Assignment: Helsinki

Our National Director of Public Affairs in Finland recently added two new members to his team.  Consequently, he asked if Elder G and I could come there and do some training.  We were thrilled to be able to visit a Nordic country.  We flew to Helsinki on a Friday afternoon and arrived early enough so we could do a session in the beautiful Helsinki Temple.

The interior was equally beautiful with etched glass, lots of beautiful wood, and even wood trim in Finnish design around the baptismal font.  

We just thoroughly enjoyed our short visit there.

Since our training session was not until Saturday afternoon, we took in a few sights in the morning.  The first stop was the famous Rock Church.  It is a solid rock hill that was hollowed out about 50 years ago.  The dome, visible below, acts as a skylight.

By noon we were assisting Risto Leppänen with the training.  Elder G got to give his PowerPoint presentation, Risto presented, two others did as well, and then there was no time left for my presentation.  Ha!  Luckily, I came prepared with handouts, so it wasn't a total loss.

Risto had introduced us earlier to Elder and Sister London, Helsinki Mission office couple from Morgan, Utah.  Sunday morning they picked us up and took us to church.  They invited us to dinner, and then they made us an offer we couldn't refuse:  After church Elder London would drop his wife off to work on dinner while he gave us a three-hour tour of Helsinki!  

We started out with the Jean Sebelius Monument. 

The strange things hanging down are representative of organ pipes.

  And I guess this must be Jean Sebelius.  
Elder G remembers practicing the piano with one of Sebelius's pieces, "Romance." 

Our next stop was a walk along the harbor.  We were so lucky to have beautiful weather since the days before and the day after were totally overcast and dreary! Sunday was beautiful!

 

 Interesting building on the island across the way. 

Cruise ships from Norway and Sweden dock there daily.

Next stop was the beautiful white Helsinki Cathedral.

Considering the heavily decorated chapels we've seen across Europe, 

I was surprised at how simple this was inside.

This photo shows the prominence of this big beautiful cathedral on the hill!

 This shot is taken while standing on the stairs of the cathedral, 

looking across the plaza at Senate Square below.

And here was the town hall.  We were impressed with the beautiful architecture everywhere!

 This interesting building was in the business section of Helsinki.

More colorful buildings by the wharf

We loved the Russian Orthodox Uspenskin Cathedral. Unfortunately, it was closed!

Still, it was very impressive!

We had a great dinner at the London's apartment.  The other couple on the couch, the Perkins from Davis County, had just arrived five days prior to begin their mission.

Well, we bid Helsinki farewell, wishing we could have seen more of Finland; but we were grateful to have experienced all that we did.  We met wonderful people and saw some awesome sights!

We arrived home Monday, and by Wednesday morning we were treated to an Area Devotional.  

Just look at the plethora of General Authorities on the stand!

What a blessing to have President Nelson address us!

And every one of us was treated to a personal handshake as we left the meeting!

What a great way to top off the past few days!

Refugee Aid II

This is the article that appeared in various mormonnewsrooms across Europe.  The service project took place in the church right next to our Area Office. 

“Volunteers put together newborn kits for refugee mothers in Germany”

Seventy volunteers bustled from table to table where piles of donated baby items laid out waiting to be put into newborn kits October 28th at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Frankfurt. The newborn kits will be donated to refugee mothers who have recently arrived in Germany and do not have access to basic necessities for themselves and their new babies.

As items were donated and collected in preparation for the event, those in charge discovered that they had received more donations than they needed for the newborn kits. The donations included new and gently used baby items as well as hand knit hats, socks and sweaters.

“My experiences have shown me again and again that through small and simple things great things can be brought to pass, even if they might seem impossible at first,” said Lisa Koy, one of the event organizers. “One step at a time we tried to move forward, and along the way we received great help from numerous church members and witnessed complete strangers 

offering generous donations.”

The event was organized by women from local units of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Creating newborn kits was a continuation of an earlier event to make “welcome kits” for refugee children. After delivering over 1,000 welcome kits for children in refugee shelters last spring, volunteers discovered that there were more than 50 pregnant women in one shelter alone who needed help preparing for the arrival of their babies.

“Just think about being a woman in a strange country, not knowing the language, and expecting a baby. If I were her, I'd be so grateful that someone knew and cared about me in my predicament. We can tell that they are very grateful to receive the items,” said Yvonne Bausman, 

one of the volunteers.

 After 80 boxes were filled and packed with newborn items for refugee mothers and babies, the remainder of the donated items were packed into 50 boxes to be sent to refugees in the Ukraine.

“Doing refugee aid is like inhaling the pure love of Christ,” said Melina Grahovac, one of the women organizing the event. “Charity is Christ. This knowledge helped me to draw closer to Him.  I approached Him in a very different way than before in my life by helping these refugees.”

As disciples of Jesus Christ, members of the Church strive to follow the Savior’s admonition to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, take in the stranger, clothe the naked and visit the sick and those in prison (see Matthew 25:35–36). Through the efforts of individuals and families and with the help of various Church welfare and relief programs, temporal and spiritual assistance

has been given to millions in need.