From My Point of View.....

I was deeply touched by her determination and courage.  I spoke with her at length, and will attend one of her workshops on Friday.  I heard today from some of the YSAs that the class she taught was excellent.

She is a therapist with advanced degrees.  She is a mother of 7, I believe, and a wife.  She helps people, specifically people who are having problems of a very personal nature.  She knows a lot about how to help people who have pornography addictions.  She has been very outspoken about the deleterious effects that come with them.  She has spoken in Geneva to large groups and has spoken to many groups here.

She is fighting a difficult battle in a country who proudly proclaims that it was the first to legalize pornography, but slowly, many people all over the world are beginning to see how harmful it is.

Today, she spoke about the fundamental differences in the natures of men and women, and why that is important.  I would have liked to hear it, but we were assigned elsewhere.  To my thinking, she is doing great things....she is a hero.

Festinord today was terrific...again.  We got to the institute class in plenty of time to find a good seat. The late-night dance and the length of activities of yesterday took a toll this morning.  There were still over 200 there....dressed and combed and neat, toting notebooks and their electronic scriptures (phones, ipads, etc.).

Jens spoke about Light....what it is, what it isn't, what the effects are, what the loss of it is.  It was a wonderful time to listen.  He asks questions and receives answers from these early risers that are profound.  There is always a wonderful spirit when he teaches.

We then had a meeting for leaders, then the devotional...super....then workshops and sports.  There was an amazing array of both.  We watched Denmark's soccer (football) team play against Norway.  It is an interesting thing to watch a soccer game when you know the players.  I really enjoyed it, and worried when our men appeared to be hurt.  But all turned out well....except that no one scored.  So technically, it was a tie....I guess.

We had another meeting in the afternoon with our area supervisors from Sweden.  There were about 14 or 15 senior missionary couples.  It was very beneficial in the sharing that took place.  And I must say.....it was absolutely lovely to be with other couples who do the same thing we do.  We felt understood!!!!  And we understand them.

We took the honor of being the "oldest" couple out....having been out 22 months (one month from today we will be on a plane flying west),  There was another couple who have been out for 4 months...so they are the "youngest."

That meeting was followed by another leadership meeting....evaluations about how the day went - what could have been better....followed by dinner.  I helped serve.  I stood in the serving line for an hour and a half, dishing up salad.  I have never been told thank you - so genuinely - so many times in such a short amount of time.

After dinner, we went to the dance - a bedouin theme - and just enjoyed everyone's company.  Morten, whose costume for last night (theme:  Blue Hawaii) was hilarious, tonight dressed as a sheik, and looked quite dashing.  Others wore elaborate and beautiful costumes, but most just dressed in casual attire.

I sat in the dance hall and watched.  They were cute, they were all having fun, and they were enjoying the music.  And while their dancing looked like fun....not to mention a really good whole body workout, I couldn't help but think they might really enjoy a waltz once in awhile....holding each other in their arms and moving gracefully to easy music.

The music tonight had a near constant 2 beats per second.  People were dancing every which way, and sometimes in a circle of sorts, sometimes with neighbors and friends and sometimes by themselves.  Two guys looked like they were pretending to throw a large ball at each other....catching it and returning it to the sender.  People wandered in and out...sometimes dancing part of the way.  As far as I could tell, there was no one way of dancing.

But from my vantage point, they were having good clean fun.  That is something the world would not understand at all.

It is a great vantage point.