Pellesgårdarna 9, 78041 Gagnef, Sweden
Tel & Fax +46 241 61038 E-mail sjt@vbbviak.vbb.se 1996Dec
Dear Friends!
We hope you are all still well and have enjoyed a pleasant season celebrating
God’s gift to the world, Jesus. Another Christmas has passed with a bumper
load of letters from all our relations and friends around the world. We
are always amazed how our friends have bombshelled across the entire world.
And happily the news has been one of growth in families, progress in work
and generally exciting lives. There are two things that we will always
miss while living here. The one is the heat of Africa and the other is
our friends from school , varsity and church. We wrote a letter to you
all last year that never got posted so we’ll start of with it first!
Simon: 1995 was an active year with great variety for me. I started
the year with 2 months parental leave for our trip to Zimbabwe. Thereafter
I was back in the thick of consulting civil engineering. My work mainly
concerns the hydraulic analysis of water supply distributions networks
and suggesting solutions to problems such as water hammer, leakage and
water quality. This meant I have come into close contact with computerised
monitoring and control systems which has been very interesting and stimulating.
The market is difficult for consultants but we have moved increasingly
into the environmental market. Apart from it being lucrative it has proved
to be a challenge to portray engineers as environmentally aware and providing
both economic and environmental benefits. At home during summer there has
been plenty to keep me busy; sandpits and playhouses for the kids being
the most visible and fun. We planted a couple of trees and moved the firewood
piles as well as a 101 other small garden activities that don’t seem to
leave any trace of the enormous amount of time and effort it all took.
The property is now looking quite established since we moved in Dec. 1990.
From 1 Sept. 1995 I once again started a six month period of parental leave
to look after the children while Gunilla returned to work. The Kids were
very kind to me to start with but after a while once they understood that
I was now the Ogre they let off the brakes and I have had some of the most
mentally trying days of my life. To all my male friends I issue the challenge
to be at home with your children during winter for two months with no house
help. It gives one another perspective on life I promise. I have attempted
to keep up contact with some of my clients but it is amazing how much concentration
both clients and children require. We still attend the local Baptist church
where we are involved as Sunday school teachers and I sing occasionally.
Our prayer group has continued to be a great support for us. Having four
other families of a similar age has meant that we can all understand each
other remarkably well despite having widely differing backgrounds.
Gunilla: For me the Zim holiday was so fantastic that I struggled to
settle back in to Swedish winter life when we came back. Getting children
dressed for the outdoors is a daunting task, but summer was lovely and
Simon was home for a few weeks. In September we swapped rolls and I went
back to work for six months. I have just spent four pleasant months doing
obs and gynae in Falun hospital. Now I have had a weeks holiday which unfortunately
has been in doors as the temps have been between -20°C and -28°C.
Tomorrow I start a two month job in paediatrics.
Nellie at 3 yr. + 2 months is a super little girl now leaping eagerly
to new challenges and experiences. She has a fast growing vocabulary in
both Swedish and English. Through the year she has gone through many phases:
at one stage puzzles were her great love, then she had fantasy friends
and now Duplo can keep her entertained for ages... if Ella doesn’t destroy
the creation first. She has been nappy free since July which has been a
tremendous freedom for us.
Ella became mobile very early and so summer was quite a challenge.
We put a bell on her back so we could hear as she started heading down
for the lake. She has continued being very active and is now 18 months
and at the destructive climbing stage with absolutely no sense. But she
is a very happy smiling girl and gives us a lot of joy as well as grey
hairs.
The two girls usually play well together chasing each other around
the house which means our house normally looks like several bombs have
exploded. They both struggle to go to bed early which is tiring for us.
Family: John and June are in good form. John was very involved in the
Solar Energy World Conference in Harare in September which ended four years
of enormous effort. he is now again retiring from the university. Mum has
provided the ground support and also managed some super trips to exciting
places around Zim. Stu and Marianne are both well. They seen to have an
extremely active life with the kids involved in all sorts of exciting things.
Claire and Ian are both well. Ian has now finished his masters studying
from home which is quite an achievement. Pelle and Asta are growing older
but are no less interested in life. One of the motives for building close
to Pelle and Asta is being fulfilled in the lovely close relationship between
them and the kids. Per and Ingrid are nearing the end of their stay as
aid workers in Esigodini Zim. They return 1996 May to Nordåker where
they have bought a house and will start the task of finding work.
General: The Swedish nation voted yes by a 2% margin to joining the
European Union. It was a very shaky yes and already the polls show that
Swedes are gravely regretting the yes vote. However, we are now members
of an enormous trading block that is doing everything possible to further
its prosperity while the poorer countries are given harsher deals. The
bureaucracy is so great that it is difficult to grasp and most people simply
wave a hand in the air and say "Change the subject and leave me out of
it". A sad position for a so called democratic land, but that’s politics.
Weather: We had a wonderful summer after a wet start. The kids lived
in the garden and only occasionally we forced a nappy onto Ella for trips
in the car. The autumn was unusually warm and pleasant until Nov. when
the cold arrived with vengeance. Since then we have had temps. about -15°C
to -28°C.
Now to 1996!
Simon: I started work again and have had an enormous struggle to establish
myself in the market. At the same time it has meant taking new initiatives
and that is always fun. During Jan. to March I managed to get a fair amount
of cross country skiing done which was super. I’m hoping for the same again
now. I’ve also been playing ice bandy during the winter months which is
super fun. When there is no snow or ice I’ve enjoyed indoors bandy that
is similar to indoors hockey. However the ball and clubs are of light plastic
which makes for a very fast game.
Gunilla: During the year I have worked in paeds, done some district
work, and am now in the ENT department in Falun hospital. I will finish
my GP specialisation at last in mid May 1997. I hope to get a half time
GP post nearby after that. One of the few nice things about working in
Falun has been that Simon and I have been able to travel to work together
and have had time to talk to each other.
The girls: We now have them at a daymother from 6:45 until 17:30 four
days a week. It is not ideal but will have to do until Gunilla starts 50%
work from mid May. They are both exhausted when we pick them up and often
sleep in the car on the way home, so we don’t get to see much of them during
the week. They love reading which provides us with a lure to get them to
bed. They have intense relationships with their dolls. Sleeping over with
Gran and Grandad is a high point for them which provides us with a welcome
break.
Nellie 4 years +2 months: She has turned out to be a keen painter and
drawer. She is gaining her self confidence in larger groups but is often
content to sit and watch. She picks up all we say very quickly which is
great and takes the initiative to her games and activities. We believe
that not having tv has given her the freedom to experiment and grow as
she wants. Her age of tantrums seems to be past and if well slept can be
a glorious bubble of laughter all day. She ice skates and skis now in small
doses.
Ella: 2 years + 6 months. A ball of fire and activity! She talks non
stop and will gladly shout down a party of 10 given the chance. She is
not as arty as Nellie, but instead thrives on physical movement. She is
half potty trained! Ella has a fiery temper with NO being the azimuth.
Sleep and food are ultra important to keep her in a good mood.
Family: Not much change here. John and June were her for a month last
summer. We didn’t go anywhere which allowed us a totally relaxed time together
with them. We fixed up an old OK Jolly sailing boat and had fun learning
to control it. Asta has had problems with her legs but is OK for the moment
and fully mobile. Per and Ingrid have returned and are happily settled
in their home nearby.
General: Sweden is much the same as before. EU is pretty much what
we expected; an expensive, exclusive club that doesn’t benefit us much.
However, on a local plane the village is still a place of great value with
its open fields amongst the forest. The village folk are friendly and willing
to help when called upon to do so. There is still an unlocked tin can in
the dairy where we leave money for the milk we decant ourselves. We treasure
these small but precious details in life.
The page is ended for another year and so we end by sending our love
and best wishes to you.