A New Venue....Just for Tonight

We have another new person in our Danish class.  She is from Romania.  She has lived here for 8 years and has never learned the language.....if that tells you anything about being able to get along with knowing Danish.  She has a 16-month old son who will be raised attending Danish schools.  Even though she will teach him Romanian, she wants to learn the language that her son will speak in school.
It is fascinating to watch people come and go in our Danish course.  Sometimes people will come into class and attend for a week or two, and then we never see them again.  We started with 12 or so and grew to 18 and have been shrinking ever since.  Life gets busy for people,  and fitting 12 hours of classwork in is very difficult.  I must confess, it is getting me down.  It is hard to keep up...especially when the mission takes priority...which is as it should be.

SK thoroughly enjoys the class, and feels none of the stress I feel when I am unprepared.  The last few lessons have been a little more complicated, and I have needed to study and review what we learn in class.  So much of what we do in class is oral, and I really hate to look like a deer caught in headlights as I try to answer the teacher's questions.

SK not only answers the teacher's questions but then goes a step or two further and chats about all kinds of things.  Sometimes it is as if he and the teacher are just having a wonderful little visit of their own.  But most others don't mind....it gives them time to do more cramming.

We made white chocolate almond cookies for Family Home Evening.  We went to the center right after class where I worked on making about 130 of them.  SK loves those cookies!  His job was to go to some stores and find almonds and white chocolate, which he did promptly.  Besides helping chop almonds, he was also the official taste-tester.

We went to an LDS church nearby, where the YSAs played dodgeball.  I enjoyed watching, but never quite figured out the rules.  They had a great time, and it was fun to watch.  Our newest member, a great young man who was baptized a few weeks ago, brought two non-member friends.  They were both tall and handsome and took part in everything, joining us at the center after dodgeball....staying late with everyone else.  I think they REALLY liked CRUD.

I spoke with one of them as they both were leaving.  He told me that he was apprehensive to come, but that he had felt comfortable.  He said that he doesn't believe in God.  He said he is not sure there isn't a God, but he just doesn't know.  He was so earnest, mentioning that he doesn't smoke and basically lives a clean live....but they both love beer, and could probably never give it up.  I just laughed and told him that we would love to have them come back and join us anytime.  I hope they will come back.

Back to the center, SK told the story of how we met and fell in love - again!  The girls seem to like that story.  At one point tonight he was surrounded by about 6 young women all listening attentively.  I wish I had snapped a picture.

Have you ever watched a series on TV where each week the show focuses on a different character and gives a glimpse into his life?  Being at the center is like that.  It seems like nearly every time we are there, we have time to visit with one or more of our YSAs and we learn about them....their families, their education, their spiritual goals and what they are hoping the future holds for them...their dreams.  It is a privilege to be allowed into their lives.