Car Trouble, Flat Inspections, and a Visit from Elder Johnson

"We had an eventful week.  When we went down to start the car we realized the light switch was partially on and had drained the battery, so we walked to church in drizzle.  Luckily we had determined the walking route ahead.  Ben Jollife, the executive secretary in the ward, took us home after meetings and jumped the battery for us.  We are so grateful for his help.  We met with Sister Brown and Deloumeaux in the evening in our flat to give a new member discussion to Jordan Dougherty, a recent YSA age convert.  We showed him 'The Mountain of the Lord' and talked about temples.  It gave us a renewed appreciation for all the sacrifices that the early saints made so that we could have the temple ordinances available to us in such beautiful buildings.

We are getting into full swing inspecting the missionary flats and have decided for them to do self evaluations is best.  We still need to be clear on what they say so we can make our report, and we might make a few suggestions, but they are honest and are actually harder on themselves than we would be.  So far, the elders seem neater than the sisters, which surprised us.  None of them are bad, however.

Last week was transfer week.  Every six weeks there are some missionaries arriving and some leaving.  The transfers this time were mainly by rail, but we were still involved in getting Sister Brown off and recieving Sister Woodland.  The sisters' flat is three flights of stairs up, so heavy luggage becomes a liability.  Sister Brown is headed to St. George after recieving her visa.

Last week was also a 3 zone conference and mission tour by Elder Johnson of the Seventy.  It took some shuttling between flats to get everyone to the conference and back, but the conference more than made up for every effort it took to get there.  President Gubler and Elder Johnson were marvelous  in their instruction.  We enjoyed the richness of the Spirit and learned so much.  President Gubler emphasized 3 main points: Let your love and your passion flow freely, Let your real self free, and Be true to the flashes of revelation your recieve.  Elder Johnson recounted the history of the church in England, our charge to teach repentance and baptize converts, and the formula for learning spiritual things found in 1 Nephi 15, and Alma 12 and 32.  It was a long day, but so inspiring.  The 3 missionaries in our car, from France, Denmark, and Cambodia, gladly gave the talks they had prepared to us and were really engaged with Dad as he related a few experiences from his mission.  They appreciate hearing of those missionary experiences because they are so engaged with the work and can relate.

Sunday wer drove to the Bideford Branch, which is an hour and a half away on the west coast.  The drive was through beautiful, green rolling hills with sheep grazing on them.  The fields divided by undulating hedges make for a patchwork look that is charming.

They meet in a Bideford College building, and had about 45 people in attendance.  We had been asked to speak in sacrament meeting on faith.  Dad bore testimony of the Book of Mormon, and that any who sincerely want to know of its truthfulness can find out for themselves by excerising their faith to read it pray sincerely to ask God if it is true.  We arranged with President Smith and the elders to visit there again, with the goal of meeting less-active singles in the branch.  The branch president was thrilled to learn that we have lived in areas where church members live far apart and understand some of the problems that occur because of that.  In the Gospel Principles class we met an older woman who, had been recently found by the elders, who had left the church some 50 years ago.  She got teary eyed more than onve as she related how good it felt to be 'home' again.  There is a special spirit in these small branches that doesn't present itself as readily in larger wards.  We felt it was a very productive visit, even though it took most of the day.

This afternoon a members is taking the sisters and us for a visit to the moors in Dartmoor National Park for their P-day.  We'll try to take some interesting pictures to share.  Remember 'The Hound of the Baskervilles?'  We'll be on the lookout."

Newton Abbot

While in London at the mission home, Elder and Sister Warnick found some heather at the London temple. 

"It reminds us of the sacrifices our ancestors made in leaving their homeland for the gospel's sake.  This is truly a beautiful country; it must have been hard for them to leave it, realizing they would probably never return, and then they arrived where it was dry and hard to get things to grow."

They also had some driving lessons with Elder Cannon, one of the office missionaries who will be heading home soon.  Then they went out to dinner with some of the other senior missionaries, to a Texas ribs restaurant!

Elder and Sister Warnick's first assignment is to the Plymouth zone, in a small town called Newton Abbot.  They spent the first week getting settled in their flat, learning their way around, and meeting the local members.  They also sampled some fish and chips and English bacon; they say both are better than the American versions.


"We have made it a point to go out exploring on foot each day, choosing different directions to get to know the town in which we live.  We have discovered that people lead quite meager lives here and we have more abundance, variety, and low cost in the USA.  Things cost about fifty percent more here.  At the same time there are some things available that we don't readily see, like different types of flour, and black currant products, and certain sweets and bakery products.  The shopping carts they call trolleys, and they can move sideways as well as forward and back.  Some stores chain them together, and you have to insert a coin to use them that you get back upon return.

Most things seem to be done quite deliverately and take more time than in the US.  We went to the bank to get a debit account and found that we had to have an appointment, and when we finally got it arranged it took 2 and 1/2 hours.

Our district of young missionaries represent countries from around the world: Cambodia, Denmark, France, England, Italy, West Indies, and USA.  They are a United Nations of missionaries.  They have varying levels of command of English, but are very focused and expressed strong testimonies of the gospel.  We think the church is in good hands with leaders like these.  Elder Gallitelli from Italy is so excited about the gospel; it is great pleasure to be in his company.  
Thursday night we had our first opportunity to meet the YSA in Plymouth, which is about a 45 minute drive from Newton Abbot.  There were 15 there, all quite enthusiastic and partipating in the discussion.

We have also had opportunity to teach a lesson with the sister missionaries.  It reminds Dad of his time as a young full-time missionary where he had opportunity to witness simple faith and was able to bear testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel to investigators.

Monday night we attended FHE with 4 YSA in Exeter, a 45 minute drive north.  We had a lesson, snack,s and a trivia game focusing on Europe.  Do you know the geographic center of Europe?  (Lithuania)

We have seen two bowling greens, and the sisters told us a little about the sport.  In warmer weather we'll try to see one of their matches.

The YSA hosted a pancake day celebration for the whole ward in Plymouth.  This is a tradition that goes way back in England.  These pancakes were more like crepes, and eaten with lemon juice and sugar.  Two investigators came."


The weather is much more mild than back home.  Spring is on the way, and the daffodils are already in bloom!