The Beginning of a Significant Year
January 1st is generally a time to reassess, redefine, and redirect. Normally, I take some time to do that at the beginning of a new year, a new month and a new week. Lia knows this...my ideal is when January 1st falls on a Monday...ahhh. It doesn't get any better than that. Hope springs eternal, and on those days I feel like I can become a better person.
It didn't happen today, and probably won't happen for another week and a half.
The missionaries came for district meeting and lunch. I love those young people! The lunch I made was more labor-intensive than I thought it would be, but it was worth it. They are so appreciative! It is New Year's Day and they are far from home, and I fix them comfort food.
When they left, we put on our walking shoes and SK and I took off for a walk down High Street. It was already growing dark, but we enjoyed ourselves, stopping occasionally to window shop. The mall was open for business and was very busy. But as we continued up the street, the crowds thinned out. As we passed one very old church, its bells pealed out into the evening for at least a half hour.
There is nothing I enjoy more than walking here....and in Copenhagen. I love being bundled up against the cold and just walking among the crowds on these sidewalks and looking all around. It occurred to me that we will also be here for the new year of 2021. It gave me kind of little thrill of excitement to think of the year ahead of us....a whole entire year. What will we do with it? Can we do something significant? Can we make this year count for something special? Can we help any of these great young people, missionaries and young single adults in any possible way? I'm very much looking forward to it.
While we were walking, the elders called, saying that a young woman who was baptized 2 weeks ago was here in Oxford (they are teaching her the New Member Lessons), and had some time before she had to return to London, where she lives. She commutes to Oxford three times a week. She is twenty years old, and lovely. She is a student here.
We told them to invite her to come here. We got home about the time she reached our front door. She came in and sat down and we visited for an hour, then I pulled out all the leftovers from lunch (that I hadn't given to the elders) and heated everything up again. She was genuinely grateful for the meal. It is an interesting reaction here, when people appreciate any effort at putting together a homemade meal It was sweet. I'm certain that she can pick up something to eat anytime she wants.
It is an interesting thing about the grocery stores here. There is a LOT of prepared food. Depending upon the size of the grocery store, there may be several aisles of refrigerated containers of food ready to eat cold or pop in your oven. It all looks delicious. There is everything from Indian cuisine to every sort of soup imaginable to ready-to-stir-fry to meat and potatoes.
After our friend left, we cleaned the kitchen. Dave called and asked if we could come to London next week from Tuesday to Friday to give my little slide talk about Jesus Christ to all of the mission zones, who are each assigned to come in on different days. There will probably be four zones each day.
He also asked if SK and I could work with the couple from "The Other Place" - ahem - commonly known as Cambridge - to put together a study plan for the mission to read the Four Gospels and excerpts from "Jesus the Christ" by Talmadge. I absolutely relish the thought. It will be so fun to read and think and try to put something together.
The only problem is that Dave would like to present it on next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That will take something of a miracle since we don't possibly have time to read all four of The Gospels, much less "Jesus the Christ."
But I don't have any doubts that the Lord will provide such a miracle for this London Mission. Isn't this a grand way to get the year off to a great start?
It didn't happen today, and probably won't happen for another week and a half.
The missionaries came for district meeting and lunch. I love those young people! The lunch I made was more labor-intensive than I thought it would be, but it was worth it. They are so appreciative! It is New Year's Day and they are far from home, and I fix them comfort food.
When they left, we put on our walking shoes and SK and I took off for a walk down High Street. It was already growing dark, but we enjoyed ourselves, stopping occasionally to window shop. The mall was open for business and was very busy. But as we continued up the street, the crowds thinned out. As we passed one very old church, its bells pealed out into the evening for at least a half hour.
There is nothing I enjoy more than walking here....and in Copenhagen. I love being bundled up against the cold and just walking among the crowds on these sidewalks and looking all around. It occurred to me that we will also be here for the new year of 2021. It gave me kind of little thrill of excitement to think of the year ahead of us....a whole entire year. What will we do with it? Can we do something significant? Can we make this year count for something special? Can we help any of these great young people, missionaries and young single adults in any possible way? I'm very much looking forward to it.
While we were walking, the elders called, saying that a young woman who was baptized 2 weeks ago was here in Oxford (they are teaching her the New Member Lessons), and had some time before she had to return to London, where she lives. She commutes to Oxford three times a week. She is twenty years old, and lovely. She is a student here.
We told them to invite her to come here. We got home about the time she reached our front door. She came in and sat down and we visited for an hour, then I pulled out all the leftovers from lunch (that I hadn't given to the elders) and heated everything up again. She was genuinely grateful for the meal. It is an interesting reaction here, when people appreciate any effort at putting together a homemade meal It was sweet. I'm certain that she can pick up something to eat anytime she wants.
It is an interesting thing about the grocery stores here. There is a LOT of prepared food. Depending upon the size of the grocery store, there may be several aisles of refrigerated containers of food ready to eat cold or pop in your oven. It all looks delicious. There is everything from Indian cuisine to every sort of soup imaginable to ready-to-stir-fry to meat and potatoes.
After our friend left, we cleaned the kitchen. Dave called and asked if we could come to London next week from Tuesday to Friday to give my little slide talk about Jesus Christ to all of the mission zones, who are each assigned to come in on different days. There will probably be four zones each day.
He also asked if SK and I could work with the couple from "The Other Place" - ahem - commonly known as Cambridge - to put together a study plan for the mission to read the Four Gospels and excerpts from "Jesus the Christ" by Talmadge. I absolutely relish the thought. It will be so fun to read and think and try to put something together.
The only problem is that Dave would like to present it on next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That will take something of a miracle since we don't possibly have time to read all four of The Gospels, much less "Jesus the Christ."
But I don't have any doubts that the Lord will provide such a miracle for this London Mission. Isn't this a grand way to get the year off to a great start?
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