København Stav Konference

Copenhagen Stake held their Stake Conference in the Sankt Anne's Gymnasium again.  The Stake Center is being remodeled and will hopefully be done by the end of the year.....
  It was a good meeting and the English translation was much better than last night when I only heard every 10th word.
  Jim went early to practice with the choir and then there was a 30 minute choir concert before conference started.  It was such a lovely way to bring the Spirit and prepare for the meeting.

Jim took the car and I came with the other missionaries on the bus. Fortunately it was only a one bus trip.

Saturday Specials

Several special things happened today.  We started off the day with two sisters receiving their own endowments.  They were each baptized thirteen months ago within a week of each other in different places in Denmark.  They now live in Sønderborg near the German border, about three hours away.  Ten years ago this was a struggling branch, today they are still a branch,but blossoming with young families. There were 7 sisters that came to share in the special day.  There were also 6 elders who had taught or known the sisters.  Unfortunately there are no pictures.
    It is also the Copenhagen Stake Conference this week end  and we went to Roskilde for the meeting tonight.  I tried to record the interim hymn..... They had the missionaries all come up and stand in front while everyone sang Called to Serve.  There were as many missionaries to this meeting as we had in all of our mission.
   It doesn't look like the video will work.  So I will add a picture of our new Saturday Special eating out experience:  Pizza 2000. Actually it ended up being a take home and eating.

Interesting Visitors

As I've said before, we have the most wonderful people with stories that come to the temple.
    This week there have been 6 or 7 dear sisters from the Aarhus Stake who have come and stayed at the guest home since Thursday and come to the temple for every session.  They can't get enough.  I know one has a husband that's not too excited to have her come, but it is her birthday so she came.  There are also 4 or 5 elderly men from Jutland who came. One, Brother Wedege will be 90 on his next birthday.  It is wonderful to see the joy they find in serving and being in the temple.
    This darling, girl, Elizabeth, is from Las Vegas, but teaching English in Moscow for 6 months.  A group of 11 are teaching there, most LDS.  9 are traveling for a week and she took the time out of her site-seeing to come to the temple for a session.  I was very impressed especially since it meant missing the opening time of most attractions.  But I also think she went away well rewarded and filled.

New Taste

Thursday and Friday we take sandwiches to the temple to eat.  However, we have started following the Danish tradition of open-faced sandwiches or smørbrød.  This is a new favorite:

It is rugbrød with sunflower seeds, spread with butter (that is the smør), topped with rullerpolser and Havarti cheese.  Jim isn't as crazy about seeds in bread, so we are always on the hunt for good white bread also. But Havarti is at the top of both of our lists.

Dinner at Kochs

Johan and Lisa Koch were counselors in the previous temple presidency and are so generous to the temple missionaries.  They invite them once a month for dinner.  Last night they invited the Buurs and us to dinner.  It was lovely as ever.  They have a beautiful apartment and the food is always delicious with just a little twist. One time it was peaches in the soup.  Last night it was pineapple in the chocolate mousse and a little bit of jelly in the brown sauce (gravy).

Memory March

I went biking today to find the apartment of a sister I am scheduled to visit teach.  Our appointment will be in late afternoon...dark.  So I wanted to know where I was going.  Coming home, I ran into a Muslim Memory March for the grandson of Mohammad who refused to bow  to the caliph and died in the desert with his followers from thirst after  being surrounded by the enemy.....  I asked someone the reason for the march and I was caught in hundreds of marching people.  I heard tonight there were 3,000 and stopped traffic.  Glad it wasn't a protest.  The picture just gives you a little taste of the action.

The Theater

I biked downtown today and bought tickets for "Beauty and the Beast."  Thomas Kofod (think the lead in the Church's "Two Testaments" from the Legacy Theater) is the beast.  We are going on the 15th when his daughter is playing Chip.  We saw it when we were here 10 years ago.  I hope my Danish is better.....

 It is the big show in town right now.  Think Broadway quality.