But It's Not Even Thanksgiving Yet!
We began our day with the sister missionaries and their investigator Francisco who will be baptized soon. They came over to watch "The Restoration" with him. It was made 15 or possibly 20 years ago, and is excellent. I enjoyed it once again.
After they left, I began some Saturday cleaning, and lo and behold, look what I found:
I'm certain that Christmas is in full-swing in the states. Well, Thanksgiving is not a thing in England, so by this time of year, Christmas is THE thing. Blenheim Castle (birthplace and burial place of Sir Winston Churchill) opened its famous Christmas Outdoor Market today.....as have many other cities and townships. It is time to start celebrating.
You may wonder how the tree was hidden. Well, it was scrunched up in a box and tucked away in the back corner of a closet - behind a stack of air mattresses. It is another real find. That is the advantage of moving into an apartment formerly lived in by senior missionaries.
Everyone who has lived here has been the senior couple serving with YSAs. There is something so dear about those young people, most of whom are far from home, and you just want to make this place as close to a grandparent's home as possible. One couple in the last 8 years (since this apartment was claimed by the church) no doubt thought this humble abode needed a Christmas tree. Every couple since has surely added lights or decorations or whatever.
I love it! We abandoned a few things in Denmark as well. When it comes time to return home, you find that the 2 suitcases have shrunk dramatically and you find yourself leaving everything behind you. For instance, in Denmark, a senior sister bequeathed me her Bosch mixer, for which I was extremely grateful. When we left, I handed it over to the next couple to serve. Where it is now, who knows? But it is no doubt serving dutifully.
We will probably be leaving a few things here in another 16 months. But I can testify that it will be used.
Deb is now in the states. Her youngest daughter is about to give birth and Deb was given permission to fly back to be with her. She asked me to field any health issue calls while she is away. I will basically be an answering service to refer them where they should be.
I have had 4 calls. In three of the calls, the faithful companion was the one on the phone, reporting his/her companion's concern. In every case, I just wished I could put my arm around each of the shoulders and make everything better. There was concern in the voices, and also a bit of false bravado. None of the calls was about broken bones or life-threatening emergencies.
Since this is my first day on the job, I listened as carefully as I could, asked a few questions, and then I had to say, "I'll call you back." Deb is available by text, one of our YSAs is just a few weeks from being a full-fledged nurse, and Dave is available by phone. I got the proper direction and then called them back. In a couple of cases, I told them to rest, drink plenty of fluids, take Tylenol or Ibuprofen (The British equivalent), and call me back in the morning.
I remember Melissa once said that Lia is the most satisfying person to talk to when you don't feel well. She doesn't try to fix the problem, but she is just so very compassionate that it almost makes you feel better just by talking to her.
I hope I can at least be that for these young people, as I send them off in another direction for help.
After they left, I began some Saturday cleaning, and lo and behold, look what I found:
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| 7 feet tall!!!! There are at least two different sets of decorations, so after we get light bulb replacements for the many burned out lights, I'll decorate it. |
You may wonder how the tree was hidden. Well, it was scrunched up in a box and tucked away in the back corner of a closet - behind a stack of air mattresses. It is another real find. That is the advantage of moving into an apartment formerly lived in by senior missionaries.
Everyone who has lived here has been the senior couple serving with YSAs. There is something so dear about those young people, most of whom are far from home, and you just want to make this place as close to a grandparent's home as possible. One couple in the last 8 years (since this apartment was claimed by the church) no doubt thought this humble abode needed a Christmas tree. Every couple since has surely added lights or decorations or whatever.
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| This little tree is about 18 inches tall, so I just put a small set of lights on. It's great! |
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| The Danes put these electric candles in their windows throughout December, and this one was already here. Eureka! The gnome was an Amazon purchase, and may have to go home to Arizona someday. |
I love it! We abandoned a few things in Denmark as well. When it comes time to return home, you find that the 2 suitcases have shrunk dramatically and you find yourself leaving everything behind you. For instance, in Denmark, a senior sister bequeathed me her Bosch mixer, for which I was extremely grateful. When we left, I handed it over to the next couple to serve. Where it is now, who knows? But it is no doubt serving dutifully.
We will probably be leaving a few things here in another 16 months. But I can testify that it will be used.
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| These things are from IKEA, and we will leave them here for the next couple. |
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| SK spent some time carefully measuring and pounding to put these two bulletin boards up for me. I will decorate them before the YSAs get here Monday evening for dinner. There were two old and decrepit bulletin boards here before with pictures of the YSAs and missionaries in Oxford. I'll put all the pictures back up with some other things. |
Deb is now in the states. Her youngest daughter is about to give birth and Deb was given permission to fly back to be with her. She asked me to field any health issue calls while she is away. I will basically be an answering service to refer them where they should be.
I have had 4 calls. In three of the calls, the faithful companion was the one on the phone, reporting his/her companion's concern. In every case, I just wished I could put my arm around each of the shoulders and make everything better. There was concern in the voices, and also a bit of false bravado. None of the calls was about broken bones or life-threatening emergencies.
Since this is my first day on the job, I listened as carefully as I could, asked a few questions, and then I had to say, "I'll call you back." Deb is available by text, one of our YSAs is just a few weeks from being a full-fledged nurse, and Dave is available by phone. I got the proper direction and then called them back. In a couple of cases, I told them to rest, drink plenty of fluids, take Tylenol or Ibuprofen (The British equivalent), and call me back in the morning.
I remember Melissa once said that Lia is the most satisfying person to talk to when you don't feel well. She doesn't try to fix the problem, but she is just so very compassionate that it almost makes you feel better just by talking to her.
I hope I can at least be that for these young people, as I send them off in another direction for help.
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