Hello again from Finland!

The country is showing us its best side right now. After some time up north in Oulu in some pretty cold weather and overcast skies for the summertime, we flew south to Lappeenranta, and we're currently at the in-laws' summer cabin by the lake Saimaa. What a phenomenal place! Here's a nighttime pic...

The cabin is literally 3 feet from the water, and the view is framed by a couple of 75-foot-tall birch trees. The lot is on the hillside, and Karo's parents have worked like crazy. The place also has a couple of buildings with bedrooms for 8 extra people. The rest of the lot has an outdoor baking oven (Karo's dad built it himself from rocks & concrete), and lots of plants from flowers to tomatoes, strawberries, salad and onions. There's also a small greenhouse to help furnish some more food to the table.

The in-laws grow their own herbs and vegetables, we just had "new potatoes" straight out of their own land today with some fish and pork roast. It doesn't get much better than the mother-in-law's cooking... The mushroom stew was great! We also got some pike from the nets, which were smoked later in the evening and enjoyed with some oat bread (think Italian style) and made for a great evening meal. I really look up to the in-laws. They bought this run-down property some years ago and have worked and worked to turn it into a refuge for the whole family. They deserve a lot of respect, as they've put thousands of hours of work into this place to bless others. It's pretty amazing.

Another seasonal favorite are the strawberries. You can't buy anything like them in the States. These berries are grown locally in the mild climate, and if everything goes right, they're the sweetest thing you've ever tasted. Here's a pic of our boy Miro getting his first treats of the summer:

We celebrated Midsummer last weekend - the longest day of the year. Down in southern Finland it means that the sun goes down at around 11PM and rises just a few hours later, but the sky never gets dark, because the sun doesn't go far below the horizon. Instead of a dark night, we just have a couple of hours of twilight. I had to hang a couple of dark towels on the little windows of our room to keep the light out to get some decent sleep. Most of Finland gets really drunk on Midsummer weekend, and usually about 10 people drown because they take small boats out while intoxicated. This year the bad weather actually helped avoid but just a couple of drownings.

The cabin really feeds my creativity. I can hear God better in the nature than in the middle of Los Angeles and the daily grind. It's a huge blessing to have that communion with Him, and some songs are being birthed and rebirthed in this tranquility. It feels so good to sense Him close, as I look at the phenomenal sunsets and listen to His creation singing all around. With all the family around, though, it's difficult to find the opportunities to pull away for a moment to do devotions and have some time to meditate, so in that respect, I even feel a bit distant from Him at times... It's a funny balance, but I know He's still right here.

We'll be here until the end of June, and I'm in no hurry to go back to work right now, but can you blame me? If you want to see more pictures, go over to Photos to check out the album "Finland 2008." Thanks for reading and come by again soon!

All God's best,

Petri