Moving right along!

Back again, I swear the weeks just keep getting shorter. Shorter in some ways but still full of events that I have to think hard to recall in order to report on the week! I ended last blog saying that we were looking for flats for the Bath sisters. The perfect one did not pan out, the landlord did not want to rent to a company. We were in Bath three days last week, still no success on the apartment hunt.

Last Thursday was the final class for our Book of Mormon course. We had a nice lesson on Moroni’s promise. The investigator Conrad who came to class has now been baptized. Bill confirmed him a member last Sunday in the Downend Ward Sacrament meeting. We had two baptisms Saturday but they were both at the same time. A lady named Sian (pronounced Shawn) was baptized in our ward at the exact same time as Conrad’s baptism in Downend. We went to the Southmead service because Bill was giving the talk on the Holy Ghost.

Both experiences were sweet even though we just had to attend half of the ordinance for each new member. Georgia also spoke at Sian’s baptism and all of Sian’s family came to support her though none of them are ready yet to join themselves. On Sunday in Conrad’s ward we were asked to teach the Gospel Principals class in Sunday School after Sacrament meeting. Because of the talk on the Holy Ghost from the day before Bill was able to teach a great lesson. It was a nice reinforcement for Conrad of the importance of this great weekend in his life.

Last Friday it was our turn to sponsor the senior couple outing which was in Bath. We woke up that morning and it was pouring rain, even though it had been sunny all week. I was a little irritated. Fortunately, though, we met at noon for lunch first and by the time we dispersed to do our sight-seeing it was only sprinkling off and on.

We took the 2 hour walking tour with several of the other couples. It was really good. We learned so much. Since we had already visited the Roman Baths Spa when Emily came, we were happy to have the time to see the rest of the city. There is so much history in that city, actually in any town here in England. Dating back to the Celtics and pre Roman times all the way up to the Georgian period. Love it! Our guide kindly pointed out a few spots that are mentioned in some of Jane Austin’s novels.

  

The back side of the North facade,the back sides were a hodgepodge.

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The Royal Crescent

The Circus

Because of finishing the Book of Mormon this week I have been very grateful for that great book of scripture. Reading that last chapter in Moroni is almost electrifying. The teacher’s manual pointed out the Moroni asked us to: first Read, and second to Remember how merciful the Lord hath been, in other words feel gratitude. Third: Ponder it in your heats. And fourth: Ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ. The rest of the promise is that we will know the truth, we will even know the truth of all things! A fail proof formula!!!

Elder Holland says of these verses in Moroni:

“That final, last, lonely appeal of the keystone of our religion and the most correct book ever written is to touch not the unclean thing; it is to be holy and without spot; it is to be pure. And that purity can come only through the blood of that Lamb who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, the Lamb who was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, the Lamb who was despised and afflicted, but whom we esteemed not (see Mosiah 14)…

“Purity—through the blood of the Lamb. That is what this book pleads for”

Now I have to tell a tale on myself. I am learning that a lot things are done differently here in the UK than at home. You all know the obvious ones like driving on the left side of the street or using different vocabulary for common things like, bonnet and boot for parts of a car and saying car park instead of parking lot. I have even shared with you that food is a little different. They eat beans on toast and jelly (Jell-O) with ice cream. I posted a picture of ice cream on pan cakes. Even things with the same brand name are just a little different like some soda drinks for instance. 

Well I decided that since my legs which have been hiding under tights all winter are just about as white as they have ever been in their 60+ years of life. At home, we just buy a little tan in a jar or tube and spread it on till we can get that needed sun exposure. I bought such a product. I assumed you use it the same as at home, so squirted out a generous amount for each leg and rubbed it evenly in just like I do at home. Here is where it gets different, when I went to wash it off of my hands it would not wash off. For several hours I had a great tan on the palms of my hands! With some nail polish remover and a lot of scrubbing it finally faded… You live and learn!!

Yesterday was a delightful day, we went with Adrian and Brenda Evans to see the SS Great Britain again. They had not been before and it was fun to share the experience with them. We did have a comical moment when all 4 of us piled into the handicap lift on the ship. The sign on the wall said limit 400 KG. We were positive we did not weigh that much, however there was a picture on the wall indicating only 2 people at a time or one person and a wheel chair. The lift began to lift at the rate of about a centimeter a minute. We finally got about halfway between floors and it seemed that we may have made a big mistake. Finally Adrian grabbed a hold of the top edge and lifted his weight off the floor and it started moving at a normal speed. Next time we need to follow the instructions better!

Adrian and Brenda Evans

After touring the ship we went to lunch at Bill’s Cafe! It was a delightful day and ended up with a nice YSA meal at the Wells road chapel with pleasant company. Our Southmead Elders even brought an investigator!

YSA meal, never had a fried egg on my hamburger before

This morning is a little gloomy, and cloudy but the temperature is mild and I am glad for time to write and share with all of you the adventures of my past week and to tell you again how thankful I am for all of you and your love and support!