Recently, I visited Stockholm on behalf of Camino Magazine. Camino is Sweden’s largest sustainable living magazine. They were wonderful hosts organizing speaking opportunities at their own Sustainability Conference and local businesses.
I found the city to be beautiful. And the people even more.
In the middle of the week, there was a short break in our speaking schedule and we were invited by one of our hosts on a tour of some local museums. We quickly agreed.
Our host’s friend, Stina, accompanied us on our tour. And, at one point after lunch, she told us her story:
Stina once worked in the film and media industry in Sweden. But recently, she has found a new passion—baking. This is where the story gets amazing because her bakery is anything but ordinary.
Stina had begun to notice a surfacing problem in Stockholm: high school students who did not fit the typical mold in Sweden were falling through the cracks, dropping out of school—sometimes by choice, sometimes not. Because of the high priority placed on education in Sweden, these students were left with few options and frustrated parents.
Stina decided to act and did something almost nobody would ever think to do. She built a wood-oven in her home and (even more significantly) she invited over a number of high school drop-outs to bake bread. Today, 18 months later, she hosts some of society’s most at-risk teenagers in her home 5 days/week where they bake goods for a local cafe.
Even Stina’s neighbor has gotten involved building a mobile cart to help deliver goods around town.
As anyone would do after hearing the amazing story, we inquired about this bakery and were thrilled to receive a tour. (pictured above is the bakery with one student and one volunteer—I’ll let you guess which is which).
Stina will be the first to tell you it has not always been easy. There have been difficult times as trust needed to be built. But she can talk for hours about how this little bakery has touched and changed the lives of forgotten teenagers in Sweden.
It all started with one simple decision: Stina decided to believe in the good of people. Even when others thought hope was lost, Stina saw beauty.
She found good and potential and opportunity where others saw none. For the remainder of her life, Stina will be called blessed. And her positive influence will be extended to future generations through the lives she believed and invested in.
Depending on your fluency in Swedish, you can read more about the bakery.
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A version of this story originally appeared in the March 11 edition of the Becoming Minimalist Newsletter. I just wanted to share it here as well.
A very touching story, thank you!
Very uplifting story. A simple act that is changing lives!
It’s one of the hardest things on this planet to see yourself as one with everyone else. We are taught to view everyone around us as the enemy. We are in competition with everyone around us. Even though most traditional religions teach us to think of everyone else as if they were our relatives.
I have found that in those moments when I love myself the most, is when I love the people around me (strangers and friends alike) the most. It’s my constant practice to love everyone around me as if they were related to me.
To quote the late John Denver – I believe that we are here for each other not against each other.
I have found that in those moments when I love myself the most, is when I love the people around me (strangers and friends alike) the most.
This resonates so much in my heart. Thank you for reminding me of what really makes me happy. If you don’t mind, i will share these as your words in my facebook
Cholo Hidalgo Laurel
And genetics has shown we really are related to each other as we come from a band of about 1000 Homo sapiens. One human race. Hello cousin!!
we were taught to view everyone as enemy? i didnt even know color or religion growing up in the 70s. it wasnt until 1986 that I even heard someone call someone else a jew. we helped and opened our home to anyone. and to this day…..me and my family do the same.
I once worked with a nonprofit that was a community system for bartering. However, the premise of why the founders started this organization was not really just about bartering it was about people (and serving those who had difficulty finding the funds to get the things that they and their families needed). One of the leaders was so frustrated that society threw aways not only useable decent goods, but moreover we throw away people. How tragic. As a teacher I see it happen often–kids who just don’t fit the mold and forgotten–a little love and they are ready to learn and grow–it really can transform a child, teen, adult. I love to hear about wonderful people like Stina who don’t throw people, but instead she loves them–what more do we all really need. Thanks for a feel-good Monday morning:)
https://awellstockedlife.wordpress.com/2015/03/30/why-i-didnt-write-a-blog-post-sort-of/
What an amazing woman. I love that when everyone else saw failure in these teens, she saw life and possibility and hope. That’s beautiful.
Awesome post, Josh! It’s so true, once we can let go of our doubts and fears and focus on seeing the good in others we’ll only attract more good into our lives.
It’s inspiring to see people like Stina doing small things that make a big difference in the lives of others.
Thank you for this great post!
An excellent start to the week. A beautiful testimony of loving others and seeing the good in them. Thank you for this!
Some interesting thoughts in here and a great story.
One person can have such a wide ripple effect on those around them. Most people avoid Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. To tackle the problem of street homelessness, Miss Judy Graves decided to talk to the homeless themselves and ask what they needed. 20 years later….and after retirement, she continues to walk the streets and advocate for those who feel they have no voice.
Go to youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPdxWxeZ9ZU
This was such an inspirational story. I don’t know if I can articulate why, but it has things churning in me.
It’s also so refreshing to hear about positive things happening in the world. I feel like I’ve been obnoxiously bombarded with all the ugly the world has to offer lately, and I want to yell back, “There’s good things happening too!”
Thanks for sharing.
-Tara
Bringing the good to the surface – yes!
No ‘brownie-points’ for noticing the bad stuff – meh.
Wonderful story. Thank you for sharing.
It is so true. When we see the good in others, we help others see it in themselves. Thanks for sharing this uplifting story with us.
I don’t believe in the good of humanity but it is always good to see that some realize that we are all in this together.
What a wonderful story. I think it’s very touching that she opened up her very home to these at-risk kids. It’s one thing to volunteer at a shelter or nonprofit, but an entirely higher order of faith to do this in your own home. Thank you for sharing this.
The world needs more of that. Showing the good is the counterbalance for todays focus on bad things. Unfortunately bad things outsell better than good.
Thanks for sharing and showing there’s hope.
Nice story, founds it interesting sir.
Thanks for enlightening us, I’ll check back soon as I will be customizing my new blog; blogfulpath.com now.
Do have a nice week ahead ☺☺
The world needs more Stinas! How we easily forget that man was once a herd, flock, shoal or pack. Family extended much further than those immediate people in our lives. Community has lost it’s shine but all we need are more stories like this one to bring us back to our roots and ground us in the reality that we need each other and we need to look out for each other. What a lady!
awww so heart-touching story that was :( love quotes
What a great story. I love that she took something she loved and did well and was able to use it to help others. Those kids will never forget that!
Emily.
zuzankosjournal.blogspot.ca
Beautiful, Josh! And yes, when we stop seeing people as “us” and “others,” we really begin to understand that there is good and love in everyone.
Josh, I was wondering if you got any sense of what these teens did when they left the bakery? Did this teach them a skill that they go on to use elsewhere?
Joshua: Thank you for an excellent piece! I took the liberty of sharing it on our Hunger page of FB. We have a Task Force for the Hungry ministry in our diocese, and we always try to emphasize that there are many forms of hunger, even the hunger of neglect. This is a wonderful article of how a “food ministry” can “feed” at-risk teens. Pax!
Wow! This is similar to what some entrepreneurs do here in the Philippines. Social enterprise. Those who have the financial capability start a business, partnering with the financially deprived. The financially poor are given opportunity to have a sustainable source of income, uplifting their confidence and living a dignified life!
Thanks for sharing Joshua.
Eye-watering story. All you need is love.