Another week in the books as the calendar pages seem to be flying off the wall!
We took our P-day on Tuesday this week so we could join Alasdair's distance learning geology class for a field trip studying the glacial formations in Stockholm. We met him, his nine students and his colleague, Sarah, at the train station, just beyond Drottningholm castle. Then we headed for the Judarskogen Nature Reserve, where they sent us out to discover the glacial movement and moraine formations in the area. Alasdair prepared us with the reading material and my Geology 101 rose to memory's surface which helped in this venture. However, for us neophytes, this was a real challenge in observation. Our eyes were noticing things we normally overlook and our brains were working hard! Then we moved on to downtown Stockholm and walked the "Stockholm's Ridge." (I hadn't even realized the ridge before, but in places the land was 6 stories higher than street level! Of course, the whole area was covered in buildings and streets.) We learned so much and met some wonderful people from Italy, Austria, Ireland, England, and of course, Sweden. Viewing Stockholm from 12,000 years ago was a new experience, which has literally broadened my view of geography and terrain. It was fascinating and fun to be with these passionate geologists. We walked over 16,500 steps which translates to over 12 kilometers, so the exercise served us well, too! Learning was fun, challenging and motivating. I think I'd like to take a class at SUNY Adirondack when I get home! (Can't retirees audit for free?)
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| A classic example of a moraine. The glacier pushed the rock ahead of it, depositing them as it melted. |
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| This bedrock showed a clear example of the glacier moving across the rock from the left to the right. The left side was polished and the right side was jagged. |
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| Dr. Skelton (although everyone called him Alasdair) explaining the difference between joints and striations. |
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| At the end of our hike, the Stockholm Ridge (Stockholmsåsen) ended in Haga Park. This picture, in the southern end of the park, show the ridge on the right continuing to the left, with the water cut between. (For you geologists, the Stockholm ridge was formed by eskers.) |
As we were walking, one of the students asked me why I was in Sweden, so I explained that I was a missionary. He sort of chuckled and asked, "Why would your church send missionaries to a country that is atheistic?" Then he asked if I minded a theological discussion. "Of course not." At one point, he quoted someone (I didn't catch the name), who said that if all the pages of scientific discoveries were destroyed, they would all eventually come back, but if you did the same to the Bible it could never come back. "But that wouldn't matter because we believe in continuing revelation," I commented. He looked at me, a bit dumbfounded at first, then said, "Yes, you Mormons ARE really different!"
As we were driving on the highway this week, we heard the cheering from this truck...graduates celebrating! (One of their graduation tradition is driving around Stockholm like this.)
We also helped clean out an apartment this week, along with these 7 missionaries and two members. With 77 stairs to the apartment, they were positioned like a fireman's brigade along the stairwell. Boy, were we glad they were there to help! In less than two hours the apartment was emptied and the van was ready to move! (That's about 22 man hours with us 2 senior couples working, too!)
After everyone's hard work, we went to McDonald's. Interestingly, McDonald's is air conditioned. Very few places have air conditioning in Sweden, including people's homes and apartments, so an air conditioned restaurant is an anomaly. The is why the inside of McDonald's was packed and the outdoor seating was available!
At one of our apartment checks we found an interesting feature. There are few screen or storm doors in Sweden. This metal door is on the inside and has no glass, just metal bars. It can be locked. (I had never seen one here before.) If you will notice, there is a rod hanging above the door with curtain clips on it. The purpose of the door and curtain, I learned, was for Muslim women to be able to answer the door and still not be seen. The door can be kept locked for protection, and the curtain enables her to be in her home without wearing a hijab. (My daughter Kim had a similar door in her apartment in Arizona, although, I think the door was primarily for ventilation.)
For the first time since I have been in Stockholm, I taught the lesson in Relief Society. It felt so good to teach again! Of course, I had to do it in English, but there was good participation. Everyone there was fluent in English, so it went well. The General Conference talk we discussed was by
Elder Robbins "Until Seventy Times Seven" . In the beginning he talks about mistakes and what we can learn from them. He quotes Thomas Edison, "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps." What a blessing it is to have "second chances"--opportunities to grow and to do better because of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Elder Robbins said, "Our success, then, isn't
going from failure to failure, but
growing from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm." In the recent BYU Women's Conference, Sister Alburto explained, "The Lord accepts all your efforts....You don't have to do it all, and you are never done, and you can be okay with that. Do what you can each day, ask the Lord to fill in the gaps, and then a new day starts and you begin again. That is part of the beauty of being disciples of Jesus Christ. We are never done, there is always something else to do, and there is always room for improvement." I guess I keep returning to this theme as I close my posts, because I know it is important to progress. I am grateful for second chances, I desire to be better, I want to "grow" despite my frailties, and someday I hope my earthly efforts will be accepted by the Lord.
