Tampere, Finland, the 14th of July 2009
I've been back in Finland for over a month now. I wanted to keep myself as busy as possible the final two weeks. I knew that I was heading back quite soon and wanted to enjoy the States and my friends instead of starting to look forward to leaving. So we had a lot of fun times and late nights; I didn't sleep too much.
I got to visit Fremont again and because Rachel and Myk play in the band of the church, they asked me to join them as one of their singers. It was really nice coz that's been something that I've been wanting to do but have never had a chance to do. Everybody was so friendly and kind; they sure made me feel welcome. On that weekend I got to experience some Philippian treats and meals. Good stuff! And then Rachel and Myk introduced me to this thing called five-five which means taking turns in back massaging. Myk's special was to give five-zeros..I didn't agree to that.
On my last weekend in America me and Rachel headed to Portland Oregon. We drove there for good twelve hours to visit friends and to go to an Emery concert. The weekend was great and it was so nice to get to meet new people and see some friends again.
It was funny that Rachel kept on saying how beautiful it was in Oregon. To me it was nothing special; everything looked pretty much the same than in Finland and I'm all used to that. Almost the only difference was the mountains with their snowy tops. They looked awesome!
On my final whole working week Hannah put me up to hold a Bible group meeting. At first I was like no way..I don't want to do that even though I knew that it would be a good thing for me. But Hannah was persistent and I gave in quite easy. And it was a good thing for me and made me realize that I don't have to be perfect in order to be used by God. God uses me if I'm willing to do what He wants me to do. And especially in those moments that I'm weak, He shows He's power.
We spent a lot of time just hanging out, talking and watching movies. I was enjoying it all and trying to make the most out of it. One night me and Rachel went for a late night walk around the city. We went up to a place at Yerba Buena Gardens where you can take a look over the park and some parts of the city. It felt as if somebody was strangeling my heart; it felt so hard having to say goodbye to the city that I have so felt in love with and that had as fantastic as San Francisco had.
On my last days in San Francisco I got to explore the Mission street with its Mexicans and restaurants. I still got to have some Oreo milkshake and garlic fries. Hilton Hotel's pool was a place to rest in. Frozen Yoghurt shared with the staff is something to remember.
On my last day we still wanted to go for a bike ride and this time our destination was Castro. I hadn't taken any photos of that place befoore and still wanted to do that. It was a good thing to get to exercise before sitting on a plane for hours.
I've been back in Finland for over a month now. I wanted to keep myself as busy as possible the final two weeks. I knew that I was heading back quite soon and wanted to enjoy the States and my friends instead of starting to look forward to leaving. So we had a lot of fun times and late nights; I didn't sleep too much.
I got to visit Fremont again and because Rachel and Myk play in the band of the church, they asked me to join them as one of their singers. It was really nice coz that's been something that I've been wanting to do but have never had a chance to do. Everybody was so friendly and kind; they sure made me feel welcome. On that weekend I got to experience some Philippian treats and meals. Good stuff! And then Rachel and Myk introduced me to this thing called five-five which means taking turns in back massaging. Myk's special was to give five-zeros..I didn't agree to that.
On my last weekend in America me and Rachel headed to Portland Oregon. We drove there for good twelve hours to visit friends and to go to an Emery concert. The weekend was great and it was so nice to get to meet new people and see some friends again.
It was funny that Rachel kept on saying how beautiful it was in Oregon. To me it was nothing special; everything looked pretty much the same than in Finland and I'm all used to that. Almost the only difference was the mountains with their snowy tops. They looked awesome!
On my final whole working week Hannah put me up to hold a Bible group meeting. At first I was like no way..I don't want to do that even though I knew that it would be a good thing for me. But Hannah was persistent and I gave in quite easy. And it was a good thing for me and made me realize that I don't have to be perfect in order to be used by God. God uses me if I'm willing to do what He wants me to do. And especially in those moments that I'm weak, He shows He's power.
We spent a lot of time just hanging out, talking and watching movies. I was enjoying it all and trying to make the most out of it. One night me and Rachel went for a late night walk around the city. We went up to a place at Yerba Buena Gardens where you can take a look over the park and some parts of the city. It felt as if somebody was strangeling my heart; it felt so hard having to say goodbye to the city that I have so felt in love with and that had as fantastic as San Francisco had.
On my last days in San Francisco I got to explore the Mission street with its Mexicans and restaurants. I still got to have some Oreo milkshake and garlic fries. Hilton Hotel's pool was a place to rest in. Frozen Yoghurt shared with the staff is something to remember.
On my last day we still wanted to go for a bike ride and this time our destination was Castro. I hadn't taken any photos of that place befoore and still wanted to do that. It was a good thing to get to exercise before sitting on a plane for hours.
Goodbyes were quite hard for me. It felt so weird to leave all the people that I had been spending so much time with for the past almost three months. But on the other hand I had a feeling in my heart that it wouldn't be goodbyes for good; I'm gonna see it all again and hopefully very soon.
Casey and Rachel saw me off to the bart station of Powell. It felt so weird and strange that I wouldn't be walking on those lovely San Francisco streets the next day. On my ride to the airport I tried to keep my eyes as wide as the tears falling down from my eyes let me to see San Francisco's beauty. I wanted to inhale San Francisco as long as possible. I want to treasure it all. Good bye San Francisco, good bye my friends, thank you for letting me experience it all, thank you for getting to know you. I love you, see you soon again!
