TheSecondTimeAroundEngland

If you were to ask me what my favorite thing about Denmark was, there would be such a long list that your eyes would roll back and you would regret you ever asked.  But at the top of the list were the wonderful young people we came to love so very much, both YSAs and young missionaries. Our hearts have already been won over by the incredible young people we work with here.  In Denmark, we enjoyed the missionaries a lot, but already here, we have done so much more with them in Oxford, and I can only say that they feel like family and we love them. Our little Oxford district consists of Elders Hill and Tshendabo, and Sisters Porter and Mattos.  And of course Elder Madsen and me. We meet together weekly and Elder Hill leads us in the business of the mission, training, and challenges.  He is a sweet young leader, and I have no doubt that he will be a force for good in this world after his mission.  Elder Tshendabo has the kindest and sweetest personality.  ...

Our district meeting was put off until tomorrow morning, so we found ourselves with some free time in the morning. We did what any Gilbert Arizonan would do.  We put on our heaviest coats, stepped outside, walked to the bus station and purchased two tickets for the "Hop on Hop Off" buses you see everywhere in the world. We've been meaning to do that since we got here, but haven't seemed to have the stretch of time.  We read that they quit running after October 31, and we kind of thought that must be the official end of tourist season.  The tour guide told us otherwise.  There are tourists here year round. I haven't been able to get clear in my mind the lay of the land...north from south....where one street lies in relation to another.  I think it is because the GPS on my phone shows me such a very small section of where I am at any given time, unlike a real paper-in-the-hand map.  There is a road atlas from 2013 in the flat and I have put it in the car ...

As we stepped outside our door this morning, it was nippy!  We had our lightweight coats on, but I also had a sweater, tights, blouse and skirt, and was almost comfortable.  The sky overhead was light cerulean with fast-moving clouds gliding by.  I stood, staring up at them, and was struck with how different the sky looks here than Arizona.  I think it must be that clouds don't seem as close or as dynamic.  They lazily float in the sky overhead as though there is no place to be anytime soon. Unlike us today.  We had two missionary flat inspections, farther away than we had been before.  The first one took us about 2 hours to reach.  Fortunately, getting out of town was a piece of cake.  We arrived at their flat, and to tell you the truth, I struggled to find something to compliment them about. They were cute young elders, friendly to a fault and dressed neatly.  We spent some time with them talking about the whys of keeping a clean a...

We got to the store on the outside of town today without incident!  Yay! It was a beautiful clear day, but quite chilly.  And I'm not complaining.  I love it.  I could live in this weather and climate indefinitely I believe.  I suppose it is possible that I might miss the very dry, very warm weather of Arizona from time to time, but not much. We got all our shopping done and I spent the remainder of the day working on the meal at a leisurely clip.  White Chicken Chili - which worked great with the pickled peppers.  And potato dill soup for the vegetarians.  A salad and rolls, and lemon mousse for dessert.  I think it was mostly a hit. After dinner, we turned the lights off and Seth, a wonderful young graduate student brought out a ball-shaped lamp that changed colors.  He told ghost stories from Oxford's past, and was so engaging and witty that I laughed all the way through.  Besides, he is American, and doesn't have quite the...

Church Times 3 today was beautiful.  We left at 8:30 to be there by 8:45 and were even earlier than that.  I just don't quite get traffic around here.  We met with the 2nd ward for sacrament meeting.  It is a very small ward, but so lovely, so spiritual and such kind members. At 10:30, 1st Ward began their sacrament meeting.  It was ward conference today, and it was fun to have Dave and Deb walk in to be there for that meeting and for the 2nd hour Relief Society/Priesthood meeting.  They had to stay after those meetings were over to attend a meeting with the stake president. SK and I came home about 1:30 and had a bite to eat.  Dave and Deb got back to our apartment around 3:30, and I fixed them a light snack...my usual go-to meal:  a quesadilla with green salsa and salad.   After they finished eating, we walked over to Pembroke College again, to attend Evensong.  It was a worship service.  There was reading from...

In planning for our meal Monday, we thought it wise to go to the store today to make sure we have all of the ingredients we need for white chicken chili.  We were not sure if canned green chilies exist here.  I did the only sensible thing I could think of.  I googled "canned green chilies" and came up with all kinds of interesting information.  I could buy 8 4-oz cans for $25 on ebay.uk, plus of course, a $15 fee for import and another $15 for shipping.  $55?  I don't think so. I discovered that there is some manner of bottled green chilies for sale in one of our local supermarket chains.  It is 1.1 miles from here, and it has a parking lot, and we wanted to get several heavy items, so we set out in the car, as rain steadily drizzled everywhere.  We got one block from our flat and got completely bogged down in very slow traffic.  After inching along for a half hour, we aborted the mission, plugged "home" into Google Maps, and carefully mad...

The great day arrived!  We have been here in England five weeks, and in Oxford four weeks.  We thought it would never happen.  The weeks and months preparing in Gilbert, the weeks in North Salt Lake.  They were all happy busy weeks, but we couldn't imagine actually being here.  And now, we are beginning to find our way around the city, beginning to get a feel for where we are.  SK is beginning to feel more comfortable driving on the left side of the road, and I am beginning to feel more genuine enthusiasm for cooking more often.  We are beginning to be more patient, with ourselves, with others and with the process of time. Today was a case in point. We went to the bank to open an account (we just received the necessary ID card yesterday).  We walked into the bank with a small folder in hand.  Inside the folder were the cards, our passports, a letter from the mission office stating that we do indeed reside here in England.  We were ki...

Between last night and today, I hardly know where to begin.  It has been wonderful.  It was late late when we got into London last night.  I think by the time we pulled into the Hyde Park Chapel parking lot, Dave was on automatic pilot.  He was tired!  They both put in such very long days.  And there seems to be no end in sight.  Every day for them is just packed solid. Last night with Elder Cook, The Reverend Teal, Rodney K. Smith and Stephanie Barclay was stunning.  Their talks about the constitution and religious liberty were fascinating.  The dinner was excellent.  It was as beautifully presented as it was delicious.  I was so happy that the Reverend Teal called the young elders personally to invite them, as well as the sisters.  They all loved it so much.  One of them took these pictures....they are much better than mine.  If you look closely, you'll see Dave and Deb on the far left at the head table, and Elder...

It is 1 a.m. and sleep is calling! Busy day.  Had the young missionaries over for district meeting and then served them lunch.  Elder and Sister Call and President and Sister Checketts came at 5 and we walked to Pembroke College where we joined a couple hundred people to listen to several dynamic talks about religious freedom, James Madison and the American Constitution.  Elder Quentin Cook was the keynote speaker. Then we made our way to Rhodes Hall (as in Rhodes Scholar - yes the very one) where we had a feast!!! We dropped by the flat, then rode with Dave and Deb to London.  We’ll gather as a mission on the steps of Royal Albert Hall tomorrow morning for a group picture, immediately followed by a meeting with Elder Cook as our main speaker. Incredible - all of it.

Cookies, pen and flat inspection papers in hand, we left Oxford by 7:30 a.m.  It reminded me a little bit of going to the Gilbert Temple with my dear friend Carol at 4:45 a.m.  Never on my own would I have done that, but each time I went with her I was inspired by the beauty of the new day, and the breathtaking loveliness of the sun streaming in the floor to ceiling windows in the celestial room.  There was a morning fog, a morning mist that softly hugged the landscape.  As the sun rose higher in the sky, it slowly burned off until by noon, it was a gloriously clear blue sky.  We were off to the land of my ancestors....Berkshire County.  My great grandmother Checketts was born there, in Newbury.  Most of her family, the Shingletons were from other areas in the county.  I really do feel an affinity for this beautiful land. We started out in Basingstoke.  With the usual frustrations of roundabout on top of roundabout and busy city s...