Dec/Jan Blog Post

Dec/Jan Blog:

We hope all of you had a wonderful Holiday season J

 As I begin a new entry for 2013, many thoughts emerge—the year we will be coming home, wanting to finish the last 1/3 of our mission doing all we were meant to do here, realizing that many of the experiences we have had and things we have done have become pretty routine to us – but, as my brother reminds me, it is not routine to those of you out there, so still write of daily occurences he says…so here goes for 2013J

Ready for some more British vocabulary?

Rutabaga  =  Swede

Smashing =  Great; wonderful

Cheers; Hello Luv – Men and women greet each other all the time this way (doesn’t matter if you’re a man or woman )  Cheers I’ve noticed is also used by men to say goodbye or thank you

Dr’s Office = Surgery

Drug Store/Pharmacy  =  Chemist

RevelAtory – CONtribute – Way they pronounce these words with the emphasis on the capital letter

Abnormal load =  Wide load (Passing a big truck on the motorway)

Packets =  Sachets -  For cooking, a packet of Koolaid; etc. would be a sachet of Koolaid (which they don’t have here)

Baubles=  Ornaments – as in Christmas tree ornaments – always called baubles I recently discovered

Pop over – Drop in; visit,  etc.

Murgatroyd -  as in “heavens to murgatroyd – Don’t know if you have ever heard that saying in America, but I found doing some genealogy that it is a real last name here.

Well, I’ll talk about missionary work for a bit!!

 I think we’ve had two transfers since I last wrote – From our Don Valley unit, Sister Harrop left after being here six months and Sister Bendsten was here for just three weeks (there was a mid-transfer at Christmas time so several missionaries could be home for Christmas) – That resulted in a few areas having missionaries for only three weeks.  From our zone Elder Barnett (our missionary that Angie’s parents know) and our zone leader Elder Taylor (from Logandale Nevada) were transferred.

In our most recent transfer our Don Valley Unit stayed put but Sister McKay who was in our zone a few transfers ago became part of a threesome with Sisters Melander and Brown here in Don Valley – The sisters love the threesome because if helps them with all the contacts they have to make and in teaching lessons (it becomes quite stressful they say to try to communicate in their Slovakian attempts and fill in with English)  Having three to share the load makes it easier – I must say, however, some of our English missionaries have really picked up Czech/Slovakian quite rapidly!!

Another six new missionaries were transferred into our zone, but we don’t see them too often in our district meetings and so don’t get to know them that well – but we will be visiting their flats during January for another inspection which came around quickly since last October

Our fairly recent housing/vehicle coordinator has the missionaries really stepping up in keeping things clean and orderly – I think he is tired of getting calls from landlords about problems that occurJ

Two Elders in our zone had a great experience that certainly doesn’t happen I’m sure that often – The district was at a Sheffield Chapel for P-Day playing basketball, etc. and a man and woman walked into the Church -  They were asking if anyone could teach them about the Church because they were pretty sure they wanted to be baptized.  Elders Barnett and Brewerton lived in the area where this couple lived so they got the chance to teach them – Apparently the couple have been very dissatisfied with the Churches they had been attending but knew they wanted religion in their lives – They found out about the Church on the Internet and had spent a lot of time researching it – Happy with what they were reading, they went in search of a Church building—hence their meeting the missionaries on P-Day when the building was open – not a happenstance I’m sure.  They recently were baptized along with a friend who joined the discussions – Elder Barnett was transferred right before the baptism.  I’m sure he would have wanted to be there – but such is mission life!!

There have been several baptisms in the Don Valley unit the last few months – Nearly every Saturday it seems – The missionaries really work hard finding and teaching.  Many of the recent converts are family members or friends of members which makes it easier for them – We are seeing a lot of teenagers interested or joining the Church recently.  A big influx are coming to Church, going to ward/stake activities, and joining with the missionaries one night a week for a “youth night” where the missionaries teach a gospel lesson and then play games, have refreshments, etc. They are really enjoying doing that – the Slovakians are up for any party, get together, or whatever brings them together – They are quite a social bunch!!

The Hallejujah Church has been at it again – They found a very old You-Tube video put out  by ex or anti Mormons about our temple ceremonies – It was about  30-years old;  very disturbing to them because it was so false and dark and vicious.  Our Bishop had to meet with several investigators and members to put them at ease and teach the truth to them.  We loved one scenario that happened – One of our teenage members who has been pretty inactive recently but had gone to do baptisms for the dead commented to the families about it .  He said that isn’t what it looks like in the temple; that’s not what happens there; I’ve been there.  He was defending the Church regardless of his activity at the moment.

Our holidays were quite eventful even though it’s hard not to be home with family and in America. 

Our nice British ward member (the Nettleships) invited all the missionaries over for an American Thanksgiving dinner (no Thanksgiving holiday in EnglandJ)  She cooked a turkey with all the trimmings and even made pumpkin pies, which doesn’t exist here.  Canned pumpkin is not available so at Halloween she baked a pumpkin which they sell for the Halloween season, then scooped out the insides to make the pies.

She also had us all over on Christmas evening for a buffet – We felt very well taken care of –

On Christmas Eve our Czech elders asked us to come to one of the members homes (who is Czech) for a typical Christmas Eve dinner – Actually in the Czech Republic Christmas is celebrated on December 24 – a big dinner is had that night – the children go upstairs for a while until “Baby Jesus” delivers the presents  (no Santa Claus there) then they come down and open presents in the evening – Christmas Day they just visit and relax. 

The Christmas Eve dinner consists basically of side dishes and a big fish – Carp - - which has been resting in a bathtub for three days and then is brought out on Christmas Eve by the father of the family – killed – and then baked – The Elders couldn’t use a live carp so they bought a frozen one which they thawed and prepared.

A few missionaries didn’t think they could eat it – I did try a piece (it is filled with bones) and has to be eaten very slowly – not sure why it is such a delicacy for the CzechsJs

It was an interesting evening, but we left early to start Skyping family members!!

Christmas morning was spent with the Don Valley missionaries coming here for breakfast – The sister missionaries opened their packages from home – the Elders had already opened theirs Christmas Eve – it was great to see their excitement and enthusiasm even though they are so far from home!!  They watched The Lion King (which one Elder had never seen) and then headed out to visit Slovakian families (we had taken our Christmas gift to them the Sunday before) so we were able to enjoy a few quiet hours Skyping and calling all we could reach!!

Forgot to mention that the Elders Skyped from our home on Christmas Eve – we were able to visit with their families in the Czech Republic.  The sisters Skyped here on Christmas night – Boy were they having a great time talking to their families.

Also forgot to mention the mission Christmas Party on Dec 18 in Harrogate at a US/British Air Force Base -  It was great to see all the missionaries together for games, dinner, program, etc. which lasted all day – They need that break and time together.  We met with all the senior couples and enjoyed seeing many missionaries who had left our area over the past year.

Wow!!  Also need to mention the Slovakian Christmas Party we had – The Slovakians enjoy their food and dancing and after much preparation of cooking, buying the food, bringing it to the Don Valley Stadium, the party began.  Before the night finished the children had visited with Santa (the Bishop), received a gift from him and everyone spent the rest of the night eating and dancing – President and Sister Lindly joined us for about an hour.  A member of the Sheffield 1 ward brought his DJ equipment, sound system and all, which put the Slovakians in a very festive mood – Everyone danced to about 4 songs (all the Slovakians wanted to have played)  There were about 75-100 there – I think it was the highlight of their Christmas season.

The Slovakians celebrate Christmas pretty simply as you can imagine – I believe most homes finally put up a Christmas tree and decorate their homes very simply.

Church members had collected many toys for the children which the missionaries delivered anonymously on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  It was good for the children to be excited and enjoy their day – Most members Skype their families in Slovakian and get together for eating, etc.

So our Holidays ended well and we began a New Year!!

We are now awaiting the announcements of a Slovakian Branch in the New Year – We just hear rumors as of now, but we have heard by the end of February it will be established.  It has taken a very long time – and still may not happen – but we are anxious to see how it will transpire and what changes will take place – It would be a nice addition to our last months here.  We’ll let you know next writing what happens.

Nothing new to report in our adventures to see England – Still looking forward to the visits President Lindley has approved – There is a possibility Catherine and Russel will be visiting again in February while Russell has a business trip here – that would be great.  Karen and Clint would like to come but it may not happen until summer.  They have a Chadwick family reunion in July, but are hoping they can celebrate this summer if (and it is looking pretty good) that Clint will receive tenure at the university which they have been looking forward to for a long time!!

Sandra wanted to come perhaps with Karen, but lucky for us baby #3 will be born just before we arrive home – so no traveling for her it appears.

I read online about a school in Utah who has banned leggings as pants to wear to school.  I don’t know if that is the rage in Utah, but we have seen that since we’ve been here in England – just leggings with a top is the attire – for young and old!!

Interesting.

The barber told Dave the other day that people who had been coming in have read this winter in England is to be the worst in 100 years – We are now in the second week of January with temperatures in the 40’s and 50’s – Hope it isn’t true!!  Of course, we still have a few months to get through!!

That’s about it for now – we hope you all enjoy a blessed and happy 2013!!

Love.

Dave and Barbara

October/November

October/November Blog:

Just making a list here:

            Cardi – Cardigan

            Boots and bonnets – Hoods and trunks (of cars)

            Courgettes ( pronounced with a soft “g”) – Zucchini

            Aubergine – Eggplant

            Nappies – Diapers

            Joiner/Joinery – Carpenters/Remodeling company

            Coppers – Policemen

            Holiday – Vacation

            Garage – Same as garage except pronounced Gar pronounced “air” with a  

                            hard “G”

            Windscreen  - Windshield

            Sultanas – Raisins

            Building blocks (Legos) – Bricks

           Idle meal – One that makes you want to take a rest after having eaten

            Words and Phrases:

            Get it sorted

            Cheers

            Luv

            I’m a bit concerned

            Make my own way

            Knocked back        

            Bit annoying

            Feeling poorly

           It were like

           “Me job; me family”

            I’ll fetch it for you

            I’ll chance my luck

            Splendid

OK – You’re English lesson for another month J

Slovakian Members

We now have witnessed two Slovakian weddings.  Our latest was Veronica and Jozefs – I had to speak at that one J  Quite a few people attended this one – about 30 – I hope I stressed enough why it was important to be married – Hopefully, some took notice!!  Pictures were taken outside the chapel – Children only stayed outdoors for a few minutes – then wanted to come in to eat the wedding cake – We had to keep them at bay for another 20 minutes or so until the bride and groom came in – Not an easy task – Jozef, by the way, was just ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood today at Church now that he is married.

We were very surprised to see our Holub family (the one with 12 children come to Church a few weeks ago)  This is the family that would not come any more because the Bishop was not providing them with enough things that they wanted – These are the children who are so adorable – dark curly hair and big brown eyes (I will get a picture of them some day) – We were all excited they were there – but then the next week Brother Holub told Elder Juran – now I want you to come to my Church!!  Oh, well, maybe someday they’ll return for the right reasons.

One member talked to a man in the streets of Darnall who had no food or money; he gave his family’s weekly government allotment to him leaving his family of six children with not much food for a week.  Another has taken in a Polish homeless man and found a job for him.  Human nature—very interesting!!

One of our members has discovered a mouse/mice/rat in their home.  They are beside themselves – They finally bought a cat but after having it a week the cat caused so much mischief they gave it away.  The wife and kids are so scared, they don’t like to be anywhere in the house alone—we told them we would bring peanut butter for the traps (since that has worked for us) but they didn’t know what peanut butter was.  Hopefully it will get rid of their rodent problem!!

Church

We have been having about 75 attendance at Church the last month or so; it was very difficult to handle the children there one week – One investigator said he didn’t think he would come back – but he has and he and his family (wife and 5 children) will be joining the Church (after they are married J) One of his children has been a real handful in Primary so I don’t know why they were complaining at Church.  Then, today, I found out she is autistic – I’ll think much kindlier of her now.

We just changed our meeting schedule today for the first time.  They will now have a short RS/Priesthood meeting before Sunday school begins.  That makes Primary ½ hour longer – but Sister Powell-Pepper, our Primary coordinator, wants to feed them breakfast during that half hour – She doesn’t think they get fed in the mornings; I’m pretty sure that isn’t true – but the kids loved the juice, fruit and biscuits (cookies) this morning.  Actually Sister Pepper was so concerned about what they ate – she was worried about what afflictions they may have (ADD/ADHD, diabetes, etc) and what she could feed them.  We tried to convince her they would be fine – They worry about so many things here in Britain!!  We hope all this change is getting them closer to making this little unit a branch – a Bishopric member visiting today told us that was the plan – We’ll let you know if and when it happens.

Missionaries

The Elders and sisters have gone to the shopping area of Darnall (where we meet for Church).  They stand next to the stores where the Slovakians shop and sing hymns for about an hour – They finally convinced Dad and I to join them which we did – Slovakian Church members have stopped and joined us; English people just walk by; others are curious – we haven’t done it for several weeks – we go on Saturday mornings and other things have been going on – I think weather permitting and not too cold they will start again with Christmas carols.

It’s interesting to talk to our Czech/Slovakian elders – One said his parents were very much against the gypsies in Slovakia (he used the word racist) and the other said his parents weren’t against them but would very much hesitate visiting with them.  Cultural traditions play such a part in our human society!!

Since Dad hasn’t been able to do much lifting or using his shoulder because of the rotar cuff tear, our nice missionaries came over last week and mowed our lawn – I think  it will not have to be mowed again until next spring.

Our changes in missionaries that occured this transfer:   Elder Sandor finished his 3 month stay with us and returned to the Manchester mission.  He finishes his mission in about two weeks.  Our new elder is from theCzech Republic (Elder Sindylek)
and is Elder Juran’s childhood friend – I wondered how that might work out but they are doing beautifully together – It really has helped missionary work to have the language barrier broken down by these elders.. 

Our sister missionaries are doing great – We had a threesome for about three weeks.  One of the sisters in our zone came to be with the Don Valley sisters– Her companion decided  to return home after only being out for about a month – I don’t know why.  She was from some European country.  One of our sisters has been here six months – it’s very possible she will transfer – she is quite sad – but perhaps she will stay – we will see.

Elder Juran has been our district leader for about six weeks now.  What an amazing change has taken place in him – so much more confident and grasping the work with gusto!!  He is now concentrating on keeping the members we have active and not seeking too many new investigators at present – I think it is a good decision – The new members seems to be attending Church a lot and connecting with the other members.

One of the new missionaries in our zone is from Romania. We visited him and his companion for flat inspection.  It was amazing to hear him speak – really speaks the English language well.  Apparently Romania is a romance language related to Italian, French, Spanish, etc.  He said he understood our speaking better than he does the British.  Many Romanian immigrants here and after having only been transferred for a couple of weeks he had 10 investigators scheduled for baptism.

Mission Life

(1)

We went to a teaching appointment with the sister missionaries.  There were grandparents, a mom, and two little boys ages 5 and 6 .  When dad sat down the little boys looked at him at said “are you a king?”

The sisters put on a DVD of President Monson’s conference talk – then the little boys said “are you a prophet?” – One little boy was looking at pictures in an Ensign – saw the General Authority chart and thought dad was one of them – The gray hair and being Caucasian must cause the reaction– I’m not sure how being a king relates J

 One interesting comment the grandpa made (he has lived in England for 12 years so speaks a little English) –He tried to communicate with us how good America is for all the help they gave to Europe after WWII.

While in the appointment, we heard people yelling from outside.  The sisters found out their car was rolling down the hill!!  When it got to the bottom instead of rolling right through an intersection and into a house, it just stopped.  The sisters ran outside as fast as they could, but the car had stopped before they got there.  Apparently they didn’t know about putting their car in gear (had it in neutral) – The Lord watches out for his missionaries and for his cars J

(2)

We completed our flat (apartment) inspections of the 9 missionary flats in our zone.  I must say they were mostly in tidy condition – except for 1 or 2 .

While visiting one apartment in Chesterfield (where my Hudson and Bircumshaw family had resided) we toured the Church of England cathedral in the city – The tower at the top is twisted and looks like it is falling over – but the people say it is very sturdy – just looks funny for sure.  While in the cathedral a man came in – I guess one of the parishoners – He stood at the pulpit and started reading from the Bible – Problem was there was no one in there except us wandering around – Maybe that is his job at that particular hour whether anybody is there or not.

(3)

They just celebrated Guy Fawkes day in England– Nov 2 – Check Wikipedia to read up on Guy Fawkes – I didn’t know about his place in British history.  Anyway, they shoot off fireworks all over England and light bonfires.  Now, when I say fireworks this just isn’t in the city park or plaza – this is in all the neighborhoods – We watched a spectacular fireworks display from our bedroom window – A neighbor a few houses away kept them going for about an hour – There was so much smoke and noise – I wondered how the city/country who are so health and safety conscious lets that happen – I thought for sure our house or car would catch on fire as cinders kept falling from the sky.  The other amazing thing is this went on for four days – We even heard some fireworks last night – maybe people getting rid of what they didn’t use or buying them on sale after the celebration – So there’s Guy Fawkes for youJ

Miscellaneous

(1)

President Lindley showed us a video at a zone conference called “Treasure in Heaven” It’s the story of John Tanner joining the Church in early Church history and his coming West – It was very good and when I found out it was on You Tube, I hope you will check it out.

(2)

We just had another zone conference last week – The missionaries love to get together for the day and revisit prior companions.  President Lindley decided to speak about his experiences in his profession as Director of Security for the Church. He has traveled to over 60 countries with prophets and general authorities.  It was very interesting hearing about some of the experiences with Presidents Kimball, Hunter, Benson, Hinckley and a little President Monson.  He related the experiences to the personality traits of the Prophets and how missionaries could incorporate those same values. 

We have not done much sightseeing the last few months, but President Lindley has given us permission to leave the mission boundaries to go on P-day to the Preston Temple (in the Manchester mission) and to Derbyshire and Stafforfdshire counties which are only about 1 to 1 ½ hours away from us – We could do that in one day and that is where more of my many English ancestors originated.  He also gave us permission to visit London – perhaps this will be our Christmas gift to each other.  We can go for about 3 days but probably would not leave until sometime in January.  I guess a few other senior couples have done this with family, so we will see.

(3)

For those who know us well, you will know of our reaction to the Presidential elections.  I have many thoughts and comments, but unlike so many Facebook friends, I must save these comments until we return home or done privately.  Missionary time is not the place, I don’t believe, to express them.

(4)

We wish you all a wonderful holiday season – The senior couples will have a Thanksgiving dinner together the day after Thanksgiving.  The whole mission will celebrate Christmas a week before at the Air Force Base in Harrogate.  The Slovakians will share their Christmas culture with us thanks to the generosity of the Sheffield 1 Ward who has reserved part of the stadium where we meet and given funds for the celebration.  We’re looking forward to that

You are always in our thoughts and prayers – We miss family and friends a lot but are now over half way through our mission – we look forward to seeing so many of you next summer!!

E-mail us often!!  We love it!!

Dave and Barbara

August/September

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER BLOG:

Well, I started this blog in August and now it is mid-September and I haven’t posted it yet – I’ll have to make some revisions and updates.

I love to start off with funny things we hear “out and about” – also spellings tyre (tire) colour (color) to name a few.

“Fancy that”-  “nudging” “lovely” “grumbling” “struggling” (vowels in previous 4 words sound like oo in foot) -“blokes” “threw a panic”- “feeling a bit rough” - “it’s half one (1:30 am/pm)- “chatted”- “took that on board” (not sure what that means) - “a read out”- “moan about” - “lad”- “not many jobs going” – “biting on” means do you need a snack, do you need a biting on before tea – Tea, of course, is dinner; high tea is a special occasion requiring special food – “carry on then” – “are you wanting”  - “tele” TV of course - Cold weather prompted a grocery clerk to say “cold weather like November this!!  Plasters are band-aids, “mind the step”  when you are stepping down from an entry way – no-no-no (always said three times)  Alright then or OK then ( I just got caught on this one at Church today – Our Bishop was leaving and said “OK then” I was repeating it to the missionaries several times when I realized our very nice British ward mission leader was standing there listening to me) Thankfully, he laughed at me and told me when he was growing up his father refused to let them say OK – He said that’s American – we say all right then in England!!  Another member of the ward was talking to me about her husband and when she said he wears many different heads I realized she meant he wore many different “hats”  You gotta love the English!!

One British man in the Sheffield 1 Ward had heart surgery after several attempts to get scheduled for surgery – As he was being taken into surgery the attendant told him he “might wake up on a cold slab” – they tell it like it is here in England!!

OK then – I’ll move on J

Our Slovakians went through very fearful time a few weeks ago!!  Oh, how rumors spread like wildfire – not sure where this has come from but it has gone throughout the entire Slovakian community (not just church members) They tell us the British government have been kidnapping Slovakian children – sometimes coming in at night to get them from homes – There has not been one bit of proof of that but they are terrified – many are buying bus tickets back to Slovakia and apparently there is no more room on the buses for the next two months.  Apparently the scare has been reported on Slovakian TV (which the Slovaks get here in England) which hasn’t helped matters at all.  They are beside themselves keeping the missionaries on the phone all the time, calling the Bishop, wanting answers…one member wants the Bishop to take his children to Germany.  So far, no one has left from our group – hopefully this will all calm down before too long.  One member sleeps by his front door with a big stick and his father (grandfather of the member’s 6 children) sleeps there too with a big knife.

I guess they are a very suspicious people stemming perhaps from their minority treatment in Slovakia and also being raised in a culture where their parents, grandparents etc.  lived under Communist rule. It’s very sad to see them so frantic.  School begins in a week and I don’t think they will even let their children out of the house if things don’t get resolved for them.  Our Bishop just went to visit them last night and I think they are calming down—we visited with two families today and although they keep their curtains and blinds closed, they seem to be a little less frightened. (I wrote this part a few weeks ago – things have settled down, they are less anxious, and their kids are going to school—all is well!!

We just had transfers again among the missionaries (every six weeks) Elder Balderee who came when we did is going to north England.  I’m glad he will get a different experience in England but we will miss him – one of our sisters is also being transferred after being here about 5 months.  She has done a great job but I think she is ready for a different experience –  the younger missionaries work so closely with the members and the language barriers, their needs and trying to keep them “on track” does put a lot of stress on them – she is actually returning to an area where she started her mission on the east coast by the North Sea.  We’ll miss her too.  Others in our zone are also transferring but we don’t work as closely with them.

Our Slovak and Czech missionaries will stay – that is so good – they are great.  The missionary who has come from the Manchester Mission still has another 6 weeks with us before he returns.  Elder Juran (from Czech) just received word that his good friend from his home has been called to the England Leeds Mission and will be his companion when he arrives (about Oct 10). He is ecstatic!!  Elder Juran told me one day about his family.  They are active in the Church in Czech.  His grandfather is very active, loves the Church, but also is a member of the Communist party.  That really surprised me, but of course, we don’t have to state our political party when we are baptized!!

In our zone area we now have missionaries from Switzerland, Taiwan, Czech Republic, Slovakian, Australia, Canada, England and from the US (New York, Minnesota, Nevada, California, Utah, Alaska and Idaho) It’s great getting to know so many from all over the world.

Two new missionaries arrived at the last transfer (but not in our zone) – one from Romania and one from France – our mission president was telling us their stories – new converts, leaving a widowed mother, very poor, not speaking very much English—but so willing to be missionaries and wanting to be here.

We’ve run into a couple of problems with how the Slovakians tell their age.  When they have a birthday (say they’re 12) the day after their birthday they say they are 13 because they are in their 13^th year.  We have found that two children were baptized before they were 8 because of that problem.

Our missionaries are so funny – we just heard our zone leaders tell us how they direct their windshield wipers on their car – one of the wipers is facing out so when they push the windshield fluid button to clean off their windows one of the wipers squirts out instead of on the windows.  They turn it on every time they pass someone they believe is dressed immodestly.  The person gets sprinkled on and looks all around and up to see where it came from – the missionaries have passed by but look in their rearview mirror for the person’s reaction. 

Our missionaries who speak Czech/Slovakian have been able to visit with earlier church members who have left and haven’t returned.  I think because they can communicate better with them, they are able to resolve some of their concerns (mostly concerns that were caused by miscommunication in the first place)  One member Milos Pecha was one of the very first to be baptized after which there was such a rush of Slovakians coming to Church to listen to this new religion.  This happened about two years ago – He has gone to the Hallejujah Church on and off again, but he told the missionaries he really wants to come back. One of his concerns was that he thought we worshipped Joseph Smith instead of Christ because Joseph Smith was the subject of many talks at Church when he came.  After resolving that, he said he would really like to come back – his main problem, however, is probably pride – thinking the members there would not accept him or ridicule him – they have a real knack for infighting amongst the members mostly because they are family related in some way.  Another member also told these same missionaries he would like to come back too – but, again, he needs to swallow some pride.  So, it’s not the doctrine that keeps them from returning – it’s their own issues.

The missionaries were very cute on my birthday – it fell on a district meeting morning and transfer week when the missionaries in the zone go out for lunch for the last time with those who will be transferred. When they found out it was my birthday they wanted me to pick where we would go – TGI Fridays it was (I know that is where they all love to go – reminds them of all things America I guess) After lunch they all sang Happy Birthday along with the waiters and waitresses – I shared my free piece of cake with them –

One day Dad/Dave and I were leaving a members home and going toward our car.  A little girl (as cute as a button) with her dark curly hair and dark eyes saw me – gave me a big smile and came running to me to give me a big hug. She is the daughter of one of these members who are not coming anymore – she recognizes us from Church and probably our missionary badges.  She wanted to know if we were going to go visit her house (which we do on occasion) but they love the missionaries for sure.  Driving down the streets of Darnall the members and others who know us always give us a big wave.

We are helping one investigator learn English.  He is from the Czech Republic and wants so much to learn it.  He lives with his wife and disabled daughter in a bed and breakfast.  I believe the owners are paid by the government to house some immigrants who have disabled family members.  He is not allowed to have visitors in the bed and breakfast so we first met him at a park near his home.  That doesn’t work too well when you have to put out materials that get blown away, so the missionaries asked his landlady if they could meet with him in a reception room in the front of the bed and breakfast and she was willing to let us do that.  It makes it much easier.

We were happy to have President and Sister Lindley speaking in our Sacrament meeting a few weeks ago.  We had a good attendance; about 50 people.  President Lindley was very powerful in his talk using his finger to emphasize his message.  At the end he said “This is the Church of Jesus Christ” three times pointing every time he said it.   No one could disagree with what and how he said it – very powerful especially to these Slovakians who sit on the fence.

We have had three baptism in the last few weeks – Three women who had a hard time giving up smoking, but are very sweet and humble – They, of course, are family members of some of our baptized members. It reminds me of the history of Joseph Smith I am reading when members started joining the Church at the beginning.  It was usually family members who joined at first—this is what happens here and we know how the Church grew from such a small beginning—I know that will happen with the Slovakian community-family here and family still in Slovakia.

We spent two days in the north of England, near the Scottish border, during August.  The mission president has a couple’s conference where just the senior couples get together, discuss their missions, and just enjoy each other’s company.  President and Sister Lindley shared ideas of how to share our missions with our families—Skype, sending our mission newsletter home, bearing testimony to our children/grandchildren, having a scripture reading program together, and studying Preach My Gospel—all are good ideas.  I particularly encourage our family and others to begin if you haven’t already done so, to use Preach My Gospel in lessons, talks, FHE, wherever it could be useful – It is filled with direct, understandable gospel principles and what a help it would be for those in teenage years to have a basic knowledge of it before they set out on their own missions.  Our conference was held in Ainwick on the northeast coast of  England.  It is the home of the Castle where the Harry Potter movies were filmed (the outside of the castle, not the inside)  It has a lot of tourists visiting there especially when Harry Potter characters mingle with the people (like Disney characters in Disney World/Land)  The tour guide through the castle told of the original Duchess who lived there in the 16^th century.  She traveled Europe to gather art work for the castle – 10 original paintings among many others are there – the 10 paintings today would sell for 1 billion dollars/pounds they told us.  We stayed at a bed and breakfast for one night – very British – owned by a family who made a lot of effort to feed us well and help us enjoy our stay there.  On the way home (we live about 4 hours south of this area) we stopped at Hadrian’s Wall and visited a few visitor’s center and ruined forts along the wall – The wall goes about 70 miles (a lot of it has been dismantled over the centuries) from east to west England at the location we were – People walk the distance a lot and stay in bed and breakfasts along the way.  Dad/Dave would love a walking partner to do this – any takers?

Dad and I tried our first Indian restaurant a while ago. It wasn’t bad at all although we had no idea what we were eating.  I later found out it was probably cooked in Marsala wine (which probably was why it looked bright red) oh well, people tell me the alcohol is always cooked out – anyway, we will go back be on the careful side and maybe I’ll just try some side dishes.

We were able to go on another day tour to Scarborough – a beach city on the North Sea – It was rather cool, cloudy but didn’t rain – It reminded me a bit of Ocean City Maryland although not quite as congested – We opted to walk along the sea, visited a Medieval Castle which has been damaged since 100 AD (the latest damage done in WW1) – and took a city bus to the North Shore away from the carnival like atmosphere of the South Shore – It was a good day and nice to take a break.  We were told to have fish and chips when you are near the sea-they are much better there we are told—so that’s what we had—they didn’t taste any different to me, so I guess I’m just not a fish and chip fan here.  Now we can say we have seen eastern England.

I have been doing what research and visiting I can do on my family lines and have been concentrating on my family line living in the Bradford area of Yorkshire.  I decided to go into my PAF and check out the other family lines that were here in England.  Lo and behold I have two more family lines that are right here in the Sheffield area.  We visited the cemetery of one village last week where some of my ancestors lived.  One ancestor was married in the cathedral in Sheffield because the parish church did not perform marriages—only baptisms and burials.  This family line is on my father’s side-my Grandpa Olsen’s grandmother’s family (Hudson); the other family near here is from my mother’s side; my Grandpa Peck’s grandmother’s family (Bircumshaw).  We are only 1 ½ hours away from ancestors in Lancashire and Staffordshire.  We just have to get the mission president’s permission to visit there because they are out of our mission boudnaries.  I’m sure he will give his OK.

It is now turning autumn in England—no leaves turning yet—but the temperatures have dropped about 10 degrees and it is getting windier and more cloudy – We had a beautiful August and first part of September though.  Days are getting shorter and they tell us it will be dark by 4:00 pm before too long—that’s early!!  And daybreak comes about 8:00 am.

Well, another month or so of the Bond life – We are getting close to our half-way mark – One sister missionary said it well—the days seem really long, but the weeks and months go by quickly!!  We think often of everyone and are happy to connect on e-mail and Facebook to keep up with the news—also, I do check in on my news websites—news junkie that I am—I must admit a lot of nasty things going on in the Presidential election—but I’ll keep my comments to myself—I guess missionaries shouldn’t get so worked up over “worldly” matters J  It’s hard to not talk about it, but interestingly, not many people in England much care.  I guess that makes sense; I had no interest in the British elections either!!

Hope all is well wherever you are and wherever you read this—your always in our thoughts and prayers—until next month!!

Denholme & Thornton

Denholme countryside

Deserted Denholme Church (John Mercer christened)

St. James Church (Ann Bailey christened)

Bronte Pictures

 Bronte church Haworth

Bronte cemetery

Another view

 Bronte home

Street near Bronte church

House across from Bronte church (esp. for Jill)

Pictures of Missionaries

 Elders Hynds, Griffiths, Kyme, Balderee, Juran

 Sister Harrop and Sister Stout

 Elder Pearse

Elders Juran, Gee, Pearse, Taylor

July 30, 2012

30 July 2012

Well….I’m not too happy right now – I just spent an hour updating our blog and when finished realized the Internet was not connected and lost everything…so…I’ll try to start again and not sound frustrated…

We celebrated the 4^th of July like everyone in England—hardly remembered it!!  Our nice district leader had us sing America and the Star Spangled Banner for our opening and closing songs at our district meeting since it was on July 4 – That was the extent of our celebration …

We had a young boy from Church laughing at our American accent.  He asked us to say “water” and laughed every time we said it.  He doesn’t realize how he sounds saying “water” with a British and Slovakian accent!!  Anyway, we still have problems understanding what the British have to say.  I think they pronounce only a few syllables of a word, leave off the “h” at the beginning of words, and talk quite fast.  If we get a few words of what they are saying in a sentence we usually catch the drift of what is being said.  Of course, they sometimes have to have us repeat what we are saying so it works both ways!! 

We were in a ward council meeting and I was listening to our Bishop speaking…not what he was saying but the words he was using.  He used the phrase “switch off” which I now realize we say in America but he was using it in a different way.  Also, he was reading from the scriptures and got somewhat emotional and said:  “I can’t hold a good cry”  I love listening to him – he doesn’t have quite the Yorkshire accent we normally hear but it is still very British.  Alas, I remembered the phrase he used and not the scripture he was reading…oh, well!!

I read a lady’s blog the other day and I really agreed with it.  She said, “As I looked back on my first few months here in England, I feel like I can hardly be blamed for my weight gain. The English are not renowned for featuring fresh vegetables in their prepared meals.  What they do well at is comfort food.  This is understandable considering the days are usually gray, wet and cool.  This is a perfect environment for bangers and mash, fish and chips (fries), steak and chips and steak and kidney pie…all of it served with beer”  I found after a few months of being here, I needed to be very careful about what I ate…I couldn’t afford to put on one pound…need to take quite a few off…so I hope to come home all skinny…oh well, wishful thinking!!

Speaking of food, we were in the grocery store a few weeks ago in our “missionary attire,” an elderly gentlemen stopped Dad/Dave and said how nice it was to see him dressed “properly.”  He then bemoaned how badly people dress now – this could have happened in America too J

We had the chance once again to visit some of my ancestor’s birthplaces this past month.  We were able to spend some time in the small villages outside of Bradford (which we visited before and where my Wilkinson line attended Church.)  This time we visited a few of the villages outside of Bradford where some of them were born—Allerton, Thornton, Denholme.  I took pictures of the churches in the villages, thinking this was where they would have attended church as children.  However, after doing some homework I think these churches were built after my ancestors were there (they still looked very old) and perhaps looked like the churches that would have been there about 150 years ago.  This area is where the Bronte family lived and wrote.  It is called Bronte country and we toured their homestead, church and village.  I wonder if my ancestors would have known of them or gone to Church with them since they lived in the very same area.  The Bronte father was the pastor of the Church of England at one time in Thornton where my ancestors are buried.  I am reading a biography of Charlotte Bronte written by her friend many years ago which gives me a feel of what living there and then must have been like.  (I am really enjoying having a Kindle to find books I want to read…I miss the pile of books I usually had at my nightstand to read from every night!!

 We have overloaded Karen with our pictures but hopefully you will see some of the things I have mentioned in our blog soon.  I probably need to ask Allan to help her post them (OK Allan?)

We enjoyed a dinner at the mission home again after our sightseeing.  Have I told you how much we appreciate our mission president and his wife and all responsibilities they carry…if not, you have now been told J  We had a couple finishing their mission and another arriving…so Sister Lindley says that calls for a special dinner…which she always provides.  Amazing lady!!  We now have seven senior couples in the mission.  Three work in Leeds where the mission offices are, two in the office and one as Institute leaders…One couple works in Hartlepool – way north toward the Scottish border – He is the branch president there…one couple works in Hull with the young adults…one couple just arrived a few months ago and work far north too in a Center for Young Adults.  I had no idea what that was until I looked it up on the Church website.  While Elder Perry lived in Europe for a year several years ago..he said the growth of the European area would be in keeping the youth strong…so he instituted these Centers throughout Europe…and we are the only couple now in the southern part of the mission working with our wonderful Slovakians.

Our young missionaries continue to be our support and example.  They work so very hard and we love associating with them.  Each transfer we usually lose one of the ones we work with but are glad to meet new ones.  This last transfer something interesting happened.  An elder from the Manchester mission was sent to our area for 3 months.  He is a native Slovakian and has come to help our little group become a branch (something they are very anxious to have happen).  He helps Elder Juran in teaching and translating and all of the other things the Slovakians need of them.  Our district leader was sent to the Manchester mission for the trade.  He will be there three months.  We hope he is reassigned back in our area upon his return.  So now in our Sheffield Area we have two sisters and four elders from America (Arizona, Alaska, Oregon, Utah),  one elder from Australia, one elder from the Czech Republic, one Elder from Slovakia, one elder from England and us.  A diverse group for sure.

The ward/stake are quite anxious to have our little group become a branch.  Needless to say, there are many issues to resolve.  We have only a two-hour block Church program…no RS or Priesthood meetings yet. .By going to a three-hour block they want to add those two meetings…only problem is who teaches them.  They have asked two sisters to take turns teaching RS – one said she would but is not ready to start yet…the other said she would not do it…For Priesthood, one member probably will teach a class a month, although he hasn’t done so yet…the other member they want to teach has not been to Chuch in over a month..he has some problems going on of which we are not sure…and he does get a work conflict on occasion…and it is very important they go to work since it is only temporary and they need all the income they can get.  These temporary jobs have diminished somewhat the attendance at Church.  Our youth have a class every other week and then are to go into Sunday School with the adults…which they do not like to do.  Primary runs pretty well except one of our teachers has a husband with health issues…so hasn’t been able to be there for several weeks…Our missionaries try to fill in where they can…but can’t be divided in two!!  Now doesn’t that sound like what happens all over the world as the Gospel is trying to be established. We certainly are not the exception!!

I must tell you about our Sacrament meeting last Sunday.  Slovakians love to sing and dance.  In fact, a Slovakian church in the area who can hardly stand us because of those of their members who have started coming to our Church…anyway, at their church, they do a lot of singing, dancing, whatever…we believe it is more like a nightclub than a church.  The singing the Slovakians really want to do.  We just won’t do it the way they do it in the other church…but we have added another song or two during Sacrament meeting services.  Last Sunday being close to the 24^th of July, Dave/Dad gave a short talk on the song Come Come Ye Saints.  The missionaries then sung it as one of the intermediate hymns both in English/Slovakian.  The members loved it…they even like to clap when you finish…we’re trying to get that to stop…After finishing the service, the missionaries said anyone who wanted to stay and sing the song again could (the hymn is in their little Slovakian hymnbook which has some of our translated songs).  They usually like to leave immediately but the younger ones especially wanted to stay…so they did and sang the song through several times and loved it!!  It was great to see them leaving singing and smiling…and also nice to have them learn one more song since they end up singing the same four songs nearly every week.

We attended a wedding of a Slovakian couple in our ward who have six little boys (ages 5-13) As you can imagine, marriage is not a real common occurrence among the Slovakians.  But in order for the wife to be baptized they had to marry (the husband had previously been baptized but that’s a story for another dayJ  Their Slovakian family/friends were going to bring food, music, dancing to celebrate.  The Bishop performed the marriage and told them they could have a reception at Church as long as it finished at 11:00 pm and there was absolutely no drinking/smoking on Church grounds.  With that injunction no one would come.  So the couple married with the Bishop, the missionaries and a few other Church members in attendance.  The “bride” looked very pretty in her Slovakian wedding dress, borrowed jewelry and long dark hair she had a friend style. (We usually just see her in sweats and a t-shirt) The Bishop took pictures of them and their 6 little boys had bought white shirts and dark trousers for the occasion (however, they said they would not wear them to churchJ)  The government has some law that says people have to be married before 6:00pm – have no idea why – but by 5:30 everything was in place and they were married.  So that was our experience with a Slovakian wedding…hopefully there will be others so people can get baptized. 

We are as you know experiencing the Olympics as I write here in England.  Since everything is taking place in London I only see pictures/news on the Internet.  Our Mitt Romney got blasted by the London tabloids as you are aware, but he is now off to Israel and Poland which is a good thing. The Church has renovated the London Visitor’s Center which is right down town where all the athletes, media, visitors, etc. are staying.  The Visitor’s Center is near Hyde Park – I hope many take advantage of that…we hope to see it before we leave England.

Well, I know I have missed some things I wrote to you on the 1^st attempt of this blog..but what can I say?  There’s enough here already…that’s what I can say!!

Hope all is well with are family/friends – We love to hear from you – e-mail us any time!!