TheSecondTimeAroundEngland

Glorious rainy day!  We trooped around Oxford trying to open a bank account, get internet into the apartment and sign government documents. We had dinner with our Bishop, his very gracious wife and daughters and 6 YSAs and 4 young missionaries.  It was great fun!  We enjoyed it immensely. I’ll still be typing with one finger for another 10 days unfortunately, unless we go to an Internet cafe.  I’ll maybe do that tomorrow so I can share a little more about Oxford.  It’s truly a charming place.

We are in Oxford, a charming little city north of London - one hour by train, two hours to drive.  We arrived two afternoons ago.  I have been unable to post because we have no internet, and it doesn’t look like that will be remedied any time soon.  We are certainly going to give it our best shot though since all the YSAs will be coming Saturday and Sunday evenings to watch all four sessions of conference.  Doesn’t that sound fun?  We’ll have dinner and then conference. This will be short because I’m typing with one finger on my phone! Friday morning Dave had meetings til 10, then he and Deb were going to pack our four huge suitcases in the mission van and drive to Oxford, with us in their wake following along in the smaller car we will use while here.  When he and SK tried to open the garage door (for church vehicles- it is a small parking garage under Hyde Park Chapel), he found that the door was bent to the point that it couldn’t be opened! We talk...

These days are so full, that sometimes I sit down to write and wonder where to begin.  In a nutshell, today was our senior couples day, and it was amazing. At least twice a year, all senior couples from all over the mission get together to be trained, to socialize and to eat.  We did all three today, and we did it with flair.  Deb put it all together (I've always thought she was incredible, but I realize now that she is off the charts.) and she was helped by Elder and Sister Hartsviggsen and two young sister missionaries.  Once again, out came all the china and crystal.  The tables were set for dinner at Dave and Deb's apartment before we left this morning. We gathered with all of the senior couples at the Hyde Park Chapel.  We had an opening hymn, opening prayer, recited together the mission statement, sang "Jerusalem" and then had remarks from Deb and then Dave. We adjourned to the cultural hall, where we had some training from both office couples.....

As of yesterday, rain was forecast for the next nine days, so it was with some trepidation that I started out from Dave and Deb's flat without an umbrella.  It was kind of a free day - not for Dave and Deb, but they encouraged us to walk around London and see some sights.  By the time we left, SK said the forecast said no rain until one in the morning.  It was a good thing to leave the umbrella home.  It is big and a bit heavy, and it did not rain.  We put 1,000 steps on SK's Fitbit, and that would have been obnoxious to tote around.  We walked in the area close to the Hyde Park Chapel.  We went in and out of a couple of stores.  We walked past a lot of little shops.  We went into Five Guys for a hamburger, which was excellent, but look at the bill!  You kind of have to go with the flow.....that is like everything else here...expensive. We went into the Victoria and Albert Museum.  If you were to walk the entire museum, it wo...

Twenty Two missionaries arrived today to the England London Mission.  It was fantastic to have a front-row seat to see the process. Dave and Deb were up early early.  SK and I slept deeply and well and awakened late in the morning (to our chagrin).  Nevertheless, we got ourselves over to the Hyde Park Chapel in time to make a minimal contribution to helping get lunch on and served.  The Hartviggsens managed everything involved with serving 120 lunches - yes, 120 lunches. The cultural hall was lined with large suitcases as every new missionary to the England London Mission brought two large and one small pieces of luggage with them, AND every missionary who was being transferred from one area to another also brought all of their belongings with them.  And then there were the trainers - each coming to pick up their new missionary who basically brought nothing. We started in the chapel - which was nearly full of the exuberant young missionaries.  The APs c...

I'm still dragging, wondering if I will ever get enough sleep again! But fortunately, our mission president is truly good to us.  I helped Deb prepare for the farewell dinner this evening.  It took a good portion of the day, and I didn't have much responsibility at all.  I helped set places for 22 missionaries and peeled potatoes and washed and dried dishes, wrapped presents, and wrote out name tags.  That is mostly it.  Deb does this often - fixes dinner - a nice dinner for the celebrities of the day. On this day, it was outgoing missionaries, on their way home.  Home to Japan, Canada, Nigeria, Germany, and many other countries.  I think there may have been three Americans among them.  The office couple here are also amazing and played the lion's share in the cooking tonight.  Sister Hartviggsen is an amazing cook....and I really mean amazing.  She loves to do it and she not only makes things that taste delicious, they look beautifu...

I apologize.  I did not take a single picture today, and there were so many times I wished I had my phone in hand to snap one, but it was never quite right. We stayed in a hotel last night in Portsmouth, by the ocean.  What a grand old city!  We got to the stake center around nine o'clock.  President Grant, the stake president conducted a meeting with all of the primary children of the stake and their parents.  I'm sure there were a fair number who weren't there, but the ones who were well-rewarded. President Grant told how Ed J. Pinegar, the London Mission President came to his stake when he was a boy and handed out missionary name tags to each child with a 1 pound coin to start their mission fund.  (Today, a pound is equal to $1.25, so I am not sure how much it might have been worth nearly 50 years ago.)  It inspired that little boy so much that he hit the ground running on his mission and I believe has served ever since.  It has been his dr...

It is a beautiful day in Arizona.  Our granddaughter Lauren received her endowment at the Gilbert Arizona Temple in preparation for serving a mission to Paraguay starting in January of next year.  It would have been such a sweet experience to be there with her, but I think she knows how happy for her we are.  We will be in the mission field at the same time....there is something so very sweet about that. We are in Portsmouth!  It was fairly late when I got into bed last night and I was tired.  It was late when we went to sleep, but I slept well, and didn't wake until SK whispered, "Honi, it's 11:00...don't you think you ought to get up?" It was a beautiful day here, according to the natives.  Clear and sunny.  Deb fixed us lunch and then we packed to be away for a couple of days.  We drove down to Portsmouth on the coast for leadership and the Saturday night session of stake conference.  Getting out of London was interesting.  Busy b...

I'm not sure exactly what has happened to September 19 and 20th, but they seem to have been thrown together - and like being blended in a mixer have somehow become one day.  We said some tearful goodbyes at the Salt Lake Airport to Lia, Eliza and Bekah, and wrangled four very large suitcases, 2 very heavy carry on suitcases, and a weighty large purse into the airport.  Actually, we did it with the help of a very kind woman who saw our badges, and our tears and hugs. All along the way to the airplane, as well as the ride across the country and over the Atlantic ocean, kind people greeted us and wished us well.  We bumbled into the wrong security line (apparently we had TSA pre-approved clearance and hadn't noticed it.  The man behind the counter looked at our docouments and and curtly and loudly said we were in the wrong line.  Out of nowhere came a very kind man who said, "Follow me." He opened a few gates and took us right over to where we were suppo...

I think this last day at the MTC was the best.  Every day was spectacular, yet there was just something about it.  We had three more hours of instruction on teaching young single adults.  We were given many wonderful resources to help us help them stay the course.  Most of the senior couples in our group are in our age range, and I believe we are all eager to get to help these wonderful young people find the happiness we have all experienced throughout our lifetimes.  The world seems so much more unsettling than it was when I was 20. We had an hour instruction on Pathway, a great program which helps anyone anywhere who has a desire to start and finish college.  It is more focused than a normal college and far less expensive, and is more driven to help each student find work, as well as receive an education.  There were several couples who will do that for their missions, and they are all highly motivated to help as many people as they can to use Pat...

Last night I heard the thunder shake the building and rumble across the valley.  I laid in bed listening and enjoying the sounds.  I would have loved to see the lightning as well, but I was too tired to get up and open the curtains.  It may have rained a little bit. What a joy this place is!  The storm was a bonus, but it is the feeling that permeates everything here that makes me sigh with contentment.  The classes, the lessons, the teachers, the hallways, the artwork, the arrangement of flowers and benches and tables outside.  The mountains quietly presiding over this busy little valley. This was day two of our CES training, that is training to teach church institute courses to young single adults.  It is highly unlikely that we will ever be called upon to teach since they have a very capable young woman who takes care of that, as well as two other highly educated people in the wings if she needs a sub.  But the training is marvelous, and be...

This is the week of YSAs.  We sat in class from 8 til almost 5, with breaks of course and an hour for lunch.  We were taught by three different men and one senior couple.  It was all about teaching the gospel to YSAs, and I enjoyed every minute.  The teaching skills can be used in any setting, and are invaluable for one who is teaching the gospel especially.  It is more of a "Let's learn together" approach.  At one point, the teacher modeled the way to teach a lesson, and he chose a lesson on how to nurture a marriage.  It was flawless.....I hardly realized we were having a lesson because it seemed so conversational.  He asked us to turn to our companion (SK) and tell him something I appreciated about him.  I actually got quite emotional about it....which is funny, because generally I am not emotional.  SK - on the other hand - has been tearing up several times a day, when we are speaking about something very tender or very spiritual. ...