August Adventures

August Adventures

Small portion of the Gardens

Have you ever heard of the Horniman Museum and Gardens?  Neither had we, but we wanted to try something out of the ordinary.  The museum was founded in 1901 by Frederick John Horniman. Frederick had inherited his father's Horniman Tea business, which by 1891 had become the world's biggest tea trading business.  With lots of inherited cash, he started doing what wealthy people do, collect things (stuff).  He collected all sorts of animals, birds, bugs, trinkets from all of the world.  We found his collection of musical instruments the most fascinating as it displayed the development of several family types of instruments. 

String Instrument Display

BBB♭ Tuba

I loved seeing the BBB♭ Tuba (Triple B-flat Tuba).  It stood about seven feet tall and it plays low notes down to the next to last on the piano keyboard. Wouldn’t want to carry that in a marching band. 

Let me share a driving experience in London.  One Sunday morning, we made an appointment with a Bishop in a neighboring stake.  Little did we know that there was a major bike race going on through the middle of London.  We left our flat for a leisurely one hour drive and gave ourselves an extra 20 minutes just to make sure.  We drove about one block from our flat and the traffic came to a halt.  Not slow, but a halt. It was Sunday morning and they were making movies on the edge of Hyde Park.  We turned around and headed another direction.  The GPS kept taking us back to this same location.  We were hemmed in by Hyde Park on one side, movie making on the other. We turned south and almost immediately were blocked by the London Bike Race.  Oh my, what a crowd.  Not to worry, we would try another direction to get down to the River Thames and try crossing any of the many bridges to get to our meeting.  All roads were blocked so we asked traffic patrol for help, construction workers, and even stopped a taxi driver and asked what to do.  We could not get through the race and we were in trouble.  We called the Bishop and told him we would make the Church meeting, but would have to reschedule our meeting with him to be after Church instead of before.  That was good.  As a last resort, we asked a patrol “Bobbie” officer how to get across and he said the only way across the river was to go through the Blackfriar Tunnel.  That was good news.  As we approached the tunnel we found it barricaded and not accessible.  Argh!  After driving for nearly three hours, we were not yet to the River Thames.  End of the story – we never did make it across the river.  We went back to our flat, parked the car, called the Bishop to reschedule and then we walked to Hyde Park for Church.  However, we arrived early enough at church to visit one of our Self-Reliance workgroups in session and were very pleased with the progress they were making with individuals.  (sweet blessing)

Another Sunday, we were scheduled to meet and train some Bishops in one of our stakes.  There was a Tube Strike going on so all of the sub-ways were closed.  To get around, 250 extra buses were on the road and everyone who had a car had to be on the road.  A sixteen mile trip took us 2 ½ hours of driving and we barely made it on time.

August was our first Zone Conference with our new mission president, Pres. Mark Stevens.  Because we had to man the Self-Reliance Center, we had to split up to attend Conference.  Afton stayed in the SRC and answered phone calls.  One call came in and the man said, “Oh, I really didn’t expect you to answer because the front desk said you were in a conference.”  When she ended the call, Afton was decided to call down to the security desk and tell them that the Self-Reliance Center was open.  Only I was at the Conference.  Then she was prompted to “jog down the 4 flights of stairs (she wanted some exercise) and tell them in person.  After giving security the information she turned around to trek up the stairs.  A family was just starting a tour when the mom stopped her and said, “Wait, don’t I know you?” It just so happened that she was the daughter of a dear friend and co-worker some 16 years ago.  They had a fun visit.  Now really, what are the chances?  We work in an office 4 floors up and for 7 ½ hours almost never come downstairs during the shift.  Such a sweet tender mercy for Afton. 

Holland Park

We don’t want this to sound like a travel log, but we had a good month.  One Saturday afternoon, we went walking. We found Holland Park. A narrow canyon-like entrance that opens into a lovely play area and then into some formal gardens, a life-size chess game, and the most delightful Japanese Garden.  It was crowded, so the next Monday, instead of going to Hyde Park (our usual exercise route) we walked down and explored (re-explored) Holland Park. We went back especially to see the Japanese Garden and water feature without the crowds.  It was delightful.

Holland Park Gardens

Japanese Gardens @ Holland park

Large piece Chess Set

Dover Castle

For nine months, we have been trying to find a good reason to go to Dover.  Finally we just said, let’s go.  Sunday after finishing our ward visits, we took another couple and headed off for Dover and the English Channel.  We stayed one night in a B&B that had the world’s steepest stairs.  After getting to your room, no one worried about how good or bad the bed was because you were so exhausted just laying down anywhere was all you wanted.  We asked about dinner and The Eight Bells was a recommended location and it was down-hill from our B&B.  Great dinner.  Next morning we wanted to take a little walk.  The lady at the B&B said to go down the street and up the stairs. A nice leisurely walk along the Western Heights.  She should have said down the walk, Up the Stairs, turn, Up more Stairs, cross the street and Up more Stairs. It did take us to a beautiful vista of Dover and the Dover Castle.  After wending our way back down the mountain, breakfast at the Eight Bells (so good we went back) we spent the day exploring beautiful Dover Castle. 

Castle Guards

Royalty

White Cliffs and Dover Harbor

After leaving Dover, we made a short stop near Waltham Castle.  Sorry no pictures.  But we did stroll down to the beach.  Afton just had to smell the salt air and see the ocean.  Well, she got her wish and a bit more.  An unexpected wave filled her shoes.  She smiled all the way back to London.

 

Afton Catching a Ware - or - A Wave Catching Afton

Back to reality and our office.  As you are aware from last month, we are now also Pathway Missionaries.  We have been promoting Pathway as a preparation for people to get back into learning or a way to prepare for university studies.  BYU-Idaho initially hoped to get about 30 students and we now have 61 applications in hand.  We have organized a second site here in London and recruited an assistant to help in our site.  We have divided our group and we now have an additional site in the London South Mission.  We will each have about 30 students to mentor and support as they start the Pathway program. 

The Lord has His hand in everything we do.  About two weeks ago, our Manager, Martin Gardiner, came to our office to meet with us.  He asked us for some success stories, pictures, and videos that can be used to promote Self-Reliance in the UK. That very afternoon, in walks Nathanial on his day off.  We had given assistance to Nathanial two months earlier and put him in touch with a local bus company.  He has been so excited to go through training and now has his own route that he drives five days a week.  He was very happy to write about his success in the Self-Reliance Center and how it helped get his dream job (London Bus Driver). He even had a video of himself in his new bus uniform and images of him driving through the streets of London.  Our area manager is very excited to send this into the Church SR headquarters with his story.

We pray every day for the Lord to guide us to people we can help.  Be careful what you pray for.  Prayers are answered.  In walks lady with a major disaster.  She is a bit of a frail lady who is an artist and writer.  Turns out that two days earlier, she was awakened at 3:00am with water streaming down her walls and out of her light fixtures.  All of her life’s work was floating around in water knee deep in her living room.  She had no idea what to do and her landlord was taking his own sweet time in responding to her needs.  We didn’t really know what to do, but we dove in and helped her start recording everything that was damaged or lost and we helped her push her landlord for help.  We have now gotten her relocated into a Bed and Breakfast and repairs have been started.  She will have to rework many of her paintings and scrape the mold off of much of her writing.  The adventures continue.

Eltham Palace

Jester with kids in Great Hall

A Monday last, we had a couple of hours free so we looked at our Heritage Trust membership (the one we bought in Dover) and found that we had free entrance to the Elthan Palace.  Few people had ever heard of it.  However Charisse had given us a list of 18 little known secrets in London and this was one of them.  When we arrived at this spectacular property, we found a Great 

Eltham - Oldest working bridge in London

Hall that was part of the favorite palace built by Henry IV.  Over the years the building had been run down but in the early 1900’s the Courtauld family purchased the lease on the estate and rebuilt the Great Hall. Then a beautiful mansion was added with extraordinary Art Deco décor with the most modern conveniences of the time (central vacuum, wired phone service, elevator, and hidden passage ways. This is a very well-kept secret that has been one our favorite sites to visit. (If you want more elaborate pictures, Google:  Eltham Palace and view Wikipedia images and history.)

See: My Foundation, Principles, Skills and Habits. 

Lesson #6 is on Solving problems.
“Creative approaches are sometimes needed in order to adapt to local conditions. We have general guidelines and principles, but the Lord expects us to help solve our own problems. . . . We are thinking, reasoning human beings. We have the ability to identify our needs, to plan, to set goals, and to solve our problems. . . . Too often people hold on to ideas, inventions, and approaches to life that will not work. The creative approach is a disciplined approach to meet life’s needs.” ROBERT D. HALES, “Every Good Gift,” New Era, Aug. 1983, 8–9

As you work on solving problems in your life, check out this video.  Copy and past this link into your browser and see what "pig" teaches you to do.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-06-1160-solve-problems-and-make-decisions?lang=eng&category=principle-6-solve-problems

Missionary Miracle:
 Tom, an investigator, is progressing! He ended up coming to church after going on Mormon.org and started chatting with a missionary in Salt Lake. The missionary told a bit about the Church. He came on Sunday and was pretty quiet the whole time until he asked how he liked the meetings. He said that there was just a great spirit about the place. He said he was feeling things he had never felt before. He has always had a general belief in God, but never took it further. Tom was asking a lot of questions. It led to teaching the Restoration and the pre-earth life along with some other principles. He just took it all in like a dried up sponge. When offered a Book of Mormon, he got so excited. He was asked if he would want to get baptized and this is how he responded. "Well, I came along just to see what this was all about because of my friends serving missions, but you guys have hooked me... you just have to reel it in now." He is very excited to have further discussions.

We are thoroughly enjoying this wonder work.  We know the Lord has a hand in all that we do and is guiding our steps and actions and brings us people to teach and assist.  We feel so blessed to be here in the England London Mission.  We love you all and love hearing from friends and family.   Till next month, May your service to others bring you great joy.

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