June 22: Mishna, Flowers, and a Guest

In the morning, Anya was off for her second to last day of school, which was turning in books. I was off to the last Hebrew reading at my school. Knut had the Maasai Research Group read Hebrew all semester as we are all doing Old Testament projects. This keeps our Hebrew functional, but also to expand our knowledge of aspects that aren’t generally covered in master’s level Hebrew. With each past session, we did quite a bit of analysis of the variant texts, and today, we read from the Mishna, or the rabbinic literature.

At the weekly employee lunch and meeting, there were a few of us who were ending our stay at MHS. Tina, has finished her PhD dissertation and submitted it. She will defend it sometime in the early autumn. I am ending my stay here and this six month research fellowship. So, they had Belgian waffles, ice cream, strawberries, and chocolate syrup to eat for everyone, and flowers and kind words for us who were leaving.

The rest of my day was digesting other PhD dissertations and scanning a few pages from a few library resources to have access to them later in the summer.

Anya came with me to pick up our guest, Scott, from the airport. Scott has family nearby and will spend some time with them. We used to work together when Trinity Lutheran College was Lutheran Bible Institute. We both are INFJs in the Meyers-Briggs temperament indicator, so we think alike–sometimes too alike–so we have a pleasant platonic friendship. We are conveniently collaborating for some travel in Norway, and later a short trip to London, as this is a way to see some places that we wouldn’t otherwise make the effort to see. With a guest room, it makes hosting easy for us and affordable for guests.

We caught the #9 bus from the airport, but silly me, I didn’t notice that this was going TO Stavanger instead of FROM Stavanger to Sandness. So, we took the scenic route home. It really is a nice little loop past the North Sea, some inland harbors, and back to the Stavanger center. Then we switched to the #3 bus for a more direct route home.

I promised a few pictures from the monastery visit yesterday to spread the wealth of pictures. I’ll get a nice picture of my gift of flowers for tomorrow.

The altar in the chapel
The altar in the chapel
Marta is also a "J" discovering that she must straighten the candle!
Marta is also a “J,” compelled to straighten the candle! I love this!
The pulpit in the chapel, ornately decorated with the Gospel evangelists on the side panels.
The pulpit in the chapel is ornately decorated with the Gospel evangelists on the side panels.
The side room had a stunning arched ceiling. The caulking is made from shells and doesn't absorb moisture. It is way better than cement!
The side room had a stunning arched ceiling. The caulking is made from shells and doesn’t absorb moisture. It is way better than cement!
The rebuilt abbot's house has stunning windows with a gorgeous view of the North Sea.
The rebuilt abbot’s house has stunning windows with a gorgeous view of the North Sea. This is my favorite photo of the day!

Have a blessed day.

Beth

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