Merry Christmas

We thought Christmas Eve would be a little less hectic, but it wasn't.  We started the day with a short visit to a less active, then on to district meeting.  After the meeting, we ordered Dominoes Pizza for our district and we all relaxed for a few minutes.  The sisters had a teaching appointment at the church and asked if we could stay with them, as they required a chaperone.  They gave a very good lesson on the atonement to two young men.  The spirit was felt in rich abundance  and I thought this was a great thing to be involved in on Christmas Eve.  Next we drove the Elders to Liverpool to pick up the last of the Christmas mail for the district.  The elders told  us about a family in our ward that was low on food for Christmas, so off we went to the grocery store to get some.  We each picked out some things,  and the  elders and sisters shared some of the treats they had received from the ward members.  Shortly after we finished that, we were due at a tea appointment for Christmas Eve.   We had a beautiful Christmas dinner with our friend Steve and his family.  We all had Christmas crackers and everyone got a crown with notes of music on it and a little whistle .  Each had a different pitch and Steve led us in some Christmas carols with our little whistles.  Afterward we helped clean up the kitchen and had a nice visit with Steve's wife.  She is not a member yet, but perhaps someday.  I think she is one of the nicest people we have met.  Last of all we were off to deliver the box of food.  The elders dropped it off and ran and we waited in the get-away car.   One last good thing happened at the end of the day.  While we were recording the events of the day,  we heard a knock at our door.  It was Reese, a young man who lives down the hall from us.  He brought us a package that the mailman hadn't been able to deliver because we were gone.  He also brought us a treat to thank us for helping Sarah, his friend a few days ago.  I had helped her when she was having a panic attack, as she waited for the ambulance to come.   We were especially grateful he came, because about a month ago he asked us some questions about our church.  I was so excited, I told him to come in and have dinner with us.  Just then his phone rang and he said he had to go.  We thought we had scared him off.  We have been praying for the chance to talk to him again.  I think now we will get to talk to him again.

Christmas day dinner.

Christmas morning dawned bright and blue.  We had no snow, but we also had no rain or clouds.  It was a mild day.  We attend a short Christmas service at our ward at 10:30.  Craig and I each took part reading part of the Christmas story.  All who came felt the spirit of the day as we sang carols together.  Afterward we took a plate of cookies to our Bishop's family.  We took a short rest and visited with two of our children on Skype.  It was almost as good as being in their homes.  We were invited to another ward members home at 4:00 to have dinner with them, the elders, and our hosts parents from Yorkshire.  We had a big dinner and a nice visit and returned home to skype some more.  We were able to get to almost everyone.  We had to make do with a phone call for one of them and we'll try to catch the daughter who was out, today.  We had a merry Christmas even though it was quite different than what we were used to.  Many ward members gave us gifts.  One of our favorites was our singing chicken.  Of course we loved our children's gifts and photos.

This cute little chicken sings We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

Christmas Eve with pizza and our missionary grandchildren

Our musical cracker prizes

We had a festive Christmas Eve dinner with a kind family in our ward

Twas the Week Before Christmas

This past week has been full, though not all of the plans turned out as expected.  Tuesday, I was supposed to take the Faith in God children to carol to people in the ward.  The father of the largest family going, and driving, got stuck in a traffic jam and we only had two people show up.  I served the hot chocolate and cookies to them and anyone else at the church who was there  for other reasons.  I was able to participate in the Book of Mormon class and Craig gave a good lesson.  Wednesday night we were supposed to go caroling with the Relief Society, but it was raining so hard and the wind was so strong that it was cancelled.  We decided to take the sister missionaries with us to visit a family that needed a visit and it was a good experience.  Thursday night, we did go caroling with the YSA at Tesco a large grocery store. It was a good experience, but getting there was tricky.  The Sat Nav (British for GPS) took us right past the only entrance to Tesco, around the corner, up the road, and finally down a narrow alley that ended with a brick wall.  I find it strange that every large shopping center has only one access.  We did finally get there and we raised some money for a local charity with our singing.  One woman came up to us afterward and told us that our singing lifted her

All ready for Christmas

Craig taking a well earned rest.

spirits while she was shopping and she was grateful.  Friday night was our ward Christmas party.  We had a cute nativity by the primary and then a visit from Father Christmas.  Everyone was able to get their picture taken with him so of course I wanted a turn.  The pictures of the caroling and Father Christmas will be included later, because I am waiting for someone to e-mail them to me.   Saturday night was the baptism for a young women.  It was  a very nice evening.  Sunday, people gave us gifts at church and we all exchanged Christmas cards.  We have spent the last few days visiting people and delivering treats and trying to spread some Christmas cheer.  We do miss being with family at Christmas, but serving others is the best antidote for that.

Our Mission home Christmas Party and a "Dickens of a Day"

This past week, we were hosted at the mission home for a Christmas party.  We were served a delicious ham and turkey dinner complete with Christmas Crackers ( a fun English favor).  Each district in attendance performed a skit.  We did the Shrek version of Nephi gets the plates.  Only, in our skit it was an area book.  Craig was Lehi and Laban and I was the Angel.  It was our elders idea.  It think it turned out pretty well, considering how little time we had to rehearse.   We each received a cloth gift bag, hand embroidered, with some small gifts and treats inside.   We did a gift exchange and watched a movie,  Ephraims Rescue.  Our mission president and his wife host  ten of these parties for 24 people each day the last ten,  week days before Christmas.  They were so kind to do this and they made the day feel almost like being home for Christmas.
Saturday we went to Lymm,  a picturesque little English town that hosts a Dickensian Festival every year before Christmas.  There is a parade and  many of the citizens dress up in victorian costumes.  There are also lots of booths selling crafts and gifts and good things to eat.  The parents of a young woman we have been working with invited us to go with them.  We had a nice time.  In the evening we took two sisters in our ward and went to see a musical version of the "Christmas Carol".  It was put on by the Liverpool Stake and it was very enjoyable.  It was performed to earn money for a local charity.  A  large number of people put in many hours to put this on.  We had a good turn out from our ward.

Our Mission Presidents wife and her friend cooked a great dinner for us.
Sister Preston is on the left.

Craig at Christmas dinner.

Here we are in Lymm with Hannah

We see these canal boats often on our drives.

The canal is so pretty and peaceful

The white house in the background was built in the 1700's

A Dickensian Mayor

Elder Whitehead is arrested for preaching.

The Morris Dancers

Getting Ready for Christmas

The days continue to fly by and we are beginning to get ready for Christmas.  We have been handing out,  Joy to the World pass along cards.  Most people take them with great hesitancy.  In this world no one believes anyone would give away a free DVD without expecting something in return.   We  will

We continue to see some great sunsets.

Entrance to the Christmas Markets

In Front of the Christmas Markets in Manchester

Craig was holding the Camera, thus the goofy pose.

Our cute little Tree

keep trying.  Two weeks ago we had mission transfers again.  We said goodbye to another  Elder from Bountiful.  He was a good young man and we will miss him.  We visited the Christmas markets in Manchester last Monday and tasted some nice foods from other countries.  We had the opportunity of going to a teaching appointment with the sisters to teach a man one of the missionary lessons.  He is such a good man and he is preparing for baptism.  He will be a great asset to the ward.
Today we were able to attend the sealing of a family in our ward.  It was a lovely experience and the closest thing to heaven we can experience on earth.  We put up a little Christmas tree in our flat and decorated it.  In the evening I called a sister to change an appointment time and she told us that she wasn't interested in any more visits.  We felt sad about that, but we have done the best we could and it her decision.  There are always ups and downs on a mission.  We will keep pressing forward.  We think of home at Christmas, but we will try our best to bloom where we are planted this year.  We love you all.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is God's plan of Happiness for us.

This is a picture of Our Senior couples Thanksgiving dinner  a few weeks ago.

The Liverpool Zone and Chorly Zone at a recent multi zone conference.

A Day of Our Missionary Life

November 22, 2016

Today we had a day of visiting.  We have been so busy with other things, we haven’t been able to visit as much this week.  We started the day with a visit for the purpose of doing an insurance form for a couple whose car we put a little scratch on edging through a tight street.  They were a very nice couple, a little older than us.  We met their adult grandsons as well.  We told them some things about the church.  The lady offered us some tea or coffee and we were able to share our beliefs about the Word of Wisdom.   They didn’t know much about our church.  The lady was Catholic.  Her grandson said it was so refreshing to find people who are honest in the world.  Even though they weren’t interested in learning more, I feel that we left a very positive impression of our church and perhaps some day one of them will receive our young missionaries into their home because of their experience with us.

We had two appointments cancel on us, but were able to have a good visit with Mae, a lovely 97 year old member of the ward in a care center.  We brought our computer so she could hear a conference talk.  She was very worried about her nephew who was in the hospital.  We had a prayer with her and I think it lightened her burden.   We visited another older couple that gave us a warm welcome into their home.  After we visited for a few minutes we realized that they had mistaken us for someone else.  The woman whose name was on the records of the church,  had no memory of being baptized.  They said they attended another church, so we apologized for the mix-up and we were on our way.  We had left-overs for dinner from the Thanksgiving dinner we made for the sisters yesterday.  Left-overs are such a life saver on such busy days.  We had nice visits with two other ward members in the evening.  We are grateful at the close of the day for these good visits. 

We had a successful Harry Potter Activity recently at YSA

We watched these men do a dangerous job across the street from our flat.
Trees flourish here with all the rain, so they have to be trimmed back.

Craig and I visited Manchester on Monday.  It was cold but sunny.

This tall building is the new Institute of Religion building here in
Manchester.

We spent a little time a the Christmas Markets.  We will go back
again before Christmas.

This beautiful sunset took place at 3:30 in the afternoon.
The days are getting very short here.

 

Remembrance Sunday

On a sunny Sabbath morning under a bright blue sky we observed Remembrance Day in England.  We were all blessed with a reprieve from the rain.  The Bishop asked us to represent our church in the Remembrance Day parade.  We walked in the parade with one other ward member.  Two others who were not able to walk,  were waiting at the Monument with a wreath of poppies.  We were happy to represent the church, but also torn because we would have to miss Sacrament meeting and we always want to be there.  The service at the end of the parade is put on by the Warrington Council of Faiths.  This council accepts a representative from all the local churches except ours, under the claim that we are not Christians.  We hope our walk in the parade raised awareness of our church.  Afterward we went up to the local church leaders and shook their hands and told them we enjoyed their part in the services.  We hope it did some good.  The parts I enjoyed most were the bagpipe music and singing Jerusalem with this large group of people.  It is good that people come together once a year to remember those who died for them in wars.  There is a much more important Remembrance Day to be observed.  We have that opportunity each week to attend Sacrament Meeting and remember our Saviour who gave his life for us so we could repent and return home to live in the presence of our Father in Heaven.  If that day were observed each week throughout the world, it is unlikely that we would lose soldiers in war, and we would enjoy that peace, which we all long for.

Elder Whitehead in front of Warrington's golden gates.
The marchers are lining up in back of the gates off to the right

We walked at the end so this is our view.

The two of us at the Senitaph  after the program.

Party Time

November 6, 2013

Bobbing for Apples at YSA

Pumpkin Carving at YSA

I wish I could have captured this better.

The YSA in front of the Temple

YSA games

Some chose watermelons to carve because they wanted to eat the insides.

We just finished several days of celebrations.  First, we spent Halloween with the YSA.  We taught Book of Mormon and then the YSA enjoyed Halloween activities and a Shrek Halloween movie.  We had some cute refreshments and I think everyone had a good time.  Friday was special because went with the YSA to the Preston Temple so they could do baptisms for the dead.  It was a good experience to assist with this.  Afterward, we went to McDonald's for milkshakes.  Saturday morning we went with a  group of people in our ward to the temple and in the evening we attended the ward Halloween party.  Craig and I did the pumpkin walk, a favorite game we do on Halloween with our grandchildren when we are home.  The kids loved the game and the party went well.  We celebrated Bonfire night at a members home.  We had a good dinner and watched fire works with the family.  We had a pleasant evening. We also ate dinner with a nice family

Zone Conference pumpkin carving

Our local sisters carving pumpkins

on Sunday night.  We certainly have had an entertaining and also an uplifting week.  Craig's Book of Mormon class went especially well on Tuesday night.  We also had a pumpkin carving contest at our zone meeting.  Craig and I were asked to judge the pumpkin carving contest at YSA and zone conference.  We were also the judges at the ward Halloween party.  It has rained a lot recently, but it hasn't stopped the fun.

Halloween Games at YSA

Bonfire night.

The YSA Sent up Fire Lanterns on Halloween.

Warrington in the Fall

October 31st

Happy Halloween everyone!  We are about to experience Halloween in England.  Actually I don't think it is quite as big here as it is in America, but people still celebrate it.  We will be with the YSA tonight and then we will celebrate at our ward party on Saturday.  Dad and I will be doing the Pumpkin walk for it, and thinking of all of you back home.
We had our primary program last week.  It went very well, in spite of the challenge on having to sing with CD's because we have no primary pianist.  A few of the older children actually played two of the songs.  One of them only played the top hand, but I have learned since we have been here that even the top hand really makes a difference.
The upcoming baptism has been delayed until December.  The sister missionaries were disappointed about the delay, but the family wanted it that way.  Setbacks are a part of missionary life and we all get to learn to persevere and increase our faith.  Craig is getting better from his sinus infection, but I am encouraging him to rest when he can.  We continue to visit people and we try to give out pass-along cards on our walks.  We give out Books of Mormon when we can.  We pray always for missionary opportunities.

We found a window washer yesterday.  For a very small fee, he washed our windows.   I am grateful for clean windows to see the fall view.

Leaves are falling fast here.  Soon some trees will be bare.

I am grateful for homemade bread.  It is comfort food for us.

The Liverpool Elders and I look on as the YSA play spoons.

They paused to talk to the Eders.

We all enjoyed the game,  Craig and I were out by this time.

Someone asked to adopt their geranium recently.  I was happy to,  because it reminds  me of growing geraniums  in my kitchen during the winter.

Our flat is cozy in cold weather.  We are especially grateful for the heat registers in our bathroom.
We heat our towels on them.  It is great to get dry with a warm towel.

We were both under the weather last P-day, so we spent a quiet day in the flat except for grocery shopping.  I made bread and did a little work around the flat.  In the evening, we went to a YSA FHE in Liverpool  It is held once a month.  Craig and I taught them how to play spoons and they had a good time.  I have included pictures of things I am grateful for while we are here in England,  homemade bread, a warm flat, flowers in bloom that remind me of home and the fall scenes outside our window.