It is Officially.....Over

We slept deeply and well last night...and it felt good.  I awakened in the middle of the night and groggily looked around.  I wondered when we had hung those curtains in our apartment....and it felt like a bigger space.  I was back in Copenhagen.....until I realized that I was in Gilbert.

Before we went to sleep it rained!!!!!! It smelled divine and it sounded so beautiful as it pelted the trees and rooftops outside.  It was a gift.

My suitcase was delayed and to be delivered today....which it was....later in the afternoon.  So I was somewhat limited as to what to wear, and makeup.  But it all worked out...Melissa brought me a little care bag that had nearly everything I needed.  And fortunately, I had a change of clothing in my carry-on.

We went to church at 10 and sat with our family.  We were happy to see many dear friends from before we left....we also saw a lot of people that didn't look familiar at all.  I am sure that we will spend some time yet getting to know everyone again.

We talked to our bishop just briefly, who said that he has callings for each of us, and that he would talk to us soon about them.  It will be interesting to see what we will be doing.

During sacrament meeting, as we sang the hymns, tears came to my eyes as I thought about singing them in Danish, and thought about the wonderful members of the little Amager Branch.  It didn't take long to run each one through my mind.  I thought about our YSAs who will be meeting at the center in a few hours....first for the student council meeting and then for the monthly last-day-of-the-month YSA sacrament meeting.  The emotions swept over me, and my heart yearned to be there.

At the same time, it was a joy to be there among the saints in Gilbert, to sing the hymns in my mother tongue, to understand every word of every talk, and to be able to communicate completely with everyone.  AND it was a wonderful thing to be with our family.

We left our building before the block was over to meet with the stake president.  We spent about 20 minutes with him....he is a dear man.  He asked me to say an opening prayer in Danish!....which I did. We talked in detail about our mission.  Then he invited our family in.....all 22 of them.  We just barely fit in that little office, but it was a sweet experience to be surrounded by our children and grandchildren.

We talked some more....at length.  He asked questions and we answered for him and for our family.  He read our release letter from our mission president, and he gave us some sweet council.  Then he asked SK to say a closing prayer and pronounce a blessing on the family.  It was a very emotional thing for him to do, but it was beautiful.

It is official....our mission is done.

After a light lunch with Peter and Lia, Rebekah and Eliza, we all fell asleep for a very sweet nap.  Dinner with the whole family at Erin's was absolutely wonderful.  Ethan grilled salmon and it was every bit as good as I remembered!  We sat around and visited and finally, walked home under threatening skies. Thunder and lightening rumbled across the sky....a few drops of rain fell.  Ethan said this was very unusual weather....another gift to us.

I will bid a fond farewell to you...since "Madsen Mission to Denmark" is officially over.  Thank you for being with us throughout our time in Denmark....it has been a grand and wonderful experience.