TheSecondTimeAroundEngland

 I think all of our wonderful sight-seeing did us in. I slept until 8 and SK slept until 10! I got up (in the flat we stayed in - in London) and cleaned both bathrooms and cleaned both refrigerators. The senior missionary sister who gave us the key and let us into the unit apologized profusely that they weren't clean....but the young sisters who recently isolated there must have been somewhat remiss in their cleaning before leaving. I figured that it would just be easier for me to do it, and then it's done. I did a load of laundry - brand new sheets they brought for the bed we slept in. They had borrowed sheets from another flat for us to sleep on and those will need to be washed and returned - next week. Next Friday evening will be the Senior Missionary Family Home Evening, and we will attend since we will be kind of the guests of honor. Since we will be leaving before the next Family Home Evening, they will give us a nod and probably give us a few minutes to ramble on about w...

 Almost twenty three months ago, we landed in England. We spent nearly a week with Dave and Deb and walked to a nearby museum which was all kinds of fun. But we didn't do any real sightseeing. When we got to Oxford we were so focused on learning what we were doing, and getting to know the young adults that we didn't get back into London to do "sightseeing" at all. We just went into meetings. We kept saying we would do all that when summer came and most of the students had gone home. Well, COVID, Gilbert AZ, and lockdowns happened and as we come down to the end of the mission, we are feeling bad that we never even did the usual tourist things.  Today - we did the usual tourist things. Not many, but satisfying - and we put nearly 6 miles on our feet. We are both exhausted. We went with the Roskelleys, who know their way around London, since two years ago their assignment was in London's outskirts. They did a lot of exploring and love this place. We followed them dow...

We stayed the night in a London apartment that is temporarily vacant. It was a lovely bed, but I tossed and turned all night long. So I was pretty tired when zone conference started this morning in Hyde Park Chapel. There were about 60 there. It was the third this week for the mission president and his wife. They are in their early 50's and seem to be keeping up with all of the stress of the calling. They spent a couple of hours in training with us today and they were both excellent in what they shared. The Assistants and the Sisters in charge of training also spoke and taught. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed it Those meetings are always inspiring. The senior missionaries prepared and served lunch - Cafe Rio. Besides being delicious, it as so incredible to sit together for a meal - a delicious meal - and talk and relax over lunch. It has been a long year in many respects, but one of the most difficult things about it was just not being able to sit together with other people li...

 Do you ever have those days when you feel as though you have been busy the entire day, and you are tired enough to prove it, but in retrospect you think "I don't have much to show for this day!" This was one of those days. The morning was spent before I had a chance to get organized. Once again, I awakened with a migraine, and by the time I had gotten on top of it, the clock was at noon. I wrote a card, and wrapped a very small gift for Eliza - whose birthday is coming up in August. I am unsure about how much to trust the British Postal System to deliver on time, so giving them nearly three weeks is a gamble. I also got a small gift ready for our newest family member, making his appearance sometime in October - Brooke and Clint's baby boy. I cleared out a shelf in the closet, corresponded with Herve, the Pathway Institute supervisor for Europe, and I believe that I am completely done with the class. It looks like programs are being streamlined to make it more teacher...

 Upon arising this the 27th day of July - exactly one month before we will be released - we decided that it was a day to see a local sight. Off the beaten path, and definitely not something a traveler passing through would take time to visit, we trotted off to the Oxford University Arboretum. Situated about six miles out of the city center, it was an easy drive.  In July, there are not many flowers to see, but it is not difficult to imagine what it would be like in April - glorious! As it was today, the woods were beautiful. We walked through meadows and into magnificent woods overgrown with ferns and high-canopied trees. Immediately upon entering, we were met with the cool hush of the forest. You would never have known that a bustling city lay nearby.  That is a gift that England gives its people. Forests are everywhere and are protected. With all of the rain, the landscape everywhere is green, lush verdant green. As a rule, most of the vegetation is given a bit of a fre...

 This warm and humid day was comparatively easy as Mondays go.  SK got up and trotted (actually drove) off to one of the super grocery stores on the edge of town. He filled the car with gas and shopped for dinner thig evening/ I mulled over what we should serve for Family Home Evening. I knew we would have few here, and it has seemed like we have been eating a lot of sandwiches and wraps. I have several recipe collections in the flat. There is a large binder overflowing with recipes from way back. There is my own personal collection on my ipad and there is Melissa's collection in my email. I perused them all and just couldn't come up with much that excited me. Finally, I decided that we should have something that would use what we have here in the flat. After all, we don't know when the new couple will be here, or what they will like to cook. I finally opted for White Chicken Chili, because we have a lot of beans. It was tasty but an odd choice for a warm day. By late after...

 I have to tell you that when I walked down from the stand in church after saying the opening prayer, I noticed Matt in the back of the chapel with the missionaries. I was delighted to see him. He has been in France for a week with a flying assignment but is back now. He hasn't really had a formal visit with the missionaries as yet, but each time he has attended church (this is the third time), he has talked with many people and asked questions and been warmly welcomed. I really don't know what is in his mind and heart.  He texted later in the day, asking if we would like to go to dinner with him, and I had to tell him no. We had some one-on-one zoom meetings that we had committed to, plus, we don't go out on Sundays as a rule. I told him we would be happy to get together otherwise any other time this week. I asked how he was feeling about God this week, and he sounded a little bitter. He said, "In answer to your question, honestly - no. I feel as though I upset God so...

 This day was spent in the company of other senior missionary couples from the England London Mission at Windsor Castle. I have been to a few castles and been amazed and intrigued, but this castle was huge, elaborate, well-kept and jaw-dropping. We left early, taking our umbrella and raincoats. I have been looking forward to this day for a week and a half - not only because we were going to be with the other seniors, and not only because we were going to see the largest and oldest occupied, working castle in the world) and one of the most popular tourist destinations in England (with good cause), but because today signaled a return to normal temperatures. I don't think it got quite up to seventy degrees, and it rained on and off,  There were times that the moisture in the air was visible. The humidity as you can imagine was high the entire day and at the moment measures 84%. I have the window open and the night air is gently breezing through with that freshness that I have com...