Wish you could have been here.......

As part of the 3 week training, the missionaries have an afternoon to see the historic sites in Preston and the surrounding areas. Weds. was the day, and what a day it was.

We recounted the day that Heber C Kimball and his 6 companions arrived in Preston Market Square on July 22, 1837. There was a general election in progress and as they alighted from the coach a large banner was being unfurled with the slogan Truth Will Prevail, to which the brethren responded, "Amen and Amen". That was the beginning of what would be 1000,s of converts that joined the church and went to America.



We spent our day going from site to site beginning in the Market Sq. known for the Obelisk which stands on the square. It was common in the early days to stand on a little box and preach in the square. This was of particular interest to me as it was on this square the GBH (Gordon B. Hinckley) delivered his first street meeting. As a young, green missionary in 1933, he stepped off the train in Preston and was met by his companion. I quote from his biography:



Elder Bramwell had no intention of breaking his new companion in gradually, and as they walked home he announced that they were set to hold a street meeting that night at the marketplace in the public square. The thought of preaching to uninterested passersby was daunting, and Elder Hinckley responded immediately, You've got the wrong man to go with you!

But Elder Bramwell was undeterred, and a few hours later the two missionaries walked to the market and began to sing. Gradually a crowd gathered, and both missionaries taught and bore testimony. I was terrified, he later admitted. I stepped up onto that little stand, looked at that crowd of people, and wondered what I was doing there!

For me this was the first of many riviting moments that day. I could well imagine his fright as he stood in that square and began to sing...........

During the rest of the afternoon we visited the cockpit which was the site of Temperance Hall. The Temperance Movement was started by a group of people who wanted to obliterate drinking and so they gathered together to preach their own version of the W of W. The early missionaries used this hall for preaching the doctrine of the church, including the W of W. As a result, many joined the church and several men were ordained to priesthood offices and given leadership in various branches. For Richard, this was a tender moment as it was in the Temperance Hall where his great great Grandfather Summerhayes met the Mormons and later and later joined the church. There was a personal moment of spiritual confirmation for him and his tears were not hidden.

The River Ribble is the site of the first baptisms in the British Isles. It is bordered by a large park, Avenham, where thousands gathered, were taught and baptized.

From there we went to 15 Wadham Road. A few of the missionaries had heard of this site and knew that it was where GBH had first lived as a missionary. Again I quote from his biography,

In England the grass pollinates and turns to seed in late June and early July, which is exactly when I arrived in Preston. The day I arrived there I started crying -- tears of hay fever, not homesickness. That combined with the anti-Mormon sentiment put him at an all-time low. After he had taken as much as he felt he could, he wrote his father that he wasn't getting anywhere with missionary work, and that he couldn't see the point in wasting his time and his father's money. Responding as both father and stake president, his father sent a reply that was brief and to the point: "Dear Gordon, I have your recent letter. I have only one suggestion: "forget yourself and go to work."

With the letter in hand, he went into his upstairs bedroom at 15 Wadham Road and got on his knees. As he poured out his heart to the Lord, he promised that he would try. That July day in 1933 was my day of decision. Everything good that has happened to me since then I can trace back to the decision I made that day in Preston.

Recounting that experience to the missionaries some 68 years later, stirred my soul. And I think it stirred theirs. It was a beautiful moment.

We traveled on to the little towns of Chatburn and Downham. These sights are of great significance in terms of the early days of the Church. Heber C. Kimball served as a missionary there with such success that when it was time for him to leave the hearts of the people appeared to be broken. While the missionaries walked down that road, doors were crowded and villagers lined the streets, weeping as they said their farewells. Heber said, "I was followed by a great number...a considerable distance from the villages who could hardly separate themselves from me. I thought my head was a fountain of tears, for I wept for several miles after I bid them adieu.

Today the little village of Downham is completely owned by the Lord and Lady Clitheroe. There are 120 residents who all rent their homes from the Clitheroes. The village remains exactly as it was in the time of the early missionaries. As we wandered around we happened to meet Lady Clitheroe. She said this village has been owned by her husband's family for 400 years. She was a delightful woman, has been to SLC and knows much about the Mormons. When we parted she said in her most charming English accent, "Well, I must get back to my cooking!"

We finished our day at the baptismal place in the small river that runs through Chatburn. (See the photo above) This area has just recently been indentified by a professor at BYU, a member of Church History and Doctrine. It was unknown to the locals here until we arrived with information regarding it. Heber C. Kimball said of this place, I have had to go into the water to administer the ordinance of baptism six or seven times a day, and frequently after having come out of the water and changed my clothes, I have had to turn back to the water before I reached my lodgings; this, too, when the weather was extremely cold, the ice being from twelve to fourteen inches thick.

By this time our toes were numb but the spirit warmed us and we stood together on the banks of this historic site and let them bear their testimonies. It was one of those moments that we hope will be long remembered.

We concluded our little meeting by giving them each a bookmark that said, FORGET YOURSELF AND GO TO WORK!

As I said in the beginning.......I wish you could have been there!

A Trip Back in Time

I wish I had the capacity to describe in words the events of this day. But I shall try and convey in small part what we have done.

Today we took the missionaries on a historic tour of the early church sites in Lancashire. It was here that Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Willard Richards, Joseph Fielding and others opened the work in the British Isles in 1837. Entire congregations joined and literally thousands were baptised and immigrated to Utah.

We began the tour at the Obelisk in the market square in downtown Preston. This was a popular place for street preaching in the early days of the church. It is also the place where GBH (Gordon B. Hinckley) did his first street preaching. In fact, the very day he arrived in Preston he was met by his companion who told him that in the evening they were going to the Market Square to preach. GBH, who was by nature a very shy young man said to his comp,

A Day to Remember

Yesterday we put all 28 missionaires on the train and took a 30 minute ride into Manchester where we were to do street contacting. We were loaded with pass along cards, B's of M, pamphlets. When we arrived we spilled out onto the street, spread out and began to walk and talk. We were given a meeting point 2.5 hours later. I have to say I was nervous. I have spent my life talking with people about the church, but this was different.....WAY different. NEVER have I just approached strangers! And I was not the only one who was nervous! President had several come to him that morning to say they were so nervous and maybe shouldn't go. He assured them that they were on the Lord's errand and would be guided by the H.G. Such faith!

My own personal experience was quite remarkable. I sat down on the train and a young woman sat beside me. I began to chat.......found out her family was orginally from Egypt (so I shared stories of our recent trip to Egypt.) She is a student at the University here -- studying business. She is Muslim (and wore the head dress) but said she was not orthodox and was really open to other ideas. I told her we were new in the country and that opened the door to telling her what we were doing here. She began to sparkle! And then we chatted.......on and on.......about her and about America, and about religion and I shared my deep feelings about what I believed. I invited her to stop by the MTC after school one day. When we parted we had exchanged email addresses and hugs! By the time I got of the train I was floating. I just couldn't believe that the Lord and been so good to me and had placed that sister right next to me.

The rest of the day followed with more success. We walked into Subway to get a sandwich and the young woman in from of me in the line was from China. I asked her where she was from and she said Taiwan, and was here with a performing group but she couldn't speak much English. I looked up and the two Chinese Elders that we have with us were in the front of the line and I motioned for them to come ---they had a 10 minute discussion with her.

Before long, approaching people was a game and we did not have a single rude rejection. (altho some did). But the crowning experience came at the end. We stopped to talk with a young woman holding a baby. While we visited her friend walked up and I turned to her and asked her where she was from. She told me Barcelona. I squealed and told her I had a brother in Barcelona on a 3 year assignment who was taking care of all of our missionaries that are serving in Barcelona and that he would love to talk with her. Before it was over, I had her name, phone number and email address and promised she would hear from him. Now honestly, what are the chances of that happening. Well, there are no chance meetings. All are directed by the Lord under the direction of the Holy Ghost. If only we really understood that power! We could do so much more than we are doing.

While I was having my fun, President was off with some of the elders who were struggling and ended up with remarkable experiences of his own. One in particular who agreed to meet with the missionaries.

All in all, these missionaries got 30 solid referrals for the Manchester Mission yesterday (the most ever) and gave away about 40 copies of the BOM. They came back flying high and can hardly wait to go next week.

It was bitter cold but the sun was shining and the spirit simply moved us thru the streets.

We have some wonderful missionaries. Elder Seibert speaks only a few words of English, but he smiles and nods and gives President hugs! Elder Chin and Sister Gong are from Schenzen, China (some of us have been there). Many are converts to the church and are leading out, hoping and praying that their families will capture the spirit of what they are doing and will become one of their converts. Each one is exceptional and we so love them that it will be hard to hand them off to a new mission president! There is such a feeling of comraderie and love among them. They take care of each other. The Lord is raising up a generation that will conquer the ills of the world. Amazing!!!! And we are here to witness it!

topsy turvy - upside down!

or in otherwords

JET LAG.

We boarded the plane in Atlanta fully equiped with vibrator neck pillows, eye shades, pillows, blankets and ambien - bound and determined to beat this little pest. And it worked for about 3 hours, nevertheless, we are still feeling the effects of a time change, a whirlwind Sunday and a week at the MTC. It has been a bit of everything. Our week in training at the MTC was spiritual overload. We loved it but are still trying to absorb all we were taught.

We arrived in England to dark skies and a mild drizzle -- typical English weather, but the minute we saw the missionaries the skies seem to light up and our hearts soared. There are currently 27 elders and sisters with us. They are from every part of the earth and speak many languages. Many of them struggle with English, but there is a German interpreter. Others just listen carefully and practice their English when they can. These missionaries arrived one day before we did, so they too have been a bit dazed. Yesterday I had to assure one of them that Jet Lag is not fatal! He was beginning to think he would never recover!

Sunday was a full day as we shadowed the outgoing president and his wife. Meeting after meeting after meeting. "Meet and Eat" is the name of the game. The "MEET" part is good. the "EAT" part is fattening. (We are told that people gain an ave. of 20 pounds while here.) We will go to work on that -- getting more veggies, fruit, grains and less grease. One elder outgrew his suits in just 3 weeks!

Today we are on our own as the Cleggs have left for home. And now we begin to sort through the papers, talk with the staff, listen in on the classes, and take care of the little issues that seem to crop up.

Our shipment from home has not arrived and may not for a couple of weeks. So.......for me that means a black skirt and 3 jackets and one pair of shoes that are not Sunday worthy but will have to do. For President it means the usual -- a dark suit, white shirt and a tie. We will be washing socks every night! I shall get a taste of the simple life -- which isn't all that bad!

This all still seems like a dream. Haven't yet quite figured out all the bells and whistles. Especially during the night -- alarms, beaps, bangs, and you name it. Hope before long we can sleep thru it all.......until then......Cheerio!