We got a phone call from Elder Harrell who has become a good friend from when he served in Uppsala for several months, saying that he had good news and bad news. The good news was that he is still alive; the bad news is that he wrecked his bike.
Elder Harrell does nothing at half speed. When riding down a slope, he turned the handlebars to follow the bike path, but though the handlebars turned, the bike did not and he hit a light pole going full speed. Happily, he saw it coming and avoided hurting more than a couple of fingers that were strained, but not broken. The bike frame was folded almost in half and was fit only for junk. Remembering with some sadness that our friend in Sparks did not survive that kind of accident, we replaced his bike and that of his companion with upgraded bikes that have shock absorbers. Now we are getting calls from lots of other missionaries that they would like their bikes upgraded, too. Ugh!
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| Elders Ahonen and Barney with their one new and one slightly used bikes. Elder Ahonen has an extra large head, so we had to buy a special helmet for him. We told him to take it with him wherever he is transferred. |
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| Elders Harrell and Bird with the new bikes in the boxes they come in. We had to leave them some tools to do the assembly themselves as we were in a hurry to get further south where we would be assisting with zone conference lunch in Malmö. We picked up the tools on our way back home. |
The problem is that not all missionaries like them because they enjoy walking or taking the bus where they can contact people along the way. The bikes are then left unattended to rust or get stolen. We want to leave our replacements with a good system, so we are doing our best to get our arms around the whole situation and put a program in place to track where they are and have the apartment inspections include a bike inspection.
As I mentioned, just before Micah's family arrived in Sweden, we drove to Malmö to assist with the zone conference meal. We discovered there (and have had it confirmed in Vaxholm) that seagulls are rather careless about where they lay and hatch their eggs. When we arrived in Malmö, we went to the church building to drop off some packages and orders for the missionaries. Elder Harris was there and pointed out to us that a young, flightless, seagull was walking up and down the sidewalk next to the building. Going out to get a closer look, he was threatened by two adult gulls who swooped down just above his head, screaming as only angry gulls can. It sent him running for his life.
The next day, Olivia, wanted pictures of the little bird and got similar treatment, but wasn't as intimidated, so they couldn't chase her. I ventured out and tried to get a video of the little guy and the attacking parents. This is as good as I could get.
Saturday, for our last sightseeing experience with Micah's family, we traveled to the Vaxholm Fortress, where a little seagull was strolling up and back along a wall that is visited by hundreds of people every day. Above it was the ever watchful mother screaming and swooping down at people most of the day. Really, Mrs. Seagull, is that the best place to take your little child for exercise?
We traveled to Malmö on Tuesday, June 5, spent the night to be available the next day. Wednesday, we finished setting up the tables for the conference, got the food and served the missionaries. We headed home as soon as we could get away in order to be at the airport the next day to welcome Micah's family.
Before they arrived, we arranged to meet up with one of the returned missionaries who had served in the office for several transfers when we first arrived. Elder Chugg was a mighty missionary with a great sense of adventure and fun. He was in town with his parents, having just become engaged to be married. It was nice to see him again and to brag about him to his parents.
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| Elder Chugg in 2016 wearing the piñata I had made for Elder Clouse's birthday party. He was also the one who got the Ford van out of the snow that year, so we could get back home. |
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| Elder Chugg with his parents at the restaurant. I am always surprised at how young the missionaries' parents are. I guess it has been a few decades since our children served their missions. We were younger, then, too. |
Our son Micah and his family (including Teri, Camille's mother) arrived at the airport about 7:00 PM. They had been in the air, or in the Paris airport nearly 20 hours, and everyone was exhausted. I don't think they fully recovered in the 10 days they were in Scandinavia. Still, everyone except Micah II (known affectionately as "Bear" or "Micah Bear" who was happy not to be in a plane, but still tired and hungry) were happy to see us and thrilled to be in Sweden.
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| Micah was first through the doors from the baggage claim area. |
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| The rest of the family followed right behind him. Front to back are Nigel, Bradley (proud of my namesake), Micah II (in the stroller, can't see him too well), Camille and Teri |
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| We were going to have breakfast together the next day because they got in too late to buy breakfast food. No one got up, however, until quite late, so it ended up being more of a lunch. |
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| We were on our way to the Viking Farm, but you can't expect a 2- year old to simply pass by a playground that is on the way |
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| A carved fence post with Grandma A. |
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| The knowledgeable Viking guide is actually a graduate in comparative religion and very knowledgeable of Viking life, customs and, of course, religious observances. |
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| Little Micah Bear in the sleeping quarters |
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| Bradley, too. Behind him a replica of an actual illustration of the travels of a Viking man recorded in a historical document. |
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| The sheep are friendly |
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| Nigel and Bradley by Gunnes' runestone |
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| The Gunnes stone gave the Viking farm its name. |
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| Bradley and Nigel climb on the stone |
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| This one kept pushing MII Bear around. |
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| The others happily accepted his offering of grass. |
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| The swine are roughly the size and breed that would be in a real Viking farm |
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| Group shot at the farm |
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| The mandatory shot under the Viking ship in the meadow near our apartment |
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| The boys re-discovered the trolls in the forest |
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| that Ollie discovered when Hannah's family was here. |
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| MII Bear in the ferns |
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| Taking the path from the forest back to the ship and home. |
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| Enjoying wonderful weather, well-done burgers and picnic fare at home. |
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| Ice cream good enough to lick the bowl. |
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| Skansen with Gammy (Teri) and Camille. |
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| Inside one of the re-created shops. |
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| Ice cream always sooths a tired boy. |
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| A windmill brought in from Öland |
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| Skansen is the first outdoor museum in Europe. Founded in the late 1800s, they brought in farmhouses, shops, a church, and lots of other items that represent Sweden, so people could come and get a feel for the country. |
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| MII found a peacock |
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| that obviously needed a personal visit. |
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| Nigel in front of the reindeer exhibit. Enlarge to see the deer. |
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| More than one use for cotton candy! |
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| The glass blowing shop takes the shards, tumbles them so there are no sharp edges and puts them outside the shop for children to find special pretty pieces. |
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| Or just play in like sand at the beach. |
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| Or just enjoy the feel of it. |
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| Nigel found a tree to explore while waiting for Mom and Grandpa to bring the cars back from the parking lot. |
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| Nigel, Micah, Bradley and Teri patiently wait while sitting in the stroller. |
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| We ended the day at the Täby Kyrka enjoying the art of Albertus Pictus that is preserved so well, there. |
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| Picnic at the Gamla Kyrka in Uppsala |
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| Micah's family inside the Gamla Kyrks |
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| With Micah Bear who found a toy in the children's section |
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| At the bell tower near the church |
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| MII who walks no where. He went from crawling to running full speed. |
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| Bradley in the cemetary |
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| Camille on the hillside behind. National Day had just been celebrated, so the flags were still out. |
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| Near the church is a Viking burial site. The large hill behind us is man made. It contains the remains of just one, obviously prominent, person. There are three such mounds here. |
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| At the doors of the Dom Kyrka in Uppsala |
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| This is the first time we had been able to enter or exit these doors. The front doors were closed due to a concert that was about to begin. |
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| Micah's family with Teri in front of the Dom Kyrka. It is the largest cathedral in Scandinavia |
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| Near the bell tower of the castle. Teri, Camille, & Micah |
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| Bradley stares down a cannon that overlooks the castle gardens. Unfortunately, it had not rained for several weeks, so the grass is yellow. |
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| There was a special presentation of Pippi Lonstocking at the Junibacken when we visited. |
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| One of the favorite features of the Junibacken is the tilted wall mirror. |
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| Lying on the floor with these objects and looking at the mirror above, gives the impression that you are dangling from the ceiling. |
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| Preparing to ride the Story Train |
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| In the Pippi Longstocking room, Bradley wanted to try some of the antics of the actress who played the part. |
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| Nigel on Pippi's horse |
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| His brothers also like the idea |
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| atop the giant ape |
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| And the friendly dragon |
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| Bradley making the attempt to ascend the ape |
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| What grandpas do at a children's museum |
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| And what 2-year olds do. |
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| At the Stora Torget in old Stockholm |
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| Riding the endless esclator in Central Station |
Scenes inside the Medieval Museum:
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| A display of the games and toys of the period. |
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| In the gift shop |
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| At the grounds of the Royal Palace with the guard behind |
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| Drinking from the fountain in Stora Torget |
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| Recycling plastic bottles at 1 Krona each |
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| The machine gives you a receipt |
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| That can be used to pay for candy from the hundreds available in the ICA Maxi supermarket. |
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| Lunch at Stadsmission Cafe. Love the quiche! |
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| Last day we took the ferry (see the circular mirror) to the Vaxholm Fortress. |
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| Where boys can play on anything they find. |
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| On the ground and safe! |
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| And the medal to prove it |
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| It says ,"I dared to take the walk," or words to that effect. |
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| On top of the tower |
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| Between walls |
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| Enjoying the best ice cream in Sweden! |
I will save the action that took place during the time Micah's family were in Denmark for the next post. It will tie in better there.
We love having this family visit and we miss them already. We still haven't figured out a date certain for our return home. Visas are being held up for some unknown reason, so missionaries are having to wait in the US until they arrive; usually until the next transfer, which is six weeks. We hope that won't happen to our replacements, but if the trend continues, we may stay a few days longer. We are waiting to see what happens with the senior couple who should have been here on the 19th. It may indicate a precedent. Or not.
