Another stroll through the countryside

 Now really!  How would you like to live in BROADBOTTOM!  I wonder if the person who named this place had someone in mind!!!

 But it was beautiful.....and historic.  Here we have some ruins....a familiar site in any English landscape.

 streams, bridges, trees....

 and row houses here and there.

 hats off to the farmers and their horses.

 Woods where the brownies live.....quiet paths, majestic trees and little me with....

 the king of the bridge......

 and US!

 if only we had dogs to walk....we would feel very British!  (thank goodness we don't!)

 when they say rolling green hills they mean it!

 and to add to the landscape, a few grazing cows and a field of dandelions!  Who said dandelions weren't pretty.  By the way, an elder told us his grandmother makes dandelion jam.  Has anyone every heard of this, much less tasted it!

 Bee keepers from outer space -- or so it looks like!

 Quiet country lanes

 wild country gardens

 complete with lilacs and the scents of home

 Just one of many country estates.

Secured by a holly hedge.....no one, not even the most desparate burgler would attempt to invade such a hedge!!!  OUCH!!!!  Better than barb wire!



Heat Wave

Today the temperature was 77 degrees and the news headlines are:

"Britain swelters as heat wave continues"

"UK basks in scorching heat!"

While others are moaning we are rejoicing.  We can actually go for a walk in short sleeves and no gloves, hat and coat! 

All we can say is "Bring it on!"

Shoes

Shoes, shoes everywhere and not a pair to wear!

A Missionary Miracle

Last Saturday  the elders were playing some basketball in the adjoining stake center.  This cute Elder Hegerhorst went up for a basket and came down on someone's foot.  The consequence was.......a foot that looked like it had been completely displaced from the leg.  Two of the other elders headed for the MTC in a dead run calling for help.  We jumped in the car and drove the few yards and found him lying on the floor in extreme pain.  Local security called for an ambulance and they arrived while Richard was giving him a blessing.

I have to say, the parpamedic could not have been better.  He immediately got him breathing some gas to ease the pain and then ever so carefully removed his shoe and put the leg in a wrap to stablize it.  Under his direction, the other elders lifted him onto the stretcher and put him in the ambulance where they administered heavy doses of morphine to sedate him.  When they arrived at the hospital the attending orthopedic doctor just happened to be a member of the church and besides being very skilled he was very kind.  Now the miracle is......the ankle was dislocated (understatement) but there were no fractures -- much to the amazement of all who saw it!

The sweet thing is that while the elder was lying on the floor he just kept asking, "Will I have to go home?  I don't want to go home!"  He was more worried about that than his leg.  And as word spread through the MTC, the missionaries gathered together to petition the Lord and pray for their friend.   It is in these moments that you see these young men as just that, and not the teenagers they were only minute ago. 

    

The postscript is that he left this morning for the mission field with a big grin on his face, a solid walking boot on his foot and a handsome pair of crutches under his arms and he is almost pain free.

Truely missionaries are watched over by a loving Heavenly Father!

We Often Go Walking.......

We sing this little primary song as we walk through the English countryside.  I thot today I would just take you with us on our latest walk -- about 6 miles up and down, in and out and so fun!

I know you think it's spring, but spring here requires a coat, gloves, scarf  and often a hat!



Every village has a church steeple!  This one chimes 13 times at 1 p.m. and we were there to hear it!

The English canals meander through the countryside and are always great for walking.  Check out the walking stick.....if we just had a dog by our side we could pull off being English!!!



The baby goslings signal Spring!  The proud mother and father hover nearby.  And we always carry bread to feed them.

The little train station in Smithybridge.  Isn't it cute!  Just like a picture book. 

More of the meandering canal

and wherever you go there are the green rolling hills!!!

I am not sure where we will walk when we get home!  But in the meantime, we love every site we see, every scent we smell and every hill we climb!