Called to Serve

Another amazing week in the England Birmingham Mission!  We are adding something new to our blog this week its called quote of the week.  We hope you enjoy it:

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“If you’re not a full-time missionary with a missionary badged pinned on your coat, now is the time to paint one on your heart - painted, as Paul said, ‘not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.’”

Elder Neil L. Andersen

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We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with Sister Hall and her daughter, Ruth.  She fixed a special Valentine Dinner for us complete with red cut out hearts on the table and English-style Mexican food!  The food was wonderful and the visit was even better!

Ruth and her mom.

On Tuesday Bishop Ward and his family treated all the missionaries in the district to breakfast.  Their kids are so much fun to play with.  We tried playing basketball, but every play, every lay up, everything about it turned into a rugby match … too, too funny!  Their son, Oliver, looks and sounds just like the young man who played the lead role in the movie “Oliver.”  

Ella enjoying chocolate toast!

Bishop Ward waving in the back ground.
We enjoyed toast, muffins, bangers, bacon, fruit and juice.

A selfie with some of the Bishop's kids.

Good food ~ great friends!

We taught Institute in Birmingham on Wednesday night after which Chris taught a Family History class.  Even though this was a holiday from college for most of the Young Single Adults we still had nearly 40 students attend and we just love them all!  They are so strong, smart and just fun to be with!  We even had a young man (Henry) not of our faith attend and he enjoyed it so much he wants to start coming to church.

We also had the opportunity to teach Institute down in Coventry which is about 30 miles southeast of Edgbaston.  We decided to drive down in the morning to visit Warwick Castle, which is just a few miles outside of Coventry.  

St. Nicholas Church of England
Warwick

Warwick Castle

Warwick Castle is in Warwickshire, England, situated on a bend of the River Avon. The original motte and wooden castle was built in 1068 under the direction of William the Conqueror.  It was rebuilt in stone in the 12th century. The castle was used as a stronghold for the kingdom until the early 17th century, when it was granted to Sir Fulke Greville by James I in 1604. Greville converted it to a country house and it was owned by the Greville family, who became earls of Warwick in 1759, until 1978.  Now it is one of England’s most visited tourist attractions.

Sir Greville was murdered by a discontented manservant in 1628 and his ghost is said to still haunt the castle! 

Warwick Castle next to the River Avon

Enough said!

Warwick's main dining hall.

This bedroom is off by itself and it is said to be haunted by a little girl who died here!

Caesar's Tower ~ Built Between 1330 ~ 1360

Guys Tower

Great Hall and State Rooms Across the Central Courtyard

The Mound built in the 1480s.

The Great Hall
(Appropriately Named!)

Warwick's Chapel
It was very small but gorgeous!

Coombe Abbey

Since we typically don't get out of Institute until late, we decided to spend the night in Coventry rather than try to safely find our way home over unfamiliar roads and roundabouts.  We found an amazing deal to stay one night in the Coombe Abbey and for one night we stepped back into history thousands of years!

The Abbey was founded as a monastery in the 12th century.  Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century it became royal property.  Elizabeth of Bohemia, the daughter of king James I, was educated there in the early 17th century. In 1682, the West Wing was added by architect Captain William Winde, who also designed Buckingham Palace.

Breath-taking at our first view.

Doesn't every hotel have a motte?

Comfy Room

View from our sitting room.

One of the most famous Coombe Abbey tales is from the 12th century when Abbott Geoffrey, a monk who was brutally murdered at Coombe early in 1345. The murderer was never caught and it proved to be the downfall of the monastery.  To this day visitors to the Abbey have reported seeing a cowled figure floating around the grounds and his restless spirit is also believed to be responsible for items being flung about in the kitchens.

There are several other legendary tales of hauntings at Coombie, which we only read after our stay.  Although we didn’t see any ghosts, we were reminded of the Haunted House attraction in Disneyland as we walked several of the halls.  

We were expected the busts to break out in song just like at Disneyland!

Additionally, there is a crypt of what appears to be that of a pope in one of the rooms.  When we asked about it we were told it is a replica and had been used in a Hollywood movie - my guess is that is was from Angels and Demons!

Saturday we participated in the stake temple trip to the Preston Temple.  It is a beautiful temple and we enjoyed our day with about 50 members of the Birmingham Stake including five Young Single Adults.  

Preston Temple
We are so grateful for the blessings of the temple and the comfort
of knowing that families really can be TOGETHER FOREVER!

Even the cold rain couldn't take away her smile!

The temple is located in Northern England, north of Liverpool and anchors an extensive Church complex that includes a stake center, missionary training center, family history center, distribution center, patron housing facility, and temple missionary accommodations. 

The Preston England Temple was the second temple built in the United Kingdom.

Missionary work in the British Isles began in 1837 when Elder Heber C. Kimball, an apostle, and six others arrived at Liverpool and traveled to Preston to pursue a contact with a family of Joseph Fielding. The first converts in Great Britain were baptized that year in Preston's River Ribble. On August 6, 1837, the Preston Ward was organized, which is the longest continuously functioning unit of the Church in the world.

Plans for the Preston England Temple were publicly announced by President Gordon B. Hinckley on October 19, 1992, during the second day of rededicatory services for the London England Temple.

Sunday Steve was sustained as a member of the High Council and we both spoke at the Woodsetton Ward.

Woodsetton Ward Building

Our ward will be putting on Act II of the Savior of the World in March.  Rehearsals begin next week.  We are looking forward to working with the ward members in putting this on!  For those of you unfamiliar with it, The Savior of the World is a sacred musical drama which is foremost a testimony of Christ and His divine mission as the Savior and Redeemer of the world.