Fremad, Altid Fremad

Fremad, Altid Fremad means "Forward always forward" as you might guess....in Danish.  It is on my mind right now because we have spent our day at the missionary 2-zone conference.  We did some cooking last night and got into bed very late.  We had barely enough time to get up and get ourselves ready to go, along with our faithful crockpot.

There were seven senior sisters and 6 senior elders besides the mission president's wife preparing the meal for about 60 missionaries.  We got the tables set up and set and decorated.  The mission president's wife is amazing.  I am pretty sure that besides all of the decorations, she brought 3 large pots of different soups, two 9 X 13 pans of jello, a large green salad, a large fruit salad and a Texas Sheet Cake.

We worked for about 3 hours getting everything organized and ready.  The meal took about an hour and then we cleaned for a couple of hours.  Then we joined the conference for the last couple of hours.  SK had a meeting at our branch immediately after and I am home in my pjs ready to go to bed, because we start again tomorrow with our shopping for Thursday.

I am going to see if I can find room in the budget for some of the cute Easter decorations Sister Sederholm had for the tables today!  I think it makes a nice little difference to have the tables look inviting.  SK thinks I am out to lunch.

It was grand being with all of the missionaries today.  We joined them for the first hour of their conference as well as the last couple.  When we entered the chapel, they were sitting silently listening to the prelude.  The reverence I felt there was strong.  The AP conducted the meeting under the watchful eye of the president.

In the training portion, the A.P. taught and you can see that they were a little more casual here.

Over lunch I told the president how much I enjoy the young missionaries and how much I respect their work ethic and their obedience to mission rules.  His eyes misted as he told us how exceptional they really are....they have to be, he said because they serve in a very liberal society and they have to be strong.

They had a special musical number, and they sang Happy Birthday in Danish to all of the people who have a birthday in March.  I love watching that.  The birthday song is fun and funny.  As each one is introduced, hands go up with a positive comment about them.  Once in awhile, someone says something humorous and everyone laughs, but for the most part they compliment the fellow missionaries in the most positive ways.  And there are always several that say things like, "He/she is the most spiritual or Christlike person I know."

They harmonized like angels.  I hated to see the song end.  

Towards the end of the day as the president had them working on lessons from "Preach My Gospel" they participated in that as well.  The are sweet humble, dedicated and sincere young people.  I wish everyone could watch what I watched today. It is refreshing to see so many young people who are so good, who have strong faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and who are so eager to bless the lives of others with their message.

I am sure that they can't imagine being as old as SK and I one day, but I know they will go to their various homes after their missions are over and they will always cherish these days in Danmark...just like SK has all these years.

Aren't these  young sisters beautiful?  I love them.

We heard more about the Family Search program today.  It is awesome and is a wonderful wonderful instrument for bringing families together.  I wish I had a week to just sit at the computer and work at it!  But it appears that in far less time than that, Ally and Lauren have found all kinds of names of ancestors.

Well....I will leave it in their very capable hands for now and press forward....ever forward with the sweet tasks we have been given here in Copenhagen.