The Warm Glow of Friends

We braved the cold to go run some errands this morning....by "braving the cold," I mean we walked from the apartment to the car.  SK did more braving than I because he had to go scrape snow off the windows.  We went to a few different places, and were probably never out in the snow much more than 2 minutes.  It was soft and powdery and beautiful.

Later, when we left for the center (walking), the thermometer had dipped from minus 5 to minus 8! ...which is about 17 degrees Farenheit,  It was a lovely walk, but a little on the treacherous side because there was ice everywhere and the sidewalks had a lot of slick spots.  If I had been a little more adventurous, I would have tried a Scrooge slide on the ice....but alas, those days are over!  But that is not to say I didn't enjoy the walk.

By the time we got there though, I was grateful to be going indoors.  I don't know how people survive who work outside all of the time.  Throughout these past weeks working up to Christmas, we have often seen little open marketplaces where there are small booths set up where people sell all kinds of fun things.  They are about the size of a small walk-in closet and have the upper half of one side completely open to the air....and to sell things to the public.  Often there is one person sitting inside, bundled up against the cold, who has to take off his gloves to assist you.  That just cannot be fun.  I have never seen a little heater in any of those places.....I imagine they sit there with hands and feet feeling a little like ice cubes.

Once inside the center, we warmed up and set about to get things ready for Family Home Evening.  We wondered if anyone would be brave enough to come out on such a cold and snowy night.  We ended up with 14 young people there and had a great evening.  They are such fun.  About half of them left by 9, and the rest waited for a young woman to get in from the airport.  She is from Greenland.

She was here a few months ago visiting from her homeland, and was sitting on a bench in a park when two missionaries walked by.  They sat down and talked to her and she was completely ready for the Gospel.  They taught her several lessons - and baptized her -in the succeeding days before she returned to Greenland  She returned home as the only member we have in that country (that we know of).  There are no branches or wards there, no missionaries and Church presence -at all.

The missionaries and YSAs have been teaching her through Skype ever since.  She is as enthusiastic about the Gospel today as the day she was baptized, if not more so.  Ever since she returned to Greenland, she has been ordering Books of Mormon from the Mission office to give to friends there.  She is a cute young woman.  Her face radiates happiness.

Tonight she got into Copenhagen and is spending time with another YSA from the center.  In January, she will begin classes at University of Copenhagen...a big step.  But she has taken a lot of big steps lately.

While we waited for her I talked to a dear young friend about her mission to Temple Square.  I never tire of hearing about that mission.  It must be a dream....she saw many miracles and felt the spirit often in her service, and came back to Denmark with a lifetime of strengthening and inspiring memories.

The two YSAs who had gone to pick our young friend from Greenland up from the airport brought her in around 10:00 and they all stayed and visited for awhile and then they were off, each going their separate way into the dark night.

We cleaned up the center and then we crunched along the snow and ice-covered sidewalks, heading home ....very tempted to go into Tivoli as we passed by.  It is open til midnight every night until it closes for the season....New Year's will be the last day until April.  There were still crowds of people inside.  We looked at each other, thinking about our warm apartment, and agreed that perhaps we would visit Tivoli a little while in the daytime tomorrow.

When it is cold and dark outside, the sunshine of tomorrow holds a lot of promise!