Christmas in Oxford
It was not easy to get up this morning. It was still dark and the bed was warm and so comfortable! And we were tired!
But there was a mission conference call and we wanted to be a part of it. This is an idea whose time has come. There is a mission conference call every Saturday night at 9, but today's was obviously a special one. We have been reading The Book of Mormon with the rest of the mission this month and last. The reading assignment for today was the last chapter of the last book, Mormon 10.
It was read out loud by a man from London who is 85 and who has spent his life in broadcasting. He had a deep sonorous voice and enunciated every word with British precision. It was a beautiful thing to listen to, and of course the message made it all the better. It was a great way to end our reading assignment on Christmas.
After the call, the four young Oxford missionaries assembled here and just visited for a few minutes before embarking on their Christmas day visiting. They were all so excited about the day. The ward members here adore the missionaries and love to have them in their homes. The four of them had three appointments with families scheduled throughout their day. They no doubt went home very happy this evening.
We didn't stay in London this evening because we wanted to make sure we would be here for anyone who might be alone. In other areas, missionaries might not get any invitations and so were encouraged by the mission president (on the conference call) to spend as much time as they wished calling their loved ones, but also to be doing service for others. But it is kind of a downer for these young people to spend Christmas far from home without fanfare of any sort. We weren't sure until recently that our missionaries had places to be on this day.
So we had a lovely quiet day here. We read and relaxed....it was so very lovely! I fixed a small turkey dinner for two of our YSAs in the evening. They came bearing a gift of a puzzle, which I am looking forward to putting together. The four of us sat together and enjoyed visiting. What is really funny is that we weren't sure if they came because they were worried that WE would be alone today.
After they left, we spent some time on the phone with family back home. It is always a little weird to see them sitting in full sunshine when it is so dark and the night well spent here. But it was so lovely to speak to nearly everyone.
In Denmark it was the same. All the truly big celebrating was done on Christmas Eve, and Christmas was a quiet and sweet day - like today.
Merry Christmas Dear Ones!
But there was a mission conference call and we wanted to be a part of it. This is an idea whose time has come. There is a mission conference call every Saturday night at 9, but today's was obviously a special one. We have been reading The Book of Mormon with the rest of the mission this month and last. The reading assignment for today was the last chapter of the last book, Mormon 10.
It was read out loud by a man from London who is 85 and who has spent his life in broadcasting. He had a deep sonorous voice and enunciated every word with British precision. It was a beautiful thing to listen to, and of course the message made it all the better. It was a great way to end our reading assignment on Christmas.
After the call, the four young Oxford missionaries assembled here and just visited for a few minutes before embarking on their Christmas day visiting. They were all so excited about the day. The ward members here adore the missionaries and love to have them in their homes. The four of them had three appointments with families scheduled throughout their day. They no doubt went home very happy this evening.
We didn't stay in London this evening because we wanted to make sure we would be here for anyone who might be alone. In other areas, missionaries might not get any invitations and so were encouraged by the mission president (on the conference call) to spend as much time as they wished calling their loved ones, but also to be doing service for others. But it is kind of a downer for these young people to spend Christmas far from home without fanfare of any sort. We weren't sure until recently that our missionaries had places to be on this day.
So we had a lovely quiet day here. We read and relaxed....it was so very lovely! I fixed a small turkey dinner for two of our YSAs in the evening. They came bearing a gift of a puzzle, which I am looking forward to putting together. The four of us sat together and enjoyed visiting. What is really funny is that we weren't sure if they came because they were worried that WE would be alone today.
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| Depending on how many people will sit down and work on this, it might take awhile to put together! |
After they left, we spent some time on the phone with family back home. It is always a little weird to see them sitting in full sunshine when it is so dark and the night well spent here. But it was so lovely to speak to nearly everyone.
In Denmark it was the same. All the truly big celebrating was done on Christmas Eve, and Christmas was a quiet and sweet day - like today.
Merry Christmas Dear Ones!
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