Be It Scandinavia

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.--Psalm 23:1-3

These last four days I have been staying in Beit Scandinavia, a hostel run by Christian Scandinavians on the beach in Haifa. Because it has been so crowded, I was put on the rooftop porch. I love it! The crows wake me up early in the morning from their nest in the tree tops beside me, and the crazy locals screaming at night from the street below play their part at all hours, but the cool sea breeze is so soothing in the heat, it puts me right to sleep. Now, at 11pm, there is some repair work being done to a transformer across the street which caught on fire today. And i just learned that there ae giant bats hanging out in the tree too. How can one sleep with all this excitement?

The last three nights there were two Finnish ladies and a Norwegian as well also sleeping on the porch. I enjoyed getting to know them. Today another terrific Finnish lady has come as well as an entourage of Danish folk. It is great talking with all the people here. Sometimes I even get to speak Snorsk, my blend of Svenska and Norsk!

On Friday night we celebrated the Sabbath together with a meal lead by a local Jewish couple. I was asked if I would play my bassoon for the group, and they had some music for Jewish and Christian worship, so I was happy to oblige. The Scandinavians were very quiet mostly, but our Jewish hosts were very excited, and sang along for the tunes they knew, like Hava Nagila, one even playing along on her recorder. Ron, our Jewish MC, was eager to talk about my excavation project, and the theological implications of it. He asked to meet with me again later to talk more about it, and I suggested we read some of the Hebrew Bible together, with his help. This we did tonight, looking at Isaiah 53 and 11. It has been a delight for me, and him as well-- he wants to stay in contact by email, which I hope he does.

The Sabbath continued for me the next morning with a visit to the Messianic Jewish congregation that Daniel suggested. The preacher talked about rest, and it's importance for our bodies, souls, and spirits. Beit Scandinavia has been much of that for me these last few days. Nazareth was hard on my bad knee; the streets are very steep, and I've been having some pain eversince, so I've been taking it easy here at the house mostly. I am glad for the opportunity to have such good contact with the great people that come through here.

Now, before I go to bed, it is time for me to get a picture of those bats!