Conference, Senior Style

Our Senior conference started out yesterday with a van ride (nine of us - Elder and Sister Thorne, Elder and Sister Bailey, Sister Hamblin, Sister Swena, Sister Sederholm (mission president's wife), and SK and me) to the Ferry.  There ferry ride that took us from our island to the mainland Denmark was about an hour and 15 minutes, but we had to be in line and ready to drive on board at least a half hour early.

Beautiful ride to the ferry.

SK went outside on the ferry to take pictures and snapped this one of me...enjoying the ferry ride!

The ferry was very large and comfortable and clean.  We sat watching the water go by hardly feeling as if we were moving.  It was interesting to see how many cars and vans and even large trucks fit on that boat!  There was an on-board restaurant that was quite good.  We didn't have anything because we had packed a lunch that we would eat soon after getting off.

The 4th of July celebration at Rebild was quite amazing.  It is an annual event and has been going on for 70 years I think.  We got there and wandered around for a little while, listening to the band play traditional music and getting our picture taken with a woman wearing a "traditional costume" of sorts.

We sat down in the shade of a big tree and where we ate our home-packed lunches and had a sweet testimony meeting.  President Sederholm joined us for the remainder of the conference.  He is an amazing man and gave us some sweet words of counsel.

Afterwards we walked down into a little valley where the 2 1/2 hour program was presented.  We walked down and then hiked up a hillside to find a place in the weeds to watch.  We were grateful the Middlemases brought an extra umbrella for shade.  It was HOT out there.  SK got sunburned through his sunscreen.

The program started out with the Danish National Anthem... with the beautiful Dannebrog (Danish flag) waving majestically in the wind.  Then they raised the stars and stripes and everyone stood as we sang the U.S. National Anthem.  Two jets and a B-52 flew over.

A band played "In the Mood," speakers talked in Danish and English, the Ambassador brought greetings from President Obama, Dancers danced, singers sang.  It was all very festive.

We trooped back and got into the cars and drove to Hvisten Kro a lovely and very old inn where we had dinner.  It has quite a history.  A small group of brave patriots there managed to get many Jews to freedom during WWII.  The heroic people were found out and executed.  There is a movie about it that I hope we can find.

Cute Sister Middlemas and me.

Inside the Kro..low ceiling and old building...traditional Danish food and great company.

We stayed the night with Elder and Sister Middlemas.  I think we all slept soundly...we were all so tired.  Their apartment is a lovely place in a beautiful city.  It has been fun to stay in close touch with them over the months since we all started out on this magnificent journey together over a year ago when we were preparing to leave on our missions.

We had breakfast at a lovely little church in the city of Randers prepared by Elder and Sister Hicks (the guiding force behind the whole conference).  President Sederholm gave us some inspiring instruction and shared some of the things he learned at his mission president's conference a few weeks ago with the First Presidency and members of the Twelve.  What an incredible experience that would be.

Being filled both physically and spiritually, we set off for a beautiful old castle.

An old Danish church we passed on the way to breakfast.

Gammel Estrup Castle, where it is said, that a long time ago, the owner locked his daughter in one of the corner towers after killing the man she tried to elope with.  After her father died, her mother petitioned the King to release her, which he kindly did.  That is the stuff fairy tales are made of.

Isn't that a great moat?

Our intrepid group coming through the main entrance and storming towards the castle.

SK thought it would be funny to have a photo in front of the dog house!

Most of the floors were wood painted to look like tile.

Looking through old leaded glass at the little bridge below.

It took all of SK's willpower to NOT start playing CRUD.

We retraced our steps back to the ferry, where we had a very good hamburger as we were crossing back to our island of Sjaelland.  A couple of more hours and we were home.