Hallå Everyone,
Happy Mothers' Day to all our "mother-daughters/friends"! Mothers' Day in Sweden is in 2 weeks, so it doesn't really feel like Mothers' Day here; however, John came through with some flowers for me and the elders baked me a heart-shaped banana bread. Wasn't that sweet? (This is an important day for the younger missionaries--it is one of two times a year they can actually "talk" to their families, so they were pretty excited. Every other week of the year they communicate through email.)
It's been a busy week of going to Umeå--about 1 1/2 hours, one way. We went up for our weekly missionary district meeting with the young missionaries on Thursday, again on Friday to check the missionaries' apartments in Umeå, then again Saturday for district conference sessions (like Stake Conference), and again today for the Sunday sessions of the conference. John is thinking of becoming an uber taxi driver when he gets home!
Driving is a little more relaxing in the US. Here, the speed is frequently changing and to ensure that people slow down there are camera speed traps. We hate these things! You get a warning sign telling you to slow down--usually to 70 or 80 km, from 110. If you go even one mile over, a little light starts blinking, as it records your license information. Then a ticket is sent to your home. We expect one any day. Sadly, we didn't see one of the warning signs because it was around a corner and then a semi was blocking it for us. Suddenly, it was too late...blink, blink, blink. We were going about 99 in an 80 zone. It's going to be real bad...😢(That actually occurred on our way to Falun.)
We had district conference in Umeå this weekend. This involved all of the members from the Norrland district, basically the northern half of Sweden. There were about 120 members in attendance. Obviously, with the distance not everyone could come. We only had about 12 from our unit--and that includes us 4 missionaries. It was the Mission President's last visit to the Norrland. When he served his mission as a young man 40 years ago, he served in Umeå, so there is a special love for the people there, and they have a special love for him. One of the women presented him and his wife a beautiful white and gray wool blanket she had woven. She called it "birches." Lovely.
It is always wonderful for church members to gather together. I love the feeling of being with a larger group and feeling part of something so much greater than myself. Even though I didn't know many people, it was a sweet experience listening to the (translated --yay!) testimonies of the members, feeling their spirits and knowing we share common understandings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What a great thing to be able to go anywhere in the world and be taught eternal truths.
I still have a couple of things to share from last week: 1) We visited the Carl Larsson home. He and his wife Karin were artists (of the 19th century) and raised a family of 7 children. Many of his paintings were of home life. It was sweet to be in the house and see how they recorded their family life through painting, such as a beautiful portrait of Karin painted on a door. Karin painted decorations on the walls as well as worked in textiles, beautifying their home.
On our way home from Falun, we stopped at a national park known for its waterfall. We were surprised to find blue ice rather than a rushing falls, but it was still beautiful. We wished we had taken our spikes. The trail was quite icy. Yeah... it's May.
| Fulufjället National Park--Sweden's highest waterfall (93 meters) |
After having snow everyday last week, I looked at the map and realized we are at same latitude as Fairbanks, Alaska. That put things in perspective for me! (True we had snow, but it would snow, then the sun would come out, melt the snow, repeat 3-4 times a day! crazy!)
Wednesday evening, I went to Salima's house to learn to make fufu. This impressive young woman came from Botswana 3 years ago, struggled to learn Swedish and is now making excellent grades. She is the only member of the church out of her family of 9. I admire her faith, dedication and desire to do good. By the way, the fufu was made with just very fine cornmeal and water. We added a kale, onion, tomato and chicken dish to it. Fufu is eaten with the fingers. After the shock of eating with his fingers, I think John liked it even more than me! Salima's mother says she must eat fufu everyday or she doesn't feel well. Interesting how our diets are so strongly defined by our cultures. As we were stirring the fufu, I couldn't help thinking how women have been making this for millennia. It is truly a primitive food--ground grain and water. (Salima explained how it is made throughout Africa but the base grain or food changes dependent on the climate.) I felt bonded to the women of the past, grinding their mortars and pestles, swatting next to their fires, stirring their food for their families. I honor their hard work and dedication to their families' needs, just as women continue to do today in every culture.
One of my greatest "takeaways" from conference this week was from the Mission President's wife, Sister Beckstrand, who spoke on service. Quoting Tennyson, she said, "I have the strength of ten because my heart is pure." It is so important to remain "pure" because sometimes we really do need the strength of ten--especially us mothers, who have so many roles to play and so many lives to influence. She said, "Your righteousness changes lives and that is why He wants you to serve....Service changes lives." I'm sure that we can all look to someone who has served us and has changed our lives. Perhaps today we would think of our mothers. But I also think of many of you--my daughters and daughters-in-law, my friends, my former teaching colleagues --who often needed the strength of ten to carry out your responsibilities. You can do so because you are pure and you know your efforts will bless the lives of others.
Ha en bra vecka. (Have a good week).
Always,
Mom/Dad, G-ma/G-pa, Linda/John
More pics on FB
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