You'll receive the bill in the mail...

As I predicted, only an hour or so went by before Niklas received a bunch of comments from people who wanted the 101 things translated into English. So, a well-known translator (who usually gets paid about $50 per hour for her work) sat down on a Saturday morning and translated the 101 things about Niklas. Here you go!

1. Grew up on an island called Dyrön.
2. I had fantastic grandparents.
3. I get along with my sister a lot better now than I did when I was younger.
4. I respect her in a lot of ways – she is bold and knows what she wants and how to get it.
5. I got breakfast in bed throughout my entire childhood.
6. I was named after my grandfather’s father who lived at the turn of the century (his name was Niklas).
7. I was born during a very cold winter in 1979 at Mölndal’s Hospital.
8. My parents were 20 and 24 when I was born.
9. I have admired them as long as I can remember…
10. and even more so now that I have seen what many families are like.
11. I will probably admire them even more soon when I find out what it is like to be a parent.
12. I have experienced many extended family get-togethers and
13. one of the highlights was always Christmas dinner at my grandparents’ house.
14. I had a red-haired teacher in elementary school who still scares me.
15. One time she made me do my homework over again because my handwriting wasn’t good enough.
16. But I still liked the first grade.
17. The other kids called me Maradona when I was little; in 1986 Argentina won the World Cup in Mexico.
18. I had (and have) short legs
19. and I was really good at soccer, which is why I was given that nickname.
20. I have never done any drugs though (as Maradona has).
21. I like to cook meals,
22. bake,
23. write,
24. and watch soccer.
25. I dream of writing stories and novels.
26. I won the shotput and 60 m sprint at the Tjörn Athletics Championships when I was 12.
27. I was baptized in the Holy Spirit on a Tuesday in 1991. My friends Mattias and Nicklas prayed for me.
28. I have spoken in tongues quite a lot since then!
29. I bought a HUGE “preacher’s” Bible in 1993 that cost $150. It was one of my best investments ever.
30. I still get Bible verses in my thoughts from that old-timey version.
31. My wonderful little sister was born 15 years ago.
32. I have been a proud big brother since then.
33. I have often been able to see myself in her.
34. I had a lot of role models in the youth group from Dyrön.
35. I am not good at calling people.
36. I wish I were better at keeping in touch with old friends.
37. I had an invisible friend when I was little whose name was “Gunkonken.” (translator: don’t ask me what that means.)
38. He existed up until I met my two first friends, Maria and Martin.
39. I have always had a big imagination,
40. lots of dreams for the future,
41. and a good memory.
42. My GPA was 3.5 of 4 in school and
43. then I went to Nösnäs high school in Stenungsund
44. specializing in commerce and administration.
45. My favorite subject was Company Economics and
46. young entrepreneurship.
47. I have worked as a youth pastor and preacher on Dyrön,
48. pastor in Centrumkyrkan (Downtown Church) in Staffanstorp,
49. student assistant for a kid named Fredrik,
50. student assistant for a group of teenaged boys with special needs and
51. teacher at a school for drop-outs and problem kids.
52. I love my job
53. and have learned a LOT the past few years.
54. Katie and I became a couple while sitting on a park bench in the City Park in Lund.
55. I fell so helplessly in love that I wonder if I have ever experienced anything quite like that. It was like a planet crashed into me…or something like that (translator: this is an accurate translation and I have not in any way changed or added to the text :o).
56. I have slept soundly in a snow cave before.
57. I got married in 2002 in Betel Church on Klädesholmen.
58. Since that I time I have been the happiest person in the world.
59. Our first year of marriage we lived in a TINY studio apartment (translator: the original text did not capitalize the word "tiny" but the translator felt it important to take the liberty of capitalizing this particular word).
60. The worst part of that was when Katie got the chicken pox with an extremely high fever. I saved her when she fainted in the bathroom…
61. I cherish Katie more than words can say.
62. Right now I am reading a history book called “From the ice age to the future” by Herman Lindqvist. It will probably take all those 14,000 years to finish reading it.
63. Right now I am longing for our child, who is out there somewhere in someone else’s womb far away from here.
64. I look forward to being a daddy,
65. and am planning on taking a lot of time off of work so that I can be with our child.
66. I am a little bit scared about becoming a dad,
67. but at the same time I think it will be one of the things I will be really good at.
68. I am going to start working full-time at the school so that we can earn a bit more money before the child arrives.
69. I love my church here in Staffanstorp.
70. I dream of the kingdom of God victorious in this place.
71. I have been a “big brother” for several teenagers the past three years through a social program here in this town.
72. I am planning a new course at school called Life Skills. Exciting!
73. Tomorrow I am going to make homemade ice cream, one with lemon flavor and one with chocolate and vanilla flavor.
74. I am not good at spelling and
75. therefore it is true for me that “the door to the future isn’t a door, it’s a window.”
76. I have a love-hate relationship with preaching.
77. I don’t get nervous, but I wonder why God doesn’t use someone else instead,
78. but I am still glad to be used by Him to equip and encourage His people.
79. I have preached the past 13 years.
80. The first time I spoke in front of a congregation it was about how Jesus has taken your place on in God’s courtroom.
81. That theme has been recurring since then.
82. I have written a book about righteousness through faith.
83. One of my first sermons was about how Daniel’s prayer life made him "highly esteemed.”
84. I was 16 then and
85. doing my internship with the Bohuslän mission in Hällevadsholm.
86. The latest sermon I gave was about Standing Up and Sticking Out – By believing in God and seeing His promises fulfilled.
87. My favorite characters in the Bible are Joseph and Mephiboseth.
88. Right now I am studying Hebrews 10, 11 and 12.
89. I studied for two years at Hvilan Community College in Åkarp,
90. and became a fritidsledare (translator: there is no good word for this. It has to do with Niklas being good at leading people in recreational activities, which doesn’t really work well either…).
91. I liked the subjects of sociology and
92. education
93. more than woodworking and wilderness survival.
94. But, I did sleep a total of 7 nights in a tent this summer.
95. I get VERY irritated and annoyed (to the point of nearly going crazy and getting a migraine) when someone chews too loudly next to me.
96. I moved to Staffanstorp in 1999 and
97. survived on $400 a month for 6 months.
98. I made lots of wonderful friends and
99. ate lots of dinners with different families during that time.
100. I am looking forward to a busy and wonderful fall.
101. God always has some surprise in store for me during the fall…