Quick! Start the laundry and clean the house!

Finland is the cleanest country I've ever seen, and is a close second to Greece in its beauty! The country is big, no huge - on recycling and not littering and it was sooooo evident. No trash anywhere on the ground, and no graffiti on the walls. Budapest should take notice!



This picture was taken at 10:15 pm and you can see the sun is still high in the sky. It was really neat to have all those extra hours of daylight; makes the day seem so much longer! The kids loved being able to play outside each evening with the sun still shining brightly until their parents called them in for bed around 11 pm. I don't know how they managed to function the next day with staying up so late each night! I admit, it was hard for me to go to sleep at 10 pm with it still daylight outside.


Taking a stroll on the camp property at 10 pm


Oh, my aching back!

Each morning we were led into worship by a praise team from Grace Community Church outside Nashville, TN and then heard wonderful messages from God's Word by Ken Hemphill.



In the evenings we had special events such as a talent show. This is our Krakow (Poland) team struttin' their stuff. They were really good!!



Even our children and youth had opportunities to show off their skills! This young man was fantastic with his cello! (Mom is holding the cello on the top of her shoe to keep it from digging into the dark sand.)



We also had an auction as a fun way to give our Lottie Moon offerring! Each family would bring a nice souvenir from their home country to put up for auction, and the volunteers from America (who came out to lead in worship and provide our mk's (missionary kids) with an excellent program for the week) brought food items from America. It is an evening of great fun as we bid against each other for the donated items. The hottest item? A six pack of Diet Dr. Pepper!! I won't tell you how much it brought because you probably would croak, but try to remember that these folks are going to be giving their money to Lottie Moon anyway, and this is all in the name of good fun. We just get some American food or souvenirs thrown in for good measure!



My friend Patsy had the winning bid on this basket of coveted food items! Patsy is serving in Poland on a 2 year commitment in the Master's program, and her time ends this fall. Since there is no way she could or would finish all this junk food, she graciously shared it with the folks with whom she works. What a heart she has! Patsy was at ILC with us in Virginia for those 8 weeks of missionary orientation, and I will miss her when she leaves.


Glenn says good-bye to Patsy

At the end of the week it was hard to say good-bye because for some of these folks, it is the last time we will see them. Their terms end before next year's AGM. We need some folks, like you, to come take their places.



On Thursday morning, we boarded a bus and headed to the airport in Helsinki. The week was good, albeit a little rustic, but I was ready to be home!


Countryside on the way to the airport


Is that a sign warning of moose crossing???


We are happy to be home!

Once we got home, we hit the ground unpacking, doing laundry and getting caught up on emails (Internet was down the last 4 days in Finland) because our kids are coming in 2 days for a 2 week visit. We have lots to do to get ready for their visit!

Kari and Jonathan arrive from France on Tuesday at 1:30 pm and Chris and Kate arrive from Tennessee at 3:00 pm! (Kari, Jonathan, Glenn and I will eat pizza at Sbaro's at the airport while waiting on Chris and Kate to land. Remember, it's my new favorite restaurant!) We will do a little sightseeing here in Budapest before we head to Prague (Czech Republic) on Thursday for 3 nights, and then to Vienna for 2 nights. All that to say, we will not be at home much this week, so I'm not sure when I will be able to blog again. Not sure if we will have internet access where we are staying, but I will update as soon as possible upon our return.

Oh, would time fly by until Tuesday and then slow down for the next 2 weeks???