2021 - What Lies Ahead?

We slept until late....I don't hardly want to say because it is so....so ..... un-missionary like!  I was up until three cleaning up, writing the blog and generally putzing around with the thought in my mind that we are in a new year now!

Some nights it is difficult to quiet my mind.  So many questions and so much uncertainty.  Yet every day is wonderful and pleasant.  The time speeds by and I never do all the things I wanted to do.

Today, my time was occupied with packing up Christmas.  I contacted a woman in the ward here who loaned the senior missionaries her tree four years ago.  They never returned it and she hasn't needed it, but I thought since we will most surely go home before next Christmas, we ought to return it.  We ended up talking for almost an hour!  She and her husband aren't as old as we are, but they are empty nesters and have been experiencing life alone - like we have been.

They were alone for Thanksgiving and for Christmas and for New Year's Eve and Day.  Their children are all in the U.S. and leading lives of their own.  Her mother is still alive and in her 90's and Shelley worries about her.  It is not sad, because we are living in comfortable situations and we have our husbands, but it feels so peculiar to not share it with anyone.  It was a great joy to spend those times with young adults who were happy to gather together in a central place..

Shelley told me about several people in the ward who are suffering from the effects of Covid.  I have resolved to do better about contacting them just to say hello.  Loneliness is a horrible horrible thing.  One of the members is a 94-year-old woman who lives in a lovely home, but she barely has enough to eat because she won't go out to the store, and her two sons who live nearby just can't be bothered.  Shelley told me that today she only had two eggs and some bread.  She has been completely alone for 9 months, ever since the first lockdown in March.  Various people go to her door and stand well away from it to visit with her, and I think SK and I will start doing that.

Our young zone leaders traveled from their town - about 45 minutes away, to deliver homemade pumpkin bread to the six of us Oxford missionaries.  They both look like high school athletes and they are as personable as can be.  One is an American and one a Brit.  And one of them is a terrific baker.

I hurried down to pick up the pumpkin bread and to get a picture of these two.  While SK took a picture of us from our flat, so I took a picture of him!




We had another party tonight.  The zone leaders hosted it for our zone - which is six companionships including us.  The party was a game of Jeopardy that they had created.  They were questions about Church history, Book of Mormon, People, Places and Things.  They had such a good time with it, that we found ourselves laughing and enjoying it with them.

An unusual first day of the year, but well-worth remembering.

Comments

melissa said…
I love the way you are spreading cheer by delivering treats!
January 2, 2021 at 4:24 PM
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