This beautiful Sabbath holds much promise. We have just attended Sacrament meeting and then Relief Society. It is so small here but the Spirit is always so strong. I am coming to know the members here and I love them more and more.
I am sitting here right now in the foyer as SK and the Hansens are in with the choir practicing for the Christmas program. I am hoping to mostly catch up on the blog through today, but then I will be back at the apartment with no internet!
I have been writing the blog on Word and will cut and paste the past few days.
As a note: The young man who was baptized yesterday was confirmed a member today. I am in awe of him. He has an incredible past, and has found his way to the gospel and embraced it with all his heart.
Have I mentioned how much I love these young missionaries? One of the ward elders gave a talk today in Sacrament meeting. He has only been out 6 months - which means he is probably about 18 or 19 years old. His talk was excellent....in Danish. He looks so young but seems so mature. He was the one who baptized the new convert yesterday. His companion - who has been out 2 months and looks 15...but who is probably 18(!) did the confirmation today. I was deeply touched by the words of the blessing. And once again, I was amazed at the spiritual and emotional maturity of these young men, and their joy which just bubbles over.
We will go to the Center for the afternoon and evening. There is a rebroadcast of a CES fireside which we will watch with the YSAs. When it was originally broadcast we were all sound asleep in our beds!
Saturday, December 7, 2013
We awakened to a world bathed in white and watched as
children rode little sleds down the very small hill outside our apartment (You
know….you climb UP to the lake!)
This morning we went to a baptism for David. He is a gentle man who has been a Christian
for many years, and who was imprisoned in his own country for 10 years for
practicing Christianity and preaching a democratic form of government. He is here seeking asylum and we are unsure
if he will be able to stay. His humble
testimony and gratitude for the Gospel is beyond my ability to describe, but it
was a beautiful morning.
In the afternoon we went to our little branch’s Christmas
(or to be more exact Jule Fest). There
were about 30 of us there. We sat around
tables munching on Gingerbread balls (about the size of a large m&m) and
tangerines, and playing games in a multipurpose room decorated with Christmas
tree and reindeer cutouts around the
walls. We sang traditional Christmas
songs….none of which I knew, but I am getting the pronunciation down well
enough that I could sing along. I loved
the spirit of the happy songs and wished I knew what they meant. I’ll quiz SK later.
Then Juleman came looking like Father Christmas. Not quite Santa, but a very traditional look
for Denmark. The 8 children there were
delighted. He led all of the children
and many of the adults in a circle around the Christmas tree, singing wonderful
Danish carols as they danced. The
Christmas tree was in the middle of the room.
The beautiful simplicity of the get together touched my heart. A spirit of warmth and love permeated the
softly lit room. I suddenly felt a glow
that can only be described as hyggelig (pronounced more like heuggelee), a word
several Danes have tried to describe and one that I have tried to define
here. It is a warm hug and far beyond….a
cozy room and the warmth of friends and family and a sense of security and love. I looked over at SK who was trying to take
pictures through his tears.
The songs were followed by a little decorated sack of
perhaps 4 or 5 pieces of candy for each child, and then the traditional treats
at Christmas – Ris Alamonde (a rich rice pudding in whipped cream with chopped
almonds), and aebleskiver.
Oh my! What a beautiful day!
Pictures to follow!
It's so nice to hear from you again! He Christmas party sounds absolutely wonderful! That is nice it has started to snow. I always think that as long as it's going to be freezing cold, it might as well snow and look pretty. Does it snow on the ocean? What happens, does it just melt when it hits the water? I love you!
ReplyDeleteThat is a very good question. So far, the snow melts as it hits the lake. I think the snow out over the sea and the ocean melts on contact. Which is funny to think about. Brother Andersen (a Dane who is about my age and on an office mission here) says that if the ocean raised 10 meters, Danmark would disappear! It is pretty flat. I love you.
DeleteYou guys better pray to counteract global warming. :)
DeleteMaybe it will freeze the lake and you can go ice skating! :)
DeleteLet's see....global warming....freezing. I like the idea of ice skating better than getting flooded out.
DeleteWe need to have an IT pow wow. Your iPhone has a data connection which both your computer (and your iPad) can share. I don't know the cost of your data plan and obviously you don't want to be streaming movies using it, but it would be fine for connecting to your blog and posting things. I'm sure that one of the YSA's that you work with could set it up for you. I love reading the blog and I think that Melissa, Lia and Erin are starting to experience blog withdrawal.
ReplyDeleteIs this my son, my son-in-law, or neither of the above?
ReplyDeleteI so love reading your blog but I get so busy that I forget about it until Sunday when I sit down and read your last weeks worth. So I have not missed you while your internet was down. And because I am behind, do you get my comments on your older posts? Like the one where you apologized for the quality of your photos? If not I will comment on the last one I read! Your descriptions of all those wonderful experiences you are experiencing are so exact I feel as if I am there. And your explanation of all those good missionaries at Zone Conference, brought tears to my eyes. With Josh leaving so soon I am feeling tender towards missionary doings! (He reports a month from today at the MTC in Spain if his Visa comes!) Thanks for sharing your mission with us through your blog! :) Love you!
ReplyDeleteI tried to answer and perhaps it got on and perhaps not, but I love your comment. I always get an email telling me that someone commented on the blog and then a link to that comment, so yes...I do get it.
DeleteIt is so easy to picture Josh right in the middle of things....fun and enthusiastic and eager. He is so likable. Spain is in for a treat!!!
Wonderful "Christmas" get together. Sounds like you could really feel the Spirit. Thanks - as always - for sharing. L&P
ReplyDeleteIt was wonderful!
DeleteLove ya.
I love that word, whatever it is, that describes so much. I wish we had such a word! I think we should adopt it into our family. The whole experience sounded incredible.
ReplyDeleteI think you should adopt the word, the ris alamonde and the aebleskivers! Give it all a Melissa-twist.
ReplyDelete