Having Fun and Storming the Castle

The week of May 21 through 26 we traveled to the south to inspect apartments, met the other senior couples for a few days' retreat, and then returned home. This past week we traveled north to inspect apartments, met with the Youngbergs to assist with the zone conference, then returned home. We try at the end of each week to be back to attend church in our assigned ward. By the time we finished our travels we had inspected 19 apartments, repaired chairs, tightened bed legs, replaced broken toilet seats, made black-out blinds more functional, assembled bicycles, replaced mattresses, sucked silverfish down the vacuum cleaner, replaced a vacuum, gave directions about defrosting freezers, instructed how to keep the emergency food bin current, and left 18 messages about personal revelation (one set of elders had a chance to teach a lesson before we would have time to leave a message) and drove from the very bottom of the country to the very top of the mission. What an amazing assignment we have!

Elder Grover who just left Uppsala, with
Elder Beckman in Landskrona

We got good help assembling the two bikes
for the Malmö sisters. Here are Elders Waters
Harris and Wilkenson

Helping me is Elder Harris. The other
bike has Elders Wilkenson and Waters
at the chapel in Malmö

Elder Barney made sure
he was not left out

The Lund sisters with a full white board
of reminders and goals. Sisters Payne
and Mendenhall in Lund

Elders Malone and Bjornn in Kristianstad
 keep each other on track with their
losses circles. They are going to change it
to wins, somehow.

When Olivia asked to see their emergency food
bin, they found it full of silverfish. Here Elder
Warnick disposes of the ones that were embedded
in the toilet paper roll with the vacuum cleaner.

Elders Warnick and Young with another impressive
whiteboard in Kristianstad.

Sisters Woodman and Pesci in Karlskrona
at the most generous ice cream shop in
the country.

Elders Hughes and Carter with the quadrant
illustration used by Elder Renlund when he
instructed the missionaries. They serve in
Växjö

In January, Sister Pickett's mother sent her a package. It arrived after she had returned home, so she asked that it be given to Sisters Neilsen and Johnson, both of whom had been her companions. They now serve together in Sundsvall

Elders McCarl and Black at the wall of
motivation. Actually, we grimaced at
seeing this because tape destroys walls,
but we had to admit that this is a wall
that truly motivates a disciple of Christ

They wanted a picture with us in their
apartment in Sundsvall, as well.

Elders Steele and Hansen in Örnskoldsvik
with R2D2 (who actually chirps when you
push its soft belly. It's how Elder Hansen
says "good night").

The classic photo in the Umeå elders'
apartment with Elders Wilson and
Beveridge. The old sign from the chapel
behind them.

Soft, new mattresses!

With Sisters Cook and Kenworthy in Umeå

Elders Eardman and Jarman
in Boden, just 134 kilometers
(under 84 miles) from the Artic
Circle.

We forgot to get a picture of Sisters Botita
(L) and Back in their apartment, but captured
them in the zone conference. We repaired
their wardrobe door handle in Luleå

Elders Lewis and Strong in Skellefteå
now have a car, so they quite willingly
gave up their bikes, so we could give
them to deserving elders elsewhere.

The senior missionary retreat was in the Kalmar area, this time. We were joined by President and Sister Youngberg for the entire time, which is unusual as they are usually so busy elsewhere that they can only stay for a short time.

We had been to the Kalmar castle before, but this time we had a very knowledgeable guide. The castle also features interesting displays that change from time to time. Last visit, we saw the work of a children's author and illustrator. This time there was a traveling display of a fraction of the works of Leonardo DaVinci  which was fascinating.

We also went back to the Öland island to see parts we had not seen the last time we were there. We were not disappointed. The rapeseed fields were in full bloom, the windmills were numerous, we climbed the highest lighthouse in Scandinavia, and saw hundreds of migrating birds. We also came across the recreated fortress that once housed communities from the Vikings through the Middle Ages.

We thank Elder Hales for these dramatic shots of the castle at night.

At dinner in the city of Kalmar. (R front to back) Elders
Whitehead, Hales, Pres. Y, Kelley, Donohoo, Johnson and me.
(L front to back) The elders' wives in the same order.

The group in front of the castle

The lighthouse is called Långe Jan (Long
John in English), literally Tall Jan because
of its reputation of being the highest in
Scandinavia.

A view from the top

It was cold and windy that day.

Olivia took pictures from every side, once we had climbed to the top

Even a better view

On the seaside is a protected bird sanctuary
where hundreds of species pass through in
their migratory journeys.

Windows as we climbed up the stairs inside

The grounds had some interest,
as well.

A goose, like in the story
of Nils,and his little shoes
they found when he was 
gone. It looked like 
someone should ride it.

People tell us the colors of the Swedish flag come from the blue
ocean and the yellow rapfrön or rapeseed blooms. We had to
stop for this beautiful scene.

Up close

Elder Johnson had been
hobbling all this trip with
a torn Achilles tendon for
which he wore a special
boot. Elder Kelley steadies
him as he climbed a
rise to get this shot. 

The Viking/Medieval fortress from a distance

Olivia and Elder Hales getting the shot

This recreated fortress had part of the wall
already in place. The ruins and archeology
show that it had been inhabited from Viking
times through the Middle Ages. Here Viking
buildings are reconstructed.

A Viking storehouse

Medieval buildings reconstructed on the
other side of the fortress 

The Johnsons

Öland is famous for its
windmills

And for Viking burial grounds
such as this where there are
stone markers and a grave site
with stones in the shape of a ship.

This site has both

As we traveled to and from the retreat, we took advantage of the area of the country known as the Crystal Kingdom (Glasriket), because of the glass industry that used to flourish here. The industry was established in 1742 when the king of Sweden imported German experts to set up shop in Småland where forests were abundant and there was high quality sand for glass making. It turned out that the sand is not as high a quality as that of other nations, so today it is imported from Belgium. Today there are only a few glass works still operating. Only a couple are still producing glass for general use; most are artists who are recognized world experts in their field. We went to the only school still in existence to watch the students practice, visited with one artist and were lucky enough to see another at work. We also visited the last workshop where paper is made by hand and found the oldest wooden church still in existence.

Carlos Pebaque' was a refugee from
Uruguay as a young man, having
fled the country after friends were
executed. He found his calling here
and is now a world class glass artist. 

His shop is filled with
beautiful glass

More of his art. We could only afford a
beautiful bird. He has developed a unique
method for creating art inside the glass
as it is being blown.

Glasriket is in the rural parts of Småland, so we got to see scenes
like this one.

Micke Johansson creating a beautiful
piece. He tries to preserve a method
of capturing air to create designs in
his pieces. The method was developed
in Örrefors where he was apprenticed.

As we were about to leave, the Kelleys
arrived, so we stayed for another hour
visiting with them.

Micke and his very able assistant in
their workshop on his farm.

With the first piece he created while we watched. the design
is captured air.

In front of the gate into
the churchyard of Granhults
Kyrka, the oldest wooden
church still in use in Sweden.

Most of the original structure dates back to the
13th century. Rooms and other structures have
been added over the centuries since.

The wood is preserved
by a heating method that
brings out the creosote.

You will have to enlarge
to get the full beauty of
these old windows.

The interior lends a sense of reverence
when you consider the sacrifice to create
and preserve the art, language, and history
of this building.

Ceiling art

Wall and window details

There are several carved
pieces that have survived

This one survived the
Reformation because
the parishioners convinced
the powers that be that
it was St. George. In fact,
it is St. Olaf, one of the
famous Catholic missionaries
to Sweden. 

Verses in ancient Swedish cover parts
of the walls and ceiling

The pulpit is still used
by the current priest

The alter piece

Outside with the iconic stone wall
surrounding the grounds. The tower
to the left is the bell tower.

One thing that drivers unfamiliar with any particular area of the
country find frustrating is that when a road is closed and a
detour sign sends you elsewhere, you are on your own from
then on. We stopped here, across from a well-kept churchyard
to find a restroom and study a map.

Next to where we stopped was an old cabin

That had been owned and inhabited by
this woman from 1859-1952

A picture of the interior through a window.

It is a good thing we stopped at this little wide spot in the road. We finally found where we were on the map and discovered that just past the church was the road we needed to take to get back to our destination. If we had continued on, we would have had a major delay.

In preparation for our trip to Norrland last week, we were finally able to communicate enough with the popular kebab/pizza shop where many of the missionaries go for lunch following district meetings. We wanted a lunch with lasagna and salad, but the proprietor spoke no English, so we were not sure we communicated well. We went to the shop between apartment inspections and thought we had everything properly ordered, but just to make sure, we had the zone leaders go and verify. It turned out to be a very filling meal. President Youngberg asked us to give the shop a nice tip, but that is not a usual habit in this country, so we couldn't get him to understand. He thought we were disputing the price. At the lunch, we asked the missionaries to write a note, so we could pay the tip when we took the pans back. That worked and the owner was quite pleased.

Each zone conference we are able to actually attend leaves us in awe of President and Sister Youngberg. They are kind, but not lenient, so the culture of obedience that became the norm during the Beckstrands' time not only continues, but is being built upon. The elders and sisters do much of the training, but you can see that they have been well taught in their Mission Leader Council meetings. When President Y speaks, the missionaries hang on every word because they know his counsel is wise, inspired and experienced.

The chapel in Umeå

The Assistants just asked everyone to
counsel with their companions about
a teaching principle. Elders Eardman
and Jarman, Strong and Lewis

Elder Harden coaches Systers Botita and
Back

Sister Johnson counseling with Sister
Cook. Sister Kenworthy is off camera

Elders Strong and Lewis, Black
and McCarl

Sister Neilsen talks with Elder Berlin

Olivia visits with Pres. Y.

Sister Johnson talking with Sisters
Kenworthy and Cook. 

Elder Beveridge talks
across the table to Elder
Strong. Next to Elder
Strong are Elders Hansen
and Steele

A view from the other
end of the table.

And then some random pictures of things we saw as we traveled. We stopped at some places and others we shot from the car as we passed by. Few roads have shoulders adequate to pull over, so it requires Olivia to do drive by shootings.

One of the "church towns" in Skellefteå.
These cottages are two story. No church
building remains on this property.

As I have mentioned in earlier blog posts,
these towns were built up when church
attendance was mandatory by law.

People would build or rent these when
travel to church and back took more
than a single day.

A beautiful view behind
the cottages.

The cathedral in Umeå.

One of the ornate doors

This one they have tried to modernize
including this clever statue. 

A modern version of
the wise men bringing
gifts

The organ in the loft above the congregation.

We got back late Friday night, so we missed seeing Sydney Reynolds who came back to Sweden after visiting with us in December, as she had to catch a plane back to Germany where she teaches school. Her traveling companion, Emily Jolliffee who also came with her last time, was able to stay for a few hours with us on Saturday before having to catch a plane back to England. It was fun to connect with her again. She is always, talkative, cheery, and daring. We went back to the Viking farm, Gunnes Gård, but this time there were people there to talk about the things they were doing. It was a brief, but fun visit.

The rune stone after which the farm
is named was erected by Gunne
in memory of his daughter and
her husband.

Emily by the pig pen.
This breed of swine is close to that raised by the Vikings. They
are small and quite hairy.

On Sunday, I was again asked to help administer the sacrament in Swedish. I gave the blessing on the water and stumbled only a time or two. I also bore my testimony, but not in Swedish. A woman who bore her testimony before me is originally from Chile. Her father was a political opponent of the dictator which broke up the family, so she was thankful for beautiful Sweden. She listed such things as raspberries, potatoes, trees, flowers, etc. It reminded me of a letter from our granddaughter, Scout, that I keep in my scripture bag. The letter instructs Olivia and me that she "neeeeds" us to eat herring, but that we must not eat salty licorice, because it sounds disgusting. I shared part of the letter in my testimony, because I am grateful for this beautiful country, as well - including salty licorice.

Several people told me that my pronunciation of the Swedish words in the sacrament prayer were very accurate. It was a nice compliment, but it made me sorry that I didn't try harder to learn the language. I made it my goal to understand as much as I could, but gave up trying to speak it.

Sorry for the delays in getting the last couple of posts out. This week our son Micah and his family are coming to visit, so I can't make any rash promises about being better next week. I will do my best.