On the Road Again
Getting up while it is yet dark and cold is not my idea of a fun time. But once on the road, it became a lovely adventure. We shut and locked our door at 7:30 a.m, and as we drove through the city, we saw students and workers resolutely marching their way to wherever, enshrouded in blacks, grays, dark blues and dark browns, bundled against the cold, their breaths coming in small puffs of air. We left Oxford, passing beautiful fields covered with a light dusting of frost. Pale gray mists hovered over the landscape. Fluffy black-legged sheep dotted the hillsides.
We traveled to Basingstoke, through Jane Austen country. We passed a sign that noted the little town of Heading, adding that it was the birthplace of that great author. Apparently the whole county lays claim to Jane and her novels. There are tours you can take to see the sites of supposed subjects of her books. There are castles and estates, parks and pubs. I think in another 6 weeks, when we go inspect these apartments again, we will plan time to stop somewhere for a few hours to do a tour of a Jane Austen site.
In Basingstoke, there were no parking places around the tall building where the missionaries live. So, thinking this was a stroke of brilliance, SK left me at the building while he went in search of a parking spot. So I went up to the 11th floor to check it out, but SK didn't show up. He finally called after 20 minutes to tell me that he couldn't get to our building. Between traffic and his frustration and the GPS (who wasn't being very helpful by the way) he just decided to find a place to stop and call and let us find him.
The GPS told him he had arrived, when in truth he was .3 miles away from the missionaries flat. I got out my telephone and found the place where he was. The two elders and I set out on foot and found it fairly quickly. I saw SK from a block away when we crossed the pedestrian bridge over a busy street. There he was standing close to the edge of the sidewalk in his white shirt, tie and badge - and no coat - looking for us.
You must understand that for any distance under a mile and a half, walking is truly the preferred way to get there. With roundabouts and one-way streets and heavy traffic, having a car is a burden.
The two elders who lived there were the same ones from last month and I was impressed that they took our suggestions and really made the place look better. Plus they are cute, and they are doing what the Lord expects of them. We asked if they had appointments today and of course the answer was yes....they would be teaching a lady very soon. They had two appointments today.
We wished them well and made our way to Newbury, where we visited two elders, both of whom were new to the area. We gave them our spiel about why they should care about keeping a clean apartment, asked if there was anything not working or in need of help, to which they replied, 'No."
We took the grand tour and were impressed with how the little apartment looked like someone had taken a real liking to it, and took pride in making it shine. The missionaries both shone as well....clean, neatly pressed clothes and good haircuts. Both so nice.
We wished them well and came home...smooth sailing all the way. Since then, I have been fielding phone calls and texts from missionaries and YSAs, doing laundry, planning for lunch for the missionaries tomorrow, and refreshments for Institute tomorrow evening. I will NOT try carrot cake again for awhile.
By the way, did you hear that the "Light the World" Machines are expanding to 10 cities around the world? There will be one in London! I'm excited to go in for the next zone conference. You can buy 200 meals for $50. Is that fantastic? I look at it this way: We can feed 200 people for $50. What a bargain! And I don't have to cook it.
We traveled to Basingstoke, through Jane Austen country. We passed a sign that noted the little town of Heading, adding that it was the birthplace of that great author. Apparently the whole county lays claim to Jane and her novels. There are tours you can take to see the sites of supposed subjects of her books. There are castles and estates, parks and pubs. I think in another 6 weeks, when we go inspect these apartments again, we will plan time to stop somewhere for a few hours to do a tour of a Jane Austen site.
In Basingstoke, there were no parking places around the tall building where the missionaries live. So, thinking this was a stroke of brilliance, SK left me at the building while he went in search of a parking spot. So I went up to the 11th floor to check it out, but SK didn't show up. He finally called after 20 minutes to tell me that he couldn't get to our building. Between traffic and his frustration and the GPS (who wasn't being very helpful by the way) he just decided to find a place to stop and call and let us find him.
The GPS told him he had arrived, when in truth he was .3 miles away from the missionaries flat. I got out my telephone and found the place where he was. The two elders and I set out on foot and found it fairly quickly. I saw SK from a block away when we crossed the pedestrian bridge over a busy street. There he was standing close to the edge of the sidewalk in his white shirt, tie and badge - and no coat - looking for us.
You must understand that for any distance under a mile and a half, walking is truly the preferred way to get there. With roundabouts and one-way streets and heavy traffic, having a car is a burden.
The two elders who lived there were the same ones from last month and I was impressed that they took our suggestions and really made the place look better. Plus they are cute, and they are doing what the Lord expects of them. We asked if they had appointments today and of course the answer was yes....they would be teaching a lady very soon. They had two appointments today.
We wished them well and made our way to Newbury, where we visited two elders, both of whom were new to the area. We gave them our spiel about why they should care about keeping a clean apartment, asked if there was anything not working or in need of help, to which they replied, 'No."
We took the grand tour and were impressed with how the little apartment looked like someone had taken a real liking to it, and took pride in making it shine. The missionaries both shone as well....clean, neatly pressed clothes and good haircuts. Both so nice.
We wished them well and came home...smooth sailing all the way. Since then, I have been fielding phone calls and texts from missionaries and YSAs, doing laundry, planning for lunch for the missionaries tomorrow, and refreshments for Institute tomorrow evening. I will NOT try carrot cake again for awhile.
By the way, did you hear that the "Light the World" Machines are expanding to 10 cities around the world? There will be one in London! I'm excited to go in for the next zone conference. You can buy 200 meals for $50. Is that fantastic? I look at it this way: We can feed 200 people for $50. What a bargain! And I don't have to cook it.
Comments