Hobnobbing with The Young Adults

Ah to be young again!

After SK got home from his 2-hour temple shift in the baptistry, we left to inspect a missionary apartment in Amager....the little island where our church is.  We drove the same route we normally drive to Church, but we stopped about a mile short....in front of an old 5-story building (on the bottom floor of which is a little bakery).  That is where the elders live......on the top story....that was a bit of a climb.  No wonder they look so healthy!

One of the elders there has been out nearly a year and his companion has been in Denmark for 2 weeks. We walked into the apartment to the smell of beef and onions.  They were just sitting down to lunch with 2 excellent looking hamburgers - and they weren't just meat on buns....they were hamburger patties at least an inch and a half thick....perfectly done, and topped with lettuce, tomatoes and fried onions and sandwiched in a bun.

We spent a little longer with them....because we know them better, since they are in our ward/branch...and also because they were cute to visit with.   I think they must be good missionaries, because they both enjoy visiting....each is friendly, easy to talk with, and each has a beautiful smile with shining teeth.  I honestly don't know how people can resist such happy and handsome young men.

After seeing the lunch they fixed, it was a bit shocking to walk in the kitchen and see a spotless stove top, counter top and sink.  The newest missionary said that his mother had taught him to clean up after himself....so he loves to clean as he works.  She said that a good cook keeps the kitchen neat and tidy.  The other elder loves to cook (a gift from other companions who were good cooks and taught him how to fix many kinds of foods).

The tiny bathroom was just as clean as the kitchen, and the rest of the very small apartment was well-ordered.  Missionary apartments - as we have learned - can be any sort of living space.  We have seen few that we would categorize as spacious, but some we have visited have a fair amount of space to stretch out in.  They all have wall charts, maps and inspirational posters, as well as the wall hangings that came with the apartment.  Some prowl the flea markets and find pretty little prints or paintings to hang.

The living room was possibly 10 X 10 and held chairs, a small couch and their bunkbeds.  We passed through a small hallway that I thought might have been meant to be a dining area (for 2), but they had installed closets and drawers there.  I was shocked when they said that the bunk beds had been there at one time, but the early morning sun came beating through the unshuttered windows and it was too uncomfortable.  I can't see how they could have even walked around them!

The kitchen was at right angles to the funny little hallway, and was basically a very small hallway itself, lined with a few cupboards, a very small countertop, a sink, stove, and refrigerator.  The guys had everything spiffied up....even the oven was clean.

We stopped on the way home at a very large mall, where we tried to find a charger cable for our camera, a gift for Maria (one of our graduates), and the right ingredients for lunch tomorrow.  Our Amager elders will join us for a late lunch (or early dinner).  Missions accomplished, we headed home.

We had a little time to grab something to eat, and then we headed west out into the countryside.  It has been raining on and off most of the day, and the rain left a hazy mist hovering over the farmers' fields.

We arrived at Maria's home - nearly a 45-minute drive for us (for Marie to get to the center, it takes over an hour traveling by bus and train) - and spent a couple of hours with her and her sisters, brother and parents....as well as 30 or more friends and well-wishers.  The table was laid out with many dishes that looked wonderful.  They served "roll your own burritos" which SK did and he loved it.  I made a small taco pile-up with the ingredients.  It was great.  Really good.  They also served old-fashioned apple cake.  It is actually more like a sweetened apple sauce with crunchy cookie crumbs and whipped cream and it is delicious!  It is a bit more complicated to make than it sounds.

Maria's parents, who, coincidentally, know one of our old friends from Gilbert.

Maria....isn't she cute?  She is our graduate and along side her is her handsome friend Jonas.

I marveled at how calm the whole family was.  They were essentially serving a meal to about 40 people, and there was no sign of stress or tension.  Just the lovely food set out and groups of people sitting together visiting.  I wonder if I will ever be able to do something like that and be that calm?

I think I have improperly identified the graduates.  I said they were high school graduates, but I believe they have earned the equivalent of what we call and AA....Associate's Degree.  We have seen and heard many truckloads of them today....yelling and playing instruments and piped music.  It seems like a great tradition.  They can drink all they want as they ride around in the back of the large trucks....and in the meantime, the driver is quite sober.

We returned home the same way we went....over the beautiful landscape of Denmark.