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:
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:
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!
