December

December has been a slow month at the employment centre; the same is true for the family history centre and the visitors' centre. Londoners celebrate Christmas beginning the first of November and, since there is no pause for Thanksgiving, it continues until the new year. Many Brits leave the city or even the country for a couple of weeks during the holidays and it seems to us that for every one that leaves, two tourists come from Europe to spend Christmas here! We've used the slow time at the centre to outline our tasks and duties for the new year: whom we need to see in which stakes and what we need to do to serve them. Since we have stakes in both the London Mission and the London South Mission, and our responsibilities differ in the various stakes according as which mission they are in and whether they are close to London, this planning has helped us organize ourselves.

Even though it has been slow, we have been of help to several who have come in. Though employment concerns bring them in, we often find out that other concerns are even more important, and we end up being sounding boards and even advisors. One sister who has been inactive for several years has made some changes, just based on Kaye's encouragement to pray, read the scriptures, and attend church. When we saw her at the chapel one Sunday, she seemed so much more happy and hopeful and reported that she had prayed and read the Book of Mormon, and that day's Relief Society Lesson was exactly what she needed to hear. As we parted, she said, "This is a magical place!" These are some of the benefits of serving a mission.

Another time, two young people from the St Albans Stake came in for employment help. He is not a member but has been coming to the YSA activities. During our conversation, Lynn asked him if he had a copy of the Book of Mormon. He said no, but his roommate (a member) has an old set he could use. We told him it was OK to have his own and when he left, he took a copy from the stack we have on the desk. He also told us it was well worth the trip to come to the centre.

The Sunday before Christmas, we went to the "live nativity" presentation at the visitors' centre, performed by the Primary children and narrated by missionaries, with lots of carols sung by the audience. As we entered, we were given a little slip of paper that said, "This year my gift to the Savior will be _______." We filled in a gift and put the slip of paper into a decorated box. At the end of the nativity enactment, the wise men brought their gifts to Mary and Joseph and the Christ Child, one by one, to the accompaniment of the missionaries singing "We Three Kings." Then another child entered and walked slowly to the Christ Child, carrying the box containing our slips of paper! It was very personal and touching as she set the box beside the gold, frankincense and myrrh. It made our gift very real.

Another thing that helped bring the Christmas spirit to us was planning for and purchasing gifts for a young sister from Hong Kong serving a mission here. Our granddaughter Sarah helped teach her the gospel on her mission and was present at her baptism; a year later, this sweet sister was serving her own mission in London. This sister has no family support and had received no gifts. Purchasing gifts for her from our daughter, our granddaughter, and ourselves brought us a lot of joy.

We had a nice dinner for the senior missionaries at President and Sister Jordan's flat and then attended "Carols by Candlelight" at Royal Albert Hall. Christmas morning we got to help cook breakfast for the young missionaries. We were invited for Christmas dinner by our neighbors, a missionary couple from England. It was a proper British Christmas dinner and was delicious and beautiful!

Christmas breakfast with the missionaries

The setting for our British Christmas dinner

Here is a picture of our Christmas Tree and our Christmas cards arranged on one of our clothes drying racks. Thank you for the cards! They meant a lot to us.

The best part of Christmas for us was Skyping with our children and grandchildren.

When Nelson Mandella died, there was a great outpouring of honor here in London because of the close ties over the years between England and South Africa. It was interesting to be here watching the BBC as they interviewed people who had known him. As you know, he was imprisoned for 27 years because of his efforts to gain rights for the blacks in South Africa. When he was released, his dignity and goodness enabled him to work with the government of South Africa to overcome apartheid and, later, to become the nations' first black president. In one interview, his daughter quoted him as saying that if he had not been able to forgive those who had imprisoned him, he would not have had spiritual freedom, even if he did have physical freedom. The next p-day after his passing, we visited the statue of him in Parliament Square. It was entirely surrounded with flowers and other remembrances and there was a South African flag draped over his arm. We then walked to Trafalgar Square, where across the street, at the South Africa House, there were more flags, flowers, and tributes to Mandella.

 

One p-day in December, we visited Windsor Castle, which dates from the time of William the Conqueror. It is still used as a residence and as a place to entertain foreign visitors, making it the oldest "working" castle in the world. It has been the home of 39 monarchs. It is said to be Queen Elizabeth's favorite residence and she often goes there on weekends. It is large, beautiful, and opulent beyond belief. The pictures show the entrance to the castle, a view of one of the quadrangles, the chapel of St. George, and a few of the residences for servants and clergy, guarded by one of the queen's own guards. It is impossible to get any idea of its grandeur by taking snapshots.

On another p-day, we visited the Dickens Museum in London, which is in a house that he and his family occupied around 1840. He wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby while living there and two of his ten children were born there. He had a very difficult youth and modeled some of his characters after his own experiences, though this was not revealed until after his death. Here is the entry but we didn't get the whole building, which is four stories high.

To see how London celebrates New Year's Eve, google "London new year fireworks" and watch the video. You've never seen fireworks like these! At midnight, we were watching on TV but earlier in the evening we went to a senior missionary party with four other couples in one of their apartments in Watford, just north of London, and had a wonderful time eating and visiting.

A Busy November

We have had some rewarding experiences at the Employment Centre. We have had positive feedback from several who have come to the centre to get help with CVs (résumés) and interviewing skill. They say, and we can see, that it gives them hope, confidence, and encouragement as they search for jobs. We presented our first career workshop one Saturday. We also attended three meetings introducing a new mentoring program for young single adults to connect young people with successful people in the workforce to counsel with them in career decisions. Two of these meetings involved travel to nearby stakes, involving the underground, trains, and taxis or friendly local church leaders. One such trip to the St Albans Stake this past week took us through Kings Cross Station, where Lynn tried get through Platform 9 ¾ of Harry Potter fame.

On another trip, the station we went to was having electrical problems, so we think we got there and  back on the last train in each direction, finally getting back to our flat at 11 pm.

One p-day we were doing some errands and stopped at Debenhams on Oxford Street for an Afternoon Tea for Two. It was delicious and a lot of fun.

Our proper British afternoon tea included chamomile tea with finger sandwiches on the lower rack (smoked salmon and cream cheese, ham and cheese, and fig chutney with cream cheese, all with a little rocket lettuce sprig). The second tier had scones with raisins served with clotted cream (looked like soft pale butter but tasted like cream) and strawberry jam. The top layer had four little filled cookies and four tarts. We were entirely full when we finished and it was lovely!

The senior missionaries went together to a "Classical Spectacular" at the Royal Albert Hall, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Band of the Welsh Guards, and the Royal Choral Society. The concert was spectacular. The hall was truly amazing, built in the round with perfect acoustics. The concert was accompanied by a laser show.

The concert ended with the 1812 Overture, featuring fireworks--yes, right inside the building--and the cannons and muskets of the Moscow Militia. It was over the top!

Another p-day we went to Camden Town and visited the markets there. The most impressive was the Stables Market. It has existed since the 1850's; old stalls were converted into shops and amazing statuary was added.

Thanksgiving Day we spent working our regular shift in the centre. We did take turkey sandwiches with cranberry jelly for lunch, and we got to Skype with Brad and Brian and their families that evening. We also got to Skype with Alisse's family on Evan's birthday earlier in the month.

We were happy to receive a copy of Kristen's new book, Desperate Measures. It is really fun; we highly recommend it. That's Kristen McKendry, you know.

We just bought a new bathroom scale, but when we got it home we discovered it measures weight in stones and kilograms! So we'll be using our math to figure out what we weigh.

Saturday, Nov 30, we went with the Hyde Park Second Ward to the London Temple. They rented a bus and we drove for 75 minutes to get to the temple, which is only about 25 miles south of London proper. It is situated in the lovely countryside and occupies maybe 40 acres of beautiful grounds. We've never seen a more lovely setting; it is like a park. It was wonderful to attend the session and feel the sweet spirit there. We loved being reminded of the "big picture" and how central Christ is in Heavenly Father's plan for us. It is a fairly small temple, simple and beautiful.

A Week of Traveling and a Big Event

At a mission conference for senior couples, we were happily surprised to meet Elder and Sister Cartwright, whom we served with in the BYU Eighth Stake. They are serving on a Church farm northeast of London. We hope to visit them in the spring.

October 23-24 we went by train to Birmingham for more training on our Area calling. It was great to meet three other couples who are also Area Employment Specialists. One couple serves in Scotland and Ireland, one couple in the Birmingham Mission, and a British volunteer couple, who serve in the London Mission area. Our Area calling will actually be working with Stake and Ward leaders in the London South Mission area. Lynn is hoping it won't involve driving! This is in addition to our serving in the London Employment Resource Center.

Here is a picture of the English countryside taken from the train window. It shows a flock of sheep in a pasture with trees in the background and reflections in the window of other things. We tried to get better pictures, but did not succeed.

We got back to London Thursday evening, worked a few hours at the Centre, then packed for our trip the next morning to Washington DC for Brian and Carol's wedding. We had permission from the Area to attend this family event. It was a glorious and wonderful time for our family! All of our children were there. No words can express our joy! The happy couple gave all of us joy.

 Imagine our surprise when we met Elder and Sister Dana and Berva Griffen, beloved friends, in the temple where they are serving their mission.

Our flight back to the UK was delayed because of a big wind storm in England. We had planned to arrive back on our Monday P-day but, instead, flew in on Tuesday. We got to our flat at 11:30 a.m. and were at the Centre to serve our 8-hour shift by 12:30! We have been very blessed.

Work at the Centre, Walk along the Thames

21 October 2013

We are learning the ropes at the Employment Centre and gaining confidence in helping people with their CVs (resumés) and job searches, etc.  We are beginning our list of people we care about here.  A few people, in particular, have seemed to appreciate it as a place to feel support and get advice as they work on their CVs or look for jobs online, etc.  There's a man from Sweden, a young girl from Hungary who actually found a job this week looking for jobs online at the Centre and then applying, a young man who is a refugee from Zimbabwe who is hoping to get into college, and a woman from Georgia (by Russia), etc.  Some days are slow with few people coming in and some days are very busy.  We prefer the busy days.  = ) Below is the Hyde Park Chapel. The Employment Resource Centre is behind the top row of windows. The lift (elevator) has been under repair ever since we arrived; it is 69 steps to our floor!

We went to a meeting with the Stake President of the Hyde Park Stake and leaders from other stakes to talk about a pilot mentoring program to help people, especially the YSA age group, in their career decisions.  It was inspiring to watch and listen as these great leaders came up with ideas and worked together. 

One day last week we went on the walk Larry Wimmer suggests for a person’s first day in London.  It was fantastic!  We took the tube to Westminster Station and came up next to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.  

Then we walked across Westminster Bridge and all along the south side of the Thames on The Queen’s Walk.  We saw many interesting things, including a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

 and an ancient prison called The Clink – yes, that’s where the saying comes from, “He’s in the clink.”  

We saw one of the oldest churches in London, Southwark Cathedral, where Sir Thomas Becket preached days before his death in 1170.  This cathedral was later the parish church of Shakespeare. We walked by or under many bridges, including the Jubilee Bridge, Waterloo Bridge, Black Friars Bridge, Southwark Bridge, London Bridge, clear to the Tower Bridge.  

As we walked back to the north side of the Thames over the Tower Bridge, we came to an ancient castle, the Tower of London, built by William the Conqueror and lived in by other kings.  King Henry VIII's wives were imprisoned and executed here.  We're hoping to go back later for a tour of this castle.  

Nearby, we saw a segment of the original Roman wall that surrounded Londinium; the lower level of it dates from 43 AD.  

By the time we got home, walked to the Centre to serve our shift and walked home, we figured we had walked over 6 miles!  Thanks, Larry, for this great view of London!

another tender mercy sighting

Sunday, we were walking home after viewing conference at the Hyde Park Chapel and, as we walked through the semi-dark campus of Imperial College across the street from the Chapel, we noticed a young woman also walking away from Conference.  Since she was alone, Kaye struck up a conversation with her and we discovered that she is from Utah, is a college freshman, and is here to attend a semester of school.  She is the only member of the Church in her group and hasn't met people here yet.  We gave her our phone number and told her she could call us if she ever needed someone.  She seemed relieved.  We told her that David Gill, the Bishop of the YSA Ward, is from our home ward in Provo.  We asked her name and she said it was Kyra Mercer.  We said, "Oh, we know Fern Mercer.  She's in our home ward also."  She said, "That's my grandma!"  What a small world. She doesn't live far away and we dropped her off at her flat on our way home.  We feel like it is a tender mercy for her to have someone she has a connection to that she can call and it was a sweet experience for us. And, by the way, we saw David Gill the first Sunday we were here and we've now seen his family also.  Fun!

First post from London

Here we are in London as PEF Self-Reliance Missionaries but, after getting all excited about that new program, what we are really going to be doing, at least for now, is serving as Area Employment Specialists.  We are spending most of our days in the Employment Resource Center in the Hyde Park Chapel helping people who come in looking for work. There are some great volunteers from the Hyde Park Stake and they have helped us learn the ropes. We are still receiving training from Martin Gardner, our direct supervisor in our calling while Pres. David Jordan, President of the England London Mission, will be our ecclesiastical leader. 

We arrived 20 September 2013 and spent the first few days getting established as legal residents.  This involved much walking as we went to the Council House to sign up for taxes for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, to the Post Office to apply for a Freedom Pass which allows residents over 60 years of age to travel all over London for free, set up a bank account, ordered internet for our flat (which was just installed today), etc.  This is in addition to buying groceries and minor household goods to make our flat more homey and usable, including a little step stool so we don't have to high jump into the bathtub!  We were extremely blessed as we did these things on our own with very little instruction or assistance.  

Two couples from England who are serving at the Visitors' Centre in Hyde Park Chapel live in our building and Sister Brooks invited us for dinner the first night we arrived.  Elder Brooks was formerly a counselor in the London Temple Presidency.  They are delightful people and dinner was delicious.  We so appreciated their warm friendliness.  Elder Brooks loaned us his mobile hot spot so we could have moments of internet in our flat until we got our own.  Our flat is good sized, very nice, and freshly painted.  

We must tell about some of the sights we have seen.  We went to see the Queen at Buckingham Palace but, unfortunately, she was in Scotland.  When she leaves in the summer time, tours are given of the State Rooms in the Palace.  The Centre was closed on a Friday and it happened to be the last day tours were given.  We were impressed with the beautiful building , the lavish decoration and furnishings.  The property is a total of 39 acres and the gardens and the lake are beautiful (see above).  We came out way round the back so had to hurry about ¾ mile around to the front of the Palace to see the changing of the Guards.  We arrived after it had begun and couldn’t see very well at all through the crowds but, as time went on, people began to leave and we ended up right by the fence with a great view of everything.  The whole thing is very elaborate.  We can’t believe they go through that much to change two guards by the front door.  It takes a whole bunch of troops, two marching bands and they stand at attention and maneuver for a half hour.  

Another morning we walked through Kensington Gardens and visited Kensington Palace where Prince William and Kate live with Prince George.  We didn't take the guided tour that day.  We were charmed by the delightful children’s playground which is a memorial to Princess Diana.  We then walked over to the Round Pond and through the whole excursion Lynn got three lifers—birds he’s never seen. Below, Lynn with Kensington Palace in the background and an arbor near the palace.

Another morning we visited Harrod’s, the world-famous department store.  Kaye priced a handbag, just for fun, and it was the equivalent of $1500!  Elder Larsen, in the office, had told us that men’s shoes start at $440 or something like that.  Harrod’s has a really great children’s area with lots of books, games puzzles, and toys. There were a lot of people there but we didn't see anyone buying anything, other than the toy area and the food court, which is fabulous; we bought two lovely sandwiches 

Saturday we went to Portobello Road to experience the Saturday Market.  Half of the world's population seemed to have the same idea.  We saw more people in the one-mile length of it than you can imagine.

We have witnessed tender mercies for other folks, too.  A small “coincidence” as we came out of Sainsbury’s grocery market.  You come out and immediately go round a corner of the building to get onto the sidewalk.  As we rounded it, a woman coming from the opposite direction exclaimed, “You’re Latter-day Saints!"  She was a smiling, blonde lady with light in her eyes and she told us she had gone to Temple Square on a visit and she had wanted to be baptized.  Someone had taken her name and address and said that missionaries would visit her in Australia but she has never been contacted.  Lynn told her that she should come to the Hyde Park Chapel.  She said she knew where it was.  We hope she stops in.

A very interesting lady from India came in, Shirley, and we had a few computer issues to work out.  Her daughter has lived in England for 9 years and will sponsor Shirley to stay here if she can get a job.   So, later in the week, Brother and Sister Reynolds (from Provo) in the Visitors’ Centre told us that Shirley had come and sat with them after she left the Employment Centre.  They chatted for awhile and Sister Reynolds asked her if she would like to watch a Church film.  The sister watched it, then sat another minute with Sister Reynolds.  As they sat there, a family came in by the name of Bates.  They are from India and as they chatted with Shirley, Brother Bates said he knew of a job tending children—being a nanny. That was the kind of job she had wanted to find.  So---it looks like she has a job.  We are delighted.  If the timing had been any different, she would not have been there at that moment to meet the Bates.  They had come to visit a departing missionary.  Tender mercy.

One of the job seekers is a girl from Hungary!  Her name was Angela Karolyi and she is from Pápa.  She was very happy to meet us and vice versa. 

We have met some old friends here, Ron and Hildred Cobia.  Lynn and Ron roomed together their freshman year at BYU.  We have had a delightful reunion.