March and April

We have decided to take a different direction with our blog. We considered discontinuing it because, really, our assignment gives us little of interest to others to report and when we report on places we visit, the blog begins to look like a travelogue. On P-days we are continuing to visit places we’ve always heard and read about but our reports will mainly contain mission news.

Weekdays and some Saturdays we serve in the Employment Centre. Most days it is not busy so the days can seem long. At the same time, we have helped many people with CVs (resumés), cover letters, interview skills, and job searches. It is heartwarming when we feel we have actually helped someone. More and more we see the truth of Elder Uchtdorf’s statement that the temporal and the spiritual are two sides of the same coin. Success or discouragement in one of those areas can certainly affect the other. We have helped people from many countries including Belgium, Romania, Moldova, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Hungary, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Nigeria, East Africa/Eritrea, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, India, Bolivia, Peru, Iran, Lebanon and, of course, England.

We have received so many tender mercies we can’t begin to tell about all of them. We are being sustained daily in the work we do, in our health, and in the travels for our duties. About a month after we received our mission call, Lynn was diagnosed with bulging discs impinging on a nerve. This causes extreme pain at times. He received a blessing before we left and he has indeed been blessed to keep going. At first, when we learned that our mission call was for one year, we thought we might extend but with this condition, we have decided that the one-year call was inspired.

We want to share a couple of tender mercy stories and one direct and quick answer to prayer: One evening, after a long Sunday, we were hurrying down the stairs to catch an underground train that had already arrived in the station. Kaye dashed onto the train as the warning beeping was sounding only to turn around to see Lynn on the other side of closed doors as the train pulled away from the platform. She felt a bit of panic as she tried to reach him by phone to plan what to do. His phone had been turned off in the meetings but, luckily, he soon turned it on and they were able to plan that Kaye would get off at the next station and wait for him. He would be in the last car. She got out and waited on a dark platform until her knight in a white charger came to rescue her. We were so glad and grateful to be back together for the long ride back to London. We have since learned that this is not an uncommon experience and it is understood that if you get separated from your companion, you get off at the next station and wait.

When we traveled to Bristol Stake, we came onto the platform to return to London to see a train waiting with its doors open. We discovered this was the fast train back to London so we dashed for the doors. Kaye was in the doorway as the doors began to close and she stayed there, holding the doors open, determined not to leave without Lynn this time. She was calling out to him and he came up behind her and held the doors open as she squished through and he was able to burst through. People must have thought we were crazy. We were so delighted to be on that train together!! On this trip, there was no way to get back together along the way. As it was, when we arrived back in London, coming up out of the underground at midnight, we heard the announcement that the underground was closing. Missions are not for the faint of heart!

We just happened past the office for the Orient Express on the way to our train.

The Orient Express, ready to leave Victoria Station. You see the last of the word "Pullman."

The Central Line underground train entering Notting Hill Gate Station, on our way to Church.

Another time we experienced what was to us a miracle:  We were traveling to a stake for a bishops welfare council meeting. We had asked the local missionaries the best way to get there but one of us who loves maps figured out a “better” way, avoiding a train change. The problem was that we couldn’t tell which stop we should use to get off the bus, which was the last leg of our journey. At a stop Lynn thought might be close to our destination, we took our google map to the bus driver and consulted with him. He said he thought if we walked back to the roundabout, took the street to the left and walked up the street looking for bus 256, we would be o.k. so we got off the bus. We thought, “Oh, boy. We have five minutes to get to our meeting and we are out here wandering in the dark, essentially lost.” It was a sinking feeling. We went back to the roundabout as the bus driver had suggested but had the feeling we should stop to say a prayer. We did that and then had the thought to look at our map once more. We discovered that we were right across the street from the chapel! To us, it was a direct, distinct, quick answer to prayer. We could have been wandering in the dark for a long time, missing the meeting we had worked for a long time to schedule. Thank you all for the prayers offered in behalf of the missionaries.

We have been delighted to visit the village where Kaye’s ancestors lived, Bearsted, in Kent.  It is a place she has wanted to visit all her life. It is still a quiet place, with old homes surrounding the village green and we felt special feelings there. We have been doing research and plan to visit some local libraries in the county seat nearby.

Bearsted School built in 1839 where Kaye's great grandfather probably attended.

Old house on the Bearsted Village Green

The old Bell House on the Green in Bearsted