Wow! Another crazy week

Another crazy week for Spencer.  Sounds like he is working overtime for sure.  As a mom I was not excited about the bike accident.  I just pray he is really ok!  Enjoy!

Dear Family & Friends,

Absolutely insane week on my side of the world. I have done everything from getting a surgery to flying on an airplane! 

On tuesday I had an accident... I fell off my bike! It ripped my pants and some skin off of the palm of my hand. It was not fun! I called Sister Rawlings and asked her what to do and she said I need to scrub it out because its almost guranteed to get infected. So, Elder Christiansen was the head chef and performed the operation. First he cut the excese skin off and then, under warm water, scrubbed my hand like a mad man! I was screaming it hurt soo bad! Then we put alcohol on it just to make sure! It was not very pleasent... I have pictures! 

When I was in Kuopio, I bought winter tires for my bike so I wouldnt slip on the ice. Well, I figured I would just leave my normal tires in the storage unit in Kuopio. Well, I was then transfered to a city with excellent public transportation for the entire winter and didnt even ride my bike. So, I wasted 50 euros on those tires and I still needed to buy new ones. Well, then I got called as a zone leader and got to go on splits in Kuopio!!!! So, while I was there I got my old tires back and we put them on my bike right before the fall. The After Shock (my bike) is looking good! The gears and the brakes have, since its purchase, broken... but she still rides like a dream! 

This week was hard because the local hockey team won the national championships. That obviously means for everyone to get drunk! Then we had another Finnish holiday called Vappu. This also means for everyone to get drunk. Its so bad that we arent allowed to be outside unless we have an appointment. So, basically all of Finland except members of the church was drunk this week so it was hard to find new people to teach. Well on the evening of thursday we went to the airport and flew to Helsinki. 

When we walked in, Elder Christiansen says, "wow, its really busy today." I looked around and counted 4 people in the airport! haha its a tiny airport but nice anyway. The flight lasts about 50 minutes which is nice and way better then the 9 hour train ride to Helsinki. We got to Helsinki and ran into the Russian national hockey team who had just been beaten by Finland! 

We spent the night at the APs apartment. The next morning we all got in the car and went to Espoo where the Temple is. We did a 10 oclock session, all in Finnish! It was super fun! I actually understood most of it. I asked about the new couple and they didnt come in until after we left. Then Sister Rawlings prepared a huge lunch for us and then we had the mission leadership council in the mission home. It was nuts! There were tears and everything.We could all tell that it was hitting President Rawlings that he was leaving in 2 months! We got tons of new stuff to talk about. 

I also know something that effects the whole church that hasnt been announced yet!!! We will tell everyone about it in our zone meeting this week. which we also have to plan today...

We got back to our area on saturday morning and got right back to work. We still managed to teach 20 lessons! It was awesome! We have a busy week this week with three days of splits, a language test and a zone service project that I will give the details about next week! 

All is well and the church is true! 

Love, 

Vanhin Tippetts

ps the area covers all the way to Rovaniemi which is in the arctic circle. we have a district meeting there this month!