There and Back Again

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:"Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."-- Mark 4:1-9

Four days were spent in Sweden again, this time in Gothenburg for a visit with Daniel and his wife and two children. As with Malmö, my visit to Gothenburg was daring to open an old wound for me. Since unfairly being denied that great job there four years ago, I've been searching for clarity and definition to what work God has designed me for. The chance to meet Daniel is what finally drew me back to Gothenburg. With a seminary education, which Daniel and others there wish they could have themselves, my visit is a continuation this quest for clarity about whether I might be used by God again to build his church in Scandinavia.

Daniel is a sharp, thoughtful and servant-hearted church planter who shares with me not only love for God and the Gospel, but also for Reformed theology as well. He and his wife Hannah, after serving Muslims in the Middle East, have been planting a church for the last three years in Gothenburg. Growth is slow, but there is remarkable depth among the small group which I met. Three of these men are also very gifted and share with Daniel the tasks of preaching and evangelism. If only the harvest were plentiful; the soil is rocky (shallow comfort-seeking) and choked with weeds (materialism). After the small group bible study, my visit was spent mostly just hanging out with Daniel and his family. Talk about faith-related matters was simply woven into the fabric of our days together. We took advantage of the rare (sunny) weather and went to the archipelago beaches for two of the days. It so happened that on the way we bumped into another church member with his family, and he decided to join us again for the next day as well. Both he and Daniel were thirsty to know what life is like for me studying under such revered teachers as I have at Trinity, whose leadership and books they have read and benefitted from. My visit was an encouraging time for them. They would like me to come join them in their labor for the gospel in Gothenburg. Daniel wants to be strategic too, though, hoping to train more leaders to do as he is doing, not just in Gothenburg.

From there I made my way back to London. I was just in time for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Just in time to see James Bond escort the Queen to her helicopter for their secret mission. Just in time to see them sky dive into the stadium. The Queen, unlike the Queen Mother, is never late. But neither was Bond.
"Ahem..."
"Hello, James." Finishing her letter, she put down her pen and turned to face him sternly. The evidently important but mysterious mission now lay before them with pregnant anticipation.
"Your Majesty...."

The prime minister later congratulated her on the performance. She played herself marvelously, he said.

For me, it was Mr. Bean, however, who stole the show with Chariots of Fire, embarrasing himself in a live orchestra performance as only he could do! Just as I sometimes daydream of being other places while playing my small part in orchestra rehearsals and concerts, Mr. Bean was also transported to the halcion sands of England's shoreline, running withthe 1914 English Olympic team. It's a dream I often had myself, though Mr. Bean's dream was much more realistic, and conniving, about his capabilities. It was fun seeing Sir Simon Rattle get so rattled.

On a more serious note, while in London I had the chance to speak for an hour with my waiter Paul, an Indian from Syriac Orthodox Christian background who is being mentored by Catholics and is considering becoming a Carmelite monk if things don't work out with his girlfriend. I encouraged him to read the Bible, and look forward to staying in contact with him.

Finishing it off in London, I went to visit my British/German friends from Trinity (and my church) who have just moved back to the UK, Matt and Chrisi. I got to worship with them at their family church outside London. It was an encouraging service. The people there were exubrant in singing, very friendly, and the preaching was powerful, instructive, and encouraging to me. After that I had a tasty lunch with the family, prepared by Matt's mother, which included lamb with a zingy mint sauce. What would a trip to the UK be without lamb? Matt them drove me to Heathrow, we prayed together one more time, but hopefully not our last time, and so ended Nate's Summer Across the Pond. There and Back Again, The End....

No, not quite. After an exhausting 12 hour overnight layover in JFK airport I made it safely back to Kalamazoo, MI, yesterday. Along the way I sat next to an 18 year-old Jewish boy named Joseph who was also just returning from a month in Israel, his first visit ever. We spent the greater part of three hours talking about our experiences in Israel, about Judaism... and the Christian Gospel of grace.

Now in Kalamazoo, I am recovering from the tiring trip and enjoying a restful visit with Ken at his home in Frank Lloyd Wright's "The Acres." Today Ken is making some improvements to my Heckel bassoon. When that's finished, I plan to roll back to Chicago in my proudly Swedish Volvo, and tomorrow to swing back into student life at Trinity. I'm planning to finish up some detailed map work from my study tour of Israel and then get a head start on the new semester beginning in three weeks.

Thanks for walking with me through my tour of Israel and Europe these past two months, especially those of you who have prayed for me. There is lots more I could share with you than I have revealed in this blog, of course, and I look forward to seeing many of you again, giving you a fuller picture of all that I have learned and experienced by the goodness and grace of God.

Shalom!
Ha det bra!
Hej då!
Peace out!