I served in Den Danske Mission from July 2003-Nov. 2004. I guess that means that I've been home for 4 years, unbelievable. In that time I graduated from BYU, got married to my husband Mike and about 4 months ago welcomed our little boy, Jack James into our family. We now live in Southern California and love it. The memories and blessings of my time in Denmark fill my life daily.
I remember the evening my Stake President arrived at our home to set me apart as a missionary. During the blessing he promised me that there would be a moment on my mission when I would recognize without a doubt the purposes of the Lord in calling me to Denmark. The months came and went and I experienced countless moments of joy in my service: the Copenhagen temple open house, serving in the area my great-great great grandfather met the missionaries and was baptized, conversions, friendships, the spiritual growth of my family at home and of course my personal devotion to the Savior. It seemed like any number of these things would be reason enough for my call to Denmark.
But the last Sunday before I was returning home I was speaking at the baptism of an 11 year old girl (Maja, now 15 in the picture).
As I stood from the pulpit I could see her sitting in the front row all dressed in white, smiling. To her left was Lisa(red coat) and to her right was pernille. Here with one glance I could see the 2 beautiful women and 1 sweet girl that had felt the spirit and gotten baptized since I had been in Horsens. Their families sat by them, sharing in their happiness. As I was speaking, the words of my blessing from my stake president flooded my mind with perfect clarity. The Holy Ghost was confirming to my mind and heart that this was indeed the moment he had been referring to those 18 months earlier. I was overcome, filled with the spirit of joy & gratitude. The Lord had not forgotten about His promise to me. More importantly, I knew that He had not forgotten about His promise to the three sitting before me. 
48 hours later I was on a plane headed home, but the powerful lesson about the Lord's timing and His desire for our unyielding diligence in serving His children has stuck with me through the years. I could never have been the person I am today without my mission to Denmark. It was there that I truly became a disciple.
Ashley (MacFarlane) Christensen
