Manchester Mission Church History Tour

On Wednesday, August 21st, our half of the mission went on a church history tour.  The other half went the day before.  We had to meet in Liverpool, so we decided to leave our car at the railway station and take the train.  It was a nice trip into Liverpool.  We did have a visit on the train with two Jewish sisters.  We didn't know they were Jewish and they didn't know we were Mormons until the end of the trip.  They asked about our badges but they didn't realize we were also Mormons.  We tried to share some things about the church with them.  Some things didn't go over very well and I was puzzled, but when they told me that they were Jewish,  I understood.  I think we left on good terms in spite of a few remarks I might have changed had I known their background.
We went to the docks where most of the people of England and Scandinavia left from, before coming to  America.  We know that Craig's great grandfather left from there.  We toured the Maritime museum.  After the Museum, we loaded buses to go to Preston and then to Downham.  Preston was where the Gospel was first preached in England in 1837.  Downham is a tiny village where people were especially receptive of the Gospel.  We visited these two sites earlier with another senior couple, but it was nice to see them again.  It was supposed to rain, but most of the day was lovely.  We had fun watching the re-enactment, by some of the missionaries, of the race to see who could be the first one baptized in England.   The highlight of the day was when we held a meeting in the little chapel in Downham.   The acoustics in the chapel were great and the sound of all those missionaries singing the Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning was very powerful.  I wish you all could have heard it.

In honor of our visit to the Liverpool Docks, they named a ship after me

Elder Whitehead waiting with our young elders at the train station

In front of the Maritime Museum

The River Ribble

The race for the first to be baptized

The Chapel at Downham

In the chapel at Downham.