10 October 2016

"The leaves are falling from some of the trees, and we have more rain.  It feels like winter is not far away, but winter here is mostly rain.  With bishop's wife in Redruth, who is from the Midwest in America, says that snow is rare and if there should be a little, people don't know who to deal with driving.  Most of the traffic instructions are painted right on the roads, so if that gets covered up with snow it becomes difficult, and there is no such thing as snow removal equipment, though we have seen bins for sand by the roads.

Elder Warnick went to the rebroadcast of the priesthood session of conference Sunday at the Newton Abbot ward, and helped with the preparation and cleanup of a breakfast.  It was a wonderful session.  He particularly enjoyed Elder Holland's talk on home teaching.  When he got back we invited the sisters over to watch the Saturday sessions, and fed them.  It made for a long day, but we were happy to help them see some of the sessions, as we have wifi, and none of the young missionaries do.  It is wonderful that we are able to watch these conference sessions halfway across the world.  The technology may seem commonplace, but it isn't to us.  It puts new meaning to the gospel flooding the earth.  Elder Uchtdorf's talk 'Fourth Floor, Last Door' has particular meaning to missionaries, but has application to any stage of life.  We gained something from each talk, and look forward to reading and listening again, and will encourage the YSA to do the same.

Tuesday we did another flat inspection and repaired a chair with a broken leg.  The repair actually took a few days, since they said it didn't work the first time.  It will probably need another repair, as the fix wasn't as good as Elder Warnick could have done with the proper tools, but we are glad for what we do have and he has since learned of a man in the ward who does have a good supply of tools.  Missionaries seem to be rough on chairs.

Sister Warnick made ham and cheese rolls for Institute night.  They played a game of life Pacman, with chairs set up in the cultural hall, and designated ghosts with bands around their heads.  The group was small that night but they had a great time.  It is a good thing they enjoyed it because it wasn't easy for them to set up and take down all those chairs!  The young man with the blue headband is Edward, who is leaving in a couple of weeks on a mission to South Africa.

We attended sacrament meeting in Redruth on Sunday, where Edward spoke in sacrament meeting.  He talked about the love of the Savior, and that we all need to work on developing that kind of love.  It was an excellent talk, and he will be a very faithful missionary, judging by the courage and loyalty to the gospel of Christ that he has already demonstrated in his few short years as a member.  He has ridden farther on trains to get to and from meetings than any of our YSA, often arriving home very late at night, and train tickets are not cheap.

Choir practice continues Sunday evenings for stake conference in two weeks.  It is supposed to be a YSA choir and include the young missionaries.  We will not be able to blend into that age group, but have been asked to sing with them."