Chapter 30 - Stayed with Leo & Gunnel, Visits Farsta Centrum Kyrkan and Upplands Vasby Church

                                       Chapter 30

               Stayed with Leo & Gunnel Liljengren, Visits Farsta Centrum Kyrkan  and

                                      Upplands  Vasby Church           

        

After we arrived from Southern  Sweden, where we have two days of exposures  in North

Sweden.We visited local churches  and their ministries.  Then,   I  stayed with Leo   and  Gunnel  Liljengren.  They have two children – Marie and Anika. 

Their two  children    have finished  college studies and were working.  Marie and Anika were living,  their own lives  and in their own   apartments. They always visit their parents.

Swedish  young women and men, after reaching ages of  maturity,  and  have  their own jobs, go out of the family  home. They want to live independent lives.  Or,  these may be part of the training, parents gave their children. At early age, they want to br independent.   I  have some short times to talk with them in  my short stay in Upplands Vasby.   They were both young and intellegent. They have clear and concrete  plans for their young lives.

Leo told me when I arrived.  “Rudy, would you like to stay with us at home? You will be with us for less than  a week.  We can learn more by being together. And it will be lonely, if you stay in a hotel.”

I stayed with Leo and Gunnel the next 5  days. On my first day,  we have supper together in their home.   We stayed for a time sharing some remembrances of his visit in the Philippines and Panay. 

Then, we went to rest for the night.  It was very cool. Winter has come. And strong. Temperatures was 4  centegrade below zero. I woke  up bit shivering but I love the coldness of winter.  It was the first timeI experienced  the beauty and wonders  of winter.

 The weather was clear. There were mild snows. Perhaps, he wants to trees to have more soil and grasses on their roots, as winter deepened. Leo was in his garden near the house. He was pushing a Wheel Borrow filled with grasses up the hill about 50 meters away. He put the grasses on the roots of the trees. Trees were will cared in Sweden. I helped Leo.  Perhaps, he wants the  trees to have more soil and grasses on their roots, as winter deepened.

I also  helped Leo got all the garbage in their kitchen and put it in a black garbage bag.   Every day, he said,  garbage collectors came. They made sure, all areas  were clean.  Then, we went for coffee and breakfast. He said.  “Rudy, you have worked. You  have     paid  your meals  this morning.”  Then, he laughed.

Swedish couples all worked with their children.  Their  were no helpers in most Swedish homes. They  cooked  food. They washed  dishes. They swept the floors. The clean the toilets. They laundry their clothes. And all were   always  clean.   Swedish  homes,  back  in 1989  were provided with gadgets and technologies that made works easier and fast – water heaters, rice cookers, dish washing machines, laundry washing and drying machines and all gadgets that make living a bit easier.

It was a bit costly, to  have those gadgets. But  Sweds were paid  good salaries.    Business and industries, were trained to give good wages and salaries to their workers and employees. Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA’s) between workers and  capitals were made,  making sure the interest of workers were protected.  Labor unions were strong. The really worked hard to protect labor. There seems  to be no “yellow”  labor  unions in Sweden.\

Upplands Vasby is a municipality in Stockholm,   in east central Sweden. It is located between Stockholm and Arlanda Airport.

On the  2^rd day, after  breakfast, I saw Gunnel, readying herself to go hiking.  It was his   way to exercise. There were some snow snow around. But the the sun was bright. Gunnel often go hiking in the forest.The  forest were clean. The trees were big and tall.  Underneath, all were clean.   She  invited me to go hiking with her.  I  joined her. We were in winter garments. We walked briskly, sometime  jag.   We walked and jag about a kilometer, on the mountain thrail. 

We reached an area with wide clearings  and with many people working. I heard, another construction will be made, a housing cooperative.   

After some rests,   we went back  home. Gunnel told me, it was her way to have a   healthy life and  being strong.  Hiking and walking   twice a week on the mountain thrails.

That afternoon,   I joined Leo to visit the office of Upplands Vasby Municipal government. Leo was an elected official in Upplands Vasby. He was a politician. That day, they have a meeting. He introduced me to his group. We have some sharing.  I shared with them some of the developments that time in our country – the new government after, President Marcos, the dictator was thrown out of power and living  exciled  in Hawaii.  Then, for about an hour,  the officials met. 

Since, I cannot understand what they were talking, I went down to basement, where outside, there  was an area with flower gardens.  I sat down on the bench. I looked at the different flowers. Big and beautiful flowers. And soon,  perhaps, they will weather, under the snow of Sweden’s  heavy winter.

The following day, I joined  Gunnel and Leo  to the church. They  have an activity. It was a   Cooperative Day.  The members came. Each have some products to sell to the community. Some bought the products of the cooperative. There was an invited guest who  shared  his experiences on cooperatives and their plans.

There were some sharing on  the cooperative movements in Sweden. The lecturer  talked in English.  I thought, he did. He wants me to understand some of the cooperative works in Sweden.   I listened well, trying to understand most of what he  shared.  I learned  the  many kinds of cooperatives in Sweden.  There were banks ran by   cooperatives.   Some  gasoline  station, operating nationwide, ran by  a cooperative.

Big  restaurants, with branches in many cities were   ran by  cooperatives. Some  housing  villages were ran  and managed by cooperatives.  One of the big taxi company,   that operates in some cities of Sweden was   ran by a cooperative.  There were housing cooperative. There were fishing companies ran by cooperatives.

A bus company  ran by  a cooperative. And many housing villages were operated  by cooperatives.  I heard, most   priests and pastors in Sweden were members of cooperatives. And they have a cooperative store and loan services ran nationwide. The priests and pastors have other cooperative business enterprises.

The succesful running and management  of  cooperatives was major reason for the progress of the nation and  progressive lives of the  people.  Profits from business and industries, ran by cooperative go  back to the members,   in forms of dividend.  In the Philippines, big profits of business enterprises, goes  to the banks of   stockholders and shareholders, most of  them  rich families and powerful families.   Oligarchy was  one reason for the  poverty of majority of Filipinos until today. Cooperatives were the major source of the wealth  and good life of the people in the  Scandinavian countries.

It was also during this time that I learned the history of the  Christian Hymn “How Great Thou Art”. I thought this was an American song.  A member of  in Upplands Vasby, asked me if I know the song “How Great Thou Art.”  I said, yes, we sung it in our country. It is a popular Christina Hymn. He asked me if I knew the history of the song.  I said no. I don’t its history.  

He told me, “How Great Thou Art” was a very popular Christian hymn that originated  in Sweden. It was written by a Swed hymn writer,  Carl Gustav Boberg, (1859-1940). He was  from the  town of Monteras.  His song  was translated into German. Later, it was translated to Russian by an   English missionary Stuart K. Hines. It was  popular hymn among  Russian Christian congregations,  until today.  

In 1948 Dr. Billy Graham held a Crusade in Stockholm. George Beverly Shea saw and heard it sang.  He loved the song.   He popularized it with  Cliff Barrows in  most   Billy Graham Evangelistic Crusades worldwide.  In a few years,  “How Great Thou Art” was sung by Christians in many  countries around the world

“How Great Thou Art” was ranked 2^nd most popular song by British Broadcasting Corporations (BBC)’s Songs of Praise.  It was 2^nd to “Amazing Grace” another Christian hymn, that was very popular in Europe and the the United States.

I sang the song often, when I am alone. There something in the song that lifts my Spirit  up. It lift my heart, and reached out to height, to the presence of  the great & wonderful God!

                                  HOW GREAT THOU ART

                  1. Oh Lord my  God, When I in awesome wonder,

                      Consider all the world Thy hands have made

                        I see the stars , I hear the rolling  thunder

                     Thy power through out, The Universe displayed.

                                                   Chorus

                        Then sings my soul, My Savior, God,  to Thee

                                    How great thou art, How great thou art

                                Then sings  my soul, My Savior, God, to Thee

                            How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

One thing I also learned in Sweden.  There were no “squatters” in Sweden.  There were no suatters and slums in Sweden, either  in the cities or in the countrysides. Unlike in our country, the Philippines,  where millions and millions of Filipinos  living  in squatters and slums area.  This was  one of the  evils of  an  elite  democracy.

They were called “squatters”.  For they just  “squat” in the piece of land owned by the rich or by the government.  And often, they’re   forced to vacate their homes. They were called “squatters”.  A very unfortunate situation, being  “squatters” in  our  own country, the Philippines.

Perhaps, it is now time for our  people think of a Federal government. Federalisms may weaken the holds of the elites  in the our government. The kind  of Federalism in the Scandinavian countries, in Germany, France, or a mixture of it, as in Russia, Italy and Japan.