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| Bristol Sunrise |
Last night we got to go to Wales! The YSA leaders in Bristol plan a
yearly calendar with 4 other stakes in the region and every quarter there is a
regional coordination meeting. Last night the meeting was in Cardiff! I have been
looking forward to this opportunity to travel to a new country in the UK. I think it will be a little more enjoyable
next fall though because this time of the year it gets dark so early and the
meeting begins at 4 PM. It was also very rainy on the way so we could not even
see very far as we crossed over the Bristol Channel. However the travel company was
wonderful, Brother and Sister Evans and Lisa Taylor drove with us. The meeting
is always inspiring to us as we see leaders and YSA from all over the area with the same
goal and purpose to bring this vital age group in the Lords vineyard back into
the fold and strengthen those in the fold!
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| Wales! |
It was good this past week to get back to a more normal
routine as I am sure most of you have discovered in your own lives.
We had the regular YSA activities as well as our weekly trek to Taunton and a
mission zone training meeting.
I love meeting with the missionaries as they inspire, teach
and uplift one another! On Thursday during the zone training President and
Sister Millar were caught in traffic so Elder Gardner, one of our Bristol Zone Leaders, was trying to constructively fill the time. He called on a few
missionaries to share their testimonies. I kept feeling like he might call on
me, though usually our role is a back row supportive one. My suspicions were
realized and he did call on me. It was a sweet moment to tell them all how much
I love working with them and learning from them and bear my testimony of the
power of this work!
The Wed YSA meal was back on and it was fun to visit again
with those we have come to love so much, almost like being back around a family
dinner table! Thursday Institute is back underway. The regular class now has a
new teacher because of the change in the Bristol Stake Presidency. Our regular instructor is now a counselor in the
new presidency and a member of the old presidency is now the instructor.
We only had two attend our little class but it was a sweet
evening. I love studying for these lessons as much as I enjoy teaching them.
The Book of Mormon is especially appropriate to this missionary calling that we
have!
After class on Thursday the activity was ‘towel volley ball’.
And what might that me you may ask is that? We too were wondering. Two people with a beach towel stretched between them need to toss the ball over the net
from the towel and catch it to return it in the same manner. Eight of us
played, four people, two towel teams, on each side. We laughed ourselves silly!
Elder Preece sat it out because of the lingering cough from the nasty cold he
has had.
A very wonderful part of the week has been the return of
Georgia on Saturday! She was home for the Christmas Holiday. She is in a much better place than she was the last
meeting with her. She has spent a lot of time studying on her own and engaging
in personal worship. She really glows! I have learned so much from her sweet
testimony and conversion to the gospel. All she could talk about and share was her overwhelming gratitude for everything, even this challenge
with her Mum. I am so glad to know her and be blessed by her courage.
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| Towel Volley Ball |
Church was lovely. There were good talks, a lot of them on
the subjects we have been teaching to Georgia. She encouraged Francine an investigator
who has not been to church in a while, to also come to church Sunday and she
came. Smile!
We have also had a very good week with each other. There is
a point in this senior couple missionary experience when it is a good idea to
sit down and resolve concerns that tend to build up because of being
together 24/7. We have had some sweet moments working out such issues.
Our dear friends Elder and Sister Kanzler in Sierra Leon
posted in their newsletter last week a great talk given by Vaughn J. Featherstone entitled, “Prisoner
of Love” April, 1992 Ensign. 21 years ago, and the plea for senior couples to
serve missions.
“We are prisoners of love. Come, my beloved brethren (sisters). Let our
generation do something great and noble, come join our ranks. Let us march by
the thousands out into the vineyards to nurture, teach and bless the tender
branches (so true in a mission consisting of more branches than wards). Let us
protect and bless the fruit of the harvest. Let us gather the sheaves into the
garners, away from the storm, safe from the whirlwind, a holy place where the
storm cannot penetrate.”
“There has never been a greater need than now (21 years ago) for an army
of mature couples to go out into every far corner of this earth and retain the
fruit of the harvest.”
“There is a holy hand behind the divine purposes of God. We can be His
'instruments.”
“........As we come to the latter years of life, we come to a mature
spiritual understanding. We have these next years to do something great,
important and significant for God, our religion, our wives (husbands) and
children. We ought to raise a new title, not a title of liberty, but of
love – a banner that will remain long after we are gone.”
“Who knows, but what God will grant for us and ours what we do for
others? Come, lift your banner high and march with us into the mission field in
the spirit of love and caring.”
I love these inspiring words! I love that we are learning so
much, that I am learning so much. I pray that we are helping, not hindering,
Heaven’s plan of hastening this divine work!
Check out how fun this is!
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| Flooding on the Avon 1st week in January |
Check out how fun this is!
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| my mormon.org profile |
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| Elder Preece's |
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