Jolly July

July, what a month to be a missionary.  President and Sister Jordan, gone.  Sort of slipped away in the night.  We did have a really special lunch for the Jordan’s and we even presented a song with special lyrics from My Fair Lady, “I’m Leavin London in the Mornin”   sharing our love and appreciation for them and promising to get them to the plane on time.  President and Sister Stevens, arrived well and happy.  The Church is missing a General Primary Presidency Counselor and the Tab Choir is missing one of its members, but we have a new wonderful couple leading our mission. Day One they were off to meet all of the missionaries starting with the furthest point north and working their way down through the mission.  We shook their hands and said Hi, and that was all that we saw of them for nearly two weeks.  The life of a Mission President is so demanding.  They are so dedicated to knowing their new sons and daughters and stepping into the leadership roles that they now have.  They are going to be just Great!

.  As PATHWAY comes to London for the first time, the Church has asked us to wear a second hat – Pathway Missionary Couple.  Things went really well, for about 20 minutes it seemed.  The first week we had the assignment, BYU-Idaho called to give us some training on what we would be doing.  A Pathway Devotional had already been held and a good number of people were excited about the program.  In fact, before we had our training, we had 22 candidates already signed up. Then BYU-I called us to start our training.  First thing, they had us do was log onto the web site to see how the applications were going.  We noted that names like Salim, Maphosa, Espana, Oliveira, Bueno, Gomez, Massaquoi, and Luzon were signing up.  During the devotional, it was explained that Pathway is only taught in English, but that there were two versions of PATHWAY available – a Standard version and a Language version for those who needed support learning in English.  As we logged on, we asked where the Language version was and how do we assign students to that course.  The response from Idaho was, “We did not make the L version available. You are in England.  Doesn’t everyone there speak English?”  A few minutes later when we could finally control our laughing, we explained that about 30-40% of the people in England speak English.  Then you have all of the other languages from every part of the world represented.  Immediately, they  closed our training, cut the call off in mid-sentence, and said that this had to get fixed – Right Now!  They would call us back soon – when this was fixed. We will definitely have a Standard and a Language version of Pathway taught in London. 

 

Happy 4th of July !

            We had our July 4^th celebration here in the office.  We taped up a few extra copies of the flag, made some flag poles out of straws, and gathered all of the office staff together to watch the patriotic presentation that our son Preston had prepared for a flag raising ceremony he had presented as the guest speaker in Oregon.  It was really touching and  a great way to reflect on the freedoms in the USA.  Well done Preston!

Polish, Hungarian, & Chinese helping each other

            Work here is never boring.  Always something new to challenge us.  We are currently helping a Chinese member of just over a year who is seeking asylum here in the UK.  He is needed housing, food, support, legal aid, and encouragement.  He already feels free from the bonds of his homeland.  He is so positive and happy.   By the way, his name is Ben.  We have a grandson named Ben who is also learning Chinese.  We will have to get them together one day.  Another fellow we are helping is a Hungarian who is trying to learn English and  find work.  We are working with people  to rewrite their C.V.’s, guide them in their search for work, and we are dealing with people from Portugal, Spain, Hong Kong, England, Ireland, and we even have had requests for help from the USA.  We most enjoy working with the YSA.  They are so ready to learn and they really appreciate any help that is given.  We have given many Work Choice Profile assessments and that has given guidance and identified personal interests and strengths. 

Lord Mayor & Elder Baxter at Dedication

            It is not all work.  We have mentioned that one of our volunteers has been starting up her own new business – a catering/restaurant business. She is located in a space that is shared with a non-profit community service organization. She has been open a few weeks and decided to have an official Open House.  What an event.  Her little place can  handle a crowd of 12-16 customers at a time.  We must have had 50 or 60 people show up for the Open House.  The Lord Mayor of Islington was there dressed in the robes of his position with all of the spangles and decoration of his office. He spoke. Another person wrote a poem about the new centre and its purpose and inviting nature of the place. We had some Jamaican men try to teach us some songs.  Oh yes, they asked me to give a dedicatory prayer and blessing on the new operation and particularly for the restaurant.  What a day.  Of course, it was topped off with lots of very tasty food. 

Just thought of something.  With all of the new changes, there is not one senior at the Hyde Park Building that is legal to drive, except one.  That’s me.  I am the only one with a valid driving license for the UK.  That will have to change – real soon.  Elder Ashby has started his training, but you have to arrange for three hours of driver’s training (we have a very good teacher in a local member), learn and understand the rules, take the written exam, pass the “perception” test, and then you have to schedule and take the actual driving test.  About a three month process.  Driving by seniors includes multiple trips to the airport to pick up missionaries, move missionaries during transfers, and special trips to help out wherever needed (like doing a transfer of a missionary with chicken pox who could not ride the train J).  Here are a couple of driving test sample questions – really.  Here is one of the medical questions:  Do you suffer from bouts of disabilitating giddiness?  Another question seemed serious, but it was a bit tricky; “You cannot, should not, may not, or must not park near a zebra crossing.”  Choose the correct answer?

            We were asked to help Elder Gale close a couple of flats as the number of missionaries is fluctuating and realignment is needed.  Remember, we are in England and there is NO storage space, anywhere, so items are thrown away.  So, we had furniture from two flats including couches, chairs, tables, beds, a refrigerator, microwave, dishes, etc. (we are voluntary missionaries, we did not sign up to be furniture movers, but oh well….)  We contacted the ward local missionaries to see if they could find a home for the items, with no success.  As we arrived to clear out one of the flats, the Relief Society President showed up and informed us that the Bishop had just heard from a young family moving into the ward from Spain. They needed a place to stay and they had a very young child and a two week old baby. Nothing else. We were able to make available just about everything that they would have needed to get started.  Such a tender mercy. 

Alert !     We had summer here on July 19^th & 20^th.  The temperature actually hit 90 degrees.  

 

(Thanks, Charisse for sending this notice to us.  Now we know what happened to summer and why our daily high is only 69 degrees at the end of July.) 

            One of the first wards that we presented the Self-Reliance material to was the City Ward, a Portuguese speaking unit.  After our 30 minute presentation to the Ward Council, they went about the rest of their ward business. Of course, that was all done in Portuguese and we had no idea what they were talking about.  The meeting was very animated and comments were coming from every single member of that Council.  At the end of the meeting, we had to ask the Full-Time Missionaries what they had talked about.  Had the Ward Council understood what we were teaching and were they ready to start one of the new courses of study?  The answer was “Oh, Yes!  They have grasped the principles.”  They went on to explain that the Ward Council thought the teaching was great, but that the greatest need in their ward was to teach the ward members English.  A class has been developed and a teacher from within the ward is teaching English to a class of about 25 every Wednesday.  The missionaries follow up on Friday evening with a workgroup and support class.  The best part of all is that we have had one baptism so far and 8 prospective members actively participating in the group.  They are all so excited to learn English and improve their job opportunities. 

Hyde Park Flower Walk

Feeding birds and squirrel

            Most days we get to enjoy wonderful morning walks in Hyde Park.  Close to us is what is called “The Flower Walk” which has a gorgeous display of some very unusual flowers.  This part of the park is irrigated so the flowers are quite spectacular.  The park is about 4 miles long and about a mile wide and most of it is very natural.  We came upon one area where the sign indicated an area of colorful and unusual birds.  To our surprise, we walked up on an English fellow who was feeding the parrots.  He has made friends with both the birds and the squirrels.

Hyde Park Gardens - Flower Walk

Birds in both hands

Lesson Challenge for July:  My Foundation, Lesson #5.  Work, Take Responsibility

“Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself .… (and men and women are free) to act for themselves and not to be acted upon.” 2 Nephi 2:16, 26

“Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer.”  Doctrine & Covenants 42:42

For a complete lesson, see SRS.LDS.ORG, My Foundation, Lesson #5.

Missionary Miracle:
In one of the mission areas, Elder J & C were preparing their investigator for baptism on November 30. Because he had some issues his baptismal date postponed. The Elders had to drive some distance for the interview. What happened was awesome! We taught him and through listening to the Spirit and through using the scriptures and being bold we helped him to prepare for baptism on the 7th of December. In the lesson he had a lot of misunder-standings that we had to help him resolve, but at one point we pointed out a scripture in Mosiah 3:19 that we read with him. Elder B asked him a great question and as we waited in silence for him to ponder and respond the Holy Ghost touched his heart and mind and he finally understood! It was so awesome to see how he taught himself from the scripture, or better how the Spirit taught him from the scriptures without us really doing a lot. We were just there to ask a question and to direct him on his way in his search for knowledge and understanding. I've probably never seen an investigator changing so suddenly from misunderstanding and stubbornness to humility and courage. It really was a miracle! I'm grateful for the power of the Spirit in conversion!!

 Keep Calm and Carry On (as they say here in the UK)

 Cheerio from the Baxter's.

Active June

June Blog – A month of Great Activity

June started out full of activity and new experiences.  Our P-Day started with a visit to the Churchhill War Museum.  This is a museum built as it was during the World War II.  Across from Parliament Square is a government building where the war offices were set up.  Brittan’s whole war effort was directed from this bunker under Parliament Square.  To help protect the facility, a huge layer of concrete was poured over the ground floor of the building hoping to make it “bomb proof” from the German air raids.  It never sustained a direct hit.  Underground there was a small city with map rooms, strategy rooms, and facilities for the whole staff (men and women).  They had interesting lights they used – Vitamin D treatments – to try and keep the staff healthy. A very interesting “Must See” if you ever tour London.

What would a P-Day be without going to work for at least part of the day?  We were asked to come and present a short lesson on Self-Reliance to the Young Single Adult home-evening group.  We taught about the importance of seeking learning.  A delightful evening.

Here is an update about Sebastian.  When he received his first paycheck, we started teaching him about budgeting, tithing, and fast offerings.  "What is this fast offering?" Sebastian asked. Afton explained that it is money given to help the poor.  "Does it help pay for the YSA dinners on Thursday nights?"  No, it helps people in need. You can pay any amount that you can afford.  This is your 1st paycheck so you can wait until after you have a few more paychecks.  "Oh, no.  I want to pay right now to help others!"   Also, working in a Pub / Hostel, Sebastian has to serve hard drinks.  Sometimes the customers want him to share a drink with them and so he has figured out that he can pour them a shot of gin or vodka (something clear) and then he pours himself water.  That way he does not break the Word of Wisdom. 

Last Fast Sunday, Sebastian  bore his testimony.  He was so excited to report that 3 weeks before, he started talking to a young lady in his hostel about the Church.  He brought her to the Visitor Centre for a tour and she was given a Book of Mormon.  She returned home but she emailed Sebastian to tell him that she had finished reading the B of M and was ready for the missionaries.  He was so excited!

Our Self Reliance group meetings have started and on a Wednesday evening, a group is taught in our Resource Center.  An hour before class, Fanny came in and she was very upset.  She had worked all day and then could not find her manager to report her time. She felt she was working and would not get paid.  She just sat there and put her head in her hands and wept.  Claire, a volunteer who comes into the Centre, has just opened her own restaurant.  Clair approached Fanny and asked if there was anything she could do to help her.  She said she had a headache because she was hungry.  Claire said that she had some left-over food she was taking home from work and offered it to her.  Afton took the food and Fanny and went to the lunchroom to heat up the rice and fish. Fanny later told us that it was amazing - Fish is the only meat that she eats!  Tender Mercy!

Giraffe

Kangaroos boxing

This has been an active month.  We have had General Authorities visit, anniversaries to celebrate, wards to visit, missionaries to move, new missionaries to gather up at the airport and lessons to teach.  This was our Anniversary month so we planned an African Safari.  Yep, a real African Safari --- to the London Zoo.  We had a fun tour guide and were shown lions and tigers and Kangaroos.  Kangaroos??  In Africa?  It was a fun evening out with my sweetheart.

Guide

Fun at the London Zoo

Deaf Workgroup

On a P-Day when we were having lunch with other seniors, we received a phone call that there was a group of deaf people at the Self-Reliance Centre expecting help with a group meeting. We hustled back to the office and found seven deaf people waiting for a class on starting their own business.  Turns out that a young lady who attended the BYU Business Forum in May had lined up this group.  She had a bit of a discussion with me about her facilitating a workgroup and then took it upon herself to set up the meeting/training session.  Oops, she forgot to come.  Oh the life of a missionary. We had a difficult time working with the group, but were finally able to reach Fiona via Skype and we figured out how to proceed with the introduction to the class.  I would teach and using Skype, Fiona would interpret and sign for the students.  Turns out they all really enjoyed the meeting and want Fiona to teach more.

It was wonderful having Elder Jeffrey Holland in the U.K. this month.  Elder Holland indeed did make a most impactful visit to the U.K.  From Edinburgh he broadcast live to all of the UK Stakes and this was shared in all of the chapels in the UK.  During the following week he was the first Apostle to speak before the Houses of Parliament.  On Friday (6/12) he came to the Hyde Park chapel and instructed the England London and England London South Mission with a good old pulpit pounding emphatic set of instructions.  He threatened all of the missionaries that if they fell away from the Church after returning home, he would hunt them down.  He taught us that just as the Book of Mormon heroes stood firm, “I will not deny”.  And, “Don’t you dare go inactive.  You have witnessed and testified of sacred things.  With the Gospel, you have more than the kings of the earth.” He also beautifully declared his personal witness of the Lord Jesus Christ and mentioned several times how apostles are disciples and followers of Christ and that Apostles (capital A) were Special Witnesses.  He declared that he was a capital-A  Apostle in the things he was teaching and declaring to us.  It was really powerful, spiritual, and enlightening.  Prior to the meeting, we had the opportunity to be "interviewed" by Elder Holland.  As he put it, there is not time to meet personally with all of the missionaries and seniors, but he always takes time to meet, shake hands, and to look into our eyes for a brief interview of the Spirit. We had the opportunity to have Elder Holland teach us three times that week in various meetings.

That same weekend, we had the Piano Guys, up close and personal.  They were on their European tour and through special arrangements from special friends, they came to the Hyde Park Stake for a wonderful Sunday evening of testimony and music.  They shared experiences of their coming together and the blessings they received from the Lord.  One of our recent convert friends is studying cello at the Royal Academy of Music.  She told us that she was doing well, but that her professors all noted a significant change in her music and interpretation about 6 months ago (turns out that was just about the time she had joined the Church) and now that she has witnessed Steven Sharp Nelson play the cello, and she talked with him personally and feels that now this will put her on a higher level of  cello performance. 

Side note, we are often blessed so unexpectedly.  When we heard the Piano Guys were coming to the UK, we got on line and tried to purchase tickets to their show.  It was sold out almost as soon as the tickets went on the market. Well, someone knows someone who knows The Piano Guys,  I believe it was Elder Duane Cardall (father of Paul Cardall – pianist) who was given some tickets to their show in a theatre.  Pres. Jordan, and several of the senior missionaries were given wonderful seats to the show and we were able to again greet these amazing & gifted performers after their show.  Wonderful treat.

                                          

OK, back to missionary work.  Each Sunday we try and visit a new ward to see how they are doing with the Self-Reliance Initiative.  That means we are driving a lot of new territory.  We have a GPS, but when you only have a postcode, the GPS only gets you close to your destination.  Often when the GPS says we have arrived, we only see apartment buildings. While we were driving, Afton was prompted to notice a steeple off to the side of the road.  She could not see a chapel, but the steeple looked to be a beacon drawing us home. We followed her prompting of help and soon solved our location issue.  For us it was a Tender Mercy as we were lost and then through this mercy we were found.

Regent's Park with Updikes & Gales

London is full of history and beauty.  Last P-Day we went exploring Regent’s Park.  London has some great open green spaces and the parks are huge – miles across.  Regent’s Park is known for it’s spectacular rose garden.  It was a bit overcast that day, but the flowers and gardens were spectacular.

Regents Park – Roses

Roses - Regents Park

Regents Park Rose Gardens

Missionaries are so blessed!  The Lord knows when we need things and his hand is in everything we do.  One of the tasks that office couples get to do, mostly Elder Gale, the new “Flat” missionary, is to open and close flats.  When you close a flat, you have to go in and inventory what came with the flat and what should be left from when the flat was originally rented.  Because Elder Gale is brand new, he asked me to go with him to clean out a vacated flat.  This was a past senior couple flat who had purchased a freezer for their own use.  Now a freezer is difficult to get in your suitcase so it was donated to the mission. Elder Gale and I took care of the inventory and ended up with a van load of furniture and this freezer.  We did not know what we were going to do with the freezer, but it was too good to discard so we loaded it up.  When we returned to the office, we discovered that that morning the office missionaries had opened up the office and found that the refrigerator/freezer where mission food was kept had failed and all of the food was about to be spoil. In we walk with a new functioning freezer.  A quick swap was made and all was again right with the world.  Another Tender Mercy.

Well, everyone, if you have not heard about PATHWAY, you now will.  Afton and I were called into the Stake President’s office (Hyde Park Stake) and asked if we would be Pathway Missionaries.  That is, BYU-Idaho PATHWAY program is coming to London.  The program is in something like 60 countries around the world, but is just now being introduced here.  PATHWAY is a one year course of study to get people ready for university studies.  As Pathway Missionaries, we will facilitate the group meetings and help advertise and support the on-line program.  We are a bit over-whelmed with all that we have to learn, but are excited about the opportunities to influence lives for good.

A note for your wall and your wallet.

                   WHEN GOD BLESSES YOU FINANCIALLY,

                   DON’T RAISE YOUR STANDARD OF LIVING,           

                   RAISE YOUR STANDARD OF GIVING!

Missionary Miracles:

Two elders visited with the bishop in their new area and asked him what specifically they could do to help strengthen the ward. Not surprisingly, he told them it would be most helpful if they would baptize a complete family. Later over lunch, they were reviewing some referrals from the church they found in their flat. One was an email message that was a year old. It originated from a member of the Church in Ecuador. She explained that her sister lived in England, and asked if the missionaries might visit her and share the gospel that had so blessed her life. Despite the staleness of the referral, the elders felt impressed to follow up. They called the number and a young woman answered. They explained who they were and she passed the phone to her mother. They again identified themselves, and explained that they were members of the church her sister belonged to in Ecuador. With great excitement, the mother responded that she had been thinking about her sister. In fact, she said she had been praying that week about her and the greater happiness she seemed to have in her life. The elders made an appointment to teach the entire family this week—father, mother and children.

Lesson Challenge:  Principle #4, My Foundation:  Manage Money.  Why is managing money so hard – and so important?

Watch:  First Things First   

(If the video does not play, go to SRS.LDS.ORG, Select Self Reliance, Manuals and videos, go to MY Foundation, and view  First Things First.)

Why do Grownups Make it So Hard ?


Missionary work is the hardest work you will ever love.  We hope that more couples can make themselves available for this wonderful work.  Love you all and hope you will write.

        Steve and Afton

May is for Missionary

May has been full of great experiences and adventures.  We will share the highlights with you in this installment.

Sebastian

Last Month we mentioned that we had been working with people from many countries.  Sebastian Criste has been really special.  Sebastian is from Romania and came to London to find work as things are really bad in his home country.  He walked past the Hyde Park Centre and the missionaries stopped him on the street and invited him in.  The missionaries thought we could help find him a job.  Everybody seems to think we are an employment agency – NOT.  Sebastian was living in a Hostel, out of money, and unemployed.  Up to the Center the missionaries came and they left him with us and we started working with him.  Sebastian had a couple of plans, none were very well thought out.  In two months he thought he had a job lined up in northern England, pending the arrival of a friend who actually had the job.  Meanwhile, he was starving, homeless, and without resources.  His mother was going to send money to help but she ended up in a Romanian hospital with diabetes problems of her own.  We helped build a CV and got Sebastian looking on the internet for job openings.  He found an agency that would give him temporary day work so he started out for a week’s work doing office cleaning.  Sebastian has been taught some great values and really knows how to work hard. What he lacks in skills he makes up for in drive.  After his first week, Anthony, his new boss was very impressed and Sebastian received glowing reports from the job supervisor.  His boss loved finding people who could really work and so he helped out by finding Sebastian a week’s lodging.  After two weeks work, the job was finished and he was again looking.                          

Sebastian

In the meantime, Sebastian had been taking the missionary lessons and was really excited about the Church.  He could not get baptized until he was more firmly settled.   Another Hostel was found and we worked with him to carefully budget the money he had now earned from the first two weeks of work. While in the new hostel, he was asking around and talked his way into a job as a night manager.  He has a job and so baptism became a reality.  Elder Baxter was able speak at the Baptism and it was a wonderful experience.  Sebastian is excited about the Gospel and after two weeks has been given the Aaronic Priesthood.  One of the jobs that Sebastian has considered (he is applying for everything) was to be a model. We scrounged a suit from the missionary stash and we counseled him on being careful of which jobs he applied for.  He found that the modeling was not for him.

He has since given away a Book of Mormon and invited others to Church.

Sebastian's Baptism

 He is also passing the Sacrament and loves being in a ward and receiving new member lessons.  Sebastian’s first boss called and has more work for him and so now he works from 11 pm to 10am at the hostel, showers and goes to work for Anthony, the first boss.  Gets off work, sleeps a couple hours and returns to the night manager work at the hostel.  He is saving to have a down payment and security deposit for a flat of his own.  A third job is a possibility so things are really looking up.  The Lord is blessing this young man.

For P-Day, we were scheduled to go with some other missionary couples to Richmond Park. We rode the train and then transferred to a bus.  We asked the driver where to get off for the park and he told us he would tell us when we got there.  He must have forgotten because after a long ride, we were at the end of the line and he was telling everyone to get off.  Then he remembered he was supposed to help us.  He told us to change busses and to ride back.  During the ride, we asked other passengers for directions and they helped us find the correct stop.

Deer just above sign

We heard about the beautiful flowers, so we walked into the park – we walked down the trails – we walked past the lodge – we walked and walked and walked and found only one bush (it was beautiful) but not really spectacular.  We were able to see a polo game off in the distance and then we came upon a sign warning us to watch for deer.  I lookup up and there was a deer grazing just in front of us.  We walked closer and soon saw two deer, then we came upon five, and then more and more until we were literally in the midst of a herd of about 75 deer.  Quite an experience.

    As we walked past a beautiful lake and more deer, the sun was setting so we started making our way out of the park. 

                                           Isabella Plantation inside of Richmond Park

          

 During the next week we found that we were in the north end of the park and the flowers were in a southern part of the park in an area called Isabella Plantation.   So, the next week, when we found Isabella Plantation, and as you will see from the pictures, was very spectacular with the spring blossoms in their full glory.

Annother day in the Centre, a pair of Elder’s brought in Mauricio from Brazil. Mauricio came to London from Brazil and was looking for work.  He is a very competent computer programmer and even helped us solve a virus problem. We started working on his CV and on resources to help him find employment.  He was desperate to raise money so he soon took on three part time jobs to support himself and to send money back to Brazil to bring his wife to London.  He is working on his English so I am sure it won’t be long before he can get a good computer job.  When we went to his baptism, there was such a sweet spirit.  The whole meeting was in Portuguese so we did not understand a word of what was said, but recognized the spirit.  The City Ward meets in a school so their ward comes to Hyde Park to use the baptismal font. It is so good to see 30-40 people from the ward venture across town and show up to support Mauricio.  He cannot wait to share the gospel with his wife when she comes June 2.

US Embassy - London

Throughout the early part of May, we spent hours and hours working with Sister Tshimanga to prepare her for her interview with the US Embassy to get her student visa.  We had the schools in S.L. ready to admit her to fall semester and we had arranged for housing and support.  We had practiced with ward members who are employed at the US Embassy to make sure Sister T. would give the best answers.  The day of the interview came and there were about 700 people applying for Visa’s to the US.  We got to the US Embassy just before 10:00 am and Sister T. had to go in by herself.  Long waits. Stress.  More waiting.  Finally she came out. The consulate worker looked at her file and found that Sister T. had applied, prior to her mission, for a Visa to the US just to go to the MTC in Provo for missionary training and had been denied.  Because she had been denied once, the worker would not consider the different circumstances and she was summarily dismissed with a failed application.  However, we feel that there must be something extraordinary waiting for her when she returns to the Congo.

Our work in the Self-Reliance Centre has been expanding.  We support the 8 stakes that touch London and go wherever we are needed to teach and support the Self-Reliance Initiative that is being rolled out here in the U.K.  This month we have traveled to the Crawley Stake, Eastbourne Ward.   Two weeks ago we had a great meeting with the Bishop of the Eastbourne Ward.  Things went well.  But most interesting was the building that the Eastbourne Ward meets in.  See the pictures included.  This was a Church of England building that served as a school.  The local school stopped using the building and the LDS Church came in and purchased the building.  They did a little remodeling inside, but they left the rich culture and history of this beautiful building.  To the best knowledge of the ward historian and public affairs director, this is the only LDS Church building that has a cross on the outside.  Built into the chimney, you can see the masonry church cross.  Interesting. 

Eastbourne Ward

Note Cross in the chimney

While down there, we visited the English Channel and were able to almost see France.  It was a misty day and not perfectly clear.  But we had faith that if we looked hard enough and far enough, we could see over the ocean clear to France.

Greenwich, England

Last Monday, we were able to take our P-Day and go with another missionary couple to Greenwich Village.  This is the spot where the Prime Meridian runs through and it is the point where time begins a new day. Scholars have studied the stars and time, and all sorts of things.

Prime Meridian marker

Also, on top of the building is a large round ball.  Every day at 1:00 pm, that ball is raised to the top of the tower and precisely at 1:00 pm the ball drops.  This is the traditional way that all of the passing mariners were able to set their watches.  As they passed Greenwich, they could watch the ball and when it was dropped, they could visually see that it was 1:00 pm.

Greenwich Ball Dropping

Nelson's Ship In A Bottle

By golly, the ball dropped while we were there and it agreed precisely with my IPhone as it struck 1:00 pm.  Greenwich is also the home of the Maritime Museum and the largest ship-in-a-bottle.  A replica of Lord Nelson’s sailing ship as pictured here.  Greenwich is a wonderful, quiet, peaceful escape from the hub-bub of London.  

To finish up, we want to tell you of a miracle. We have had a wonderful senior couple working in the Visitor Center.  Late in April, Michael and Shari Ohman went for a walk in Hyde Park.  Michael has been a professor of organ music at BYU but are currently serving here in London.  Mike sat down on a bench for a rest and Shari moved away to take some pictures of the Spring Flowers.  When she came back moments later, she found Mike laying on the ground with two police officers approaching.  You NEVER see policemen in the park and of course they are never around when you need them.  They asked Mike if he was drunk, just as Shari approached, and she assured them he was not.  She showed them her missionary tag.  He was having some trouble breathing so he moved to the grass and had slumped to the ground.  Soon he reported that he was having severe chest pressure and pain down his left arm.  Yes, he was having a severe heart-attack.  Immediately Shari called to the officers.  One came over to give assistance while the other radioed for an ambulance.  Within fifteen minutes Mike was in an ambulance on his way to the best heart hospital in London.  One miracle is that there were policemen on the spot when they were needed and the other was that Elder Ohman was receiving lifesaving treatment so soon after the heart attack. They nearly lost him enroute and when he arrived at the hospital he was immediately treated.  In the operating room, it was reported that they lost him twice, but were able to revive him.  Three arteries were badly blocked and there was a large blood clot blocking a heart valve.  Drugs were administered to dissolve the clot but that thinned the blood too much and he started bleeding severely internally.  Again he was nearly a departed soul. Mike has been in the hospital for nearly 40 days experiencing multiple complications and just last Wednesday was given the OK to fly home to Provo.  There were a couple of times when things looked really bad for Mike and he would request a blessing.  On those occasions, immediately following the blessings, things improved.  High blood pressure would drop, white blood cell counts would improve, and the Lord blessed Mike to continue. He is a walking (not really as he is riding a wheel chair mostly) miracle.  Friday we, Afton and I, put him and his companion on a plane for home.  The Area Mission Doctor accompanied them back to SLC.  There will be no more late night visits to the hospital which means no more late night crossings of the Westminster Bridge.  See night shots of Big Ben and the London Eye.

London Eye leaving Hospital

Big Ben after leaving St. Thomas Hospital

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Well, as you can see, we have had a very full month.  Time and again we were strengthened in our testimony that the Lord is guiding this great work and that he is watching out for all of the missionaries. During this month, we had a mission conference and our missionaries were all given training in the use of the IPad for missionary work.

Missionaries setting up their IPads

Elder Kiernan, the new Area President, told us that the work must go forward to help Heavenly Father get his children home to Him.  Elder Nielson of the Seventy, reported how the Gospel is being spread through the world electronically.  During the Christmas season, HE IS THE GIFT (video presentation) was viewed over 33 million times over the 28 day campaign.  During this last Easter, HE LIVES had over 30 million views in just 8 days.  The Brethren are using every modern tool to take the Gospel to the World.

Principle #3 of the MY FOUNDATION Self-Reliance workbook is to be Obedient.  Obedience to God’s laws and principles leads to spiritual and temporal blessings.  For example:

     The Word of Wisdom (D&C 89) ----------- Better health, great knowledge

     Tithes & Offerings (Malachi 3:10-12) ----- Temporal & Spiritual blessings, success in our work, protection

President Monson said, “The knowledge which we seek, the answers for which we yearn, and the strength which we desire today to meet the challenges of a complex and changing world can be ours when we willingly obey the Lord’s commandments.”

Joseph Smith said, “I made this my rule:  When the lord Commands, do it.”

April in London

April is a good month.  We have had people come in from many different countries.  We have helped out and worked with people from Romania, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Brazil.  For many reasons, they believe that they will be better off leaving their home-lands, family, and friends to come to London.  They have been told that there are jobs and opportunities and a brighter future in London.  Life is just as hard here as it is in their home lands.  But now they don’t have family or friends to help them and they are in a country that they often can’t speak English.  They come with no job, no money, and no plan. Often they end up sleeping on the street, or the basement of the Methodist homeless shelter.  They come to us having been told that we can help them find jobs, and we can give them all that they need.  Wrong.  We offer hope, we give them training, rewrite C.V.’s, and point them to a computer in our Centre.

It is with great anticipation that the London members of the Church and missionaries look forward to General conference.  We do get conference here in London, but our schedule is a lot different from what we are accustomed to at home.  On Saturday evening, at 5:00 pm, we got to watch the Saturday Morning Session live.  Sunday, the schedule goes like this: 

·                  9:00-11:00  Priesthood  session

·                  1:00-3:00  Saturday Afternoon Session

·                  5:00-7:00  Sunday Morning Session live.

·      Sunday afternoon session was on our own to try and find.

Conference was awesome.  We look forward to reading, studying, and making them part of our lives.

We did pick up the story about Savanah Stevenson.  She is currently “Glinda” in WICKED here in London and she has been in the YSA ward in the H.P Building.  She did get married last week to a fellow from the US.  They were married in the chapel at HP (Government rule requiring marriage in a public building) and then they were off to the London Temple in the afternoon for the sealing.  Hope you all saw her story between conference sessions. 

King's College Chapel

Here is a fun thing we got to do on a P-Day.  We took a train and traveled to Cambridge.  This was a lot different than I expected.  We found that there is not one Cambridge University, but a series of at least 20 separate colleges. Unlike our schools where you get up in the morning, leave home, go to school, attend class and then return at the end of the day, here the students eat sleep and attend class almost exclusively in the same building. More like Harry Potter ville.  On and around the campus there are over 100 libraries and a church for each of the colleges.  Originally the schools were started by the Churches and this was the start of their education system. Some of these schools date back to the 1200’s. 

                                                            The quality of the education is tops and there are so many 

Stories of Old & New Testament

notable people who have graduated from the various schools in Cambridge. We got to visit one of the St. Mary’s church which was one of the first chapels established. From the bell tower, we could see all of the other colleges spread around the campus.  King’s College chapel was open for us to visit.  It was built by King Henry VI in 1446 – 1537.  It is the epitome of the English late Gothic Style, with its vast painted glass windows, filigreed stone frame and gravity-defying fan vaulting.  Each fan shaped ceiling panel weighs over 1.5 tones.

King's College Chapel - Ceiling & Organ

Here we are Punting on the River Cam

April also had its ups and downs.  Two special friends, Mike and Shari Ohman, had gone for a walk in Hyde Park.  Elder Ohman wanted to sit and rest for a moment and his wife stepped away to take a picture of Spring blossoms.  When she returned, Mike was laying on the grass feeling sick and two patrolmen came over to see if he was OK.  Shari said he would be fine and they turned and walked away.  Then Mike reported the pain was getting worse and his left arm was going numb.  Shari called to the two officers and one came and assisted and the other immediately called for an ambulance.  This was a miracle as we never see police in the park.  With help close at hand, Mike was on his way to the hospital and receiving treatment even before arrival there.  He was having a massive heart attack.  Had the help not been so readily available, we would have surely lost him.  He was touch and go for quite a long time in the hospital.

From the time Mike was admitted to the hospital, systems in his body started to shut down.  The doctors were able to stabilize him yet treatments did not work as they were expected.  Body functions all rebelled and started turned themselves off and soon Mike looked like a chemistry experiment with tubes and gadgets coming from all points on his body.  For about 14 days, treatment continued on everything except his heart.  Daily there was very slow progress.  Just yesterday, Mike was moved out of the critical care unit and is now in a cardiac unit.  He has finally started eating and most all of his bodily functions have come back on line.  Now the doctors have to decide how to treat the heart.  There are three arteries that are restricted and at this point, we have not heard what the doctors plan on doing.  Today is a Bank Holiday so we probably won’t hear more until after we send this blog installment.  Please keep Elder Ohman and all of the missionaries in your prayers.

Trinadad Island Design in Claire's restaurant

One fun news bite is:  We have a volunteer that comes into the Self Reliance Centre and helps us every week.  She has been doing the volunteer work for a couple of years so she really knows what she is doing when helping clients who come in.  Claire’s dream has been to have her own Jamaican Café.  We have been involved in helping her get it ready and here are some pictures.

Clair's kitchen under construction

One of the Visitor Center sister missionaries is ready to be released.  Under the direction of the Mission President, we were assigned to arrange for her further opportunities for higher education.  (We have tried the D.R. Congo, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom and would you believe, she got accepted to LDS Business College.)  For some of you, we are repeating her story.

“Currently, I am a full-time missionary.  In my country (DR Congo), I completed the best university education I could.  I started to work at the only hospital in town.  After working for 6 months, I received so little payment I felt ashamed.  Since my baptism 4 years ago, I have always had the desire to serve a mission and soon I was called to England.  I am the only member of the Church in my family and I am the first person from my country to be called to England.  Nine months into my mission, I found out that my parents split up. As far as I know, since August 2014, none of my siblings have been living with either of my parents.  My situation is difficult as I have no home to go back to at the end of my mission.  I hope to build a bright future for myself so I can help support my (6) younger sisters.  I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and for my mission.  I have learned how to love others and developed many Christ-like attributes which helps me to become a better person and overcome trials.  Thank you for this opportunity to go to a school of higher education.”

Elise Tshimanga

Sister Tshimanga needs a home from May to September.  She will be taking an advanced English course in downtown SLC and will be in class approx. 20 hours per week for eight weeks. We are looking for three families to help out.  We have one volunteer so far.  Our suggested breakdown (it’s flexible) could be:

   May 24—June 24              (She could be working part time)

   June 24—July 28               (She could be working part time)

   July 28—Sept 10               (She could be working part time)

She needs a bed, food, people to speak English with, and help getting to TRAX and/or Bus transportation.  In September she will begin LDS Business College and with the Baxter’s help will get student housing near the campus. Her long range goal is to get a nursing degree from BYU-I.  Please let us know if you might be able to help us with any of the above listed time commitments by May 12^th. 

Sister Pagofile & Sister Tshimanga between You Know Who