Healthy Children

Fotex is a store similar to Walmart, food, clothes, etc.  Nowhere near as big, but a popular chain.  This is what they offer the children who come shopping with their parents.

It says; " For children, take a free apple here from the counter ".

Sankt Hans Dag

Last night the high priests celebrated Sankt Hans Day /Misdummer's Eve at Lis and Jens Andersen's summer home on the Roskilde Fjord.  We had a lovely barbeque and then joined all the residents of the area carrying lighted torches to the beach to light the bonfire to burn the witch and send her to  Brocken in the Harz Mountains in Germany to join all the other witches there.
  A bit of a combination of two celebrations.  Sankt Hans Day celebrates John the Baptist's birthday 6 months before Christ's and is usually celebrated on June 23, but this community always celebrates the Saturday before so all the weekend visitors can participate.

The witch is getting a good start..

This is a serious fire.  It could never happen in Utah, the state would be burned up.

There was a short speech and then everyone sang two traditional songs special for this holiday.  It was especially fun for the Hansens and us to be part of this unique Danish tradition.

A Super Saturday

We had an excellent Saturday with so many people in the temple.  Our Open Baptisms on Saturday mornings are going so well.  Today there were 10 including some new members the missionaries brought and a great family coming to do the work for the names the grandparents are finding on their Family History Mission. This family has three boys, one just came home from a mission, one is leaving on a mission next month and the 12 year old, whose goal is to come and do baptisms for the next 17 weeks.  I don't know why the 17 weeks, but a good goal.  Both sessions were almost full as well as the ordinances.                                                                                                                          

 

It was also the last day for our great group of sisters from Esberg.  They have had a wonderful week.  The common denominator for most of them is that they are all living the gospel alone in their homes.  Either their husband is a nonmember or  inactive or they are widowed or divorced.  They are a great strength to one another. 

  

Welcome, Welcome!

We are so excited, Don and Kayla Hansen, our first new missionary couple, arrived today!  They are trained and ready to go.  We will ease them  in tomorrow and then they will start full speed on Wednesday when we open for next week.  They are from Bountiful and their Stake President is one of Jim's partners at the Medical School, Chris Jackson.  They loved the training with Dick and Kathy Walker in the Salt Lake Temple this week.  We have many connections. They said there were 18-20 couples going to various temples around the world.  The work moves forward....

 June 21, tomorrow, the longest day of the year.  This is what the weather page says.  Sunrise 4.24 AM, Sunset 9.58 PM.  Note the 63 degree high..

Relief Society Fieldtrip

 Esberg is a lovely city on the opposite side of Denmark, facing England.  Ten to twelve Relief Society Sisters and a couple of husbands have come from there to spend  Wednesday through Saturday in the temple.  They are staying at the temple housing, and coming to the temple for almost all of the sessions.  It is so lovely to have a core group, then we can do all of the ordinances most sessions.  There are several temple workers in the group who come more often and it has been delightful to see how they have grown in confidence and ability and love of the temple.
  We showed one of the new films last so we didn't get out until 10.  But that is okay because it is still light.  This is what it looked like last week at 10.40 pm.  I will try to remember to take a picture on the 21st.

 
     

Visiting Teaching

I have a new visiting teaching companion and three new sisters, all of them under 30.  Benedicta and I finally were able to get our schedules together and visit Charlotte today.  We both rode our bikes and met at Charlotte's.  It was a warm day and sitting outside in the courtyard of her apartment was just right.
In our ward we are always a month behind in the messages, so I shared Elder Anderson's talk about "Spiritual Whirlwinds."  The youth in Denmark certainly have their share.  I'm not sure either of these girls come from active homes, but they are rocks.

 Benedicta and Charlotte look so much alike and their hair is the same lovely red.  It is hard to believe they are not  related in any way.

On the Balcony

We live in 4F which means we are on the fourth floor and the end apartment.  Two doors down is Jana and her companion and their daughter.  The weather was so  beautiful today, as we walked by, we could  talk through the window. Amanda is pretty shy with English.

Yesterday I noticed some small trees in the Aldi (grocery store) garbage.  I pulled out 5 and I am trying to resurrect them.  I planted one in my neighbor, Bjarnes's pot, one in Jana's and one in the Sister's Apartment, all along our balcony.  I have two on my end. It will be interesting to see if they can be revived.  But since they were free, it was worth a try and a fun project.  We can have a regular forest.....