Incredible!
An hour in the car got us back to Reading this morning, over hill and dale, in the misty mist, with all 6'4" of Elder Hathaway in the back seat with Elder Tshendabo. They are such fun to talk with about everything. Elder Tshendabo is being transferred this week. He has been in Oxford since we arrived. He is the last young missionary to be with us so long. As of Tuesday there will be a replacement for him.
Elder Tshendabo is from Congo, and we love him. He is full of faith, and meticulously obedient to the covenants he has made with the Lord. He is earnest and gentle when he bears testimony. His native language is French and so he has that lovely French accent, and he speaks very softly.
Stake Conference was excellent. Dave and Deb spoke. They followed a member of the stake presidency who gave a very scholarly talk. I don't remember much about his topic but I do remember that he announced that there is no Santa. There was a bit of a collective gasp. When Dave stood, he started right out with that, and with his unique humor, kind of issued a very gentle reprimand for the very thoughtless announcement. Later, the stake president ended the meeting by "addressing the elephant in the room."
He said, "Of course Santa Claus exists - in our hearts." And went on to kind of explain. But even tonight there have been a few posts from YSAs joking and also expressing horror.
Dave talked about walking over to the chapel from his flat early this morning in the dark. There was some mist and fog in the air, and he paused to look at the Christus in the window of the church. It took his breath away, even though he has seen it so many times. In a nutshell, he said that we don't need a statue of the Christus in our homes...what we need is His spirit, and we will have that depending upon how we act and what we do in our homes. As usual, it was awesome, and easily my favorite talk - and I am not even a little bit biased!
Deb had spoken in the earlier meeting for youth and shared what she talked about. I wish so much we had known and had gotten there early enough to hear it. She does a fantastic job too. They are a dynamic duo.
After we got back to Oxford, I fell sound asleep for an hour (that IS afterall, an appropriate Sunday activity according to President Kimball!), and awakened just in time to get ready to go to Pembroke Chapel for their Even Song. One of our young missionaries read a passage from Alma 9, and a missionary couple from London spoke about the work they do with ambassadors from all over the world. It sounds glamorous and exciting.
They are a dynamic couple as well. They served this same kind of mission in New York for two years. He looks a little like Mitt Romney, and she is lovely and put together.
Sometimes I wonder what I am doing here. This community is so full of incredible people, and I really have nothing to recommend me. Well, I guess the Lord needs ordinary people too. I'll do and give what I have to do and give and hope it is enough.
In the meantime, I will be an enthusiastic and appreciative observer.
Elder Tshendabo is from Congo, and we love him. He is full of faith, and meticulously obedient to the covenants he has made with the Lord. He is earnest and gentle when he bears testimony. His native language is French and so he has that lovely French accent, and he speaks very softly.
Stake Conference was excellent. Dave and Deb spoke. They followed a member of the stake presidency who gave a very scholarly talk. I don't remember much about his topic but I do remember that he announced that there is no Santa. There was a bit of a collective gasp. When Dave stood, he started right out with that, and with his unique humor, kind of issued a very gentle reprimand for the very thoughtless announcement. Later, the stake president ended the meeting by "addressing the elephant in the room."
He said, "Of course Santa Claus exists - in our hearts." And went on to kind of explain. But even tonight there have been a few posts from YSAs joking and also expressing horror.
Dave talked about walking over to the chapel from his flat early this morning in the dark. There was some mist and fog in the air, and he paused to look at the Christus in the window of the church. It took his breath away, even though he has seen it so many times. In a nutshell, he said that we don't need a statue of the Christus in our homes...what we need is His spirit, and we will have that depending upon how we act and what we do in our homes. As usual, it was awesome, and easily my favorite talk - and I am not even a little bit biased!
Deb had spoken in the earlier meeting for youth and shared what she talked about. I wish so much we had known and had gotten there early enough to hear it. She does a fantastic job too. They are a dynamic duo.
After we got back to Oxford, I fell sound asleep for an hour (that IS afterall, an appropriate Sunday activity according to President Kimball!), and awakened just in time to get ready to go to Pembroke Chapel for their Even Song. One of our young missionaries read a passage from Alma 9, and a missionary couple from London spoke about the work they do with ambassadors from all over the world. It sounds glamorous and exciting.
They are a dynamic couple as well. They served this same kind of mission in New York for two years. He looks a little like Mitt Romney, and she is lovely and put together.
Sometimes I wonder what I am doing here. This community is so full of incredible people, and I really have nothing to recommend me. Well, I guess the Lord needs ordinary people too. I'll do and give what I have to do and give and hope it is enough.
In the meantime, I will be an enthusiastic and appreciative observer.
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