Black Bears and Background Noise

You know when you see those Bear Alert signs? Do you ever wonder if someone actually saw a bear? Well, I did last week. Twice. And one of those times was looking out the window while eating at Outback Steakhouse. Guess that bear wanted some free meat! I just got back from our directors' conference in Black Mountain, NC. This sleepy little town is a common destination

for many of our CCC conferences, mainly because there are several conference centers that can hold all the staff in the Midsouth region. I joke that if I had the money, I'd buy a house in Black Mt. and rent it out several times a year to different staff families! Wow, I could make some cash...

Other than viewing the wildlife, some of my friends and I took a 5 mile hike that turned out to be straight up the mountain. Now let me tell you, after a morning of straight meetings, getting some exercise seemed like a good idea...until I had to stop every 15 minutes or so to catch my breath and stretch when we were on the trail! But being outdoors in the beautiful October weather reminded me that although I'm a beach girl at heart, the mountains are pretty incredible in the fall. The leaves were just about at peak season and when the sun was setting it bathed everything in this gorgeous golden light. Augh! I wish I were back there now!

It was refreshing to be away from my responsibilities on campus and to be able to reconnect with God. I do some of my best thinking and even get some great ideas when I'm hiking or spending time in nature. Cole, a friend of mine and the director at Duke, gave a devotion on Psalm 131 our last day at the conference. Do I think I have a lot of responsibilities as a director of a large ministry? Yes, but David was King of a powerful nation! There's so much to learn from David in these three verses! As I've reflected on this Psalm, I've thought about how many times I'm like a nursing baby, frantically trying to find provision and even trying to do so by my own means. The times I'm anxious and frantic (like just this morning!) are most often characterized by me trying to control something or someone. I forget I'm just a human and I can't control everything, like David acknowledges when he says, I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. Where does peace come from for David and you and me? O Israel, put your hope in the Lord (not yourself, not your mom, dad, spouse, friend) both now and forevermore. In order to not just glaze over this final verse and lump it into a section of sunday school answers, I began thinking what it looks like in my life when I don't put my hope in the Lord. My life would be great if only...I was married, had lots of money, my staff liked me, was rested, had a house out of Southern Living...and the "if only's" continue. What about you? Is there background noise in your heart that is distracting you, causing you to feel frantic? Why not go take a walk in the woods and hash out Psalm 131 with the Lord. :)

The Faces of Uppsala, Sweden

     A city or country rarely becomes dear to me without meeting the people who live there and call it home.  It is the same with Sweden.  As we’ve spent five weeks in country, the people we’ve met have become dear to us and we desperately want them to know Christ some day.  I thought I’d tell you a couple of their stories. 

     "I want to believe in something...but I just can't," said Emil.   Josh (a Duke student) and Reece (on staff at UNC-W) met Emil, Jonatan, and Eric at one of the nation houses during lunch. When the conversation turned to spiritual things, they learned that Emil is an atheist, "but not a belligerent atheist like Dawkins," and Jonatan and Eric are agnostics, meaning they have belief in some sort of higher power, mainly just to "cover their bases." The law students are great fun and Josh and Reece enjoyed hanging out and cutting up with them. When it was time for them to go study, they expressed a lot of interest in hanging out again.

     Since then, Reece and Josh have been able to hang out with Jonatan. They were able to talk with him about his spiritual beliefs. Near the end of their conversation, Jonatan said that no one is asking these types of questions, but they need to be asked. It’s clear he is thinking about spiritual issues for one of the first times in his life.

     Our first week, we walked around Uppsala University and prayed God would allow us to meet the Swede who would eventually lead the student ministry on campus.  I think if there were ever a student who could be a vibrant leader for Christ on campus, it could be Sophie. 

       Stephanie (on staff at UNC-W) and Emma (a Vanderbilt grad) met Sophie, a self proclaimed agnostic, the first day they stepped foot on Uppsala University's campus. Through various conversations and getting to know Sophie, she has expressed that she believes something is "out there" but she doesn't think it's necessarily God. One night at dinner, Stephanie was able to share how she had experienced the reality of God in her life, which launched into a long conversation about how Jesus impacted her life. Sophie initiated asking her questions like "Why did Jesus have to die?" and "How is God's love shown in Jesus' death." It was so obvious that God had been at work in Sophie's life even though she didn't even acknowledge Him as God. It's been so exciting to watch Him work in her life this summer! Stephanie and Emma spent countless hours with her this summer, partying with her friends, eating dinner with her, hanging out at the lake, etc.  All of us have met Sophie.  You can’t help but be drawn to her bubbly personality.  One day, Stephanie was doing a picture survey we use to get into spiritual conversations with students, and her friend stopped by.  Sophie quickly asked Stephanie, “Can you do the picture survey with her, too?”  I keep thinking how powerful of a witness for Christ she could be on campus if she became a Believer.   She is really considering this faith in Jesus that we profess...please pray for her...that God will help her see the reality of His love for her in Jesus!!

Kladdkaka

I finally found the recipe (after converting from metric measurements) for the Swedish chocolate cake I ate everywhere in Uppsala. It's really yummy, like a gooey brownie of sorts. Hope you try and make it and feel cultured while doing so!

Kladdkaka Recipe:

1 stick of butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2/3 cup flour

3 Tablespoons cocoa

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/4-1/2 cup chocolate (choc chips or baking choc.)

Melt butter in a large bowl in the microwave. Stir or whisk in sugar and then eggs and mix well. Add the flour, cocoa and vanilla and mix well. Break the chocolate into small bits and mix in, pour batter into a round 10 inch spring form pan. Cook at 350 for about 25 min. Keep checking it because ovens vary. (It should be slightly gooey in the center). Let cool and store in the refrigerator if not serving immediately. Garnish with powdered sugar or chocolate syrup (like the one pictured above).

Firenze

Following Rome, we travelled to Florence, about a 2 hr. train ride.  That was the day I felt like I'd lost one of my six senses....

We arrived at the Rome train station to discover there was a "soppresso" beside our train information.  I asked a policeman what that meant and was informed it meant, 

"no train."  Our train was cancelled.  I saw a huge line forming in front of the Eurostar information desk and ran to get in it and figure out what to do.  It was crazy chaos!  A Eurostar employee would come out for a few minutes, people would crowd around him with all sorts of questions in all sorts of languages.  He would get frustrated and announce something in Italian.  I felt like I was battling against something (the crowd and getting another seat on another train) with my hearing gone or something!  I'd have to ask people around me if they spoke English and they'd translate for me.  Here's what I discovered:  a train derailed on the track from Bologna to Florence and that was preventing any trains from going or coming.  No one was sure if we'd even catch a train north at all that day.  Once I found that out, I decided we should at least try and take the one train that was in the station, headed to Florence.  I had no idea if our tickets would be valid or if we'd get thrown off.  Oh well!  So I finally found one last conductor, showed him our tickets, pointed to the train and said, "ok?"  (I'm definitely becoming fluent!)  He let us get on and we were able to make it to Florence finally! 

On the way back, the same thing happened to us and our train was cancelled (yes, we never did get to actually take the trains we had actual tickets for).  This time I was prepared and knew we could jump on another train headed to Rome.  We hopped on, only to discover, mid route, we'd gotten on the train headed the opposite way, to Venice!  While I've always wanted to go to Venice, I really wanted to make my flight back the the U.S. the next day.  So, we got off at the next stop in Bolgona and ended up catching a train back to Rome.  So, we got to add Bologna (or at least the train depot) to our list of places visited!

Enjoy some of the sights of Florence!  It's definitely one of my favorite places I'd choose to live overseas...

View of Florence after climbing 400ish steps to the top of the Duomo

Ponte Vecchio Bridge (this is where all the gorgeous jewelry is sold!)

 View from our hotel room

I saved the best for last: Gelatto!!

Rome if you want to!

I was so glad to get to hotter weather when I landed in Italy.  Sweden and even Germany were cooler than usual this summer, but Rome was HOT!  I hadn't really thought about the fact that Rome was a famous city with lots of tourists...until we set out our first day for Vatican City.  There were tons of people from all over the world everywhere and lines for everything!  It kind of reminded me of touring D.C. in the blazing heat.  I think I'll have to tour other major cities in the cooler months!  It was strange, sometimes, touring a famous city because most of the foreign cities I travel to with students tend to be university cities that aren't quite as famous.  So this was a whole new experience!  Here are just a few of the sights of Rome!

Trevi fountain at night (we threw coins in to insure we'd come back one day!)

Vatican City (it was hugh and I decided being the Pope must be a lonely job)

Allie & I on the Spanish Steps

Of course, I'd pick the Carolina blue moped to drive if I lived in Rome...

Ludvic's neighborhood-Trastevere

Colosseum 

My new artistic inspiration: window box art!

Bonjourno, Roma!

Allison & I at dinner in Rome 

I said goodbye to our staff and students in Munich and boarded a plane for Rome, where I met my sister Karen and roommate Allison for some vacation time in Italy! I was a bit nervous about flying by myself to a country I've never been to. After our team accidentally flew to Siberia a year and a half ago, I'm always a bit weary of flying to a new place, half expecting to land in the wrong place! Karen and Allison's plane arrived early that morning, so I had to ride by myself to the hotel. I wasn't too excited about that, especially since Taken was a popular movie this summer!

As I'm coming out of baggage claim, I see a short Italian man carrying a sign with "Mr. Howell" on it and my hotel. :) I make my way over to him and in broken English he askes me if I'm the only one he's picking up. He then takes my bag and we head out to the car. All my fears melted away on the ride into the city, as Ludvic begins to ask me if I speak Italian. I tell him only English and French, and he tells me I've entered Italian school (his car) and he'll be teaching me Italian on the ride in if I teach him English! So there we are, driving around Rome with him speaking fluent Italian, mixed with French, and me replying in English and French. It was one of the funniest encounters with someone I've ever had and quite possibly my favorite memory of Italy. As we drive into Rome, he drives me all around the sites and explains (in Italian of course) the history behind each site. So, for the rest of my trip, I was constantly realizing, "Oh, that's what he meant" when we toured the famous sites and I read the history in English! But, as always, it's great to meet the locals because he pointed me to some great areas of Rome where he loves to eat (Trastevere). Overall, meeting Ludvic was one of those times God reminded me how worried I was about something and showed me how His provision was so much better than I could have even asked for!

On our last day in Rome, we ran into him again as he was dropping off some guests at the hotel. I said hello to him and he jumped out of his van with a "Bonjourno, signora!". Actually, he jumped out so fast he forgot to put the car in park, and as he was greeting me with a kiss on each cheek, his car began to inch backwards towards the hotel wall! He jumped back in in time to avert any damage to his car, don't worry!

A Heart for Sverige

"What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" Matthew 16:26

This verse in Matthew will always remind me of Sweden.  This country is one of the richest and safest in the world, yet what good is it if the Swedes don't know Christ?  They may have such a great, comfortable life, but the majority of them don't think about God.  The long-term team here (pictured above) is helping make God known in this country.  It's been neat to see our students and staff realize that God is here in Sweden.  Lauren, a senior at N.C. State, shared how when she was getting ready to come to Sweden she imagined we were all bringing the gospel to this country.  But, as she's been here, she's realized that God has been here way before we came.  He has been working in the lives of the Swedish students we've met, preparing them to hear about Christ and want to learn more.  God has been moving here in this country, but there is so much more to be done!

Years ago, Barrett said the Christians here began to back off from sharing their faith, as people in America can tend to do right now.  In a lot of ways, spending time in Sweden made me wonder if our country's spiritual climate will be like Europe's in the years to come.  The long-term team here embraces a vision of being "bold in word and in deed" with the gospel.  They want to not only show the Swedes Christ's love through sharing their lives with them and spending time with them, but also to be bold in speaking about Christ and sharing the gospel. It's so encouraging and comforting to know that the Swedish friends we met will be followed up by one of the members of the long-term team who live over here full-time.  Many of our friends are curious and interested in talking with people about Christ and through that team, those relationships are able to continue to grow.  

As we spent time with the team our last night in country, we prayed together for Sweden.  It was such a sweet time with God and each other.  At the beginning of the summer, I prayed God would grow these students and my heart for the Swedish people, and to see tears in their eyes as we asked God to move in this country showed me He'd done it.  He's given this team of 20 a heart for the Swedish people to know Christ.  As I come back to UNC this fall, I'm continuing to pray that students and staff would come on next year's summer project and the Sweden legacy at UNC would continue.  Would you pray with me that more students and staff from UNC would consider coming to this country next year? 

there's no place like home

I love traveling all over the world and getting to see and meet people from different countries. But my second favorite thing to traveling is coming home!  I've been gone for the past six weeks and gotten to experience living life (or at least in a short-term basis) in Sweden, Germany and Italy.  I'm so thankful I have the opportunities to be exposed to different parts of the world because it opens my eyes to how people live other than what I'm used to in the U.S.  We have a saying on project as we encounter new cultures that "it's not wrong, it's just different!  There was nothing like coming home to my own bed last night, though!  Today, I'm experiencing the normal effects of jet lag and a general sluggish feeling that I've found normal when I come back to the fast-paced life in the U.S.  Life is simpler overseas: there were only 20 people for me to spend time with and a limited number of people I could communicate with!  

Before our students head back to the U.S., we always have a few days of debriefing from project to help them think through things they might experience once they leave their time overseas.  We spent a few days in Munich, Germany this year for debrief and had some meetings and some fun times sightseeing together.  After a month together as a project, it can be hard to leave each other, so they had a great time hanging out one last time.  We took a train through the German countryside to Newshwanstein, a German castle in the Bavarian Alps that was the creative inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty castle.  We were really sad when we got there and stepped out onto the bridge and saw they were renovating the back of the castle!  Oh well, I guess renovations have to happen sometime...

We also toured Dachau, the concentration camp a few miles north of Munich.  That w

as really sad, especially because the audio guided tours had survivors' personal testimonies 

about life in the camp.  One of the most moving quotes for me was from

George Tievsky, who was part the liberation effort.  Upon arriving at the 

camp and seeing the crematorium, he said, "I got the feeling that this was another planet.  This could not be.  It was unreal."  

Looking out the window of one of the recreated prisoner bunkhouses.

The inscription on the front gate of Dachau that reads "work will set you free" in German.

Life in Sweden (or what I've noticed so far)

I thought I'd list some things that will always remind me of Sweden. Here goes:

1. Lilacs (they smell great and are in full bloom now in white, light purple & deep purple)

2. Bikes & Bells-Swedes ride these amazing, vintage bikes everywhere & when you're

accidentally walking in the bike lane, they ding their bike bell to signal someone's coming behind you and move out of the way!

3. Squeegies-your shower and bathroom are all one room, so after you shower, it's polite to squeegie the floor to get all the excess water up!

4. Fika-complete with large mugs of tea or small cups of coffee, kloddkaka (chocolate cake) & tea cookies that are like Moravian ginger cookies.

5. Beautiful Graveyards-I'm not sure if this is all of Sweden or just Uppsala, but the graveyard here is gorgeous! It's perfectly manicured and every grave has a small garden, 

planted and tended by the family.

6. Scarves, leggings, & other 80's styles-the fashion here in Sweden is hit or miss in my opinion. Swedes are definately decked out and look great, but sometimes I find myself wondering, "Did that girl just wake up and make that shirt a dress by putting on leggings underneath?!"

7. Swedish mentality-I wish I knew the Swedish term for this thinking, but my friends here have told me it's common to not want to stick out or draw attention to oneself through achievements, large purchases, etc. It's considered rude. So different from America, where we celebrate individualism and everyone wants to get ahead and make it to the top!

8. Windows & Architecture: clean lines, large windows that open out really wide, tile roofs, bright, sunny colors for houses like yellow, red or creams.

9. Ikea, H&M, & Volvo-just a few of the contributions the Swedes have made to home furnishings and design, clothing for young adults, and car lovers all over the globe!

10. Food-I've tried and/or often eat yummy salads w/ lots of vegetables and feta, sandwiches, Swedish meatballs w/ Lingonberry jam, and pasta. I've stayed away from the seafood, however!

That's all I can come up with for now. I'm sure the list will grow, though! Hope that gives you a better picture of life over here!

Vikings, Helsinki & Stockholm

Having tea in Gamla Stan square, the old part of Stockholm.

After Helsinki, Eden and I visited Stockholm one last time!

We were so tired after running around Helsinki all day!

My roommate Eden modeling some fur for sale

Flowers for sale in the Helsinki market

Cute Bike

Helsinki streets

Finland Bound

Today, our team heads to Finland for a mid-project retreat! We've been going strong for the last few weeks and hopefully this will be a time of refreshment for all of us! We're headed on a boat for an overnight trip and land in Helsinki on Monday morning. I've heard from my Finnish friends I've met that Finland is known for their saunas. Apparently you sit in a steam room and beat your back with branches, then jump into a pool of cold, cold water. I'm not sure I'll be trying that this trip, but you never know what will happen! I always like to experience the culture to the fullest. We catch the boat in Stockholm, so we'll get some more time in the city on the way back, which is great because I really loved the part in the old town (Gamla stan) called Stortorget (it's a medieval square).The weather is supposed to still be cold and rainy, so I may spend some time holed up in a coffee shop and journal some. I'll be sure to post some more pictures when I get back! Enjoy the warm weather in America for me! It's been a cold June thus far!!

So what IS your job?

It's always difficult to answer when people ask me what I do for a living. If I say I'm a missionary, that conjures up all sorts of images, namely of me living in a hut in Africa somewhere. If I say I'm a counselor on a college campus, I imagine having a couch in my nonexistent office for students to come sort out their lives and talk about their future. The truth is, I wear a lot of hats in my job working for a college ministry. As soon as I nail down a job description in my mind, another responsibility comes along that totally shakes my description! I constantly have moments where I'm thinking, "Is this my job? Wow, it's crazy!"

Just this week, I was at a local Italian restaurant in Uppsala trying to secure a location for our movie-themed party for our Swedish friends. We decided to throw a huge party towards the end of our time here so our Swedish friends could meet the rest of our group, as well as the long-term team here in Uppsala. As we've been meeting Swedes the past few weeks, we've been inviting them to come party with us! So there I am in the resturant, talking with the owner, booking a party venue in a country I've only lived in for three weeks, trying to communicate with a man who speaks a language I don't even speak! All in the hopes that this party and others we have would provide opportunities for our Swedish friends to be exposed to other Believers and hopefully see the gospel living and active amongst our group of American Believers. So this week I wore the "party planner" hat...

(I dressed up as Alice in Wonderland for our movie party)

It got me thinking, though, what other roles our staff and I have found ourselves in these last few weeks. This week, Steph and Reece and their community team headed up a wonderful breakfast for our project. Cooking for twenty people in America is definately a challenge, but imagine the creativity and flexibility that is required in a foreign country! I've never used my math skills so much to convert to litres and such then when I'm cooking here!

These are just a few examples of the somewhat unexpected "hats" I find myself wearing on staff overseas. Of course, I still get to spend the majority of my 

 meeting Swedes and asking them what they think about spiritual things and especially God. I've also enjoyed getting to know the girls I disciple each week a bit better. Mindy, Emily and Georgina are great and it's been so encouraging to watch them encounter the Lord in Sweden through conversations they've had with Swedes, as well as in their personal times with God. These women are learning a lot about themselves and how God sees them this summer!

(from left to right: me, Georgina, Emily & Mindy)

Windows to the Soul

Tonight our group gathered together to sing praise songs and share the things we've gotten to see God do in the lives of Swedes we've had conversations with. We sang the words, "Shine a light and let the whole world see, for the glory of the risen King" and I couldn't help but think how we are here to have God use us to shine a light here in Sweden. The first day we were here, the long-term leaders Barrett and Victoria Hawkins, told us the spiritual climate in Sweden can be difficult and disheartening at times. Many Swedes just don't think about whether or not God exists, let alone contemplate if He did exist, if they'd want to know Him. The reality of ministry here has been discouraging for us from day to day or sometimes hour to hour!

It was great to hear from each other the traces of God's Spirit working in the lives of Swedish students each of us have encountered thus far. One of the main ways we initiate spiritual conversations is through a tool called "Soularium." Soularium is a collection of fifty pictures of different images and a few questions that help us get into the lives of people around us (in Sweden and back at UNC). We ask them to pick images that describe what their life currently looks like, what they wish their life looked like, what image they think best describes God to them and what image best describes what their spiritual journey has looked like thus far in their life. Ralph Nichols once said, "The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them." This is so true when we're talking to Swedes using Soularium. Pictures themselves evoke more emotion and cause people to open up more about things in their lives they might not share using just words. This tool also helps us grow in listening more to the Swedish students we meet, which builds report with them and, I believe, can make them be more open to asking us what we think about the questions. This has, time and again, given us opportunities to share the hope we are each experiencing in Christ in our own walks with the Lord.

Tonight Emily, a junior at UNC-Wilmington, shared about a student she and Amber met at the English faculty on campus. As they began asking her the Soularium questions, they were encouraged by what Nina shared. She chose a picture of a statue with cobwebs to describe how she sees God right now. When they asked her why she chose this image, she told them it was because the picture looked blurry and out of focus, and she felt like it was hard for her to see or know God. Emily asked Nina if she could share with her how she began to see who God was more clearly in her life and had the opportunity to share the gospel, as well as her own personal story of how Christ is changing her life right now.

Light is pretty important in Sweden. In the summer, the sun shines from 3am to 11pm and in the winter, it only shines for an average of three to four hours! As we talk with Swedes each day, one thing they've told us consistently is that the weather and light greatly affect Swedes. One girl I met doing Soularium by the river told me she would have answered completely different on a winter day! Not only do Swedes literally want light, I keep praying that God would open their eyes to see their great need for Christ in their spiritually darkened lives. Only until He moves in their hearts will they be open to talking with us and hearing the gospel. We are continuing to pray that God would shine a light in this country.

Fika Time

Fika is a new phenomenon in my life here in Sweden. Swedes, I'm told, are generally very busy, but take time out of a day several times a week to have a Fika (coffee break) with friends, coworkers, or family. It's essentially them saying, "yes, I'll spend these next few hours getting to know you or catching up on life with you." I love it! Fika can be used as a noun or a verb. When I meet Swedish students on campus, I generally try and have a second meeting with them to continue getting to know them, so I'll ask them to fika with me. I'm also well aware that frequent fikas could pose a threat to my figure. Every time you walk into a cafe here in Uppsala, you're greeted by a glass case piled high with cakes, pasteries, cookies and pies. Perhaps I'll start the tradition of the "skinny fika" because I'm trying my hardest to resist the urge to order "chlod caka" (chocolate cake) and just stick to my coffee!

However, when it comes to serving sizes, I think the Swedes are on to something. Most serving sizes are relatively smaller than those in the U.S. (like most of the world, really). You can generally order a decently sized salad or sandwich for lunch and it fills me up. Some of the guys on our trip, however, have had to order multiple dinners to satisfy their appetites. While meals may be small, desserts are not! Every time I walk into my favorite cafe, cafe Linne, I'm tempted to order one of the giant chocolate dipped meranges at the front counter! Yep, these Swedes have their priorities in order!

2nd Week's a Charm

This week in Sweden has been so different than my first week. The second day we arrived in Uppsala, I got some virus that seemed like the swine flu. In fact, as I was tossing and turning in my hostel bed battling a fever, I was half-convinced I really did have the swine flu. I began thinking how I'd have to call our Campus Crusade overseas staff and have them evacuate me to a nearby hospital (which sounds a lot more glamorous in third world countries than European countries). I got panicked and began to get real sad that if i had to leave the project, then I'd have to forgo my vacation to Italy afterwards with my sister and roommate. After that, I decided I would make myself get better. Since everything overseas always takes longer, so did my recovery.

Our project settled into these really cute apartment hotel rooms that are bright yellow and have these amazing windows that open up and flip out. My roommate is Eden, a staff girl from UT, who is orginially from Ethiopia (that fact will come in handy for future posts). Our little room has a kitchenette, table and chairs, a bathroom/shower all together, 2 twin beds and a tv. I know it really well because for the entire first week, most of my siteseeing of Sweden was through my bedroom window! Whatever virus I had completly wiped out my energy level so I literally laid in bed all day and ate whatever my team brought me from the grocery store. I was really thankful for the tv in our room to entertain me. And these Swedes are pretty caught up on their American tv shows. Most American shows they show here are just a few weeks behind those in America so I got to watch House and my favorite day was when Jon & Kate Plus 8 came on. As the weekend approached, I began to get some of my energy back. Our team spent Saturday in Stockholm on an exhausting tour of the city. This week has been a completely different story.

Not only has my health improved, but the weather has, as well. Our first week it was extremely cold, rainy and windy. Monday and Tuesday of this week it was bright, sunny and warm. Here's a quick tidbit about the sun here. In the Land of the Midnight Sun, the sun rises at 3am and sets at 10pm. Thankfully, Eden brought thick curtains from America so our room is like a tomb in the morning. As soon as I step outside, though, the sun is high in the sky like noon back in America, but it's only 9am! Crazy. I'm SO thankful I'm not here in the winter when my Swedish friends tell me the sun rises at 10am and sets at 1pm! How do they do it? So this week's weather was gorgeous for most of the week, which, I'm finding, not only affects the Swedes' mood but mine as well!

I got to have lunch at some of the Nations (like student clubs or sororities/frats in America) with my American girls and meet some Swedes. This is a large part of how we do ministry here. Having lunch at a nation can be exciting and interesting because you never know what you're going to eat or who you'll meet! Friday, Mindy and I ate carrot soup and cabbage slaw and met some girls from Finland. Some of these conversations can turn into further ones and friendships form. I've met a few Swedish friends so far, and it's been fun to learn about their life and culture and what they think about spiritual things. All in all, I feel like I'm actually doing what I came here to do: not stay in my bed all day, but hang out with American girls and help them grow in their walks with God and talk to Swedes and find out what they think about God. So yes, this week's been so much better!