I think SK and I are all ready for 50 at dinner tomorrow night. We spent the better part of our day shopping and preparing. We are fine-tuning our shopping routine by starting out at the stores which have parking lots. Those are the places where we get the bulky items. We finish up our shopping by walking to the local stores and purchasing smaller items like seasonings.
We went into the mission office today to visit with the mission president. He visited with each of us to renew our temple recommends and then he visited with us together to just touch bases with us on how we are doing with our mission.
He is a very kind and perceptive and spiritual man and I have always loved watching as he instructs the younger missionaries. He and his wife are an amazing couple and somehow manage to keep track of all the missionaries who are serving here and in Iceland. He has so many responsibilities that must pull him in so many different directions that I marvel at his calm demeanor.
They have two children still at home....at least for another few months. His son just turned 18 and has received a mission call to South Korea, and his daughter is 14 and is a wonderful help to her parents. Their other four children are married and living in the States.
He gave us some very good counsel about the meals we fix....and the missionary work we do. I can see that I need to make some changes, and will try to begin some of those soon.
After that sweet interview, SK and I went to the center where I began the cookie bases for four large fruit pizzas (dessert tomorrow night), and the sauce for lasagne. While I was doing that, SK went on a couple of wild goose chases......we are very good at that....but they netted positive results. He got back to the center in time to help me put together the lasagne.....3 9X13 pans and one 18" squared. By all my figuring, that should serve 50 if necessary. If we have only 20 there, then we have a different kind of problem!
So the main course and the dessert are mostly ready. By the time we got the dishes done and everything cleaned up, we had spent nearly 6 hours there.
I would never have guessed that days like today.....mundane and plodding would be missionary days. I have discovered there are plenty of days like that. But I have also discovered that every day holds sweet blessings...evidence of the Lord's love for each one of His children.
And there still hasn't been a day go by that I don't feel a sense of wonder and gratitude to be in Denmark.
I'm curious to know what kind of changes the president encouraged you to make!
ReplyDeleteHe said that we should remember our mission call was to love and be with the YSAs....which we do. But also to remember that what we do is not food, although that is a part of it. It is best to be with the YSAs in the classroom and in training meetings, and not in the kitchen if possible. Since this is their program and they basically run it, they should be more involved with cooking and cleanup.
DeleteME TOO! In the meantime - what you have prepared sounds wonderful - as usual. and if you had lasagna left - if freezes well. Left over fruit pizza? -Well - if I were there - there would be none left. If you weren't doing all that preparation - you would have no young people to counsel and lift - and get a lift from. L&P
ReplyDeleteWell...nothing left tonight.....which is a good thing. Fruit pizza is a mystery to a Dane. They say that pizza is made on a bread crust, and is a main dish. So they kind of giggle when I say fruit pizza. But it has proved to be very popular.
ReplyDeleteYes.....I love that part of it. I used to love to spend time with my mother in the kitchen...that is when we had some of our best visits! L&P