Month: August 2018

Classes started last week. They continued on Monday after I preached for the opening worship service. I focused on the power of paradox to avoid the pitfall of reductionism as we engage both head and heart–as well as hands and lips–in the development of discipleship at our transformative learning community. This sounds a bit heady, but Christ is our primary example of teaching using paradox, so it connects with things we’ve heard before.

The last couple days have included some landmarks in preparation for Anya going to university: housing deposit paid; visa application paid; forms submitted. We still need a place for Anya to live for one week prior to official move in date. Former missionaries that I met in Ethiopia emailed today indicating that may have place at their B and B, if she can’t get a room at her housing facility. Then we can get airplane tickets. Hopefully, this will be determined tomorrow. I also need to figure out payment to Kings and which method has lowest fees. Anya will go to Stockholm next week for fingerprinting and things related to the visa application.

When we finally arrive in London, we will connect with family friends from the Hanson side of the family. Paul, Eric’s spiritual mentor growing up, is with Jesus, but his daughter and husband moved to London in April. The mother, whom I know a little bit, will be visiting about the time Anya moves in. So, it will be a great way to introduce Anya and be able to hear some stories about Eric’s spiritual mentor. That will be wonderful for Anya.

Tomorrow is  the eighth anniversary of Eric’s death. In some ways it seems so long ago, especially when I see pictures of Anya when she was only 10. We’ll go out for dinner and celebrate his life and thank our God for carrying us along the way these past eight years.

With blessings,

Beth

This is my Mom’s birthday, and the first birthday without her. Last year, I sent her a box of my favorite Belgian chocolates. Mom loved chocolate.

So, I pause a moment with memories of eating chocolates with Mom. One time, she visited me in the Seattle area. We stopped at Bohem’s Chocolate Factory in Issaquah. I knew that the mixed broken chocolates were the cheapest, so we bought a bag. I was amazed to see Mom eat as many as she did! Fun memories.

The great news from yesterday is that Anya received word that she has housing when she goes to Kings College London. There is a shared room for her with a board plan (minus lunches on workdays) at Lee Abbey. She got the last shared room with 2-to-a-room. This is a Christian student housing facility that is connected to the Anglican Church. And for being in the Kensington area of London and providing meals, the price is reasonable.

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

I have so much to write about:

• Summer in Minnesota pack up at my Dad’s;
• Two back-to-back conferences in Helsinki, Finland, with a presentation at each;
• Two couples visiting back-to-back, including my dear mentors from Fuller Seminary;
• The start of the fall planning with employee workshop and faculty meeting days (with so much Swedish); and
• Anya’s university in London.

All these will have to come later. Tonight, I share about a wonderful surprise.

I was in my office, where I had placed a little, cheap plastic frame with a little saying by the missionary, C.T. Studd. It was my mom’s, and it was a saying that has impressed me in my life. I thought about throwing it out, but I kept it, even though it had little value.

The cardboard backing had a little pull out stand, which had a writing under the flap. It was a gift to my mom from her pastor, Pastor Brandt (the one who paraphrased the Psalms for the book Psalms Now!) and, I believe, later officiated at Mom and Dad’s wedding. But the stand was upside down, so I thought I’d turn it around.

Pulling off the back, there was a crumpled piece of thick paper. But this was not a scrap for tension within the frame, as I originally thought. It was a picture of my mom, her mother and brother, and I think her aunt.

Here’s a close up.

I have never seen a picture of my mom as a girl after age 3 (with her new glasses). Anya and I figure that she is about 7 years old here.

In the chaos of sorting and packing, the treasures were finding pictures of my mom that we had never seen before. I don’t recall seeing any pictures of her between 3 and after high school! These were wonderful.

I wonder what did get thrown out.

With blessings,

Beth