As winter time doth follow the pleasant summer days…

That was by far the shortest summer that I have ever experienced! Back to jackets and rain coats!

The past week has just been a normal missionary week. Institute classes have ended until September so we had a YSA blackberry picking activity last Thursday evening. It was kind of muddy and got dark but I think those who went had a good time. Back at the Wells Rd building it was time for baking. Two visitors from Australia helped with the process. One of the Ausie girls was the daughter of one of Adrian’s friends. The pies or should I say the ‘blackberry’ cobblers turned out to be delicious!!! (There was some debate about crust on the bottom and the top or just the top).

Friday and Saturday were filled with assorted errands and tasks. We did have to spend some time preparing talks for Sacrament meeting the next day. I was lucky I also got to teach Primary! Both assignments went well. Our subject was ‘Service’ and I told Aunt Nan’s Split Pea Soup’ story and Bill read ‘Always Go to the Funeral’.We received some very sweet compliments, there are moments on a mission that make you feel like you really are doing some good.

I loved this quote from Elder Holland that I found while I was preparing my talk:

“The greater definition of ‘the pure love of Christ,’ however, is not what we as Christians try but largely fail to demonstrate toward others but rather what Christ totally succeeded in demonstrating toward us. True charity has been known only once. It is Christ’s love for us that ‘suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not.’ It is his love for us that is not ‘puffed up…, not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.’ It is Christ’s love for us that ‘beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.’ It is as demonstrated in Christ that ‘charity never faileth.’ It is that charity--his pure love for us—without which we would be nothing, hopeless, of all men and women most miserable. Truly, those found possessed of the blessings of his love at the last day—the Atonement, the Resurrection, eternal life, eternal promise—surely it shall be well with them.”

“This does not in any way minimize the commandment that we are to try to acquire this kind of love for one another. … We should try to be more constant and unfailing, more long suffering and kind, less envious and puffed up in our relationships with others. As Christ lived so should we live, and as Christ loved so should we love. But the ‘pure love of Christ’ Mormon spoke of is precisely that—Christ’s love. With that divine gift, that redeeming bestowal, we have everything; without it we have nothing and ultimately are nothing, except in the end ‘devils [and] angles to a devil.”

There have been so many people throughout our lives who have been great examples of christian love and service. I would like to pay tribute to one of them. This week we were informed of the passing of a wonderful brother from back home in Arizona, Dee Lewis. He was 95 years young and he and his wife Betty have been married for 71 years. They were always there for every special occasion or event our family had in the 16 years since we first met them. What a wonderful man! I hope I can grow up to be just like him!

Wednesday was transfer day. We did not need to take anyone into Staines but we got to transport back to their areas two sisters and one elder. We dropped him off in Trowbridge and then the sisters in Bath. It was a long day, about 240 plus miles. One of our charges was from Armenia, one the Philippines and the other Irish! There were 20 new missionaries that arrived in the mission yesterday and they were from about 8 different countries. How great is that?

We got back in time for YSA meal, a little late. Georgia, who is back from her summer break, actually walked all of the way to Wells Rd chapel, a 4 mile trek. Glad we could give her a lift home.

Don’t really have many pictures this week but hope my grand kids know I still love them and love sharing our experiences with them! Everyone have a good week! Life is good, it is always good. We just have to choose to look for the goodness!

Bristol from the Suspension Bridge

For life is quick in passing, tis as a single day…

Alma 40: 8 “…all is as one day with God, and time only is measurable unto men.”

Here we are past the middle of August! The summer holiday (vacation) season has been interesting for us. The weather has been great! We loved the visit from family! We have enjoyed some great day excursions of the nearby countryside. Missionary work and Stake YSA work had been a little slow. So many people are distracted and off enjoying the season, very into their own lives. In spite of the slowdown I have been learning and growing. I want to share just a couple of lessons I have learned.

The mission office asked the sister missionaries in the Downend ward to look for a flat in their area for possible adding a set of missionaries to the ward on this next transfer. Time was running out so they enlisted us, the office also asked us to help. I mentioned last post that we have been working on the process. Last Monday we looked at a flat in the morning and had another appointment in the afternoon. In both cases we had to drive clear across town but whatever. As we were talking to the renting agent of the second flat, I got a call from the office that Pres. Millar has decided that a new flat will not be needed at this time. They will not be sending in a new companionship at this time. And so it goes. I am sure this is not the first time that plans have changed at the last minute. I learned not to feel bad for the time and effort expended but to be thankful that we were being obedient and carrying out the assignment we had. We learned a lot and may be called on again for the same task in a different area.

Lesson number two that I want to share is a little more personal. Last week we left the flat early one afternoon in a hurry to check out a flat and then head on to several other responsibilities comprising the remainder of the afternoon and evening. As we were driving I realized that I had left my missionary badge home. We really did not have time to go back and retrieve it. I was feeling bad because of all the missionary type activities we would be involved with the rest of the day, let alone that we were representing the mission as we viewed the apartment.

My mind was racing as I thought about the possibility of maybe an extra one left in the car. I remember seeing only one badge on the dresser, not two, so where was the other? This may sound quite trivial but I always try to ware my badge when we go out in public even on days off. There are many of the mission rules that we do not have to adhere to but I feel like this is a simple one and who knows what conversation it will start. I decided to look in my bag to see if I tucked one of the tags away while we were in London last week and sure enough, in my cosmetic bag was my other name tag! It seemed to me a tender mercy because of my faithful efforts to try and follow a simple rule. It is interesting how little lessons can add great dimension to one’s testimony!

Since I last posted we had a fun Saturday morning breakfast with our friends Georgia and Francine. After the breakfast we all went to Fran’s old flat and loaded up all her boxes and bags and drove around the corner to her new one to drop them off. Many hands, and a bigger car, make light work. It was fun to help her and the amazing part about it all we were able to find a parking spot in front of the old place and one right in front of her new door to facilitate the whole move! Service always brings a good feeling!

Sunday Bill had to teach the Priesthood lesson in our ward and I got to teach about David and Bathsheba to the older Primary class. I had two little 9 year old girls in my class and they were very fun to teach. Bill had a great discussion in Priesthood! In the afternoon we rested, had a good dinner and then enjoyed a great lesson taught by Lorna at FHE.

A recently returned missionary, I mean only home 2 or 3 days, came to our YSA home evening. Fife just returned from his mission in Australia. It is always so fun to bask in the light of a newly returned servant of the Lord. The evening was enjoyable.

Monday was the real estate day, ending in a closed project. We did go to dinner at Franky & Benny's restaurant though to commemorate one year since we arrived in the UK. Our very first evening we ate at a Franky & Benny's establishment in Crawley!

Tuesday we decided would be P-day this week.  We drove out to Glastonbury Abby! Wow does that place have history! It is the center of many Anglo legends. One tale says that Joseph of Aramathea, the great uncle of Jesus Christ, came there and brought the holy grail which was  supposed come from the table at the last supper. The chalice was dropped down a well. Joseph supposedly built the first Christian church on the site where the Abbey later stood. He is also described as thrusting  his staff into the ground and it immediately blossomed into a thorn tree of which there are still descendants on the grounds. The birth place of the Christian church in England so to speak.  

Abby ruins, Tor Hill and thorn tree

Another great legend has root there. In the late 12^th century after the crusades the abbots were trying to raise revenue, they had been praying and the story has it that in a dream they were directed to a certain spot outside the abbey.  After digging  down as deep as the height of 3 men, they found some bones with an inscription that said these were the graves o King Arthur and Lady Guinevere. A miracle!… did bring in more money.

Later the bones were moved to a marble shrine inside the great cathedral. All of this grandeur, huge Church and Abby, was destroyed when Henry the VIII decided to abolish the Catholic Church.  The ruins were fascinating and beautiful. We loved it!

It was market day in Glastonbury which is a kind of New Age center today. We had lunch in a little café and checked out the street booths and shops. It reminded me of a ‘wanna be’ Sedona, Arizona, without any vortexes!

On our return trip we decided to stop by Babington House. Our son-in-law Trevor Nelson’s great great or so, grandmother was born there. It is now a really posh hotel! It really was lovely! We wandered around the grounds and took pictures. When we checked inside about eating at their restaurant we were told it was only for members and hotel guests. I am not sure that they believed our story about an ancestor… The place just oozed with the charm of old upper class society! I think Trevor’s ancestor was the daughter of a servant there.

lane leading up to the mansion

old church on property

Babington House Hotel

Wednesday we went to District meeting and YSA meal as is our routine. As I was sitting in that missionary meeting with those dedicated young people I thought that I would share with those of you who are not familiar with the workings of a mission what a District Meeting is composed of. These meetings as it states in Preach My Gospel are to “teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom.” They are held for 60 to 90 minutes once a week. These 18, 19 and 20 year old young people, share Gospel insights, practice missionary teaching skills and help each other with how to be successful with specific investigators.

I just want to express that the privilege of attending these meetings each week is surely one of the highlights of this whole experience. It is marvelous, almost miraculous to watch these young people teach each other. To watch them grow and be inspired and inspire each other. I just want to testify that a huge part of this hastening of the work is this training of the future parents and leaders of Heavenly Father’s church!! I guess my only plea to all of you is to trust them, they are directed by God.

Glad for all the health of my family and loved ones.  Grateful for all of your prayers!

And if we are not mindful the chance will fade away….

in Dymock

Where to start? We have had some great and busy days during the past two weeks. We have had some great adventures with the Gleave family mingled with missionary responsibilities. I will try to re-cap the highlights.

The Sisters in the Downend Ward have been assigned the responsibility to find a new missionary flat for Elders in their ward boundaries. This has not been an easy project and we have joined the hunt to try and expedite the process. This assignment adds a new dimension to our job description. We are learning a lot. Hopefully we will be successful soon!

We have had some great missionary teaches with our friends. The three Gleave girls came to YSA FHE a week ago. We had a good time and laughed a lot! Sunday and Monday week before last we got to share our family with friends and our friends with family. Thanks to Janet for being the chief chef both times! The food was delicious and the company was delightful! We have a 2 bedroom flat but only one bathroom so with 5 women and 3 men trying to orchestrate showers and such we have had some amusing moments other than that we all got along great!

Some of the great adventures we had with our family were: A visit to Bath, a day in Cardiff, the Bristol suspension bridge, The SS Great Britain and eating at Cosmo's. Probably the highlight of the whole visit was meeting them in Ledbury and spending two days visiting the England Church History sights and many important places from the Preece's family history. There is something to be said about standing in places where our ancestors made vital choices which affected many generations!

Church and family history sights

Bristol sights

Cardiff

Bath Fashion Museum costumes from Downton Abbey

plum tuckerd out "time to wake up"

London

On Thursday the 7^th of Aug we all headed into London. Janet and Joe needed to drop their rental car off at Heathrow Airport. We all drove there and then took the Tube into South Kensington. It was fun to watch Bill be able to share this great city with his family. I think that the love he has for this great country began 46 years ago when he served in the British Mission. To be able to show to his little sister and her family all of these great sights was a delight. We did the Big Ben/Westminster Abbey, White Hall, Trafalgar, St. James Park, and Buckingham Palace thing. On Friday we went to the British Museum and Covent Garden then we bid them adieu and returned to Bristol.

I personally want to thank Janet, Joe, Madeleine, Franny, Emma and Will for coming to see us so we could share our wonderful UK experience with them. I am so grateful for their good example and the light that they carry with them! Besides they were the ‘magic family ‘hardly ever got caught in the rain the whole time they were with us!

Now to share the moment of a life time! So many great opportunities back to back. Bill and I were able to take the train back into London on Tuesday and attend a Premier League ‘football’ preseason game! Yes we were able to go to Stamford Bridge and see a Chelsea game! What a trip! First of all the subway was so crowded that there were people smashed into the door way 7 rows deep! Not sure I want to enjoy that scene again anytime soon, but it is all a part of the experience right? We had great tickets thanks to a special ‘senior’ offer. All of the spectator seats were sheltered from the elements which I was grateful for because it was a rainy day. Just at kick off it started to downpour! Then a beautiful double rainbow shown over the stadium. The crowd needs no cheerleaders believe me. They were singing and cheering the entire game! Oh and by the way Chelsea won. Tick off an important event from our bucket list!

Kensington Palace in the afternoon before the game

Cheer for the Blues

Wow, look at the date, we have been here in Bristol exactly one year. It is kind of fun to remember events that happened last year. When we were cleaning out the YSA Center on Wednesday it was fun to reminisce! The project was hilarious but it looks like all got put back together!

Whistle while you work!

Love you all! Love your support! Good luck to my little grand kids who are starting a new school year! You can all do this! You know who are, you can do hard things and you are never alone!

It comes then passes forward…..

Julia Colleen Preece 7lbs 7oz 19in

This week’s post will be a little different. We are in the middle of a wonderful adventurous week with Bill’s sister Janet and her family. They are on a family holiday and we get to share part of it and show them around this beautiful place in which we live. Next week I will post pictures from our travels and adventures.

Today though I just want to share the happy news we have in our family. On Monday August 4 my youngest son’s wife gave birth to our 20^th grand child a sweet little baby girl. Her name is Julia Colleen Preece. She has two big brothers, Miles 5 and Benny 3. All is well with mother and baby.

I cannot quite explain what it is like being a long distance grandma to this new born sweetheart. I was able to hold in my arms all of the other 19 grandchildren with in about 24 to 48 hours of their arrival. This is the first time I have to love from afar. It is hard to express how grateful I am for modern technology. I was able to receive a picture message of her just a few moments after her birth and able to talk to her on Face Time. She could hear my voice for the first time and I told her I love her thus starting the bonding process though separated by many miles!

I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for this new little spirit that has entered our family. Life is really a miracle you know!

big brothers

proud dad

Love you all thank you for letting me brag!