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| Burrowbridge |
Well it looks like we are officially on a mission, days and
weeks are suddenly beginning to fly by! I sat down today to write the events of
this past week and had to look at the calendar to see what happened and on what
day!
Wednesday after we got back from our regular appointment in
Taunton, we were able to help our new Elders teach Lilly. Because we were coming
together from different places, we were a little late and only had time for
about a 15 min. meeting. It was long enough for her to meet the new missionaries
and to again invite her to church. It must have been a successful visit because
she came to church on Sunday!!!
Thursday we had our very first district meeting since
transfers. Elder Davies is the new DL. We have 4 new missionaries in our
district. As always as I watch the workings of the mission I am in awe. How
brilliant is the Lord to move these young people around regularly and allow
them to learn from new styles and personalities. It is marvelous how this
trains leaders and builds testimonies! I love being a part of it all, mostly I
love the privilege of observing the whole thing!!!
Institute was as always great! The attendance was a bit down
but Brother Balloch was back and even though we only had one student in our
class it is always a treat to talk about the Book of Mormon. We were teaching
20 chapters of Alma, consisting of all the wars. Hooray for Captain Moroni and the Stripling Warriors!
We had to say good bye that night to Sister Beth Starns who
is leaving to go to the MTC to serve a mission in Germany. This is the first of
many “God be with you till we meet again” farewells. It was not easy! Needless
to say tears were shed. Also Sister Demi Deeley just left for the Provo MTC to
prepare to serve her mission in Greece. God speed ladies!
We had planned Friday to take a trip into London for another
Senior Couples day out. We were looking forward to this one especially because
it was a great way to celebrate Valentine’s Day. We were to be meeting at Hyde
Park Chapel and visiting the museums there in South Kensington, pretty much our
‘old stomping grounds’. Sad to say we woke up to such a wild wet blustery day
that we had to cancel. The trains were backed up, some even canceled into London.
At least we got our tickets refunded but we were pretty disappointed! We just
stayed in snug, warm and dry and had Chinese take away for dinner. My Valentine
gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I am still enjoying them. Loved the
greetings from our family back home. Loved talking to so many kids and
grand-kids on SKYPE.
Saturday the Bristol YSA met at 10 AM at the Stake Center to
drive down to the Taunton Ward and the flood zone. The whole day was quite an
experience. It was unbelievable to see the flood waters and the devastation to
so many homes and farms. It truly is humbling when man is confronted with the
powers of nature! Because the situation at the ‘front’ is constantly changing
we did not get to do as much as we had hoped. When we got to the little town of
Burrowbridge, while waiting for our orders and a lady who was volunteering got
her foot caught between two telephone poles there to stack along the river and
secure the raised bank they built. Everything had to halt while an ambulance came
to remove her to safety.
The next delay was caused because the sand they were waiting
for had not been delivered yet. There were so many who came to help that the
‘commander’ of the rescue effort had to tell us there was not enough for us all
to do. We were able however to walk a couple of blocks to an old school where
items for the victims had been dropped off. We sorted for quite some time. As
luck would have it the sand showed up while we were sorting so we were able to
fill sand bags and haul wood chips along the bank for a while. Because there
were so many hands the sand bags were done quite quickly. There was a lot of
food; sandwiches etc., supporting the relief effort. After we ate the hour was
late so we had to head back home. When all the water recedes there will be
massive cleanup needed. YSA will surely help, the stakes in the area have
already pledged Mormon ‘helping hands’ service.
On Sunday we had to speak in Sacrament meeting. It went well
and all of the new converts and investigators that we have been working with were
there! Evening was YSA home evening. Adrian Evans taught a lovely lesson on
Jesus Christ our Savior. We received a book mark with this quote on it:
The Gospel of Jesus
Christ is the perfect prescription for all human problems and social ills. But
His gospel is only effective as it is applied in our lives. Pres. Ezra Taft Benson
Monday we had fun taking the new Elders to Costco. It is so
fun to watch them carefully meet out their meager funds and agree on following
a budget! Afternoon I had to go to the Doctor for a UTI, I am all better now.
We actually had a little time in the evening to watch the Olympics.
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Elder Davies and Elder Moore |
Tuesday this week was a long, busy, wonderful, and tiring
day. We picked up the sister missionaries from the Downend Ward first thing and
made our way through the beautiful green country side on those little winding
roads to Poole for tri-Zone Conference. We had to bid farewell to Elder
Mansfield. It has been a privilege knowing and working with him. Another ‘till
we meet again’ good-bye.
The day was full of instruction, friendship and the spirit!
Everyone was edified. We got to see Elders Hagedorn and Lam and others who have
left our area. The whole experience was a tremendous shot in the arm! Loved the
admonition: “He who fails to prepare, prepares to fail.” One of the best parts
of this experience is watching these wonderful missionaries teach each other.
The APs gave an inspired presentation. One of them pointed out to this young
army that they did not just apply for a job at Wal-Mart but that they were
chosen and called by a prophet of God. They were foreordained to come to this
exact mission and they were set a part and given the power for just that. Ya
gotta love this stuff!!Truly flooding us all with of the spirit of Hastening!
Wednesday was a day to finish reading Book of Mormon
assignment and get this blog going. We had a nice visit in the afternoon from
Georgia who was all jazzed because she had a great missionary experience and
wanted to share it with us. In the evening we had to excuse ourselves from YSA
meals to transport the sisters who were on exchanges back and forth to Bath. It
took about 3 hours but they are now safely where they belong.
I would like to leave you with a thought form D Todd
Christoffesrson:
“Personal persistence in the
path of obedience is something different than achieving perfection in
mortality. Perfection is not, as some suppose, a prerequisite for justification
and sanctification. It is just the opposite: justification (being pardoned) and
sanctification (being purified) are the prerequisites for perfection. We only
become perfect ‘in Christ’ (see Moro. 10:32),
not independently of Him. Thus, what is required of us in order to obtain mercy
in the day of judgment is simple diligence” (“Justification and
Sanctification,” Ensign, June 2001, 24–25).
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| Elder Preece adding a little humor to the sorting! He got to keep it. |
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