Originally emailed Sunday, May 7, 2017
Hi Everyone,
This has been our busiest (and most fun) week yet! The highlight was a Senior Couples' Retreat for Thursday and Friday in Falun, (Sweden) which gave me so much to write about that I'm going to have to spread it over a couple of weeks.
We live about 6 hours northeast of Falun, so we decided to drive to the city one day early. En route, we stopped at Gysinge where there had been a productive iron works beginning in the 17th century. It had essentially been a little village with a mansion where the owner lived, and barracks for the workers and their families, and various other buildings. (see pic) We wandered into a building to get some information and saw a couple of women sitting with their small children and a few bags. (We are so used to going places that are closed for the season, that we just scrounge where we can for information.) A few minutes later, an official looking Swedish woman flew into the building demanding what we were doing. Immediately after identifying ourselves and our purpose, her tone changed and she explained "today" was the last day of using the old village as a refugee camp. They were moving all of the families out, and they were also have a problem with looting--people stealing other people's possessions. Although most of the people were already gone, and another bus was soon to arrive, there were a few families who didn't have anywhere to go. She said it had been so nice for the past 3 years to have people living there again, as they had done in years past. She was so worried about what to do with those few families because she had been instructed to close the place down that day. We could tell she was frenzied, so we politely excused ourselves and got out of her way! On the other side of the complex, near the mansion (which is now used as a conference center), we found iron works ruins and a visitors center to an adjacent national park.
Just a comment about the Swedish National Parks. Although they are lovely, for the most part, they are more like US state parks. When we are a little disappointed, we remind ourselves that this is just a little country with 29 national parks. They simply can't all be like the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone! Mostly, they have lots of trails, many beyond our physical or time limitations.
Anyway, we enjoyed a quick romp in the woods of the Färnebofjärden National Park. From a 7 story tower we enjoyed viewing islands of this river park. (see pic)
The next day we met our colleagues in Nusnäs--the town known for the Dala häst or Dala horse. The Dala horse has become a symbol of Sweden. They were originally made by loggers (working for months at a time away from their families) as toys for their children. For centuries, the horse has been a working companion both at home and in the forests, so it was natural for them to be the subject of the toy. Today, the Dala horses are still made by hand. There are a few small businesses in the town that make them. We checked out two of them. First, they are stamped onto a pine board. Then they are cut out with a bandsaw. Next they are hand carved to refine the shape and smooth them out. Then sanded, dipped in paint, and finally hand painted. We were able to watch the complete process at the workshop. By questioning one of the painters, we learned that they have 10 full-time painters and 50 part-time carvers, all members of the small town community. Most of the carvers do it as supplemental income, in the evenings in their homes. The painting uses the traditional Swedish folk art "kurbit" designs, which were described to me as "exploding flowers." Red is the traditional color for the horse. (see pic) You've probably seen them before, right?
We stayed at the First Hotel Falun right in the heart of the little city. The breakfast buffet appealed to many cultures with eggs--scrambled, hard, or soft boiled, bacon, sausage links (Scandinavian korv), cold sautéed vegetables, waffles, or Swedish pancakes, whipped cream, strawberry sylt (jam), cold cereal (non-sweetened), 4 bowls of yogurt or fil milk, muesli, oats, with several toppings--pumpkin seeds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, raisins, coconut, dried fruits. Also there were fresh fruits, and fresh vegetables (tomato, cucumber, lettuce, liver paste (liverwurst), sliced cold sausage, sliced lunchmeat (ham, smoked turkey, salami, etc), sliced cheese and 3 other soft cheeses, lox, sill (pickled herring), 4 types of bread, and a few pastries. Breakfast anyone?
Friday morning we went to the lovely, old Stora Kopparbergs Church in Falun. It is the oldest building in the city, built around 1450. As we entered the music of a choir of students rehearsing for a concert later that day drew us in. To our delight several of the songs were in English, and with the rich acoustics, we enjoyed every note. A couple their teachers explained to us that they were from an adjacent school of 500 students ranging from 1st to 9th grade. Then the English teacher, with whom I had been talking invited me to speak to the students so they could hear an American speaking English. I blubbered something out, short and sweet, complimenting them on their singing. They seemed delighted with my comments, as did their teacher, and we left. Later that evening we were in one of the city squares when a group of teenagers entered. They were some of the same kids we had watched in the morning. They remembered us!
Then we went to the Falun Gruva (Falun Copper Mine). Although no longer functioning, the Falun mine was worked for over a millennia, from 900-1992 AD and was the major supplier of copper during most of that that time. We enjoyed a fascinating tour and heard a few interesting stories:
1. The origin of the mine: The ore was discovered by a Viking farmer who sent his goats out to pasture each day. One billygoat kept coming back with reddish-yellow horns. The gatherer said that the goat got dirty rooting in the soil. So the farmer decided to follow the goat and realized he was rooting right down to stone that sparkled. Today, the billygoat represents the origin of the mine.
2. Miners worked from 6 am to 6 pm every day. Prior to going into the mine, they had a prayer service in a chapel built at the mine site. This was a dangerous job and they practiced their faith to help them through each day. However, they also added some superstition, for when they got to the door of the mine, they would knock three times to let the "Lady of the Mine" know they were coming in. They didn't want to anger her by just entering. Several miners attested that they had seen her. If she was dressed in white, all would be well, but if she was dressed black, she would reek havoc on the miners that day with a deadly accident. There were written rules from 1620 to appease the Lady of the Mine. Three were no spitting, no whistling, and no swearing.
3. Catastrophe did come, many times, so the first emergency hospital in Sweden was established near the mine. Also, many women were widowed, and the mine's "pension" for them was to allow them to run a pub in town. Hmmm. No doubt all those pubs created some additional problems for their society!
4. See John's Facebook photos "Falun, Sweden" for the best story of all--"Fet" Mats Israelsson. ("Fet" means "fat" today, but then it meant "burly/strong.") In 1877 Fett Mats was killed in a collapse. He was found 42 years later in a preserved state--John has the details!
5. 1687 the worst/largest mine collapse occurred. Miraculously, no one was injured or killed. It was Midsommar (Midsummer)--a major holiday in Sweden and everyone had the day off!
6. During the 17th century, thousands of oxen were used every year to provide leather for the ropes in the shafts of the mine. That meant there was excess ox meat to eat. At that time, many of the miners were German, and they began making a sausage from the meat. That sausage became a staple in the homes of the miners and is still manufactured and known today as Falukorv. Do you remember the sausage picture I sent in a previous letter? That's it!
7. Lastly, all that red paint you see on homes and farms in Sweden comes from the mine. Iron ochre, a by-product of the the copper mining is used to make paint. When it is heated to 800 degrees C it turns dark red. At 950 degrees it turns black. Many houses ( and I dare say, most farms) one sees in Sweden is painted in this red paint--It is inexpensive and has a special preservative quality...remember Fet Matts?
Check out Linda's Facebook tomorrow for more pictures.
That's certainly enough for today! But before I close, I'd like to share another thought. As we were meeting with the other missionaries, one of the sisters shared Christ's injunction to "Feed [his] sheep." She testified that when we serve, we feed His sheep, and it made me think about how often we all do that. When I was in the Stora Koppenbergs Church I spoke to the church's representative, a lovely young woman who remarked, "I have the best job in the world." It was evident that she enjoyed her service as she shared information about her church and as she assisted with the sound equipment for the youth's choir. She was "feeding His sheep." I think I, too, have the best job in the world. (We really aren't concerned about the use of superlatives here.) Because we are all God's children, whenever we do things that help bring people closer to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, whenever we help brighten someone's day or make someone's burden lighter, we are feeding His sheep. I know that all you, our friends and family, do that. Thank you for helping make this world a better place through your actions of love.
Always,
Mom/Dad, Grandma/Grandpa, Linda/John
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