A ONE-DEACON BRANCH AND A VIEW FROM THE TOP

Stan woke up this morning with a sore foot.  Don't know if it was from our trip yesterday or what, but it is sore on the top and he is limping like an old guy.  Oh wait, he is an old guy.   Anyway, not normal for him.  And not good for him.  You have to understand that we walk a lot and especially for errands at the office.  Down to the deli for food,  over a block or so to the temple or the post or a dozen other places.  Of course, Brother Thorne is a walking fool and has probably strolled down every street in Copenhagen.  Truth.  He walks early in the morning, and late at night and sneaks out of the office as often as he can.  All legal errands, of course.  He actually has a huge map of Copenhagen pinned to a wall and is trying to walk on every street.  Marks them in red.

We drove to Amager this morning to our branch and attended our first fast and testimony meeting.
The sacrament is blessed by Elders and High Priests mostly, and our ONE Deacon helps pass the sacrament.  His name is Caleb, and he takes it very seriously, standing stone still until the Branch President is served,  He is our one Aaronic Priesthood holder.  His father is a pilot in China and is here a month, then gone a month, but his step-mother brings him religiously.

We also have a translator who sits in the back and we use headphones if we want to understand every word.  I generally put one ear on and one off, so I can hear the Danish as well.  A whole new meaning for the term "bi-lingual." I catch a word here and there.  This little branch is wonderful.  Everyone who spoke bore a humble, but powerful testimony.  Isn't it amazing that all over the world, you feel the same spirit at  testimony meeting?  By the way, if you speak in English at the pulpit, the first counselor stands up to interpret for you.  So you have to say a sentence at a time.  A little fragmented, but it works.  Our missionaries bore their testimonies as well.  Elder Nielsen and Elder Thurman.  What powerful, spiritual young men - confident, and exuberant!  We actually went with them last Wednesday to a member's house for dinner, and I can tell you that they are for real.  And I can tell you that Elder Thurman surely can eat a lot of food.  He told us he ate so much because he was getting ready to fast.  But, his fasting was not a food one, but an English language one.  No English for 4 days.  I think he survived.   At least the language fast.

Danish Sunday School is not interpreted, so I just listen and probably stare blankly.  But in Relief Society, Anna interprets.  Bless.  The lesson was on being a good visiting teacher and was taught by the Relief Society president, Mona, step-mother to our Deacon, Caleb.  There are few bodies in Relief Society, but lots of good feelings.  A good day at church.

Elder Thorne took us on a little tour of Amager on the way home.  The beautiful, graceful bridge to Sweden stretches across the white-capped water from here.  The first part of the bridge is an under tunnel so the boats can sail through.  Being a clear day helped us see the shores of Sweden  glistening on the other side - about 2 miles away. We plan to go one day.  I will post a picture another time

Some pictures from our roof-top patio.  Tiny roof-top patio.

This is looking south east.  There is a walking trail around this lake.  There are five  I think and used to be the old moat,  but not sure that is true.  Man-made.  Rectangular.   There are generally swans on the lake - a mother and her young.  The young ones are still gray with white underneath the wings.  Right out of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale.

At ground level, our back door leads to a tiny patio. Shrubs divide us from the pathway around this lake  (all Danish have either shrubs or fences for privacy.)  Oh.  We have rats in the shrubs.  Really. They show up particularly when there is a gas leak.  They love the smell and the repairmen look for the rats to locate the leak.  I think our rat was fed by Sister Hamlin, the missionary before us.  This rat will have to find another food source.

View to the north from the patio.