All Shapes and Sizes... and Ages :)

October 2, 2009

            I went to a Bible study this past Wednesday with Rebekah. I had been looking forward to it ever since we had talked about it last Sunday and I was filled with excitement as we walked to Bastion’s house. I don’t actually know if that’s even how you spell his name. To me, Bastian just sounds like a nickname for Sebastian… so until I see it written, I will spell it this way. He is from Germany but lives in Finland now. I’m not sure why. I didn’t ask. I guess I was a bit timid.

            Rebekah and I were the first people to arrive. We talked to Bastian and went through the typical questions with him; where are you from? what are you studying? how long will you be here? Those sorts of things. He must be in his late 30’s or early 40’s. I can’t really tell because I am horrible with estimating age. As more and more people began to come, we had kahvi and tee (coffee and tea) and apple slices. I tried very hard to remember everybody’s names because I am very bad at that. I know there was Mitch from Australia, Patrick from Philadelphia, David from… Germany? and David from India. David’s wife and son were there also. His son’s name was Isaac. I love that name! Most of these people were probably in their 30’s and 40’s. There was one man there who was in his 70’s. He made us all Kombucha. It is a drink that is made from tea and mushrooms. It’s supposed to be very good for your body and it tasted like a mix between white wine and apple juice. Needless to say, I loved it!!!

            When we all started talking, it was simply amazing. These men [and woman] were so wise and so educated about spiritual things. Rebekah told me that David from India is able to quote like the entire Bible. I felt like I was sitting in a room full of Pastor Riddle’s and C. S. Lewis’s. Ok… that may be pushing the envelope, but you get the gist. Everything I’m hearing is like something I hadn’t taken the time to really think about as deep as these people were talking. I grabbed my notebook only to realize that I forgot a pen. I FORGOT MY PEN!?!? I was a little put out with myself but didn’t feel like asking for a pen at the time, I was too busy listening to everything. I felt so comfortable here. They looked at Rebekah and me no different than anybody else, though there is an obvious age difference. They valued our words and opinions and everyone spoke in turn. There were usually moments of silence after one person would speak where you could tell everybody was thinking on what they said. I will admit that I didn’t say much because I was quite intimidated by their spiritual maturity and knowledge of the Bible. I was glowing inside though thinking about how much I can learn and grow from these people who already seem to have a genuine interest and care for me. After Bible Study, we said our goodbyes and they were all excited to see us at church this Sunday for the international service (it’s in English) at St. Luke’s Chapel.

One of the men graciously drove us home so we wouldn’t have to walk in the sleet and dark.

            I am so excited that the Lord provided me with this community. Though it looks a bit different on the outside from what I expected, I can really see what awesome relationships I can build here in Finland. Tonight, Rebekah and I are going to Lift downtown at the Pentacostal Church. It is a youth group and is actually held in Finnish, but we were told that the Finns there love to speak English. I hope that we can go tonight and meet some awesome Finns our own age and be able to have some fun and maybe learn a bit of Finnish too! The Lord has really been proving to me just how big He really is!