Changes

Hello

It has nearly been four months since I came here to Finland. 33% of my time here elapsed. I look back on what has transpired.

We arrived in the height of summer, when the sun shone warmest and the days were longest. We were naive then, joyful and adventurous, looking at every tree and blade of grass, in wonder of it all, and excited to see more of it. The sun was with us for those explorations, helping us see things not seen before, accenting some of those things. It was a wonderful time. After that the sun made ready to spend more time other lands. The leaves of the trees roared in a flame of color, in a great salute and farewell to the sun. Their voices slowly fell away, and the color of the world fell with them. We had seen the summer. The darkness introduced itself to us then, and we exchanged greetings. The days became a bit shorter, and the nights a bit longer. We stopped looking so much at the world around us, except on those days when the sun shone through the clouds to point something out. The cold came whisping through the air, testing the ground and our faces. We chuckled a bit and went inside to warm up. The days moved by at an easy pace. Then in the night, the cold left us a present on the ground. In the morning, we looked from out windows over the rims of cups holding warm drinks to see the world a bit whiter than it was the previous day. The sun was also there to see what the cold had brought, but it went away after seeing the sight. Now we sit here in the dark, keeping warm and thinking of many things. For us, the world is now a mirror that we look out at and see nothing but what is in our hearts. For some, it is a dark grey; for others, it is a lighter grey, and others, white. I call this season Thoughtfulness. What was once on the horizon has arrived.

For those who do not care for my musings or are interested in more specific information, winter has arrived here. I have been enjoying it a good deal; I consider it to be my favorite season. Daylight lasts between 8 am and 4 pm. I’m doing well. Things are a somewhat less interesting, now that I have been here for a while and have had the opportunity to see most it. School has been going well. I have made a few more friends there, and I am happy about that. The third of the five terms of school will start next week. Interesting to think that I am two fifths of the way done with the school year already. Thus far, everything seems to be going well. God is good!

Have a good day.