Lahtinen December 2011

Merry Christmas 2011

We love having John home from BYU, for the holidays.

We enjoy our family relationships. 

John and Grandpa Osborn

Our Christmas Eve program featured some new performers.

Maygan on flute

Justin on trumpet. Nolan, Allison and Maygan on piano.

Hyrum singing. Emily dancing hula. Brandon and Emily singing.

And of course the "Bugler's Holiday" performance, on trumpet

by Brent, Bryan, John and Christopher. What talent!

"The Nativity" was performed by the children.

Brandon and Emily were "Joseph and Mary".

The highlight of our Christmas was skyping with Mark (Elder Lahtinen)

in Peru. This was our first skype with Mark. We loved being able to see him,

as well as hear him. He grinned from ear to ear, the entire 2 hours. We met his

Companion, and the Pensionista and her family. They practiced their "English"

on us. They told us how much they love Elder Lahtinen and what a great

missionary he is. We thanked them for taking care of our son.

We loved every minute of our skype.

Lahtinen November 2011

John has taken up the hobby of rock climbing.

 He loves climbing the rock faces in Provo Canyon

The view is so beautiful.

 It is cold, and fingers need to be warmed often,

but it is worth it!

John wanted climbing shoes, a harness and rope, for Christmas.

We had him pick them out, while he was home at Thanksgiving.

He took them back to Utah, with him, and has used them several times. 

We will wrap his used equipment for him to open, Christmas morning.

John got new glasses at Thanksgiving too.

This is his new look, when he is not wearing his contacts.

Mark continues to baptize in Peru.

He works really hard, keeps the mission rules, and follows the Spirit.

Mark got transferred to Zarate, which is a part of Lima, on Oct 26th

It is the most modernized area, he has ever been in.

It technically is in the Lima Centeral Mission,

but it is part of the Campoy Stake, which is in the Lima East Mission.

Mark is back in Lima, where there is Dominos Pizza, and McDonalds.

Mark weighed himself, after partaking of the fast food,

and he now weighs 170 lbs and is 6 ft 2 in.

Most of the Peruvians, and Latin missionaries, are around 5 ft tall

Duncan, Jane and John are enjoying BYU football games, in Provo.

We are wearing our Peruvian BYU hats that Mark had made for us.

Lahtinen October 2011

35,000 students at BYU, and John pulls off a one on one

with Senator Joe Lieberman!

John is having way too much fun at BYU. One weekend he drove to

Las Vegas with some friends from his floor.

Duncan, Jane, Paul and LaDawn enjoyed the BYU Homecoming Parade

Nothing better than BYU football!

We celebrated John's 18th Birthday with a BYU football game and dinner

Elder Lahtinen sent us Christmas early. While in Cerro de Pasco, he had these made for us.

Mark had one made for himself too. We will try them out at the next BYU football game.

Elder Lahtinen was transferred to Zarate, Lima, Peru on Oct 26, 2011

Lahtinen September 2011

Duncan, John and LaDawn (in back ground) wear their BYU

football shirts on game day. Paul and LaDawn have allowed

us to stay with them, once a month, for BYU football games.

This year, none of the family wanted to get together on Labor Day,

so Duncan and Jane hiked Mt Spokane together. It was great fun.

John joined the BYUSA club. He puts up game day flags, gets to meet the

BYU players and coaches, and gets a field pass. John is on the 5 yard line.

In Cerro de Pasco, Peru, the baptismal font is like a jacuzzi. Jets of hot water

heat the cold water in the font. Elder Lahtinen let out a little scream, when he

walked down into the font, and it was freezing cold. The propane tank was empty,

so no way to heat the water. It took several weeks before approval came from

Salt Lake, to spend the money to fill the propane tank. Baptisms were a little cold for a few weeks.

Lahtinen August 2011

John moves in to Building #9 Helaman Halls at BYU

This hall is new, and has not been named yet,

so it is just "#9". It is a very short walk

 to the northwest end of campus.

John gets settled in his dorm room

After getting John moved in, and finishing parent orientation,

Duncan and Jane are guided on a hike, by Paul, Kaden and LaDawn Osborn.

It was 98 degrees and higher elevation than Spokane. It was tough.

Time to get in better shape!

The hike was to Stewart Falls up by Sundance.

The spray of the falls felt great on this very hot day.

Elder Lahtinen was transferred to Cerro de Pasco, Peru on June 27, 2011

Cerro is 14,600 feet in elevation. Mark struggeld with altitude sickness

the first week or so. After that, he just got used to not breathing.

Cerro does not have any heat, and it snows year round.

Water freezes at night, so you have to wait to take a shower, until it melts, around 10am.

Cerro is one of the highest cities in the world.

Lahtinen July 2011

This summer we painted our house.

We thought it was the same color, but clearly, it had faded a lot.

New color on the left, old on the right.

Elder Schulties (from Utah) and Elder Morris (from New Zealand)

moved in with us. Their appartment flooded with sewage.

Duncan is the Ward Mission Leader, and we have no kids at home,

so we have plenty of room. Of course we put them to work.

We really enjoyed having them here.

They loved it too, and did not want to move back to their place.

We got our waterfall running this summer. We love the sound of it.

John took a job, this summer, with a mining company.

He hiked mountains all day, to GPS points, and collected soil samples

John loved hiking the mountains. There were no trails, so he got really physically fit.  

He loved being in places where no one has been

 before and seeing the majesty of God's creations

Osborn Family Reunion

This is our tradition, to hike Mt Spokane and have a picnic lunch.

The kids all had fun in the waterfall

Paul, Bryan and Brent Osborn, ride the trails at Mt Spokane

Lahtinen June 2011

John's last Lilac Parade

"Uniform Mom" Jane's last Lilac Parade too.

John was a featured soloist at the concert of Spokane British Brass Band

John graduates from Mt Spokane High School

Elder Lahtinen takes a hike in the mountains for P-day

A P-day hike in the beautiful mountains of Peru

Lahtinen May 2011

John and his friend Derek picking up their dates for Prom

John at State Solo competition.

A road side trail with, picnic tables, has this sign.

Welcome to the Gorge.

The Columbia Gorge

The studly Elder Lahtinen, with his new tie,

 that he bought at a flee market in Lima.

Elder Lahtinen's "room". Concrete floors and walls,

cold shower (pipe coming out of the wall), a toilet and sink,

one light bulb, no heat or air, torrential down pours of rain

that turn the streets into rivers.

No stove, oven, microwave, refridgerator, or sink.

Just a room with a rough bathroom.

This is a nice place for Peru

Lahtinen April 2011

Mt Spokane Band goes to Huntington Beach for a little

splashing in the ocean. Then on to Disneyland for a 5 days!

Mt Spokane Wind Ensemble, just after their performance

in the Heritage Music Festival, Anaheim Calf.

Duncan and John at the Zoo in San Diego

Sea World in San Diego

Universal Studios with the Mt Spokane Band

Mormon Battalion Museum in San Diego.

John puts on the "uniform" they were issued.

This is a great interactive museum, with full time missionaries

dressed in period costume, guideing the tours.

San Diego Temple

Elder Lahtinen got transferred to Huaycan, Peru

Emergency transfer. Some missionaries were not following the rules,

so they were transferred out of Huycan,

and Mark was transferred in, made a Trainer and a District Leader.

These are his shoes. They were identical.

The one on the left is his unused pair. The one on the right,

is the pair he has been tracting in. Lots of walking!

Happy Birthday to Elder Lahtinen. Mark turns 20!

His Zone helps him celebrate.