Week Six...

Let me start out with the continuing story of Hannah. The Elders asked if they could meet with her again at our flat. They showed the video about the restoration and discussed with her the importance of baptism. They invited her to attend a baptism that will take place in our district on the 28^th. She said she believes. She talked to her mother and told her about the wonderful feeling that she felt Wednesday night and her mother said: “Follow your heart!” There! already an answer to her prayers. She is going to pray about joining the church and about continuing to be taught by the Elders. I cannot explain the beautiful feeling that was here as this meeting went on. I felt so strongly of Heavenly Father’s love for this sweet Chinese young woman. I need to have faith too and not worry so about the obstacles she will have to overcome as she moves forward.

Sunday Elder Preece was not feeling so good with a virus of some kind. I was so appreciative when he still gave me a ride to church. (I am not brave enough to drive.) I was able to sit with Hannah. Our ward was having Ward Conference and there were very appropriate messages from the Stake leaders. The Spirit was strong and Hannah could feel it.

To my grandsons, especially Miles and Benny, you might be interested to know that one of the councilors in the Stake Presidency is a Fire Fighter! He was on duty Sunday so he came to church in his uniform. While at the pulpit in the middle of a very inspiring talk for Sacrament meeting he pulled his pager out of his pocket, looked at it and immediately closed his talk and rushed off the stand. See boys they even have to take care of putting out fires and saving lives on Sunday!

Also Sunday evening we had a wonderful Fireside presided over and given by the Stake President of the Bristol Stake. The whole experience was very powerful! The leaders over here are committed to “Hasten the Work of Salvation.” It was a call to the Young Single Adults in our stake to reach out and invite. He said that the success was in the invitation! A goal was set for each one to be prayerful and bring a friend to Sacrament meeting in December. It can be a less active member or non-member. The members of the Stake YSA presidency also spoke with powerful enthusiasm encouraging their peers to bring people unto Christ in order to be the leaders of tomorrow!

Monday, my companion was still under the weather…. We still had FHE here with Hannah and the Elders anyway. The Elders gave her an object lesson about building her foundation on the Savior. She was so good at stacking the stacking cups, even on a bunched up blanket that she almost foiled the lesson. It was fun and I think she got the point.

she was proud of her creation

  

We went to the store to buy ingredients during the day Monday and discovered that the only way applesauce is sold is as a relish in little tiny jars.  Also no one has any idea shortening is. I bought apples to make my own applesauce and I will use soft spread (margarine) to bake with!

Weeks are starting to fly! Today is Friday already. It has been a little rough because we have both been feeling ‘poorly’ yes I caught the gomboo too.  The good news has been that we have still been able to attend to our responsibilities.

 Wed was the last District meeting before transfers so we treated the missionaries to KFC! It was  fun. Dinner that evening went well. Hannah is still coming to everything. We had the opportunity to taste a British favorite dessert; jelly and ice cream. (Jelly is Jell-O.) No one could believe that we eat Jell-O with our meals as a salad instead of at the end as a desert. Food has been an interesting experience here, not nasty just different.

Ice Cream and Jelly

Tuesday our park sprouted a Circus! Yes a full Circus with a big top and everything is right up on the Downs. We have not seen any animals so maybe all of the acts are acrobatics etc. I guess it is comparable to a parking lot carnival that shows up occasionally at home.

Circus on the downs

Institute started last night and we were able to meet more of the YSA in our stake. We taught our class to two young people who need a little slower pace. It was nice, there was a sweet spirit there. After class are the activities. Last night it was a team competition quiz. Lots of laughs and enjoyment!

Book of Mormon Institute

After even Elder Preece got into the fun!

Life Savers and Straws

Saturday there is a baptism in our District and we get to take Hannah! I know that will be a good experience for her. She is still very enthusiastic about coming and learning.

We have been trying to visit the YSA members one at a time. We have a visit tomorrow and had one on Thursday. These are very good, here is when we really feel Heavenly Fathers love for each of these young people. We are hoping that such visits will be more frequent and regular as we move forward with this work.

I do not have many pictures this time because we have been cooped up for part of the week. We are excited to report though that the scaffolding that has been up on our building since we came was taken down yesterday and everything is getting cleaned up. It feels like we just moved into a new place because it looks so different! Yay, we can see out of all of our windows now!

Our flat  front on the bottom left of stairs

Bill went off to ride the bank while I stay home and rest. He is taking the bus trying out our new 'Senior' bus passes. Hope he comes back!

We are teaching the Book of Mormon in our Institute class. In the first lesson says to “Testify to students that as we read, ponder, and pray about the Book of Mormon, the Holy Ghost will witness that it is true, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom on the earth.” I want to leave you all with that testimony today. If each of you will spend part of every day or week reading this precious book I know your lives and the lives of others will be blessed! It truly is the keystone of our Religion!

Cheers!

Driving home from Weston-Super-Mare Saturday

The Big City and Joy in the Work

Last time I reported we were getting ready for a trip into the big city. I have had several people ask for a report, but before we go there just want to record the end of last week.

On Thursday at our YSA activity we did Indexing. There is a neat reason for the specific project the Stake Young Single Adults are working on. The YSA in our whole region are Indexing WW I records as a gift to the Queen for her Diamond Jubilee. I guess they even wrote her a letter about it. The evening was great, we were able to learn how and actually Index 10 names. There is a lot of information to go through. The great part about it is that as these young adults do this they gain a greater appreciation for the sacrifices that have been made for their freedom!

On Friday we decided that we needed to finish up our Flat inspections for last month. We drove into Bath to visit the adorable Sisters there and over to Chippenham to inspect the Zone Leaders dwelling. The Sisters are such good sports, they live in a pretty old apartment, seems like it could date back to the time when Austen was writing her books; but the location is great and so are the views from their windows. The Elders on the other hand have a brand new place that is quite comfy. They work very hard doing missionary work and keeping track of the Zone so they deserve some perks.

We had quite an experience after we made our inspections of the Elder’s flat. They asked if we had some time because they had set up an appointment with a young woman they previously met on the street and wanted us to come with them in case they got invited in. We found out firsthand what rejection feels like! It was not quite a ‘door slam’ but almost! We really respect these young missionaries! We took them to dinner and then drove home in a full on down pour and lots of traffic!

I was talking to Lindsey on SKYPE just before I went to bed Friday, telling her how tired I was and how I was sad because it was going to be cold and rainy the next day for our 'Grand Day' and such and such. She said, “Mom what are you complaining about? You get to go to London tomorrow!” Well Stated!

So Saturday morning we got up very early and headed off across the Downs to catch the bus! We caught it fine and arrived in plenty of time to make the train. We left Bristol with bright sunshine and arrived in London to drizzling rain. Of course we forgot our Oyster Cards that we had from former trips with rides still available, never mind we still took the Underground from Paddington to Victoria Station.

Temple Meads, Bristol Railroad Station

Elder Preece is so good in London, he is almost like a homing Pigeon! We found the restaurant without any trouble. Right away we noticed all these seniors dressed up like missionaries. That made it easier to find them but guess what? We were dressed in our civvies like P-day. Fortunately the Boones that came out with, were also dressed down so we were not alone. We had a nice lunch and were able to meet and visit with many other Senior Missionaries. We had traveled almost the farthest distance. The couple in Plymouth however came from even farther. It was expensive but what are you going to do. Since we have heard of the “megabus” that is supposed to be dirt cheap even though it takes longer, maybe next time.

Fun Day

The Palace of course was magnificent! And before you ask, little granddaughters, the Queen was not home. We toured the State Rooms and the Gardens. We could not take pictures inside but were could when we got to the Gardens.

Buckingham Palace

From the Garden



We had a very lovely time the rest of the day with Elder and Sister Boone. This is the couple that we traveled with from the MTC. We walked down to Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament and then took a bus up White Hall to Trafalgar Square. All kinds of excitement was happening in the Square because it was the finish of an International Triathlon. We were standing there visiting when we realized that The Star Spangled Banner was sounding over the loud speakers. It is not every day that US citizens can stand at attention with their hands over their hearts paying respects to their own national anthem in the middle of London!!

We crossed the street to St Martin’s-In-the-Fields chapel and descended the stairs to have some refreshment in the Crypt! It was really enjoyable! The Boones were able to catch a bus to their Train from Waterloo Station and we got back on the Underground for Paddington Station.

The Crypt 

The 7:00 to Bristol was just about to pull away so we ran, jumped on the train in one of the first cars and had to walk through the entire train to find the car where our reserved seats were only to find someone sitting in them. We moved back to take empty ones and not make a fuss only to actually look at our tickets and discover they were for the 7:30 train. Not to worry they were still valid. We got back, caught the bus and made it back to our flat at 9:30 PM. We did however decide not to walk through the middle of the park in the dark so it took just a tad longer.

Sunday was a very busy day. We attended a Ward Council meeting for the Downend Ward, went to their meeting block, got home with only an hour for lunch and then headed to the stake center for a Regional YSA meeting. We met wonderful leaders and YSA council members from our stake, Cheltenham (England), Cardiff Wales and Merthyre Tydfil Wales Stakes. This is a quarterly meeting so it lasted 2 hours. Sunday Evening was the rebroadcast of Elder Nelson’s CES Devotional for all 4 stakes and Institute registration also for all 4 stakes. It was a long day but we met some wonderful people. It was a good feeling, for me I am finally starting to really feel like a missionary!

Actual Adman Sets in Window at the mall

Monday we were very tired! We got some laundry done, shopping and reports sent in.

 Mondays we had FHE with the Elders and any investigators they invite. This time we did dinner, luckily we had leftovers from the events of the night before. About a  half hour before the appointed time the Elders rang up to tell us that one of their investigators had missed the bus and needed to be picked up. After a telephone call placed on speaker and using maps at both ends the place to meet her was pin pointed. Of course all of you know that driving new places around here has been a challenge for us. We did not have a complete postal code and had only met this Chinese ‘sister’ a couple of times. As we were getting ready to leave I expressed my concern that we may find it difficult to locate and recognize her, perhaps we needed a prayer. Elder Preece said he already had quite a profound moment. As he was having the same fears the face of this sweet young woman, Hannah, came as clear as can be into his mind. Needless to say we were able to find her without any problems and return in time to let the others in and have dinner on time. This is not the end of this experience. 

Both investigators were female students from China, one Taiwan and one Shanghai. After dinner we had a little lesson again and the Elders played a short video about the Plan of Salvation. They then asked each one what she got out of it. Hannah grasped quite remarkably the message of the short video; she turned and explained it to the other girl. Echo then expressed that she wondered how she could go to God and ask for help during a difficult time. This is when my sweet companion bore his testimony to both of them of the very experience he had before we left to find Hannah that evening. There was a strong spirit there, I could tell they were both touched and grateful that we cared.

This is an ongoing story because last evening after YSA dinner we were able to again help teach Hannah who is having trouble trying to reconcile accepting the gospel and her family’s faith of Taoism. After a Mormon Message and sweet discussion and a Priesthood Blessing, she started crying. She said she felt her head felt warm and had such a strong feeling in her chest. We helped her understand that is the feeling that comes from the Holy Ghost. Tomorrow she is coming over for another lesson.

We are learning soooo much. Wednesday evening at YSA dinner we met a sister who joined the church 58 years ago and has lived in this stake ever since. She had some great stories to tell. We told her she should write a book! She has just been diagnosed with cancer so we are all worried.

Thank you to friends and family who have sent us messages of love and support! Every day we are able to be more helpful. Maybe we will never feel like we do enough, I think that is the nature of the job. How wonderful it is to feel the love that Heavenly Father and the Savior feel for the saints and investigators here in the UK.

 Be happy! Elder Holland says: “This is the Church of the Happy Endings! We know how it ends….It is the Good News! There is nothing more hopeful in all Eternity!”

Our family history...

Our outing at the Gadfield Elm chapel was just delightful! For those who are wondering why that is significant, it was the first Mormon chapel ever used in the church. It had belonged to the United Brethren before the entire congregation was converted to the church by Wilford Woodruff  back 1840. The meeting house was then deeded over to the church. It was consequently sold to raise money for the Saints to immigrate to the US. It was restored by a group of members and in 2004 when it was completed they handed the keys over to President Hinckley. Both sides of Elder Preece’s family, his mother’s and father’s, joined back then and worshiped there. It means a lot to us.

 I hardly know where to begin. After doing some chores around the flat and running some errands we headed for toward the midlands. We had a very pleasant drive. The weather was beautiful! All week rain was forecast for both Friday and Saturday but we only got a little during the nights and lots of sunshine in the day. We followed our Sat Nav to the little town of Newent. The Hotel we had reservations for is called The George. It was built in 1649….this is the truth I am not making it up! When we arrived there was a lot of excitement there with news reporters and such because Brian May guitarist for the rock group Queen was there. He is a member of a group of protesters who are speaking out for the badgers. There has been a cull set forth to legalize hunting badgers because of their part in a TB outbreak in cows... Lots of intrigue!

The room we were given was on the top floor. We had to go up winding stairs and then through a door and up more winding stairs and to our room. The door was so short it looked like an Alice in Wonderland door, we had to duck to go inside. It was quite pretty and quaint inside. The floor was slanted, so we got a little dizzy walking around the beds, it was adequate and we slept well, better than in a tent and such an adventure! Never slept in a 350 year old Hotel before!!

After we checked in at the Hotel we drove to the Gadfield Elm chapel and arrived about 4:30 in the afternoon. It was so pretty, there were flowers growing around the little rock building and the sun was streaming down warmly on the roof and walls. Brother Haw who is the service missionary assigned to the visitor’s center and grounds was such an enjoyable person to visit with. He has been there for about 3 and a half years and has personally added a lot of improvements to the displays. The rest of the ward members who were coming did not start arriving till after 6:30 so we had a very nice chat with him.

Gadfield Elm Chapel

Sunset at camp

Let's eat!

Six years ago when Elder Preece and I first visited this sight with his mom, we were told about how the grounds were going to be used for camping by Stakes and Wards and other member groups. Never did I imagine that I would actually one day be in such a group. We had a wonderful time! A big bonfire was built, we had a bar-b-q and all the kids were thoroughly enjoying tossing twigs and branches on the fire and roasting marshmallows. We enjoyed laughing and talking and getting to know these ward members. A good time was had by all!

Saturday we all drove to Benbows farm, where so many baptisms were performed back in 1840.. This is the first time we have been there when it was sunny. There is a lovely vineyard right next to the pond that added such a bright green to the landscape. Something about that place gives you a calm sweet feeling.

This is the farm itself it is someone's private property

Reader board looking towards the pond

Vineyard next to the pond

 Everyone else had to get home so we bid them good bye and went on to the quaint historical town of Ledbury and had lunch. Then we stopped by Dymock and found the house Brother Haw told us about that is probably where William Pitt ( great grandfather of Elder Preece’s mother) lived. Even as I write this I can’t stop smiling. We feel so thankful to have these opportunities!

Ledbury Marketplace

Either of these homes could be William Pitt's

Sunday church was great. I got to substitute in primary in the younger class 3-5 year olds. They were delightful. The youth in the ward spoke of their EFY experience in Sacrament meeting. It was a very spiritual and powerful meeting. Every one of them mentioned how wonderful it was at EFY to be with so many other kids the believed just as they did. They were a great support to each other as their turn to speak came around. 

Evenings on Sundays are devoted to YSA. We have a Stake YSA council meeting and then FHE. They take turns teaching the lesson. The lesson this week was so well presented by a member of the Stake YSA presidency. She did such a good job. These brothers and sisters are leaders already. We will reach out to give more this great opportunity.

Monday P-day. We gave the missionaries from our ward a ride to Costco and of course had Costco food for lunch, a little taste of home. That evening these same elders asked if they could have FHE in our flat and bring an investigator and a member, oh and by the way cook dinner for us all! After a missed bus and lots of waiting they came and cooked a delicious meal! They are mandarin speaking missionaries and work with a lot of Chinese students. The young woman they brought is for Taiwan. A return missionary sister from our YSA group came also. She has only been home for 3 weeks. She served in the Ukraine.

We had a delightful evening and dinner. We had a short lesson and explained to her about FHE as well as watched a video about the B of M. We love being a part of this missionary process!!!

Shopping at Costco, P-Day

Fixing us dinner for FHE

It is FALL! Loving it, have not had this season in my life for many years. The air is crisp, leaves flit by the window and we pass school children hurrying off to school. It feels like I am in the middle of a Harry Potter book as they all pass by in their school uniforms chatting away…sometimes I need to pinch myself!

This morning we spent the morning practicing riding the bus! We have a Senior Couples outing this Saturday at Buckingham Palace so we have to take the bus to the train station and the train into London. It took most of the morning and we are not sure that we want to take that bus after all because it took much longer than we anticipated. I am sure in a few months we will look back and laugh at how much we do not now know about living here. We stopped and bought fish-n-chips from a take away place on the street. We noticed that they were voted the best fish-n-chips in Bristol this year and it was that good! It came all wrapped up in paper to keep it warm till we got it home! Very tasty!!!

I am posting on the blog today because we will be gone on Saturday. You can be sure that I will report on the adventures of the trip when we have returned.

In a leadership presentation by Elder Holland we watched yesterday, he admonished all to see the big picture to “Lift up your eyes” (John 4) and focus on the Savior! When we have that vision we will succeed in everything we try. Elder Holland said that the philosopher Nietzsche said “If you can tell me why…I’ll figure out how.” Lots of food for thought. I hope to do better following this advice.

Love to all , be happy, Lift your eyes!

One Month on a Mission

New week…. This week went by much faster than last week, maybe because we did not spend as much time going around in circles lost!

A big moment of the week was getting hooked back up to the Internet! On that same day we got to talk on SKYPE to Scottsdale, McAllen TX and Tucson! It somehow makes the world not seem so huge when you can sit in your own living room and talk to wiggling grandkids!

We headed out on Friday to an area of our Zone that is quite far away from us. One of our assignments as a Senior Couple is to inspect the sister’s flats once a month and the Zone leaders dwelling. We called the Bridgewater Sisters and made an appointment for 11 AM. Plenty of time to get there right? Wrong….Because the address was a fairly new our Navigation system took us out in the country. It was beautiful out there, kind of like driving through an old English novel. We ended up in this little tiny village trying to maneuver down very narrow streets to a street with the same name but definitely not Bridgewater. We phoned we were lost and of course the sisters did not know how to help us because they take public transportation. It was quite and adventure! We drove through narrow hedgerows. One section of road was completely overgrown with foliage. I mean completely…it was like driving through a tunnel!

 It took us an extra hour but we finally found them. Elder Preece finally decided that since the street we were looking for was St Mary that we would park near the local church by that name and stand out in front and call the sisters to meet us there. On the phone they guided us to their place. : )

Our next visit on the return trip was much more successful. These sisters live in a place called Weston-Super-Mare. It is on the sea! Their Flat is up the street from the beach; because we were a bit early this time we got to drive along the coast and watch the wind surfers and look across to Wales!!

 

Saturday haircuts and such. Then we went to the Downend Ward ‘Fete’, a carnival/fair like gathering in the parking lot that and grounds of the church with games and activities, rummage sale and food. We really had a good time! There were so many YSA there! We met a lot of new people and even purchased some things we do not need in order to support the cause. The idea was to raise money for the youth to help fray the cost of EFY. The final event was a cake auction. There were really some fun cakes and joyous bidding! It was a lovely way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon!

                                                  This cake went for 30 pounds

More SKYPE calls to family filled the rest of the day! How wonderful is modern technology! Only  I could not do is kiss those little faces!!

Sunday, second week in our ward. There were a lot more people there and we had a wonderful Fast and Testimony Meeting. We truly are a Church of brothers and sisters worldwide. The Sunday School lesson was on the succession of the church leadership after the martyrdom. It was touching to me to realize that this history means as much to members from another country as it does to those of us who have direct heritage in its events!

After dinner a walk in the park on a Sunny fall afternoon!

Monday P-day we went for a glad day out! We visited both Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral. Both are in our mission and about an hour and a half away. The trip through the English countryside was stunning! Some little hamlets had mostly thatched roofs, some were very old stone houses , some were in the woods and some in rolling patchwork farm lands!

 

 

Stonehenge was amazing! I did not realize it would be so spectacular. I also didn’t think about the fact that it would be teeming with tourists. There were buses and cars and crowds! The site itself however is well preserved and the viewing is arranged so that you can photograph it without all those bodies in your picture. Have to admit that we were really in awe of the whole thing!

Salisbury Cathedral was magnificent! Parts of it were constructed in the 1100s. One of the remaining original copies of the Magna Charta is housed there. That was impressive. Again the shear wonder of how such an edifice was built so many centuries ago!

 

 

 

On the return trip we stopped in Bath and had dinner. That place is another wonder. It takes you back to Dickens and Austin just to stroll through it!

Tues. morning we woke up to fog, which was a surprise to me since yesterday was such a warm balmy day. When we came back from our walk my hair was full of little droplets! I couldn’t help but think as we walked through the mist that it was kind of like these last few weeks launching into this experience. Some of it we just have to move through not knowing the destination sometimes or the end result. It is good to need to use faith! I am not too good about being out of my comfort zone but it is good for me!

Wed. morning we had District meeting. Great experience! Loved watching the workings of the mission. These ‘kids’ know what they are doing. They teach and support each other and keep each other from slacking. We felt privileged being a part of it all!

 

This evening we have YSA dinner and tomorrow a lunch planning meeting with our ward Elders then off to movie night for the YSA in the evening. Enjoying this week a lot, we seem to be much more comfortable driving around and planning our schedule.

                              At YSA the High Council room can turn into an upholstery shop 

Friday and Saturday we have permission to attend our ward campout at Gadfield Elm and Benbow’s farm. Next post I will report on that.