Showing posts with label Sweden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sweden. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Good times with Joakim
Monday September 21, 2009
There are times when we are allowed to experience sweet moments here on Earth, we revel in the presence of God’s Spirit living through people and those people seem to infect all of those around them. I observed a beautiful thing while in Sweden, as we rode a tram filled with people that are commonly known to be lonely in a city jammed with people. But first I must set the scene. First of all, we spent time with Joakim while in Sweden. We met him in 2006 as our Kenya team met with teams from all over the US in Amsterdam. I can’t remember if we knew in advance that there would be one Swede joining us but suddenly this tall, blonde haired, super smiley guy approached us. I don’t recall much else but I do remember that he made an entrance. Not in a loud and obnoxious way, but he captured your curiosity, he was genuinely happy, overjoyed even and in a way that wasn’t common and really forced those around him to sit and stare, it is as if somehow you knew that something either great or absolutely hilarious was about to happen. Our time in Kenya proved to be filled with some pretty hilarious moments with this character; between moments of cultural differences (dropping your pants in mixed company) and hiccups in the English-Swahili-Swedish translations.
Now back to the tram. It actually occurred as we waited for the tram. We sat waiting on a bench, on our way from church to run errands. This little boy with his mom and small baby in a carriage waited near us. The little boy was about 4 or 5 and he played with a plastic strap turned sword. Like your typical boy there were lots of sound effects and usually his sword was severing something or destroying anything in sight. He looked at Joakim and gave him a pretty nasty stare, then he took his “sword” and cut Joakim’s arm off, well in his imagination he did anyway. Now, you all know I love kids, but I don’t necessarily like kids that go around stabbing people with imaginary swords, perhaps it’s the years of education setting, “no real or fake guns” that has trained me to frown upon such things but I would’ve probably frowned a very international frown, communicating my disgust with such behavior and the kid would’ve gone away-end of story. Well, not Joakim, he quickly joined in and grabbed his arm as if the child had really severed it; he grabbed his own “sword” and began playing with this kid. The child smiled and giggled and was having a great time. We all eventually got on the same tram and it continued. The tram was filled with people and we stood next to a couple of young guys, who I quickly generalized as “tough guys” the kind that don’t like interacting with strangers and are just getting from one place to another. Seriously guys, within minutes Joakim and this little boy were making people on the tram smile and giggle, and the guys who I quickly judged were joining in. It was an amazing sight and it was great just being an observer, I watched as a young teenage boy try hard not to enjoy the moment, succumbing to infectious joy on the tram in moments. Guys, it was awesome. What a beautiful difference uncommonly joyful people make on the world.
The bible says that people should know we are Christians by our love. What a challenge that is. I am afraid that often I get so caught up in my schedule and I get stuck on what I believe to be right and wrong that I fail miserably to live up to this call. We had a great few days with Joakim. Had a great, very long conversation with Jackie, a woman we met on one of the islands and later had dinner with. We rode trams and buses and boats all over town. Had great conversations, and decided we could solve the problems of the world in 3 days. Thank you Joakim for being obedient to God’s call in your life, you are truly a blessing to be around and have a contagious joyful spirit, keep transforming those around you. Thank you God for creating a spirit of joy in each of us, help us to find the unique and beautiful in what you have created, to get past our temptation to judge and choose love instead.
By the way, a hilarious thing just happened: We got on another train, on our way to Frankfurt. The guy with the push cart passed us, asking everyone, in Swedish, if they would like something (I imagine). He asked us, and I responded with a polite “no thank you”…are you ready for this? He responds in his best Austrian/American/ Swedish accent “I’ll be back”-Holy cow guys I lost it, I think if he passes by again I might ask if he will do it again, this time we will catch it on film. He said he loves Arnold. Craig called him the Governator-pretty hilarious stuff.
There are times when we are allowed to experience sweet moments here on Earth, we revel in the presence of God’s Spirit living through people and those people seem to infect all of those around them. I observed a beautiful thing while in Sweden, as we rode a tram filled with people that are commonly known to be lonely in a city jammed with people. But first I must set the scene. First of all, we spent time with Joakim while in Sweden. We met him in 2006 as our Kenya team met with teams from all over the US in Amsterdam. I can’t remember if we knew in advance that there would be one Swede joining us but suddenly this tall, blonde haired, super smiley guy approached us. I don’t recall much else but I do remember that he made an entrance. Not in a loud and obnoxious way, but he captured your curiosity, he was genuinely happy, overjoyed even and in a way that wasn’t common and really forced those around him to sit and stare, it is as if somehow you knew that something either great or absolutely hilarious was about to happen. Our time in Kenya proved to be filled with some pretty hilarious moments with this character; between moments of cultural differences (dropping your pants in mixed company) and hiccups in the English-Swahili-Swedish translations.
Now back to the tram. It actually occurred as we waited for the tram. We sat waiting on a bench, on our way from church to run errands. This little boy with his mom and small baby in a carriage waited near us. The little boy was about 4 or 5 and he played with a plastic strap turned sword. Like your typical boy there were lots of sound effects and usually his sword was severing something or destroying anything in sight. He looked at Joakim and gave him a pretty nasty stare, then he took his “sword” and cut Joakim’s arm off, well in his imagination he did anyway. Now, you all know I love kids, but I don’t necessarily like kids that go around stabbing people with imaginary swords, perhaps it’s the years of education setting, “no real or fake guns” that has trained me to frown upon such things but I would’ve probably frowned a very international frown, communicating my disgust with such behavior and the kid would’ve gone away-end of story. Well, not Joakim, he quickly joined in and grabbed his arm as if the child had really severed it; he grabbed his own “sword” and began playing with this kid. The child smiled and giggled and was having a great time. We all eventually got on the same tram and it continued. The tram was filled with people and we stood next to a couple of young guys, who I quickly generalized as “tough guys” the kind that don’t like interacting with strangers and are just getting from one place to another. Seriously guys, within minutes Joakim and this little boy were making people on the tram smile and giggle, and the guys who I quickly judged were joining in. It was an amazing sight and it was great just being an observer, I watched as a young teenage boy try hard not to enjoy the moment, succumbing to infectious joy on the tram in moments. Guys, it was awesome. What a beautiful difference uncommonly joyful people make on the world.
The bible says that people should know we are Christians by our love. What a challenge that is. I am afraid that often I get so caught up in my schedule and I get stuck on what I believe to be right and wrong that I fail miserably to live up to this call. We had a great few days with Joakim. Had a great, very long conversation with Jackie, a woman we met on one of the islands and later had dinner with. We rode trams and buses and boats all over town. Had great conversations, and decided we could solve the problems of the world in 3 days. Thank you Joakim for being obedient to God’s call in your life, you are truly a blessing to be around and have a contagious joyful spirit, keep transforming those around you. Thank you God for creating a spirit of joy in each of us, help us to find the unique and beautiful in what you have created, to get past our temptation to judge and choose love instead.
By the way, a hilarious thing just happened: We got on another train, on our way to Frankfurt. The guy with the push cart passed us, asking everyone, in Swedish, if they would like something (I imagine). He asked us, and I responded with a polite “no thank you”…are you ready for this? He responds in his best Austrian/American/ Swedish accent “I’ll be back”-Holy cow guys I lost it, I think if he passes by again I might ask if he will do it again, this time we will catch it on film. He said he loves Arnold. Craig called him the Governator-pretty hilarious stuff.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Arrived in Gothenburg, Sweden
Friday, September 18th 2009
We are writing while taking the train from Oslo, Norway to Gothenburg, Sweden. Mariella and I had a three hour wait for the Gothenburg train so we walked around Oslo for a few hours. We exited the train station and walked down the main street, Karl Johan’s gate, which runs through the heart of the city. There were loads people walking up and down the store-lined streets. We walked to Slottsparken (a park) to enjoy the sandwiches and fruit that momma Crystal packed for us. After resting at the park a bit, we walked along Bygdoy (a warf) area, there were many restaurants and boats around. From there we explored the medieval fortress called Akershus Festning the fortress was built by King Hakon in 1299, there was an excellent view of the Oslofjord from the top of the fortress. We later learned that During WWII the Nazis used Akershus as a prison and execution ground. After visiting the fortress, we walked back down the main street to the train station. Mariella wanted a small Coke. We spent the last of our Norwegian Kroners on the soda that cost about $5.33. Norway is super expensive!
Now Mariella writing: Actually, we spent the last of our Norwegian Kroners on a chocolate ice cream bar that Craig devoured as I attempted to use up the last 18 Kroners, about $3 US, I got Haribo sour candy and a mini Mars bar and still have 2 Kroners in my pocket . Oslo was pretty cool, but if you travel to this side of the world, Bergen is way more …como se dice, scenic, quaint, not so much LA, but perhaps comparable to Laguna Beach in its coziness and its wealth. We had an awesome time with Crystal and a great few days with her husband Jon Andre. What a blessing it was for us to get a little taste of home. We cooked and cleaned and for a few moments it felt like home, well except for the occasional insane downpours. But really it was an incredible blessing to have spent time together. What a pretty amazing thing; that God would allow me to meet this girl in 2004 in LA, we hung out, had a great time, and 5 years later we get the wonderful opportunity to see her again and totally soak in her hospitable spirit. I also got to read Soul Survivor, well almost all of it, by Philip Yancey and I have a whole lot of stuff whirling around since then, so expect some posts/preaching? Here is one to get you started: I’ve often been asked and have even asked myself this question about the problem of pain. If God is all loving, then why do we experience so much pain and agony here? In Yancey’s book, one of the people he interviews, Dr. Brand, asks “Why do we experience pleasure and joy and happiness?” I thought this was a totally appropriate question. Why not make us numb to the sensation of touch and taste? We don’t really need to smell, or taste in order to survive, so why do we experience these things? C’mon people give me a piece of your mind.
We are writing while taking the train from Oslo, Norway to Gothenburg, Sweden. Mariella and I had a three hour wait for the Gothenburg train so we walked around Oslo for a few hours. We exited the train station and walked down the main street, Karl Johan’s gate, which runs through the heart of the city. There were loads people walking up and down the store-lined streets. We walked to Slottsparken (a park) to enjoy the sandwiches and fruit that momma Crystal packed for us. After resting at the park a bit, we walked along Bygdoy (a warf) area, there were many restaurants and boats around. From there we explored the medieval fortress called Akershus Festning the fortress was built by King Hakon in 1299, there was an excellent view of the Oslofjord from the top of the fortress. We later learned that During WWII the Nazis used Akershus as a prison and execution ground. After visiting the fortress, we walked back down the main street to the train station. Mariella wanted a small Coke. We spent the last of our Norwegian Kroners on the soda that cost about $5.33. Norway is super expensive!
Now Mariella writing: Actually, we spent the last of our Norwegian Kroners on a chocolate ice cream bar that Craig devoured as I attempted to use up the last 18 Kroners, about $3 US, I got Haribo sour candy and a mini Mars bar and still have 2 Kroners in my pocket . Oslo was pretty cool, but if you travel to this side of the world, Bergen is way more …como se dice, scenic, quaint, not so much LA, but perhaps comparable to Laguna Beach in its coziness and its wealth. We had an awesome time with Crystal and a great few days with her husband Jon Andre. What a blessing it was for us to get a little taste of home. We cooked and cleaned and for a few moments it felt like home, well except for the occasional insane downpours. But really it was an incredible blessing to have spent time together. What a pretty amazing thing; that God would allow me to meet this girl in 2004 in LA, we hung out, had a great time, and 5 years later we get the wonderful opportunity to see her again and totally soak in her hospitable spirit. I also got to read Soul Survivor, well almost all of it, by Philip Yancey and I have a whole lot of stuff whirling around since then, so expect some posts/preaching? Here is one to get you started: I’ve often been asked and have even asked myself this question about the problem of pain. If God is all loving, then why do we experience so much pain and agony here? In Yancey’s book, one of the people he interviews, Dr. Brand, asks “Why do we experience pleasure and joy and happiness?” I thought this was a totally appropriate question. Why not make us numb to the sensation of touch and taste? We don’t really need to smell, or taste in order to survive, so why do we experience these things? C’mon people give me a piece of your mind.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)