2018.08.22: The Problem is Not the Problem

My cup of Sweet and Spicy tea (from the USA) has a saying on the tea bag tag (fob?). “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.” Can you guess the source? Captain Jack Sparrow. That’s all it says for a source. So, I’m pondering if this is the movie version, a book, or some other quasi-historical account. Hmm.

However, the quote did smack me upside the head. This evening, I left work frustrated. My all-afternoon meeting with two Bible school teachers makes me feel that I’m failing to understand. I’m trying, but it is harder than nailing Jello to the wall. I thought I heard one thing from our previous meeting, but now the understanding isn’t that. Did I misunderstand or did the circumstances change?

The Bible school isn’t an “academic” program but a folkhögskola, which most students (or shall I call them participants) do in a “gap” year, usually a year between high school and university. Because this is not an “academic” program, there are no “required” readings, papers, or exams. So, I can recommend that they read, but there is no accountability. I have a schedule with suggested Bible readings prior to each lesson and options for reflection and spiritual practices afterwords. I assume that most don’t do anything. Thus for me, Bible school is like Bible camp on steroids–as it goes for a full “academic” year.

I have them do two 5-10 minute presentations, one in the fall on the judges, and one in the spring on the minor prophets, in order to help make all the different characters more memorable by making associations with the presenters. (For example, Habakkuk is the prophet Lena talked about.) They do this, and because it isn’t too often and they get to be creative, it is fun for them.

For a few students, it is important to engage faith questions without the pressure to perform academically. For others, they are less motivated and fine with just being there and engaging when things are interesting.

But I can never seem to understand my Bible school supervisor’s nuanced instructions: No, don’t require 30-minutes of work outside of class; Yes, make them read and write outside of class; No, papers aren’t what is wanted by the högskola board, as it is to NOT be an academic program; Yes, you can expect them to write things; Yes, that would be good to use the reflection group structure to rotate responsibility for generating stimulating question; No, the reflection groups are not to be used for things related to class lessons. Ugh. I know this isn’t a Swedish issue, because my supervisor lived in the USA and has exceptional English.

The other teacher is the most laid back on the faculty, rarely contributing to the faculty meetings. No problems for him. My sense is that for him the problem isn’t the problem. The problem is getting stressed over the problem–or anything.

Perhaps if I wasn’t so discouraged with my language learning, the challenges of navigating never ending apologies to new students, and being a spectator in so many Swedish conversations this week I wouldn’t be dealing with the problem of my attitude to the problem(s).

So, I invite your prayers for my attitude.

I also invite your prayers for the logistics to find housing for Anya at university. Anya will end up at Kings College London, missing the London School of Economics by 2% on her math exam, which was a great disappointment. She could only have housing lined up at her first choice, so now we have to scramble for housing at Kings just a month before things start on the 17th of Sept.

Anya has applications in at Kings, but the options are some combination of either not very close to campus, more expensive with a private room (she wants a roommate in order to save money), or not with “catered” service–or partial board. A co-worker told us about Lee Abbey, a Christian student housing complex about 25 minutes by subway (the “tube”) to Kings. This sounds like the best option, but we are waiting to hear if there is any room for her. Each day that passes tests my sense of peace. Even if she gets a room at Lee Abbey, there is very limited housing during Anya’s orientation week, so we may have to scramble to find something for a week. So, perhaps Anya goes off by herself with one suitcase of stuff to survive a week while she is in temporary housing. Then, I come later with more bags after its available to move in, rather than transitioning from temporary housing to her dorm room by trying to haul way too much luggage on public transit by herself. This sounds so sad, sending her off to the big city in another country all alone for this momentous step. She does have a male friend from her high school who will be at the London School of Economics, so at least there is someone in the city in a pinch.

So, please join me in prayer that a good housing option opens up soon. Then, we can plan the next steps and buy plane tickets before they are ghastly expensive. This UK last month university housing scramble is frustrating!

With blessings

Beth