So now it’s
been a year since I went on SMT in the US Central Territory, and I did start to
feel that I missed being there. It was a magnificent experience, after all. So
I decided to check out the livestream of the annual commissioning, just out of
curiosity to see if the SMT-teams were presented on stage again, like we were
last year. If so, then I missed it, but I did see Erin and the CAST team on
stage.
This year a
team from Central Territory is visiting Denmark, so I checked the official
SMT-webpage in March to see whom, if any, of my friends would be going. This is
a six man-team – huge compared to West’s three (wo)man and East’s four man
teams the previous years – and only one of this year’s team members I hadn’t
met before. Reunion time! :-D
I knew the
team would be joining us at Landslejr, but I didn’t know anything else. Then
Wednesday I received a text from Nathanaël, that Vejle corps would hold an
event, and that the missionteam would be there. He asked if I wanted to go, and
I was like: “Yeah, sure, whatever you want”. Nah… I was actually more like
“(Squeeel) ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod… uhm, yeah! OF COURSE I would love to
go, and see my friends. Just try and stop me!”
So
Nathanaël and I drove to Vejle Friday, to participate in the event. Lyndsey (who
had been on team Japan) was the first to recognise me, and went: “Hi, Daniel!” 😊, as I was taking off my jacket. Then Sean
(Central Vibes, yeah!) saw me, and said: “Hey, Daniel. So how’s Aarhus been
treating ya?”, as perfect a pronunciation of Aarhus as you can expect from a
foreigner – but then again, Sean was raised in Sweden, so he isn’t unfamiliar
with the ‘Å’ sound. I remember a few people last year who tried to learn how to
pronounce Aarhus, and let me say, the closest English words I can come up with,
that would match the pronunciation the best would probably be “Oar-Whose”.
Lyndsey and
Sean were in the kitchen along with Chaslyn making waffles. The next person I
met was Kristin from THQ? I was not expecting to see her, what joyous bonus.
Then down the stairs came Sam and Jake (both S/portugal), their reaction was
something along the lines of: “oh, Daniel, cool”. Then, as I was walking past
the stairs, I suddenly heard: “DANIEL!”, I turned towards the stairs: “Hi
Lauren….”, and before I could finish my sentence Lauren (Costa Rica) had run
down the stairs and gave me a massive hug, to the point where it got a little
uncomfortable, but it told me, that I had definitely been missed.
During the
football-event at the park – where 80+ kids arrived to participate – Sean,
Jake, Sam and Jack registered for the tournament, whilst the girls presented
this year’s SMT-dance, and did some face paint. Lauren and I decided to take a
handful of empty bottles to Rema 1000 for recycling, and surprised by how much
money you got back for every bottle, she said she would keep every bottle from
now on, and recycle them, instead of just throwing them out. She asked me if I
could see her living in Denmark, walking with a bunch of bottles to recycle? I
answered: “with the many restriction laws on immigration the last government
has made the last couples of years, sadly not anytime soon.” But maybe if
you’re persistent 😉 If you really desired to, yes, I
think I could see it.
Back at the
corps, we had waffles and slush-ice, for the kids. We had a fun afternoon, and
evening, and before I knew it, suddenly I was spending the night in Vejle. That
wasn’t planned, like at all. If it was, I would probably have had some extra
clothes for Saturday, but…yeah…
Central Vibes mini-reunion |
Saturday we
spent together in Horsens, for a camp-leadership orientation, and then we said
goodbye for now, as they were headed to Sønderbrg with Sabine (Central Vibes,
yeah!), and I finally headed home to Aarhus. Josephine was also going to
Aarhus, so on the way to the train station, she commented that I apparently got
along very well with Lauren. Uhmm… What can I say? Yes? I cannot really say
“no”, that would most definitely be considered lying. I was told, that Josephine
had been asked all week, “will Daniel come? Are we going to see Daniel? How can
we get in contact with Daniel?” etc. I guess they didn’t ask about Sabine,
because they already knew they would see her in Sønderborg, but whether they
would see me was up in the air. Of course I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to
see my friends again. If it weren’t for the fact I knew we would see each other
at Landslejr, I would find some way to meet you during the Summer, one way or
another.
It is a
lovely feeling to know that I am loved enough to be missed, but don’t ever
forget that it goes both ways, I have missed you guys as well.
- Daniel L.
Pedersen
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