Treasured Relationships

There are several wonderful things about today that stand out, that I will share with you now.

We received a beautiful book from the stake that is a compilation of inspiration experiences and conversion stories from members of the stake.   It is actually volume 2.  The first one was published about 2 years ago.  Mette, our Danish teacher gave us a copy of that one, and it is outstanding.  The stories...beautiful and personal....from many people we know, is a treasure.  I will hold on to it and hold it dear for the rest of my life.

The newest one was given to each member of the stake in stake conference on Sunday.  Since then, SK has been reading them to me...and then translating.  He read Mette's story today, and kept getting broken up.  Then he would repeat what it said in English and we would both get broken up.

He read several to me as I was ironing.  Somewhere in the middle of the ironing, he went to the window to look out.  He had heard young voices...speaking English.  He exclaimed, "Hey, they are our young adults!"  Then he revised it...."They are our missionaries!"

You would think we had never seen either....it was fun because there were three young elders and two sisters standing about 15 feet from our front door.  They were waiting to meet the APs (Assistants to the President) because they were going to do "finding" work here along the lake path....meaning they stop people who are walking and ask if they can share a message.  I hope they were successful and found people who wanted to listen.

I don't know how anyone could resist them.  They are strikingly good-looking young adults, clean and neat as can be, and so happy.  And then of course, their message is one of hope and happiness.  How can someone not want what they are sharing?

In the evening, I went to the airport to pick up my sweet friend and adopted granddaughter Tessa.  When I was YW President, she was one of my YW, and I adored her then.  Now she is a beautiful self-assured young woman currently studying in England for a semester....and even more adore-able.
Sometimes you feel an almost instant connection to certain individuals, and it was that way with Tessa...I think she was fourteen at the time.  She calls me Grandma Madsen, and I love her as one of my own!

We are looking forward to having the next few days with her here.  We will attempt to show her Denmark in the brief time we have together!

She will be going to all the YSA things with us as well, so it will give her a chance to see our program here.  She belongs to a YSA Ward (!) in London and attends institute there.  It is a much larger program, so I am hoping she can tell me about how it is working and what she likes about it.

I was so excited when she came  through the doors at the airport that I forgot to snap a picture...but I will get a bunch the rest of the week.

She and I walked toward the train, and I heard someone behind me yell "Sister Madsen!"  I turned around and there was Ulrik, a tremendous young return missionary who is a mainstay at the center.  He has an incredible testimony and great strength of character.  He served a mission in Greece, and often shares some of the things he learned while there.  He is a lot of fun too.

He had been on the same flight from London as Tessa had been.  Isn't that amazing?  It is always a bit of a shock to see someone I know in a town of 1.5 million....but it happens often.  He took the train with us to the main train station, and we visited about London and other things.

After returning to the apartment, we sat with Tessa and talked for an hour or so.  She is sooo fun and it is so good to see her.....bringing a little bit of home with her.

It was a funny feeling being on the train with Tessa....from home in Gilbert, and Ulrik ....from the home I have found in Denmark.  I think the relationships we form along the way in life will follow us forever.

At least, that is what I am counting on.