I had Fika at the Glassfabriken (Ice Cream Factory) this afternoon with some of the guys from Malmo Vineyard. We talked about everything from music to feminism to Dostoevsky to foreign languages.

Well Malmo just got a whole lot smaller. Someone has kindly lent me a bike.

I’m currently staying with Elinor and Sara, who were doing training at Toronto Airport Church before beginning their studies at Malmo Uni. It’s interesting the people who have showed up in this city in the last few months and who are all trying to figure out what God is up to.

I’m starting to get used to being introduced to people as an “Englishman,” despite being Welsh.

Good news – there may be some work on the horizon!

Today is a miserable autumnal Thursday in Malmo – rain and grey skies. I’m pretty tired from the moving around I have been doing – sleeping at one friend’s house, then another and hoping for an opportunity for accommodation until the end of December to arise.

I’ve met some great people this week and in many ways being here is a lot of fun. My challenge right now is getting into “the system.” In order to get on a language course I need a residence number, which I get when I have work. Learning Swedish would really improve my chances of overcoming a couple of cultural barriers. One of these barriers is that Swedes are great at English and until you have a good basic grasp of the language it’s hard to get them to speak to you in Swedish (more than a simple “hi, how are you?”).

This morning I met a guy who has just moved to Malmo from Palestine. He was walking the wrong direction from the Migration office to wherever he was going and presented me a map showing where he was going. The map had a green line showing the roads he should follow to his destination. Looking at the map I noticed that this route was probably the longest. The green line zig-zagged across this particular part of town threatening to turn a 10 minute stroll into a 45 minute tour of South-West Malmo. I was reminded of the directions given me by the lady at the tax office the other day which were equally as indirect. I’m sure there’s some kind of conspiracy going on…

Mark and Jon are here, exploring the pigeon-less streets of Malmo. It was nice to hear some news from the UK.

On Friday I went to the tax office where I was told that I need a residence permit number to register, then the migration board where I was told that I need a job to register. I’m heading for the AMS (equivalent of Job Centre) to find out about language courses and work advice, then probably to Espresso House.

This evening I head across to Copenhagen for VOLT – the leadership training at Copenhagen Vineyard.

Last night was my first experience of a housegroup held in Swedish. Fortunately I had Sofia to translate. It was great – we looked at the Vineyard value of worship, we sang around the piano, and then Ola asked if I’d mind if they pray for me. As they prayed they gave words that answered all the niggling fears that I had going on inside my head – it was truly uncanny.

Afterwards we cycled back in crisp minus temperatures (when I got to the bike the seat was frosted over!) and I was filled with the deep sense of peace knowing that, whatever happens, God is in control.