Hygge

We took a brisk walk to Vor Frue Kirke (Church of Our Lady) then to a grocery store for a few items.  I have been working on a book for our outgoing mission president....I thought it would be simple, but I think I usually underestimate everything.

It will be a hardcover book...you can get them from any number of online sites, including Costco.  You plug in pictures and text and Bingo!....you have a lovely and personal book that will last for years.  The problem I am having is getting people to submit photos and pictures for their pages and answering emails.  Part of that could be we no longer have a current email.

I was at President and Sister Sederholm's place this afternoon and evening.  (SK manned the center for Family Home Evening....even giving a 15-minute spiritual thought with very little advance notice.....it sounds like it was excellent.)  Sister Hamblin and I took the train out to the city in which they live.  It was about a half hour train ride from the station nearest our apartment.  I truly enjoy riding trains around here.  They are fast, efficient and relaxing.  One of these days, SK are going to get on a train and just ride all over Sjaelland.

I helped prepare the meal to honor Elder and Sister Bailey.  They will be leaving tomorrow morning at 4:30 for their home in Utah.  It was fun to be able to help fix the meal.  I have a feeling though that Sister Sederholm could have handled everything by herself and done it with ease.

I have no idea how often she cooks a meal for 12 to 20 people.  But she says that it is the way she shows people she loves them.  And she does it with flare.  The tables are always beautifully set, and so far, we have never had the same thing twice.  We didn't really start the meal until nearly 4 and served at 6, and there was never a feeling of stress in the kitchen....just calmly getting things assembled and ready.  Of course, it made it much simpler to have someone doing dishes as they were used, and someone peeling and chopping vegetables.

As Sister Hamblin and I puttered around, Sister Sederholm made an Oreo crust, topped it with vanilla ice cream and put it back into the freezer until time for dessert.  She made hot fudge sauce, which she poured over the whipped cream on top of the ice cream.  Yeah.....it was pretty good.  I enjoyed the conversations with the Brookes and the Morgans, both couple work on records preservation.  They spend their days with age-old books, taking images of them which will go onto the internet for all the world to see and use.

After dinner, President Sederholm asked both Elder and Sister Bailey to bear their testimonies.  I was touched by what they said.  They have been here for 18 months.  During that time, they have photographed hundreds of thousands of pages of death records, birth records, census records etc. from the archives of Copenhagen.  They have also been interviewed for magazine articles and TV programs.

Last week they were honored by a reception at city hall, where they were properly thanked by the mayor of Copenhagen, the ambassador from the U.S. and other dignitaries.  It sounds like it was a lovely occasion.  I am sorry that we didn't go.

There are so many amazing things about a mission that I never would have thought of beforehand.  One is all of the new relationships that explode into your life.  We have all of the YSAs, whom we love.  There are also all of the people we have come to know, love, respect and admire in our branch, stake, and community.  We regularly recieve invitations to be a part of social events.  SK and I have not ever been real socialites, but I must tell you that the get-togethers we have attended have enriched our lives beyond measure.

The Danes have a word that doesn't translate into English....Hygge (pronounced hooga).  I have tried to explain it before with little success.  It is like Mette's birthday party.  There were 15 people there....every one of us felt warm and welcome and wanted.  We all sat around the dinner table for nearly three hours enjoying the best food ever and the best conversations ever.  The glow of candlelight warmed the room and twinkled a reflection in the squeaky-clean windows.  I felt warm all over.

A Danish site I found had this to say about it:  Hygge is as Danish as pork roast and it goes far in illuminating the Danish soul. In essence, hygge means creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people. The warm glow of candlelight is hygge. Friends and family – that’s hygge too. There's nothing more hygge than sitting round a table, discussing the big and small things in life. Perhaps hygge explains why the Danes are the happiest people in the world?

And then there are the other missionaries....both senior and junior.

We adore the young missionaries.  And I greatly love the other senior missionaries, who have been a great inspiration, comfort and support.  We are all serving in our own unique ways at a variety of assignments.  The seniors are truly great people, who are out here serving because they want to give back to the Lord.

Sister Bailey had a serious bout with cancer before coming to the mission field.  She was left without much of an immune system from the treatment, and she was sick a few times here.  But she generally climbed onto the bus every day to ride across town and then back in the evening, knowing she was coming in contact with a lot of sick people who might be contagious.  I never heard her complain about it.

Elder Bailey mentioned tonight what so many others have said as they neared their departure date:  They know exactly why they were assigned to this mission and to this place.  It is inspiring to hear them say that.....one by one.....they have come to see what their special assignment is, and that it was tailor-made.

We have four months remaining, and I have an idea why I am here now in Copenhagen Denmark at this particular time.  I hope I can testify with certainty at the end of our assignment.  And even if I come to the end of it uncertain about the answers to those questions, I will have to say it was an incredible experience....one I will be grateful for .... forever.