Lysvik….whoever would have guessed??
Summer vacation 2021…it started early (end of May, beginning of June). You can read a previous post about some of the other ways we enjoyed this summer break ~ with friends, colleagues, and by ourselves.
But the highlight of this summer vacation, by far, was finding Lysvik on the map.
Summer 2019…Värmskog, in Värmland, Sweden. I (Barb) was just thrilled to meet my mormor’s (my mom’s mom) family in Värmskog. Even got the chance to hang out with 2 of her cousins, in their 80’s and 90’s, who were both so surprised to meet Hannah’s barnbarn (Hannah = my grandmom, barnbarn = grandchild in Swedish). I shall never forget meeting my mom’s cousin who said in lovely Swedish “Hannah’s granddaughter? Our Hannah who went to America?” Kinder words have never been spoken.
Received this sweet bouquet of lillies of the valley (my favorite flower) from my mom's cousin 
Fika with the family ~ just plain catching up!
Fastforward now to summer 2021, and in the 2 years since our last visit to Värmland, my 2nd cousin had done some family research based on a photograph I had of my great grandparents gravestone. My morfar’s parents. And his twin brother. Could it be? Was it possible that I met even met one of my grandfather’s family members?
Meeting the Svenskakyrkan priest in Lysvik ~ with appropriate social distancing, of course! 
Svenskakyrkan i Lysvik ~ where morfar was baptized ~ 
Inside the Lysvik church ~ too bad we missed the worship service!
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| Leaving a message behind in the church's guest book....just in case we didn't meet any family while visiting in Lysvik. It was just so important to me that someone know that Johannes Emanuel Ericksson's family had come back to the village after 105 years... |
We had written to the local congregation’s priest, who gave us such good tips on how to find more info. We had arranged to meet with her at the congregational house, located right next to the church. And, oh joy ~ Sweden’s health authority had just opened up places of worship again on the first Sunday in June, so we were warmly welcomed back on 6 June at 11.00.
On the other side of the lake Fryken, where we were staying in a B&B...this same lake, but up in Lysvik, is where grandpa would have gone swimming as a young man... 
On the road to Lysvik...my heart was racing! 
This sweet poster in the Lysvik church: We want community! 
Armed with a photo of a gravestone and a list of Ericksson family members...so started our journey!
Taking a
long walk around the cemetery, equipped with a photo in one hand of my great
grandparent’s and uncle’s gravestone, and a list of other Ericksson family
members, we walked down all the lengths of the cemetery in the heat of the
day. At one point, I turned around to Steve
and said “even if we never find the gravestone, I’m just thankful to have had
the chance to come to the village where my morfar came from, to breathe the air
he had breathed for his first 17 years of life, and to see the lake that I’m
sure he took a swim in on a hot summer day”.
Lake Fryken in Lysvik ~ it's 80km (49 miles) long. And very beautiful!!!
And then, I turned around….and there was the gravestone!
Now the tears start. I kissed the gravestone. I thanked my great grandparents, whom I never met, for having the courage to send their son to America. (I later learned that week that actually 3 of my morfar’s 9 siblings had moved to America….which makes the story even more interesting, as there are relatives in the US now to discover as well!) We read the Bible texts, in Swedish, that were engraved on the gravestone: Psalm 91 and John 3:16. And we prayed and thanked God for his provision.
The photo I'm holding is the photo that my morfar received in the mail after his own parents and brother had died and this gravestone was put in place in the Lysvik cemetery. 
Though this restaurant clearly wasn't there in morfar's time (he came to the US in 1917), the view would have been a favorite of his, I'm sure!
To make a long story short:
Cemetery personnel helped us find the person who was responsible for the upkeep of the gravestone. We called and made arrangements to come back on Sunday for the first in-person worship service….but were misinformed about the time. Having been told service would start at 11am, imagine our surprise ~ and deep regret ~ when we pulled up at 10.40am and saw people coming out of church! No problem, MG was waiting for us. We went home with her for fika, then spent hours around a table with photos and lists of siblings of my grandpa, and then enjoyed dinner together. WHAT A DAY!!!
Though I couldn't put names and faces together of the relatives who had emigrated to Chicago, there was so much joy on this Sunday afternoon as MG and I tried to put family puzzle pieces together. Priceless!
For sure we’ll be going back to Lysvik.
Putting the pieces together.
Family!
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