Out of a whole houseful of things collected over a period of many years, and having visited more than 70 countries these were the three things I wanted Sven to bring to be a special part of our home.
Any of you who know or have met Sven will know that he is full of stories and usually takes great delight in sharing them and it was because of such stories I wanted him to bring his spear and ‘the’ rug and for them to take pride of place in our home.
Many years ago as a young man Sven visited Kenya as part of his job and was taken out into the middle of the bush to meet a Maasai tribe. He travelled with them for sometime and learned something about them, their culture and their ways. Together they journeyed to what was going to be their new home / camp and when they arrived near their destination the chief took out his spear and threw it high in the air. Wherever it landed, that then became the centre of the world for them. Before Sven left the group the chief presented Sven with his spear and now it stands at the side of our fire place in every home we have shared as a constant reminder that for us, this is the centre of the world. This is where we believe God has placed us for a reason and a season. This is where we believe He wants to minister to and through us. And so, this is the centre of our world. It is very easy for me to believe this with Liverpool being my birth place, although I only lived here for the first two weeks of my life in the Oxford Street hospital before my parents took me home to Formby and then Southport. And so I can look at this physical symbol, this spear and know:
‘Just where He needs me, my Lord has placed me,
Just where He needs me, there would I be!
And since He’s found me, by love He’s bound me
To serve Him joyfully’
It’s funny, as I sit here and type and think on this chorus I grew up singing, but don’t think I have sung for years, I had to look it up in our song book as I couldn’t remember if that last word was ‘joyfully’ or ‘faithfully’. I guess the reality of life means that sometimes it will be ‘joyfully’ but always, ‘faithfully’.
‘The’ rug, is something quite different and it is something I feel absolutely humbled and privileged to have in our home and for my part, I will always cherish and make sure it is passed on to an equally loving and caring home when the time is right.
Adj and Mrs. Otto Ljungholm 2nd row - 3rd and 4th from left
This rug is old, dilapidated, virtually colourless and to an unknowing person could be tossed into the recycling bin quite easily. And yet recycling is where it came from in the first place. Back in 1917 some Swedish Salvation Army Officers, including Sven’s Grandparents and the Grandparents of General John Larson were sent to Russia to pioneer the work of The Salvation Army in an era when times were extremely hard, and literally, their lives were in danger for working on such a mission. Our rug is something a number of the Salvationists contributed to by bringing wool as close to SA colours as possible from their own jumpers and together they wove ‘our rug’ which was in reality their mercy seat, their portable mercy seat.
Adj and Mrs. Otto Ljungholm 2nd row - 3rd and 4th from left
This rug is old, dilapidated, virtually colourless and to an unknowing person could be tossed into the recycling bin quite easily. And yet recycling is where it came from in the first place. Back in 1917 some Swedish Salvation Army Officers, including Sven’s Grandparents and the Grandparents of General John Larson were sent to Russia to pioneer the work of The Salvation Army in an era when times were extremely hard, and literally, their lives were in danger for working on such a mission. Our rug is something a number of the Salvationists contributed to by bringing wool as close to SA colours as possible from their own jumpers and together they wove ‘our rug’ which was in reality their mercy seat, their portable mercy seat.
As I consider the Officers, Sven’s Grandparents setting off on foot with their backpacks and their mercy seat into the hardness of Leningrad and the surrounding countryside, knowing their lives were at risk and earnestly, earnestly kneeling and praying at this mercy seat with seekers in remote villages or visiting SA comrades in their home. When I consider what I believe to have been the blood, sweat and tears of prayer that have been poured into this rug I feel very humbled to add my own from the safety and security of our living room in Liverpool. My mind goes to St. Paul asking that his cloak and parchments be brought to his Roman prison cell. A tearstained cloak bleached by the Cyprus sun, the Aegean and perhaps his own blood shed at Paphos.
GBY real good!
Glad
Major
Divisional Candidates Officer
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