it's growing

Hello everyone.

Here is the actual reason for our move to Sweden.

Many of you already knew but now it's official.

The due date is September 22 and then we are expecting two boys, yes we are having twins!

Today at the midwife we could hear the heart beat :-) It was great! We are looking forward to meeting them!

I love swedish summer

 11:15 pm, still not dark outside but time for bed

 3:38am, not all that dark either and time to visit the bathroom

Past weekend we went to Norrköping to celebrate mother's day! We were staying in the summer house that my family is taking care of and it was a great weekend to just relax and enjoy! Summer was visiting us with warm and nice weather. May is for sure the best month of the year with all the flowers and all the green. It's funny though how the temperature can change! The day after we came back to Märsta it was down to 10°C. Today the clouds are dark and heavy, don't think it will take long before they show their ability. But that is all part of Swedish summer -you'll never know what you get...

 Fun details from the house. Old wallpapers, as it should be in a summer house! And a picture that has been in our house since I was a kid, a Swedish version of when Jesus made water into wine.

What have happened? -A lot has happened!
Kenneth arrived safely to Sweden, he and a friend was driving the 3000km from Thassos to Stockholm in two and a half days.
We now live in Märsta, a northen suburb to Stockholm.
Kenneth got a fulltime job in Märsta where I as well am working 15 hours a week. Our workplace has also provided with this appartment, fantastic! It's Gods grace how doors has been opened for us.
We also have the privileged to share the appartment with Josefina. Josefina is the niece of Kenneth that came to Stockholm in April because of a work opportunity. She's a easy going and fun person. We don't see too much of her though, since she's working fulltime and is dedicated to her exercises on the climbing wall.

Look at this, our new home! Nice and homy isn't it! We are very thankful for generous friends and family that has given us furnitures needed to make this our home!
Starting to get settle and feeling good. Still keeping our eyes opened for something of our own though, since we're now are renting through our work. But it is hard to think of moving now that we got it in order.

 

That was the nice and tidy pictures, the ones that makes us feel at home and organized. :-)
Truth is though that not all the boxes are unpacked yet... And everything didn't get that organized yet...
Our balcony (and all the windows) are in the north overviewing a big parking. In the hall we don't have a hanger but only two screws on the wall and a chair that you are lucky if you can sit in :-)
But it will all come together sooner of later, every thing has to take it's time.

 

Long time no see

Now I have been in Sweden for two weeks already. Kenneth is still in Greece and the move will not be complete until he is here as well. I miss him! but Harald and I have arrived safely.
We had a long trip, leaving Thassos at seven in the morning and arriving in Norrköping 20 hours later. But all went well.
Then I've been staying with mom so I've been well cared for. She's making sure I never need to be hungry and Harald is also happy with her hospitality, he's enjoying the fresch fish.
I been busy getting registrated, visiting different offices and getting an insurance for the car Kenneth will use to get our stuff home. Then we celebrated the easter time (with way to much candy, sad to say but in Sweden I think easter is mostly about candy... or maybe it's just me...) But it's also a time to enjoy time with family and foremost to remember the life and forgiveness that is given, reconciliation with God and that is great!
But now I left Harald with mum and made my way to Stockholm where I will be working some and hopefully have time to meet with some friends.

In Greece Kenneth is busy taking care of a team from a bibelschool. And if you want to know more of what's going on down there you can look at the link below. The team has a blog and will give you some updates of what they are up to. It's all in Swedish though.
grisfraelsarna.blogg.se

I'll miss you Thassos

Since this is my last weekend in Greece :-( , tomorrow I'm off for Sweden :-) we were having a small goodbye party Friday night. It was a bit sad but great to meet with everyone and have a time to say "I'll miss you". Kenneth and I been cooking and baking so that our tummies also would enjoy the evening. I made "Swedish cubes" as someone called them (filled with ham, youghurt, majonais and wasabi, they turned out well if I may say so) and then we had other bits and pieces. I really didn't expect to get anything but to just enjoy the evening together. But they were overwhelming me/us with gifts and sweet words. Thank you everyone! I'm happy we were able to have this time together!

And I'm very happy for my time in Greece. I've met lots of lovely people, learned to live in the moment, seen new thing of God, understand new sides of myself, been enjoying the beautiful landscape... I'll always carry a piece of Greece in my heart.

Greek spring

Many people have been asking about what the spring is like down here.
Me myself I don't think it's as much spring as you expect it to be in Greece, it has been many cold and gray days and you have to keep your shirt and jacket on.
This past week, however, the sun started to show itself and it's lovely! It immediately becomes warm and pleasant, sometimes I even had to take my jacket off. Young people go, as young people like to do, in the t-shirt and do not want their jackets but it's not really that warm in the air. But as I said, in the sun, it is very nice!
The main difference from Sweden I think is that the temperature remains mild even at night and this welcomes life into flowers and trees. I were walking around in our neighbourhood and documented a proportion of all spring splendor that dressed our island for the the National Day, which yesterday was celebrated with parades and partys.

This flower is a sign that it is almost Easter, it is marvelous, delicate and colorful. You can find big areas full of this beauty, but this lonely one is growing in our garden.
And then a couple of pictures of the neighbors down from our house. The little lamb bleats to catch up with the rooster crowing. The donkey is, however, mostly quiet and seems to be a gentle creature.

Another sign of spring is our first barbecue on the balcony that we enjoyed last weekend.
And! the snow is gone from the mountains. :-)

The last box

We already done a lot of packing. Still some left but when we get a truck that will take our stuff we are ready to load. I realized some days ago though that I need some papers from a binder (papers I need to get a job)... The papers are in one of the boxes... but which one? Today we moved them all around, opened them and well it was not in the last box left to look inside -it was in the third last one...

Ok lesson learnd: don't pack your important paper!

Saturday night

One of the things that we really gonna miss from Thassos is the wonderful kids at floorball!

It's the highlight of the week! It's loud and messy, they all speak greek and we don't... But it's great fun! They are all very enthusiastic and someone always try to trick us and stay on the field to play some extra when it's time to let the other team play. It's about 15-20 kids in age range of 10-17, a great bunch of kids.

The poster says:

Hockey on floor, Saturday 18:00, School gym hall, Limena, Thasso

We play for fun! For free. Get ready!

Sweden awaits

As fast as we decided to move to Greece, we have now decided that we are going back to Sweden. Of course it is with mixed feelings. We love the people and the church here on the island, friends that we have made. We have learned to find our way around and understand more and more.
We hope we have made a difference during our time here, that we have meant something for the church and the people we met. They say they will miss us so we have probably done something good :-)
But it also feels good to get back to Sweden and our loved ones back home.
I'm not sure what to expect but a few things has fallen into place. The other day Kenneth got a job in Norrköping for the summer that might become something more than just a summer job. We used to live in Stockholm so it would also have been nice to come back to our church and friends there, but I (Lena) have my family in Norrköping so I really enjoy that we will get close to them, especially my dear mother.
And I'm looking forward getting home to the country of liver pate, "falukorv", "polly", salmon and other goodies :-)
I am going now in less then three weeks, on the 2nd of April I have a flight for me and the cat. Kenneth has to stay a bit longer to finish up some things.

First class done

We just said good bye to our visitors. We have had a great night with good fellowship and teaching.
"5 x 2 hours of our lifes and 5 x 2 hours with the word of God" as Dimitri said.
We began in Luk 24 about the men on their way to Emmaus. They met Jesus himself and still they had the truth revealed to them from the word! So we then continued with bibelverses that was talking about how God is revealed in the scripture.
The buns were good and many other brought other sweets and crackers so we had plenty enough! Looking forward to Thursday when we will meet again!

Άλφα και Ωμέγα

This coming Sunday we as a church are having the first class in a short serie about faith. And since it's all about God allmighty, Jesus Christ and He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the all inclusive so to say, we are calling the classes "Alpha and Omega".
We want to do it in the same spirit as the Alpha course that many of you might know about but we don't have enough time before the season begin to use the actuall Alpha material. Most people here are involved in the turism somehow and because of that they will all be busy from easter on.
But as in the Alpha course we are having some time for fellowship and treats -so today I'm making "sugar buns" that I hope will turn out well enough to enjoy on Sunday.
And things that we been keeping on hold because they are so boring we now got motivated to do... like cleaning :-) and then I mean big time cleaning. Like the ceiling in the bathroom that's becoming black in the winter because of all the humid. Good job, Kenneth! He took this delicate job as his responsability.

Buns did turn out well, now we have to keep ourselves from eating them all before Sunday.

Ceiling in process. Kenneth has sprayed it and scrubbed it
and is now waiting for the detergents to do it's magic.

2 recipes to enjoy

Every Sunday after church we have a meal together.
It's great to have some time for fellowship and a good way to not have to worry to much about cooking on Sunday. Sometimes one bring something and another time someone else (most of the time Marjo has made something though- she is the super mother number one). It also make us plan better, doing the cooking on Saturday and then just eat and enjoy when Sunday is coming.
Anyhow this past Sunday I was doing this "Chickpeas from Marrakech" from the Swedish cook book "Kärlek, Oliver och timjan" by Systrarna Bergenström. If I may say it myself it was realy good so here is the recipe :-)

For 4-5 people

6-8dl home cooked chickpeas or 2 cans of cooked
150g spinach or chard
1 heaped tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried mint
1/2 tsp chili flakes
2 medium yellow onions
5 peeled garlic cloves
1 red or yellow pepper
1 can of whole tomatoes
2-3 tbsp olive oil
2 cups water
1 tsp salt
3-4 tbsp chopped cilantro
lemon wedges

Chop the green spinach or chard leaves (cut off rough center nerves). Measure out all the spices in a small dish. Set all this aside.

Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Core and slice peppers. Share the tomatoes into rough chunks.

Heat a little oil in a wok, add garlic and onion and stir. Fry 1-2 minutes, add all spices and stir again. Raise the heat a little. Add the chopped peppers and chickpeas. Cutter for a further 2 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes with tomato broth. Pour into water and salt. Cook everything for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the spinach gently. Season to taste. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with rice, couscous or bulgur and lemon in generous wedges.

And recipe number two is the most simple recipe and delicious that I found online today. Thank you Jens Schedin for adding it to Tasteline.

Pasta with tuna and pesto
0.5 jar sour cream
1 can tuna in water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp pesto
1 garlic clove
1 pinch sea salt
1 pinch black pepper from the mill

Heat the sour cream in a pan. If you use tuna in water, pour off all the water from the tuna. Add the olive oil to the sour cream. Add the pesto when it begins to simmer and then the garlic. Grind some black pepper over. Salt possible.
Add the freshly cooked pasta and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Serve with the tomatoes with a little balsamic vinegar and some good bread.

new colors

A couple of weeks ago Marjo and myself (Lena) made a trip to Thessaloniki.
We had a great time with shoping and lots of good food, time to talk and we went to the cinema!
We were feeling very spoiled and enjoyed every minut of it!
Our main goal with the shoping was to find something new for the church -we felt it needed some colors.
We first went to Leroy Merlin and was looking at their fabrics and curtains -no they didn't have anything we thought would fit. Soon enough we moved on to Ikea and this is where we did our serious shoping :-) We already had a new cover for the sofa (that me and Kenneth didn't need anymore since we moved out of our appartment). We can't say we had a lot of options but in the end we where happy with what we bought. All we really bought was fabric for the cushions -but I was busy for a few days making them. And! we bought lamps. The old ones was in really bad condition and in a couple of rooms there was no lamps at all.
In the hall we chose a pink color that was nice with the gray we already had. In the church hall we needed blue since we thought that it is the best to go with the brown in there.
After making the cushions we were planing to paint one of the walls in the "hall". We had in mind to do it in another pink color but then we thought it might be to much pink so we made it green. We like it.
(Unfortunately the blind is broken and we can't get it up so we still haven't seen the new color in daylight.)

Is it worth it?

Wednesday and time for the teen gathering.
Neither I nor Kenneth think of ourselfs as youth leaders, but we think it's fun when a bunch of young people are coming to church! It's worth our time here.
Last week it was only three (but of course, three very precious ones), we played some games and Kenneth was asking what they're passionate about. What is it that engages? Are you taking the time to learn about and give time to what you think is important.

Yes a good question to ask yourself. How small you might think your influence in society is, one can still make a difference. And if not to make a difference for others you make a difference in you own life, knowing you have done what is right. You have followed your own heart.

And two days later, my own challenge arrived in the mail. I got a cd from a friend -Hold on. A cd that has sprung up from a passion, a burden for others. Nefarious/ Exodus Cry that produced this cd is an anti- trafficking organization.
To me it's easy to let it pass, I have no real reference points so it is difficult to understand. But at the same time you can not ignore it when you see it, read about it or listening to the lyrics of this cd. What is a far away emotion for me is real life for someone else.

"Justice will fall down like rain. He will break every chain. Don't you think for a moment He doesn't see your pain. If He can carry the weight of the world on His shoulders I know that He'll be able to carry you through There's a hope that's growin' even though it goes unspoken, there's a future that's golden, just keep on holdin' /restoratioin's for the broken, recordin' no regret. Don't give up, it's not over yet, we carry your burden in intercession, let's reflect."

Stole a picture from Nasias Facebook.

Cradle of civilization?

I have friends who are missionaries in Africa's deepest jungle. Compared to them I often feel very privileged - thinking of all one have access to.
But it does not always feels like one lives in the "cradle of civilization" ... It is not without that many times in Greece I rather feel like a couple of decades behind in time -when you see an old man load firewood on his donkey or how other hard work is done by hand.
This week the water froze on the property where we live. Pilidis had no water and that's when you realize how much water you use! First of all for drinking and cooking, then to do the dishes, and you want to wash yourselves including your clothes -you want to be able to flush the toilet every now and then... I'm telling you, it's a lot of water in one day! Water that we have collected from down town and the from the neighbors. It has not been any great trouble for me and Kenneth, we handle the most of our needs downtown in the church -both when it comes to cooking and visits to the toilet. The real hero is Marjo, wife and mother of tree teenagers. Well, water is of course easy to get when you have a car. But last Thursday it was the children's prayers that was heard, it was thick with snow on the ground and with the steep hill leading down from our house it was not thinking about getting anywhere with the car. But the kids were up and out faster than ever, ready to have fun and play in the snow. And Limenas was beautifully dressed in white beneath our feet. And while donkeys and man power brings my thoughts to olden times, it is also in some way characteristic for the good life. A life where you do not consume more than you need, where time will take its course and where each person's contribution makes a difference.
This morning the snow was gone, it has been raining all night -life returns to normal, the water pipes have defrosted and we were able to flush the toilet again.

I am grateful for what I otherwise take for granted. (sorry, I don't have any pictures of snow or happy, playing children...)

Our trip through the camera lens

Our first stop was England. We stayed with friends that Lena met in Brussels 15 years ago when she was there working as a nanny. Nigel was in the same cell group and now we also got to meet his beautiful family! We also met another couple from the same cell group that also are back in the London area now. They took us around the city and showed us everything that a turist needs to see :-) And we had a nice "Fish and chips" together. Good meeting you all again!
Unfortunately, I have no good pictures of these friends as well as others we met during the trip but failed to get a picture of (Pleace excuse the bad picture quality on some pictures. I, Lena, has taken most of the pictures but have not quite learned yet to handle light settings, etc.
Below a picture of St. Paul Cathedral and the Salvation Army headquarters, where my father used to work for more than 40 years ago.

When we arrived to Sweden we had a few days of snow
-not much but we did have some snow!
Hans is getting our tree from the forest. Good job Hans!

By Christmas all the snow was gone but we had a nice time anyway.

Dimitri arrived to Sweden
and we where happy to take him to all the sights in Stockholm.

I'm also happy my neice was able to join us for our "Sweden tour". She came with us for about 10 days and must have been very tired when it was time for school again :-) (since all of us where tired after this week)

Met up with Bennit (a sweet lady, a former colleague to Kenneth and a great supporter of our job in Thassos) at a "New Year race" in Vallentuna. Her son did a good job and ended up as 5th runner.

Being so near Brottby we thought we might visit the Schut family. We found them on their way from the airport (thay been in Holland to visit family on the Christmas brake) and still we where invited for a lunch in their house. What a lovely hospitable family!

For the second year running we celebrated the New Year with Ristholm. A nice tradition. Ristholm stayed in Thassos for a few months last winter so it was good to have time together again. And we enjoyed Carina's good cooking and artistic touch on everything during the night.

1 of January we celebrated Sunday service in New Life.
Kenneth was part of the worship team
(every one on stage has been visiting us in Greece,
everyone but Andrea- it's a sign Andrea, you got to come visit us!)

Dimitri was learing the Swedish word fika (coffee and sweet).
In New Life we always have fika before the sermon begins.

And Dimitri was preaching on coming to your braking point,
that is when God realy can break through.

Lenas best time in Sweden was here in Eskilstuna when she got to meet her sweet Louise! (Lena and Louise were sharing a flat for seven years)

From the team that was visiting us in May we got to meet three lovely faces. Josefin was one of them. At first we didn't get the chans to meet but then she came up with this brilliant idea, she came with us in the car as we were going from Stockholm to spend our last days in Örebro. We had a few hours together before she took the train back home.

On our way to Örebro we visited the uncle and aunt of Lena.
Dimitri is shown one big bible.(above).

In Örebro we where staying with friends that has been to Thassos many times and feels like part of our church down in Greece (down). Now we where able to visit thier church.

We also got the chance to meet up with friends from Göteborg that was in town

Preparing for Greek night. We're making some good greek treats mmm sovlaki, tzatsiki, feta...

Our last night before arriving to Greece we where staying in the lovely bed and breakfast, Grange Guest house in Bishop's Stortford, a beautiful British town.