It's September and I have just returned from the Gothenburg Book Fair, where many courageous persons gather every year. I write courageous as it has become increasingly challenging to put yourself and your thoughts out there in the public sphere. This made me think of another brave woman, born on the cusp of the new... Continue Reading →
I have written about the political unrest in China before, and how my great-grandparents often encountered different warlords, bandits and military forces during their time in China. In 1927, the situation was very serious, especially for foreigners. Olga and Nils thus decided to listen to the advice from the mission and start the journey back... Continue Reading →
When my great-grandmother Olga started to train as a nurse in Glasgow in 1901, she combined practical work with formal classes at Govan Parochial Hospital. During "three years, three months and four days" she worked her way through her training and, apparently, quickly showed that she had a natural aptitude for nursing as she advanced... Continue Reading →
- Swedish Mission Stations In China What’s in a place? For missionaries, a place could not possibly just be geography – it was an opportunity - to fulfil their calling and to save as many souls as possible. Beyond the obvious mission work, the places where they lived also meant community, family and home. Each... Continue Reading →
One of the most difficult things to come to terms with on a personal level, when diving into missionary history in China, is the fact that my great-grandparents had to send their children back to Sweden by the age of seven. In practice, this meant they could only be present in their children’s lives during... Continue Reading →
As many of my blog posts testify, the missionaries in China did not only preach and teach Christianity, but also worked with various forms of education and healthcare. Above all, they started many boys’ and girls’ schools for the children in their areas of outreach, and opium asylums were common in regions where many were... Continue Reading →
*Before reading this text, please note that it may contain unsettling descriptions. It delves into a practice that inflicted considerable harm upon Chinese women and incorporates images that could evoke distressing reactions.* Upon returning home to Sweden from China to retire, Olga and Dagny brought back cherished mementos from their life as missionaries. These precious... Continue Reading →
111 years ago - by the end of September of the year 1912 - Dagny and Robert were on the move again after having spent two years in Sweden. During this time, Dagny had given birth to a baby girl - Helfrid - at the age of 42, and another eight-year period in China awaited... Continue Reading →
Her name was Li-Niang. She worked with Olga and Nils at the station in Dali/Tungchowfu in China. Li-Niang was a hard-working woman, who helped my great grandparents take care of their children. My grandmother Edna loved Li-Niang. It was Li-Niang who taught her Chinese, who made sure she got bathed and hid Edna when bandits... Continue Reading →
This man is part of my family. He stands proudly in his place on the window seal, together with photos of my husband and kids. He is by far the most prominent-looking of them all. He is all dressed up in his finest gear. But who is he? My grandmother told me that he was... Continue Reading →
