So let it be written...

Dear Family and Friends,

To the Utahans – we hope you had a wonderful 24^th of July.  We loved seeing the many photos on Facebook of your celebrations and must admit, we were a wee bit jealous.

There is so much to learn in this position, and we were determined to teach the Colemans all we could so they ‘would be prepared and would not fear’.  I do love checklists:

ü  Finances for the whole of Great Britain Public Affairs

ü  How to manage the Church’s Opinion Leader Data Base for the UK

ü  How to quickly have new event photos ready for Mormon Newsroom; ie, receiving, re-sizing, captioning

ü  How to write stories for Newsroom and the local pages of the Ensign

ü  How to set up a video shoot in another country, request edits, get priesthood approval

ü  Clipping services

ü  Media training

ü  Day to day, week to week, month to month office duties

ü  An overview of the Great Britain Public Affairs National Council 

ü  Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, how to make Tables and Labels

ü  How to use the Church Directory of Leaders

ü  History of the Church in the UK

ü  How to drive on the other side of the road 

ü  How to travel by car, train, and plane throughout Western Europe

ü  British spelling of words vs. American spellings

ü  What is a brollie, and a trolley, and what are they really asking when they say, “you alright?”

And the list goes on . . . 

With President Hughes

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were more training days.  We took a break on Monday to meet with the new Mission President, President Hughes.  He took us to a very nice lunch, welcomed the Colemans, and bid us farewell.  Tuesday we were invited to dinner by the videographer that we have worked closely with on filming.   He has become a dear friend.  On Wednesday afternoon I went home early while Ron stayed to train, and I began the packing process.  With all the things I had given away, I thought it would be a breeze.  No breeze felt.  I pray our bags are not overweight.

Thursday evening we had a media training assignment in the Chester Stake, very near to Northern Wales.  It was the perfect opportunity for the Colemans to participate as students of the class while also watching the training process.  Peter Trebilcock, past Pageant President and newly called Assistant Director of PA in the UK, showed up to be supportive and to bid us farewell.  Some we have met have become lifelong friends, and he is one.  We love him dearly.  It was a difficult good-bye.

Good-bye to our beautiful flat, our home, that we have loved so much!

Malcolm encouraged us to add a little fun with our training to the Colemans.  After our class in Chester (a good two hours away) we stayed the night and were thrilled to cross into Northern Wales Friday and visit Snowdon, a popular area (and on our Bucket List).   We took an hour ride up the hill on an old steam train.  From there, it is a short walk to the peak, where on a clear day you can see all the beauty of Northern Wales; however, we could barely see ten feet.  It was the cloudiest (and coldest) it had been for weeks.  Just our luck.  Nevertheless, we had a wonderful day.

When we arrived back in Solihull, the Colemans took over the flat and we moved into the hotel . . .the same one we began this journey in nearly 18 months ago.  The circle of mission life . . . 

Saturday . . . more training.  Saturday night we joined a group of 20 from the ward at yet another outstanding Indian restaurant for dinner as a farewell to us.  Gifts, cards, kind words . . . my cup runneth o’er.  

Today.  Today was a rough one.  We spoke in church.  When I opened the program and saw the Opening Song, “I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go, Dear Lord” and the intermediate hymn, sung just before it was my turn, “Called to Serve”, I knew I was in trouble.  But with a tissue handy and a silent quick prayer, I pulled through.  I shared my testimony in Primary to end singing time.  Bless those sweet children.  Many hugs, cards, and kind words, right down to one of the oldest yet most faithful women in the ward who said, “We love you so much.  You’re just so  . . . normal, and believe me, some are not.”  From her, I’ll consider it a compliment.  

My favourite card received from 9-year-old Emma. 
I especially love the cross on the cover!

I have been reminiscing this week, trying to prepare to leave.  I have thought about blessings, experiences, more blessings, interacting with such wonderful people, all I have learned, and even more blessings.  I have thought so much about all the people at home who have supported us; those taking care of our personal affairs, our home, and friends and family who have kept in touch.  I have thought about the support I received when my mother passed away.  Ron and I have knelt together many times in thanks for this awesome experience and the opportunity to serve.  And, as excited as I am to be back in my homeland, and see those I love the most, I still haven’t figured out how to leave those that I have grown to love so much here.   I will leave a piece of my heart in England . . . #noonetoldmeitwouldbethisdifficult

Our last cultural day up Snowdon Mountain in 

Northern Wales with Elder & Sister Coleman

I was recently reminded of a 
scripture by a friend  . . .

“Know ye not that there are more nations than one?  Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens and above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?”  2 Nephi 29:7

I know even more now that I did 18 months ago that Jesus is the Christ and stands at the head of the Church.  I have been a first-hand witness to the miraculous ‘divine designing’ that takes place . . .too many so-called ‘coincidences’ to deny the work of a higher power.  I know that living the gospel of Jesus Christ is the true road to eternal happiness.  I love it and am so grateful for it.  I thank my pioneer ancestors for having the faith and courage to accept it and be baptized.  Because they did, I have been so blessed.  

We love each of you and cannot begin to express our depth of gratitude for the love  and support we have seen and felt from you.    It’s always nice to know that you have your own personal cheering section in the stands.  You have been just that for us.

And finally, today, our prayers are answered . . . it is raining!  The Lord heard our prayers.

For the last time, cheers from across the pond,

Elder and Sister Partridge

‘So let it be written, so let it be done.’

Winding down!

 Happy Pioneer Day to all my Utah family and friends on Tuesday!   We will miss celebrating with our family.  We will be working working working...

We did get about one hour of rain on Friday... not near enough but we are grateful.  Still praying for more.

Our darling German/American YSA, Alise, had her final musical performance before graduating from her program on Tuesday night.  It was held in the upstairs room of a pub in Birmingham.  Her family came from Germany and she had great support from her friends, YSAs, and ward members.  She did fabulous and from all signs it looked like her teachers/critics loved it.  I don’t think the pub was too happy with our group of people who didn’t order drinks, and they couldn’t figure out why (it was sooooo warm in the upstairs room) yet everyone was so happy.  Where were the young missionaries when we needed them?   JJJ

After Alise’s performance.  Alise is next to me.

Elder and Sister Coleman arrived on Wednesday.  We did our best to keep them going until about 7pm when their eyes were so glazed over we knew the were done!  Oh how we remember the feeling!  Thursday morning they began drinking from the preverbal fire hose of intense training.   Since the jet lag prevented me from remembering very little during my week of training, I don’t expect they will either, but at least they have been exposed.  We introduced them to Portuguese food for lunch and Indian food for dinner, then finally took them to their hotel for another good night’s sleep.

Friday we took our new friends to London and introduced them to the train, the Tube, Hyde Park Chapel, and London Public Affairs, along with saying good-bye to the many many friends we have made there along the way.  Boohoo.  One thing I really wanted to see in London that we hadn’t visited yet was ‘Speakers Corner’ in Hyde Park where many of the early missionaries preached.  Although the marble stand has since gone by the way, the tradition has not.  Even still, on Sundays it is gathering point for anyone who can attract an audience.  Because we had not visited it, it was the one thing we did for sightseeing.  It was a long day, and we were all very tired by the time we reached home nearly 10pm.

Speaker’s Corner at Hyde Park in the background - with the Colemans 

 Yesterday we gave Jim and Joann the morning to themselves while we cleaned and did load after load of laundry in preparation for them.  In the afternoon Ron took them on a drive to Warwick to see where their new offices will be come October, and their new home.  The purpose was to expose them to driving and a little more of the layout of the area.  They are VERY reluctant about driving!  Practice Practice Practice.  

Our service outside of Public Affairs this week was not cleaning the church!  J We took dinner to a family on Saturday evening that, without going into too many details, needed a lift.  She also asked if we could give her children a ‘Family Home Evening’ type of lesson while there.   We showed them Elder Kearon’s video/story about the scorpion and talked about why it is always wise to listen to your parents, even when you don’t understand their counsel.  Isn’t it funny  . . . who really gets the lift when service is given . . .  just what we needed to end a crazy busy week.

About the time we arrived home from delivering dinner/FHE we received word that our dear sister in the ward whom we visited just two weeks ago, passed away in the morning.   Our hearts go to her husband, mother, and sister whom she leaves behind.  A funeral was something we hoped we would NOT have to experience while here.  L  Like faithful troopers, they were all at church today . . . bless their hearts.  Hugging them was the beginning of an emotional day.  Too many goodbyes were said for those that go on holiday this week.  Whew!  Not fun.  The YSA’s put together a card of notes and pictures from our activities and gave it to us.  We were so touched.  After church they held a farewell Munch n Mingle.  Not only was everyone so kind to us, but they also welcomed the Colemans with open arms.  It boosted their spirits and confidence.   We have such a diverse ward, unlike St. George (where they are from) or anywhere in Utah for that matter, and it was fun watching them interact with people, most of whom are hard to understand because of their Scottish, Portuguese, French, or just plain Brommie (Birmingham) accent.  Even still, sometimes I can sit in Sacrament Meeting and listen to a speaker and only understand about 1 in every 5-10 words. And you never know what might be said over the pulpit . . . I’m going to miss it so much.  

Our letter each week is getting shorter and shorter, just as our time here.  Every day we are reflecting on the past 18 months and thanking Heavenly Father for this amazing time He has blessed us with.  The Colemans kept saying, “We just keep pinching ourselves to think we are really here”, and I feel like we keep pinching ourselves to say, “Have all we experienced the last 18 months been a dream?”  

Thank you again, for the kind words from so many of you.  We can’t wait to see you either!

Ta from Solihull,

Ron and Marie

A Royal Farewell

Happiest of Birthdays to two of my favorite men, Rex (brother) and Bret (oldest nephew).  I love them both!

 

Another busy week, and another hot one too, although we have had a couple of cooler days, but still no rain.  This evergreen country is looking pretty droopy and the happiness of the sunshine and warmth is being replaced with worry and sadness.  We continue to pray for rain . . . hopefully this week.

 

We have been in a radical clean-out mode both at the office and at home.  Not as radical at home, but the office for sure!  The new couple will come and settle in just in time to move flats, then move offices, on top of learning all the responsibilities, and adjusting to a foreign country . . .we feel for them.  We are trying to clean out as much as we can before they get here, which, is Tuesday!  The training schedule is set and we’re ready for them . . .or at least we will be by Tuesday at 1pm when they arrive.

 

We left work a little early on Monday and went to visit our sweet ward member, Tonia, and her husband Richard.  Tonia is on hospice (although that isn’t a term they use here) with ovarian cancer, and they are saying weeks now, not months.  I’m not sure how old she is, but I don’t think she is 40 yet.  She was in good spirits, which made it easier, but oh . . .  so hard to know what to say.  Her husband is struggling . . . he has asked Ron several times for help.  We can only pray for them also.  

 

Monday night we went with Chris and Jeannie to a new Indian restaurant recommended by an Indian family in our ward.  It was almost as good as Durbar in London, but the good news is it’s only 15 minutes from here.  The bad news is . . . we may only get there one more time.  L  We totally blew our diet that night.

 

Tuesday we cleaned the church . . . I think we will be missed at least for that!

 

Children are on their summer holiday beginning tomorrow in some areas until the first of September.  It’s a big holiday time for families.  Since there are some going on holiday at the office, the office gang surprised us with a ‘Farewell Royal Tea’ on Wednesday afternoon.  I’m so happy to have had it early, and happy to have it over with, as the good-byes are only getting more difficult.  I will miss them all.  Malcolm is on holiday now for two weeks, which leaves Ron and I to greet the new couple and train and entertain them until he gets back. 

Back L to R:  Malcolm, Jeannie, Chris, Luke, Anna

Front L to R:  Craig, Marie, Sue, Pauline 

Thursday we experienced something new!  We were invited to be interviewed for a Podcast that our Belgium friend, David, produces called “A Latter Day in Europe.”  He asked us to speak about serving a mission as a senior couple.  It was really quite fun!  It took me back again to my media days with Festival of Trees.  Our hope is that it will help other couples like us decide to serve a mission if it right for them.  They are so needed all over the world.  He also covered things like how we met, were we raised Mormon, how do we deal with our differences, how is it being together 24/7, and has our marriage been strengthened by serving together!  Again, it gave us a reason to ponder our blessings.  There are too many to name.

 

Yesterday Ron made a trip to South London to pick up a pool car that was used by Elder and Sister Holland while on holiday here.  It is the car the Colemans will drive, so it needed to be back here this week.  It gave me a day to myself here at the flat (a rare day) and I cleaned.  What else?

 

ü  Furniture moved and vacuumed under

ü  Baseboards washed

ü  Closets cleaned out

ü  Kitchen cleaned (today's job)

ü  Piles made of my clothes that have been spoken for by ward members J

ü  Books, excess kitchen items, etc etc taken to charity shops 

 

I do love check marks!  They give me a high.  Who needs drugs?

 

Church today was fun.  We took a lot of books, CD’s, DVD’s, paper, envelopes, etc. and set them out in the foyer for the taking (part of our cleaning out project at the office).   Someone even dubbed us Elder and Sister Christmas!  At the end, only one DVD was left on the table.  Little do they know, we’ll be back next week with more!  Church was also fun because it was cooler today and the children were in a much better singing mood.  Several people commented to me how beautiful they sounded as they sang, “If the Savior Stood Beside Me” and “Families Can Be Together Forever.”  I had to agree.  There is nothing like Primary children singing about Christ and eternal principles to bring the spirit in.  

 

We took dinner to the Bishop and his wife this evening.  They purchased “an American dinner from the Partridges delivered to your home” at the auction fundraiser.  Ron made Yakisoba, and we also took pita bread and hummus, fresh fruit, and brownies.  The only thing really American is that most was purchased at Costco, but oh well.  They were very appreciative! 

 

The days are going fast . . . we are down to 18.  Thank you for reaching out to us and for your many kind words.  We are looking forward to reuniting with family and friends soon.  And just think, after today, you only have to endure two more weeklies from us!  

 

Much love to you all,

 

Ron and Marie

Hotter Thank You Know What...

You all right? (The most common British greeting, meaning ‘how are you?’)

Just when we thought things were slowing down, they revved right back up this week. We only worked four days this week and still put in our 40+ hours.

Monday we had a very long day in London attending Parliament. We were privileged to hear Elder Holland speak at a meeting with Barnoness Nicholson of Winterbourne at her annual semimar. Elder and Sister Kearon were there as well as Sister Sharon Eubank. It was all about Freedom of Religion and helping the Yazidis in Iraq. LDS Charities have teamed up with the Barnoness and her foundation, AMAR, to provide not only physical necessities to this displaced and mistreated group of refuges, but also spiritual and mental support. I learned so much. The more you know, the harder it is to stand by and do nothing. I told Ron, “we need to throw ourselves into something like this.” He agreed. We had just a few minor responsibilities at the seminar. We were there mostly to make sure seats were full. Attending Parliament was one thing we hadn’t yet done on our mission. It was a great experience and we were so appreciative of the opportunity.

Early Tuesday morning we worked to choose and caption photos from the event and get the story on Mormon Newsroom. It can be a daunting task to pick the ten best photos from about 400 that were taken. Malcolm wrote the story . . . I chose and captioned photos. Here’s the link if you are interested.

Wednesday – Happy 4th of July! American missionaries get the day off! We spent the day in preparation for our 4th of July Celebration that evening with the only other American family in the ward and the two sister missionaries from Idaho. The hamburgers were cooked under the broiler in the oven, but the American buns from Costco, baked beans, fruit, chips, potato salad, pasta salad, and strawberry shortcake made it almost seem like we were home. And what do you do when you can’t celebrate with proper fireworks? You celebrate with lots of red, white, and blue balloons and lots of bubbles. Celebrating the holiday here in Britain could be a little awkward, but the British are very kind and several neighbors expressed their ‘Happy 4th’ to us. God bless America and our freedom!

Thursday Elder Holland was in Scotland presenting a replica of what has become known as “The David O McKay stone’ to a museum in Stirling, Scotland. Malcolm attended, and we stayed back to receive the photos from the photographer so that again, we could post to Mormon Newsroom asap. I had pre-written the story, so we were able to get it all ready for posting that night. It was another very late night. Here is the link to this one also.

Friday I spent most of the day going through photos of both events and sending nice ones to Opinion Leaders who were in attendance. They really like that, and the Church earns brownie points. By Friday evening when we arrived home, we were in awe of how fast the week had gone by. 

Two foods I really wanted to learn to make before coming home were proper scones (my absolute favourite food here) and Traditional English Trifle. Yesterday we went over to the Wills at lunchtime, ordered some Papa John’s pizza, then Chris taught me the secret to making the best custard for trifle, Jeannie showed me how to put it all together, and I made my first batch of real scones under her watchful eye. They turned out soooo good! We had Creamed Tea (dinner) consisting of ham, cucumber, and egg sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, fresh fruit, and trifle for dessert. Oh my goodness we ate like royalty. Then we watched the World Cup, England winning over Sweden, and cheered as if we were British. Since it is hot and everyone has every window and door open to catch any bit of moving air they can, when England scored, screams of delight could be heard from all over. It was so fun. We’ve already made plans for Wednesday’s semi finals. Hoorah for England!

Speaking of the heat, Church was almost unbearable today. The Primary children were not the least bit interested in singing or sharing time, even when bribed with candy. We were absolutely melting. There has still been no rain, temperatures in the 80’s, with no air conditioning. We continue to pray for rain. The new mission president and his wife and 16-year-old daughter came to our church today. It was so nice to meet President and Sister Hughes and Alexa. We were able to have a short meeting with them after Sacrament Meeting. They have sacrificed so much to answer this call. They will be fabulous.

We were invited to have dinner at our Bishop’s home this afternoon . We love the Fakatou family enjoy their spirit, their faith, their commitment, and just their Tongan lifestyle. Because the Bishop has struggled lately so much with gout, they have recently become vegetarians. Today, we were vegetarians too. Just today. J

Many of you have asked . . . we arrive home Thursday, August 2 at 1:00pm on Delta. Three weeks. It seems unreal. We will be speaking in church on Sunday, August 12 at 11am, 615 North Flint Street. We look forward to seeing you all after we return.

Thank you for your continued love and support. We have felt your prayers sustain us and bless us. We love our USA family and friends!

Ta

Elder and Sister Partridge

A special hand-written note from Elder Holland:

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

First, the GOOD:

• We loved hearing from some of you this past week and all the ‘good’ things you are doing.  It warms our hearts!
•  Attended a farewell party with other Birmingham Mission senior couples for President and Sister Leppard Monday night.  We know we will see many of them again at mission reunions, otherwise I’d have to put this on the Bad or Ugly list. 
• We spent the weekend up north on the grounds of the Preston Temple, first with a temple session with the Great Britain National Council on Friday night, then our annual meeting all day Saturday.  We were richly blessed and spiritually fed by our leaders.  We were admonished to ‘do good’ in our callings and for others.
• We were able to say good-bye to people we love and respect dearly (maybe I should put that under ‘bad’).  Our Irish Director of Public Affairs, the one that scolded me last year for calling their garden a yard, gave us a book about Ireland.  Inside he wrote an old Irish proverb:  “May you be in heaven 30 minutes before the devil knows you are dead.”  We love John Connolly, our favorite Irishman.
• Zack is still alive after winning his second MMA Fight.  Praise the Lord.  J
• The weather is lovely . . . 80° every day, sunny skies, no rain.
• We took lunch to the missionaries at District Meeting on Thursday.  We discovered that my nephew, Daniel Gines, taught Elder Phillip’s family the gospel in Trinidad.  They were baptized 5 years ago.  We again have a witness of the Lord in the details of our lives.  I asked Elder Philip how much he had grown since on his mission (physically).  Five or six inches.  He returns home the same week we do.  Won’t his family be surprised to now have a son well over six feet! 

Friday night at 10pm! Really!

Then, the BAD:

• The weather is lovely . . . 80° every day, sunny skies, no rain.  The ‘no rain’ is the bad part.  Everything is so dry.  There are even fires up near the temple that are making the air smoky and smelly.  They haven’t experienced this before.  We are praying for rain.
• A bad media week for the Church here in Great Britain . . . Ron and Malcolm spent way too much time having to correct misinformation and sending ‘official Church responses’ to media sources.  Enough said. 

And last, the UGLY:

• More good-byes to people we love that our paths won’t likely cross again.  Man, that’s tough. 

I’m grateful that every week the ‘Good’ list is always longer than the ‘Bad’ or ‘Ugly’ list.  I am intrigued by the general theme of our conference yesterday, that of ‘doing good’.  I tend to complicate life in my head.  What if we all just lived by those two words?  It doesn’t have to take a lot of time or money, but just a moment of reflection and prayer each day to figure out how best to ‘do good’ that day.

John 13:34-35:

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”  By this shall men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Much love to you all,

Elder and Sister Partridge