Looking Towards Tomorrow

SK went for a haircut this morning and came back with an OK haircut.  He thought paying 40 dollars for 10 maybe 15 minutes of the man's time was a bit excessive....but everything seems a little higher here.  We were surprised to find out that a letter mailed to someone in the states costs the same amount as a postcard....so we try to mail 2 or 3 postcards in the same envelope.

It  has been a warm day...reaching 20 degrees I believe...centigrade....which is 70 degrees Farenheit. It was beautiful outside, but inside our apartment it was a little stuffy.  We opened several windows and turned on the one fan we have and it was lovely.

We got all of our shopping done except for tortilla chips which we will buy tomorrow where they are super cheap.  I baked the brownies, got a crockpot of pinto beans going for refried beans, and then went over to our church in Frederiksberg where we hosted the open house from 6 to 9 pm.

For a weeknight, we had a fair amount of visitors.  Most of them were members, but there were two men who came by themselves who were very interested in the Church.  SK spoke with them at length.  He does quite well conversing with people even though he doesn't think he does.

 It was nice to realize that I know a lot of people in the stake.  After 40 years in Gilbert, no matter where I go, I often see people I know.  I like that....it maintains a small-town feel.  We have been here in Copenhagen a week shy of 8 months and we have met so many people and we see them every now and then outside of a church meeting.  It is downright fun to be in a large shopping area and realize with a start that you recognize a face out of the many there.

During our assignment at the open house, we spent the entire three hours talking to different people, which is always fun.  One lady I spoke with told me her name is Kristina....and she is "sisters' with the Kristina statue, which is a lovely little sculpture in the harbor.  It is near the Little Mermaid, and it pays tribute to the many brave Danes who gave up everything to join the Church.  The became pioneers in every sense of the word.

Kristina faces the sea...the wind is blowing fiercely....it must be symbolic of the opposition she will face.

Sister Elaine Dalton said of the sculpture:
On a pier in Copenhagen, Denmark, is a bronze statue of a young woman named Kristina. Kristina stands looking out to sea toward her goal to join the Saints in Zion. The wind is blowing against her fiercely, but she does not look back. She is steadfast as she presses forward doing a very hard thing, but one she knows to be right. I love that statue, for to me Kristina represents my own Danish great-great-grandmother who chose to join the Church amid great resistance. I am grateful for her courage and testimony. On her choice that day rested not only my eternal destiny but also the destiny of generations.

It is interesting how many families in U.S.A. wards have ancestors from Denmark.  It is a significant number.  I am not sure if the Danes in the Church understand what a great impact all of the early Danish Mormon immigrants had on all of the succeeding generations.

They must have been a very hardy people.

 The good news today is that the brownies turned out well.  Now just the usual questions need to be answered:  Will there be enough?  Will there be too much?  Will anyone like it?  What a funny thing for a missionary to think about.

....I'm off to bed....Tomorrow is looming!