Summer in England

Preston Temple Grounds

June 26, 2013

We have had some mild days lately in England.  We don't miss the heat in Utah a bit.  We still have a chilly day every so often.  Saturday, we attended our Stake Helping Hands day in Victoria park.  We worked to weed, clean up and paint some areas in a community garden for disabled adults.  It was a good day.  Today we attended our multi-zone conference in Chorley.  The Mission President had each zone stand when he called our zone's name.  He said none of us should be in the comfort zone on our missions.  We are meant to stretch and grow, and we do.  We were able to attend the temple today with our zone.  It was so nice to be there.  The Preston Temple is beautiful, and the peace within, is renewing to our souls.  The times we have been in the temple since we have come here have been the only times we have been in our comfort zone.  We are striving to grow and improve on our mission and we continue to learn.  Our neighbor is enjoying the Book of Mormon and she told us she would like to visit our church.  We miss everyone back home, but we are grateful for the opportunity to share the Gospel with others.  We have a baptism in our ward this Saturday.  A sister we helped teach is going to be baptized.  She was finally able to accept tithing and we are happy for her.   Our mission president also told us about a new convert fireside held recently for members who are immigrants from Iran.  It is good to see that the Gospel can reach people

I thought it was so cute to see this family working together
at Helping Hands Day

from countries who otherwise would not be able to receive it.

June 17, 2013

Today we took a pleasant drive down country roads to a place called Arley Hall and Gardens.  We weren’t able to see the hall because it was closed, but we thoroughly enjoyed the gardens.  This is the first time we have been in gardens in warm weather and it was very pleasant and relaxing and peaceful.

After the gardens, we ate lunch at McDonald’s and came home for a short rest.  We met some neighbors in our parking lot who we have become friends with.  Our acquaintance began when I needed someone to help me with the washing machine in our flat.  Our neighbors talked with us for a while and then they started asking us about our church.  We were able to tell them the Joseph Smith story and tell them about the Book of Mormon.  They said they would like to read it.  It was a remarkable experience.   The Lord really does place people in our path to share the Gospel with. 

Dad on the end of the woodland walk

The road to Arley

June 12, 2013

Today we drove two of our elders to Liverpool so one of them could be transferred to the Isle of Man.  It felt a little like we were saying goodbye to one of our grandsons.  We will miss Elder Wirtala.  He was a dedicated missionary.  We had lunch with a family in our ward.  Most of them joined the church about a year ago and now the son is starting to investigate the church.

He posed some challenging questions to us.  We tried our best to respond and we hope it helped.  I feel he is a good and sincere young man and I hope will gain a testimony of the Gospel.  Later in the day we visited with a young family in our ward.  The father is undergoing treatment for cancer.  We pray for his recovery. 

Left to right, Elder Wirtala, Us and Elder Karlsson 

June 8, 2013

I thought this was a perfect pastoral scene in back of the mission office

I have been sick the last few days.  Craig is finally starting to get better, but it is coming slow.  This evening I fixed a good dinner for the elders.  It turned out well and they were very grateful.   After dinner, we visited a sister out in Newton Le’ Willows.   It was one of the tightest journeys we have taken so far.  We met a sister named Ruth, who is living in an assisted living facility.  She hasn’t been out to church in about a year because she has been ill.   She is a valiant member.  She told us she wanted to join the church for 25 years before she could be baptized.  Her husband wouldn’t allow it.   She lived the teachings of the church as faithfully as she was allowed to, during that time.  At one point, her husband even made her get rid of her Book of Mormon.   After he died,  she was baptized and has served faithfully in the church for as long as her health allowed.  She is a very talented person.  She showed us the exquisite art she had designed with egg shells.  It was a privilege to meet her. 

She is another of the outstanding people we have met here.

Dinner with the elders of our district

This is the area in back of the  mission office. The mission office is located in a business complex, but it is out in the country.