It isn't too often that Paul and his children have guests at their house, especially on the Sabbath. Today went by slowly which is what we all needed. It was nice to sleep in a little and wake up to fresh coffee and good conversation. Eventually the children awoke. They thoroughly enjoyed playing chess, piano, and guitar with us the night before. This morning was a bit more subdued, although I'm pretty sure the first thing out of Aaron's mouth was something about...

We rose at a decent hour this morning from our cozy cabin in Mantorp. I think it was after sunrise but I can't be certain since we didn't actually see the sun or even feel its warmth today. Overcast and wind persisted all throughout the day. We had a nice slow breakfast of muesli and coffee before heading out to see the sights. Paul showed us around his little homestead; his two little hens, the newest renovations to his barn and entryway, his workshop, the game ...

A night and a day and then another evening. It actually didn't take us long to get to Sweden. It seemed like only a few hours ago I was sending a message to our friend Paul Spencer about our arrival and then there he was waiting outside the airport to pick us up just like he said he would be. Traveling is amazing still, no matter how many times we fly and no matter how many places we go. I might apologize up front for not knowing all of the names of places here i...

When you are getting ready for any trip, there comes a point when you know you are ready to leave. Absolutely everything is packed, there's nothing more that needs to be done except get where you are going. But there is always something more that must be done. Sometimes it's double checking bags and tickets. Are the doors locked and is the flight on time? Did we pray before we left? Today we began our trip a little this way. Lena and I had absolutely everything p...

Lena had sent Bri off to the airport, safely in a taxi. I had breakfast with the Britts. A few days before, they found a wounded pigeon on their patio, one wing hanging lower than the other, afraid of the youthful cat that was once owned by one of their neighbors. They've known the cat since he was a tiny kitten and have trained him to be friendly to people, unlike the thousands of strays that people feed and care for from a distance all over Tel Aviv. That morni...