Not Really a Normal Day....What IS a Normal Day Anyway?

We started our day with a road trip!  We went to a little town about 2 hours away to inspect a missionary apartment of two young elders.  We have traveled this road before, but it is a lovely route with gently rolling hills and beautiful little farms.

We arrived at the town at 11 and spent some time with the elders.  They were so cute and I loved visiting with them.  We went over the whole check list with them, making suggestions here and there.  They are both from Utah and each looks like the proverbial boy next door.  Their apartment looked pretty good....they had  even baked cookies yesterday - most of them were gone.....and the oven was clean!

They took us on a tour of the "church" which was on the first floor of their apartment building.  With just 20 in their branch, the church is very functional and nice.

After we finished the apartment inspection, we took them to McDonald's and had lunch.  They work in a small branch and go to members' homes 2 or 3 times a month for dinner.  Otherwise they do their own cooking.  I think they were delighted to have a hamburger and fries.

I thought of my nephew who served in Mesa and Gilbert Arizona.  The first week he arrived, I believe he said they were served steak twice and lobster once and who knows what the rest of the week.  I think our ward makes sure the missionaries have a dinner appointment every night of the week with families.

We watched them walk away and I was overcome with several emotions.....one, of love and admiration for these young men who give up two years of their lives to serve....two, that they are here in this town with no other missionaries or mission leaders and must look after everything themselves....and three, that they have learned the language, keep their apartment up, do their own laundry and cooking and they are happy.  What parent wouldn't want that for their children?

At the same time, I thought they seemed so young, and I wished I could somehow take care of them and keep them safe.

We got home later in the afternoon and worked around the apartment.  Elder and Sister Thorne, Sister Hamblin and Sister Swena organized a senior outing for this evening, so we went along to Bakken, which is about 10 km north of Copenhagen.  It opened in 1583 and is the world's oldest operating amusement park.  It is set in a magnificent forest.  It has what seemed like dozens of cafes, restaurants, ice cream stands, candy shops and game booths like skee ball.  It also has a lot of rides.  Unlike Tivoli, it has no entrance fee.

We rode two different trains to get there and then took a horse and carriage ride into the park.  We walked around for awhile, played skee ball and a few other games, had some ice cream and then retraced our steps home.

I love this little bicycle logo which is everywhere.

SK sat up front with the driver.  Elder and Sister Thorne are looking at the beautiful forest.

Elder Thorne and Elder Madsen trying to decide what to do, Sister Hamblin looking on in amusement, and Sister Swena taking pictures!

Skeeball!!!

Not a great picture, but this is a small herd of reindeer!  You can only see their antlers.

We talked with a great couple from Romania on the train and Sister Hamblin gave them a Book of Mormon.  They seemed happy to get it.  Perfect ending to a great day.