The Americans Are Coming!

 Just a few short weeks ago, our fair England London Mission zone consisted mostly of Brits.  And then the floodgates opened.  In came over seventy missionaries, and they are still coming.  We had dwindled down to fewer than 150, and now our ranks are swelling.  Most are from the States, and many have been serving elsewhere until given the green light.  Most are happy to finally arrive at their original destination.

This morning we picked up Sister Tizard, our amazing young Brit who was converted three years ago.  If you tune into the "Why I Believe" Devotional on Sunday, you will see her and hear her conversion story.  she is easily recognized as one of the hardest working missionaries in the mission.  She was a nurse before coming on her mission, and I can imagine she was marvelous, and marvelously compassionate.  We dropped her off at the mission office in London and she went on to her new assignment.

Elder Watford, from Sherwood has gone on to another assignment as has Elder Preston.  All three were replaced by Americans.  We had two American sisters in the back seat of the car coming from London.  We dropped one off in Bracknell, picked up a new one as a companion for Sister Bloxham who will be staying here in Oxford, and returned to this merry city.

That means out of twelve missionaries in our zone - eight were British, and with the changes today, we have only three Brits left.  One by one, they will be completing their missions and returning to their British homes.  They have been great.

We made a few stops on the way into London, and got there mid-day.  In the cultural hall, Deb had put out sandwiches, chips, veggie snacks, yogurt and drinks, and encouraged everyone to get a bite to eat before departing to new assignments.  We sat and visited with Dave and Deb for awhile, as well as several young missionaries who we have served with.

It was great.  






We are looking forward to the first week in June.  Barring another strain of COVID popping up and making life miserable in UK, there will be a very big celebration in at the Hyde Park chapel and the London Temple (about an hour and a half from the mission office).  It will take most of the week as various zones will be assigned to go into London on different days.  It will be a celebration of how hard everyone has worked these past months, a celebration of three years of service by Dave and Deb, and a celebration of being together in person again and sitting in that beautiful old chapel with a magnificent organ, uniting once again.

By then, Dave and Deb will be in a little apartment finishing everything up, tying up all the loose ends and continuing to deal with the myriad of little and large things that arise in the daily lives of well over 200 young missionaries.  Dave mentioned that he and Deb would love to come to Oxford at some point and spend a couple of days with us.  It sounds wonderful, but I'll be amazed if that actually pans out.

We were there with them and about 40 other young missionaries coming and going today, and I spent some time talking with him, but almost every one of those young people needed to talk to him about something, and he had very little time to sit down and just talk.

They both need a rest.  But I'm not sure how easy it will be to leave all this behind.

Comments

melissa said…
I can’t imagine how busy they are. I hope they get a chance to visit! I’m sad weren’t able to make it over there while they were there.
May 2, 2021 at 12:25 AM
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