That's Life...Part One

Those of you who follow our lives on this blog know that sometimes we post frequently, and sometimes we post...well, less frequently. I guess it depends upon how much time and energy we have at the end of our day. The last two weeks have seemingly flown by with a near frenetic pace. I thought I might give all of you an insight into how we are now spending our days of the week.

Sunday:
Rise and prepare ourselves to go to Elim Church, which is about a 45 minute journey via public transportation. Every other week I (Michael) help the church with a fledgling Sunday School program. It is difficult to entice Swedes to desire to study their Bibles, as they are much more 'existential' (i.e., feeling) than are Americans. So we have been averaging nearly 20 in attendance over the two times we have met since we launched the program at the end of March. It is a bit tough, however, to keep any sort of continuity in discussions due to the changing schedules and priorities. For example, the first Sunday we had 25 people. The next Sunday we had 15, and except for one person, it was an entirely different group. We meet for our third time this Sunday, so who knows? We shall see!

One thing the churches do here that is great is called 'fika'. Fika is always after church and lasts nearly an hour (or two) and consists of sitting down and conversating over coffee and pastries (or open-faced sandwiches with butter, cheese, and cucumbers). Kids can have 'saft' to drink, which is a poor substitute for Kool-Aid. Apparently Emma Kate likes it, as last Sunday she proudly told us she had drank six glasses of it! Thankfully we were able to make it home before she had to use the WC (that would be 'water closet' to a European, or 'bathroom' to us Americans)! Nevertheless, fika is a great way to get to know people and a bit more relaxed than the typical donut frenzy one might encounter in a church in the States.

Sunday evenings are spent getting the girls mentally & emotionally prepared to go back to school on Monday. The girls truly struggle with their school. Although they like the students, they wish they learned something (honest!). Yesterday Abigail's homework was to write about her favorite TV show, a little tough, since we never watch TV. So she wrote about HGTV (Home & Garden TV on the Dish Network), something she only watches at her Granny & Papa's house.

Monday:
We all rise and have breakfast together, try to read a Psalm, and send Abigail & Caroline to school. Renee begins homeschooling Emma Kate. It is amazing at how well Emma Kate is starting to read! I try to work on preparing the upcoming fall's Bible Study curriculum and a little Swedish. Occasionally I will have an afternoon meeting with Tim, the new believer from England.

Monday evening we all eat together, debrief each other on our day, and answer one of the 'conversation starter' questions that our good friend in Texas, Mary DeMuth created. Here's a link to her blog if you want more info, but they are great questions and stimulate lots of good conversations! After the supper dishes are cleaned up and the girls are ready for bed, we begin our continuing journey through the Bible. Having begun 'in the beginning' last November, we just 'entered the land' with Joshua last night. This also creates lots of opportunities for conversation.

We close our nights together by reading a book and then praying. We just finished "Heidi" and have begun reading an autobiography written by Renee's grandpa, Rev. Archie Cooper. I will blog more on this later, but it has been a fascinating read to date. We read last night about the events of 1947, when the girls' beloved Papa was born. Grandpa Cooper is a 95 year old retired Pentecostal Holiness pastor whose fervor for his Savior and the Church's role in the world is like Moses' eyes at his death, 'neither dimmed nor tired.'

Okay, that's enough for now...more later! --MM☧

Comments

[Linda]

Thanks for the glimpse into your daily life in Sweden. Looking forward to more!