When All Else Fails......

If there is one talent I long for, it is to sing.

We began and ended our district meeting this morning with hymns.  The opening hymn was "Ere You Left Your Room This Morning."  We met in a little room in the basement of the church.  One of the young sisters went into the adjoining room to play the piano accompaniement, which left 6 young men's voices, one young sister's, SK's and mine.

Sister Hadley has a lovely voice.  I have always and ever enjoyed listening to SK's voice, and all of the six young elders had strong young voices and sang out for the sheer joy of it.  The blending of voices, the harmony and the exuberance of the moment was sweet.

Once again we stood and recited D&C 4 - in Danish and the statement from "Preach My Gospel" about our purpose as missionaries - in Danish.  One missionary taught a segment from "Preach My Gospel" and another one taught a principle of missionary work.  There was much good discussion, a follow-up of last week's goals, a time to set new goals for the coming week, a prayer list (where each missionary shares something he/she would like to have everyone pray for), and then we sang "Called to Serve" in Danish.

The closing song took my breath away.  Once again there were the strong young voices, and the attitude as they sang...so joyful and confident.  No one looked at the hymn books....they have it memorized.    I can't tell you what being in their midst does for me....as my dad used to say, "Just makes you glad to be alive!"

I am touched by the things they ask us to pray for.  One wants to be more selfless, another wants the Spirit to touch a man's heart whom they are teaching, another wants more faith and patience, one wants perspective.  These are 19 and 20 year olds.  No wonder the Lord loves these missionaries!

This evening at the center was an adventure....as always.  The menu went through a few last minute changes. We bought 9 large chicken breasts....and I had planned on making tacquitos out of them.  I decided not to add fillers such as beans or rice or cheese, because chicken is good by itself ... with some good seasoning and some green chilies.  We also purchased 60 flour tortillas (because the corn tortillas here are somewhat suspect!) and enough salsa, sour cream, cheese and avocados to make them really tasty.

I thought if I was really really careful with the meat, I could get 60 tacquitos.  After cooking and shredding it, I thought it just didn't look like enough, so I made burritos...spreading the meat thin....getting 39.  At 7:00 we had about 20 here....which was fine.  But by 8:30 when we served dinner, we had 39, not counting the missionaries!...plus we had 6 missionaries here.

I did my usual whining to the Lord, asking that whatever we had would be enough.  SK stood at the front of the line asking people to just take one....and everyone complied so kindly.  I had made up a large pot of refried beans....something most Danes are unfamiliar with.  They were baked in large glass pans with cheese on top.  With the remaining tortillas, I made quesadillas and sliced them into quarters with a pizza cutter.  We also had purchased a large watermelon and chilled it.....and it was wonderful.  Finally, I had made a pan of Melissa's brownies, cut them into 2 inch squares, put a dollop of cream cheese frosting on and topped each with a slice of fresh strawberry.

I am happy to tell you that everyone ate until (I think) they were full and everything was consumed!...even the beans.  I'm telling you.....when you need a good go-to meal that most people will like, go Mexican....it never fails!

I had some wonderful conversations with some of the really great YSAs.....that is such a blessing and so fun.  I learn a lot, and Phillip....the cute young returned missionary checked to see if I had memorized any more of the 4th section of the D&C...which I had.  He helped me with my pronunciation.

It is midnight now and there is still much talking going on here.  Someone is strumming the guitar, someone is in the classroom playing the piano, SK is in the kitchen finishing up the last of the serving dishes, a couple of the young men have started a game of CRUD and I can hear one in the kitchen trying to lure SK out for a round (I am sure that he will succeed....SK can't resist a good competition), and I am at last sitting down...whew!

It has been a lovely day....and I know I will sleep well tonight....I'll fall asleep reciting section 4.