When it rains it pours!

Dear Family and Friends

We hope you have had a great week with beautiful weather and sunshine! We are so grateful for you and all the good things you are doing. You are such good examples to us in so many ways.

We had a short week in the office this week. We only spent Monday and Tuesday there. Wednesday we did a site visit with Malcolm and Malcolm’s boss, Gabi, who flew in from Frankfurt to be with us. We visited the proposed church for the new Public Affairs office, and it was decided that with some modifications it would be suitable. Working with Facility Management and a leasing company for a new flat for the next missionary couple will be the project we finish our mission with.

Our dear friends, Brad and Wendy Gibbs, came for a visit. We met them on Thursday and spent three full days showing them our favorite places in England. One thing we experienced with them that we hadn’t done before was the tour of Shakespeare’s birthplace and homes in Stratford-Upon-Avon. It was a little surreal as we realized that it was likely our last time at most of the places during our mission.

Our ward is so welcoming to our visitors. It’s fun to introduce Brad and Wendy to the people I’ve grown to love that I’ve written home about. Wendy even came to Primary with me, and my heart could have burst when they sang “Whenever I Hear the Song of a Bird” so well. I realized that of all the people I love in England, I’ll miss the Primary children the most. Shhhhhhh…….don’t tell.

We put the Gibbs’ on the train after church, on their way to Paris for a few days before going home. We are leaving shortly for a youth fireside that Ron was asked to speak at on ‘Crucial Conversations’. See what I tell you? He has blessed the lives of so many here by his vast knowledge of the gospel and his ability to teach. I know they will miss him. Unfortunately, tonight we will be leaving in the rain, and possibly driving through some flooded streets as the weather gives us thunder, lightning, and pouring rain today. But it’s ok . . . we haven’t melted yet.

I’ll miss visiting the cemeteries tomorrow. For me, Memorial is another day that I count my blessings for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation, and my testimony that we will see our loved ones again and share lives together in heaven just as we do here.

Our prayers continue to be with you. We love you so much.

Cheers,
Ron and Marie

Royal Wedding Bells!

Cheers to all!

This was a great week to be part of the Britain culture. First of all, the weather could not have been better. We had high 60’s every day without a drop of rain, and mostly sunny. Today we will be in the 70’s! The mood of the people is generally happier on weeks like this, and the flowers are blooming. Some, no doubt, have begun worrying about a drought this year, but as for me . . . I’m tickled pink. I was able to get out and walk after work nearly every day, which is good for my body and soul. The only negatives . . . the birds are chirping at 3:30am right outside our bedroom window, but nothing that a set of cheap Delta Airlines earplugs didn’t solve, and the sun is up by 4am and my body thinks it’s time to wake up.

Royal Cream Tea!

The hype leading up to the Royal Wedding yesterday was fun. It was the chatter everywhere. We held a Royal Cream Tea for our lunch on Friday in celebration, complete with tuna and corn, egg salad, and coronation chicken sandwiches. We had fresh British fruit that I could have eaten all day, scones with clotted cream and strawberries, and teacakes to top it off. The table was decorated with British flags, faces of Harry and Meghan on sticks, and British crowns. It was really REALLY fun to be here on this side of things. No one here seems to love Harry’s new wife, the American, and if Harry were in line for the throne “the Queen would have had more to say about the wedding,” but most were respectful about what they said about Meghan in front of the American missionary couple. Most.

Since so many were home watching the wedding on Saturday, it was a perfect day to see the sights again. We chose to go to the National Arboretum in the Cotswolds. There were so many beautiful old trees and bushes of beautiful flowers like magnolias and every breed of rhododendrons you could think of and a few more. Last night was the annual event to support the families of Chernobyl at the church. Everyone filled me in on the wedding, and we watched some of it on YouTube right there at the church. I do love YouTube! Wasn’t Meghan’s dress stunningly elegant? That seemed to be the talk of the evening, that and how composed and lovely Meghan’s mum was. We had the best of both worlds yesterday . . . sightseeing and wedding, thanks to modern technology.

A lovely day at the National Arboretum in the Cotswolds

Speaking of modern technology, and to let you know what Public Affairs does at times, we were sitting at the computer on Friday a little after 4pm waiting for the live broadcast to be shown on mormonnewsroom.org of the meeting between President Nelson and the new head of the NAACP, when emails began coming in from Area Seventies and Public Affairs headquarters . . . a fake website that looked just like Mormon Newsroom was out where a fake transcript of the meeting between the two leaders had been posted, (before it even happened) making the Mormons look really bad and President Nelson supposedly apologizing for the mistreatment of Blacks by Mormons over the past several decades. This all happened before the meeting even took place! Oh . . . the lengths people will go to in order to mock religion. So sad. Those kinds of things keep us on our toes.

I can’t remember if I mentioned this before, but a few weeks ago a meeting was held at the office where we were told that the Church had decided to sell the office building we are in. It is sad for everyone that works there, but the building is very under utilized and on prime property that will sell for millions, so we see why they have decided it is best. Most everyone that works there is being moved to under utilized churches. Whether that will work for Public Affairs, we are not sure yet. And talk about timing . . . I received a phone call this week from our landlord that he is likely selling our flat. So this week we begin the search for a new home for the office and a new flat for future missionary couples, likely not in Solihull. I highly doubt the actual moves will take place while we are here, but we want to do the best we can for future couples coming. Right now we have by far the nicest place to live of ANY missionary in the area, and it will be sad to lose it.

Family Shout Out: Congratulations to our 9-year-old Alexa for achieving an ‘Outstanding’ rating at her piano competition yesterday. Woohoo! We are so proud of you. And congratulations to Luke for catching two 22” kokanee at Strawberry Reservoir over the weekend! Them there’s some big fish! And, a shout out to Nathan for two golds in his latest Taekwondo competition. So many fun things happening!

We love you! We miss you! Until next week . . .

Ron and Marie

Happy American Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to every mother within reach of this letter. It has been a melancholy week for me as I have reflected on my own mother and how much I miss her. I am who I am and do so many things simply because that’s the way mom did it. She taught me so much. And I love being a mother! I am at a place in life where mothering is pretty fun to three adult children/best friends and their spouses. They are such a joy in my life. At times I really miss our family unit when the kids were little, and then I am filled with gratitude for 12 grandchildren that call me Grandma. I have also been blessed with Ron’s mother as a great second mom and role model for me in so many ways.

This week is also our oldest daughter, Amanda’s birthday, the child who first called me mommy. Her due date was on Sunday, May 13, Mother’s Day. She was born four days later. She is still the best belated Mother’s Day gift I ever received! She is strong, faithful, supportive and confident, and a beautiful woman! She can do anything she sets her mind to and has proven that time after time. She is a great mom to five pretty awesome children. Happy Birthday Amanda! You are loved!

Malcolm has been on leave this past week. We are staying on top of things at the office quite easily right now with minimal time, and with our office phones forwarded to our mobiles and our emails also accessible on our phones we have been able to be out and about quite a bit. Monday was a Bank Holiday and the office was closed. However, we worked. It was fun work! We were asked to be among a few who critiqued a new play that is being performed by many of our Pageant friends in November to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice. It’s going to be brilliant, and it was especially fun to see our Pageant friends once again.

Tuesday was transfer day. Three of our missionaries stayed, and Sister Brown went home to Cardston, Canada. She asked if we had time on Tuesday to take her to the mission home rather than her having to ride the train with all her ‘going home’ stuff. Of course we did! It was the perfect ask for us, as it meant we were also able to say good-bye to four other sister missionaries who we had served with and were also going home. It was sweet to see our dear missionaries again and also heart wrenching, all rolled up into one. 

Sisters Wood, Romero, Brown, Herrigfeld.  We missed a photo of Sister Chen ☹

At the mission offices we also saw several Elders that we had served with who were there to meet their new companions. I met Elder Kinard from Indiana. Because he wasn’t from Utah, I didn’t ask him if he was related to the Kinards I know. Later, as we were waiting at the train station, he said, “Did I hear you say you were from Utah? Do you know my Grandpa, Spence Kinard?” It brought a smile to my face. I said, “Yes! I use to babysit for your grandpa and grandma, which means I used to babysit your dad!” For those of you who don’t know or remember Spence Kinard, he was the voice of ‘The Spoken Word’ before Lloyd Newell, and he worked for KSL TV. And then I related to him this story:

One evening in December of 1973, I was babysitting the four Kinard children while their parents attended a Christmas party at the Governor’s mansion in Salt Lake City. Lynette Kinard always turned the radio on in her children’s bedrooms when it was bedtime, playing soft music as the children fell asleep. Shortly after putting them to bed, David (Elder Kinard’s dad, about 6 years old at the time I think) came out and said, “I’m not sure if I heard right, but on the radio I think I just heard that the president of the church died.” At the time, President Harold B. Lee was only 73 years old and had not served as our prophet for very long. “Oh, I don’t think so,” I told David, “he’s too young. I’m sure he is fine. Now go back to bed.” I no more got him tucked back into bed when the phone rang. It was Lynette. “Can you stay late tonight? President Lee has passed away suddenly, and Spence is needed at KSL. I’m not sure when we will be home.”

It was fun to tell Elder Kinard that I had a personal connection with his dad and his grandparents. His eyes were bright and his countenance happy as I told him of my experience. I wonder, if he relates it back to his dad or grandpa, if they will remember it at all. Sadly, I remembered that Lynette had passed away from cancer nearly 10 years ago. They were a great family.

Tuesday night we cleaned the church . . . again. This time there were only four of us, so we were glad it had a good cleaning the week before by our super YSAs and missionaries.

Thursday the Parrishes came up from London. Stan’s sister is visiting from St. George and came also. We took care of a little PA business then took them sightseeing. We toured Stoneleigh Abbey, where Jane Austen lived for just ten days but was apparently inspired enough to use it’s setting in many of her books. We experienced High Tea at the Orangery there, and for a few moments felt more British than American as we stepped back in time. We drove by Kenilworth Castle ruins and admired the surroundings, and ended our fun day in Stratford-Upon-Avon in front of Shakespeare’s birthplace. It’s such a quaint town to visit. It was a delightful day.

Friday we greeted family from home! Rex (my brother) and Natalie, and Lyndie and Renae Henrie from our ward at home met up with us in the Cotswolds after they toured in London for a few days. We have enjoyed the last three days with them so much! After seeing the Cotswolds we visited Warwick Castle. Saturday and Sunday was spent in the Preston, Downham, Chorley, and Gadfield Elm Chapel areas reliving the early British saints and their contribution to the growth of our church today. We shared lots of yummy British foods together, including our favourite restaurant in Downham with the fabulous desserts. It was fun in the evenings just to chat and catch up, play some cards, and have some good laughs. They are the first visitors we’ve had that have been here on a Sunday when church wasn’t cancelled! ☺ We were so happy to have them at church with us and introduce them to our wonderful friends and ward members here. Our ward embraced them just as we knew they would. My good friend said, “I met your family . . . they are just darling!” I must have looked at her funny because she laughed and said, “I’m trying to sound American! “ We both had a good laugh.

Top (L): Warwick Castle    Top (R): In the beautiful Cotswolds - Bourton on the Water
Bottom (L): Gadfield Elm - the oldest LDS church in the world    Bottom (R): Greendale Restaurant in Downham

So many people at church went out of their way to wish me a Happy American Mother’s Day today (Mothering Day, as you may remember here in GB is in March). I though it was so kind and thoughtful. I received a text from a young member of our Bishopric on the way to church this morning, “Happy Mother’s Day Sister Partridge, we just wanted to let you know that we appreciate your sacrifice and everything you are doing for our ward and the church as a whole.” He didn’t have to do that! His mother raised a good son. Another email from a YSA in Scotland tonight wishing me a Happy American Mother’s Day. So sweet. I was able to talk with all the kids and grandkids today . . . although my heart was a bit sad that I didn’t have my own mother to phone today, all in all it was a lovely day.

We really hated to say goodbye to Rex, Natalie, Lyndie and Renae as they went back to their hotel tonight and will be off to Paris tomorrow.

Favourite quote I read this week (thanks President Wingo!):

“Imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So should we." – Jeffrey R. Holland

Have a brilliant week, and hug your mom today if you can. We send you our love and prayers.

Ta

Ron and Marie

A Busy & Brilliant Week

Thank you to so many who take a minute to help us stay connected to our other world! We love that our friendships stretch across the waters, and of course, that family is always family, no matter where we are. We love you!

Friday is our youngest grandchild’s birthday. Hannah ‘Go-banna’ (was it Hunter that used to call her Go-banna, and it stuck?) will turn 2 years old. We are her iPad grandparents. She was only 8 months old when we left, so we’ve watched her grow via FaceTime, and she grabs the iPad when she wants to talk to us. How thankful we are for iPads! I’ll never stop saying how blessed we are by the internet. Happy Birthday Hannah Lynn Oldroyd! We adore you!

It has been a brillant week in so many ways . . .

After our wonderful but tiring weekend in Paris last week, Monday morning came too fast and I just couldn’t do it. It was the first time on the mission that I said, “I need a mental health day.” My body was tired and my brain was tired. Ron, bless his heart, toddled off to the office without me and covered for me while I caught up on laundry and took a long nap. By the time he arrived home I was feeling like I could face the world again, especially when I saw the very big bouquet of flowers in his arms! How nice! Then he confessed that they weren’t from him, he was just the delivery boy. I was so touched when I read the card. They were from the Salt Lake Public Affairs team, thanking us for helping with President Nelson’s Ministry Tour. Shucks . . .we were just doing our job.

An office day in the life of Public Affairs missionaries:

Elder Christofferson was in London on Tuesday making a presentation at an important meeting on Freedom of Religion. Malcolm attended, as did our counterparts in London, the Parrishes. We were on desk duty. The photographer we hire for Church events was there. As soon as the meeting is over, he finds the nearest Wi-fi, searches through all the hundreds of photos he took, chooses the best 25ish, edits, and sends them to us. Malcolm fills in the quotes from Elder Christofferson’s speech that he had previously written and had ready to go. Ron and I choose the best ten photos, captioned them, and send them to Malcolm. He then sends the article and photos to our webmaster, and by evening the story is on Mormon Newsroom Uk, and shortly after that, the Mormon Newsroom site that you all see from the USA has it syndicated on their website, and also Deseret News picked it up for the Church News yesterday. Tuesday was a late night working.

Here is the link if you’re interested in seeing what we do . . .
https://www.mormonnewsroom.org.uk/

While we were waiting for photos, we were also craving a Five Guys burger. We texted the Elders to see if they had dinner plans. They didn’t, so they met us across the street and we had a bite to eat together. They are so appreciative. Their companionship reminds me of ‘The Odd Couple’. They couldn’t be more different. Big tall handsome Elder Vuki from Tonga who loves to eat and is the first to jump up if anyone needs help, and always says ‘thank you’ multiple times. His heart also reminds me of our Tongan Bishop that I’ve told you about before . . . so pure and full of love. Elder Fox is small in stature and pale in skin tone, plays the piano by ear so amazingly, cooks, sews . . . we love them both.

Wednesday was such a crazy day, not in a good way. We drove to Stoneleigh to pick up a prescription from our doctor friend, Ben. As I mentioned before, Ben is an old friend of Alisha’s that spent time at our home during her college days. He has taken care of me when I needed something medical. He lives about 1/2 hr from the office, so we thought we’d be gone about 1-1/2 hours. 4-1/2 hours and two accidents later (one each way, not us thank goodness) we were back at the office. I was tasked with sending photos of Elder Christofferson’s visit to his office that day, so we had to work late again to get to complete that task.

This week was the YSAs turn to clean the church. They chose Friday night, and “let make a party of it.” Sister Partridge can make some of her burritos, we will eat, clean, and just about the time we are finished cleaning, others will join us for our weekly sports night at the church. We were tickled pink to help. They also roped the Elders and Sisters into helping, promising dinner (that always helps!) so then there were 12. If we just had yet another hoover . . . .

Yesterday we took a drive to Stoke-on-Trent, where the factory for Portmeirion and Spode dishes are made. I know Spode is familiar to most, and if you Google Portmeirion dishes they will be also. You can purchase them in most major department stores. The seconds store is in Stoke-on-Trent. I have been wanting to get new every-day dishes for home and was hoping to find just what I wanted there and ship them home as a grandiose souvenir and memory of England, but it didn’t work out. It was a beautiful day for a drive. The whole weekend has been lovely! Tomorrow is a bank holiday, and we were invited to go to the beach in South Wales with some of the ward, but we have an assignment to work tomorrow, so we had to decline. They said it was going to be the warmest May Bank Holiday in history! Too bad we are going to be indoors.

Fast and Testimony Meeting was special today. A family that just moved here from India went to the temple to be sealed (for my non-LDS friends, if you want an explanation, let me know) yesterday, and many from the ward were there to witness it. It sparked a great spirit at church, as we had a melting pot of ward members share their feelings about the gospel. India, Tonga, Canada, French Caribbean, Scotland, and of course England were all represented by ward members. This is one thing I love about serving a mission in a foreign country. Primary was good also, as the children were excited to learn “We Thank Thee, Oh God, For A Prophet”.

Ron doing what he does best, and a look at our very
uncomfortable portable pews in our chapel!

Cheers from the UK,
Ron and Marie