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.