Christmas in FINLAND

(Finland – Week 51)

28 Dec 2015

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow! Christmas in Finland was amazing!

Christmas eve we were blessed to go to a family Christmas! Presents, the big feast, all that stuff is on Christmas eve here. We ate so much delicious food, and felt like part of the family. On Christmas days we talked with OUR FAMILIES!!! Wow, I have a really awesome family. It was wonderful to see them again! We then went to a graveyard, here they cover all the graves in candles for Christmas, I tried to capture it but the pictures don't do it justice. Just imagine a sea of candles next to this awesome old church. It was so beautiful. I'm so happy for all of the members that took us in this week! Between that and seeing my family this Christmas was truly wonderful.

We decided to really focus on Christ this Christmas season, so we made a Christ wall! It's a little fuzzy in this attached picture, it's a lot cooler in real life. (The largest pictures are about 8x11 to give you a size reference.)  It's on the wall right by our desks and every day we just sit and marvel a little bit. There are so many pictures that depict so many different aspects of Christ, and all that HE does for us. On Christmas morning I made a list of reasons why Christ is my King, things like He grants me peace (He is the Prince of Peace, He rules peace), He heals the sick, raised the dead, and still worries when I have a rough day. He is truly my light, and a light to all the nations. Writing that list that morning felt wonderful, I felt so much of the Christmas joy. 1 Corinthians 3:11 reads, "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." I know that this is true, Christ is THE way. I'm so grateful for my Savior, for this Christmas season when, regardless of background, the world becomes more joyful because of Him.

This Christmas was amazing, it's the most Christ-centered Christmas I've had. I missed doing fun traditions with my family, but I really felt that my Savior was near, and that made it wonderful.

Hyvää uutta vuotta!! Happy new year!!

Love Sisar Mendenhall