Hej everyone,
Ja, vi är i Sverige! (Yes, we are in Sweden!) Monday's flight was thankfully uneventful and we arrived in snowy Stockholm at 9 AM on Tuesday greeted by 2 couples and 5 young missionaries. Instead of settling in, our escorts and mentors, the Andersons, took us to check out two missionary apartments in Uppsala, about 1/2 hour north of the airport, keeping us awake with questions and information. (We will be responsible for checking out the apartments in the Norrland , the north part of the country, where we will be staying, so it was essentially a training activity.) Then we visited Uppsala's beautiful double towered cathedral, called the Dom Kyrka (pronounced "dome sheerka"). When we arrived in Enebyberg, where we stayed (and will eventually live), we learned that we would have a brand new car to drive! John was pretty excited about that! By the time we finally got to bed, around 7:30, we could hardly stand up! During the flight, Monday morphed into Tuesday and we felt we had lost a day.
Wednesday brought us to the immigration office, where after 15 minutes of trying, I (Linda) finally was able to produce clear fingerprints. The official was very patient with me, but I was beginning to realize I might have been a good burglar! (Ha,ha-- such choices are far behind me!) That afternoon, we were able to go to the Stockholm temple. It is small, simple in it's design and very Scandinavian with its clean lines, natural light woods and soft colors. The people there were so kind and patient with us Americans. And as always, the temple reminded us that we are all God's children, we are loved by Him, and through the atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ, we have the opportunity to return home to Him.
Thursday we toured Stockholm, and had our picture taken with the Town Hall behind us. (picture) (That is where the Nobel Prize banquet is held). Note the three crowns on the top, representing the coat of arms of Sweden. While there, an American evangelical gentleman and his wife stopped us and shared that when he feels discouraged in his work, two of our missionaries show up and lift him, helping him move forward. We appreciate the efforts of all who share their love for Jesus Christ and help others draw closer to God. It can only help in our world where so many feel disconnected from our Heavenly Father. We also enjoyed walking around Gamla Stan (Old Town) (picture) and through the Palace museum. The intricate designs in armor, saddles, carriages awed us and helped us appreciate the pride Swedes have in their country. How fortunate we are be here, learning of them first hand. That evening our fellow "senior couples" treated us to dinner in the "clubhouse," (picture) and we finally met President and Sister Beckstrand, who had been out of town. The "clubhouse" is the nickname for the pizzeria turned apartment below the office. We stayed in the clubhouse/apartment while in the Stockholm area and will probably return to it in June for a brief stay when we begin for our office training.
Friday we headed north to Örnsköldsvik, our assigned area--actually, we live in Domsjö (Dom+shaw), an adjacent town. The sun shone for the first day since our arrival, a harbinger of good things to come we hope! Our apartment is very nice, with five spacious rooms--bedroom (with a king size bed), living room (with 2 sofas and 2 recliners), a study (with a wall unit and two desk units), an eat-in kitchen,(definitely European style--lower counters, small refrigerator,) and a bathroom (with half the room being the shower--no stall--just a curtain separating the rest of the room and a drain on the floor!) The town of Örnsköldsvik reminds us so much of Glens Falls (same population, hills, trees, snow, and even a paper mill!( that we can't help but feel at home--until we talk to someone! Most of the population in Stockholm seem to live in countless apartment buildings, but here, though there are many apartments, there are more homes. The first morning here I got up at 5:30 and glanced out the window of our living room. It was predawn and the street and yard lights sparkled on the snow, while warm yellow glowed from a few windows of early risers. The bare trees and hearty pines made me think of a Christmas scene from home--pleasant, comforting and warm.
Saturday we ventured into Swedish life--shopping. We managed to figure out the parking routine. (One has to pay almost everywhere to park. Sometimes it is paid at a centralized parking meter or other times an hour or two is free and a little card with a clock indicating the time of arrival is set on the dashboard. The confusing thing is that the word used for paying is "gift." Some gift! ) The real challenge for me was grocery shopping. We accidentally bought rice pudding instead of yogurt, milk comes in liters (not 1/2 gallons), everything is labeled in Swedish and frankly my vocabulary is pretty poor. Thank goodness for pictures and Google translator--and data to help out! Another interesting fact is that everything that is purchased has a 25% tax added to it, which is included in the indicated price. We've been surprised that the prices aren't that much higher than at home. Hmmmm....it makes us wonder if NYS is getting a cut before a product is even put on the shelf!
Today we went to church in the little branch (congregation) in Örnsköldsvik. They meet in a former office (ground level) in a lovely, newly renovated space below an apartment building. There were only 9 in attendance plus us and the two younger elders (missionaries)--a mother and 3 of her children (from Cambodia); another mother and her young daughter (from Congo); a woman from Spain; a girl (15) from Botswana; and another young woman from Sweden. We knew it would be Fast and Testimony meeting today, so we prepared our testimonies in Swedish. I'm glad we did, as it turned out that most of the adults did not speak English and Swedish is the common language. (Free classes are provided for immigrants to learn Swedish, so virtually everyone does. I'm not sure if it is required or not.) However, we were sorry to have to read our testimonies, but we just didn't trust ourselves to say it all correctly. Maybe next time. Even so, we're sure that some of the words and grammar were incorrect, but no one snickered, so we figure we did ok. We are grateful that we've tried to learn the language a little bit. It enabled us to talk to the members, even though it was on a very basic level. We were so impressed with the strength of the youth and the reverence of the meeting, and the unity of people from such varied background and cultures. It reminded us of Paul's teaching to the Ephesians (2:19) "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." Who would have thought we'd come to a little town in Northern Sweden to see this international unity. Perhaps it is a picture of what is to come.
In the evening the elders came over for crepes (I used Melanie's recipe from Croatia). We have a pretty bare pantry, but they enjoyed my little creation with jam and bananas.
We are grateful to be here, safe and sound, to feel at home in this foreign land, to have a comfortable "home," and to be engaged in the Lord's work, in what small ways we can. We hope all of you are well, happy, and appreciating the goodness of life.
Always,
Mom/Dad, Grandma/Grandpa, John and Linda
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