Easter Sunday

16 April 2017

That Easter morning, a grave that burst

Proclaimed to man that “Last and First”

Had risen again and conquered pain.

This morning renews for us that day

When Jesus cast the bonds away,

Took living breath and conquered death.

Thus we in gratitude recall

And give our love and pledge our all,

Shed grateful tears and conquer fear.

Happy Easter to our family and friends!  And, Happy Birthday to our son-in-law Sam, today, as he finishes up another big tax season. . . .Congratulations!  No one will be happier when tax season is over this week than Alisha!  And, Happy Birthday to our Maxwell Roger on Saturday.  He turns a big 7 years old.  We love them both!

We have had another week of exciting “firsts” for us.  Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were spent in long days at the office.  I have been working on our VIP list for the British Pageant.  This includes Ambassadors, Members of Parliament, opinion leaders in the country, interfaith leaders, reporters and journalists, etc. etc. etc.  Ron has been helping me with the Xcel part of it.  That has been our big focus and has taken a long time, but we are almost there.   Along with that task we have been keeping up on every day jobs such as fielding phone calls, writing letters to newspapers asking for a retraction or an opportunity to write a rebuttal when misinformation is said about our Church, preparing to give another class on Spokesperson Training in the Netherlands this weekend, and preparing for a video shoot for the pageant in two weeks.   Ron reads three newspapers every day and also keeps up on the finance aspect of our office.  The days go by so fast because we are kept busy, and we are tired when we get home at night.  I like to walk every evening if it’s not too cold or rainy, but sometimes I just don’t have it in me. 

Wednesday had some perks too!  It was Malcolm’s first day back at the office since being in Utah for General Conference and some PTO.  It is good to have him back.  We went to lunch with him and heard all the news from SLC on Public Affairs.  New and exciting things are happening!    I also received a FedEx package on Wednesday from my Quilt Group, which made my day!  They know me so well and filled it with things I love.  Thank you again, my friends! 

Friday, being “Good Friday”, was a Bank Holiday here, which is like a Federal Holiday at home, so everything is closed, including our office.  Tomorrow is Easter Monday, also a Bank Holiday.  For us that meant a four-day weekend, so we planned a trip down to Cornwall.  We left midday Thursday to beat the traffic.  We rented a little place through Airbnb in Newquay (pronounced New-key).  It was cozy for sure (or should I just say outright . . .  it was small).  I’d call it glorified camping.  But we were only there to sleep, so it was fine.

We are searching for Ross and Demelza in Poldark country this
weekend. We needed some fish and chips to begin the search.
@The Padstow Fish & Chips Cafe

Cornish Cream Tea

Friday morning, before we began our adventurous day, we stopped at McDonalds for a little breakfast.  When we went back out to get in the car, Ron couldn’t find the key.  Sure enough, it was still in the ignition!  And not only that, but Ron made it very easy for someone to steal the car . . . he even left the engine running for them.  Now how would we have explained that one to the church?  It made for a good laugh to begin our day.  (If you want to know how Ron said he would explain it, I’ll have to tell you privately, as it is not very civil or politically correct.)J

Cornish beauty!

Cornwall is Southern England. It’s a resort area full of many small towns and farming communities . . . a vacation hotspot for sure. They have beautiful beaches and lots of walking/hiking trails.  There are hundreds if not thousands of B&B’s, hotels, rentals, etc. for places to stay and fun places to eat.  Food such saffron rolls, pasties (pronounced past-ees), which is a meat pie, all claim their fame from Cornwall.   And lots of fresh fish with it being on the Atlantic ocean.  We tasted everything we could that friends and co-workers told us to try while there.  My personal favorite was Cornish Cream Tea.  It is warm scone, cut in half.  First you put fresh raspberry jam on it, then clotted cream.  Oh my goodness!  It was so good.  If you’re curious about clotted cream, just Google it.  After reading what I ate, I’m sure I could feel my arteries clogging.  The Tea part of Cornish Cream Tea is that it is served with tea, as is everything here, but for us it was hot chocolate.  It was dinner for us one evening.

A lot of filming of television and movies happen in Cornwall such as Doc Martin and Poldark (BBC).  Since we love Poldark, we had fun chasing filming sites.  There is no doubt that it was filmed there.  Everywhere you go, it looks just like the scenery in the show.  We were hoping for a sighting of Ross or Demelza, but sadly, we only saw them on postcards in the gift shop at Lands End, and on a few road signs.  J

The southern most place in England!

We were forewarned of the narrow roads and not to be on them at night after dark, especially if it is raining.  They are so narrow, sometimes barely wide enough for one small car, let alone any oncoming traffic.  And thank goodness, no rain.  From Ron’s journal on Thursday night:

Wow – Cornwall!  An amazing day driving the southwest part of England. Today we went to St Agnes, Porthtowan, Portreath, Godrevy Heritage coast (North Cliffs), Hayle, Penzance, Mousehole, Lamoma, Porthcurno, Lands End, St Just, and St Ives.  Marie must have said "Wow that is beautiful” over 100 times. And it really was. We enjoyed lunch at a nice pub, we walked along cliffs, and then had real Cornish Cream Tea - so delicious! It was a fun day together. And oh, the unbelievably narrow roads. We went down places that I could not believe. And when a car came the other way, my heart stopped . . . multiple times. 

The scenery was so breathtakingly beautiful.  It was worth every heart-stopping moment on the roads.  At one point I told Ron it looked like the Garden of Eden.  I can only imagine that it must be what paradise looks like.   As we looked on every side of us from the many roads we drove, I could picture painting after painting of beauty, or a picture puzzle scene.  I thought my eyes, my mind, and my heart would explode at times with how full they were of beauty.  I didn’t take near enough pictures, because the roads were too narrow to pull over, but I truly have never been in a more beautiful place.  The green rolling hills, the farmer’s fields divided by flowering hedges rather than fences, the ocean, the old English houses and barns . . I could go on.  There were lots of cows and sheep and some horses in many fields.  And the homes and farms all have a name, like ‘Willowey Stump’ and ‘Carn Voele’ and ‘Lower Tremadan Acres’.  It was all so charming.   All day I kept thinking what a “Good Friday” it was, and felt it such a blessing to honor the day by seeing the beauty of God’s creations.

After two full days of driving miles and miles of windy roads, we felt like we had seen Cornwall, so we decided to go home today instead of tomorrow.  We left Newquay about 8:15 am to be at church at 10 am in the town of Exeter.  It was a tiny congregation.  They were happy to have us there since much of their ward was away for the holiday.  When I see wards like this, it reminds me how easy we have church in Utah.  For instance, Sister Brooke played the organ.  Today she and her husband and son gave the three talks in Sacrament Meeting, and then she taught the Gospel Doctrine class in Sunday School.  We met very nice people who were so welcoming, including the two sister missionaries assigned to the area.  I do love those experiences.  

On the way home we were delayed because of an accident.  We sat on the motorway with the car turned off for about ½ hour.  When this happens, lots of people get out of their cars and talk with one another, I guess trying to solve the problem, or other world problems.  J  I got out to get in the ‘boot’ to retrieve my computer, and the car next to me asked if I had any sandwiches!  I had peanut butter and honey, but no bread, darn.  Our trip home took much longer than expected. 

We were home in time to talk with our children and our parents and wish them all a Happy Easter.  I’ve discovered that homesickness, and missing the kids, is especially hard around holidays.  I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t able to color eggs with the kids.  Again, the sacrificial part of this experience. 

On the left, my Easter Cactus at home. On the right, my Easter
cactus in England!
Thank you Lynette Schmidt Perkins and Anna!

As I ponder today the reason we celebrate Easter, I am so grateful to know that “He is Risen” and lives again.  And because of this, I too can live with Him again.  And so can you.  We can all find comfort in the quote, “All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”  With this knowledge embedded in my soul, I am able to serve as a missionary away from my family.  I am so grateful for this Easter season.  With it brings new life to the world as flowers bloom, grass and leaves turn green, and new life is born.  It is all so symbolic.  And it all works together for our benefit. 

I’m so grateful, also, for each one of you in my life.  Thank you for being interested in our mission.  Thank you, my children, for taking care of one another when things arise.  Thank you, my family, friends, and neighbors for taking care of things we cannot while we are gone.  Thank you for every email, text, and social media message I receive.  Thank you to those who are caring for my dear mother right now.  Thank you for the packages, letters, notes of encouragement, and wedding invites!  It is so nice to be remembered.  And they all seem to come on the perfect day at just the perfect time.  Thank you for your prayers.  We pray for you each day and pray that you will be blessed with everything you need.