A Wee Bit o' Scottish in the Air!

20 August 2017

Dear Family, Friends, Loved Ones!

I’m feeling the ‘sacrifice’ of serving a mission this week with so much going on at home! Birthdays, kids activities, first day of school, class reunion, solar eclipse, quilt group fun, lunches, Pickleball . . . I could go on. Don’t get me wrong! We love hearing about them . . . but we miss you all!

Happy Birthday, my dear friend Rhonda, who has taught me more than she’ll even know and has been a beacon of righteousness and virtuousness for me. I love you! Our thoughts are also with the Allen family this week as they send their third missionary to the MTC, then on to London! A difficult week for parents, yet so bittersweet. We are excited to receive him here in the UK and will do our best to connect with him!

And a special hug to Hunter as he goes to his first day of Kindergarten this week! Another bittersweet moment for Dad and Mom. Where has the time gone?

I feel like someone has pricked a tiny hole in our Pageant balloon and we are coming down slowly from our two week high. It was an unusual but fun week for us with Ron’s parents here for a few days. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we worked half days so we could show them some of England before they got on a cruise ship on Thursday. We went back to Gadfield Elm, Benbow Pond, and St. Michael’s Castle Frome Church. All three places were depicted in some way in the Pageant, so they seemed to have just a little more meaning this time. We experienced the Bull Market in downtown Birmingham one afternoon, and had afternoon tea in the Cotswolds. The Partridges have always been a game-playing family, so in the evenings we pulled out ‘Rummikub’ from the game basket and relaxed and had fun. Ron and I are so grateful for their good health and good spirits and so happy to have them visit us.

On Thursday Ron drove the parents down to Southampton to board their cruise ship and also made a stop at our PA office in London for a few matters of business. This was an all-day event. I went to work by myself! It felt very VERY weird to be there without my companion, but I have to say that I accomplished much, and we accomplished a great deal together on Friday as well, so we feel like by this Friday we may have our heads above water again! Reports on the Pageant have to be written, data collected, pictures captioned and sent to appropriate VIPs and others, feedback compiled, files stored . . . etc. Not done yet, but getting there!

Yesterday we began a four-day trip to Scotland, a little down time after several weeks without a day off. We rode the train up to Glasgow, and the Parrishes from London met us at the station also. I don’t know what it is about the four of us getting together, but it seems to bring on the rain and cold. Just like in Paris, it’s cold and wet here . . .well, then it’s not . . .then it is . . . fickle weather. Yesterday we walked around the city centre of Glasgow and also drove out to out of the city to find some neighborhoods to see what homes are like here.

Again, the experiences we have attending church are some of our favourite as we travel. Today we attended church at the Springboig Ward in Glasgow. It was fun because we ran into some of our Pageant friends who live up there. That was a bonus! We love meeting the missionaries everywhere we go. There are two sets of Elders and two sets of Sister Missionaries in the ward, and they are busy working with the Chinese students at University. There were two confirmations today after two baptisms yesterday. Hurrah for Israel in Scotland and China! Although proselyting missionaries are not allowed in China, t he church continues to grow there because of baptisms in Scotland. It’s pretty amazing how the Lord works.

There were three talks given today at church. I want to share with you just one. It was given by a Filipino woman who wasn’t five feet tall. We could hardly see her over the pulpit. She talked about when she was younger and her children were 7, 5, and 2 years old. They were very poor and knew something needed to change in order to give their children a fair chance at life. She and her husband decided that she would go work as a nurse in Saudi Arabia. She left her family and went to work there for four years, only coming home for a visit every six months. She felt so guilty for leaving, and every day she would pray that her husband would be ok with the children, and that someday her children would forgive her for leaving them. Her heart was full of sorrow. Years later, when her daughter was married and had children of her own, she told her mum that she not only forgave her but knew how courageous she had been to leave her children. Because of her bravery, the children were able to be educated at good schools and were living happy, productive lives. As she told this story, she shed tears of sadness and happiness as she recalled her journey. When she said “Amen” and sat down, I thought to myself, “I complain about some of the stupidest things.”

After church we took a drive to a nearby town, Ayr, on the coast. We came back in time to talk with our family, a highlight of our week. Today was much warmer than yesterday, at 62 degrees and no rain, and we are praying it will last through the Tattoo Festival tomorrow night. But just in case, I brought my winter coat, hat, scarf and gloves! I do not fear! (By the way, the Tattoo Festival is a big outdoor music Festival with lots of bagpipes and kilts, the reason for our trip to Scotland, and we won’t be getting tattoos )

We love you, we miss you, and I promise I will write back to you if you write now that things are a little more normal. Thank you for your patience, and your letters, and your love and prayers. We love you all and continue to pray for you. We see the Lord’s hand in the work of Public Affairs in the UK constantly and are grateful to be His servants for a time. Please continue to keep us posted on all that is happening in your lives as well!

Love to all,
Ron and Marie