Friday, September 30, 2016

VENICE. DAY 2

We walked this many steps today and rode the boats up and down the Grand Canal and over to the glass factory on the island of Merano.

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Venice

We were happy to meet Debbie,our daughter, as we arrived at the Venice Airport.  She had arrived from Utah a couple hours earlier.  We bussed in from the airport and got our 48 hour transportation tickets and have made good use of them going up and down The Grand Canal.
The Rialto Bridge


Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Vacation - Check in Later

With the temple shut down for cleaning and repairs, we have two weeks off.  We started today with frokost (lunch) with Dorrit and Per Olsen.  We don't have many free nights left, so we opted for lunch.
 Frokost is open-faced sandwiches you build yourself.  You have several kinds of bread, butter and then toppings.  Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs were delicious. You mostly eat them with a fork and knife.
We are spending the rest of the day packing for our flight to Venice tomorrow and then catching an Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on Saturday.  Debbie, our daughter is joining us and we will try to figure out how to post.  If not check back in two weeks.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Cobblestone Streets

Cobblestone streets are everywhere in Copenhagen.  It adds to the character of the city, but I also think it makes it easy to repair anything underground.
 I had to stop and watch these men putting in new walks.  These small ones all seem to be about the same size and are just hammered into soft sand.

 These two men are working together with bigger stones. The one in the back pulls out a stone and measures it with a ruler to make sure it is the right size.  He gives it to the man who is hammering them into the sand.  Notice the plumb line.  A lot of labor involved here as they have to pick up each stone and decide if it will fit and where.  They will cover the whole thing with sand when they are finished to fill in the cracks.

Monday, September 26, 2016

Aarhus Stake Conference Day 2


They hold their Sunday Morning Session in the Aarhus Music Center, very nice.
The visiting authority was Elder Herland from Norway.  He spoke in Norwegian and apparently everyone understood, except we English speakers. Norwegian and Danish seem to be even closer than Swedish.

Jim and I spoke in the Sunday Session, our last stake conference.  It was pretty tender to say good-bye to the dear people we have come to love and serve.

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Aarhus Stake Conference

We had to leave the temple early yesterday to get to the Aarhus Stake Conference for the 5 pm session.  We were reluctant to leave as it was a huge, wonderful day.  It was Malmo Stake's Temple Day and a busload came from Gotteborg, Sweden.  We had four sessions, starting every hour and 15 minutes.  It went like clockwork and everyone had a good experience.  On top of that they had to close the temple down for our two week cleaning closure.  Thanks to all who stayed and finished up!

  We, however,  arrived in time to stop at the Langenæs Bakery for rhubarb kanel horns and smørekage.
 The Stake collected food for refugees. They are working with a refugee organization.  Each refugee will be able to fill a plastic bag full for 20 kroner.  Then the money collected will be used to provide a common meal for the refugees.
 And still more..




Friday, September 23, 2016

Last Wedding

This cute couple from Germany is our last living ordinance.  We may see some last minute ones, but this is the last scheduled one before we leave November 1.
 She is the 7th of 9 children...7 girls and 2 boys.  They met at a YSA Convention.  They have a lot of them throughout the year all over Europe.  They are fulfilling their purpose of helping Young Single Adults meet and marry.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Fun People

This cute couple were married last night.  She is from Croatia and he is from Germany.  It was a sweet occasion.  There were three friends that surprised them and came up from Germany.
 He almost needs to pick her up off the ground to kiss her.
Outi and Seppa Grøndland are in the presidency of the Helsinki Temple.  We met them when we visited there during Spring Shut Down.  They came here for part of their temple shut down. Fun people.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

New Adventures for the HP

The Frederiksberg High Priests have usually had their summer dinner at Petersen's Have, an outdoor restaurant with a ribbensteg, potato and parsley sauce menu.  We changed restaurants to a Turkish Buffet this year.  It was a good move and a fun crowd.



Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Cousins" Visit

Sherri, Diane and Julie my first cousins, once removed, have been in Denmark for a couple of days and we have had such a good time together.
 Yesterday We drove around in the car. They saw the temple and we went to Frederiksborg Castle
 They have finally finished the next exhibit in this room.  King Christian V's throne.
They loved the garden.
 
 Today we biked all over Copenhagen from Kristina out to Our Savior's church (the church with the stairs on the outside.)
 
They turned their bikes in and we, of course, went to see the Christus.
 A special find was this courtyard and buildings which at one time housed the King's home for poor boys.  CCA Christensen, the noted Mormon Artist that recorded the pioneer trek west in large murals, stayed here as his mother didn't have the means to support him.  His artistic talent was noticed by some of the women and he was allowed to go to the Royal Academy of Art where he was an associate of Carl Block.  He is the girls' great great grandfather.
I left them at Tivoli.  They are flying to Norway in the morning.  It was a fun time for their first European adventure.

I loved biking through Copenhagen and showing it off.

Monday, September 19, 2016

Dinner with Friends

Last night we were invited to dinner with Pres. and Sis. O'Bryant, the mission president here.  We have tried to get together for months.
 It was fun to see the updated mission home.
 The new kitchen is fabulous.  Check out these wonderful pull out shelves for the corner cabinets.
For Family Night we had the available temple missionaries over to help eat up the polsers (hot dogs) from our freezer.

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Malmo Day Two

Our final pictures with Pres. and Sis. Clark, Pres and Sis. Beckstrand, and Elder Moreira.

 Pres and Sis, Nilsson, our counselor at the temple and the Malmo Stake Patriarch, Kirsti and  Thomas Wiklof and Pres. Glen and Sis. Halmstad the counselors in the Stake Presidency.
 Today's session was held at the Scandic Star Hotel in Lund
 I loved talking to this family.  I mentioned in my talk to bring your family to the temple for   "when you touch the temple, the temple touches you." She said they had now decided to come this Saturday  to the temple  with the stake.  I love that she is the only blond in the family.  Her husband is from Africa and obviously has the stronger genes.  There are 4 beautiful girls and this one darling boy.

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Last Malmo Stake Conference

We left immediately after the temple closed to go to the Saturday Night Session of the Malmo Stake Conference.  It only takes 45 minutes to get to the Malmo Ward Building where they held the session.  Tomorrow it will be in Lund at a hotel convention room.  Jim and Sis. Beckstrand, the mission president's wife spoke tonight and I and Pres. Beckstrand will speak tomorrow.  It was the reverse last conference.

 Afterward we went to Pres. and Sis. Clarks' home for a lovely supper.
Elder Joaquim J. Moreira, an Area Seventy from Portugal, is the visiting authority.

Friday, September 16, 2016

Temple "Party"

This is a bad picture of the remnants of a group of 40 invited friends that came to the temple tonight to help the Paulsen Family get some of their names done.
 It was a fun night for everyone and a good encouragement to get to the temple.  Temple "parties" would be a great idea.
It was dark by the time we left the temple at 9.00 pm and there was a cool breeze in the air.  Fall is just around the corner for sure.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

New Addition!

Welcome to Elsie Honey Williams.  She joins two darling sisters and was an easy delivery.   We are grateful she is here safe and sound, all 7 pounds!   We are counting our blessings, 25 now.
For our family, an amazing amount of hair.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Grundvig Kirke

Grundvig was a Danish theologian in the 1800's. He has influenced Danish Society in many ways including writing hymns, several of which are in the LDS Hymn Book.
 This is Grundvig Kirke.  It is fairly modern and was an interesting  visit on my way home from visiting teaching.



Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Hanging In

One of my blogs told the story of Phihsai, one of our great sisters who has submitted hundreds if not thousands of Chinese names of her ancestors.  She and her husband have come regularly to the temple until her cancer returned and she has had most of her nonessential organs removed.  It has been a slow recovery and she is still just buying time, but she has been to the temple twice in the last week.  She made it to the special Roskilde-Frederiksberg Session tonight.
 She is a real inspiration and okay with whatever the Lord has in store for her.
 I loved that the sisters were all sitting eating and the brothers munching  around the table.
 The Popes are from East Millcreek in Salt Lake, but live and work in Abu Dhabi.  Another case of letting the Lord direct your life.



Monday, September 12, 2016

Friends and "Family"

I stopped to visit Brita today.  It has been so fun to get to know her.  She is recovering from her second broken arm!

 Family Night  at Cai and Ilene Andersens.  Excellent lesson. We each chose a different object and using the scriptures, prepared a two minute talk.  i.e. rock, salt, stick, candle, etc,


  So nice to have a good bakery close by..