CHRISTMAS AT THE MTC!

The Nativity at the entrance of this temple complex sets the scene for Christmas.
Our festivities began Friday night as we paused to celebrate Joseph Smith's Birthday. We gathered round the tree, put on our shawls and bow ties, lit the candle and shared stories and testimonies of the Prophet Joseph and sang "Praise to the Man".

And then we topped off the evening with Happy Birthday and a birthday cake!!!

Our Christmas meal was served at noon Christmas Eve so that the chefs could have the rest of the week-end off. Luca is our Italian chef and his pastries are his specialty! Ugh! They are almost irresistable! (Wake up Luca! The day is just beginning!)

A typical Christmas dinner here is turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts with chestnuts. In fact, brussel sprouts are the center of the meal. They sell them in the markets on the stems they grow on. One of these days I will get a picture of them. They are really so cute!

And you eat them, even if you don't like them. Many of the missionaries discovered them for the first time but they ate them and some of them really liked them!

Following lunch we went to Chorley and caroled. The little town was buzzing with people!! Last minute shoppers filled the streets and after they sang we gave them 30 minutes to wander and capture the spirit of the day!

When we returned to the MTC we showed an Elder Holland Devotional, had dinner and then connected with my brother (Elder Hinckley) through the Church video conferencing system from his home in Salt Lake. Jane (Sister Hinckley) started the evening by strumming the guitar and having the different missionaries sing Silent Night in their native language. He then gave a Christmas message that was right on and for us it was great to get just a touch of family!!!!

And then we took them all into our apt. to finish the evening with a typical family Christmas Eve.

We sat around the tree, read Luke 2 and sang the carols. We finished the evening with a couple of stories including this one that Richard told:

The story is told of a young man who, at the age of 6 developed muscular dystrophy. As a result, he was confined to a wheelchair. When he was 9 years old his parents scraped up enough money to send him to a neighboring state for a special operation. There was not enough moey for a parent to go with him, so he was to travel alone. After much preparation, the day finally arrived. His father took him to the airport where he would say good-bye and help him depart. As they waited to board the child's fear began to well up in him and he wondered if he could do this. The tears started to run down his cheeks. His father, seeing the tears, took from his pocket a clean white handerchief and put it into the hand of his son. "Take this", he said, "and when things get too difficult to handle on your own, take this handkerchief out and think of me. Remember that I am always with you."

The young man received his graduate degree and grew into a wonderful and productive individual whose accomplishments have blessed the lives of many. Through all those years he kept the handkerchief and it served as a source of comfort and strength during difficult times.

I had put white handkerchiefs all through the tree and at the conclusion of the story, Richard invited each of them to go to the tree and take a white handerchief. He told them that though he was not their father, he loved them with the love of a father and in the days ahead, when they faced challenges and disappointment, take out the white handkerchief and remember this night, sitting a room on Christmas Eve enveloped in love and feeling the spirit of the Savior.
As we all knelt together in family prayer we offered gratitude for the season and for this wonderful work.

Sisters with their white handkerchiefs

The white handkerchief tree

Elders and hankies

We then sent them off to bed and began our work, creating the magic that comes with Christmas morning.

Christmas morning found them all in our apt. for a breakfast of waffles and home made fruit cocktail (a family tradition). We had filled a sock for each of them and put them around on couches with their gifts from home.
The socks had twinkling lights (amazing what you can get at the Pound Store aka the Dollar Store) and when they came into the room the socks were twinkling and the magic was there! Santa came, even to the MTC!

Our little sister from Switzerland (our Swiss Miss) had Swiss Chocolate bars for everyone that had been sent by her mother!

The room danced with lights and music and smiles and warmth.

And of course the roses -- from the jolly old man himself!

The pillows are a fitting accent to our home -- and in case anyone needs reminding!!!

After breakfast we went to the stake center for Sacrament Meeting. The missionaries sang and the spirit was almost crushing. It was a beautiful service complete with flutes, piccalo and solos. Then.......we got a three hour break and the missionaries split up and went to member's homes for lunch and time with a family.

At 3 p.m. the Queen gave her annual Christmas message and we all watched it on TV. May I say at the outset that I am a fan of the Queen. She is regal in every sense (if not a bit stiff) but she handles the role of monarch in a queenly way. And her speech was simply wonderful. It could have been given in Sacrament meeting. It focused on the family and on Jesus Christ. It was bold and well stated!

All in all, it was a most wonderful Christmas! From beginning to end it was all that Christmas should be i.e. fun, exciting, sweet, spiritual, simple, and totally exhausting.

And if you don't believe it, just take a look. A picture of Christmas Fatigue!

But it was worth it when a sister said, "I will always remember this Christmas because I have never before read the Christmas story with my family on Christmas Eve and I have never knelt in family prayer with my family and someday when I have my own family we will do both and it will feel just like it felt tonight."

At the end of the day we told all the misisonaries to go to their rooms, put on their slippers, bring their Christmas goodies including popcorn and root beer and meet in the theater. And we relaxed while we watched "The Muppets Christmas Carol".

Even the swans joined us for Christmas which completed the picture of a perfect day.

Winter Solstice & Celebrations

It is 3:30 in the afternoon and it is dark outside. Feels like it's time for me to put on my jammies and cozy up with a good Christmas story. These are the dark days of winter. It does not get light until almost 8:30 a.m. And add to that days upon end when we never see the sun. Mostly rain and cold. We had one day with a few light snow showers but it didn't last. It seems we spend most of our waking hours in the dark, but tomorrow that begins to change. The days will gradually get lighter -- much like home only a little more extreme.

But I can honestly say I don't mind it. There is something so cozy and Christmasy about the early twilight and the late dawn.

Christmas really has come to the MTC and along with it a bit of magic and a feeling of love and peace. We have had some fun and some sweet times.

Friday we did our usual street contacting in Manchester. It was a cold drizzly day, but we bundled up, handed them a red scarf and and some song sheets and began to carol. Even in the cold and wet, people stopped and we had three good contacts from our efforts. Don't they look great. You gotta luv um!!!


Christmas has found simplicity in our apartment. A few decorations here and there have provided a cozy atmosphere. We feel quite at home and frankly are enjoying the striped down version of the holiday!
We've had a few people to dinner and been to a few Christmas parties and concerts which has been just enough to satisfy our needs.

How is this for a decoration! Paper ornaments from our children and grand children. They were too cute to hide in our living quarters and so we strung them in my office. Don't know how I can ever take them down! I am thinking they would look cute at Easter!!! What do you think?

Indeed we do believe. We believe in so many things....things like missionary miracles, goodness of people, the Savior's birth, his life and his atonement. We believe in the Temple ordinances and in eternal salvation. We believe in friends and family and the spirit of giving!!!

And we still believe in Christmas Magic and Santa Claus.

We have been doing the 12 days of Christmas for the missionaries and each night they get a little surprise on their pillow with a little jingle reminding them that Christmas is close!

This is our one little English Nativity Set. They are very hard to find here. They don't even carry them in the Christmas shops. In fact this is the only one I have seen that was even close to cute. Good thing we bought it when we did -- and paid an outrageous price for it.

The Young Single Adults did a Trunk and Treat evening for the missionaries. They had about 10 cars that they parked in our parking lot. Each trunk (or boot of the car) was decorated differently with treats, lights, music, etc. They were amazing. It was their gift to the missionaries and we all loved it.

Very clever ideas.

Our staff Christmas party was both fun and delicious. We don't lack for Christmas goodies. Add to these desserts the fabulous turkey dinner that preceded it! Honestly, this is such a good exercise in will power. And some days we do better than others!!

The staff's version of the Nativity. Sort of cute!

All in all, we are having a very different but very wonderful Christmas. With just 13 missionaries it is easy to take them in as family. Six of them are German speaking but only one of them really struggles with the language so we get along pretty well. Last Sunday and this Sunday on Christmas Day we have and will handle the Sacrament Meetings in the local wards. We have 3 flute players, a piccolo player and an amazing bass voice. We imported a pianist and with the help of Pres. Williams and Pres. Walker (who both sing), we got along quite well, in fact I would even say "smashing". (as they do here)

We plan to have a little event on Friday - Joseph Smith's birthday-- when we will gather around the tree and share stories from the prophets life. We will top off the evening with birthday cake! And then beginning at noon on Christmas Eve, we will have no instructors or staff and they will be ours until Monday morning. We have lots of things planned and I expect it will be just as exhausting as it is at home. (maybe more so since we have to stay dressed up all day!) But so what.......it only comes once a year and it only comes two times in the MTC!

More later -- but in the meantime

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

Comings and Goings

Sister Aziz from Pakistan (with Sister Williams)

Aren't they amazing!!


.......or should I say "goings and comings". That's what we experience every three weeks. We have just had the "going" of a most interesting group. Very small -- just 14 -- but from 9 different countries. And the make up of the group was a first for us. More sisters than elders - 8 sisters to 4 elders and 2 couples. As a result the entire group took on a different personality. fFlowery notes on the boards and thank you cards at the table. These were strong sisters who led the way.


Sister Medvescek is from Slovenia. She is an only child and the only member in her family. Her family was not happy about this whole mission thing, but this young woman is so grounded in her beliefs that she just couragously moved ahead and in the end they supported her. Her English is amazing and she is loaded with dynamite.

Sister Kutsevych is from the Ukraine. Another wonderful young woman, though a little nervous about missionary work. Her English was good and as she gains confidence she will be terrific. (Yes, ask me how I do with name pronunciation!!! They laugh at me but they forgive me!)

Sister Tsogoo is from Mongolia. She was an abolute delight. Very polished, very proper and very lovely in every way!!

Sister Aziz is a little bitty thing who is from Pakistan. She suffered from cultural shock and had a hard time eating the food and studying in English. She arrived with nothing but a light jacket and no boots. She simply could not imagine the kind of cold we have here. (and I also doubt they have such warm clothing there) We took care of those things for her and by the time she left she was a little happy camper.

I have mentioned before that we have them all sing their national anthems and tell us a little about their home countries. The really sweet thing is that they all love their countries. We wonder about their freedoms and their oppresive governments. Some of them come from war torn cities and yet they never mention it. Rather they talk about the beauty of the landscape, the mountains, rivers, forests and deserts. They talk of the wonderful people and their families. They talk of their little branches and the members who are so faithful. It is humbling to say the least.

The others were from Australia, Denmark, England, Scotland, and USA.

.......and now for the "comings". They arrived yesterday. Again a small group, just thirteen. But they are our Christmas group. They will be a fair replacement for the family at home. They have each brought a wrapped surprise gift from home (at our request) that we have put under our tree. And since I now have an IN with Santa, I am sure he will fill a sock for each of them! Already we love them. As we move through this Christmas season I will add more to this blog. Until then.......I hope you are feeling the magic!

I BELIEVE!!!

HO HO HO
I had a most amazing experience!!!! We were on a very crowded train returning with the missionaries from Manchester. I was sitting in a window seat and a man moved down the aisle with a very large suitcase. This case caught my attention because it was trimmed in red and green and looked very festive. Richard helped him lift it up on the overhead rack and then the man sat down -- right across from me. I found myself rivited on his face -- a bushy white beard and twinkly eyes, so much like Santa Clause I thought. Finally curiosity got the best of me and I asked him where he was going.......He responded by saying he was on his way to Edinburgh on business. Naturally I asked what kind of business. He then looked around, leaned forward in his seat and said in a soft voice.


"Actually, I am Santa Claus and I am on my way to Scotland to look in on the children there. From there I will go to Germany and then on to Lapland to check on my reindeer who are bred and live on a reindeer farm."


My heart started to pound......butterflies soared in my tummy and I whispered "I BELIEVE! I HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED AND I WILL FOREVER BELIEVE!"


We then began to visit. He told me that he does not wear his suit while traveling because it is so hot and then everyone would want to sit on his lap, but he had it in his cheery suitcase. I emplored him to just put his hat on and let us take a picture, so Richard lifted his suitcase down and he took his hat out and put it on.


By now all those around us were staring.. There was a little girl across the aisle who quickly climbed up on her mother's lap and stole a few peeks.


I told him about the many grandchildren we have and where they live. Of course he knew all the cities. He visits them each year. He said he would await their letters and hoped they were being extra good this year!!!


He told me about some of the things children ask for -- like the little girl who wanted a new pair of beautiful shoes for Christmas, and she had NO legs. The tears trickled off his cheeks as he told it.
I told him all about missionaries and what we believe and showed him a picture of the temple. He said he had seen many temples and was happy to know what they were.

The magic of Christmas filled the train and when we finally had to get off we wished him a Merry Christmas and I giggled all the way home!!!!!

My only disappointment -----I didn't get to sit on his lap!

Thanksgiving -- English style

Thanksgiving Day in England takes a lot of imagination and scrounging. You have to invent the dinner menu in the minds of the cooks, convince them that pumpkin pie really is delicious, and that you can cook a whole turkey without cutting it into pieces. You have to invent the table decorations from the sticks, twigs, and pinecones you find on the grounds. Scrounge up a few baskets from the closet corners, raid the frige for fruits and veggies, bunch them all together and lay them out on the white paper table clothes that have been taped together. Next you stuff the paper napkins in the paper cups, set out glass plates, place 5 kernals of corn on each plate, fill the chairs with hungry missionaries and a few invited guests and.......VOILA!! You have Thanksgiving -- English style. (and of course it helps if you have Christmas lurking in the background.)

Before dinner we shared a brief history of the holiday including the story of the 5 kernals of corn. We asked them each to write (on the paper table cloth) 5 things they were thankful for. During the meal they had a chance to share one of them. They came up with very interesting and different thoughts.

There were some temple missionaries from the USA who joined with us for dinner.

The cooks outdid themselves. The entire meal was outstanding including this scrumptious array of desserts!

And best of all......we just showed up and when the meal was over we left the dishes to them. It will be a rough day when I have to once again be responsible for food!!!! We hope all of you had a wonderful day and that the magic of Christmas is now beginning to float around!!!

Remembrance Day - 11/11/11 - Poppy Day

November 11, 2011

We call it Veterans Day in the States, but in Great Britain it is refered to as Remembrance Day.

It is a national celebration and this year it was bigger than ever because it was 11/11/11. For the two weeks prior everyone wears paper poppies on their lapels and people hang out poppy wreaths. We made sure the missionaries were wearing them when they were out of the MTC. They are worn as a sign of respect in remembrance of their war veterans. The Sunday following Veterans Day all congregations observed 2 minutes of silence. It was a wonderful day for the missionaries as we had been invited to the Preston Ward to participate in their Sacrament Meeting.

As the meeting began an old decorated war Veteran stood at the pulpit and read the following:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,

Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning

We will remember them.

He then called for 2 minutes of silence. At the conclusion of the silence he said,

When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today.

It was a tender moment and the missionaries felt the spirit of the people they will serve.

This poppy wreath hangs at the entrance of our complex as you can see in the first picture.

The wearing of the poppies dates back many years. It came about because of an incident that occured in May of 1915 when a young WWI Canadian officer was killed in action. He was serving in the same unit as a friend of his who was a military doctor and artillery commander, Major John McCrae.
John McCrae was asked to conduct the burial service for his friend. He was buried in a grave decorated with only a simple wooden cross. The grave yard was desolate except for the wild poppies that were blooming between the crosses that marked the graves of those who were killed in battle. Unable to help his friend or other fallen soldiers, John McCrae gave them a voice by writing a poem that would be known through the ages, "In Flanders Field."

It is a poignant piece of literature that I think is akin to "Danny Boy". Richard loves it so much he has committed it to memory.

In Flanders Fields by John Mc Crae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The Larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders Field

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yourse to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

WE SHALL NOT SLEEP,

THOUGH POPPIES GROW

IN FLANDERS FIELDS.

To add to the festivities, we attended a Remembrance Day Choir Concert that was held in an old

Temperance Hall in a neighboring town. This choir is put together by James Loynes, a church member who is young, handsome and very talented. He sings all the old vintage music and his choir numbers reflected that. They were all from the 40's and included such numbers as "White Cliffs of Dover" and "Apple Blossom Time". It is a choir of older people that he puts together in 8 weeks and it is quite amazing. (Go on his web site jamesloynes.com)
The old hall was decorated with flags and banners and it was such fun to capture the local flavor of the evening.

All in all, this has been a wonderful holiday season. Now, we roll into Christmas. We will have Thanksgiving here but the rest of the country is now headed towards Christmas. And not to be out done, we have put our decorations up and turned on the Christmas music! Why not!!!

Names

This is just a quicky.

We just sent off a wonderful missionary couple who will be serving in Germany. They are the parents of 6 outstanding children - 5 boys and 1 girl. But here's the cute part.....

They named them according to the alphabet.

Achim, Bernd, Claus, Dirk, Edneim and finally.....Fabiola

They thought it was so fabulous to have a girl they named her accordingly!!!

The Cotswolds - a pictoral view

The only way to see the Coswolds is to see them. And we did just that. We had a brief but enchanting jaunt through this exquiste area. It was breathtaking. We motored from village to village, enjoying the splendor of it all.

The limestone hills of this area are dotted with wonderful little villages. This fairy-tale region of England was once the center of the wool industry. Made rich by wool from their sheep, the landowners invested in homes and churches that today still stand and create picture-book villages built from limestone which has a yellow hue and glistens in the sun. .......
Their names are as whimsical as their appearance.
The autumn colors are still apparent..
This is......
BOURTON ON THE WATER

The drive from village to village was as beautiful as the village itself.

The post offices here are also gift shops. Another way to bring in a pound!

BIBURY -- one of the most beautiful.

CHELTENHAM - birthplace of the Walker ancestors. This is one of the larger towns. And this is the latest Walker -- on the Promenade - considered the prettiest Main Street around

The church in Painswick is surrounded by a graveyard where 99 yew trees, cut into bizarre bulbous shapes resembling lollipops, surrounding an amazing collection of tombstones. Folklore has it that the devil prevents the 100th tree from growing! But who needs one more of these?!!

This little shop was irresistable. The owner begins setting out his wares every morning at 5 a.m. And every evening he packs it up and puts it away. It is a work of art -- a picture postcard. The vegetables and fruit are so beautifully displayed that you hate to pick one up and destroy the layout. The inside was as cute as the outside.

It was worth 6 bananas for us.

This is what pyracantha looks like when it is trimmed and trained. The orange berries against the yellow tinted house was beautiful!

A quick look at BROADWAY!

Our little hotel in STOW ON THE WOLD! An absolutely charming little village with a beautiful market square surrounded with little shops, Christmas lights and interesting people.

The river Avon in STATFORD ON AVON - Shakespeare's home.

This was a quicky trip to end all quicky trips. We savored every second of it.