My grandmother Edna’s old photo albums from her and her parents’ (Olga and Nils) years in China offer many glimpses into their daily lives and what mattered most to them. Olga and Nils had two children who survived into old age - my grandmother and her sister. Their little brother died in China at the... Continue Reading →
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 mission station carried its own stories... Continue Reading →
Whenever I travel somewhere, I make it a habit to see if there is some place along the way, or close to my destination, that is connected to family history. This summer, we headed towards southern Sweden and I as I know my great grandfather Nils is from the Småland region, I thought it would... Continue Reading →
It's the last day of 2024 and it just struck me that I started this blog 10 years ago - in 2014. Back then I did not have a clear idea of what I wanted to do with this space. That is also quite obvious when I look back at the posts I wrote over... Continue Reading →
We are many who have lost loved ones the past years. Coping with grief is part of life and something we all go through at one point or another, always hoping it will be later, rather than sooner. Through the years I have written a few obituaries. It has always felt a bit strange, trying to... Continue Reading →
Driving back from a short ski trip to Dalarna, about 300 km northwest of Stockhom, I came to think of an old map I once got from my grandmother Edna. She had kept it as it was a record of how grandfather's relatives had moved around in Sweden, from the 17th century onward. As I... Continue Reading →
As we're finally leaving the dark, cold and poor January behind us in Scandinavia, the Chinese are about to enter their big festivity of the New Year. In 2022 the year of the Tiger starts on the 1st of February. In 1905, the newly baked missionary Olga spent her first Chinese New Year celebrating the... Continue Reading →
How do you explain the meaning of life to kids who grow up while the world around them is burning? How do you answer their worried questions about their future, when people are are dying from meaningless violence by the minute, all over the world. I'm asking, because I know I'm not alone thinking about... Continue Reading →
A reflection on how getting to know your family history can make you feel more connected to your relatives and where you come from. I just received a book I ordered. It's a pretty old book - printed in 1921. I got a tip from a newly found relative that there was a story about... Continue Reading →
Why does family matter so much? I live in a very individualistic society. Sweden is off the charts when it comes to personal freedom and how little we actually take care of our own family (by that I mean relatives like parents, cousins, old folks...) We have built a welfare state, that makes us superflouos... Continue Reading →
Thérèse Amnéus 