Making Memories

 Some nights, when I have difficulty going to sleep, I go to Copenhagen in my mind.  Often I start out in the Church of our Lady, where the Christus by Thorvaldsen majestically stands.  From there, I amble down the cobblestone streets to the Walking Street.  I pass Georg Jensen and Royal Copenhagen....the Ilum - a magnificent department store, past the central fountain, past the National Theater and on to Nyhavn, the iconic pier with brightly colored buildings.  I return to our flat through the little parking lot, through the draped glass door and into the entryway.  I hang my coat on the coat rack and turn down the little hall, past the utility closet, noting what is on the shelves, into the bathroom where I survey the sparkling shower, the washer and dryer, sink and toilet.  From there I go back down the hall and into the little kitchen.

I tour the entire apartment, ending upstairs on the couch looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows over the lake, where swans, geese and ducks paddle lazily over the water.

SK told me he does that, and so I have been doing it for a long time now.  He goes through our house on Tremaine, but I can't.  Too many memories.  I can't take them all in, and so I can't stick to my silent tour.  I have to pause and remember.

I will take the tour of Oxford some night hence.  I will have some incredibly good memories of this place.  I will remember the River Thames, the parks, the centuries-old buildings, walking under the umbrella with SK, the quaint buildings coexisting with new structures.





I loved our walk today....about 2 1/2 miles.  I am getting soft.  We need to walk more and more often.  Our two weeks of isolating didn't help me...and we haven't been faithful since.

We made barbecue chicken pizza again today.  SK LOVES it!  The four young missionaries came just for lunch.  We didn't have a meeting, but we discussed several of the YSAs that they are teaching.  I think each of these four young people are diligent and faithful.  They are doing good work here.

I can't imagine how Dave is keeping everyone motivated.  Sometimes it is difficult for SK and me to stay indoors and isolated.  If they are paired with someone they don't particularly like, the days could stretch out forever.  Fortunately, there is much work to do, and they are all on systems of accountability.

Which is funny and interesting.  One of them is our district leader and reported to us that we apparently have a "daily planner" on our phones.  He, as our district leader, regularly reviews everyone's plans and execution of plans.  He laughed as he said, "It doesn't look like you and Elder Madsen are doing anything in daily planning."  We all laughed, because senior missionaries don't operate on the same program as the young ones.  Just the same, if I were young, that is one thing that would keep me motivated.

They have a regular zone feed on Facebook Messenger.  And the comments are all encouraging and uplifting....as they try to keep the zone of about 16 missionaries on target with their teaching and finding people to teach.  Since the finding part is mostly online, that has required a change of mindset, but it has been highly successful.

They loved the pizzas too.  It was fun to watch them enjoy that meal.  I've decided that I actually enjoy cooking....especially for hungry young people who appreciate any effort made on their behalf.  Whenever we talk or see Elder Boyack, before he says good-bye, he always asks if there is something he can do for us.  He is very sincere, and I love that about him.

We have not heard from the government about our visas, as yet, and it is not implausible that we will not hear anything before the end of the year.  I hate living with the uncertainty for so long, but if it allows us to stay, we can deal with it.  When we left in March, we had just two days to clean up the apartment and pack.  I was sorry when I got home that I hadn't purchased a couple of things.  One is a tee shirt and the other was a sweatshirt with the official Oxford logo.

On our walk, we wandered into one of our favorite souvenir shops - where they sell official Oxford university items.  I purchased the sweatshirt because it was on sale.  I'm so happy with that purchase!!!!!  I won't wear it while we are in Oxford, but will wear it in the winter in Gilbert.  I hope that it will be the winter of 2021.



This is a shameless souvenir, but how can you not love it?  It cost about $5 and it has pictures of all these wonderful landmarks etc.  I have filled several already.  It is about 5 X 8"

Look at the embroidered date on the sleeve...Est. 1231!  Lia asked what the Latin words mean...translation is "The Lord is My Light."   You have to love this shirt!


We will complete our day by reaching out on texts to some of our YSAs, just checking to see how they are doing.  I'm also writing a little paragraph about Thorvaldsen's Christus for Deb, who will print it up to go out with their Christmas presents this year.  I love doing things like that!

A memorable day.


Comments

melissa said…
Sounds wonderful!! I never take tours in my mind like that. I need to try!
October 16, 2020 at 2:52 PM
Lia said…
What do those little words on the Oxford symbol mean?
October 16, 2020 at 5:06 PM
Elder and Sister Madsen said…
Lia...they mean "The Lord is My Light"
October 17, 2020 at 2:50 AM
Elder and Sister Madsen said…
Yes Melissa, you have a number a wonderful places to go to in your memory!
October 17, 2020 at 4:15 AM
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