May 20, 2013

Last preparation day, the two of us took a looong walk down Chester Road and visited Walton hall and Gardens.  It was a cold and blustery day, but when the sun came out it wasn't so bad.  The gardens were very pretty.  Walton hall was a home, but now it is a reception center.  We had lunch there and spent a nice day together.

The Chapel near Walton Hall

Sister Missionary in Walton gardens

Dad in the Gardens

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Don't you wish your yard looked like this?

Dad and Deb in Chester

Walton Hall

Entrance to the Cathedral

The Cathedral was full of these murals of bible stories done in Mosaics.  It is sad to think that many people don't think believe that they really happened or they have no relevance today.

James and Katherine

In the Cathedral

Four cute grandchildren

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Once in a while, I get a really good picture.

Last week we kept busy trying to visit members of the Ward whose last names started with B. We were asked to deliver invitations to the active members to remind them of the upcoming stake conference. The conference was a regional conference for Great Britain and Ireland. Stephen Baxter of the Seventy conducted and President Henry B. Eyring presided. Elder Baxter, Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson, Elder Richard G.  Scott, and President Eyring spoke to the combined  audiences. The talks were very appropriate for the saints in the Bristish Isles.  We felt Elder Eyring's comments were just what we needed to hear for our missionary work.  He taught us that we should never give up on people.

We enjoyed teaching our Book of Mormon class and we taught a few other lessons with investigators this week.  We didn't find a lot of people home this week as we visited and sometimes a few refused to be acknowledged as members of the church.  We could be discouraged, but that won't do any good.  We will keep trying.  We helped a sister build a grow box in her yard and we also attended the Stake Young Single adult activity in Liverpool.  We have been called to assist in that program on Thursday nights.  We will make every effort to see that our ward has a better turn-out.    We have also been called to teach the Valiant class in primary together.

We had a nice visit with Debbie and her family on Saturday.  It was so nice to have family come and see us.  They brought us some things that will be of use from their flat.  We visited Chester with them.  We walked through the old town and visited a cathedral.  We stopped at a french bakery we had visited with Brent and Loni when we were here with them.  We walked through an open air market.  People were selling their homemade products.  I was surprised to see that one of them was a pet bakery.   We also  went to the Museum Of Science and Industry in Mancester.  We had dinner at Pizza hut that evening and dessert at out flat afterward.

Missionary Days May 5-11

May 6, 2013

Today we went to the Preston Temple.  It was a beautiful spring day.  The temple was very pretty and so peaceful.  It was good to be there.  Afterward we had a pretty good hamburger at a restaurant called the “Fayre and Square.”  The hamburgers were square.  We had two appointments in the evening.  We taught a sister a lesson on tithing.  She wants to pay it, but she doesn’t believe she can afford it.  We know that faith precedes the miracle, but it is hard for people who haven’t experienced it to grasp that.  We will pray for her.   She really wants to be baptized, so we hope she can come to trust the Lord.  We also visited a young mother and her little boy and one very frisky dog.  Dogs are very popular in England.

Elder Whitehead off to the side of the Temple

Sister Whitehead with a view  overlooking Chorley

Sister Whitehead in Front of the Temple

May 10

Friday, we went on an outing with the senior couples and the young sisters.  We visited Lyme Hall and Gardens.  It was cold and damp some of the time, but the sun did come out now and then.  The gardens were impressive and peaceful.  Even though spring is at least a month late in coming, there were still beautiful flowers to enjoy.  It was fun to tour the house and we had lunch in a little shop at the home.  As much as I enjoyed the house, the opportunity to talk to other couples was especially helpful to hear what they were doing in their assignments.  After seeing Lyme Hall, we took a scenic bus ride through some pretty green hills out in the country.  It was a nice day.  Some of the things I am enjoying about England are the flowers, some of which are new to me.  I also love the birds.  There are lots of birds and their songs are very sweet.

The front steps of the home

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A Fountain inside the green house.

A  View of the Hall from the Gardens

A Most Unusual Tree

The Green House

The Young Sister Missionaries dressed in costumes from the Hall's theatre

Mission to Manchester

            After months of preparation, Craig and I entered the MTC on April 15.  We spent five days at the MTC.  Each day was a combination of fun and stress and spiritual experiences.  It was both enjoyable and challenging to teach the gospel to people who acted as investigators.  When I told the Joseph Smith story I was surprised at how the spirit took over and it was no longer me talking.   I look forward to teaching the Gospel and seeing people receive the great blessings of the Gospel.  We met lots of nice people and attended a good devotional.  Elder Scott spoke and the missionary choir was very powerful.  

Our Group of Senior Couples at the MTC

We  had a lot of good food and received useful training.Monday, April 22, we left home early in the morning.  I did not look back with regret, but felt it was time to be on our way.  Our flights went well.  We sat across the aisle from each other on the way to Chicago.  We each had the opportunity to visit with a person of another religion.  We told them about our mission and we each gave them a pass-along card.  On the flight to Manchester, we sat next to a young man who had just graduated from medical school.  We talked about his life with him and learned he was coming to Europe to rest from his studies.  He said he wanted some time to think about his life and his future.  He was searching for his purpose in life.  We told him about the Gospel and told him we felt he could find answers in the Book of Mormon.  He said he would really like to read it.  We gave him one as soon as we picked up our luggage.  He gave us a hug and thanked us.  He was really a good young man and we think he will read it.  We are praying that he will feel the spirit of this sacred record.  It was a sweet experience.  We felt that we were seated next to him for a purpose and the Lord’s hand was in it.

It was interesting to us that although he had attended medical school with some Mormons, no one had ever talked to him about the gospel.

            We arrived on April 23.  We spent an intense day trying to stay awake while we were oriented in all we needed to know.  The office missionaries served us a nice lunch.  I hoped desperately that I wouldn’t fall asleep with my head in my plate like a baby in a high chair.  We followed the Office elders over to our flat about 25 minutes away.  That began many white knuckle driving experiences for Craig.  After a short nap, the Relief Society President to us to the grocery store to go grocery shopping.  It all seemed like a blur, but we got some needed supplies.  We followed her to her home and gave us dinner.  Afterward, she showed us where the bishop lived and we visited with him for a while.  We left there and got lost,  so the Bishop came and led us back to the flat.  We fell into bed exhausted.  The next few days were intense and stressful, mostly because the driving, but things are slowly getting better.  We bought a better navigational device than the one the office loaned us and that is helping.  I have been gradually finding things we needed for our flat and it enjoyable to be getting settled.  I think it will be nice to live more simply for a time.

The morning we entered the MTC

May 1, 2013

Our Bedroom (One of Two)

I always wanted a home with an entryway

The Kitchen

The Front Room
The carpet is the same color as ours at home.

Our view from our front room window
I still need to get prints of three more families.

The Meriva, our Mission Car

View from the front

Craig at the dining room table

We have been here eight days.  The most stressful thing has been the driving.  We have also struggled to use the cell phone and keep it with us all the time.  Because we are still getting settled, we have lost things frequently.  We have been often on our knees praying to find lost items.  I think the driving stress is making it harder for us to remember where we have put things.  It has been hard to find food that tastes like food we are used to, but in time, I will be able to find solutions to that.  We do love the cheese here, the nuts, the chocolate and the bread.  Our ward was very friendly on Sunday.  It is a beautiful small chapel with great windows.  It is different than any building I have been in because there is no cultural hall.   Tuesday night I taught the Book of Mormon Class, Craig  and I taught a missionary lesson to a ten-year old girl trying to get ready to be baptized and he also gave a spiritual thought in the Youth activity.  Today he took driving lessons and we attended the transfers at the Manchester Stake center.  We came home and made a quick dinner and went out to visit people in the ward.  We had a nice visit with the Brett family.  I have felt so much stress getting adjusted to everything.  Yesterday we even got locked in to our flat.  We called the landlord and she sent someone to help us.  Last night I prayed for relief from the stress of being in the car and watching Craig suffer through it.  I realized that I have got to have more faith and try to relax and trust in Heavenly Father.  Today felt a little less stressed.