What I am learning..

So it has been four days with Rebekah and it has been a challenge and a blessing all at the same time. I have had a great time with her and have learned so much. I see so much of myself in Rebekah that its overwhelming at times. And funny that I can sometimes see 11-year-old Krista right in front of my eyes!
I am also overwhelmed by the great responsibility of taking care of a child. I have a deeper respect for my parents. How in the world did they raise me? How did they put up to my rebellious attitude, my annoying outbursts, and my constant chatter. Well with the Lord’s help of course. Patience is a real virtue; also constant prayer and reliance on God’s strength to get through each day, especially during the hard years. I am also reminded that parenthood is a partnership and that relieves me so much! Dad had a HUGE role in raising my sister and I. I won’t have to do it alone.... He loves us unconditionally even when we messed up many times. He disciplined us but always told us we were loved. He supported mom and took care of her. He tried to conduct his family under the fear and admonition of the Lord.
I have also had an even deeper desire to become a mother. I have always had a desire to “be married and have a family” but over this summer and this week so far with Bekah, I have understood what it is really about. It’s a sacrificial love, unending patience, and giving your time, every moment of the day. I have watched the mothers here in Sweden and have seen gentle and quiet spirits and a deep love for their children. I am reminded of my mother. She is patient and her love for her family is so pure and beautiful, touching the deepest parts of our hearts. I am so thankful for a mother who is a beautiful example to me.

“A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies…She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue…Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting but a woman who fears the Lord is worthy to be praised.” ~ Proverbs 31: 10, 25-26, 28-30

17 days...

So I am slowly bringing this trip to a close. It's crazy to think that I have only 17 days left here in Tranas. The past month and a half has gone by quickly but I am so thankful for everyday I have had here. God has taught me so much about his church: people are taking each other's burdens, love each other unconditionally, and serving one another. It's so beautiful. I have learned what it means to be a woman of the church and where I fit into this glorious work of furthering the Kingdom of God... I always remember that I am an instrument for the Redeemer.

Starting Sunday morning, I will be living with Rebekah for 10 days. I will be her nanny, big sister, mommy, camp counselor and ballet teacher. I will be giving her a dance intensive/camp where we will do other fun things like swimming, walking, going into town, and arts and crafts. I am aware of how much time this will take up and how selfless I will need to become. Time isn't going to me mine; I am sharing all of it. I am taking care of an 11 year-old, not my child, someone else's. I feel honored that the Johnsons trust me to take care of her for 10 days. Its going to long and hard, but amazing at the same time. I do have Laura for 5 days to help me a bit, but Rebekah is my responsibility. I kinda get a taste of what raising a child is like... I just jump in at 11 years old....
Rebekah is a joy, a beautiful and special girl who I hope with be in my life forever.

Pray for us as we begin this journey on Sunday morning. Pray that I will love her unconditionally. Pray that Christ would bind us together in love. Creating a friendship that will last beyond long distance and life circumstances. Pray for me as I get closer to leaving, that I will remain focused on Bekah and not on myself.

All my love.

Oh say can you see.....

So I found out that because we have so many americans in the church here in Sweden, we celebrate the 4th of July! Its a day for all of us to be excused to be crazy, obnoxious Americans!!! It will be a day of baseball, food, and games... and RED, WHITE, and BLUE!!!! I think Cristin and I and Laura are all going to make a Flag cake using fresh strawberries and blueberries and cream cheese frosting.... you will never taste better strawberries than in Sweden....

Teaching....

So I really have to write on here more often. Sorry. I am great. Lots has been going on. I am falling in love with Sweden and the church I am working with. I am teaching Gary's daughter, which has been my favorite part of my experience/ministry here. She has been difficult to work with for other teachers and interns who have tried to work with her. I am the first real ballerina to come for the summer and really take time to see what she needs, both as a dancer and as an 11 year-old girl. Gary has seen a difference in Rebekah, which is so encouraging to me. The intern who was working with her this past year saw a change in her attitude within two weeks. God has been changing her heart towards ballet and it's a beautiful thing to watch and experience. I pray that at a young age she may see Christ's love for her through dance. I am also discipling her on Sundays on the shorter catechism and just talking about life.

I am going to be working with her to have her present some short pieces in a small recital for her family where she will be doing 2 solos. We will hopefully dance together, and I will dance a solo as well :) I can't wait! :)

Midsummer

This weekend was Midsummer which is a celebration of the summer solstice. It a wonderful excuse to fellowship and cook/eat amazing traditional Swedish food. I had Pickled herring. It wasn't bad. Had it with sour cream, chives, and a farsk potatis (fresh potatoes). My first time eating raw fish. It wasn't bad. If eat it with the potatoes and you can't taste it a lot. :) There were a smorgasbord of bread, cheese, meat and dessert. It was a beautiful sight.
That morning Allie and I went with the Johnson children to go pick flowers to make flower crowns. I was SO EXCITED!! We got a lot for all of us. Cristin made our crowns for us while we had Fika. When I get home, I would love to have people over for fika to talk about my trip and allow you to experience some Swedish culture. :)
We went dancing around the midsummer pole. We watched the professionals dance some of the traditional dances and I was trying to figure them out as I watched. Their costumes were lovely. I fell in love more and more with Sweden that day. It rained off and on and apparently it's tradition for it to rain on midsummer. :) I didn't mind. Traditionally you dress up in your summer church clothes, well the girls do at least. :)
The dancing was so fun. There is one about a frog and a cat. Its rather amusing. Some of it doesn't really make much sense but its funny. :)
That night the girls and I began our Pride and Prejudice marathon. :) It was wonderful. The girls are so fun and we laugh so much. I am so blessed to have these girls here. Allie leaves Thursday morning and I am going to miss her so much!

Long Last week....

This past week has been very busy. On Monday we had a day to relax, do laundry, and go to the grocery store. It’s so interesting working with foreign money. 100 krones= $15. So now when I see 99 k I have to take out my handy calculator and divide the price by about 7. It’s crazy. I also taught dance for the first time for Rebekah. She has a beautiful facility for ballet so it will be fun to work with her.

On Tuesday we began the big move from their current activity center to the old church building that is next door to my ground floor apartment. It has become quite the project. One of the interns had her birthday on Tuesday so we planned a surprise birthday party for her. She was clueless and very surprised. I put a fun play list together for it… K-Smooth still has it!! (That was for my fellow RA girls). I met two Swedish girls, Sarah and Louise. They are studying at Holaved School here in Tranas. They are studying children recreation and development. It’s like psychology in the states. They are so sweet. Me, Cristin, and Allie hope to have them over for dessert and a movie.

On Wednesday and Thursday, we continued the move to get ready for hosting a dinner/coffeehouse for the Holaved students to come and hangout with us. We had a pretty good turnout for the first time. About 6 or 7 students came. We hung out, ate, had Fika, and played games. The game “Signs” is really fun! Ask me about it the next time you see me. They stayed and hung out until 12am! It was fun to spend time with young people and it was a great time to unwind after 2 busy days of moving.

Friday was busy also, but in the evening we got to relax a bit. Went to check email and talk to my family. When I finished that, there was man who is playing baseball this summer talking to Allie. (There is a baseball team here in Tranas and players come for the summer to play on the team locally, from the States, Canada, or Nigeria.) He just asked her if she was a Christian and started to talk to her about her faith. He said he liked talking to people about their beliefs. He called himself an agnostic and took what he liked from religions such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism etc. I came in halfway through the conversation and listened for a while and asked some questions. He is lost, but I could see that he was also searching for the truth. He averted the conversation away from Sin and the Sovereignty of God. But what non-Christian would really want to talk about that anyway? It’s scary to think that we are sinners in the eyes of a God who is in control of our lives. It was so hard to get clear answers because his truth was so twisted and confusing. The beautiful thing about that conversation is that God’s truth would come out of his mouth. It was AMAZING!! That was encouraging to me and Allie when we debriefed about it afterwards: that God was in the midst of that conversation. His truth is always there even when someone doesn’t see or believe. I was encouraged by it because you knew that God was working in his heart. Every time he would say something, he would change the subject or sweep what he said under the rug. Pray for him. I want to respect him so when you pray for him, call him “Nicodemus” because he searched and found Jesus.

On Saturday we cleaned and went into town. Got some personal souvenirs. Saturday afternoon when we got back we cleaned the Johnson’s house because they left for a few days and needed their house cleaned. Having 10 kids it’s easy to get behind on the laundry. I have never seen so much underwear!! We came back and made dinner and watched a movie. “You’ve Got Mail” is officially one of my favorite movies. We had digestives and peanut butter and I added chocolate chips, accompanied by tea I am rediscovering my love for tea and peanut butter.

Sunday at church I sang in both services. It was so nice to serve in that way. The church I am working with joins with the local Methodist Church in the mornings and in the evening we have our own service. In the morning we had communion and it was beautiful. First our church went up and we stood around the altar while the minister served everyone communion. Then the Methodist members went up and they were predominantly older folks. It was a beautiful picture of the gospel as they knelt down, humbling themselves like children before God. I thought how easy it is to forget that even people with years of wisdom and experience still come before God repentant, in need of their heavenly Father to scoop them up, forgive, and love them.

My host family has two boys and expecting their third. We had a scare yesterday and she was rushed to the hospital. She was feeling very sick. Praise God she and the baby are healthy! They were charge of Open House after the evening service so his younger brother and I got food ready for that. It was my first project to do on my own. It was a success.

This week there is a ballet camp that I just found out about this morning. I am teaching ages 9 and up and 6-8 year olds. It should be fun. I have to start planning for those tonight.
I told you all I would be posting a long one! Please pray that I would be encouraged by what I am doing here. I have been feeling weary so pray that God would reveal ideas for my senior project and plans for after school, as I am teaching and serving her in Sweden. I love you all, praying that God inspires, grows, and encourages you!

Short...

I have been super busy; it's been a while since I wrote. I hope tomorrow to sit down and tell you all everything that has been happening. I just wanted to tell everyone that I am alive, and hope to write a super long post tomorrow!!! Pray for me in church. The services are in Swedish.

Love,
Krista