Winter in England

January 28, 2014

Last week we were slowed down by the stomach flu.  We are grateful to be well again.  Winter has been so mild here so far.  It rains a lot, but most days have some time of sunshine.  The days are starting to get a little longer again.  We got out walking a lot of days if it's not raining too hard.  We don't mind walking in the cold air.  It think it helps us keep our spirits up.  We have have a few Gospel conversations in the past week as well.  We try to talk to anyone who will acknowledge us.  We had another baptism in our ward on Saturday.  An 11 year old boy in our primary class was baptized.  He is the last of a family to be baptized.  We have just started giving the temple preparation classes to his parents.  It will be great to see another family sealed in the temple.  We just finished the temple preparation lessons for another man in our ward who came back to full activity last year after several years of being away from the church.  It has been a privilege to do these classes.
Monday we went to Manchester again.  We had lunch with another senior couple at a very nice Chinese and Asian buffet.  It's the closest thing to an American buffet we have seen since we came here.  It is a place we would go to again.  After lunch we had planned to walk to Manchester Cathedral, but on the way we stopped in a book store and  spent so much time there, that we need to get back home after that.  We will visit the Cathedral next time we are there.
We also attended a welcome home party for an elder from our ward here.  He served in France.  He came home with a french accent.  He didn't sound British at all.  Everyone was amazed.  Someone made him a very clever cake.  I included a picture of it.

The most recent baptism

This was a pretty buffet.  I wish you all could have joined us.

Craig below the statue of Prince Albert

Me at Prince Albert Square

The Highpoint of our Mission

January 11, 2014

It was a very special day today, certainly one of the best we have had since we came on our mission.  Hannah, a young woman we have been working with for many months was finally baptized.  Her parents haven’t been in the church for years.  It was great to see her parents and her brother support the baptism.  There was incredible support for Hannah’s baptism, from extended family, ward members, YSA leaders and friends.  We marveled as we watched people keep coming into the building.  There were investigators there and people who were less active.  It was a day of miracles.  Craig and I spoke and we felt the help of the Holy Ghost.  It was a wonderful experience.  We feel that many lives were blessed as they attended the baptism.  We especially hope, Hannah’s parents and brother will feel a desire to come and join with us more often in the future.  Thanks be to God for days like these.  We will always remember and be glad we could be a part of it.

We spent a nice day last P-day going to an art museum in Manchester.  I have included a copy of one of my favorite paintings.  I think I like it because of the window.  I like big windows that let in lots of light.   It makes me thing of the scripture we chose for our missionary plaque.  It is in Doctrine and Covenants 50:24.  

"That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light growth brighter and brighter until the perfect day."

I feel we are receiving light on our mission.  We are understanding the Gospel more deeply.  We are learning lots of little things as well.  I've done a lot of scripture reading on the tablet, but lately I have been using my scriptures more.  I am noticing the pages are easier to turn the more I use them.  We visit a lot of sick people.  Many of them are so tired they can't get to church on Sunday.  They tend to sleep a large part of their day.  I know they must be miserable and wish it could be otherwise.  Though illness is very challenging, I see the value of routine and schedules in our lives.  A mission helps you to understand the importance of self discipline and feeling that every day has purpose.  

One of my favorite painting

Some of our ward members at a recent Temple trip we organized

The Manchester Art Museum

Hanna's Baptismal Day

  

Happy New Year

The past week has been one of reflection as we review the events of 2013.  Some of the big events of the year were the birth of Andrea Shay in January,  our trip to Scotland in February,  preparing to leave for our mission and our arrival in England in April.  Since then Craig has gotten somewhat used to driving on English roads, we have learned some new English vocabulary,  we have met many people from all over the world and learned much about what it means to be a missionary.  We are learning to keep working in the face of discouragement and be better disciplined in everything we do.  We are learning that as inadequate as we feel sometimes, the Lord is working with us and he can make up the difference.  Truly in a mission, it is by small things that great things are brought to pass.  In July, Missy and Mike joined their families and we are blessed to have four new grandsons.  In July,  Brent and Loni left their tropical paradise for Arizona and new opportunities.  In November, Debbie and Jim and their family found a new place to build Zion,  in Zionsville, Indiana.  Their family is happy to have more time together.  We know there were times of sadness and trial for some of our children.  We wish we could have been there to offer comfort, but we  trusted them to the Lord and we know he has and

will bless and help them.  For a few short days in July our children and their families were all together.  We were glad for this rare opportunity for them.
We celebrated the New Year in Manchester at a YSA dance after having dinner together in a Chinese restaurant.  We helped another senior couple make smoothies at the dance.  We even danced one dance on a rare slow dance.  Many DJ's nowadays play music that doesn't promote dancing as couples.  It is more like "hanging out dancing".  Young people seem to have a hard time forming a dating relationship.  I wish that trend could be reversed.  Anyway, we didn't get home until 2:30 in the morning.  We managed to sleep in until 9:00.  I didn't think we were capable of that anymore.  We spent New Year's day quietly in our flat.  We did some extra cleaning and organizing and we watched a movie on our computer.  We have had many new and varied experiences in the past months.  It will be interesting to see what the New Year has in store for us.

Our Last District Meeting with our current sisters and elders.
Transfers are next week

Three of our YSA from Liverpool at the New Years Eve Dance