Family and Friends, 

     Well, we have had a great couple of weeks so here is our report from Watford Hertfordshire England!  

      Our last report ended on January 8th so, let's start on Monday, 9th Jan.

Monday, we spent the day cleaning up the house and preparing for Family Home Evening!  Our local Elders and Sisters came over for waffles before Family Home Evening!  They LOVE waffles and Dad loves to cook them and Costco has Syrup and pancake mix in bulk and we have a 120 volt waffle iron with a special transformer to make it work so it all works out very well!

     We Love working with our missionaries!  We had a good crowd at FHE.  We said our Goodbyes to Sister Wright who is leaving for home in Utah and Elder Mecham who is being transferred to Northampton.

   We played Camie's SpyFall game and they loved it!  Mom and I don't fib very well so they can always catch us when we are the spy.

    Tuesday, we met Sister Wright and Sister Adams in London with our friend Sister Smiddy and her companion for Sister Wright’s LAST preparation day in the mission field.  We took the tube to Westminster Abbey and took a tour.  Thankfully, they give clergy free tickets so we got right in.  We took the audio tour and enjoyed it since it was not busy that day.  We next took pictures of Big Ben, Parliament, and the red British Phone booths before going to St. Paul's Cathedral.  They would not let us in unless we waited 30 minutes for a prayer service so we walked around the outside.  We remembered Tyler's secret roof top observation point at the mall next door so we took the missionaries over there to see over the city.  We walked out midway on the Millennium Bridge, saw the River Thames, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, etc. and headed back to the Mission Office.

   After Sister Wright's final interview, we again zoomed out!  This time we went to the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone, Greek Parthenon, Egypt sculptures of Ramses, and other world treasures!  We returned her safely back to the office and headed home.  We love our Missionaries and will really miss Sister Wright!  She is from Logan and is totally awesome!

    Wednesday was a catch up day!  Mom painted a large abstract painting that worked out very well!  Dad prepared lessons and worked on a power point lesson on the computer.  We went to the church and taught Institute later.  After Institute, we practiced singing a song with our YSA and ate the refreshments that we brought.  It was a very fun evening spent with our young friends!

      Friday the Painters came and painted our second upstairs bedroom.  It looks awesome.  They also replaced a window lock and removed and cleaned the plumbing for the tub which was running slow.  We have had to really work to get the Landlord to do the painting.  The original paint was very thin and the previous renters had touched up places with the wrong color.  Not good but livable.  Now the Kitchen and both bedrooms are nice! 

       We drove about an hour and a half (on narrow roads with round-a-bouts every mile or so) to Milton Keynes.  The main freeway (motorway) had an accident and was delayed 30 minutes or so. There we met Elder and Sister Jackman (Brad and Vicki) from Cambridge Ward and Elder and Sister Powers from Northampton Stake YSA.  Brad and Vicki end their mission in about two weeks!  We will miss them So much!  There is another couple coming to replace them so the work will go on!  We ate Chinese food at the Mii & U café’ which is owned by Bishop Fu of the Aylesbury Ward and run by two of his children who are in our YSA group.  It was so good to meet with the other Senior couples who are working with YSA like we are!   The food was delicious.  They served Mom and extra plate of Salmon and a special soup just for her!  The drive home was much better because we took the freeway which was cleared by then.

     One of our frustrations is that it appears that the British are so very cautious that they nearly shut down the motorway for anything that happens.  We have seen the speed reduced to 30 miles per hour for 10 miles because of a minor car accident even after both cars were safely parked off the side of the road.  One slowdown and five mile traffic jam was caused by “Debris in Road” which turned out to be one 2x4 board along the side of the road. We rarely see the police on the motorways but they do have cameras everywhere.

    Saturday was a London art day.  We saw an exhibit of Australian Impressionists at the National Gallery.  We then sat in the main foyer of the gallery and used earphones and our phone to join a conference call with our Mission President and all the Missionaries.  It was a very inspirational call and very fun to hear the mission plans for 2017!

   We next traveled to the National Design Museum on Kensington High Street.  It was a great building and very interesting exhibits of products that were unique, well designed, and trend setting.  It included a pair of Crocs shoes (in Pink).  It is a working design center that is showcasing new designs by students everywhere.  Before heading for home, we visited the Leighton house and Studio to see the exhibit “Flaming June”.  Sir Leighton was an artist and director of the Royal Academy for years before he died.  The home was very unique, decorated in various styles room by room.  The paintings were beautiful!  When we got home we had a chance to visit with Carol Jean over the phone!  Very Nice!

     Sunday, we visited the Watford ward and taught the YSA Sunday School class since it was not going to happen unless we did it ourselves.  We had a very good lesson on the Apostasy, the Great Reformers, like Martin Luther, Joseph Smith’s first vision, and modern revelation.  It went very well with a strong spirit and humble testimonies.  We had a new convert named Joseph receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost in Sacrament meeting. It was very good to visit with him and feel of his love for the Savior and the Gospel.

     That evening we hosted a multi-stake fireside in our Watford building.  We arrived early, got the heat and lights turned on, set up chairs and tables, and started preparing the refreshments.  President and Sister Otterson, President and Matron of the London Temple were the speakers.  They were awesome!  Our YSA President, Amy conducted and President Levens of our Stake presided.  Our YSA sang a special number with Mom being in the choir.  It sounded really good and we felt blessed!  We had a great turnout of over 75 people!

     For the refreshments, we had awesome hot chocolate (Cadbury Chocolate with real milk and Nutella!!), cookies, pastries, pretzels and some candy.  Everyone stayed around and ate and ate!  I really think we had another miracle of the “Loaves and Fishes” because we feed so many people with the food that we brought!  We had a great time, the food was awesome, and our young adults enjoyed the evening!

   Monday, we did some shopping, went to the gym, and prepared for FHE.   When everyone arrived, Mom and a couple of our YSA prepared grilled ham and cheese sandwiches.  We served 12 people which was exactly the amount of meat and cheese we had purchased. Whew!  We played the SpyFall game again but this time Dad was the dealer.  We talked to several of our YSA about their lives and what they are doing to plan for success.  We are helping Sara decide what she wants to do for her education.  She is a returned missionary from Japan.  She was born in Portugal, raised in England, and speaks four languages.  She works at the Harry Potter Studios, is brilliant, and is gorgeous.  Her family situation is difficult and she is helping support her mother and younger brothers.  She really wants to come to BYU but is concerned that her family will not be supportive.  Mostly we listen and help her see her options.  We love her very much! 

     Wednesday Institute was great!  We started a new course on the Eternal Family and Bishop Manning taught and did an awesome job!  We talked a great deal about “The Family, A Proclamation to the World” written in 1995.  There were some GREAT quotes presented such as “Choose who you Love, and Love Who you Choose!” by President McKay.

    Mom whipped up another batch of Cadbury Hot Chocolate with the last of the Nutella.  Again, it was awesome (and habit forming!).  Ellie, one of our young adults is going to Oxford to Nursing school next week.  We will miss her!!

    Our young adults had the idea to plan a trip to Paris for the Temple Open House in April so we have been making calls.  We have the permission of the stake to have the YSA plan it and go.  We have made a contact with the Paris Stake to see if their YSA could join us for an activity.  We sent a request to President Stevens to see if we could go to the Paris Temple with our YSA.  He has to take the request to the Area Authorities and is meeting with them this weekend.  We hope that they will approve our going with our YSA!  We want to follow the rules so we will be happy to do whatever they approve. 

    Thursday, we went to the London Art Fair in the morning where we saw some awesome artwork including work from Henry Moore and Joan Miro prints.  It was a large and interesting exhibit!  Of course, we needed to go to Camden Town for lunch for mom’s favorite Curry.  Dad got a huge order of fish & chips.  We had fresh churros to eat as we walked back to the tube station.

     Later we went to the church with the Sister Missionaries to a Relief Society gathering.  Mom and the Sisters visited, ate, and enjoyed being with the members.  Dad did a service project on the damaged white board in the Young Women’s room and then played the piano practicing his hymns.

       Dad has been looking at our English ancestors and has found some interesting things!  Some of Mom's Payne ancestors lived just outside of St. Albans which is very close to where we live.  They spelled it Payne, Paine, and Pain depending on who was the clerk at the time. It appears that their records and some graves may be at the parish church so we plan to visit there in the spring!

     Dad also discovered that his direct line of "Barons" came from Great Harwood and Blackburn in Lancashire England.  That is up north by Leeds and Preston England.  The earliest Baron in our records appears to be "John Baron" who married "Alice" in Great Harwood in 1560.  We have not yet been able to find John in earlier Harwood history so he may have moved in from somewhere else.  His date of birth is about 1539 and the records are not as good before that.  We did find a Betty Baron in the parish records from 1759 who was not on the Family Search records so that was neat!  Her parents are William and Jane Baron who are our direct ancestors.

        Well, that’s about it for now!   We love you all and wish you the best!!  We were able to watch some of the Presidential Inauguration and the Tabernacle Choir sing.  They did a good job.  We pray that our new President will listen to good advisors and will be led to do good things for the country. 

     Love you all!!

Mum and Dad

Happy New Year 2017

Report from London- Happy New Year- 2017!

 Hello family and friends,

      We have had a great couple of weeks and are excited to share our adventures with you!

Starting with Tuesday, Dec. 27^th was Piper’s Birthday!  We had a chance to Skype with her.  It was awesome to see such a cute granddaughter!

     Wednesday, we decided to go explore Greenwich.  We toured the ship, Cutty Sark, visited the National Maritime Museum and National Observatory at Greenwich.  We took a last look at a great art exhibit at the Royal Academy on the way home.  We learned a lot about sailors calculating their positions around the world relative to the observatory at Greenwich.  We stood on the Greenwich line which is used as a reference point for longitude measurements.  Very interesting and fun (and lots of Physics!).

    Friday at 1am London time we got a call from Camie that our home in Provo had some water in the basement as reported by our cleaners.  Our renters, the Taggs, were on vacation in Mexico.  Our wonderful daughters, Jennifer and Camie packed their car and drove to Provo. A pipe had frozen but the girls got the water turned off and called our Insurance agent.  Luckily they were so quick that only one bedroom floor was wet!  It is a blessing that there was not more damage.

   Later, we traveled to Oxford Street where we found two new suits for Dad at John Lewis for 50% off!  There were some great sales and it was crazy busy.  In England, you buy suits a piece at a time.  You find a coat that fits, then you look at all the trousers that match and find your size, and finally you look for a vest or waistcoat if you want one.  We found many nice suit coats but often they would not have the trousers to match in Dad’s size.  One suit is a nice solid blue and the other a darker rich brown with a little texture.  They both look great on him!

     Friday evening, we drove to Luton Airport to pick up our son, Tyler!  We were so excited.  The airport was not far from our home but it was under construction.  They had NO PLACE to park and pick up someone.  We finally met Tyler in the short term parking lot!  It was SO GOOD to see him and give him a Hug!!

    Saturday, New Year’s Eve with Tyler!   Tyler had purchased tickets for the London NYE fireworks celebration on the Thames!  We took the tube to London’s Hyde Park to visit the Christmas Festival!  We did some shopping, tried some fun food and hot chocolate, went in the “Fun House” and had a great time!  We then walked to Covent Garden passing through Bond Street, Oxford Street, Regent Street and other Christmas Markets on the way.  We relaxed at an Indian Restaurant (we tried the sampler menu) for a while before making our way to the River Thames by Embankment.  The entire section of London was barricaded off.  We went through security, showed our tickets, and went to the river walk to find a place with thousands of others.  We visited, watched all the crazy people, listened to the loud music, and waited for the fireworks at midnight!  Mom met an LDS church member who recognized our name tags and came over to talk to us.  She was there with her boyfriend. There were reportedly 250,000 people there! Our new friends were concerned that the Tube stations would be crowded after the show so he had a plan to walk around St. Paul’s Cathedral to find an uncrowded tube station.

     The fireworks were amazing with many attached to the large London Eye.  It was a beautiful sight and a fun event!  As soon as it was over, the crowds starting moving toward the Tube stations.  We followed our new friend, zig zagging through the crowds until we wandered off through alleys and back streets.  After a fast one hour march we reached the tube station where they delivered us to our train for home.  It was a fun adventure!  We got back home very late (3am) tired but happy.

    Sunday, we attended church and returned home for breakfast with Tyler.  We then drove out into the country to the Hell-Fire Caves.  What a unique weird place.  In the 1700’s they had a secret society which met there which included Benjamin Franklin.  It was a very strange place!

   Next we drove on to the Waddesdon Manor by Aylesbury.  We had visited previously and had really enjoyed the grounds and manor and hot chocolate! We visited the home decorated in Christmas decorations and the manor and grounds were lit with colored washes that changed with music.  Very Nice! It was fun to spend the day with Tyler!

   On Monday we visited the ancient city of St. Albans not far from our home.  The Romans conquered the area years ago and built an amazing city with city walls, streets and homes with beautiful floor mosaics.  Most of the Roman walls have been removed by later residents but the Roman things that they found were amazing! Coins, graves, mosaic floors, tools, decorations, etc. etc.

   We then walked up to the St. Alban’s Cathedral.  It was so unique with a great history!  It was over 1000 years old. Each time they added a section or remodeled, they used a different style of arches and decorations.  It was very nice and had a good feeling about it.  On the way back to the car we stopped in to Britain’s oldest pub, Ye Olde Fighting Cocks.  The records mentioned a pub at that location in 575AD so it really is one of England’s oldest.  The town was very nice and would be a fun place to explore at a later time.

    Tuesday, we went into London to tour Parliament and check out the Sky Garden.  The tour was very interesting.  We walked over to Tyler’s office building where he worked when he and his family worked there.  We found one of Tyler’s favorite Thai restaurants but it was closed when we arrived.  We found a NatWest bank where both Tyler and Dad have accounts so they went in and signed some paperwork. We then checked out the view from the Tate Modern museum.  Tyler then showed us a neat roof top view of St. Paul’s from a shopping mall a block away. The tube was very crowded on the way home.

   Again, it was so fun to have Tyler here with us!  We had some great discussions, shared memories, received updates on their Colorado move, and made plans for the future.  Tyler had his own room at our home and it worked out very well!  We really hope all of our children will find a way to come and visit us while we are serving.

   Sad Day… We took Tyler to Heathrow Airport in the morning to catch his flight back to the USA.  We made it without difficulty and back home in good time. 

   Soon after we arrived back home, we met two painters who were here to paint our upstairs bedrooms and bathroom.  They informed us that our landlord had approved only painting one bedroom and the bath.  We are unhappy about that.  They promise things and then never deliver.  The bedroom and bath look awesome!  We ran over to Institute and enjoyed the lesson and planning session after.  We brought treats and spent the time working with our young friends.  They had many great ideas for future events including going to the Paris Temple open house in April. We are working on it!

    Friday we met with 24 of our missionaries at Wembley for a Zone Training.  Our missionaries are so good, so friendly, so multicultural, and sometimes so 18 years old!  We love them all!  We ran over to the bakery at Morrison’s before zone meeting to get some fresh bread and filled donuts for lunch.  Sister Carr serving in Aylesbury brought delicious fried chicken and we served bread, clotted cream, grapes, crisps, and the filled donuts (spelled doughnuts in England). Our meetings were good.  In the afternoon, we made a quick run to Ikea in Wembley before driving home.  When we arrived, mom put a turkey breast in the oven, and we straightened the house before our two sets of Watford Missionaries arrived. Sister Wright will be returning to Logan Utah next Wednesday and it is likely that Elder Mecham will be transferred.  We grow so close to our missionaries and miss them when they leave!  They love coming to our home and say it is like coming to their grandparents!  That makes us feel good!  We fed the missionaries turkey, au’ gratin potatoes, salad, berry pie, and ice cream and had a great time together!

   Saturday we went into London to return some items and see an exhibit that will be leaving the National Gallery soon.  We also visited the Tate and saw an excellent exhibit there.  We stopped at the Blackfriar’s Pub for fish and chips before wandering home on the tube.  The pub is located in such a historic wonderful building with elegant 18^th century decorations and construction.  Dad enjoyed the food, mom was less excited but enjoyed the building and the service!

    Sunday morning we were up and driving to Enfield ward which is about 40 minutes away.  It is a small, very multicultural ward with wonderful members.  Even the six missionaries assigned to the ward are multicultural with only one elder and one sister coming from the USA.  We heard English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and a Slavic dialect in the chapel before the meeting started.  The ward is about 50% black.  The meetings were wonderful and the spirit was very strong.  These people have strong testimonies, they KNOW their Heavenly Father, they trust the Lord in all their doings, and they are happy and blessed.  It was a real pleasure to meet with them.

    We went with a wonderful black family to their nice home for dinner after church.  They have two special needs children and five others.  What a meal and what wonderful people!  Their oldest special needs son just returned from a three month mission to South London.  Their next oldest son is so articulate and intelligent.  He plans to go on his mission this year. They have two cars (one is a large VW van) and both parents drive.  There are only a few people in the ward who drive. We visited and relaxed in the loving spirit of their home and family.   

         May our Heavenly Father continue to bless you all!  We Love you!   Say your prayers, read your scriptures, keep the commandments, and Love one another.

     Love, Dad n Mum.

Christmas in England!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

     We have been busy (imagine that!) so this letter is delayed but here is a recap of the past two weeks!

      On Monday, Dec 19^th, we had a chance to meet the parents of one of our awesome released missionaries, Sister Amanda Kerr! We met for lunch at their favorite Pizza place.  We had our current Sister Missionaries, the STL Sister Missionaries, Clement (a recent convert), Sister Kerr and her parents and us.  It was very fun and rewarding!  For FHE Mom made Butternut Squash soup.  It was delicious!

    Wednesday, we taught Institute at the church.  Amy, our YSA President, brought ginger bread houses for everyone to decorate!  It was very fun!

     Thursday we visited London’s oldest Synagogue, Bevis Marks (1701).  It was very interesting.  We also toured the Foundling House Museum which took in abandoned babies and babies that could not be cared for by their mothers.  The babies were placed in homes until they were about 5 years old then they returned to the orphanage to be raised and taught a domestic skill.  It was a very institutionalized life but they were fed, clothed, and taught. The mother would leave a unique token with the baby so that she could hopefully return at a later date to recover her child.  Very few babies were reunited with their mothers. It was a very touching!  The house was active for over 200 years!  We caught a performance of C.S. Lewis’ “Screwtape Letters”!  Very well done and Interesting!  Read the Book!  Finally we attended a choir concert of one of our ward members which was held in St. Paul’s Chapel by Covent Garden.  Very nice!

    Friday was Multi Zone Conference at the Hyde Park Chapel.  In the afternoon we played Christmas games with President and Sister Stevens and the Missionaries from about 1/3 of the mission.  We had a ball!  We wore our Christmas Sweaters (Jumpers) and exchanged gifts.

    Saturday was our YSA activity in London.  We met our kids on the South Bank and did some Christmas shopping and hot chocolate tasting. We then went on a river cruise on the Thames which was very enjoyable!  Next, we all went on the London Eye.  It was foggy and mysterious to be high above London in the fog!  We enjoyed some fun food and the company of many of our YSA!  It was a very successful activity.  We ended the day by taking our YSA friend Daniel to the Tate Modern Museum to see Elton John’s personal photography collection.  Daniel loved it!  We ended the day at the ward Christmas party where we met and visited with our ward friends whom we love!

    Sunday we drove to the Hayes ward and taught the YSA Sunday School class.  We love visiting with them and getting to know more about them. Amy Johnson is a fun young lady in the ward who we are excited to meet.  She went on the London Eye adventure with us.  We are excited to have her help in the Hayes ward.

     Monday we cleaned the church YSA and Single Adult closet with our friend, Neyde. She is a wonderful single adult in the ward!   We filled the dumpster twice!      Later we Read 3 Nephi 1, Luke 2 and Matthew 2 Christmas story at FHE.  We had a returned missionary, Dani visit us.  She was in Watford and taught Daniel when he was baptized.  It was a fun and good evening!

   Tuesday, we picked up Sister Wright and Sister Matuszka who is from Hungary and set out for the London Temple for their end-of-mission temple trip.  It took us about 2.5 hours through heavy traffic to drive to the temple.  We barely made the 12 noon session! We did some sealings after the session, walked around the temple grounds, took pictures, and drove back towards home. We delivered Sister Matuszka to Hayes (through crazy town center traffic) picked up Sister Adams and headed for home in Watford.  Good but busy day!

    Today, we decided to explore the London Olympic park area. The arena is now used for football matches.  The Orbit tower was a unique disappointment.  We also visited the London Business center of the Docklands and rode the driverless shuttle trains. We found an interesting museum on the Docklands history.  We caught a tour on the British role of African Slavery which was depressing but interesting.  Later, we caught the Borroughs market for a treat on the way home.

   Friday, we went into London to the Royal Academy to pick up a membership that our family had given to us for Christmas!  They had an awesome show on Abstract Expressionism that Mom LOVED.  We bought a book and book bag before leaving. We then checked out the markets including a polish sausage and Brazilian hot chocolate before visiting the Tate Modern.  Mom found a necklace and some handmade jewelry that she liked.  We tried to get into the St. Paul’s Cathedral Christmas Carol concert but it was full.  We and about 500 others could not get in.  We found some great fish and chips at the market by the Tate Modern.

    Christmas Eve, we picked up a few packages at the post office before going into London and to the Hyde Park winter wonderland market.  We had a great time. Mom found a white Alpaca scarf. At noon we met the other couple missionaries at President and Sister Stevens flat.  It is a very nice large 5^th floor apartment just two doors away from the Hyde Park Chapel!  It was so fun to meet and visit with the other missionaries!  We had a great visit with President and Sister Stevens.  Mom gave Sister Stevens a pair of her glass earrings for Christmas. We then walked a short distance to the Royal Albert Hall for a wonderful Christmas Concert.  We had great seats on the main floor in the center. After the concert we went with Brad and Vicki Jackman to a French crepe café’ where we ate and visited.  It was go good to see the Jackmans!  

   Christmas Day!!  We attended church at the Watford ward.  It was so nice to sing carols and to be with people we love! There are some wonderful humble people in the ward who truly love the Lord and serve each other so well!  We love them! The spirit just radiates from some of these wonderful people!

     After church and visiting, we brought the Sisters home with us.  They wanted to just relax, write letters and play games.  Mom fixed a wonderful meal of Turkey breast, ham, Au gratin potatoes, salads, and three kinds of desserts!  Wonderful meal.  The Sisters changed into their red Christmas PJ’s that were given them and took a nap.  We played Camie’s SpyFall game and opened presents.

    Two of our neighbors came over and brought us little Christmas gifts.  A cute Italian family with one daughter came over with some things.  A beautiful Muslim women from two doors down came over with a card and gift.  She said she loves Christmas and likes to join with her neighbors to share gifts during the season.

    We were able to Skype with each of our children and their families!  They looked so good!  Skype is so neat!  Our Grandkids all looked so very good!  We were good and did not cry until after we hung up. Everyone looks great!  We LOVE them all!

      Later, the Elders arrived and we put the missionaries in four different rooms so they could all Skype with their families.  We sat on the steps and counted our blessings.  We enjoyed Berry pie, English Pudding Cake, cookies, and Lemon Ice Cream for Dessert.  We played some more games with the missionaries before they returned to their apartments.  Lastly, we were able to join the Skype from Elder Parker Cheshire!  We had a four way Skype with Parker, Jill, Aaron, and us!  It was awesome to see everyone and to hear a testimony from Elder Cheshire.  He is having so much fun and loving his mission!

   Boxing Day is the day after Christmas.  Traditionally wealthy English families gave their servants the day off and gave them a box of gifts.  They also gave boxes to the poor on this day.  Now it is just a big shopping day with most people taking the day off.

    We were invited to President Bettridge’s home for morning brunch where we had a wonderful huge breakfast with our four missionaries.  We had fruits, eggs, including proper English poached eggs, waffles, sausages, bacon, and more and more food!  It was really very nice!  We played games with their family and they had gifts for us.  We received some great Watford FC scarves, apron, and even tooth brushes!  President Adrian Bettridge was a young missionary serving under Clarence Robison!  It was so fun to hear about their adventures together!   

   We took the Sisters to the mall and went on a huge bike ride in the sunny weather.  In the evening, we fed the Sisters leftovers from Christmas and gave them time to write their emails for preparation day.  The Elders joined us for Family Home Evening but their friend called and cancelled.  No YSA came so we just relaxed, played games, and ate desserts.  We love working and serving with our missionaries!

    We are excited to have Tyler come visit us next week!  Mom has been busy planning adventures!  We love our family and miss them.

 Dad n Mum, Clark & Joyce, Grandpa and Grandma, Elder and Sister Baron

Merry Christmas to everyone!

     We have been busy (imagine that!) so this letter is delayed but here is a recap of the past two weeks!

      On Monday, Dec 19^th, we had a chance to meet the parents of one of our awesome released missionaries, Sister Amanda Kerr! We met for lunch at their favorite Pizza place.  We had our current Sister Missionaries, the STL Sister Missionaries, Clement (a recent convert), Sister Kerr and her parents and us.  It was very fun and rewarding!  For FHE Mom made Butternut Squash soup.  It was delicious!

    Wednesday, we taught Institute at the church.  Amy, our YSA President, brought ginger bread houses for everyone to decorate!  It was very fun!

     Thursday we visited London’s oldest Synagogue, Bevis Marks (1701).  It was very interesting.  We also toured the Foundling House Museum which took in abandoned babies and babies that could not be cared for by their mothers.  The babies were placed in homes until they were about 5 years old then they returned to the orphanage to be raised and taught a domestic skill.  It was a very institutionalized life but they were fed, clothed, and taught. The mother would leave a unique token with the baby so that she could hopefully return at a later date to recover her child.  Very few babies were reunited with their mothers. It was a very touching!  The house was active for over 200 years!  We caught a performance of C.S. Lewis’ “Screwtape Letters”!  Very well done and Interesting!  Read the Book!  Finally we attended a choir concert of one of our ward members which was held in St. Paul’s Chapel by Covent Garden.  Very nice!

    Friday was Multi Zone Conference at the Hyde Park Chapel.  In the afternoon we played Christmas games with President and Sister Stevens and the Missionaries from about 1/3 of the mission.  We had a ball!  We wore our Christmas Sweaters (Jumpers) and exchanged gifts.

    Saturday was our YSA activity in London.  We met our kids on the South Bank and did some Christmas shopping and hot chocolate tasting. We then went on a river cruise on the Thames which was very enjoyable!  Next, we all went on the London Eye.  It was foggy and mysterious to be high above London in the fog!  We enjoyed some fun food and the company of many of our YSA!  It was a very successful activity.  We ended the day by taking our YSA friend Daniel to the Tate Modern Museum to see Elton John’s personal photography collection.  Daniel loved it!  We ended the day at the ward Christmas party where we met and visited with our ward friends whom we love!

    Sunday we drove to the Hayes ward and taught the YSA Sunday School class.  We love visiting with them and getting to know more about them. Amy Johnson is a fun young lady in the ward who we are excited to meet.  She went on the London Eye adventure with us.  We are excited to have her help in the Hayes ward.

     Monday we cleaned the church YSA and Single Adult closet with our friend, Neyde. She is a wonderful single adult in the ward!   We filled the dumpster twice!      Later we Read 3 Nephi 1, Luke 2 and Matthew 2 Christmas story at FHE.  We had a returned missionary, Dani visit us.  She was in Watford and taught Daniel when he was baptized.  It was a fun and good evening!

   Tuesday, we picked up Sister Wright and Sister Matuszka who is from Hungary and set out for the London Temple for their end-of-mission temple trip.  It took us about 2.5 hours through heavy traffic to drive to the temple.  We barely made the 12 noon session! We did some sealings after the session, walked around the temple grounds, took pictures, and drove back towards home. We delivered Sister Matuszka to Hayes (through crazy town center traffic) picked up Sister Adams and headed for home in Watford.  Good but busy day!

    Today, we decided to explore the London Olympic park area. The arena is now used for football matches.  The Orbit tower was a unique disappointment.  We also visited the London Business center of the Docklands and rode the driverless shuttle trains. We found an interesting museum on the Docklands history.  We caught a tour on the British role of African Slavery which was depressing but interesting.  Later, we caught the Borroughs market for a treat on the way home.

   Friday, we went into London to the Royal Academy to pick up a membership that our family had given to us for Christmas!  They had an awesome show on Abstract Expressionism that Mom LOVED.  We bought a book and book bag before leaving. We then checked out the markets including a polish sausage and Brazilian hot chocolate before visiting the Tate Modern.  Mom found a necklace and some handmade jewelry that she liked.  We tried to get into the St. Paul’s Cathedral Christmas Carol concert but it was full.  We and about 500 others could not get in.  We found some great fish and chips at the market by the Tate Modern.

    Christmas Eve, we picked up a few packages at the post office before going into London and to the Hyde Park winter wonderland market.  We had a great time. Mom found a white Alpaca scarf. At noon we met the other couple missionaries at President and Sister Stevens flat.  It is a very nice large 5^th floor apartment just two doors away from the Hyde Park Chapel!  It was so fun to meet and visit with the other missionaries!  We had a great visit with President and Sister Stevens.  Mom gave Sister Stevens a pair of her glass earrings for Christmas. We then walked a short distance to the Royal Albert Hall for a wonderful Christmas Concert.  We had great seats on the main floor in the center. After the concert we went with Brad and Vicki Jackman to a French crepe café’ where we ate and visited.  It was go good to see the Jackmans!  

   Christmas Day!!  We attended church at the Watford ward.  It was so nice to sing carols and to be with people we love! There are some wonderful humble people in the ward who truly love the Lord and serve each other so well!  We love them! The spirit just radiates from some of these wonderful people!

     After church and visiting, we brought the Sisters home with us.  They wanted to just relax, write letters and play games.  Mom fixed a wonderful meal of Turkey breast, ham, Au gratin potatoes, salads, and three kinds of desserts!  Wonderful meal.  The Sisters changed into their red Christmas PJ’s that were given them and took a nap.  We played Camie’s SpyFall game and opened presents.

    Two of our neighbors came over and brought us little Christmas gifts.  A cute Italian family with one daughter came over with some things.  A beautiful Muslim women from two doors down came over with a card and gift.  She said she loves Christmas and likes to join with her neighbors to share gifts during the season.

    We were able to Skype with each of our children and their families!  They looked so good!  Skype is so neat!  Our Grandkids all looked so very good!  We were good and did not cry until after we hung up. Everyone looks great!  We LOVE them all!

      Later, the Elders arrived and we put the missionaries in four different rooms so they could all Skype with their families.  We sat on the steps and counted our blessings.  We enjoyed Berry pie, English Pudding Cake, cookies, and Lemon Ice Cream for Dessert.  We played some more games with the missionaries before they returned to their apartments.  Lastly, we were able to join the Skype from Elder Parker Cheshire!  We had a four way Skype with Parker, Jill, Aaron, and us!  It was awesome to see everyone and to hear a testimony from Elder Cheshire.  He is having so much fun and loving his mission!

   Boxing Day is the day after Christmas.  Traditionally wealthy English families gave their servants the day off and gave them a box of gifts.  They also gave boxes to the poor on this day.  Now it is just a big shopping day with most people taking the day off.

    We were invited to President Bettridge’s home for morning brunch where we had a wonderful huge breakfast with our four missionaries.  We had fruits, eggs, including proper English poached eggs, waffles, sausages, bacon, and more and more food!  It was really very nice!  We played games with their family and they had gifts for us.  We received some great Watford FC scarves, apron, and even tooth brushes!  President Adrian Bettridge was a young missionary serving under Clarence Robison!  It was so fun to hear about their adventures together!   

   We took the Sisters to the mall and went on a huge bike ride in the sunny weather.  In the evening, we fed the Sisters leftovers from Christmas and gave them time to write their emails for preparation day.  The Elders joined us for Family Home Evening but their friend called and cancelled.  No YSA came so we just relaxed, played games, and ate desserts.  We love working and serving with our missionaries!

    We are excited to have Tyler come visit us next week!  Mom has been busy planning adventures!  We love our family and miss them.

 Dad n Mum, Clark & Joyce, Grandpa and Grandma, Elder and Sister Baron