Christmas Festivities

Christmas is magic.  And the magic was 21 times as wonderful this year.

 21 children -- 21 stockings -- One Santa (and a couple of imported helpers)

Christmas Eve afternoon we went to Chorley and did our usual Christmas Caroling.  When we returned we listened to a powerful message by Elder Holland which stirred their hearts and reminded them of their commitment to the Savior.

  That evening we gathered in the apt. for a Christmas Eve Family Home Evening.  We let them share some favorite Christmas memories, we sang, we had a Christmas story about the white handkerchief and invited them to each take a white handerchief from the tree and keep it as a memory of this Christmas -- their first as a missionary!

 

In conclusion, we read from Luke and Matthew and sang the carols that go with it and then gathered around in family prayer.  We learned last year and it was evidenced again this year that many have never shared the Biblical nativity story on Christmas Eve and many have never had family prayer.  It is a sweet thing to gather with them and wrap ourselves in the spirit which is so evident at those times. 

As a  Christmas Gift we gave the missionaries an extra hour of sleep on Christmas morning.

(actually we were giving Santa and extra hour of preparation time!!!)

At the appointed hour we  met them at the top of the stairs and brought down to the tree -- the stockings -- the gifts -- and a breakfast of waffles and fruit cocktail in our apartment!

Now don't they look like happy little campers with  bulging stockings, smiles on their faces and the joy of Christmas.

All previous signs of homesickness were gone on this festive morning.  These young people have become such wonderful friends.  Forevermore they will remember with fondness the brothers and sisters they came to know and love in the MTC.

 

 

 

Members the world over love the missionaries and reach out to them at Christmas.  A youth group from Huddersfiled (some distance) brought these many gifts to the missionaries.  We put them under the tree in our apt. and during breakfast they drew numbers and each retreaved a gift and a card.  (I might just add that the cans of Pringles were BIG hits!! -- much bigger than the candy!)

At the end of the morning they came forth with gifts for us.  They were so excited and could hardly wait for us to open them.  They had made their own plans and done their own shopping the day before when we went caroling in Chorley.  I thought I knew everything in every store in Chorley, but they uncovered some treasures I had never seen before.  Not only was it a great surprise and very touching, but they gifts were wonderful.  Forevermore they will remind us of these most wonderful days and Christmas with the missionaries!!!!

 

At noon some pre assigned families came and picked up the companionships and took them to their homes for lunch and to listen to the televised Queen's speech!  They came back beaming from ear to ear.  It was fun for them to be with families and do some family things on Christmas Day.

 

For dinner we pulled out the leftovers (just like home) and then watched another Christmas Devotional from Provo.

 

And for a grand finale -- we invited them to get their slippers and popcorn and we turned on The Muppets Christmas Carol.

 

And then -- we sent them to bed and we did the usual Christmas Night collapse!

Christmas misc.

 

Our little town of Chorley went all out this year!  A giant size ferris wheel lit up the skies at night and looked rather magical!

 

Even the dogs dressed up!

Trunk or Treat sponsered by the Young Adults!  And they are faithful 100%. 
It was pouring rain, but no matter, in England you just go for it -- rain or shine!

After 22 months we said good-bye to the Williams and hello to the Durkins who have been called to serve as counselors.





If you can look beyond the people you will see in the background the beautiful village of Downham with Pendle Hill as the backdrop (the closest thing to a mountain).

The little village of Downham is a fitting climax to  a wonderful visit.  It was here that Heber C. Kimball baptized the entire village.  The village is owned by one family who have preserved it in it's original state. 

Christmas Dinner -- so good they licked the platter clean!!

Note:  Sunday was Joseph Smith's birthday although we were surprised that no one knew it!

But we celebrated.  After dinner we gathered in a circle and shared thoughts and feelings about the prophet Joseph.  It was one of those wonderful moments that brings tears and deep feelings.  I think that these missionaries will never again forget that Dec. 23 is Joseph Smith's birthday and we hope that this memory will always trigger the feelings and testimony that were expressed that evening in the MTC.

We finished the evening by handing them a piece of string and teaching them the little pioneer game of Cat's Cradle.  Some were experts and caught on very quickly -- others were........??? Oh well.  It is not one of those things you have to know to qualify for the Celestial Kingdom!

Even the MTC received a Christmas present!  New plants and artificial greens to add to the decor!   Nothing the elders would rather do that put together greenery!

Avenham Park borders the River Ribble where the first baptisms took place.  The markers have been placed here by the church commemorating these significant events.  And note the sun -- shining just for us!!

The Sunday before Christmas is always a favorite day.  It forces you to stop -- the shopping, and the baking, and the sewing and the whatever -- but it is often replaced with Sunday responsibilites for you and for your family. 
It would seem that the same thing applies here.  We simply pushed the pause button and swung into the Sunday mode.....
Our Sunday included taking the missionaries to the Church History Sites and sharing the stories of faith and sacrifice of those who have gone before.

Our Sunday responsibilities included speaking and singing in a neighboring ward.  When we are asked to bring the missionaries to sing, we never know if we will have a group that CAN sing.  The first time we met with this group I knew we were banking on a Christmas Miracle.  We had a few very good singers,  a few mediocre singers and some major monotones.  But no matter.....We imported a pianist and went to work......and sure enuf.....we got our miracle.  We featured those with solo voices and I even prevailed on Richard to solo with the choir as back up.  I have to say, it was a tear jerker! 

 

Missionaries would rather sing than street contact!!!  They took time out from their street contacting in Manchester to share the music of Christmas and while they sang, Richard talked to those who stood by to listen and of course, he placed two Books of Mormon and got information for the missionaries to visit after Christmas!  So FUN!!!

(I know that those of you who are techies could solve the problem I have of mixing up these pix.  But since you are not here to help me you will just have to take them in their jumbled form --- !)

More jumble to come!!!












 

a Christmas moment.....

Christmas should be full of miracles and magic.

And we feel them here.

When things calm down I will get to recording some of the simply wonderful moments that have part of this Christmas....

in the meantime I share one...

 

Saturday we had a youth group come to the MTC.  This is often the case, but this group was unusual in many ways. They came from quite a distance....and they had a number of leaders and even parents with them.

 

We met with them, talked with them, and had the missionaries sing for them.  They toured the building and as they were lingering in the halls chatting a young woman came into my office and told me that when the Preston temple was dedicated their family attended.  Her brother, who at the time was 10 years old, was invited by President Hinckley to add some mortar when they were putting the cornerstone into place.  This young boy's heart was touched and for years he spoke of this event.

 

He grew to mission age and responded to a call to serve in Australia.  Towards the end of his mission things began to fall apart in his life.  He returned home, married, had a baby and soon divorced.  He now lives with a girl and they also share a baby.  He is completely out of the church but still the little spark that was ignited that day at the cornerstone ceremony comes to the surface on rare occasions.

She asked if I would write to her brother and share my experience at this temple dedication in the hopes that it ignites some kind of small flame of the gospel.

 

I was touched that perhaps she saw me as a way to reach this young man.  I am not sure anything will come of it, but there is nothing to lose in trying.  After all, we are all in this together, doing all we can to help build the kingdom.

 

But even better.....

While I was chatting in my office, Richard was in the foyer talking to a family who were recent converts.   The mother and two daughters have been baptized but the father has not and apparently was not showing much interest. 

For whatever reason Richard  spoke very directly to him, asking him why he had not joined and that it was imperitive that he not deny his family the blessings of eternity.  He encouraged him, even challenged him to get on his knees and seek divine guidance, promising him that the Lord would answer his prayers and that as a father he would bless the lives of his family and future generations. 

Honestly, he was so direct and so firm but so profoundly loving.

The man became quiet and said very little in response.

They left here and walked up to the temple where his wife and daughters went in for baptisms.  As he sat on the grounds waiting, Richard's words echoed in his heart.

Sunday evening Richard got a call from the Stake President to say that this man had just called him and had asked to be baptized on Christmas Day -- as a surprise for his wife and daughters!

The Stake President was over the moon!   This man has had missionaries for 2 years!

(I would love to be a fly on the wall when he tells his family they are going to have a white Christmas)

 

Such a great opportunity to teach these missionaries -- you may never know the good you are doing.  The missionaries of the past 2 years have taught and taught and taught and felt discouragement because of his resistance to baptism....and then......bingo!

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 



Christmas Fayres

The Brits are not given to many Christmas window decorations or street decorations but they love their Chrismas markets or Fayre's!  Every city and even some of the smaller villages have their version of a Christmas market.  Some are quite elaborate, while others are rather small.  

The booths in the market feature everything from nuts to candy to jellies to handmade items and to wonderful cheeses.  (I shall greatly miss the delicious cheese!!!!  A nice fattening snack!)

Most of the markets feature street actors, musicians and Christmas characters. 

 

This particular market is in York -- which is one of the most charming areas around.  And we were lucky enough to hit it on a clear day.  Clear here means that it is not pouring rain.  It has nothing to do with sunshine which is almost non existent.

 

Winter Solstice is here.  It is dark at 3:30 and light at 8:30 and in between it is mostly grey skies with mist.  Honestly, this Island is drowning......flood warnings every day.  The fields are soggy, the rivers are overflowing and the unbrellas are big business!!!

 

But still, we love it!!

Staff Party

 The staff party was a great reason to dress the tables, eat elaborate food and have some fun!

 The Christmas Crackers are a must and everyone dons the regal crown that are part of the surprise.

 The dessserts were worth the party......

 One of our chefs is a "peanut butter" junkie -- and this is the result.

 I personally prefer the key lime pie

 But the treat of the evening was the chocolate log.....and it was as good as it looks.

Even the swans came to dinner -- and went ice skating on the frozen pond outside our window.

Stockland

 The Moon & Sixpence was the little B&B we stayed in at Clevedon (a small coastal community in England)  This was part of our 2 day trip to Wales to see Sister Louis.  It is all SO English!

 

 We then drove to Stockland -- a small village in the county of Devon.  It was here and the surrounding area that the Summerhays (Richard's mothers people) were born and buried.

We immediately went to the churchyard cemetary -- the burial place of several great grandparents.  We combed the graves and searched in vain for a Summerhays, only to find later that all stones that were more than 100 years old had been removed and destroyed and not recorded!  Someones cute idea of tidying up the church yard!  Such a shame!!

 We wandered in the church where once they worshiped, altho the church itself looks quite moderized.  While there we met three cute village women who had just completed their morning prayers.  We told them of our mission -- both here and in Stockland and they directed us to the home of Frank and Barbara Durrant --- the village's self appointed historians. 

We knocked on the door and this cute couple invited us into their kitchen where we chatted and shared stories.  (the neighbor was also visiting at the time).

They told us that many years ago a man in their village had moved to Salt Lake City where he had married and settled. (must have joined the church).  Eventually he inherited some property in his native village of Stockland, England.  At that time (1800's) this event was published in a Salt Lake newspaper and Mr. Durrant had a copy of that newspaper.  He promised to find it and send it to us.

 Mr. Durrant suggested we visit with Bryan and Rowena Drew who lived in the neighboring village of Membury.  So we drove a few miles  on a small single lane road across the rolling fields, around the winding bends and up and down the slopes until we arrived at the home of the Drews who kindly invited us in.  They took us into this beautiful sun room that overlooked the green valley and began to talk about the history of the area. 

Before long he had pointed out the Summerhays farm that rested on the slope below them. 

 And then he began to pull out old records.  After searching through several documents he found this one and sure enough -- right there the name of William Summerhays appeared.  This is a list of those who served in the Napoleonic Home Guard in the 3rd Parish of Stockland of 1775. He was 40 years old at the time and was a Mason by profession.

It was one of those electrifing experiences.  It is one thing to know about him, another to actually see this old document in its original form.

We discovered that Bryan Drew's grandfather was also a Mason, living at the same time in the same place.  Undoubtedly they knew each other.

 We felt an instant bond with this cute couple who were tending their grandchildren on that day.  Just a reminder that the world is full of wonderful people who need the gospel.

 As we parted that afternoon a beautiful rainbow that stretched across the sky brought to an end a perfect day.             

Three Stories

Seems my computer has been experiencing holiday stress and has just gone bonkers on me....but I am in the process of tending to it and hopefully I can write something that requires no pictures, as they seem to be the focus of the trouble....

 

So.....a couple of missionary experiences

 

STORY #1

We recently attended a Mission Zone Conference and the mission president told the story of his father's conversion back in the 50's. It went something like this...

 

The missionaries knocked on their door and his mother invited them to return that evening when her husband would be home.

That evening they taught the first discussion.  The mother then looked in the encyclopedia (that's what we used to do back in the 50's) and found that Mormons were associated with polygamy and she told her husband the missionaries were never to come again.

Like any good husband, he obeyed but continued to meet with them elsewhere.  He gained a testimony and decided to be baptized.  His wife threatened that if he did she would leave him and take their two sons with her. 

He did, she didn't!

Time passed and he longed to have his wife join but her heart was hardened.  He prayed for help and  he heard a voice say "Bible".  He answered "where in the Bible, it's a big book" and again he heard "John 12:7"   He turned to that verse and it begins by saying "let her alone."

So he did!

Years passed and she longed for a baby girl.  Her husband felt prompted to give her a blessing wherein he would promise her that she would have a baby girl and she would join the church.

He approached her about giving the blessing and she refused stating if she wanted a blessing she would go to her priest at her church!!!!

Fast Sunday was approaching and she went to fast meeting with him. He got up in the meeting and announced to the congregation that they were expecting a baby girl and as a result his wife would be joining the church.

This was new news to her!

How brave can a man be!!!

Soon after she became pregnant.  The week-end she was due to deliver he was to attend a church conference in a neighboring town.  His wife insisted that she was going to have the baby and he was not to go.

He asked her if she believed it was a girl and if she believed that she would join the church and she gave him an emphatic NO!!!

He then told her that she would not have the baby this week-end and off he went to the meeting.

Three days later she delivered a baby girl and shortly thereafter she joined the church.

Now, have you ever??????

 

STORY #2

Last week-end we were in the Preston Christmas Market.  While Richard was making a purchase I wandered off to a neighboring booth and began chatting with the couple selling their homemade jams and jelly.

The conversation soon turned to the church and the angel Moroni that they had seen on top of the temple.  It was a perfect introduction to the Book of Mormon and before I knew it I was asking if two missionariers could come to their home and bring them a copy of the book.....and they could read all about Moroni and many others.....

Wow!  They said YES. 

Yesterday we heard that the missionaries had a wonderful visit and will be returning again.

Just thrilled me beyond description!

 

STORY #3

A few days ago we were in Chorley.  Richard was walking along behaving himself and a man ran up from  behind and stopped him.  He asked about his missionary badge and what church it was. 

When he heard he was a Mormon he said, "I want to come to that church this Sunday and not just this Sunday but every Sunday after that"! 

Now, can you imagine how excited the missionaries were to get that referral!

Honestly, it is so fun!!!

A post script is that we are speaking in that ward in 2 weeks.  Hope we see him there!

 



Sister Louis

Thirteen months ago Sister Louis came to the MTC from India.  When she arrived she was almost overwhelmed with this new culture.  The food was tastless, the people were bold, the dress was boring and she would sometimes wear her native silk tunic over silk pants (beautful but a bit out of place here) and the biting cold chilled her to the bone.   She struggled with the language and missionary work but she had determination and a strong testimony and she stayed the course!   Her family are members but none of them have the commitment she does.  It was a HUGE leap in her life to serve a mission.  By the time she left she had attached herself to us and we to her. Since then she has written often and  asked us repeatedly to find a way to see her again before we left for home.  So.....we called her mission president and arranged a visit with her.  Last Monday we headed out for the south western tip of Wales (about a 5 hour drive) where she is currently serving.  When we called  her to tell her we were coming she was  ecstatic.     

She is serving in the little town of Newcastle Emlyn where there is a strong ward but the missionary work is very slow.

The town is charming, the streets lined with brightly painted flats.

I suppose when giving directions you just say, I live in the blue house, or the pink, or the green.  How clever.

And this is Sister Louis with her companion Sister LeFevre, who was with us 8 months ago.   Both girls are terrific.  It was absolutely delightful to watch Sister Louis.  She has blossomed into an amazing young woman.  She talked to everyone she met.  She never wiped that broad grin off her face the entire time we were with her. And she has reason to be sad. In the 13 months she has been here she has never received a letter from home.  Finally last October the mission president suggested she call home and find out what is going on.  She talked to her brother who told her that her mother and father have separated and they do not know where the mother is.  She still doesn't know why no one writes her but she does not seem to care.  She LOVES her mission.  She LOVES the people and or course they love her.  She has simply given herself over to the work!  She does not ever want to go home.  (and supposedly her family is active in the church!!!)  We sat together over lunch and then walked the streets.  We bought her a new skirt for Christmas (probably all she will get) and when we parted it was with many hugs and tears.  We may never see her again but she will always remain in our hearts. (altho she calls us mom and dad so who knows.  She might just show up on our doorstep some day.) But it was worth the 10 hour round trip.

This is the beautiful chapel that sits on a hill overlooking this valley. 

And this is the valley with the beautiful river and arched bridges that are the focal point of so many towns.