Happy New Year!

Dear family and friends,

We hope this letter finds you well and happy as 2017 comes to a close. Since last week was our Christmas letter, I’ll just summarize the last two weeks:

On Monday evening, December 18, we volunteered at the Manor House, an assisted living facility, and served Christmas dinner to the residents, cooked by one of our ward members. It was much like the place my own mother lives right now, and I was able to feel a connection as I served those in her same situation. Pay it Forward came to mind, as I appreciate all those who are taking care of Mom right now, both paid and voluntary. One woman there offered to pay Ron if he would just sit and talk to her because she loved his accent. Another lady was hitting on him, not realizing I was his wife. Her friend said to me, “You need to watch your husband around her . . . “ Too funny.

Tuesday we attended the third of three Zone Conferences, met more missionaries and had our spirits buoyed once again. We got to hug Sister Crandall and pass a photo of her to her mom. It was great to see Sister Speranza too! One funny thing that happened at one of the Zone Conferences . . . when we broke for lunch, the Mission Presidency changed into their Christmas jumpers (sweaters) and crazy hats and passed a bag of treats and a Christmas card to every missionary. President Gardner, one of the counselors, had a Christmas t-shirt on that said, “Merry Christmas, you filthy animals . . .” Most will recognize the line from the movie ‘Home Alone”. So as he passed out the treats, he said to each Elder and Sister, “Merry Christmas, you filthy animal” and got a laugh. When it came time to give a treat to the senior sister missionaries that were sitting next to me, President Gardner’s line was no different. “Merry Christmas, you filthy animals . . .” he said to them. Neither had seen the movie, or didn’t remember the line, and looked at him with eyes as big as saucers! It’s good I was sitting next to them and could quickly explain. It was a good laugh for us.

We cut out of Zone Conference a bit early to head up to temple for our “White Christmas”. About 30 minutes into the two-hour trip, I checked the website to see when the sessions were for sure. And the message said, TEMPLE CLOSED THIS WEEK. So no White Christmas for us.

We debated on what to give our office friends for Christmas, and we decided to share with them one of our family’s favorite traditions, that of watching Christmas movies together. So we purchased a variety of our favorite Christmas movies and Thursday we walked around, wished everyone a Merry Christmas, and let them choose a movie. For Malcolm, we made a large gift basket for his whole family with movies, popcorn, popcorn cups, candy, peanuts, drinks, etc. . . . so they could spend time watching movies together over the holidays. He was so appreciative. We got that one right.

The funniest gift we received, and it wasn’t meant to be a joke . . . Partridge Paté. ☺

Friday we took the day off and went to London to attend a sing-a-long at the Royal Albert Hall with the Parrishes and all the senior missionaries in the London mission. We were able to find pumpkin ice cream at Four Winters again, and after the concert we went with the Parrishes and the Phillips (they are the Self Reliance Missionaries from West Valley City) back to Durbar, the fabulous Indian restaurant we found with Sam and Alisha. It did not disappoint.

Saturday we went early to Costco and Morrisons to purchase food for Christmas Day. We also purchased some staple foods to wrap up and put under the Christmas tree for the missionaries (Skippy Peanut Butter, Pancake Mix, etc.) We spent the day preparing for Christmas. Let the fun begin.

Christmas Eve Dinner

Once a grandpa...

Christmas Eve we attended Sacrament Meeting. Everyone was in such good spirits. I was feeling homesick, but being around people sure helped. Our little Ferguson girls came to us during the meeting, and it’s like they knew just when I needed a hug. It was a tender mercy from heaven for sure. After Sacrament Meeting we went to Mark and Anna Abbott’s home in Bedworth and shared Christmas Eve dinner with them and the Elders Carr and Orr who serve in their ward. We had Christmas enchiladas that were so yummy, and pumpkin and pecan pie and profit rolls for dessert. We then helped the Abbotts deliver Christmas goodies to their neighbors by singing “We wish you a Merry Christmas” to each of them. The Elders are a cute, witty companionship, and we enjoyed ourselves very much. It was a great Sunday and we are so appreciative of Anna and Mark for taking such good care of us.

Christmas morning we had the Sisters over for breakfast. I made our traditional breakfast casserole, and we had scones with jam and clotted cream (English biscuits) and fruit. They hung around for a while and took advantage of the Wi-Fi to do their Monday emails. As quick as they left Ron took off to pick up the Elders, and I prepared round two, so the Elders had brunch

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

with us and we ate the exact same thing for the second time. We had a fun afternoon with them teaching them how to play “Golf – the card game” and “Rummicube”. We also Face timed with some of our family. They stayed until just before 5pm when it was time for their dinner appointment. Then we Face timed some more. It was a great day, especially the part where we talked with the kids. For dinner we ate leftovers from breakfast and lunch . . .

The day after Christmas is Boxing Day! So I did as I should and boxed up Christmas and had our flat back to it’s old self in about an hour. Then we went to the cinema and saw “The Greatest Showman”. Fun day. That evening we had dinner with the Sister missionaries at a members home and played games. It was a great day.

Tuesday through Friday were office days, but only four of us were working. Very few emails came, and the phone was quiet. We caught up on things; I worked on bios for an upcoming event, and accomplished everything we needed to, working only about 6 hours a day. I could get use to that . . . 4 days a week, 6 hour days. Oh yea.

Saturday night we had our first dinner guests other than the missionaries. Chris and Jeannie came over. We had a nice dinner and a visit, and enjoyed ourselves so much that we decided to have FHE every Monday together. I can’t wait.

Today is New Year’s Eve. Ron has already begun cooking his black-eyed peas. 2018 is sure to be a lucky year. Church was sparse today. Lots of people out of town. We had only three families represented in Primary today, a total of seven children. But none of the ‘attention seekers’ were there, so singing time was just fun fun fun.

I love the prospect of a new year. I relish the chance for a fresh start, a new beginning. Like many of you, I reflect on the past year . . . the good, the bad, the ugly . . . and what I can do to be better. Last week in Church, our Bishop quoted this:

      “It is better to be kind than it is to be right. If you are kind, you will always be right.”

I have thought about it so many times, and it has helped me already to bite my tongue more than once. So I am adopting that as my mantra this year. Have I told you how much I adore our Bishop? Still true. I’m sure he was speaking just to me when he said it.

May I just say thank you to everyone who reached out to us during Christmas with packages, Christmas cards, emails, texts, Facetime . . . we were the most popular in the office and had the most mail each day. Our credenza in the office as well as our wall at home is loaded with your well wishes, family pictures, family updates. Thank you for remembering the missionaries! I will be much better at it when we are home. You can bet on it.

Happy New Year everyone!

Much love,

Ron and Marie

Merry Christmas to ALL!

We express gratitude this Christmas season for our many blessings, two of which are our family whom we love dearly, and for the many wonderful friendships we have with so many of you. We are fortunate to be serving a full-time mission in beautiful England and are humbled by the many blessings we have received. We are learning a great deal every day. Our eyes have been opened to a whole new world. “Never a dull moment in Public Affairs” is a phrase we use constantly. 

Our children and grandchildren have also expressed recognition of blessings in their lives as a result of their support of our mission. We are so grateful for their love and help. Among the blessings we have seen for them is continued gainful employment, safety among natural disaster, and blessings of health and strength. We miss them dearly, but I don’t think there is even one in our twenty that would have things any other way right now. To catch you up on each of them (skip this part if you want to!): 

• Kevin and Amanda – keep busy with the schedules of five children, spent a lot of time on the lake and camping this past year. Their schedules make us tired. They will visit us in March!
• Taylor (18) – Eagle Scout! Winding up his senior year, accepted to USU, will defer until after serving a mission for our Church. We are hoping he doesn’t leave before we get home!
• Carly (15) – High School, learning to drive, ran on the cross-country track team, finally got her braces off!
• Hailey (13) – our sports girl! Plays Jr. High Basketball and Comp Basketball
• Luke (9) – third year skiing, loves to fish, even ice fishing, has given up asking for a real Pug dog, and has now resorted to asking for a t-shirt with a picture of a Pug. He sent his mom a power point presentation of all the things he wanted for Christmas. Very clever boy. 
• Abbie (9) – dancer, learning to play the guitar, full of energy, happy girl. 
• Sam and Alisha – came to England last month and we had a blast together! Sam is a busy tax accountant and Alisha an online instructor for BYUI. They are very good at making sure to get family time in too. Busy busy parents. 
• Nathan (9) – blue belt in Taekwondo, competition is the name of his game, everything from Taekwondo to brushing his teeth the fastest. Loves Cub Scouts too.
• Alexa (9) – unlike her twin brother, very non-competitive. Sweet, mild mannered, such a good big sister, learning to play the piano, loves to sing! 
• Maxwell (7) – loves catching bugs and lizards, loves to run with his mom, very witty. He makes us laugh! 
• Lincoln (3) – obsessed with Disney’s CARS, especially Lightning McQueen. Loves to call Grandma on Facebook Messenger video and use the funny icons to make funny faces with her, loves to be out and about. 
• Hannah (19mo) – a good little sleeper, jabbers non-stop, loves her binky, loves shoes, especially her Minnie Mouse slippers, a girlie girl for sure, and a mama’s girl too. 
• Zack and Hilary – Zack is still Mr. Entrepreneur, always something new in mind. Had is first MMA fight this month and won! It has been a great get-in-shape tool. Hilary works one day a week in Medical Research and is supermom and wife. 
• Hunter (5) – started school this year and loves it. Also does MMA and Jujitsu, loves sports like his dad, loves to sing and dance like his mom. A well-rounded kid! 
• Quinn (2) – our little emotional cutie. Talking more, but is still very funny with one or two-word shout outs. Hilarious! Such a sweet little boy. We love our Quinner Ninner. 

Last January before leaving on our mission we all enjoyed a week in Florida at Disney World. It was a week we will treasure always. Next to heaven, it really is “the happiest place on earth.” To connect the miles apart this Christmastime, we all are participating in the “Light the World” campaign and sharing it on our family Facebook page. It has been a great blessing also.

We are blessed this time of year to reflect on the many things we are thankful for. We have been blessed with such good health and strength while we have been serving. Never have we been more thankful for the Internet and social media to keep us connected to you! We are thankful for all those who are helping us with things at home, enabling us to serve. We are grateful to those taking care of my mom while we are away. We are most grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ, for his birth and his death, and his atoning sacrifice, that we may live with him again as eternal families. We are blessed to have each of you in our lives. May you spend this holiday time doing just want you want to do and being near those you cherish! May you be blessed with miracles in your life, strength if you are feeling weak, and may your burdens be lightened. Our love, thoughts, and prayers are with you. 

Cheers from across the pond, 

Ron and Marie  

I blinked... then it was Sunday again!

Dear family, friends . . .all those we love so much,

Happy Happy Birthday to Devonna (yesterday) and this week to Karen Robinson, Kiera Tuttle Releye (my daughter from another mother) and a Happy Anniversary to our daughter Alisha and husband Sam.

This week was so busy and went so fast, I really do feel like I blinked and it was Sunday again.

A week ago last Friday we were asked to find a suitable place near Birmingham to do some filming. The Church is remaking the film “Why Mormons Build Temples” and chose England as one of the places they would like to film. There were specifications, such as looking very English quintessential, timeless (so no snow or Christmas decorations), etc. Monday I spent the day searching the Internet to find such places. Because we had that huge snowstorm last Sunday that closed everything down for 2-3 days, it was difficult, and the filming was to take place last Friday. After a lot of research, we narrowed it down to four places, two museums and two hotels, and we spent all day Tuesday visiting those places. It was fun day, and always fun to meet new people.

Elder Wheeler from Kaysville

Wednesday was a catch-up and preparation day in the office. Thursday and Friday we spent at Birmingham Zone Conferences training the missionaries on social media. Ron opens with, “Now I’m sure you’re wondering why they have an old guy teaching YOU how to use social media.” That gets a laugh because that is exactly what they are thinking!” Then he tells them what I’ve told him many times, “You’re a millennial trapped in a senior body.” He really is. He says it’s just my way of saying he is immature.   It is very fun to teach them together. It was also fun to reunite with missionaries that have transferred away from our area, and especially great to see Elder Wheeler from home. We were able to report to his parents that he is happy and doing well and surviving the rain and cold. He feels like he is being blessed the same way I do.

Friday we had to hurry home from Zone Conference to meet the film crew at our office for additional filming of those that couldn’t travel to the chosen quintessential location. At 6pm we realized that we had a dinner also to attend that evening, so we divided and conquered, and I stayed with the film crew and Ron went to the dinner. I was finished sooner than expected, and Ron was going to be longer than expected, so I decided to call an Uber and go home. I had just walked in the door when my phone rang. It was the Sister missionaries. They had been in a car accident, rear ended, and were at the hospital. Could we please come pick them up? Ron hurried home to get me and we hustled back to the hospital. Thankfully other than a few aches and pains they were ok. It was a late night.

Saturday was super busy! First thing, we gave the flat a spit shine. That’s all the time there was. Then we got ready and went to Julia’s baptism. Remember Julia . . . forgetful, 84-year-old Julia? The stars finally aligned and she was baptized. It was very sweet.

One funny thing at the baptism . . .whilst waiting for Julia to get dressed after being baptized, we went into the chapel and sang Christmas hymns. After singing ‘Away in a Manger’ the woman sitting in front of me turned around and said, “You make us sing your version of Christmas songs. You don’t let us sing traditional English versions.” At first I was a little stunned, as I didn’t understand exactly what I had done wrong to warrant the scolding, but then I figured it out. Sometimes the tune is different (you know how there is a different tune to Away in a Manger in the Children’s Songbook than in the Hymnal) and sometimes the words are slightly different, which is the case for ‘Away in a Manger’. The Church songbooks are the same all over the world in English-speaking countries, and true, they are the American version, so she was right. And I guess because I am American, it was my fault that day. I had to chuckle once again at the American bash. We seem to take the blame for a lot of things America does differently. That’s ok, I’m a missionary, and my shoulders are broad (chuckle chuckle).

One of the cute families we home/visit teach had a new baby last Saturday, so we offered to take dinner to them yesterday. And because I was preparing food anyway, we decided to have the Elders over for dinner last night as well. So it was a couple of hours of preparing food, a couple of hours to deliver it (the family really lives outside our ward boundaries so it’s quite a trek to get to them), then a trip home to cook the meal for the missionaries. The best part of preparing recipes are the thoughts I have of the person who originally gave me the recipe, so a shout-out to Robyn for her Swiss Chicken, Mary Fae for her Broccoli salad, Mom Partridge for her Tropical Fruit salad, and my 8th grade Home Economics teacher for glazed carrots.

Another funny thing at the Baptism . . .at the church we have a pathetic-looking Christmas tree set up in the foyer that someone pulled out of storage, still decorated from last year, and stuck it in the entry. Sister Phillips in the ward (well loved, well respected, a lovely woman) pulled Ron to the side and said, “Do you think you could get your wife to work some magic on that awful Christmas tree?” I guess because of my Festival of Trees experience, I was thought to be a decorator. (I didn’t tell her I’m an organizer, not a decorator!) While we were waiting for Julia to arrive, we surveyed the tree and began a makeover. But it needed more time, and more ornaments, and something to make it stand up straight, so we left it with a promise to come back in the evening and finish it. After we finished dinner with the Elders, we grabbed the leftover ornaments from our tree at our flat, took the tree topper star right off our tree, and headed to the Church to make a true Charlie Brown tree look presentable for Church the next morning. Ron found something in the Primary closet to use as a shim and straightened the tree, we took the haphazardly-placed garland a ribbon completely off, fluffed the tree (thanks to Deb and Tif and Festival of Trees tree delivery, even Ron knew how to do that!), rearranged and added ornaments, and topped it with our star. No compliments on it today . . .truly only three people noticed I’m sure . . . but Sister Phillips and Ron and I were happy. One never knows what you might be asked to do as a missionary.

Getting ready for the Nativity in Primary!

It is traditional throughout England that on this Sunday the Nativity is acted out at some point during Church. Because Church was cancelled last week, we hadn’t practiced or assigned parts. It was as chaotic as anything I have ever seen. But we took the middle hour and sorted out people and costumes for the 12 Primary children. Every girl wanted to be Mary, and none of the boys wanted to be Joseph. When the line in the script said “We don’t know exactly how many Kings were there, but traditionally we say three . . . “ and then the three kings were to make their entrance, only two came up. The third ran up a few minutes later, as he had to make a toilet break at the exact time he was needed on stage. When it came time for the children to sing ‘Away in a Manger’, you can bet I had them sing the tune they were familiar with and changed the American wording to the English version. I hope to have redeemed the reputation of every American. And what Nativity doesn’t finish by playing a two-minute segment of The Polar Express? I’m not even going to try to explain that one . . .

We enjoyed a Munch and Mingle after Church together and wished everyone a Merry Christmas. I’m always amazed at how fast the tables are set up and the food is brought in from everyone’s cars, and then how fast the food is gone. Today it was finger foods, so sandwiches, crisps, and finger desserts. I made 36 chicken salad sandwiches on Costco rolls and they were a hit. Sometimes the Americans do get things right.

After Church we took a gift over to our other Home Teaching family, took neighbor gifts to those we know in our flat block (apartment building), and called it a day.

Someone asked us today how we were doing with being away from family this Christmas. I answered, “We’re ok! The kids and grandkids seem to be ok without us, so it’s all good.” Then Ron said, “Ask her next week. You might get a different answer.” At Zone Conference, President Leppard counseled us to focus on the Savior even more this year. Since we were in the mission field, and many of the things that can distract us from focusing on Christ during Christmas were not present, use this year to really focus on what really matters. So that is what we are doing, and it has been wonderful. The ‘Light the World” campaign has helped tremendously.

We love you, and our thoughts will be with you this week during your final preparations for Christmas. Thanks to those that have sent Christmas greetings already. Mail from home is the best.

Love to all,
Ron and Marie

Let it Snow...

10 December 2017

Dear Family and Friends,

Church was cancelled today, as it is snowing snowing snowing! We must have at least six inches by now.  But like when we lived in Maryland, it is different here, and that much snow really does shut everything down. Our flat is at the bottom of two fairly steep hills, and we have watched cars all day struggle to get up and down, many not making it. The sister missionaries were supposed to come over for dinner today, but instructions from the mission president today was to not drive, which is smart. As I look past our little Christmas tree and outside to the winter wonderland, I’m watching children attempting to sled down the hill, a few snowballs being thrown, shoveling going on, and I have to say, it feels like Christmas. It’s a great feeling. So far though, I’m not the least bit tempted to go outside.

It has been a busy week once again, and I’m not sure where the time went. Monday we did a day of filming in Wales and arrived home late Monday night. The rest of the week we were in the office. Ron is swamped with year-end finances, and I have been mailing out our office Christmas cards among other tasks. We were given another country to be first contacts for this week, so to add to Scotland, Ireland and Netherlands, now we are overseers of Dutch-speaking Belgium, so we will be making a trip there sometime next year. Malcolm was given France and Norway also, so we will be a support to those countries too. We love the change and love the work and are grateful that our leaders have confidence in us to take these responsibilities on.

Tuesday evening we were invited to the Wills’ home for a traditional English Christmas dinner. What did they serve, you say? I say, what DIDN’T they serve! Sliced turkey, oven baked potatoes (baked in oil, so more like deep fried), mashed potatoes, gravy, onion sauce, Yorkshire pudding (which isn’t really pudding at all, more like a roll with gravy), carrots, parsnips, cranberries, baguettes, pigs in blanket (sausage rolls), stuffing . . .and non traditional Trifle for dessert, because traditional is made with Sherry that isn’t cooked out. We were served a “ginger wine” that of course is non-alcoholic and is described on the bottle as “a traditional ginger drink with the kick of two very angry mules.” And kick it had! When tasting it, it tasted like a nice ginger ale, but it was when you swallowed that the kick came. We loved it so much we went the next day and purchased eight bottles for our neighbors (and a couple for ourselves). After dinner came the “CRACKERS” which can only be described as noise makers with silly prizes inside that are opened crossing arms and holding yours in one hand and your neighbor sitting next to you cracker in the other. Everyone gets a paper crown, and I got a plastic mustache. There is also a joke written in each one to share. “What kind of sandals do frogs wear?” Open toad, of course! It’s a very fun English tradition, and they are sold EVERYWHERE this time of year.

Thursday afternoon we watched a satellite broadcast from Frankfurt, a Christmas devotional from our Area Presidency. It was a very nice break from the routine of the week. After the devotional the employees were given the rest of the day off (I think that’s their Christmas bonus) and Ron had a session with his driving trainer, so I had the whole building to myself for a couple of hours! I’m sure we could have taken the rest of the day off too, but too much to do, and sometimes a quiet office is the best way to get things done.

After a long week, we decided for a date night Friday night we would splurge and go see “Thor” at the cinema since it won’t be here much longer. Ron loved it, I was happy to be with Ron.

Saturday was busy! Thank goodness our little flat doesn’t require a lot of cleaning time, because it didn’t happen much. I had been asked to make Potato Salad and Broccoli salad for the Ward Christmas Party that night which took a couple of hours. Ron went to the office to work while I was cooking. We made a trip to Costco to order pictures for a gift for the Primary for Christmas, came home and prepared our lessons and music for Sunday, (if we would have only known it would be cancelled!) and then went to the Ward Christmas Party that began at 5pm. I wish you could see the spread of food they do. It’s so much different than what we are used to. Instead of it being a simple meal, like soups, or potato bar, or a plate with ham, potatoes, vegetables, salad, there is a smorgasbord of food like you’d find at Chuck-a-rama only better. And the desserts were the same, served after fun and games, and a visit from Father Christmas. It is a traditional fun evening that is well attended and the whole ward looks forward to it. Towards the end, Ron said the Bishop wanted to talk to me . . . a million things went through my mind of what he might ask us to take on now . . . so I was completely relieved to know that he was thinking of buying his wife an Apple Watch for Christmas and noticed mine and wanted to know how I liked it. WHEW! It was a Christmas miracle.

It was at the Christmas party that the Bishop announced that they had made the decision to cancel Church today, and wanted everyone to stay home and be safe. It was a good decision, as it is mid-day right now and still snowing. Although we have much to do at the office, including a new assignment to scout out a place for a new church film that is in the works . . .I am secretly hoping it just snows and snows and we are stuck here in our flat for one more day . . .

I woke up the other morning to a text and a photo from a friend whose daughter had a new baby while we were sleeping. Her babies do not come easy, so each one is such a blessing. I’ve never had a child or grandchild born in December, but I couldn’t help but think what a blessing it must be to have a new little spirit in the home for Christmas. A new birth brings such a special spirit anyway, so top it with the Christmas season, and how can we help but reflect on Joseph and Mary and the star that shone so brightly on the night of our Savior’s birth. I am so grateful for this season and the opportunity to reflect on these sacred moments in time. I am so very grateful and feel blessed.

We have enjoyed “Lighting the World” this week and have found it fairly easy when we just open our eyes to look for ways to serve. It was easy to “Love Thy Neighbor” yesterday as we sought out those at the Christmas party last night that were sitting alone. Today instead of attending Church we will take more time to “ponder the scriptures”. We are also taking dinner to Gordon and Ann downstairs. Ann had knee surgery a week ago, and after not much convincing the other night, they agreed to let us bring them each a plate of food today. And as we serve, we are again blessed.

At home, so much is happening . . . family gatherings, Christmas parties with friends and neighbors, and strangers purchasing goats in vending machines (again, Light the World campaign for those that aren’t aware of it), Christmas caroling, lights on Temple Square, and the list goes on. We will miss everything for a season, but we are ok serving here and will look forward to being together next Christmas season.

May you feel the Spirit of Christmas, and remember that we need only remove the last syllable of the phrase to celebrate the real reason for the season, the Spirit of Christ. We love you and pray for you and thank you for all your emails, texts, FB messages! I haven’t been as good at responding to each one the past few weeks, as our time has been full, but know they are so very much appreciated.

All our love,

Ron and Marie

PS – For those that follow Zack on Facebook and have seen his new fascination as an MMA fighter, he won his first fight last night in the first round and escaped with only bruises. We are very proud of him and the work and dedication it took to get physically fit, losing over 50 pounds. Can MMA fights be part of mission blessings when we pray for his safety? I’m going with yes. . . Love you Zack!

Who says 8 hours = a workday!

Life is much simpler while
serving a mission!

3 December 2017

Hello family and friends!

Busy busy busy week, a three page letter if I detailed it all, so here are some highlights:

· Took Sister Romero and Sister Ianni to the Jade Wok for Sister Ionni’s first ever Chinese food at her request. I guess they don’t have too many Chinese restaurants in Florence, Italy. I don’t think she loved it.

· Said good-bye to Sisters Romero and Ianni as they boarded separate trains . . . both transferred. Those are sad days for Elder and Sister Partridge. At least we kept our Elders.

· Taught a Spokesperson Training Class in Leicester Tuesday evening. By the time we got home, it was a 13-hour day. It was all worth it when we received the nicest email from an older couple who were at the class. The very next night they were interviewed by BBC, not church related, but were much more confident because of the training they had the night before. So nice of them to take the time to write and thank us.

· Thrilled beyond measure to hear that Festival of Trees had a record breaking Opening Night. Congratulations to my Festival Board Member friends – well done!

· Took a crockpot full of soup, 18 rolls, and cookies to District Meeting. Met our two new Sisters, Sister Chen from Taiwan and Sister Harrigfeld from Ashton, Idaho. I already love them! They and the Elders are all hearty eaters . . .the crockpot was empty, the rolls and cookies were gone. It warms my heart to warm their tummies!

· Travelled to London Friday on assignment. Took an open top bus tour at dark (4pm . . . no kidding) to see the Christmas lights. It was nice, ok it was cold . . . glad I dressed warm.

· Great to hear what our family at home is doing as we participate in the “Light the World” campaign. So far, and we are just three days into the project, we have received far more than we have given.

· Worked all day Saturday in London with our Europe area social media video project. Met some incredible YSA’s and missionaries and had so much fun with them. We then drove to Milton Keynes (a two-hour drive) for our last interview of the day. When we got there, the person we were suppose to video had lost her voice, so no go. We wished her well, said we would try to arrange another day, and drove to Leeds (another two hours) to spend the night. It was only a 13-hour workday.

· Filmed in Leeds this morning, drove to Solihull, fed the producer and cameraman at our flat, videoed the Chan family, then drove to Wales to be ready to film tomorrow. An 11-hour day of rest.


And I have to say . . . I officially feel like a real missionary today. This morning at 9am I knocked on the door of what I thought was our first interview. I heard shuffles of noise, and then the door opened. It was not the right house. Before I could even say anything, the young woman took one look at my badge and said, “Oh, no, no, no” with a few moans in between, and shut the door. I felt so bad for disturbing someone who obviously wasn’t happy to be answering the door on a Sunday morning, I yelled through the door, “I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to disturb you, I have the wrong house!” and walked away a little deflated. Now I know how the young missionaries feel nearly every day. Empathy is a great thing.

We love to hear from you. Thanks to so many for posting pictures of Festival on Facebook for me and kept me updated. I can’t tell you how many times it happens . . . just when I need a little boost, I’ll get a little message from someone at home, and it’s just what I needed to hear. Bless you! This divine plan we are part of is so real. Blessings and tender mercies are around us every day if we open our eyes and hearts. We love you all so much and thank you for thinking of us. (We can’t send pictures this week. The hotel we are at tonight has very week wi-fi.)

Cheers,

Ron and Marie

The fruits of our labours: 

Hi everyone! Just wanted to put on record how invaluable we have both found this training. On Tuesday we learnt from Bro & Sis Partridge how to speak in an interview with the media and lo and behold we were using this knowledge tonight as we were interviewed on Radio Leicester, ITV and the Leicester Mercury at the Leicester clock tower as we took part in celebrating the success of the decision by NHS England to keep the Glenfield Hospital Childrens Heart Centre open. This decision follows eighteen months of dedicated campaigning of which we've been proud to play our part.

So - the moral of this story is, our Church training, in whatever capacity we serve, can bless our lives not only at Church but also in our communities. It can be far reaching. It is free. It is a great blessing when we avail ourselves of it.

It's great to be a part of this amazing gospel! God bless us as we all play our parts.

Les & June 

Close . . . But NOT Pumpkin!

26 November 2017

I have the greatest family and friends! Monday–Thursday this week I continued to receive birthday cards and even a package in the mail. It was so fun to come to work in the mornings, look in the mail slot, and there would be a pretty colored envelope, and it had my name on it! When you are far far away and feel like you are missing out on so many things, it’s just so darn nice to be remembered. So thank you from the bottom of my heart! Truly!

Before sharing more about our week, may I give a shout out to all my Festival friends and tell you that my heart will be with you this week. All last week I was imagining every day what you would be doing in preparation for this week. May you feel the love of our Savior as you work so diligently to bless the lives of His children. I hope you have the BEST YEAR EVER!

Monday morning we arrived at the office and I looked at the calendar and said to Ron, “Is it true? Are we really scheduled be in town all week this week?” It was true, and it was so nice to work hard during the day, then go home and relax a little before beginning a new workday instead of driving somewhere to teach a class or stay overnight in a hotel. Don’t get me wrong! Not complaining, just a nice teeny-weeny little break.

As Thanksgiving Day was approaching, I was a little sad that we weren’t home to share it with our family, but I really thought I was ok. Then Thursday morning I woke up to a picture Alisha had sent of her Thanksgiving table set with my mom’s china that she had recently received. About a half hour later, as we were getting ready for the day, I bit Ron’s head off over who knows what, and then burst into tears. “I’m sorry, I think I’m just a little homesick today!” He hugged me and forgave me quickly. We did miss being with our family that day.

More than a week ago the Wills’ showed us a Thanksgiving special Ed’s Easy Diner in Birmingham was offering for Thanksgiving. A special burger made with a sausage patty, brie cheese, turkey breast, and cranberry, chips (aka French fries) and a soda that could be upgraded to a thick PUMPKIN (yuuup) shake, all for £10.99. “That’s it!” I said, “That’s where we are going to dinner on Thanksgiving. Nothing appealed to me except the price and the pumpkin, but it was enough. So the four of us made a plan. As it turned out, American missionaries get ½ day off for Thanksgiving, which we only found out on Tuesday, so we changed our plans to an English dinner (afternoon, because they call evening meal tea), and hopped the train to Birmingham. We were so hungry and sooooo excited!

Once I took the sausage patty off, the burger was delicious and hit the spot, and I imagined my chips as mashed potatoes. When the waiter came back to ask us if we were ready for our shakes, he said, “I’m sorry but we are out of pumpkin.” WHAT? NOOOOOOOOoooooo. I just smiled. I knew he was teasing me. It was only 2:30 in the afternoon! “You’re kidding me, right?” “No, I’m sorry.” Still smiling that missionary smile, because I did have my badge on, “I’ve come all the way from America for your pumpkin shake!” The poor waiter didn’t know what to say. “Let me check to see if there is anything we can do,” he said. He really just wanted to run away from me. But no, no pumpkin. “How about Gingerbread! It’s close.” NOT CLOSE! They share a spice or two, but that’s as close as it gets. So thus went our Thanksgiving dinner. A bust. (I did have a gingerbread shake, and it was ok.)

After dinner we did have fun wandering through Selfridge’s Department store (very posh) and the German outdoor Christmas market. All in all, it was a fun day. I just have to whine a little about the no pumpkin on Thanksgiving Day. And Ron was whining a little too because his Detroit Lions lost.

Saturday we were invited along with the American Elders to a nice young American couple’s flat for a proper Thanksgiving Dinner, and it was yummy. I made an apple and a pumpkin pie and also a fruit salad to add to the dinner. I thought it was so sweet for the young couple to invite the old people to dinner. We loved it. There was suppose to also be a baptism in the evening that day, but dear sweet elderly Julia, who is a little forgetful at times, lost her keys, blamed the Elders, and said she didn’t want to see them again nor would she get baptized until she found them. The Bishop found them . . . in his car. They had fallen out of her purse when he picked her up for Church. But still, no baptism. Sweet Julia. Poor Elders. They were so disappointed.

We had our Primary program finally today . . .and I say with all humility and gratitude that a miracle happened. We had one family with three children all out with the flu. One boy that had major speaking parts and was accompanying one song didn’t show up until last minute. One family with two children came but announced they couldn’t stay because they had a party to go to. But the children that were there . . .all 13 of them . . . sang their little hearts out and spoke clearly into the microphone whilst giving their speaking parts. The Spirit touched the hearts of everyone there, and the Stake Primary President said, “It was the best one yet.” Hallelujah, and thank you for prayers answered. I had a confirmation during the Sacrament that “all will be well,” and it was. Heavenly Father loves his little children. Whew! My shoulders feel lighter. Now on to the Christmas program songs!

We mourn this week at the passing of a dear friend and past Bishop, Jay Lowe, who was 90 years old, but in great health until a recent fall. He was a great scholar of the Gospel and taught us many things over the past 38 years we’ve known him. We love the Lowe family, and are once again relieved that we took the time for a visit before leaving. We also mourn with our dear friend, Nancy, whose mother passed away the same day as Jay. We love you and pray for you, Nancy and family. What a beautiful mom you have.

Tonight we are on our way to another YSA activity where we will introduce them all to the proper way to pass white elephants! I’ve also made soup for dinner, which soup isn’t dinner here, it’s just a starter (appetizer) and my soup is not pureed, which most soup is pureed here, so I may come back with a whole crockpot full . . . we shall see (plus my soup actually has flavor).

I hope you all have seen the “Light the World Campaign” that begins on Friday. If not, here’s the link.
https://www.mormon.org.uk/

If you search around, you can find the downloadable calendar that has ideas of how to “Light the World” in 25 days, not just the scriptures. We have decided as a family to connect this Christmas by participating in it together and sharing our experiences on our family Facebook page. We invite you to join us and share it as families as well.

Thank you for the blessing you are in our lives! As we approach the Christmas season, may we each “Light the World” by blessing the lives of others. If so, I know we will all have the best Christmas ever!

Cheers!
Ron and Marie

I love November!

5 November 2017

Happy November everyone! I do love the month of November! Some of my favourite people have birthdays this month. Happy Birthday this week to two of my besties, Shauna and Sharon. You all sweeten my life and I love you dearly! I also love November because it is a month of giving thanks, and I have so much to be thankful for.

Today is a significant day because we are officially halfway through our mission. Notice no exclamation point behind that statement . . .I’m not sure how I feel about it. We comment all the time about how sometimes it seems like we’ve been here forever (particularly when we’re talking about how much we miss the kids), and other times we can’t believe how fast it is going and we only have nine months to complete “all we were sent forth to do.” Today is a day of mixed emotions.

We have had a terrific week! Tuesday after work we volunteered for the Royal British Legion, which is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces. The poppy is the insignia, and it is traditional for everyone to wear one on their lapel from the beginning of November until November 12, which is Remembrance Day. We manned a table at a mall in Birmingham where anyone could give a donation and receive a poppy. We had a fun time, met lots of people, heard some heartwarming stories, and walked away after two hours so grateful for the opportunity. I’ve proudly worn my poppy pin every day since.

Thursday we attended District Meeting with the missionaries. They have just been given access to Facebook, so we were able to offer them some training on how to share the gospel using social media. It’s the same training we will give the entire mission next month. We had fun making a video and practicing with them. After the meeting we enjoyed their favourite, Alisha’s burritos. I can’t believe how much they eat! Our new missionary, Elder Anderson, is slowly adjusting, but still in a bit of culture shock, and I think a little homesick. We talked to him, asked about his family, his hobbies, and told him all the great things about serving in Solihull. I pray for the guidance of a higher power to say just the thing he needs to hear to help him get through the rough days.

Kensington Palace

Friday began our fun weekend with Sam and Alisha in London! We are so happy they could get away and come visit, and so thankful that Aunt Amanda could make arrangements for her own five children and go stay with Sam and Alisha’s kids so they could come. We had good, crisp, fall weather, with a little rain, but nothing that stopped us from having so much fun. We visited the Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral, rode the London Eye, and took a cruise down the River Thames. We ate the yummy Indian food, Fish n’ Chips, and even . . .drum roll . . . found pumpkin ice cream that was the BEST I’ve ever eaten! It was our first time since being here that we actually were tourists in London and not just working.

Top L to R: Tower of London, Thames River Cruise
Bottom L to R: Victoria Memorial, London Eye, Buckingham Palace

Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream @ Four Winters, Kensington

Today was Stake Conference (where several wards/congregations come together for a church service) at the Hyde Park Chapel. In the Hyde Park Stake we were told today there are 133 countries represented by the members. Our church has presence in 160 countries around the world, so when they say that London is the true melting pot of the world, I know it’s true. We loved seeing the diversity. In particular, there was an Asian young woman who had a very beautiful, strong voice singing in the choir, and as well as she sang in English, her Asian accent was heard loud and clear. I loved it. We were also fed well spiritually. I was reminded where to turn when we had a concern, what covenants we made at baptism, and how easy it can be to open share the gospel if we have the desire. After the meeting we went up to the rostrum to say hello to someone when an older women jumped into our path and with her hand out to shake ours, she introduced herself:

“Well hello, senior missionaries, I’m Sister (can’t remember her name). In 1983 two young men knocked on my door. They held up a book and told me they had a message to share with me about Jesus Christ. Well, I LOVE Jesus, so I told them they had better get in my house, and I’ve never looked back. Isn’t this Church wonderful!”

We could only agree with her!

We saw friends we haven’t seen since the Pageant, and met people we have had a conversation with over the phone but never met in person. It was a great experience, and we loved being in London for Church.

Tonight we got on the train to come back to Solihull, and just as the train was ready to leave Alisha realized she left her backpack on the chair in the station . . . with her computer and passport in it. . . so Ron took off and said “I’ll text you if I find it and then we will figure out how I’m getting home . . .” and he was off. We were all just praying that Ron could find it. Prayers answered! The bag was still where she left it. So he caught the next train just 30 minutes behind us. We were so relieved, so relaxed, that we missed our Solihull stop! So we had to go one more stop, turn around, come back. As it turned out, we pulled in at the same time as Ron. So it all worked out, and once again we were able to count our many blessings.

Thank you for all of your love, support and prayers. As we serve the Lord, and as we are away from so many we love, we have come to realize the power of prayer more than ever. We love and pray for you also. We hope you have a wonderful week. We are off tomorrow and Tuesday to show Sam and Alisha England in our neck of the woods!

Love to all,
Ron and Marie

British Summertime Ends

29 October 2017

Dearest family and friends

Last night we changed our clocks back an hour, signifying what is written on the British calendars, ‘British Summer Time ends.’ The clock says 5:20 pm, and it is dark as pitch. Although the weather hasn’t been too cold yet, I am sad to see our first British summer end.

Our emotions have been up and down this week! We heard news of the passing of Marilyn Flint, an iconic and loved neighbor. We are happy for the reunion she had with Vernon, her husband, in heaven, and I’m sure she and Darlene Galbraith shared a warm embrace as well. We celebrate Miss Kate’s one-year-old birthday with Ron’s sister’s family in California in spirit. She’s as cute as they come. And cancer has reared its ugly head again, and without a miracle will take a beloved friend from earthly life very soon. Our prayers are with the Stromness family. Thank you for visiting with us at our home before we left. We have pictures of you there, Richard, and we treasure them. Our thoughts this weekend have also been with our dear friends, the Hedins, as we, and so many others, remember Parker, who left this earth a year ago yesterday.

We’ve had another full week this past week! Monday we arranged to work in London because we knew my cousin’s son, Elder Matthew Allen, who is serving his mission in the London area would be at the mission office (which is directly across the hall from the Public Affairs office) because his companion was going home and he would be meeting his new companion. It was a wonderful reunion with him. We hadn’t seen him in nearly a year. I’m not sure if I broke the rules or not, but hey, we are family, so he got lots of hugs from me. The mission president gave us permission to take him to lunch. It was fun to have him all to ourselves for an hour and just be able to talk to Matt. He’s a great kid and a great missionary and we love him like our own. It was a blessing of a day! We had a later train home, so we took a detour and went to ‘Partridge’s’, a store in London that carries American products that you can’t always find anywhere else. In my backpack I carted home 5 lbs of Gold Medal flour (the flour here is very different) and 4 cans of pumpkin (yay!). My shoulders ached by the time we got home, but it was worth it. I can’t wait to make something/anything pumpkin!

Elder Matthew Allen from Bend, OR (my cousin's son)

Tuesday through Thursday were office days, working on compiling Ambassador outreach records as well as gathering information for the videos the Church will be producing in England and Wales. The missionaries had zone conference, so we didn’t get our Thursday lunch together. We did meet our new greenie missionary at church today from Draper, Utah, Elder Anderson. He had the ‘deer in the headlights’ look more than any other missionary I’ve seen here yet. “I know just how you feel, Elder Anderson” I assured him, “but you will love it here. I promise.” And then, at the Munch and Mingle, I passed him a serviette and told him what it was, and what a napkin is here (diaper), and his eyes looked even a bit more glazed.

Elder Wheeler, from our home ward in Kaysville, went to Blackwood in Wales for his first area. I’m told it is likely a Branch there, and an area of poverty. With his infectious personality, he will be a light to whomever he meets, and they will love him, I’m sure of it.

The River Ribble

Friday was a great day. We had a meeting in Chorley all day Saturday, so we went up a day early and took a culture day. Our friend, Julie Jones from Wales, who I told you about a couple of weeks ago, is originally from Chorley and offered to take us and the Parrishes to some of the church history sites in the Preston area. We visited the River Ribble where the first baptisms in England took place, some historic sites in Preston, then went to Downham and Chatburn. Julie’s father was actually the first person to be baptized in Chorley and still lives there in the same home. He knows so much of the history and has shared it with his family. It was a great day, and we could feel the spirit as well as the beauty as we visited each site.

In Preston, President Hinckley’s flat when he lived here as a missionary is on the street behind us above one of the shops. This is where he was living after he first arrived in the mission field, and he quickly became discouraged because of the opposition to the missionary work. At a time of deep frustration, Elder Hinckley wrote in a letter to his father that he felt he was wasting his time and his father’s money. A little while later, Elder Hinckley received a reply from his dad. It said, “Dear Gordon, I have your recent letter. I have only one suggestion: forget yourself and go to work.

In Preston, where the politicians first hung
the sign “Truth will Prevail” which
became the motto of the
Mormon missionaries.

Saturday was nothing short of fabulous. We attended the Great Britain Public Affairs National Council Meeting. We sat in a six-hour meeting with some of the best people I know in Great Britain and Ireland. I’m not sure I can adequately describe all that I felt during the meeting. Although it was all about Public Affairs, every single principle taught was applicable to real life:

• How do we influence those we serve with that haven’t quite caught the vision of the importance of the work? We love them.
• What do we do if they don’t follow through on their assignments? We forgive them.
• How do we tell them they need to do better? We praise them for the good they are doing. 

Bottom line: We use Christ-like attributes to move the work of Public Affairs forward. We lead with love and by example. As I thought about my family, my friends, my church callings and community service at home, every principle applies in the same manner. We love, we forgive, we praise, we support. So I walked away from that meeting with a heart and mind full of what I need to do to be more like Jesus Christ. I’m so grateful for the promptings of the Spirit. Ron and I both felt it was a magical day.

When Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was tasked with
finding a place to build a temple in the
Preston area, he came to this oak tree in
Downham to pray for inspiration.
He knew of the history of this hallowed land.

I was so grateful for the extra hour we were given last night! I actually didn’t sleep any longer; instead, it allowed me to make a big potato salad for our Munch n’ Mingle after church today. And at the Munch n’ Mingle we chose to hang out with the YSA’s (Young Single Adults) and I’ve decided they’re much more fun to be with than the old people. We planned our next gathering in two weeks, and I can’t wait. What a blessing it is to be asked to associate with them.

I apologize that I ran out of time to reply to the emails this week. I received some really good ones! Thank you so much. I love you for taking the time to write and for keeping us in the loop. I’ll close until next week with this thought from our Saturday meeting:

“May we focus on the simple ways we can serve in the kingdom of God, always striving to change lives, including our own. What is most important . . . is whether or not individual people – ministered to one at a time just as the Savior did – have been lifted and encouraged . . .”  M. Russell Ballard

Have a wonderful and joyous week, and look for simple ways to lift someone each day. It will come back to bless each of us tenfold, I promise!

All our love,
Ron and Marie

Doctrine & Covenants 59:3 

Yea, blessed are they whose feet stand upon the land of 

Zion, who have obeyed my gospel; for they shall receive 

for their reward the good things of the earth, and it shall 

bring forth in its strength.

No Sightings of Robin Hood This Week

22 October 2017

Hello everyone!  Thank you to so many who kept in touch this past week.  It was great to hear from you.  Happy Birthday to my niece Angie!  Please tell Corbin that Jean Pierre and Marie miss him!   Also, Happy Birthday to my friend Lori Park!  Thank you for making the effort to come see us during your visit to England.  I hope your day is wonderful today!

We are missing the sun this week and crossing our fingers that we will see it again before next year!  It has been dark and gloomy – a scene right out of a Sherlock Holmes movie.  We woke up to a severe fog warning on Thursday.  Maybe the Brits are just used to it, but I think if I lived here permanently I might be in a state of depression for the winter . . . The temperatures haven’t been too bad yet, so there’s the bright side!  I was able to get just one walk in.  I think I’m doomed this winter.

We are thankful for a week in the office with very little travelling.  I was able to keep my email inbox down in the twenties which makes Elder Partridge a happy camper.  We are in the beginnings of a very big filming project for social media so the logistics of that has kept me on my toes.  I’m finding that I don’t multi-task as well as I did when I was younger.  My brain seems to go on overload quicker, so it has been a week of balancing.  On the bright side, we are seeing results from our training in the Leeds Mission as missionaries are posting videos about why they are serving a mission.  It is so fun!  If you see them on my Facebook page, could I ask that you share them!  We want this to be a successful endeavor.  The PA Area Director in Frankfurt is taking this idea to the Area Presidenttomorrow in her meeting.  We are very excited about that!

Monday, we took the sister missionaries to lunch.  Sister Bessendorfer, who has been here since the beginning of her mission (she was Whitney Crandall’s MTC companion) was transferred.  We helped them get her luggage to the train station on Tuesday.  I was truly worried about her!  I’ve never seen a missionary so nervous.  It’s hard to get on and off the train by yourself with two pieces of large, heavy luggage, a heavy backpack, a bike, and a helmet.  And the wheels on Sister B’s large piece of luggage were completely shredded, so it was nearly impossible to roll.  You just hope that some kind soul will see her struggle when it’s time to transfer to another train and give her a hand.  (For those with future missionaries, buy GOOD QUALITY luggage for them!  The cheap stuff doesn’t hold up through all the transfers and it makes it ten times more difficult!)   I asked her what made her the most nervous about transferring?  Was it actually getting there?  Or a new area?  Or a new companion?  She said, “It’s that the area formerly had Elders, and now I am moving in with my new companion to the Elder’s old apartment!”  I laughed.  “Nothing a scrub brush won’t fix,” I said.  I could feel her pain.  But there was more to it than that.  First transfer is always scary.  I just hugged her and told her there was someone who needed her in her new area.  

One of the Elders was also transferred, but not the one we thought!  The one that had only been here for one transfer was being made a Zone Leader and going to Nottingham.  Elder Beining, who has been here for 4 months, stayed and will become a senior companion and the new District Leader.  Secretly, I really think he was ready to experience a new area.  Another challenge.  Because Elder Blair was leaving, we took the Elders to dinner.  (I like those kinds of days . . . I don’t have to pack a lunch or worry about dinner!  But it was an expensive day.  Worth it!  Five Guys is always worth it.)

Speaking of expensive, the exchange rate for dollars to pounds is less favourable than it has been.  Instead of things costing about 25% more, it now costs about 33% more, and rising.  For everything we purchase on our credit card in pounds, we get an immediate notice of how much is costs in dollars.  OUCH!  I told Ron we needed to live off British grown fresh fruits and vegetables because they are yummy and inexpensive.  He was thrilled about that . . . not.

Thursday we took lunch to the missionaries after their district meeting.  Four missionaries – four different countries represented; USA, Australia, Italy, and Philippines, yet they were all there for the same purpose, making the same sacrifice, to share something with the people of England that is near and dear to their hearts  . . . the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It was very humbling.  “Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven!”

Thursday evening we drove to Nottingham for more training with President Leppard on missionary videos.  It was raining British cats and dogs on the way, and when we ran from the car to the church, thank goodness we had ‘brollies’, but our feet were soaked!  That’s how hard the rain was coming down.  We had planned to have a nice dinner before heading home, but the weather was so bad we hit the drive-thru at McDonalds (yup) and headed home after the meeting.  We were glad to get home safe, but without one Robin Hood or Maid Marian sighting.  J

We were also happy to have a Saturday home, spent doing cleaning, laundry, finances, and grocery shopping.  I attempted to make cookies again for our YSA activity, but then bought some at Costco that looked a whole lot better.  I just can’t get the hang of converting recipes or using the oven here.  Ron said he would ‘sacrifice’ and eat them so they didn’t go to waste, bless his heart . . .

This past week “Festival of Lights” week, a Hindu and Sikh holiday celebration.  I don’t know much about it, but beginning Wednesday night there have been massive fireworks going off every night until WAY past my bedtime.  I think tonight is the fifth and last night.  They do know how to party . . .those Hindus and Sikhs!

My little darlings were pretty good singers in Primary today!  We gave them all a CD a couple of weeks ago of the Primary Program songs, and I can tell they have been listening to them at home.  They are learning the words quite well, and I say a prayer of thanks at the end of Primary.  Even the Nursery children engaged today.  It was a day of tender mercies.  Tonight we have our first YSA activity.  I’m praying for one more tender mercy.

Today the Opening Song in Sacrament Meeting was “Thanks for the Sabbath School.”  I’m not sure if it is an LDS written hymn or it appears in other church’s hymnals as well.  Maybe one of my friends that belong to a different faith can tell me.  As many times as I’ve sung that song in the last 50+ years, there were a couple of lines that stuck out today . .

“Thanks for the teachers who labor with care that we in the light of the gospel may share.”

Ron taught Sunday School and High Priests today.  I witnessed all of his preparation.  We had great talks in Sacrament Meeting.  I’m so thankful for all the preparation that goes into Sundays by so many people.  When we arrived at the church, the lights were on and the doors were unlocked and there were people to greet us.  The Sacrament was prepared.  Bread appeared as it always does.  I felt an overwhelming amount of gratitude for these things today.  It is the season of bountiful harvest and giving thanks, isn’t it?  And the second line . . >

“Strive with the noble in deeds that exalt, and battle with energy each childish fault.”

There is always so much that can be done.  Today I was reminded again to focus the BEST things!  And aren’t we constantly trying to overcome weaknesses and be just a little better?  It’s part of my daily prayers as I ask humbly for help. 

We are so grateful to all of you for the bounteous blessing you are to us.  We learn from you as we watch you deal with your trials.  Our testimonies grow stronger as you share your own testimonies with us.  We feel indebted to so many who care for things at home for us.  We especially thank our family for the sacrifices you are making so that we can serve, knowing you are ok.  WE LOVE YOU!

Favourite quote today, applicable to all:

You will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment that you will ever make.”

Gordon B. Hinckley

Love you all,

Elder and Sister Partridge

Ron and Marie

One Last day of Summer...

15 October 2017

Hello dear family and friends!

We hope this letter finds you well and happy. We’ve had a beautiful week in so many ways. We hope your week has been wonderful also. The sun was shining today and was a lovely 62 degrees outside. Yesterday it was 69 degrees . . .close enough to 70 that I felt like we were blessed with one last day of summer. There has been just enough rain to keep the natives from crying DROUGHT, but the rain has been mostly at night, so . . . once again, HALLELUJAH!

Happiest of Birthdays to our son, Zack! He will be 29 on Friday. He is hard working, fun loving, and a great Dad. His passion is sports, and although he doesn’t think he is very good at math, he can tell you sports statistics like none other. He honors his priesthood and blesses our family with it. It is a true blessing to be his parents.

This past week was a heavy travel week, Monday afternoon to late Saturday night. We did drive back to the flat to sleep Thursday night just to avoid one more hotel, then back on the road Friday morning. We spent two days in the Leeds Mission at two separate zone conferences. It was gift day at Zone Conference, as each companionship took home a brand new slow cooker for their flat. In Sister Turvey’s words, “You put in a little of this, and a little of that, mix it together, turn on the cooker before you leave in the morning, and VOILA! Dinner is ready when you get home.” The missionaries were so excited!

The Leeds Mission

Even more exciting than the first gift was that they all received smart phones! They are the first mission that we know of in the UK to toss the dinosaurs. President Turvey is very understanding of how important social media is as a missionary tool, so much of the conference was talking about how to use Facebook as missionaries, etc. Words like meme, hashtags, and dashboards were spewing from President Turvey. When it was our turn to present, I introduced us, then I started off by telling them what a cool mission president they had that knew what a ‘meme’ and a ‘hashtag’ even was, but then the thought came to me that I needed to speak their language, so I said, “No, he’s not cool . . . he’s SICK! Wicked sick.” They laughed, with Sister Turvey laughing the loudest and hardest, and the ice was broken and we had a great time with our presentation.

To tell you a little about the presentation we do for the missionaries, we present a short new program called “I’m a Missionary.” We created the concept following the pattern of the highly successful “I’m a Mormon” campaign that the church came out with around the time the Book of Mormon musical came out. The idea is that over 60 different countries are represented with missionaries in the UK. We are asking them to make a simple 60 second video introducing themselves and why they are in the UK and post it on Facebook. They will post to their personal Facebook page, the local church social media pages, and their mission Facebook page. It is a fun and simple way to help people understand and know them.

We met lots of new Elders and Sisters, including Elder Rex from Orem, (Festival connection to his great aunt), Elder Schmidt from Bountiful, (you may know his dad the piano player J), Elder Anderson from Farmington, Sister Autumn Jenkins from Kaysville, and Sister Watson who worked at El Matadors to earn money for her mission.

Left: Elder Rex, Top: Elder Anderson, Bottom: Sister Jenkins

Friday we were back up in Chorley. We were able to do a temple session as well as have dinner with our cruise friends in Manchester. They are still talking about their experience at the Pageant and still passing around the program. Hearing this made our hearts dance and our faces smile. Whilst in the temple, the names of those of you who have been on our minds and in our prayers lately were placed on the prayer roll. We hope you feel the blessings of prayers on your behalf from around the world.

While in Chorley we were also able to get permission from the MTC President to visit Elder Bradley Wheeler from our ward in Kaysville, and his companion, Elder Thacker from Highland, UT. It was great to spend a few minutes with him and answer a few questions about the Birmingham mission. We gave him a little care package and snap a few photos for his mom. For all those who know him, he is happy and looked great.

Elder Wheeler

Yesterday we attended the Multi-Stake PA Council meeting for the Manchester area, where Ron and I each gave a presentation. I gave the counsel a follow-up on the Pageant. It was my first time actually presenting by myself using PowerPoint. Ron purchased a “clicker” for me to use to make it easier. Thank you! “Where do I put my notes?” I said. “You don’t use notes. Your notes are the PowerPoint slides,” he said. Yikes. “Where do I stand?” “You don’t stand, you move around.” Double yikes. “I have to remember what I want to say about each slide, remember to click to advance slides, and walk around and engage with the audience?” “Yes, dear. That’s what good presenters do.” You’ll have to ask him how it went. I was glad I was first on the agenda, and done. Ron’s presentation was on ‘Opinion Leader Outreach’ and ‘Working with Priesthood Leaders’ in Public Affairs – piece of cake for him. He has the clicker down pat.

We hurried back to Birmingham last night after the meeting to meet the Parrishes and Malcolm and Sharon in to attend the “Legends” concert, where one segment featured Jay, Merrill and Jimmy Osmond. It was a tough PA assignment, but somebody had to do it J. We had a great time with the Osmonds. The other legends . . . well . . . I think that when you can’t sing well anymore you just turn up the volume on the music and hope no one will notice. It was VERY loud! Or maybe we’re just getting old. Or both. We did have some great Mexican food before the concert, the first we’ve had since being here. Best meal all week!

Tonight we attended a satellite broadcast wherein members of our area presidency and also Elder Whitney Clayton and Elder Ballard spoke. It was a bit different than some meetings in that there wasn’t a general theme to the meeting. Each spoke on a subject of their choice. Great thoughts on how important the Book of Mormon is, keeping the Sabbath day holy, and not being afraid to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. A bonus to attending was that we were able to see Sister Harwath who was serving in our area when we first arrived. We love her and didn’t even get a chance to say good-bye to her when she was transferred. She goes home this week, back to Switzerland, so we felt it a tender mercy to get to hug her!

We love you! Thank you for staying connected to us! Thank you for allowing us to share our mission with you. It is a tremendous blessing to re-cap each week. We send our love and prayers to you.

Cheers!

Ron and Marie