Report
from England Feb 15-27
Institute Wednesday! We had two great lessons taught by Bishop
Manning. He is so very good! We talked about the separate roles of men and
women and how they complement each other.
We provided treats and Hot Chocolate (milk, Cadbury Chocolate, and Nutella)
that the YSA love. After Institute we
went with the YSA to a mini golf course and played a round in the dark. It was fun and gave us a chance to be with
our young friends. We have one marriage,
one engagement and one serious couple in the YSA this week. Great young people!
During
our London run this week we visited the British Museum and the Portabella
market which is full of antiques and vintage clothing. Very fun!
On Friday we participated in a Ward party
where we ate French fries (Chips) and played games. We had a very fun time with a large crowd of
ward members and friends.
Sunday had us teaching the YSA Sunday
School class in Watford. Things went
very well. We enjoyed a walk after
church and visited two Watford churches (one Church of England and one
Catholic).
Monday, it was time for our six month
checkup with the Doctor so we rode into South Kensington to a private Clinic
that the Senior Missionaries use. We met
a very nice Doctor who practiced at the Mayo Clinic in the states before
returning to London. We will be running
blood tests and getting a few skin spots removed but all-in-all we are in good
shape. Tonight we fed the missionaries
waffles before YSA home evening. We will
be getting two new missionaries tomorrow, Sister Barnes from Logan and Elder
Williams from Gilbert AZ. We are sending
Sister Adams and Elder Auras to other areas.
They are great! We love our
missionaries!
Wednesday, we had our Institute lesson with
about 25 YSA present. They are always so
very good! We are worried about a couple
of our YSA who have not been to events or activities for some time. We will reach out to them. Mom taught an Art lesson after Institute
while Dad supervised the treats and visited with all.
Thursday, We headed for London for a
Dermatologist appointment. Of course we
visited an Art Museum (Tate Modern) while we were there! The wind in downtown London was blowing 62
miles per hour! It was crazy to walk
across the foot bridge across the Thames in that wind! There was wind damage throughout London. The Doctor was very helpful and froze a few
spots on each of us. I guess we had too
much sun when we were young.
Friday, we had Senior Missionary meetings
at the Hyde Park Chapel. We love working
with these outstanding people! The five Senior
Missionary couples at this meeting are working with Young Single Adults
somewhere in the England London Mission.
We talked, shared hints, recipes, plans, and stories. We are all having a great time working with
these wonderful young people! Everyone
loves what they are doing. We had a
wonderful Taco lunch fixed by Sister Wade of Hyde Park. We also had a good
visit with President and Sister Stevens.
They are so good and great to work with.
There is a real shortage of senior missionaries! We presently have only half as many senior
missionaries as are needed.
We caught a classic car show in London that
was awesome. We saw cars from Formula
One racers to Rolls Royce luxury cars. Dozens of Jaguars, MG’s, Porsches,
Bentleys, Corvettes, Mini Coopers, and Vipers.
It was fun to see them all up close. We saw a Corvette that was the same
model and year as the one Bruce Payne owned when he was young. We also found a BMW motorcycle like Grandpa
Paynes!
Sunday, we went to the church for a 7:30am
Sunrise Priesthood meeting. We then
drove to the Hayes ward for church where we met three new missionaries. The sisters are moving out of their flat next
week. It was a real dump so we are happy
for them. One new Elder had been on his
mission for only three days! They are
all great missionaries. We visited with
our awesome YSA’s and leaders and zoomed home to change for another YSA
event. We met the Aylesbury and Watford
YSA at Katie’s house in Hemel Hempstead for dinner. Katie’s family just
purchased the house and are remodeling everything in it! The home was built
just after WWII by Italian prisoners who were released after the war but
decided to stay in England. Very
interesting construction!
We drove to Ivinghoe Beacon which is a hill
in the county with lots of trails and a great view. The wind was so strong that you could lean
over without falling down. We hiked and
played until after dark. There were
about 17 YSA plus two grandparents (us).
We really enjoyed it! Typical
Sunday for YSA Missionaries… 7am to midnight.
Monday, Feb 27th, we prepared
for YSA Home Evening, purchased copper pipes for Nerf Guns for the March
activity, and tried them out at FHE. It
was a blast!! Literally! (We bought 200
nerf bullets for the activity). We had a lesson about pioneers and read the
story of Ephraim Hanks and the handcart pioneers. We had a small group this week with four YSA
and two missionaries.
We
love our family! We love the Lord! We
love our missionaries and we love our young friends here in England! We know that God is directing and blessing his
faithful children and that great blessings come from serving others! We love it here. We love you and miss you all!
Elder
and Sister Baron
England
London Mission
