why did the reindeer cross the road?

...so i could take a blurry picture of his behind.


sorry--this will be in a rush. we have limited time on the internet, but i find i usually wake up between 4 and 5 and thatäs a good time to claim the hoteläs only computer.




we are on the top of the world in lapland (hereäs a nod to the jolly porter, who served in this city called rovaniemi). itäs fall here and the most beautiful fall iäve ever seen. i finally figured out the color of finnish houses are all colors of the leaves, from the palest of green to dark red scattered with gold and even that odd mustard color thatäs starting to grow on me.




(well, except for maybe this one...)


today after i tell you about the reindeer that are everywhere and that i crossed the line into the arctic circle

and that i spent an obscene amount of money at santaäs village yesterday i am going to turn a bit serious. the reindeer are indeed plentiful and very much protected. i thought i was going to be able to pet one yesterday in santaäs village--which is a delightful place in which to go broke--but apparently itäs the off season.


so i ate one for dinner instead.

ok, not an entire reindeer, but some reindeer. and it was very good.

but i wanted to tell you about attending church on sunday. we went to a small branch in juonsuu. we were told it started at nine, but of course it really doesnät start until about 9Ö15 after the bus arrives. we were greeted by the branch president and the missionary couple who has been serving there for about 7 months.

of course the brother just happened to have been the first companion of the oldest person on our trip with us. they had no idea. what a reunion. what an experience for this elderly man (husband to my newly adopted finnish grandmother i mentioned, sirpa) to sit next to his first companion from half a century ago and prepare to pass the sacrament.

because there are only four priesthood holders in this small branch. and only one of them--besides the branch president--was there that day.


we take so much for granted.


the service was beautiful. i have been struck by the simple beauty and devotion expressed in each of the beautiful chapels i have seen here. such an amazing thing for them to have so many chapels. i couldnät understand much, except for the the english translation provided by the sister missionary who humbled me by the time and effort she took into presenting her talk in finnish--one of the most difficult of languages. i was humbled by the fact that she has left behind her comfortable home, the sunshine (for it will soon disappear), her children and grandchildren and all she knows and loves to come here to serve in a language she will very likely not ever fully comprehend.

the people were so happy to greet us. such a warm and beautiful people. i was humbled by the thought of how hard it must be to live in such a beautiful but hard country.

harder still to be one of a handful of members of the church struggling to build zion here.

a few wonderful "tender mercies" besides the one above;

there are some sisters who came along to do geneaology. first we learn that one of the finnish women who has come on this leg of the tour but who is not a member is actually in their line. they have gone back ten generations and to the 1500s. not only is she in their line, but they have done the work for that family clear up to her. the sister was able to give the woman a copy of her line dating back to the 1500s, can you imagine traveling here and running into a complete stranger who could give you such a gift?

(the gen sisters with their laptop and their book of names--they ended up being related to everyone with Finnish ancestors--which means we all ended up being related somehow)

there are some older finns traveling with us who are members of the church and they passed about a letter in a bottle for us all to write to their grandson who is serving in littleton colorado.

imagine how that grandmother and grandfather must have felt when the same geneaology sister pulled out a photo of their grandson who had just happened to have eaten dinner at her other sister's home recently and thought to send a photo along!

we have also been blessed with circumstances in which the librarian of the lahti church happened to have been there for the first time ever on a friday afternoon to pick up something for the elders and who kindly let us in to see that beautiful chapel--three of the people on our tour had served there ages ago--and let us use the facilities (which are really a rarity on the road to northern finland).

she was still waiting for the missionaries when we left her.

and the sweet woman and the caretaker who not only let us tour the home and workshop of an amazing finnish sculptor even though they had closed the place for the season just yesterday, but also who happened to have some dough raising when we arrived and who generously went in to bake us fresh finnish pastry while we toured the place.







perhaps that doesnät seem so spiritual, but i found her work inspiring and believe such generosity on the part of anyone, but especially a stranger, a spiritual experience indeed.

this morning i have in hand the geneaology of my great-grandmother, who was born in oulu.

we are stopping in oulu on our way to a city whose name i cannot pronounce, let alone spell out for you.

in a few short hours i am going to step foot in the town of her birth.


i canät wait!