An Hour of Peace and Rest - or Two
How far would you drive, on the left side of the road and sitting on the right side of the car, in one day - to experience peace and joy for a couple of hours?
We were on the road for a total of nearly six hours to attend the temple today. It is called the London temple, even though it takes an hour and a half from London to get there. It took us over two hours to get there, and later in the day, it took over three hours to get home. On the way home, we came through some heavy rainstorms - storms the windshield wipers couldn’t keep up with!
We were told that some people drive six or seven hours one way!
SK is doing an outstanding job of driving these days. I think he will be a fine British driver! I’m still not the greatest passenger as I react to all kinds of things. Unlike SK, it will probably take me awhile to get used to turning right into a street and seeing a car barreling towards me in the right lane.
The London Temple was magnificent! It sits regally like an old empress dowager benevolently gazing over the countryside. The building is old, but so very lovely. The grounds are beautifully kept. There are ponds, benches just to sit on, stately trees and elegant flowers. The first mission home is still standing, and looks almost enchanted in its antiquity. There are what look like apartment buildings nearby, for temple workers and temple patrons. It is a large campus.
Inside, we were greeted by a kindly woman, a temple worker from .....Gilbert Arizona!...who introduced us to another worker who is from Mesa. The latter, Sister Thompson, said with a twinkle in her eye, “The Mesa Temple is closed, so we had to look for another one to work in!”
There was some beautiful art hanging everywhere. The furniture and general decor was calming, and the chandeliers were magnificent. I loved the celestial room. It was large and spacious and so very quiet, in a joyful peaceful way.
We went to the cafeteria for a bite of lunch before our session began, and realized that we didn’t have money with us (we had changed into temple clothes), and stood for a moment wondering if we had time to go back to the locker to get some. A kindly voice from behind us asked if we had money.SK explained the situation to the tall slim silver-haired man. His face had such a happy and gentle, yet amused expression as he insisted on buying our lunch. Then he and his wife joined us to eat. Both such elegant people in their manner, SK and and both were instantly drawn to them.
They spoke with the very refined British accent that we love. When we did finally look at their name badges, we realized we were having lunch with the Temple President and Matron. They will be released at the end of the month after serving for 3 years. I asked where they were going home to...their answer? Farmington Utah!
After a truly sweet session, where we served as the witness couple, it was back out and into traffic again. And although traffic was worse than in the morning, we minded it less.
We were on the road for a total of nearly six hours to attend the temple today. It is called the London temple, even though it takes an hour and a half from London to get there. It took us over two hours to get there, and later in the day, it took over three hours to get home. On the way home, we came through some heavy rainstorms - storms the windshield wipers couldn’t keep up with!
We were told that some people drive six or seven hours one way!
SK is doing an outstanding job of driving these days. I think he will be a fine British driver! I’m still not the greatest passenger as I react to all kinds of things. Unlike SK, it will probably take me awhile to get used to turning right into a street and seeing a car barreling towards me in the right lane.
The London Temple was magnificent! It sits regally like an old empress dowager benevolently gazing over the countryside. The building is old, but so very lovely. The grounds are beautifully kept. There are ponds, benches just to sit on, stately trees and elegant flowers. The first mission home is still standing, and looks almost enchanted in its antiquity. There are what look like apartment buildings nearby, for temple workers and temple patrons. It is a large campus.
Inside, we were greeted by a kindly woman, a temple worker from .....Gilbert Arizona!...who introduced us to another worker who is from Mesa. The latter, Sister Thompson, said with a twinkle in her eye, “The Mesa Temple is closed, so we had to look for another one to work in!”
There was some beautiful art hanging everywhere. The furniture and general decor was calming, and the chandeliers were magnificent. I loved the celestial room. It was large and spacious and so very quiet, in a joyful peaceful way.
We went to the cafeteria for a bite of lunch before our session began, and realized that we didn’t have money with us (we had changed into temple clothes), and stood for a moment wondering if we had time to go back to the locker to get some. A kindly voice from behind us asked if we had money.SK explained the situation to the tall slim silver-haired man. His face had such a happy and gentle, yet amused expression as he insisted on buying our lunch. Then he and his wife joined us to eat. Both such elegant people in their manner, SK and and both were instantly drawn to them.
They spoke with the very refined British accent that we love. When we did finally look at their name badges, we realized we were having lunch with the Temple President and Matron. They will be released at the end of the month after serving for 3 years. I asked where they were going home to...their answer? Farmington Utah!
After a truly sweet session, where we served as the witness couple, it was back out and into traffic again. And although traffic was worse than in the morning, we minded it less.
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