8 February 2017- Jammie Dodgers

"To catch up a little, do you remember Bishop Vousden asked Newton Abbot Ward to fast for someone to baptize?  Lee was the one, and now his mother and sister are hearing the discussions.  At Lee's baptism his mother asked us why each church picks and chooses what to believe, and ignores the rest of what the Bible teaches.  That reminded us of the story of Wilford Woodruff's search, who had the same questions.  We invited their whole family for dinner and showed them the video, A Search for Truth.  They agreed to hear more from the missionaries and have met weekly, and we have been participating in those discussions.  Lee is enthusiastic in his desire to share with them his new found faith.

We are teaching a temple preparation course at Bishop Vousden's request, with 4 members.  It is a great experience, and leaves us wishing everyone could take it before they go to the temple.  In the second lesson 2 of the 4 expressed doubts about their ability to pay a full tithing.  One of our YSA bore a very powerful testimony of how obeying the law of tithing has blessed her family who came here recently under the poorest of circumstances.  The Spirit has been evident in these discussions and they have become real friends.

We continue to drive the missionaries to conferences and respond to problems with their flats.  A curtain rod in one had fallen down in the middle of the night, and it required some extra long screws to fix it.  Three hours later we were pretty sure it will not come down again.  It took a couple of trips to the stone in an unfamiliar town.  We hear it had been an ongoing problem, and the previous missionaries had put a note on them warning against touching the curtains.

We have made two trips to Bideford in the last few weeks.  The first time was to speak on the keys of the priesthood, and the second time to attend branch conference at the request of the Branch President.  He invited us for dinner afterward.  Three of his children are YSAs, and really delightful.  They served a lovely roast chicken, just one serving 10 people as there were 8 or 9 different vegetables, plus Yorkshire pudding and stuffing.  We have found that typical of English dinners.  And lots of gravy!  The drive from Bideford is always a little harrowing, especially in the rain this time of year.  We always arrive home with a muddy car, but love those people so much it is worth it.

Institute carries on, with the need to provide food and teach sometimes.  Elder Warnick's most recent lesson was on our eternal identity as sons and daughters of God, and Heavenly Father's Plan for us to live together with Him as families.

Last Friday we drove 3 hours to Oxford for a senior missionary conference.  We arrived a little before noon at our hotel and took a bus from the park and ride to the Vault and Garden restaurant located under the first college in Oxford, dating from the 1300s.  We then went to Christ Church College for a tour conducted by Bishop Tootle of the Oxford First Ward, who is an official with the college.  He took us places most visitors never see, so we felt special.  We sent our son Dan pictures of the medieval kitchen, which has been in continuous use since the 1500s.  We also saw the dining hall and stairways used as a model for the Harry Potter movies.

Elder Warnick with Alice in Wonderland carvings in the Christ Church College library.

In meeting with the other senior missionaries, we found that a lot of our problems are the same, but discussed ways to solve common problems.  We end up glad that we have never gotten a traffic ticket, as some have multiples.

The next morning we drove to Blenheim Palace, where Winston Churchill was born, though his father was not the heir (second son of the 8th Duke of Marlborough).  Blenheim was a reward from Queen Anne for the first military victory in a very long time against the French.  Too bad she couldn't guarantee the next generations would be as grateful and continue to financially support it in full.  Marriages into American families like the Vanderbilts has allowed it to remain in private hands.

The Eagle and Child pub where C.S. Lewis and friends hung out was full of drinking students, even though we went early, so we went to another place and had quite a good meal that evening.  Oxford has respected the very old, but functions well into current times.

At the Oxford First Ward we discovered that Bishop Tootle is the father to the daughter-in-law of our stake president, and there were three young people from Bountiful, a student and two missionaries.  Small world.

After the long drive home we went to choir practice, as they need bodies.  There is an upcoming performance of a cantata to celebrate 10 years for the Paignton Ward in their building, which used to be a school.  They have lovely views of the ocean from the upper level.

Elder Warnick presented a proposal to the stake presidency to help the YSA become more self reliant.  Interestingly, the church has announced the expansion of the BYUI Pathways program into BYU Worldwide.  This online education program could be very helpful to a number of our YSA, and there is a missionary couple that will come and present it to them."