The Swedish Elves and Their Trip to Lithuania

On the late night of the 9^th of December, having crossed the Baltic Sea by a ferry boat, five special and very much anticipated guests from Sweden, the Christmas Elves, arrived in Lithuania. They came here for a very important Christmas mission that they were about to start the next morning: to visit children that are currently ill or on their way to recovery.

 

On Saturday morning the fun helpers of Rugutė’s loyal friend Bengt Nilsson, led by the Chief Elf Anita, arrived at Kaunas Clinic. Surprisingly, right at the hospital gate, the Elves met a very friendly Lion who kindly agreed to join the Elf Team.

 

Carrying bags full of gifts and singing Christmas carols, the Elves entered the first wards. The children who had been patiently looking forward to the Elves, gasped with surprise, seeing a giant Lion in the doorway! The Chief Elf juggling and singing at the same time (even better than last year), immediately mesmerized the children. The Lion also attempted to juggle with his huge paws, but even the supporting yells did not make it better: his clumsiness caused laughter in almost every ward. Soon we found out that Anita was not the only musically gifted one: out of the blue, a real Christmas choir was formed in the hallway of the hospital. With Anita’s conducting, children performed a fine rendition of We Wish You a Merry Christmas and, surely, received lots of applause.

 

The hours spent in the children units of Kaunas Clinic just slipped away, and, then, the Elves and their helpers had some rest in downtown Kaunas and admired the unusual Christmas Tree near Kaunas City Hall. The Elves, then, hurried towards the cozy home of little Emilija. The girl did not only surprise everyone by her English language skills, but also let Anita see her neatly kept exercise books and allowed the Elves to pet her most precious treasure – a pair of hamsters. The Elves had a great time at Emilija’s home, but since they were trying to get everywhere on time, they had to leave for a home of another great family.

 

The little Adomas’ family was also looking forward to the Elves’ visit. Adomas’ older brother Matas read a very interesting poem and proved it possible to juggle without any preparation. His sister Miglė cheered everyone with her Christmas song and by her sincere appreciation of every single thing she found in her gift package. The Elves enjoyed Adomas’ mother’s special pie and, admiring the warmth coming from this big and beautiful family, came back to Vilnius to rest before another adventurous day.

 

Gently falling snow gave everyone a pleasant surprise on the morning of the 11th of December: perhaps the guests from Sweden had secretly brought some of it in their bags… The Elves shook the snow off their boots and entered the Children’s Oncohematology Center of Children’s Hospital, where the little patients were also eagerly waiting for Christmas presents. While the Elves were handing out gifts, Anta did not only juggle by herself, but she also tried to help the little patients and their parents juggle! The warmth of the special moments and pure emotions of the children became memories that no-one will ever forget.

 

Once the visit to the Children’s Hospital was over, the group of Elves headed to Trakai and took the guided tour around the castle to find out about the history of Lithuania. Anita did not miss the opportunity to try the special acoustics of the Guest Hall of Trakai Castle, and her amazing voice was properly recognized!

 

The Elves did not stay long in Trakai. Having tried some traditional Karaite dishes, they hurried back to Vilnius, as the bags had not been emptied yet. Two girls, Katerina and Aistė, were patiently waiting for them at their homes.

 

At the door of Katerina’s home the guests were welcomed by a family pet, a beautiful dog Koksas. The Elves did not only present gifts to each family member, but each of them also received some special gifts from Katerina: a beautifully wrapped claywork and a home made Christmas pie. Not wanting to part with this great family, the Elves had to leave to another one, but not before hearing Katerina’s poem and playing with her little brother and sister.

 

Finally, running a bit late, the Elves arrived at the yard of Aistė’s home. Inside, they sat in a circle and enjoyed delicious snacks and cups of flavorful tea with honey. Aistė’s flute melodies, her sticker albums and some very thick books that the girl finished in a day or two, attracted most of the Elves’ attention. Having wished everybody Merry Christmas, the Elves left to have a good rest before the long trip home to Sweden.

 

Before saying good-bye to Vilnius city, the Elves visited a real chocolate factory, where they learned about the history of chocolate and made their own chocolate candy of various shapes and flavors. The authors of the best chocolate works received sweet prizes.

 

On the way to Sweden, the Elves stopped by Domantas’ home in Gargždai. Domantas’ family welcomed the guests in a very warm and fun manner. The boy did not only make sandwiches shaped like ships, but also made cookies shaped like mushrooms. The Elves were happy to see Domantas getting stronger and admired the iron will of the whole family to never give up and keep fighting for life.

 

Although it is sad to say good-bye to the fun Swedish Elves, we believe that they will visit Lithuania next year to create one more Christmas miracle for the sick children.

 

We sincerely thank the whole Elf Team: Anita, Stefan, Emilia, Daniel and Ieva, for finding the time and energy to come to Lithuania, where they are so welcome by children who believe in miracles.

 

We thank the Swedish students who prepared the gifts for Lithuanian children, and all those,
who contributed to the Swedish Elves’ trip to Lithuania that provided lots of joy to sick children.

 

We say thank you to the personnel of Children’s Oncohematology Center of Children’s Hospital and Kaunas Clinic, for the warm reception, flavorful tea and Christmas cookies.

Thank you, Dovydas, for the sincere personification of the friendly Lion and for the moments
of happiness you provided to children.

 

We also thank Amberton Hotel for providing accommodations to our guests from Sweden.

 

 

Photo gallery – Bridge of Friendship Sweden–Lithuania 2011