A lot of time in seminars, a little time for a soccer game (jalkkis), a sauna, and then the evening worship. I spoke on Tuesday, reading from my paper. Of course, right as I reached the most difficult word in the entire thing, I got a bit of cotton-mouth. I stuttered past it, but I think it was well-received. The youth were very accepting and fun. Card games were everywhere, especially one called “Jungle Speed”, a game from France that seems like an addiction at times at these camps. I’ve been to several camps since being here, but this was the very first one that I was comfortable at the entire time. I knew most everyone, I knew how the camp operated, and I let myself have some fun. It is amazing being able to worship with believers in their own language. I usually am playing the guitar, so I don’t get to sing out as much as I would like, but at the camp I went full-voice quite often. I think that I will have at least 2 more chances for camps while I am here, one being the end of next month. Please pray for these youth. They are living in a culture that really rejects true belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior. It is a culture much like our own but far more agnostic and defensive against taking steps of true belief. They are the future of Baptists in Finland as well. Pray that leadership continues to come from them and that God continues to nurture these future leaders.
The church plant that my supervisor Mikko started, Espoon Kotikirkko (www.espoonkotikirkko.fi), has made a transition into a larger building in Leppävaara. Our first meeting for the fall was in the old location, but thankfully, that was the only time. There was a lot of set up and very particular ways that the authorities over the building wanted things to be. Well, after this first meeting, the next weekend, we made the trek up to a Baptist campsite near Jyväskylä, called Kesäranta. We were having a church retreat in order to bring us closer together as a family and to strengthen each other in preparation for my supervisor’s family’s return to the States for 9 months (I will elaborate on this later). We had times of study and singing but a lot of time to just be around each other, have fun, and have a sauna. The water in the lake was amazing…ly cold for most Texans, but just perfect once you were in it. The warm summer has benefited the swimming greatly. In the evenings we would have a time to share a little bit, sing a little bit, and then the kids went off to bed. Once the young’ens had settled down, we would have a fire and sit around sharing and singing. Well, the signing happened on the second night…the first night, Jere and I sat around the fire for a little bit, but then got back into the sauna. He was away during the scheduled time, so we just warmed that thing back up and enjoyed talking and the cool evening. [Sidenote: I know that there has been a recent death due to a sauna competition here in Finland. First, it turns out that they were using painkillers to lengthen the time they could stay in the sauna. Second, the rate of which they added water is no where near the normal rate. Finally, if you are still worried about me, I know my limits concerning sauna. Thank you for your concern.] It was very nice to have that time together. Please pray for this fellowship. They have relied a great deal on Mikko and his family’s leadership, and this is a big stepping out for them. I will continue to support them in every way I can.
Oh, crazy story interjection here…on the day that we returned from the church retreat, the smoke from those fires in Russia had made their way into our airspace. It gave most things an orange hue. Now, I’m no meteorologist, and I can’t scientifically connect the two things, but…later that evening, one of the most severe thunderstorms that Finland has had occurred that Sunday night. Here is a link to some of the pictures…http://www.hs.fi/kaupunki/artikkeli/1135259190283 Hopefully, that link will still be active when you look. Click on “Katso lisää kuvia (See more pictures)” to bring up a pop-up, then “Seuraava (Next)” to navigate through those pictures. I was sitting in my apartment when I noticed the trees were bending far too much in the wind, then a flash or two, and their accompanying rumbles got my attention. I took pictures of it myself, even some video, but I haven’t posted those yet. Now, back to the regularly scheduled update…
So, the biggest news, or bits of newses (possible plural?) is the changes to personnel here. I already mentioned that the Pauls have returned to the States, well, California, if that counts, and well, the Sivonens were lined up to go as well, to the States, well, California, again, if that counts. They left on the 18th of this month. Right before they left, I officially lost my roommate Jere. He and his bride, Elina, were wed on the 14th in a beautiful ceremony. Therefore, Danny had to go. (I have an addendum to this newsletter if you would like a more detailed and somewhat funny account of the wedding. I am not sure when I will finish it, though.) I stayed in our apartment in Kannelmäki, a part of Helsinki, until the Sivonens left. Then, I moved into their apartment later the day of their departure. It is quite large for Finnish, well, even American apartment standards, so I have another roommate now, Seppo. He is an older gentleman with a teenage daughter in our church. His daughter stays elsewhere. He is only here as a transition from his old place into a new place nearer his work. He will be gone quite often for work and performances by a choir that he is part of, so I basically am here until Jeremy comes in October. Well, back to the Sivonens… They had to pack 4 years of their lives into 6 bags and a stroller to go back to California. We had a nice, and a bit hectic final evening together playing with kids, packing the van, and giving me the rundown on the different appliances in the apartment. I ended up staying the night, just to make leaving the next morning quicker (and it would have been like a 40 minute trip to go 5 miles by train back to the other apartment). At just about 10am the next morning, we packed up and headed for the airport. I parked the van after we had dumped the bags on the sidewalk. I found the Sivonens again as they were finishing their check-in, in which God was very gracious and let them have an agent that didn’t charge for weight overages. We sat in a kahvila, coffee shop, for a little while, sipping on some juice and soda. I just remembered that I need to get those final pictures of our last “smile for the camera” from them. Remind me to do that, ok? About 30 minutes before their flight, we headed for security. In one final act of cuteness, their daughter was holding her mother Heidi’s hand and wanted me to hold the other. For a while she was walking in between us, but at some point decided that it was more fun for us to drag her for the last 30 meters to the security ropes. We said our good-byes, not really any tears, and started to move apart when their daughter called for “Mommy” to hold her hand, and for “Nanny” (me) to hold the other in order to continue dragging her. We said, no, sorry, “Nanny” has to leave. One more hug, and they walked on and I exited the building. I managed to take the right roads back to Kannelmäki to get my stuff, and spent the rest of the day packing and moving back here to Leppävaara. I will stay in this apartment, barring something strange happening, until I leave next spring. Please pray for the Sivonens as they are making the transition back into American culture. Only one of their children was born in the States, the other two haven’t been there at all, I believe. Mikko is teaching at California Baptist University, and Heidi will be doing most of the domestic stuff. It is a chance for the kids to get to know Heidi’s family a little better. They will return in May to continue their work here.
And now…Things To Come…
As I mentioned, Jeremy will be joining Team Finland in October. Pray for his transition to here, travel, meeting people, finding ministries. He is my personality opposite, so we will have fun getting to know each other’s peculiarities. He has never been to Europe, so that is also a big hurdle, especially in day to day living. I think that he will do well. I must take responsibility in plugging him into the right places, with the right people, and in the best mindset that I can. Hey, maybe pray for me as concerning Jeremy’s move, also, because I need to do all those things for him and keep working myself.
We met yesterday to work out different aspects of the coming season of our Gospel Cinema ministry. We are going to have it in our new building here in Leppävaara, instead of in Helsinki. I see it as a bit of a fresh start. There are two schools here at which we can advertise. We are contemplating a name change but trying to stay honest about what the event is. A lot of our discussion was about whether we should attempt to show secular movies after which we would start conversations leading to the Gospel, or just stick with the Christian movies-only idea. One problem with that second part is that high-quality Christian movies are few and far between. This is a very modern culture so we just can’t amaze them with some new-fangled talking-picture show. Pray that God will guide us through these decisions and to the movies that we need to show.
Another ministry that I hope to get off the ground is something that I am calling “Hiljainen Lounas (Silent Lunch)”. I have dined at one of the university cafeterias in Helsinki several times, and I noticed the social interactions, or lack thereof, between the different diners. If a person is sitting a table by him or herself, another person will come up, ask if a place is free (Onks tää paikka vapaa?), if so, they sit down, and never speak to the other person again. I have received positive feedback from the Finns that I have shared this idea with, even one unbelieving friend who said that he would tell his other friends about it. I need to meet with the managers of the two largest cafeterias at some point after I have fleshed out the idea and made advertising. It’s easier to sell ideas like this if there is a nice, shiny ad for it. Pray that I continue with this. I am not sure when to start it, but I have some ideas. Ask God to be clear on when this needs to happen. I think that this would break down walls in Finnish social interactions and open up chances to share the Gospel. I don’t think anyone has done anything like this. Please pray, please, please pray.
I will get the opportunity to work with a Russian/Finnish church in eastern Finland in the town of Imatra. There is an American missionary couple, the Barfields, that started the church, and I will be going to support and lead worship. I don’t know how to sing in Russian…yet, but I look forward to helping out. I gets me out of the Helsinki area for almost a week at a time. September 1st is my first trip there. I have been once already, but that was a while back. Time to get those map-reading skills out again. Pray for this church. The Finnish Baptist Union leadership is quite happy about its existence. The joke is that it is the First Baptist Church of Imatra, as coined by Travis. They are from Alabama, so as a fellow Southerner, I find this name really funny. I am looking forward to the blessings that God will give to this church, through this church, to the Barfields, and to me through this chance.
Oh, I will be going to a much belated conference in Germany on October 31st. It is about adapting to life in Europe…a bit late for me…I think I should have probably gone to it in July or so, but that’s just my thought. I am thankful that I get to go to it. The campsite is actually just an hour and half drive from the town I served in back in the summer of 2001. I think that I may take another trip that way at some point, just because this has got my German heritage juices flowing again. Pray for the travel of everyone attending this and for the leadership conducting the week.
The final two bits of info…I will be taking a course to learn Swedish in order to meet people and develop relationships. Yes, you may ask… “But isn’t Finnish difficult enough?” I would have to say yes, but hey, I like languages, so…it’ll be worth the 30€. Finally, I am getting the chance to lead worship during half of the Sunday services this fall. I am accompanied by our pastor’s wife in singing. I can sing the songs, but sometimes the words get jumbled in my mouth. Sometimes a “u” comes out as a “y” (which sounds like the German ü), and that does change the words meaning. Well, please pray for the Swedish course that I can make some relationships that lead to sharing the Gospel. Also, please pray for the Sunday services that we will come there to worship God, preach the Gospel and Resurrection of Christ, and share and love each other in the Spirit.
Thank you for your prayerfulness and support. I have perhaps 8 months left in Finland, and I pray that they will be fruitful and that the Name of the Lord would be praised in this country.

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