New Year's Eve Copenhagen

What a day!  I began my day by reading the last 3 chapters in the Book of Mormon.  They are powerhouse chapters and I love everyone of them.  I love to read them in my hard cover Book of Mormon (as opposed to ipad etc) because I have notes from other times reading, and they are like a mini journal.

We had a good morning cleaning our apartment and doing some baking for our "party" tonight.  We had everything planned for a group of 10.  I baked a cake, made meatballs in mushroom gravy and SK stood in the kitchen for a couple of hours peeling potatoes.  We readied dishes enough, utensils enough and snacks for the hours up to midnight.  About 2 in the afternoon, Sister Hansen called to say that two young sister missionaries would be joining us as well....they didn't have anywhere to go.  Great!  The more the merrier.  We didn't actually have 12 of any plates or glasses that matched, but we did have unmatching ones.

Then about a half hour later, she called to say that we would be having another 4 young elders!  I was very excited and happy about that but a trifle worried about how much food there would be.  I added more gravy and we had plenty of potatoes, thanks to SK.
They all arrived between 5:30 and 7:00.  Our little apartment had 16 people in it!  Around 7:30, we gathered for a prayer and then served the food.  There was enough for many to have seconds...at least anyone who wanted seconds.  There was plenty of food to snack on and plenty of food for dinner.

They were all so happy to be here and played a few games of Uno and Phase 10, but mostly sat around talking and laughing and watching the fireworks that were going off during the evening.

At 11, I had them gather in a circle, gave everyone a glass with orange Fanta, and had each one share the best thing about 2013 and what they hoped to have happen in 2014.  After each one, we toasted, saying Skol!...kind of like cheers.  Many of them mentioned being able to testify to special people about the Savior.  On the eve of a new year, I was touched that the desires of their hearts was to be like the Savior, to share their testimonies of Him and to be effective missionaries.

What each contributed to our little New Year's Eve celebration in their good memories and their hopes for the future was tender and I think we all enjoyed it.

Then we got our coats and hats on and trooped up to the roof...Floor number 6 on the elevator, where we watched sporadic fireworks on every side.  At midnight they went off everywhere in every direction.  Many were being set off right here on the lake.  It was incredible.  I have never heard anything like it and I have never seen anything like it.  They were all colors as they exploded in the night sky.  All along the horizon there were magnificent displays....and it went on for nearly two hours!  As I write at (3:26) I can still hear them.

I came back down after a half hour, because one of the senior couples had stayed in the apartment and I didn't want them to feel deserted.  SK came in shortly after that, because he is the chauffeur.  He has spent the first 3 hours of 2014 driving all over the greater Copenhagen area.  We have one car which holds 5 people total.  So first he took the two young sisters and the senior couple to their apartments.  An hour later he walked in to get the 4 young elders who live in the same apartment.  Their picture during their apartment inspection was earlier this week.

At that point, I looked at the remaining two young elders who looked like they were sleep walking and said there are single beds upstairs, go lie down until he gets back for you.  They happily went upstairs and went to sleep immediately.  I cleaned the kitchen.  SK got back for them at 3, and now I am here reporting the events of the day.  I think SK will return in about another 15 minutes, so that may be time to download some of the pictures from this evening.  I'll give it a try.

Happy New Year!!!

Brother Bailey - regaling the elders with great stories.

Someone brought sparklers and we had our own little roof-top celebration.+

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Cause to Rejoice

A year and a day ago, I spent time with my Allen grandchildren while their parents were celebrating their anniversary.  We fixed dinner for the missionaries!  What a sweet memory and an interesting thing to think about.

Tomorrow we will fix dinner for the missionaries, but there will be eight of us senior missionaries and 2 young elders.  We were in Church Sunday and the elders approached us.  One said, "President Sederholm told us if we didn't get an invitation to spend New Year's Eve with someone, we should ask the senior couples if we could join them....and we haven't gotten an invitation!"  We were absolutely delighted to tell them we would love to have them come.

We will eat well....play games, put together puzzles and then go up on the roof of our 6-story building to watch fireworks over the lake at midnight.  We will go pick them up from their apartment around 5 and take them home around 1 a.m.  It is not safe for them to be out on a night when people typically get very drunk.

They are both 18 and I can't even tell you how much joy it gives me to have them here with us.  I just love these kids.  We inspected their apartment this morning early.  They live on the top floor of an older apartment building.  Monday is their P-day and the "tradition" is that every Monday for breakfast they go down to the little corner bakery (in their building) and buy a pastry.  I am thinking we ought to start that tradition.  Well...it is a lovely idea anyway.

Going into their apartments is so interesting.  When you consider how the average 18-year-old spends his time, it is a wonderful thing to see these guys sacrificing so much to be where they are.  They are doing their own laundry, their own cooking, their own cleaning, their own ironing (more or less) and scheduling their days in learning a foreign language and trying to teach people about Jesus Christ.

These two elders are teaching a lady who stopped and talked to them at the town square a couple of weeks ago.  She is reading the Book of Mormon and has come to Church twice.  She is 60 years old and they absolutely cherish her.

A year ago today, our son spoke in sacrament meeting and gave a thought provoking talk about optimism.  It can't have been that long ago!  As 2013 comes to a close, I feel more optimistic than I ever have I think.  I am so grateful for the sacrifice of the Savior and for His love for each one of us.  I am grateful to be in a position to see that love manifested in the lives of so many dear people here in Denmark.

Among the random sights seen along the way was a horse and carriage.

This is 10:30 a.m.   The clouds sweep by very quickly here.

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Gratitude is the Key

It is now 11:30 p.m. on Sunday evening and I will take a few moments to share the beauties of this day.  Sundays are always a treat.

We began with our hour-long adventure to church by bus.  We waited at both bus stops a long time...wondering if we had missed it.  But eventually the bus showed up and we made our merry way off the island of Sjaelland and on to the island of Amager where our church is.  No bumbling today. We walked out the front door at 9 and walked through the front door of the church at 9:59.  How's that?

It was the farewell of one of our YSAs, who is leaving this week for the MTC in Provo and then on to San Jose, CA.  She is fluent in English already, but with a British accent, which is sooo endearing!  She is very personable, very bright and very spiritual.  She'll be wonderful!  Later in the day we attended her open house.  Their home was brimming over with the joy of all the well-wishers.

In the evening we went to the center where we had another sacrament meeting.  The YSAs conduct everything in a beautiful and solemn manner.  I love to just watch and enjoy the spirit there.  But after the meeting is over they laugh and have a grand time.  No CRUD today though...Sunday.  The last to leave were 3 tall handsome young Danes.  One of them just had his last interview this evening with the Stake President who will send his papers to Salt Lake.  This young man is excited and nervous...understandably.  He is so dear.  We talked with them for some time before leaving.  I love these kids!

Earlier in the day, the Branch President instructed us for the 5th Sunday.  He spoke about what he had learned in 2013.  I enjoyed his message.

It also got me thinking about what I have learned in 2013.  The entire year has been focused on our mission.  A year ago we were preparing to serve...getting doctor appointments and filling out papers. Then we were interviewed by Bishop Halbert and President Salmon.  The papers were in and then there was the waiting and waiting.  The mission call came...to Denmark!  Then a quick trip to Sacramento to apply for our visas.  A farewell...and then many farewells.  A family reunion in July and then waiting and waiting and waiting for those visas to come.  We waited in North Salt Lake with our youngest daughter, her husband and their little Eliza.  If you have to wait....a one-year-old helps you through anything!  The visas came, we entered the MTC and now we are here...with 3 months of our mission flown by already on the 30th.

But what have I learned?  I have learned that every day holds tender mercies from the Lord....little miracles.  On so many days, my heart has been drawn out to the Lord for help....and it has always come.  I have learned that there are angels everywhere - both the heavenly and earthly variety who have been available for my family and who have helped us here in Denmark.  

I have learned that the promised help from the Lord for His missionaries is there in abundance....and that if we give it our best effort and then rely on Him, things always turn out just fine.

I have learned that the young people out here on missions are the best we have and there is great reason to look to the future in faith and hope.


And thank you dear Kate for the reminder:  Gratitude is the key to happiness!

Celebrating and More Celebrating!

The highlight of our day today was traveling by train out to the mission home to attend the mission president's daughter's reception.  He and his wife are a wonderful couple who have been here about a year and a half.  They have been married for 28 years, and when they first came to Denmark, they just had six children.  The youngest two came with them.  They have had two sons get married and now today one of their daughters.  That is three in 17 months!

For their sons' weddings, Sister Sederholm flew back to the U.S. to attend and President Sederholm stayed to take care of his responsibilities here in the mission.  But their daughter wanted so much to have her father at her wedding that she moved the whole wedding and party to Denmark!  It was very sweet and obvious that she adores her father.  The wedding was in the Copenhagen Temple and then one of the three receptions was here.

The bride was radiant and the groom handsome.  The groom had been an AP here on his mission and went home to Utah a couple of years ago or less.  I am not sure where they met, but I don't know if President Sederholm was ever his mission president.  At any rate, they are two young people who carry the love of Denmark on and who have it in common.

At the end of the evening, the bride and groom danced in the middle of the floor....the crowd around them let them dance for 3 or 4 minute and then slowly closed the circle around them.  When they got so close that the couple couldn't move to dance, they kissed!  What a fun tradition. Then President Sederholm danced with his daughter to the song he has always sung to her, "You are My Sunshine."

There was the traditional marzipan layer cake, something I have never tasted before.  A rich thin layer of chocolate brownie, topped with chocolate mousse, raspberry mouse, a think layer of yellow cake and then a layer of marzipan.  If you have had marzipan in the states and didn't like it, you have no idea how good it is in Denmark!

Seriously....my new year's resolution for every new year that I can remember has been to lose weight, but this year I have got to stop eating marzipan, pastry, Danish bread and butter, ris alamande, Danish chocolate, sweet milk, etc.  Perhaps with the big celebrations behind us now,  I can get serious!

Getting Back to Normal

December 27, and people are getting back into normal life again.  Stores have been shut since Monday and were opened again today.  Stores are cleared of Christmas, but many people still have their decorations up and lit.  I hate to take our little display down!  The mail - which has not been delivered since Monday was delivered today.

I love the little red post boxes all over the place!

So what did we do today?  We went shopping.

Actually, we just went to a grocery store a couple of miles away that has an American section.  For the holidays, they had Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup!  We bought everything they had.  12 cans.  They were expensive, but now I've got them, there are a couple of dishes I can make for the center, that just wouldn't have been the same otherwise.  I would have preferred Cream of Chicken, but I am thrilled with these.

The greater portion of our day was taken up with traveling to missionary apartments again.  We did more inspections, and each one we do makes me happy.  The young elders we visited today just make you glad to be alive.  They live in very different neighborhoods and have very different circumstances as far as the apartments go, but each seems happy and excited about missionary work.  Having a prayer with these young missionaries is a sweet experience.

We left at 9 in the morning when it was just beginning to get light and got back when it was dark (actually it starts getting dark around 3).  It was later than that, but by the time we had dinner and cleaned up and did some laundry and worked on the reports, it was 8 p.m.

We had a treat this evening.  My brother and sister-in-law from Connecticut called.  We visited for a little while with them and several of their children...one of whom is going on a mini-mission to the Washington D.C. visitor's center.  After seeing all these cute young missionaries these past days, I can't help but think she is going to have a wonderful time!  Skype is an amazing thing....cheaper than sending a letter!

As we traveled from place to place, I snapped several pictures of a dramatic sky with the sun trying to break through the clouds, some beautiful stark forests....and some quaint old buildings.

Do you see the thatched roof?

This is actually not a normal day for us, but what a great time we had!

Get out the White Gloves!

What do we do in the states on December 26?  I am trying to remember if that is a big sale day or a lazy day.  I know it was a lazy day for me....cleaning up from Christmas and vowing never to go into another store again.

It is definitely a lazy day here.  Very few stores open yet, and people are mostly staying home still recuperating from Christmas Eve.  It is really very nice.  It is still basically a holiday with the post office having another day off like everyone else.  I hear that most places will be back open for business again in the morning.  Both yesterday and today when we have been outside, it has seemed that there is an air of "no one home."

We found a few people home however.  We did apartment inspections.  Since we are still not familiar with the area here, we ended up scheduling them all over the place and so put a good amount of miles on the car.

There seems never to be time to stop the car, get out and take pictures, but we passed some beautiful scenery, and I snapped this one from the window as we passed by.  It is a little group of people who are feeding the gulls....the birds were swarming everywhere, and everyone - especially the little children seemed to be enjoying it.

We traveled outside of the city to a fashionable suburb, but ended up driving out into a somewhat dilapidated and industrial area.  When we arrived at the address we wondered where the missionary apartment was.  We called them and managed to find a nice free-standing building that was home to four young elders.  It had a lovely big living room, two bedrooms with bunkbeds in each, two closet-sized study rooms with desks and two bathrooms...also a washing machine and dryer.  They have it pretty good!  We spent some time with them, checked everything off on the clipboard and said goodbye.

Our next stop was sister missionaries...another 1/2 hour in transit.  It was a lovely old street with well-kept old buildings where they lived.  They were both cute and shared with us that for the past couple of weeks they have gone caroling a lot.  They carol for a family and that family says, "Wait!  Can you go sing to my friends?"  So they have been doing a lot of that and are teaching a couple of people who are interested in the Church.  Things are going well.

The last stop of the day was to two young elders in a third-story apartment in a little suburb.  Like all the other missionaries we saw today, they are keeping their places neat and clean.  Like all the apartments we have been in, there were homemade Christmas decorations throughout the apartment. There are a few things we asked them to focus on and to keep up a little better, but by and large they were doing well.

That took the bulk of the day, but we enjoyed the travel time and we especially enjoyed the time with the young missionaries.  It is quite a sacrifice for them to be out here, especially at age 18.  Here they are doing their own laundry, cleaning out the oven, defrosting the freezer, vacuuming, making sometimes gourmet meals, going without the video games and movies and tv, being out on bicycles in icy weather, pushing themselves outside of their comfort zones in approaching people about the Gospel.  I just think they are wonderful.

No Hustle, No Bustle

It is not a white Christmas but it is a beautiful one nevertheless.  We slept in and then I fixed breakfast and we both ate.  This is unusual, because SK doesn't like to eat breakfast and declares it is totally unnecessary for the health of the human race.  But it was nice of him to sit down with me and have eggs and bacon!

We had what is called in the Checketts vernacular "The Tree."  I am completely baffled how the gift-opening ritual came to be called that....and I suspect no one really knows, but it has been so deeply ingrained that my children and grandchildren call it that as well -- always with a bit of humor.  We took great delight in opening each little box that had come so far and at such great expense.

Erin thought that since most of Christmas decorations were left here by other couples, we ought to have some unique ones to add to the collection....but how could we possibly abandon "Christmas Story" and "Charlie Brown?"

We thought it was a lovely day for a walk and considered walking around the five connecting lakes here which would have easily been an hour and a half or more.  But we got outside and SK said, "Let's go over to the downtown area."  That means Copenhagen.

We walked over to Stroget - the Walking Street and were surprised to see some shops open, and even more surprised to see many people out, although few in comparison to a normal day.  We strolled along doing some window shopping and just enjoying being out.  We had considered going down by the harbor to see the Little Mermaid.  It is a smaller statue than people think it will be.  But we never got that far.

Why do these sidewalks fascinate me so?

It is Christmas after all.....We looked at each other and turned down a little side street, arriving at The Church of our Lady in just a few moments.  For the next half hour we sat in the peaceful chapel reverently pondering the magnificent portrayal of the Savior by Thorvaldsen.  His apostles line both sides and each deserves undivided attention in its own right.  But the Christus draws us back.  His hands are low, reaching out, inviting us to come to Him.  The inscription states simply "Kommer til mig" (Come Unto Me).  Underneath is the reference to the scripture in Matthew 11: 28..."Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

We watched people come in, walk down the long center aisle and hesitantly approach the Savior....some just standing and staring many feet back, others walking up and past the altar to stand immediately in front.  The chapel was quiet, with only an occasional cough, low murmur of voices, or the echo of a footstep.  Sound resonates differently in those large old churches with vaulted ceilings...almost demanding silent contemplation.

Thoroughly refreshed, we made our way back to our warm apartment where we had a simple meal, and then skyped our children.  We talked with each one of the 13 grandchildren....if that doesn't bring a longing to be home, nothing else could.  They are each so dear, each so unique.

Lia and Peter sent us a gift with the quote:  "As we serve in the mission field, our children and grandchildren will be blessed in ways that would not have been possible had we stayed at home."  This quote by Robert D. Hales is what helps us to serve.  But it is certainly a sweet blessing to us to be here...in Denmark.


As a side note....SK made cookies all by himself!!!  We were going to deliver them to friends and neighbors, but when we saw the result, we decided to chalk these up to learning and wait to share until a future time.  These were supposed to be small rounded crisp cookies.  They taste great...by the way.

Another note:  SK participated in the marzipan molding last night and set to work carving his masterpiece.  Then he covered it in chocolate.  When he saw me taking a picture of it today, he whisked it away to the kitchen where he carved some more. What you see now is the final result of his artistic endeavor.

It is a tooth!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Presents (not wrapped and under the tree)

December 24 is the big day to celebrate in Denmark.  There is a little bit of celebrating done on the 23rd, and of course the 25th and even the 26th.  But it was today that everyone gets that warm look in their eyes and the glow on their faces about.

Our day started out with going to a little town south of here.  We left around 8:30 and arrived at the apartment of the 3 elders we had been sent to visit around 10.  We took them packages and letters that had been sent from their homes and which had arrived at the mission office.  They were thrilled to get them.

SK thought you would enjoy seeing how fast we were driving across the countryside - in kilometers per hour!

We passed this beautiful little church...I snapped pictures from the car!  Can you believe how green it is in December?

 We also were on an assignment to inspect their apartment.  We had a checklist that had to be filled out and eventually turned in to the mission office.

There were three who came to the door to greet us.  I am fairly certain that the oldest among them is 19....maybe, and the other two are 18.  One of them was with us in Sacramento 9 months ago applying for our visas.  They met us wearing white shirts and ties and slacks and every one of the 3 looked rosy-cheeked and scrubbed clean, smiling bright happy smiles....just good young men.

We visited with them for a few minutes going over the guidelines and then they gave us the grand tour of the place as we checked off our list of things to look at.  They live in an old building, the lower half of which is rented out for the Church to hold its meetings in, and they live on the third floor.  They said that other than the landlord, they were the only tenants, but there were a couple of other empty apartments.

There were 3 good-sized rooms.  One was where all three simple beds were, neatly made with suitcases tucked underneath.  Another was where there were a couple of couches and some shelves where they kept all of their tracts and books for studying.  The last room was kind of a multipurpose room.  Considering there were three young men living there, it was very tidy and organized.  Their clothes were folded and put away, the food in the kitchen was organized on the shelves and they have been working on the bathroom since they got there (about 3 weeks), and it is going to take some work.  The buildup of kalc and stuff was great but I could tell they have been scrubbing, and they assured us they would continue to scrub until they get it clean.

The kitchen was old, but they are keeping it clean, and two of them love to cook!...and have even made a few homemade Danish dishes from the classic Danish cookbook by Froken Jensen.

Throughout the apartment were posted pictures and scriptures and quotes that were inspiring.  My heart was touched by the homemade Christmas decorations all over!  They had cut out paper snowflakes and strung them from wall to wall in all the rooms, and had a few little Christmas figures on windowsills.

This is the main shopping area of the little town where the elders live.  It probably looks very austere to you but it is a beautiful and quaint little town, devoid of shoppers on this special celebration day.  In the Spring the trees will be beautiful and it will be a vibrant and active place.

There were  a lot of people going to church at the local Lutheran church. 

The sidewalk!  I love the look of the sidewalks everywhere here, but they are often somewhat treacherous to walk on.

Most businesses are closed today, so we stopped at a McDonalds on the way home and had a hamburger.  We reached our apartment by 2....enough time to wrap a few presents I had gotten, pack up the cookies we made last night and then take the train to another suburb of Copenhagen to a couple's house from our branch.

 By train it took us nearly an hour to get there.  The train platform and the train was filled with people whose hands and arms were filled with sacks, bags, boxes and other containers full of goodies, food and presents.  Everyone had a destination of home and family it seemed.  People had an attitude of anticipation and cheer that was fun to be a part of.  Brother Olsen picked us up at the train station and drove us to his home in a lovely neighborhood.

They gave us a tour of their house and yard, which were absolutely lovely.  They had enclosed a large spacious patio...there was a beautiful little Christmas tree there and a table set for a feast for 11 of us.  After our tour we went to the basement where there was a large room meant for games and fun of all sorts.  We sat at a table and were given a chunk of marzipan each and a knife and shown how to make great candy masterpieces....which we did.  Sister Swena started by making a duck and moved on to other things....I made a little round discs or cubes or spheres.  Then we dipped them in chocolate and adorned them with nuts or candy of some sort.

We gathered around the table on the main level to eat the traditional Danish Christmas Eve dinner, and it was spectacular.  There were two kinds of white potatoes,one was boiled and one was baked in a sweet sauce.  There was flæskesteg - a tender pork roast served with rich brown gravy.  A beautiful platter of turkey was the other meat and it was served with a berry sauce and a light brown gravy.  Pickled red cabbage was a marvelous side dish, along with several exotic sauces.  Everything was so delicious...we all started out laughing and talking and then got serious as we savored every bite.

Brother and Sister Olsen are the parents of our beautiful ballerina, here with her son and handsome prince.  Brother Olsen is taking a picture from the other side!

I don't know how long we were at that table visiting and eating, but finally after an hour or longer, we got up and moved around and watched a video from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  We all joined hands and danced around the Christmas tree singing Christmas songs...none of which I knew.  I just hummed.  That was followed by opening presents.  Santa had somehow figured out we were there and had delivered a present to us....a very nice book about Danmark, including maps.  It is just what we needed.

After that we ate ris alamonde, the very traditional dessert.  It is a rich dessert, and if we had eaten it right after the meal we might have all gotten sick from eating way too much, but since we had waited almost 2 hours, we were ready for that tasty pudding!

It was a wonderful experience, and one I want to remember always.  Sister Olsen did a fabulous job.  I am hoping I can one day duplicate that whole evening with my family in Gilbert.  Christmas eve in Denmark....my first, was everything I had heard it would be.

Merry Christmas everyone!