A Sad Day

Dear Family and Friends,

It is with a sad but thankful heart that I tell you that my mother passed away peacefully today.  I am grateful her suffering is over, and grateful that she is with my Dad again, along with many other loved ones that have gone before.  I am especially grateful for a merciful Father in Heaven who allowed her to stay here on earth long enough for me to arrive home and spend several hours with her before her passing.  I recognize it as a blessing and tender mercy.  

I have truly been blessed with peace over the past few weeks.  I am keenly aware, and have even been surprised myself at the comfort and peace I felt during this process.  I recognize the Lord’s hand in blessing us.   It is true.  The Lord takes care of His missionaries.

I am grateful for the knowledge of eternal families.  I am grateful for my parent’s temple marriage nearly 67 years ago.  I am grateful to know that I will see them again and be with them eternally.

Thank you for your love and prayers through this difficult month.  I am eternally grateful for each of you and the love and friendships we share.

Funeral will be Saturday.

Love to all,

Ron and Marie

Friends to All Nations...

We hope this letter finds you healthy, happy and full of good cheer! We know how busy you are with life everyday, with challenges, and all you are tasked to do. Some weeks we all have to dig a little deeper to find blessings to count. We hope this was a week so full of blessings you don’t know where to begin!

Happy Birthday today to Paige, our niece! Are you really 30? Gosh, I remember when I turned 30. It just doesn’t seem that long ago. Happy Birthday Joan Davis and Tony, and may you all be blessed with many many more!

Three days in Solihull . . .
The first three days of the week were in the office, preparing for the next three days.

Tuesday our office watched together the announcement of the new President of our Church. Just to give you the inside track into the Public Affairs side of things in Europe, all of the countries Digital Channel Coordinators were given a heads up earlier in the day of the forthcoming announcement without the names of the new counselors, but were told NOT to post until notified, and to be on standby at the time of the announcement. About ten seconds after President Nelson announced who his counselors would be, Malcolm’s, Ron’s, and my phone all chimed with an email, with counselors and ages of the newly called, and instructions to POST NOW. And within two minutes, the announcement of our new prophet and his counselors was posted in 20 countries on many digital channels and social media pages in multiple languages. I have never even considered what went into something like that before, so it was fun to witness it and be part of it.

Three days in London . . .
We have been working on an event that happened last Thursday night for months, but for security purposes had to keep it quiet.

The lovely Savannah Stephenson

We took a train to London Thursday morning. We arrived just in time for our 11am meeting to begin final preparations for the event Thursday evening. UK Public Affairs held a first annual Diplomatic Reception at the Hyde Park Chapel Visitor’s Centre. The Parrishes have been working on this for months, and we were their helpers. In attendance were Ambassadors or representatives from countries all over the world, such as Antigua, Israel, Myammur, Panama, just to name a few. It was the first time ever that so many non-LDS people who hold high level government positions were gathered together in an LDS Church facility. They were there as friends of the Church, and friends of each other. The setting was perfect. Our entertainment was Savannah Stephenson, West End actress who played Galinda in ‘Wicked’ for three years in London, played in Mary Poppins, and is also Mary in the Bible videos that are produced by our Church. She is a lovely person and it was fun to see her again. We first met her at the Pageant last August. My job was to take care of her needs as well as oversee the logistics of reception that evening. Our Area President, President Johnson, was the official host. The one glitch that no one could do anything about . . .. the President of France decided to also hold an event that evening in the UK just a few doors down, so several blocks of the street outside were blocked with motorcades, and many of our guests who had RSVP’d simply couldn’t get there without walking quite a distance. And because of their security, they couldn’t walk. But even with that unforeseen and unavoidable circumstance, the night was a success. Plans are underway for next year’s reception already. The opportunity to be part of this event will be in the top ten highlights of our mission.

We love to see Elder Allen!

Friday was such a great day. We worked a bit in the morning in the PA office. I’ll just say that a little bird told us that Elder Allen (my cousin’s son) would be at working at the Visitor’s Centre also on Friday, so while working we left the door open and let things come as they would. Sure enough, Elder Allen walked by, did a double take, and walked back! It was so fun to see him, hug him, make sure he was ok, and get a picture with him for his family.

For lunch we met Sharon, Terry and Katy Smith. It was so good to see faces from home. We talked about Katy and her new study abroad adventure in London (the reason for their visit), they wanted to know all about our mission, and we were equally anxious to hear all they knew about their upcoming mission to Guatemala. They also brought me a care package. Thank you to my two favorite Sharons!

Friday evening we went with the Parrishes to see the West End play “Matilda”. We do love plays in London! We even found some decent Mexican food for dinner beforehand.

Saturday we spent a good share of the day in a meeting with 14 other carefully selected people from around the UK (and even one from Germany) to talk about effectively using Social Media to share the Gospel. We were especially keen on the opinions of the 30-year-olds and under and gained a lot of insight. Even though Ron and I like to think we have some millennial traits with social media . . . we are far behind. Especially me. They are so smart! We are grateful to be part of this work.

London is fun, exciting place to work and play, but we are also always glad to get back to our quiet Solihull. We got back Saturday night . . . Exhausted! When we woke up to snow, and it just keep coming, I kept watching our Ward Facebook page . . . just sure they would cancel Church (I really would have loved to have gone back to bed). But they didn’t, and of course we went, and it was great, and my spirits were buoyed up as always. The snow has since turned to rain and it is very wet outside. But we are warm and cozy in our little flat.

We are mindful of some of the trials you are having and continue to pray for you and your loved ones. I know HE on high hears and answers the prayers of everyone, and I am so grateful for that knowledge and share my testimony of it with you.

Love to you all,
Elder and Sister Partridge

Bucket List Check!

Dear family and friends,

Happy Birthday on Tuesday to Ron’s dad (it’s a BIG ONE and they are celebrating it right with a cruise to Hawaii), and Happy Birthday to my brother Mike, and also to my friend and neighbor Marilee on Wednesday. Remember last week I wished our grandson, Luke, an early Happy 9th Birthday? Well . . . he’s turning 10 . . . time is really just flying by. Sorry Luke!

As we heard from many of you last week, it sounds like there is a lot of sickness going around. Here too! We have managed to stay healthy, but so many in the office and at Church are coughing and sniffing. I hope the cold leaves soon and we all get some good air to breathe.

A place of love & beauty...

Thank you to everyone for your concern and prayers for my mom. She continues to struggle and was back in the hospital this past week with a painful blood clot in her leg. We continue to pray fervently for her. My family is taking such good care of her and I am so grateful.

Our daily work at the office this week started off slow but then revved right up and we put in some long hours towards the end of the week. We have a very exciting event this week in London, the first of its kind, and the final preparations are time consuming. I will fill you in on more details next week, after it takes place, in case any of you are leading a double life as a spy.

Monday night we took the Elders to dinner to say good-bye to our Elder Boehning who has been with us for the last seven months. Oh . . . it’s so hard sometimes. Today we met Elder Murray, and he will set Solihull on fire! I can tell he’s just that kind of missionary. After our goodbyes we went to the Wills’ home for FHE with them. They are always good company.

We had some banners to take to our London office, so we only worked a couple of hours in the office on Friday, then drove to London. We hadn’t done anything cultural for a while, nor had we been to the temple, so we made a weekend of it. We dropped the banners off, then we went to the London Temple. The temple is actually in Newchapel, Surry, about an hour outside of London. It was our first time going to that temple while on our mission, and it was so nice. I needed it. I will never again take for granted how close we are to so many temples in Utah. That night we stayed at a nice Marriott down in that area, thanks to a friend who shares his employee ‘Friends and Family’ discount with us.

The beautiful white cliffs of Dover!

Saturday we crossed off another ‘bucket list’ item for Ron as we spent a good share of the day in Dover, touring the castle, the underground tunnels, and of course, viewing the beautiful white cliffs of Dover. The underground tunnels were especially interesting after seeing the movie ‘Dunkirk.’ The operations room for the Dunkirk rescue was in the tunnels, along with living quarters, hospital, and mess hall. The castle is the largest in England. It was a chilly day, but we dressed for it. It was a great Saturday.

Ron spoke in Sacrament Meeting today on forgiveness and judging mercifully, a subject that is a concern in our Ward and the Bishop asked him specifically to address. When he was done, Alise, sitting next to me, said “WOW”. I’m not sure what kind of WOW she meant! It’s not an easy subject, but he did a great job. He then taught the Gospel Doctrine class as well, and I went to Primary. We had 22 children again today and it felt more like Primary and less like playtime. We met with the YSA reps after Church to plan the next activity. We are so blessed to have the ‘assignment’ to work with them. We just love them.

So tomorrow morning is a big one for Ron. After months of study and practice, he takes his final driving test for his British license. Since our right to drive in the UK expires one month from today, let us pray that the person testing him in the morning gets up on the right side of the bed. Ron has prepared himself well, but it is suppose to be the most difficult driving test given in the world. We will be celebrating when he passes, that’s for sure.

We have a big week this week ahead of us, and hopefully lots of fun things to write about next Sunday. Until then, thanks so much for your love and prayers. We sure love you also.

Cheers from the cold (but bearable) England!

XOXO,
Ron and Marie

New Year's Resolutions

Dear family and friends,

Thank you again to all who reached out to us over the holidays. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family members supporting us. We love you!

First, our grandson Luke will have his 9th Birthday on the 17th, and the lucky birthday boy will be cruising the Caribbean that day, so Happy Birthday Luke! We can’t wait to hear about the fun you had.

Happy Birthday on Tuesday to Denise Garrett and Lori Hedin, two of my very dear friends. If I were home, we’d be lunching for sure. Next year we will make up for it!

Our New Year’s Day was spent at our flat, with Ron cooking his traditional pot of black-eyed peas and ham. It is tradition in the South (USA) that eating black eyes on New Year’s Day will bring good luck all year. Both the Elders and the Sisters, as well as a senior couple came over to share them with us, so if the Birmingham Mission explodes with baptisms in 2018, you’ll know why. J The Elders loved them . . . the Sisters tolerated them. Ron was tickled when Amanda phoned him to find out how to make them because the grandchildren were asking for them. Grandpa’s New Year’s Day tradition was missed. It made his day.

We received word on Tuesday that my mother took another fall and broke her other hip on New Year’s Day, much worse than the last break in the other hip in September, and much more painful for her. She had surgery and is back in rehab, and we are taking one day at a time. I would appreciate your prayers for her.

We mourn and rejoice at the passing of our dear President Monson. He was such a great example of service, and ‘walking the walk’, not just ‘talking the talk’. The rejoicing comes with the thought of the great reunion he had with his dear wife whom he has missed so much since her passing. You can imagine the busy morning we had at the office Wednesday when we woke up to the news. The pre-written news announcement of his passing comes to us from headquarters in Salt Lake, and we must get it out to our first contact countries, and the translation if necessary. For us it was Ireland, Netherlands, and Dutch-speaking Belgium.

Malcolm was out again Tuesday through Thursday with wisdom tooth surgery, so other than Wednesday we had another slower than usual week. We used the extra time together to do some gospel reading and study, organize our mission photos, as well as began watching the series “Downton Abby”. I have seen it, but it is a first for Ron, and we are enjoying it. I can’t believe how much more I pick up after living here for nearly a year. When they talk about Guy Fawkes, I know what they mean. When they talk about Manchester, I know right where that is. And before we come home, I want to tour “Highclere Castle” for real (where Downtown Abby was filmed).

We had a good weekend. Friday night we went on a date! We went Five Guys for dinner and then to ‘Jumanji’ at the cinema. Saturday night we did our Home Teaching to one of our families, in that we babysat the three little girls so Dad and Mum could have a night out. We made “Hugs” for the parents with the girls (thanks, Alisha, for the idea!), watched a DVD of their choice (Trolls), read stories, and sang songs. The parents were so grateful, and so were we, as it filled a void for us. We do miss the kiddos at home.

Today was the first Sunday of a new year, and the pews at Church were full. I love New Year’s resolutions. We had 23 Primary children in all . . . a record! The four new Sunbeams were amazing, and all went well. We are all excited to teach the children this year more about the theme “I Am a Child of God.” After all, when we understand that simple principle from a young age it can influence our path in life in such a positive way.

Testimonies were born today, as usual on the first Sunday of each month, and there seemed to be general theme of kindness. I guess it wasn’t just me who was affected by our Bishop’s remarks at Christmas. I wonder if that humble man realizes the impact he is having.

Thank you for you continued love and support! I am so grateful for all I am learning here. We feel so blessed to be serving and experiencing all that we are. Our lives will be forever changed. We love you, miss you, and pray for you.

Cheers from England!
Ron and Marie