Today is the day for the review of our days in Wisconsin.
We spent a night with dear friends, Karen and Ed, at their cabin in Danbury. They are balm for the soul. It was only a night, but wonderfully renewing.
Then it was off to Madison to have tea with my uncle and aunt. It is a nice connection on our way through central Wisconsin. Anya found a 7-11 for a slurpee, a missed treat. Her internet research found that there are no 7-11s in Minnesota–at least in the areas we were in.
We continued on to the Hanson farmstead in southeastern Wisconsin. We spent two days on the farm and being spoiled by Aunt Donna.
This farm goes back 4 generations. The red barn is from the days of Eric’s great-grandfather.
The farm was heaven on earth for Eric. He spent many of his childhood summers and most of his teenage summers on the farm. His two older male cousins were like brothers to him. We left on the anniversary of the younger cousin’s death which was also from cancer. We visited the grave sites of both after church on Sunday.
In loving memory
These are special folk, and it is important to keep Anya connected with the relatives and special place.
Back to life in Uppsala:
Today, I had fika at Johannelund with a student who is willing to be my Swedish conversation partner over the summer. She had homemade ice cream, and we talked for almost two hours with my muddled Swedish.
In the evening, I watched the 1986 movie, The Mission, as part of my lesson prep for the fall. I’m teaching half of a history of missions course. Such a beautiful soundtrack to such a sad movie.
The movie ends with a quote from John 1:5:
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
Today, I played local guide–with plenty of disclaimers for still being new and learning my Swedish context. Kathleen and Bob from my home church in Bellevue were in the area, so they came to spend a day in Uppsala. I met them at the train station and showed them around.
I met them at the train and talked over ideas to plan the day. Here’s the results:
Walk through the central square to the castle, with a view of the cathedral.
The view of the cathedral from the castle mound
Took in the vista over the botanical garden
Visited the Holy Trinity church, which is older than the cathedral
Warmer and almost cozy compared to the cathedral
Walked past the university library, but I knew that the museum is closed for renovation (too bad, because the Silver Bible is a highlight)
Went to the Gustavianum museum with the display of the Vandal period, the anatomical theater, the university’s historical artifacts (including a spike and wood samples from Jesus’ cross).
Walked over to have lunch by the river at the Lingon restaurant
Visited the Linneaus botanical garden and museum across the street
The view from his library overlooking his gardens
Headed over to the Cathedral to take in the (free) tour in English
Visited the rune stone garden
Walked over to my favorite fika place for a nice fika outside on the sidewalk tables parallel to the river on a beautiful day (this is a favorite aspect of Swedish culture)
Walked to our apartment, so that Bob could make a Skype call with his credit card activated (which was deactivated in spite of notifying the company of international travel). I couldn’t figure out anywhere to find a normal phone!
Then hopped on the bus to visit the ground of the old church and climb up one of the grave mounds in Old Uppsala.
Then we bussed back to the train station where I bid them goodbye at about 6:20 pm. (And I’m learning more about taking the bus! However, I like the Norwegian bus app better than the Swedish bus app!)
Overall, it was quite a nice day with a good pace, good weather, and fine company.
I am tired, but not from all the walking. The jet lag woke me up at 3:30 am. Let’s hope the walking in the sun helped adjust the circadian clock for a better night’s sleep.
I’m getting adjusted to this time zone. I once heard that we can allow one day for every hour of time zone difference to adjust, which gave me a bit more grace with myself. I made it through the day with only a short nap and a late afternoon walk. Fortunately, there was a good amount of sun today to walk in shorts and let the UV rays do their circadian rhythm therapy.
I’m also getting adjusted to being 53. This is my birthday today. It was mellow, which is fine after almost 2 weeks of being on the go. In one way, it will take me more time to adjust to a new year. In another way, one day more doesn’t feel much different.
Here are highlights of travel to Minnesota. (Wisconsin travels will come later.)
We arrived, picked up our rental car (Anya chose the light mint green, though I suggested the larger trunk, but in honor of Elenn and Steve who live near Detroit, we went with the mint green Ford Fiesta), and then we drove to the Mall of America! Did you know that there is no sales tax on clothes in Minnesota! That’s quite a difference from the 25% on everything in Sweden (except food, which is 12%).
Mall of America is huge! And huge savings on sales tax!
After two nights at the World Mission Prayer League guest house–and Anya’s strategic planning to find her favorite American foods–it was off to Alexandria, Minn.
Morning walks by Lake Carlos at Mount Carmel
Several mornings, I was able to get out for a walk, which went by the lake and into the woods. I saw a pelican, a rabbit, and a deer quite close up.
Family camp includes outdoor worship and campfires!
Campfire followed by smores (though I headed back just before the smores)Outdoor worship with preaching, a wordless drama by the staff, and communion
During the week, I facilitated 9 Bible study sessions on the Spirituality of the Psalms and had 4 hour-long discussions in the afternoon. On Thursday, the thanksgiving psalm day, we dug into Psalm 136, an antiphonal psalm with 26 statements of thanks to God with the refrain “for his steadfast love endures forever.” We ended by writing reasons of our own for giving thanks on paper chain slips, and then many were spoken out and added to the chain. We all replied, “”for his steadfast love endures forever” at the end of each contribution. I didn’t read them all, but one statement of thanks I saw was priceless: “Poop IN the potty.”
The thanksgiving chain. You can see “poop” on the farthest left green chain!
We had a family picture taken with everyone.
Front L-R: Diane, Elenn, Jim, Faith, Mom, me, Dad. (Jim is mom’s cousin and Diane is his wife.) Back L-R: Steve (Elenn’s husband), Jeremy (Faith’s oldest), and Anya.
Faith shared a nice photo of Mom and Dad.
Pretty wonderful with 61 years of marriage!
On the way out of Alexandria to Wisconsin, we went through Upsala, Minn. Yes, only 1 “p” in the spelling of this American town of about 400 people.
The Bible study facilitation was well received. I’ve been invited back next year, perhaps July 7-13. I’ll keep you posted.
We have arrived home safely. We were notified by text that our flight out of Minneapolis was an hour delayed, which gave us a little time to get one more dinner for Anya of her favorite Chinese fast food and bubble tea. It was a bit of an ordeal getting to a gas station to fill up the rental car, as my GPS was sending me on a wild goose chase. Yet, I managed to drop off Anya at the ticketing level and get the car to the rental check in with 5 minutes before the deadline!
I thought I had done a thorough search clearing out the rental car, but in the ticketing area, I couldn’t find my phone. However, we had to wait in line to get re-booked for a later connecting flight in Amsterdam. We got a later flight but not boarding passes for it. But there was enough time for me to head back to the car rental. I give a big thanks to Alamo at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport for finding the phone under the seat. The guy who found it said it was difficult, as it went forward and backward when the chair was moved. What a relief!
During the 8+ hour flight, I only got 1 movie in (Anya recommended Moana) while Anya got two done before we slept. I haven’t slept so long (but so poorly) on a plane in a long time.
In Amsterdam, we couldn’t get boarding passes from the automated kiosk, so we waited in line to talk with the customer service. We walked away with priority boarding and business class seats! How nice! We enjoyed a nice meal!
I splurged on a taxi ride home, as we were tired and loaded with maximum free baggage (and a heavily loaded ScottE vest!). However, in the taxi, I searched through every big ScottE vest pocket (11) and my backpack to try to find the keys. I was getting a bit worried that they went to the trash with the bag of things from the rental car, but then I thought I remembered that I put them in the rolling-carry-on that was in the back of the taxi. Whew! I had. We were home in our apartment, and after showers, we started to unpack.
Now, after a vacation from Swedish lessons, I’m back trying to work on vocabulary, thinking, listening, and I even talked a bit of Swedish with the taxi driver (a nice guy from Iran).
There was news today that according to the US News and World ReportSweden is ranked number one in the world for immigration. I believe this American and Iranian would corroborate that! Yes, this is even with the challenges from Sweden taking in twice as many refugees than Germany. Way to go Sweden!
Pictures and stories of travels to the USA coming soon!
Yesterday’s post had a date of June 30 also, because I was looking at the date on my laptop that was still set to Swedish time! It was actually a very long June 29.
Anya is usually not too good at adjusting to time zones. (Jean, remember South Africa?) Some will say it is easier going west–with the sun. I think I’ve heard others say it is easier going east. For me it depends upon how much I’m in a sleep deficit and how much I have to push myself to get adjusted due to whatever responsibilities await my arrival. I try to get out walking in the sun in the late afternoon as well, when my body wants to collapse and sleep.
This time, I think the excitement of the Mall of America got Anya going. I had to keep up–a bit. I actually went to the Starbucks in the Barnes and Noble and worked on my lesson prep. However, I did drag Anya to a Duluth Trading store where I knew I could get women’s pants with proper pockets. Even my Levi’s jeans have front pockets so small, I can only fit a credit-card holder sized billfold as the pockets extend only 3.5 inches (9 cm) deep. Yup, great pockets. I even found in the clearance section a pair of pants I wanted that are no longer made, and 1 left in my size. Whoo hoo!
Anya and I did start a list of the things we appreciate about being back in the USA.
English! We can order in English. Instructions are in English. I don’t have to feel guilty about talking English!
Minnesota nice. Just walking to the car from the WMPL house, we passed a couple who smiled and said hi! They actually talked to strangers! Rarely will you get a smile from a stranger while walking by, but a “hi” is unheard of in Uppsala.
Free bathrooms in stores! Even in the malls in Uppsala and Stockholm, the bathrooms are not free!
But the best part of the day was seeing a group of amazing people here at the WMPL guest house. There is a consultation regarding the mission hospital in Pakistan. Many of the former staff are here, along with the current director, a Pakistani. My sister drove in to join them. My former missions teacher, Pat is here. Some of you would know Jan K and Annetta D. They were also joined by the Koski’s, who are wise and experienced in administration and its special challenges in the developing world. With the other WMPL staff (like Dan R), I was in the midst of a great cloud of witnesses! Amazing people!
We have arrived safely after an uneventful trip, but with increasing checks and security for heading to the USA.
We are staying at the World Mission Prayer League guest house in Minneapolis, and since their briefing course finished today, we delayed our arrival until after dinner and a bit of shopping to get a room prepared for us. Back to driving a car (a rental), and we headed first to the Mall of America by the airport for some dinner. Most of our shopping was at a Walgreens on the way home. Anya keeps saying, “Everything is so cheap [inexpensive] here!” Some of our favorite toiletry brands were on sale or in clearance–just for us!
I found out that my sister arrives here tomorrow! I did not know that! She served for 18 years as a physician in Pakistan through the World Mission Prayer League and goes back every year for 2 months (though this last year, she could only get a visa for 1 month). There is a meeting tomorrow about the hospital, which I found out she’ll be attending.
Midsommer is a national holiday! Anya and I were invited over to our friends’ home for Midsommar celebrations on Friday. Lennart, the Swede, and Donna, the American who has lived here for 30 years, also invited another American and Swedish married couple, who have been friends for those 30 years. The gracious welcome is so appreciated.
Silltorte or herring cake was the featured entré. I enjoyed the homemade rhubarb-lemonade.
After lunch, we went to the old farm museum where there was dancing around the Maypole.
Yes, I danced! It was great fun!A girl in our circle dance!The musicians kept us going, with a microphoned young woman leading the singing.
The crowd was quite multi-cultural, as many were there checking out Swedish cultural experience. We watched the serious dancers, looked at the old museum houses and furnishings, and ate some waffles in our mostly sunny afternoon.
They tell me this is lutefisk in its preserved state!
Then we went back to Donna and Lennart’s for dinner, followed by my chocolate cake. I left home at 10:30 p.m. and bicycled home with a little misty rain in the decreasing light, but it still was not yet dusk. A good day.
Saturday was laundry and preparations for my week of Bible studies (July 3-7) at Mount Carmel family camp in Alexandria, Minn. Fortunately, the afternoon weather allowed for some reading in the hammock on the balcony.
I was off to do a little exercise at the gym before a shower for Sunday morning worship. I arrived at the gym an hour before church started, but the gym is a stone’s throw away from the church. I saw a faithful member, who is in a wheelchair, waiting at the door. Because it was sunny, I offered to let her in, as the church is connected to Johannelund, so I have access. After I let her in, I said that I would be back (in my limited Swedish, as she is not an English speaker). I figured that I should shower for church, but I opted not to exercise. I didn’t want her to be alone for an hour. I have been on the receiving side of kindness, so I know that a little kindness is more important than my exercise agenda for this morning. As I arrived back to church, I let her in, and a few others arrived at that time. I also ended up sitting with another young woman and listed to her part of her story. She is dealing with some fear and some health issues. Please include Hanna (not her real name) in your prayers.
After church, I saw my new Chinese friends and invited them for fika. I included a couple Estonian friends, and Donna and Lennart. Most of the chocolate cake from Midsommer was left, and it was a perfect way to share it. I moved the ping pong table and gathered all the chairs in the living room. We were mostly talking in English, but with some translation to Estonian and Mandarin.
It sounds like we will have some homemade Chinese dumplings after our return from the USA! Kathi and Mark, the Chinese are eager to meet you, after I told them about you!
So, we are blessed by friends and find ways to be a blessing.
Due to the Summer Solstice celebrations tomorrow, my Swedish lesson with Lennart was today. Some days I feel that I’m on a plateau and not advancing. Yes, after the busy travel and grading time, I can put some more effort into daily Swedish lessons, but I wish it wasn’t such an uphill climb all the time.
One of the tasks today was to create a picture for the cover of my book. The production editor stated that I could put a small picture on the cover. Here’s an example of the series cover with a photo.
The photo is even in color!
The publisher requires signed permission forms and all in the photo have to sign “model” permission forms. So, the easiest thing is to not have people in the photo. My first idea would be to have a Maasai blessing, where a child comes to an elder, and the elder’s hand on the head is a blessing. But too many logistics and forms to secure. Another option was to have a Maasai cross. They are beautiful and distinctive, but this is not really a match for an Old Testament themed book. Finally, with support from my PhD adviser, I decided on having a Maasai gourd with grass out of the top. The decorated gourds are the Maasai water bottles and milk containers. Which of these 2 options do you like best?
Option 1: Small plaidOption 2: Big plaid
This grass topped small gourd is what Father Ned used in his enculturated blessing during a Roman Catholic worship service we observed in Endulen, Tanzania. The gourd is filled with water that has a drop of milk in it. The water and milk solution is sprinkled out in a spray over the congregation. The grass is a sign of peace. Frans Mol describes the powerful significance of grass for the Maasai.
Grass is of prime importance in the life of the pastoral Maasai. The extent of their reverence for grass may be measured by the fact that in the days of Maasai raids on other tribes, they would spare the life of anyone who held up a tuft of grass, for this was a sign of peace and surrender. Small wonder, then, that the tying of grass plays a significant role in various rituals and blessings.[1]
The sprinkling of the water is like the rain, and rain is understood to be a manifestation of the monotheistic creator, Engai. My informant Miterienanka clarified, “We see Engai through the sun. We see Engai through the rain; especially the rain. When it rains, we literally say, ‘Engai has come,’ because another name for rain is Engai.”[2] Anthropologist Paul Spencer writes, “Nowhere is their dependence on God more apparent than in the arbitrary gift of rainfall which is so essential to their pastoral economy.”[3] Rain is a life-giving blessing that comes from heaven and waters the grass in order to feed the cows which sustain the Maasai life.[4]
The Spiritan Brothers have beautifully enfolded symbols of the Maasai into their worship.
So, let me know which photo seems stronger to represent these concepts. The different plaid cloths are traditional Maasai blankets.
With blessings,
Beth
[1]Frans Mol, Maasai Language & Culture: Dictionary (Lemek, Kenya: Maasai Centre Lemek, 1996), 62.
[2]2013.630 research participant, follow-up interview (Tanzania, 2013), 11.
[3]Paul Spencer, Time, Space, and the Unknown: Maasai Configurations of Power and Providence (New York: Routledge, 2003), 72.
[4]Vincent J. Donovan, Christianity Rediscovered (New York: Orbis, 1978), 43; Spencer, Time, Space, and the Unknown, 74.
It is the spring solstice today. It is such a big deal in sun-loving Sweden that they move the celebration to the weekend to make it a big party. (Pictures will come after Friday.)
Last night on solstice eve at 10:30, there was a warm orange-pink hue in all the visible sky.
Still light with quite a bright horizon at 10:30 pm
But solstice reminds me of the seasons of life. I received an email that Mary C. from my church in Bellevue passed away. She lived a life that was a blessing to many. When Eric was taken by ambulance from church to Overlake Hospital’s emergency room in the midst of a seizure only a few days after brain surgery, Mary showed up there. She worked there for 3 decades, and knew that the emergency room was unsettling. She didn’t want us to be alone. What a gracious woman.
I received another email that my mother’s cancer has returned. Prayers are welcome. Another friend from church relayed that her cancer markers have increased. Last week, Anya and I grieved the loss of a friend and her Campfire Girls leader after an authentically courageous journey in spite of cancer. The seasons of life remind us that we are not in control. Time passes. Life passes. We are reminded to savor the special moments and loved ones now. And, I join the untold many throughout time and throughout the world that find peace in the hopeful promises of Jesus’ presence with our every step and every stumble, but especially the eager expectation of the resurrection when finally there will be no more sickness and no more sorrow.
Two highlights of the day:
I finished my grading! The silver-lining of poor distance student completion (36%) means that there are less papers to grade! (The dark side is that those who follow up later require extra effort with communication and coordination for closure.)
All my 3 wonderful defense committee members have relayed with kind words that they are willing to give an endorsement for the publishing of my dissertation. This is wonderful, as this distinctive group includes a recent president of the Society of Biblical Literature and one of the prominent leaders of the African biblical hermeneutics guild (hermeneutics is basically the philosophy of interpretation).
So, be grateful for the special moments and tell your loved ones what they mean to you today.
Between days of grading last week, there was a 3-day, 2-night ferry trip to Helsinki with all the regular personnel of Johannelund, about 17 people (which does not include very part-time teachers and staff). This was my first time to Finland. (Yea, one more country to add to my list of travels.)
The ferries to Finland are a bit bigger than those in the Puget Sound.
There was some time spent in personnel and faculty meetings, including meeting staff at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland national office. However, most of the time was shared time together, with two nights spent on the ferry to and from Helsinki.
As we departed the ferry, there were several people with handcarts loaded with cases of duty free booze. These ferries actually have quite a business in selling alcohol and gambling, with a prominent casino on board (which I didn’t bother to visit, as gambling is taking from the poor to give to the rich).
Highlights include visiting Uspenski Cathedral, an ornate Eastern Orthodox church built in the 1860s.
Welcome to Helsinki! The view of the cathedral from the harbor.
We were let in past the barrier to the front of the church and had a special presentation from one of the monks.
We were by the front stairs with our host.The dome was impressive.
The monk’s presentation was in Swedish, so I got the basics. Swedish is one of the official languages of Sweden, and all students are required to study it for 6 years. This was also one of my “Swedish Wednesdays,” so I plodded along with my not very good Swedish. Fortunately, my cabin-mate is very patient.
Some of us went to see one of the Lutheran churches, Temppeliaukio Church (which is one reminder of why I’m glad I’m not learning Finish with its plethora of vowels and verb tenses!)
Temppeliaukio Church is carved out of a rock. The copper strips in the center dome shimmer.The contrast between the two churches is dramatic!
Our 8 or so hours in Helsinki also included a walk through the fish market, farmer’s market, and tourist stalls on the waterfront. Travel on the street cars, a short visit to a mall with a famous Finnish designer’s store, marimekko. Finland is well regarded for some famous designers. Other colleagues went to an exhibit featuring one of the famous Finnish architects, Alvar Aalto. As academics, we are drawn to bookstores, and visited a couple very briefly. Others bought some things. The only thing that caught my eye was the new WIRED magazine, but I’m not going to pay 7.5 Euros for one copy when the annual subscription is $12.
At our last dinner at an Italian restaurant on the ferry, I did an Elness thing by turning over my paper place mat and started drawing a picture. I passed on the place mat and pen to my next table-mate. Over the evening, it made several rounds around the table as the story grew with creative flair. We soon were the “fun” table, and after dinner, others joined us. Several relayed that this was a great idea and the collaboration was perfect for spending time together. The place mat was carefully brought home by my cabin-mate. My days of Bible camp program director community building live on! (Unfortunately, it also revealed some lack of intentional community building–other than shared experience–during our time together.)
Anya was home doing fine (with a friend as a backup contact). Someday, she’d like to take a trip like this to add Finland to her list of countries and add it to the map I bought her for her birthday, where she scratches the coating off the map for each country visited. The ferry with its casino and duty free shop incentivized travel is cheaper than a plane ticket and hotel. However, with the noise and vibration (and less than pleasant odor in my room), it was not a good nights sleep. I returned home tired.
I still need to get some Tanzania highlights posted. I’ll be getting to this soon!
