Autumn in the Mission
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| The street where we live. |
Our Hearts are Never Far From Home
We are so thankful for the technology that enables us to talk and even see family and friends left back home. We love hearing all the exciting news: weddings, new borns, mission calls, family camp outs, engagements school activities and, of course, planning for Beth’s upcoming wedding. We also offer up our prayers for those who are suffering in various ways. To each of you we send our love!
To Dave and Meg - thanks for the recent visit!
Fall must be the most beautiful time of the year in England.
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| The flowers here are nothing short of amazing! |
Inviting Others to Come Unto Christ
We recently witnessed Dominick, one of those whom we had the opportunity to teach, get baptized. He is such an impressive young man! He is a mechanical engineer and prior to his baptism he created a CAD timeline of the Book of Mormon complete with names, dates and places - it is amazing just like he is. He is already such a strong member in the Church. We are excited to watch him grow in the Gospel. I had the wonderful opportunity to confer the Aaronic priesthood on him and ordain him a Priest with so much priesthood participating.
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| The Timeline |
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| Sisters Tenney & Berrett, Domnick and Us |
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| The Ordination Photo |
We have also been teaching Sam who is a former professional basketball player. Teaching investigators is so much fun!
Institute
We still love teaching Institute twice each week. These young single adults and young marrieds are truly amazing. We have learned so much from our lesson preparations and the many comments that the students share. In fact, we are convinced that we learning a lot more than they are.
Our classes remain large, which is no doubt due to the amazing dinners Chris prepares for them every week.
London Temple
We were invited by Tina, one of our Young Single Adults, to attend the London Temple with her. This was such a special experience for us to be with her as she received her endowments. We are so thankful that she invited us. Just like Tina, the temple is beautiful inside and out.
It was a great weekend except for the drive, of course! The traffic was absolutely horrible - nearly four hours of stressful driving in the pouring down rain, but it was all worth it! The YSA will be going to the London Temple on November 18 and 19. The most exciting part about the trip is that it will be the first temple trip for Domnick.
The London Temple was the second temple in Europe. It sits on 32 beautifully landscaped acres in the southern English countryside located about 25 miles south of London. Here is a bit of trivia for you: the Magna Carta was signed in 1215 in the same county of Surrey where the London England Temple is located (bet you didn’t know that). Here is another fun fact for you - the site where the London Temple stands, known as Newchapel Farm, was listed in the Domesday Book of William the Conquerer.
President David O. McKay, who took personal interest in every phase of development of the London England Temple, chose the exact location on the 32-acre site where it stands today. He was particularly impressed with an ancient oak tree on site (at least 450 years old) and instructed that it be preserved. Workmen called the tree the "David O. McKay Oak" and attached a plaque in his honor. In his modesty, President McKay asked that his name be removed, but the name of tree persists out of esteem for this prophet of the Lord.
Senior Missionary Couples’ Conference
We are so grateful for the Senior Missionary Conference we recently attended in Cheltenham. It was our first and it was wonderful to be with all the senior missionaries from across the mission. Each of the couples gave a presentation on what their mission assignments were and they ranged from Records Preservation and Member Leadership Support to Public Relations and our wonderful mission office couples who keep all of us on our toes. After we told them what we do with the Young Single Adults … you know, camping, canoeing, hiking, eating and going to the temple with them several we overheard saying, “wish we had that calling” and boy-oh-boy are we glad that we do!
We all went out for lunch afterwards at Zizzi’s Italian restaurant. It is housed in a converted church. They even have a wood burning oven located where the alter previously stood…the food was outstanding!
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| Zizzi's Italian Restaurant |
After lunch we visited Gloucester Cathedral. Although it became a cathedral under Henry VIII, its origins date back to 681 AD with many alterations, additions and reconstruction projects since. As a side note, many Harry Potter scenes were filmed here, but we are ashamed to admit that we have never seen any of the Potter movies so we didn’t recognize any of the scenes like many of the others did.
To you Harry Potter fans do you recognize the following?
Elder Cook
The highlight of the mission so far was the recent mission wide conference we attended with Elder Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. His comments, along with Sister Cook and, of course, President and Sister Leppard’s, were so powerful and inspiring. Hard to believe, but the room of over 200 missionaries was as quiet as a church mouse when Elder Cook said, “I peronsally know the Savior’s voice and I personally know the Savior’s face.” What an amazing experience as he left an Apostolic blessing upon us all.
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| Date Night with President and Sister Leppard |
Autumn is in the Air
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
Albert Camus
Baddesley Clinton
We had the opportunity to visit the manor at Baddesley Clinton, which was probably begun in the 14th century, though there are no exact records to verify the date. It is likely that the moat dates back to the 13th century. The existing house was built in the 15th century, and has remained virtually unchanged since the 1630s.
The home was home of the Ferrers family for 500 years and was passed down from father to son for 12 generations until 1940.
After the Reformation of the 17th Century the home became a hiding place for many Catholic priests, who were under the threat of a death sentence if discovered. Special provisions were made to hide and protect the priests with several priest holes built, and secret passages to hide people in the event of a search.
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| Baddesley Clinton |
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| St Michael's Church It was very common for private churches to be built on the mansion properties to serve the servants. This church has a current membership of 15. |
Welsh Tragedy - The Aberfan Disaster
October 21 was a somber day throughout the United Kingdom and one that will be long remembered. It was 50 years ago that the horrible Aberfan disaster struck in Wales in which 116 children and 28 adults were killed due to the catastrophic collapse and slide of coal mine tailings in the Welsh village of Aberfan near Merthyr Tydfil. More than 1.4 million cubic feet of debris covered a section of the village, including Pantlas Junior School, in minutes.
Happy Halloween
A grandmother pretends she doesn't know who you are on Halloween.
Erma Bombeck
The first thing you notice about Halloween here in England is that, much like home, it seems to be more for the adults than it is for young children. It really is a scare-fest. The best part are the many tales of ghosts and goblins that continue to haunt the castles throughout the county. Although time simply has not permitted us to visit them, we thought you would enjoy a few of these ghostly tales:
Coach of Bones
According to a legend originating in the 17th century, every night at midnight the ghost of Lady Howard travels from Okehampton Castle to her old home in Tavistock, in a coach made from the bones of her former husbands. The coach is driven by a headless coachman, and a skeletal hound follows behind. Some believe that she has an eternal task, to remove all the grass from around the castle one blade at a time.
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| Okehampton Castle |
Lady Agnes Hungerford
Then there is the gruesome tale at Farleigh Hungerford Castle dating back to the 15th century where two family members were executed by the notorious Lady Agnes Hungerford who is believed to have murdered her husband before burning his body in the castle bread oven so that she could marry the lord of the castle, Sir Edward Hungerford.
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| Farleigh Hungerford Castle |
Whitby Abbey
One of the most forbidding ruins is that of Whitby Abbey where a young nun, Constance de Beverley, broke her sacred vows when she fell in love with a gallant knight called Marmion. When the other nuns discovered her secret, her punishment was to be bricked up alive in the Abbey’s walls. Today, it is said that her ghost can be seen at the site of Whitby Abbey, cowering and begging to be released.
As a side note and a bit of literary trivia - Bram Stoker found some of his inspiration for 'Dracula' after staying in Whitby in 1890. He stayed in a house on the West Cliff and was trying to decide whether it would be suitable for a family holiday.
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| Whitby Abbey |
Berry Pomeroy
Then there is Berry Pomeroy which is said to be one of the most haunted castle of all. It is filled with cold spots, feelings of fear and strange noises. Reportedly, real dogs hate being walked near the castle and then there is the sinister ghost of a woman named Matilda known as the White Lady, who was said to have been imprisoned by her sister and starved to death in the room at the base of the St Margaret's Tower.
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| Berry Pomeroy |
LESSON OF THE MONTH
Ice cream truck in front of the Preston Temple proves that ice cream really is from heaven!
