Cookies, Converts and Cool, Crazy Church Experiences

Knitting socks while waiting for a bike hitch to be put on a car...
who knewit could take SO long!  (Mom comment:  Seriously?
This is not like any place I have ever waited for mechanical repairs!)

Cookies & Converts
This week was an amazing week.  It started with a really scary stalker talking pictures of me in the library on our last p-day.  That was NOT apart of the "amazing week" I had. We are now not emailing at the library anymore. But later that night we had a cookie making activity.  We have some Vietnamese boys in our ward that wanted to make cookies and we told them that we would love to teach them how if they brought some girls and guess what?!  They did!!  It was awesome!  We got to give a short spiritual thought and they even stayed for family night too.  From that two of the girls became new investigators. These Vietnamese boys are so amazing and I am so happy that these boys get to be such a good example to the ward of doing missionary work and inviting their friends to activities and to learn about the gospel.  This week we had another Vietnamese boy, Khua, get baptized in our ward.  There have been 4 of them in the past year and it has been pretty incredible to see!  I also found out that down in Espoo one of Hai's friends got baptized and that he is SO happy now!  That really just made my entire week to hear that!  I also got to hear about a member in Espoo whose husband just got baptized!!! I am so excited for her and for him.  It has been such a good week hearing about all of the miracles that are happening all over Finland! 

Rovaniemi:  the crossing place of the Arctic Circle

 To The North Pole Again

Celebrating our one year mark together
eating Chinese food in Rovaniemi .

We also got to go to Rovaniemi for a district meeting which is always exciting even though we had to take a 5 AM train! YUCK. It made me so exhausted for the rest of the week. But it was fun to get to see Rovanemi again and to walk around the city.  This time we didn't go and see Santa, but we did get to go eat at a Chinese Restuarant for out one year mark!  It was fun (though we almost fell asleep there haha.)  Then we ran errands for the elders, since they were shuttling people too and from Santa Land.  It was a fun trip though and I love to get to go and see different places. 

I like to chase ducks...and try to boss them around, haha!

Sticking Out Like a Sore ThumbWe also had a super interesting experience where we got to go to a *Laestadian church this week.  It was the scariest thing that I have ever done on my mission, walking into a church that had at least 1,000 people there.  Wearing a name tag for a different church.  I can't even number the eyes that nearly popped out their heads at seeing us there!  The Laestadian church is huge here in Oulu and we made a deal with our investigator that we would come to her church if she came to ours. The only problem with that there was no way we could find her and we stood out like sore thumbs! Plus, we were wearing make-up and they don't do that.  It helped me to realize why so many members say that if we get the Laestadians to join that we get all of Oulu.  It was SO big.  It was a pretty cool experience, though not sure that we will be going back there any time soon. :)
Sorry that this week's email is so short.  Not a lot of time!  I love you! 

love,
Sister Knapp

*Laestadians are the largest revival group within the Finnish Lutheran Church. They were founded by Swedish priest Lars Laestadius(1800 – 1861). He began to preach and his views influenced first the Samis in Sweden and then spread to Finland and Norway. His was a highly conservative interpretation of Lutheranism, returning to traditional belief and rejecting liberal strains of thought.