The Green, Green Grass of Home

Our last two day and a half in Norway was at least memorable.  We took the bus at 9:30 from the bus terminal on the other side of the mall from our condo.  We had to run to catch it, as we were trying to get all the last minute cleaning done before we left.  I was even up before six to accomplish that, but still left half the kitchen floor unwashed.  The guilt is still with me.

It’s a nine hour bus ride to the airport, which turned into eleven when the road before us was closed because of a car accident that actually killed a person.  We didn’t complain about the delay, we just thanked God we weren’t in the accident.  The drive was a good way to calm us down, let us take one good long last look at the beautiful Norwegian countryside, and prepare for our trip back home.

Our relatives in Oslo were more than accommodating of all our change in plans, first the decision to stay an extra day in Aalesund to spend time with Aunt Ruth, then the two hour delay arriving at the airport.  Angelica picked us up and took us back to her parents place were we were greeted with a table full of food and some good conversation before bedtime.  We wished we had more time there but we didn’t have much control over that.

After a good night’s sleep, Angelica came back to get us and took us over to her place to see her husband and son, whom we haven’t seen for nearly two years.  We had a wonderful visit with them, a time of prayer, talking about God’s leading in our lives and how we hear from God.  They are an inspiring young couple and even though we only had a few hours with them, we had to be happy with what we had. 

Kaleb’s perspective of the last few days was a little different than mine because he realized he didn’t charge up any of his electronic devices before we left home, so he was without his laptop and without his Nintendos the whole bus ride to Oslo, and then facing nine hours on the plane without them was more than his mind could comprehend.  Angelica miraculously provided a power converter so that solved his problem and he was happy to get on the plane, fully charged.

Our flights went fast and easy.  Our friend, Willie Schaub in Mt. Vernon, charged up the battery on our van so our apartment manager and friend, Lori, came to the airport and picked us up in it.  Considering that our American cell phone batteries were also dead, so that was another miracle as we weren’t sure what to do if she wasn’t there at the airport.  Kory wondered if there is still such a thing as payphones.

But we arrived home to 82 degrees, sunshine and a smiling face.  We didn’t sleep on the plane and we weren’t even tired for the drive home.  I was sure people must have been praying for us, as we didn’t get hit for any excess baggage fees (even though we brought home nearly 400 pounds of stuff), and the reindeer hide I bought Kaleb was allowed into the U.S. afterall (we were worried it might be denied.)  So we felt blessed on all accounts.

Arriving home just as the sun was setting, it was enough light to see our yard, however, was a jungle, so now we know what we’ll be doing for the next several days.  The house was clean and tidy and we all smiled as we walked in the door.  It’s good to be home.  Hallelujah!

Another Day in Telemark

This was the kind of day I’m glad is over. I’m completely exhausted, inside and out. I feel like someone pulled my plug and I just want to curl up in a fetal position and sleep. Kaleb and I went to Norway’s largest water park today while Kory worked with Hallvard on replacing some of the roof on the old house where Kory’s father was born (see photo). I was worried about Kory being up on the roof today, but I should have been worried about me. I thought I would have fun. I thought the water park near here would be like Silverwood in Idaho where there is a nice wave pool, a relaxing river current, some fun water slides and a good time to be had by all. But that just wasn’t the case. Every attraction was like staring death right in the face. It didn’t go well with me, and a few times I really wanted to back out before literally taking the plunge, but Kaleb insisted. This is what I do for love. I haven’t been that freaked out in a long time. It also didn’t help that I had flashbacks to my near drowning experience on the Oregon Coast when I was 15. (We got caught in a rip tide and the kid I was with died. It really was a miracle I survived.)

One “ride” today was on an inflatable cushion and after going through twists and turns in a pitch black tube, we ended up in a big drain looking thing that reminded me of the vortex where one can drop a coin and it spins around and around until it finally drops in the bucket below. Only it was us, dropping down into the drain like in the movie “Flushed Away.” That one wasn’t too bad. The one I nearly lost it was called the Half Pipe and it looked like a giant skateboard park only water was gushing down from both sides of the big U and we dropped straight down from one side sitting on an inflatable and then swooshed up the other side and back and forth we went until we were sucked down the drain. I wouldn’t do that one again for anything.

I thought I’d like the relaxing float on an innertube down the river current, but as I found out within seconds after entering, it went way faster than what I’d experienced in other parks. I slipped off my tube and someone smacked my face and only then did I realize I was wearing my glasses. They flew off my face and were lost in the current. They were the only glasses I had left as the others I brought with me to Norway have already broken. I cried. I panicked. I talked to the staff and they just shook their head and said they were lost. I tried to explain I couldn’t drive home without them but they had no sympathy. I was desperate. I asked if I could wait until the park closed and try to find them without the current and they assured me that six hours of swirling around in the river, there wouldn’t be anything left of them. So I did the only thing I could do – I prayed. I called Kory and asked him to pray, too. I prayed God would allow someone to find them before they broke to pieces, or that God would heal my eyes so I wouldn’t need glasses. All I could think about was a month of sightseeing Europe and not being able to see a thing. We won’t be in any place long enough to get new glasses as no one here has the advantages we do in America of getting a new pair in one hour. It takes weeks. Within minutes after praying with Kory, Kaleb came running over with my glasses! Someone right next to him found them and yelled out they found some glasses. Kaleb knew they were mine. It was a miracle they were found, a miracle he was right there to get them (they may have never found their way back to me as there was no “lost and found”) and it was a miracle they weren’t broken. One side of the frame was slightly bent but the glasses weren’t even scratched. I cried again out of pure joy, then had to sit down for a while as my body was a limp noodle. I hated the river after that, but still went around and around that football field sized “ride” with Kaleb – but I left my glasses in my backpack. My body never fully recovered, especially since we had to go on the rides one more time.

Kory had a much more satisfying day working at Slaattehaugen – having a bonding moment with his dad’s memory and Hallvard. Hallvard teaches carpentry at the very school where Kory’s dad learned how to be one. Kory was thinking about his dad running around this place as a child and all the things he might have done. This farm really is like being on a movie set – going back to some significant place in history and reliving some of the memories – except Kory doesn’t have many memories here. There is a strong connection nonetheless and it’s idyllic in every way.

I was so thankful to get back to Slaattehaugen I could have kissed the ground. Kory “grilled” dinner for everyone tonight and once again we had a picture perfect evening in the shade of the old house, sitting outside talking on this warm summer evening watching yet another gorgeous sunset just before midnight. It almost felt like a perfect world, until I remembered the day.

Sick Happens

There are blessings even in sickness. First Kaleb came down with a bug on Saturday and caused us to stay home from a race he was going to enter (and several other activities that day), so I used the time nursing him to wash windows (which sorely needed it before we left). Then Tuesday I had big plans in Seattle for the day but I caught what he had and I wasn’t going anywhere. Because of that, our plans to go to Family Camp on Wednesday had to be cancelled because I couldn’t get out of bed and get things packed. Kaleb is still coughing and blowing his nose and said it was OK to miss Family Camp because there were other things going on this weekend he was looking forward to. So in the blessing of sickness…we get five extra days at home to keep on cleaning/purging/packing and taking care of the endless list of details that must be done in order to up and leave one’s life.

Yesterday, sick and all, I had to go to Seattle anyway and meet with my friend Ann that will take care of all the books for our apartment building in Seattle. Her and her husband John will manage things for us while we’re gone – for which we are eternally grateful. It’s nice to have such long term friends that you can trust to take care of things as if they are their own.