There's only a few days now before the wedding. On Sunday we had the bachelor and bachelorette parties which were very unique. They make the bride/groom do really embarrassing things in public and it's all a surprise so it was a really interesting experience. They are supposed to do it to suit the person's interests and personality, so for Anna they made her lead an aroebics class in the middle of town, she had no idea what she was doing and was blindfolded the whole ride there. She was dressed in a wet suit and swim cap and had a big sign that said "Sweat with Anna". She had to go around promoting her class and asking random strangers to come. It was hilarious, especially because she got really into it and enjoyed doing it. It definitely fit her personality. She also had to challenge some strangers to challenges like arm wrestling, running, and swimming. After that she had to be a street performer in the city square and try to earn some money, then she gave free massages to passers by. All this was broken up by lunch and fika (Swedish snack time, coffee and chocolate mostly, they have fika SEVERAL times a day, I have no idea why they aren't all overweight.) Then we went to a wonderful Indian restaurant and a sauna for a nice relaxing evening. The whole day was really fun and so funny to watch Anna... I'm just glad I'm not Swedish! (sorry I can't rotate pictures on this computer.)

The boys did something similar only it was more suited to Andreas. He had to preach a spontaneous sermon on the street and lead worship and everything. Then each guy challenged him to something they were good at, which is a bit humiliating because he never had a chance to do what he was good at. The whole time he was wearing a rediculous outfit and had to roller blade, which he doesn't really pride himself on. I can't remember the rest of the details but they had a good time and everyone had a real cultural experience.
Today John and I are going to Copenhagen with Helena and Linnea while the rest work on some other wedding details. They don't really have a rehearsal or anything special the day before so we are all just getting ready for Saturday. Helena (Anna's mom) made my dress and I've had it fit a few times so it's just my size! I don't know if I've ever had a custom made dress before, so that's exciting! Yesterday I got to see Anna in her dress (which Helena also made!) She's an amazing seamstress. It has been so fun being with the von Malorties, and feels just as natural as old times. We've been playing lots of Swedish and German games (Reimers need to get "Zug um Zug" it's a fun German train game).
I will try to post pictures of the wedding, which John will be taking, sometime next week. They have so many interesting traditions it's very different from an American wedding. We are both having a wonderful time and meeting a lot of new people. We'll try to keep the updates coming.

grace & peace

Here's the beginning of us recording our adventures. Right now we're in Sweden for Anna's wedding! It's absolutely beautiful here and the weather isn't too bad so we've been biking all over Malmö. Looking forward to all the wedding festivities and enjoying spending time with old friends and new. This summer has been an incredible blessing. We've been in Egypt for six weeks including a trip to Basata, our favorite spot on the Red Sea. After Sweden, we're heading to Norway for a week of camping, meeting relatives and train rides all over. Then we fly to Amsterdam and will spend 4 days with the Strengholts before flying back to Cairo. After another week in Cairo we'll be on our way to Ghana! We are so excited about all the opportunites we have ahead of us right now. I will try to keep this updated when I get the chance as we travel.
cheers - john and roo