Young People We Love

 It was a no-picture day, not because there were no photo ops, but because I simply spaced it.

We had a little time this morning to do laundry, work on lesson and clean the apartment. Late in the morning, our YA Rep came by to visit. I had purchased two gifts for our bishop and his wife, who will be leaving to take a post at Utah State in two weeks. 

They have lived here nearly 8 years and have been a dynamic force in the ward. He is a kind and soft-spoken man from Finland, who sounds like he is from California. She is from California. He is a professor at the Oxford business college, and will be heading up a big program in Logan.

Kristina - the YA Rep wants to have a special Family Home Evening for them on Monday. I am completely willing to do all I can to make it a great evening, except that we have a major conflict.

First, let me say that Kristina and a possible four others will be the only ones there. That is entirely OK, because it has never been about numbers, only making sure that each feels welcome and comfortable and a sense of home.

Second, because the entire mission has been working towards specific goals for the last year, and have achieved them, - and because England has considerably eased restrictions - Dave has arranged for a fantastic celebration on Monday. Foolishly, we decided we could do both.

On the mission call this evening, Dave announced the line-up for Monday. Everyone will take the train in to London from all parts of the mission. We are all to be there at 9:30 a.m. There will be a morning devotional, and then we will all board buses for a large pro-football stadium, where there will be all kinds of fun activities using the field there. (Dave must have pulled some incredible strings to make that happen).

We were each contacted about our choice of lunch: hamburger, cheeseburger, veggie burger or something else.  Being the Americans we are, we chose hamburgers. We will sit on the field and eat, and then the games will begin. Dave assured us that none of them will take physical prowess or amazing abilities.

There are twelve senior couples, and we will each man a station where teams will compete. I'm so happy to do that! I know I would have been a liability for any team I had been assigned to.  Someone was thinking rightly on that decision.

At five, we will board the buses for Hyde Park Chapel again, and from there each return to our respective assignments.

A liberal guess about the time we will get back into Oxford is 8 p.m.

So we have a dilemma. I wish we could be to both. They both involve fun. They both involve young people we know and love. If we were to try to both, the latest we could leave the stadium is 3, and we would miss a lot of good things.

Tomorrow I will call Kristina to see what can be done, but at this point, I think we ought not try to get back into Oxford for Family Home Evening.

Back to today. We picked up the sister missionaries and Angie and drove an hour south to Reading, where the stake center is. For two hours we worked on getting tables and chairs set up, food prepared and ready to serve. The stake held a young adult BBQ. 

All twelve of our missionaries were there and about 8 YAs. Only one from Oxford. The rest are all in the throes of finals and essays and theses. 

The BBQ turned out great. I spent a half hour in conversation with a young man I had not met before. It was very interesting. He clearly identifies himself as a Millennial and reels off all the reasons why, which were presented as "the only sane way to be." While he was polite and never raised his voice, he most definitely feels like my generation has messed things up. He also thinks the Bible and the gospel ("it's better than most") are based on fables that only the weak-minded need. 

He also had a thing or two to say about America and how messed up it is, mostly because of religious people. 

I listened - I was fascinated - I felt great affection for him - I felt a little sorry for him. There have been young people like him in every generation, frustrated with everything they see and feeling powerless to change it. He told me he has spent thousands of hours being trained how to think logically and scientifically, holding everything up to be proven absolutely. I don't think his education has done him any favors. It is obvious that he is intelligent, rattling off facts and figures. He just seems so - almost angry.

After the BBQ, we went into stake conference where Angie spoke and did a superb job. Dave and Deb spoke - I loved their talks, and then the stake presidency. Finally the area authority spoke. Elder Turvey spoke about several things. I took notes as fast as I could, but finally just sat back and listened.

We got home in time to tune into the mission call at 9, and it went til 10:30! It was the departing missionaries, each bearing their testimonies and sharing what they learned while serving here on a mission. Powerful beautiful testimonies from young people we love. Elder Hill, the first young elder who met us at the train station when we first came to London twenty months ago. 

I have loved this mission most because of the many young people we have come to know and love.  Dave said in his talk tonight that the missionaries the Lord is sending now are incredible, and meant for such a time as this. He paid tribute to the marvelous support from their families.

I think what Dave and Deb must be feeling at this point is closely akin to what I am feeling but times a thousand.