"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."
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