Sent this as a letter in September, just adding it to the Blog now.

September has been fun. We are really into the swing of things.  I guess the best way to describe what I mean by” really into the swing of things”  is that we are finally doing all the things we originally thought we would be doing when we got our call. Things like: meeting new university student members, cooking meals for Institute, and teaching young adult investigators in person with the younger missionaries. 

The new university semester, called UNI. by the Brits, has started. We had 5 new freshmen “UNI” students show up at church with their families, who were in town to drop off their babies. They and probably even more their parents, were happy to meet us and find out about Institute and YA activities. 

This is Mom:  Dad wrangled me into doing the rest of the letter.  Said he’d vacuum if I finished up.  Anyway, some good news for the Birmingham YA - Our stake physical facilities guy moved jobs last week, but before he went, his LAST job was to rebuild part of the stake center into a YA all-purpose room.  Now they have a place to meet and hang out.  We plan to stock it with nosh and have an honestly box.  

Before we got back in the saddle with the YA and pathway, we volunteered to inspect the missionary flats in …. THE COTSWOLDS.  Beautiful!!!!  We went to a few old villages, particularly the village where War Horse was filmed.  Rolling hills, ancient churches, sheep grazing, green so green it hurts your eyes, you know, all while listening to classical music on BBC radio 4.  We went to Burton-on-water, Chipping Campden, etc. Good news: it’s less than an hour from our flat.  Bad news: all the roads are twisty and windy, small lanes.

Quick, funny story about using the term, ‘flat’.  The lady who cut my hair last time asked me where our apartment is.  I said that she was the first person we’d heard using the word, ‘apartment’.  She said that she likes to say apartment, she thinks she sounds ‘booshie’.  (Have no idea how you spell that). Anyway, I guess Birmingham is off the beaten track of US tourists.  We get noticed, maybe the badge, maybe the accent, maybe both.  

Now this is both Mom and Dad. 

We went to a place called, The Black Country Living History Town. It was truly like going back in time. Old busses going around the streets, and people in costume telling us about the old days when it was a mining town. It is used as the set for the show, Peaky Blinders. Mom wanted to Dad to buy the hat, but  he refused. The best part was going to class at the old school room. The School Master was hilarious. He called different people up to the front of class and read them the riot act for offenses such as: tattoos ,which he said was drawing on their arms during class,  a pregnant young looking women, which he said was disgusting and no student of his could be allowed in school pregnant. A couple of the missionaries got called up, a sister for giggling, and an elder for talking. They both got Caned!  It was fun. We will attach pics.

The lord has really been blessing the YA work here. Litchfield Institute has gone from 7-8 girls to 24 with just about an even split of boys and girls. We honestly didn’t see that happening.  Two of what we call “our lost boys” one from Slovakia and one from Hong Kong have really started to see changes in their lives. They both have degrees, but were working at McDonalds and Aldi’s grocery store. Now they have both found great jobs in their fields. One of the great things about being a missionary is getting to see the change in people’s lives. Right Joel :) 

This week has probably been the most special of our mission. Three wonderful people that we helped the missionaries teach, got baptized this week. Just to be around them and feel their excitement and love for the gospel has been special. 

We love the gospel, and are very grateful for everything our Savior has done for us. Hope you are all well and enjoying life. Thanks for always calling and zooming with us.

Living the Dream,

Mom and Dad

October

OUR TRIP TO LONDON

On 29 October, we had one of the best experiences of our mission.  We traveled on a bus filled with missionaries, both young and old, from Birmingham to London to see three apostles: Elder Ballard, Elder Holland, and Elder Cook, all of whom served in England as young missionaries.  Two things were evident; their love for the English people, and love they had for the Lord Jesus Christ, and His gospel.  

This is our glorious, and only true mission, the Birmingham, England Mission.  You can see Dad in the middle, left hand side.  I'm with him, but apparently not looking at the camera at the right second.  This was taken in front of the the famous Royal Albert Hall.  President and Sister Gallacher are sitting on the left side, next to Sister Holland.  As we get to know all the missionaries and the Gallaghers, we LOVE them so much!  Honestly!  We are humbled to be in such great company.  

 Here is a picture of Elder Logan front and center:

Elder Logan had emergency surgery on 28 October.  Elder Logan had been in our zone when we first arrived on our mission.  He's a good-looking kid.  Dad thinks he looks like Captain America, but I think he looks like Superman.  Whatever (I'm right); he's a superhero to us.  Not even 24 hours after surgery, he came from the hospital to our picture session right before our meeting with the Apostles. We LOVE the faith and dedication of our young missionaries.  

This is Sister Voelker in the front.  She just happens to be our 4th cousin according to FamilySearch.  She was originally assigned to Birmingham, but was sent to Wisconsin during Covid.  Initially, she missed Wisconsin and things were really hard for her.  This week as she is leaving, she posted on  Facebook how much she will miss us all.  She was able to walk with Elder Ballard from the Royal Albert Hall where our pictures were taken, to the Hyde Park Chapel, about a quarter of a mile.  We can't think of anyone better to represent our mission than Sister Voelker.  

The takeaway for us: 

•   You love who you serve.
•   The gospel with change your life as it did for Elder Ballard, Elder Holland, and Elder Cook.
•  You may not realise (UK spelling - I have a UK keyboard) it, but as we live our lives, we are       making history. 
•  When you share the gospel, you change a family's history forever.  (As the daughter of converts, I can personally testify that that is true!) 
• Keep reading your scriptures and saying your prayers!

Another view of the Royal Albert Hall...

This is Rosie, a recent convert who is one of the most pure-in-heart people I know.  She was initially contacted in the local park by our missionaries and took to the gospel.  She was just baptised last month.  She is originally from Turkey where she had a near fatal accident when she was 7 or 8, and was in a coma for several months.  When she came around, she was paralysed on her left side.  Her family then emigrated to the  UK for a better life for their family.  She said that the Young Adults are the first friends she had since moving here 20 years ago.  I'm so proud of the way she's been embraced by everyone.   

The 27th, we had a Halloween activity after Institute.  The British kinda celebrate Halloween, but we found out that they really go in for Guy Fawkes Day which is 5 November.  We watched a huge fireworks display at our local cricket stadium with  28 of the YA.  

The Green Man.... Can be seen everywhere!

Read up on him.  Seems he's very ancient.  

This is mom on her phone with her new laptop doing her thing - Mission Medical Coordinator (Health Aide) for the mission!  Thanks everyone!!!! Mom says our mission is turning out to be like home, me teaching and her doing medical.

We love you all so much and, miss you everyday!!!!

                        

This Green and Pleasant Land

(St. Martin in Cwmyoy, where many of John's ancestors are buried)

'Jerusalem'

And did those feet in ancient time

Walk upon England’s mountains green?

And was the holy Lamb of God

On England’s pleasant pastures seen?

And did the Countenance Divine

Shine forth upon our clouded hills?

And was Jerusalem builded here

Among these dark Satanic mills?

Bring me my bow of burning gold:

Bring me my arrows of desire:

Bring me my spear: O clouds unfold!

Bring me my chariot of fire.

I will not cease from mental fight,

Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand

Till we have built Jerusalem

In England’s green and pleasant land.

William Blake

For the past 6 weeks, we've had to opportunity of traveling around England and Wales a bit while doing missionary flat checks.  We love the missionaries!  In Wales, we ran into Sister Gudgell who served a good portion of the lockdown in Yuba City.  She now has been transferred into our zone in Birmingham.  It has been fun swapping stories about YC.  She has promised to come back for the temple dedication.  

We are constantly amazed by the commitment and faith of the young men and women who have given up their normal Young Adult life to serve the Lord at such a transitional time in their lives.  One of the flats had a quote on the wall - This day will not come again, so have fun.  It reminded me of advise Andrea, our eldest and very wise daughter, gave me before we left.  She said, "Mom, just have fun!" Fun for a missionary has a different meaning.  Translation: pray, study, find, teach, serve, and - most important - love.   Through loving others, we find joy and happiness.   

While is Wales, we were able to visit the farm where John's ancestors raised sheep for many, many generations.  The farm house was acquired by Landmark Trust in Wales as an unusually good example of Tudor architecture.  Trevor and Lindon Powell, John's distant cousins, still have sheep on the working part of the farm.  Why did John's great grandfather decide to up and leave a prosperous farm at 21 for the desert of Goshen, Utah?  He was not a member of the church, though many of his descendants have since joined.  We're still trying to figure that out.  

Wales is so beautiful!  Rolling hills.  Rocky farms.  Green that almost makes your eyes hurt.  Cottages that are beyond quaint.  Medieval churches in every small community.  I learned a new Welsh word which I plan to somehow embroider on a pillow (or something).  Cwtch https://www.southwales.ac.uk/story/926/.  Yes, no vowels!  We stayed at a wonderful B & B run by a retired nurse who generously was also housing nurses working with Covid cases.  Her dog only spoke Welsh.  Pretty cool!   

Also during the break, the missionaries and young adults have been meeting for activities.  I've brought snacks, but other than that, we haven't really had to do anything.  It's all been done by the YA.  Last night, we had a game night in Birmingham.  

Next week our institute and Pathway groups start up again, so more later.  I promised you an post about Pathway, which I plan to do.  I just need time to focus and do it justice.  

For now, I'm just going to throw some photos in... some from Wales, some from England...

Caerphilly Castle, Wales

Chapter House in Hurley, England.  I lived here as a youngster

Walk over the Thames in Hurley, find memories for me and my sisters

The oldest pub in England in Hurley

from the church in Hurley.  

Our Covid-19 Mission

So...when we were set apart by our Stake President, Steve Hammarstrom, he asked us to keep a blog documenting our mission as opposed to email letters and Facebook postings.  Clearly, I’ve been a bit, um, neglectful.  (Note:  There are probably lots of typos, mistakes, and missing information, but I'm just gonna hit 'post' or I'll never get this posted.  So - bombsway  as one of my old room mates used to say)

To begin at the beginning:

Never having served a mission, I had no idea what to expect.  I imagined (and like a fool, wanted) challenging and difficult times like living in basements with one light bulb and no hot water, or having to build our own shelter from corrugated metal and cinder blocks, or deadly insects invading our living space, or having to kill and eat our own food - all stories I’ve heard from my own returned missionary husband and children.  I wanted to prove to everyone I was up for anything.  

The cosmos had other plans:  

Mid March of 2020, after a very tearful goodbye to Julie and her husband, Shoney, we entered the Missionary Training Center in Prove, Utah.  That week, as you all know, the world went to heck.  We were the LAST Group of  missionaries to report to the MTC before the Big Shutdown. The MTC, formerly a beehive of activity filled to the brim with earnest, young men and women preparing to serve missions, was already on it's way to being a ghost town.  Bad news came in drips and drabs during our ten day stay.  Finally, a couple of days before we were scheduled to fly, we were told that we wouldn't be going to England.  Big Tears!  A day or two later, we were met by Julie, who looked for all the world like a harried mom picking up her diseased kids from school.  "Come on, get in!"   

The big miracle happened just before we left the MTC:

We were contacted while we were still  in the MTC by the institute director from our assigned area in England, Ross Martin.  "Are you still coming?!"  After a few exchanged texts, he suggested that we might still serve remotely since no one was meeting in person.  Our location was not an issue.  Ross and our English stake president, Paul Wilkinson, suggested that we call the mission department to see if we could get permission to remain as full-time missionaries serving via Zoom. After a few phone calls, we were given permission to stay as set apart missionaries.  

What that looked like:

Zooming in April of 2020

Our weekly schedule soon became established.  On Sundays, for a while, we attended a 'Come, Follow Me' gathering for Young Adults in Birmingham.  Mondays, on and off, we participated in Family Home Evenings with some of the Young Adults, mostly college students away from home, also in Birmingham.  Tuesdays we taught an Institute class for international Pathway students.  Wednesdays we taught Institute with Ross Martin in Birmingham.  Thursdays at 1 AM, we hosted a Pathway gathering for international students, and later taught Institute to another group of English Young Adults from the Lichfield Stake.  Fridays we tried to catch up on sleep.  Saturdays and Sundays were spent prepping for the next week.  I also had to wonderful experience of helping facilitate a financial self-reliance with talented Haley Robinson from Birmingham.  

A little aside: We were asked to take on a Pathway group as they were looking for some help since enrollment had skyrocketed during the pandemic.  One of the best experiences EVER!  We had heard about Pathway from our daughter, Andrea, who had completed it some time ago.  What a wonderful and inspired program!  More on Pathway later.   

Honestly, it is all a miracle!  We had the blessing of getting to know so many beautiful and strong people from all over the world via technology.    

We made it!

Meeting with Alex Lane

We finally got to travel on 8 April of this year to England.  It's been such a great experience to finally meet everyone in person.  We now live in a two bedroom flat in Edgbaston, Greater Birmingham.  Everyone here has been so helpful and welcoming.  Although restrictions are still in place - social distancing, no more than 6 people or two families meet together in private,  masks at all meetings, no more than 30 outdoor meetings, etc. - the vaccine has been distributed pretty quickly and efficiently.  These restrictions will probably ease sometime in the next couple of weeks.  

We are still teaching institute in person and online.  We've had to chance to meet several young adults, and we're struck by how they are dealing with life  during this time. The pandemic has been especially difficult for some of them as they've felt so separated from each other.  Hopefully soon we'll all be back to normal. 

The best thing England:

Susan Adams 1977, the day she was baptized. 

Everything, but mostly the people.  We were able to meet up with Susan Adams, a young lady John had baptized toward the end of his first mission in 1977.  John had a wonderful time with Susan reminiscing about the old mission days. 

We are so excited to be here and meet so many good, kind folks.  The young missionaries are especially fabulous!

Elder Beech from South Africa

We Made It!

 After our year wait in Utah, we finally made it to England!  However, we’ve been in quarantine for 9 day, so we haven’t seen much.  The people of our new ward and stake have been so welcoming.  It’s lovely to see people you’ve only been able to meet from afar.  We’ve been showered with sausage rolls, fish and chips, crumpets and .... a selection of Cadbury bars.  Our first post-Covid visit will be to the Cadbury factory.  We’ve also ordered in fish and chips as we can’t get enough of them.  One innovation - curry sauce with fish’n chips. 

For the past 9 days, we’ve been doing pretty much what we did in Utah - zooming with individual Pathway students and Young Adults.  Fortunately, our Institute and Pathway classes have been on break while we recover from jet lag and figure out British appliances, etc.  This week, it’s  back to our usual schedule of lessons and gatherings with the bonus of no middle-of-the-night meetings🥳

We were able to walk our final Covid-19 tests to a ‘royal’ post box, and caught a shot or two along the way. 

King George I, statue on Birmingham University campus.  

While taking this picture, a local celeb, Kaptain Kirk, happened to be also videoing the statue.  He had lots of questions for us: who are we, where do we come from, have we been to any local attractions, etc.  Sadly, I failed my first mission test: I identified us as “Mormon Missionaries”.  Argh!!!!!  You know that ONE THING you’re NEVER, EVER going to do!  Yup, I did it.  

Anyway: here’s one of his videos:

 https://youtu.be/o7qsy5QnrLE

The following were some houses we thought looked very British on the main drag we took to the royal post box (I love writing that).  One nice thing we noticed is that the houses are bounded by brick fences.