On to Gothenburg

  Gothenburg, Sweden
Friday, January 4, 2008

We had our last meal with the Spenser's and sadly we have to move on. It's been a wonderful spending three days with their family. It's not the most beautiful time of year to visit, but one where the people we visit appreciate it probably more because of
the darkness and cold. When I used to work in Church Administration I used to visit the Alaska churches in January year by year because that's when the ministry and the members appreciated someone coming most. Spending three days with the Spenser's brought home the day to day life not only so far north and in the wintry dark, but also the isolation from others, not having regular Church services and fellowship. I can see the why Paul writes in Hebrews to "not forsake the assembling of yourselves together" so that you can encourage and lift each other up. It's not possible to have regular assembling here. Let's be thankful, even those of us in small congregations that we have that opportunity and make the best use of it! A very important part of Church worship is the fellowship and the bonding that takes place.

Off to the train station and on to Gothenburg or Goteburg as they say here. This is Sweden's second largest city located on the west coast. It's the home of Volvo. We leave at 10:18 am. It will take three trains to get there. First, the X2000 express for about 45 minutes, then a regional train for an hour and a quarter and finally an InterCity train into Gothenburg to arrive at 1:57 pm which is only a little over an hour before sunset.

The ride on the second train was interesting gazing at the scenic snow-covered rolling landscape. We rode along the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake called Vattern. We made about ten stops or so and one was in Huskvarna, the home of famous Swedish products ranging from chain saws to sewing machines.

At 1:57 pm sharp the train pulled into the Gothenburg Central train station and there were our friends waiting for us. We had a one hour drive back to his home.  It was great to see his wife and son.They've had a dearth of snow in Gothenburg and the ground is bare and cold-looking.

The family is very talkative and we had a long talk that stretched from before dinner, through dinner and after dinner.

Tomorrow we will hold a Bible Study here with three other people who are coming over. I had asked our friend to send me suggested topics for Bible Study and he did send me five. We settled on a Bible Study about Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom. There are more than 50 references to these in the book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. It was one that was felt to be more helpful.

Stefan goes to Gothenburg University and working on a Master's Degree, but lives at home. He goes in to the big city every day with his dad who works there as well. There is also a young lady from Panama and formerly Honduras whose name is Claudia from a UCG family studying here, too, that the our friends helped get situated. Sweden has a policy of offering foreign students free tuition if they can get here and live here. This young lady has done exceptionally well.

The young man would like to organize some type of outreach at the University with students. He and his Dad suggested a lecture about the work of LifeNets around the world. They had been following the type of projects that LifeNets has done around the world and said that this is something that would be very intriguing for young people. There are many presentations for students that are made during lunch time or after school. Sweden has a big world view and as a country has tremendous reach with helping people around the world. It's this country that gives out the famous Nobel prizes. All of then except for the Nobel Peace Prize (that is given in Norway) are given out here. Sweden has an illustrious history having dominated Europe in the 1600's. But, in the past century has become a neutral country staying out of major conflicts such as World War II.  

He mentioned that a lecture about LifeNets would be an ideal discussion leading to a discussion about personal responsibility and the rationale for such an initiative....which would lead to the word of God and a discussion about man's purpose and a discussion about the great disparity between the rich and poor. This type of philosophical approach he thought could be a very favorable presentation. Public lectures that are upfront religious or even a lecture about a beaten to death topic such as evolution would not evoke interest. He said that subjects that come across from Intelligent Design could probably be of interest.

The difference between the United States and Sweden in how religion is regarded becomes quite apparent from discussions such as this one with the Spenser's. You DON'T talk about religion. To Europe, the United States is considered a very religious nation. For example, US candidates for president talk about their faith and their religions affiliation is known. Not so in Europe. It is either non-existent, not talked about, private or irrelevant.

Yet, are we to or can we reach this part of the world? The apostle Paul certainly reached religiously hostile areas of the world. With some (Philippi, Corinth) he did better than with others (Athens).

We continued talking until we got sleepy about 11 pm and now look forward what the Sabbath will bring. I made some phone calls to Norway about our visits on Sunday through Wednesday. We have lots of travel yet before our flight home from Oslo on Thursday. There is poor train service between Gothenburg and Oslo, so just as with Bruce Anderson this past summer, we will take a 4 hour bus between these cities on Sunday morning. There we will meet a brand new person and a minister. We are told that three feet of snowfall are predicted for Norway for Saturday and Sunday and that there may be some travel difficulties.

My Internet connections on this trip have not been the best. In Ukraine our beloved DSL line was not working. Our best shot was from Johnnie Lambert's apartment where we had blazing cable speed. Then we had intermittent DSL and now are reduced to dial-up. Photos will follow for the last postings when we get better connectivity.