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!!!