Looking Back, Looking Forward.....

Rain was  the order of the day and will be for the next several days (except for the day that snow is forecast).  It doesn't seem like we have had much rain lately.  We have had a lot of gray days and we have had a few glorious days of sunshine, but the Mary Poppins has not been in use for some time...it sits forlornly in the corner.

We went to our little branch for all three meetings, which were marvelous.  I love the people in that branch.  Thea, one of our YSAs has been ill.  She has soft brown curls and gorgeous blue eyes and a radiant smile.  We haven't seen her in a couple of weeks.  She assured me today that she wasn't sick that long, but has just been very busy at school and work.

I taught the gospel doctrine class....I enjoy the preparation so very much.  It is always a challenge to present it in such a way that it is interesting.  I so enjoy the YSAs in there.  They are intelligent and witty.  Benjamin  bore his testimony today and it touched my heart.

We stayed after church so that SK could have a home teaching interview and so Elder Thorne could do some home teaching.  By the time we got home, the afternoon was waning.  We sat and studied and then left for the center where we had a student council meeting.

The council meeting was constructive and helpful in planning for April.  They have put a bunch of things on the calendar.  And they are good things.  This coming week, besides our usual days there, we will be there on Saturday and Sunday for sessions of conference, and we will serve a meal on Sunday.  SK made a suggestions that should work great, and make the preparation much simpler.  We will be inspecting missionary apartments on Tuesday, and I think the week will fly by.

It has got to slow down here, so I can soak up these final months here.

We left the meeting a few minutes early so that we could get to President Sederholm's house.  All of the Copenhagen/Fredericksberg senior missionaries were there for dinner to honor Elder and Sister Middlemas, who have spent the last few days seeing the places they served and saying their farewells to the people they have come to love.  When they left the ward members of Aalborg, they all assembled in the church lobby and sang "God Be With You."

I know Sister Middlemas has a headache from all the crying she has done.  After a lovely dinner, President Sederholm asked both Elder and Sister Middlemas to bear their testimonies.....there were more tears and some very inspired messages about how, where and why they have served these past 18 months.

Back left: Sister Hamblin, SK and me.  Sitting down: Sister Middlemas and Elder Middlemas

Elder and Sister Freeman have been serving in Iceland these past 18 months and will be leaving for home within another 2 weeks.  Of the eight who departed Utah for Copenhagen on October 10, 2013 there will only be Sister Hamblin, SK and I left until we depart for home on August 28.  It makes me so sad to see them leave, but I am happy for them.  They are making the transition now from the heart-wrenching good-byes to looking forward to seeing their precious grandchildren and children.

I can hardly believe it.  It can't have been that long since we all landed on Danish soil together....October 11, 2013.