Sweden 2008: Remembering the Past...

We went to Linnefors and saw the old, but still standing railway station from which my great-grandmother began her journey to America when she was sixteen years old.

This is the home where my great-grandmother lived. Grandma remembers visiting there as a child in 1949 with her family. She shared many stories with us about her stay at this place.

We went into the woods behind the house where Grandma remembers catching a perch!Steve and I on the rock that Grandma and her cousins loved to play on in 1949.

Sweden 2008: Great-Grandma's Church

We spent our first day of genealogy in Vissefjärda and the surrounding area. Grandma's cousin, Gösta, took us to see the family sites.

This church was where my great-grandmother was confirmed. She lived in Vissefjärda until her immigration to America at the age of sixteen.

Inside the church
There was also a beautiful organ which my grandmother was privileged to play!

Many of our relatives are buried in this graveyard.

Here We Are in Oslo!

We have finished the genealogy part of our tour, and now are in Oslo. We spent pretty much all of yesterday driving from Sweden to here, but once we finally arrived there was literally "no room at the inn" or any in the area since there will be a Bon-Jovi concert (of all things!) here in Oslo on Wednesday. We finally got a good deal on a nice suite here by 11 p.m. We were so exhausted, but had a wonderful night of rest.

We are getting ready to have some breakfast, so I will have to fill you in on some of the details of our trip later.

In Viking-land

Two crazy Vikings ready to travel to Sverige

*An interesting side note, this picture accidentally got stuck on the computer's desktop in their hotel cafe as Dad was trying to download pictures. We got a good laugh... but, of all pictures...

We drove south from Stockholm towards Vissefjärda where we would begin our "heritage tour."We met Grandpa and Grandma at Kalmar. They pulled over and waved us over with their handy Swedish flag!
We visited my grandmother's cousin, Gösta, and his wife, Britt-Marie, who were very hospitable and really made our visit pleasant.

Dad, Steven, and I stayed at the Berg's house. Here Karl Johann ("Kali"), Grandma, and Tex had a hoot-nanny with Swedish tunes! Fun times!

The Berg's dog, Freja, liked to play with Grandpa's socks

The Family

We Made It!

We are Västervik, Sweden, and are getting ready to head out to meet up with Grandpa and Grandma. We finally found a familiar Best Western hotel after our long journey.

Trying to figure out how to post pictures; however, I am at the hotel's internet cafe and haven't had any success. It's beautiful here. We have a nice, sunny day, and the landscape reminds me of where we live. I can't wait to share some pictures with you!

Off for an adventure!

Sunday, June 8

3:50 a.m.
Reykjavik, Iceland

We are currently in the airport waiting to board our flight to Stockholm, Sweden. The time here is 8:50 a.m. We have been somewhat delayed and are switching aircraft. All of us are pretty tired! It is really interesting already to see the culture and hear jabbering in a language I don’t understand!
All for now.
Kristen

Heritage Tour 2008

Tomorrow, Dad, Steven, and I, (now known as the "Traveling Trio"), embark on yet another exciting adventure. We will be journeying to Sweden, where we will spend approximately two weeks visiting relatives and exploring family farms and important historical sites. We will stand on ground where of our great-grandparents (and even further back!) once stood, and see and learn more about the country in which they lived before their immigration to America. My grandparents, who have been there several times before, will serve as our guides during our stay there. Both have done extensive research on our family background/geneology. What a tremendous blessing it will be to have them there to pass on our family's legacy as we travel together. What a once-in-a-lifetime event! I am so thankful for all of the opportunities that the Lord has provided for us to travel this year.

Pray for a safe trip, and that we would be an encouragement and a testimony to the relatives we meet.

School's Out!

As of today, I am finished with school for the summer! What a sense of accomplishment. Yippie! All those finals are DONE! Now it's time to relax and enjoy.

Hooray for summer!

Cancun = Culture Shock!

Our team traveled to Cancun that Friday evening in order to leave via the Cancun Airport over the weekend. What a culture shock to walk into a five-star hotel and, essentially, into a totally different world. So Americanized. So unlike the "true" Mexico we had experienced all week.

View from the hotel lobby

It was so strange to see all the tourists, wealth, resorts, golf courses--you name it! English, when spoken, could be relatively understood. I was awed to have the freedom to brush my teeth with tap water once again! We ate at a steakhouse. The beds were so plushy and amazing. Overall: shock.

Morning Sunrise

We had a full day before we would travel home. Dad, Steve, and I took an adventure of our own. We went snorkeling in the Caribbean. These little boats took us out to the reefs. We were able to see lots of beautiful fish, rays, and someone even spotted a barracuda! The day was gorgeous and sunny!

While traveling to the snorkeling place, the van took us on a considerably bumpy ride. We passed a marshy area, and a crocodile sauntered up to the road!

What a trip we had!

We learned so much!

Thank you, Lord!

Help us not to forget what you showed us and taught us along the way! Use these experiences to shape our lives according to Your will.

How God Worked in Valladolid

The following is a summary showing the Lord's hand throughout our week in Valladolid, Mexico:

•317* Responses to the Gospel
•525 New Testaments given out
•577 medical patients
•146 dental patients (193 extractions)

We do not know the exact number of people who came to the Lord that week. Many people could have felt that to pray to receive salvation was compulsory in order to get medical treatment. However, we hope and pray that many of these responses were genuine and that many hearts were turned toward the Lord!

Pray for Mexico!

"With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,"

-Ephesians 6:18

Good-Byes Are So Hard!

Only some of the many "good-byes". . .

Ricardo, representing IMA, served to coordinate our stay in Valladolid. One thing that I will always remember is one morning as we prepared to go out and do clinics for the day, he expressed to us how much this trip means. He explained, "You have no idea what you are doing." He told us a story of a drunken man who had stumbled into a church during a service one night, and how a little girl had walked up to this man with a New Testament. "That man," Ricardo said, "was my grandfather." Because of the Lord's work through the little act of handing out a New Testament, a life was changed. As a result, over the generations Ricardo's whole family has been impacted for Christ. The main point lies in this fact: We may never know the results of what we did in Valladolid, just as the little girl probably has no idea what happened to the man who came to church that evening, but the little things that were done in the Lord's name do make a difference. What an encouragement!

Translators Marcos and Nataña, and DIF (government health organization) officials Candi and Oscar

Edwin, our bus driver, and Steven

Pastor Allred and Phillip, missionaries, helped with translation and evangelism

Armando, a deacon of the Allred's church, worked with evangelism. Steven and Armando became really good friends. Both could often be seen jabbering away in Spanish. Armando helped Steve along significantly in his Spanish-speaking skills. He really got the accent down!
Felipe, one of the Mayan translators who served alongside us throughout the week
Our team leader, Pastor Hornok, and Dad Missionary David Peach helped with translation Silvia, Ruben, and Velia, originally from Chiuaua Mexico, were a tremendous asset with their translating skills.

The four high-schoolers on our last night together

Anna and Kristen with sweet Bethany and Kierstin

Silvia and Kristen

Anna and Kristen with friendship bracelets from Valladolid. This was taken right before Dad, Steve, and I left for the airport.