Wednesday 20 January 2016

Wednesday this and that . . .


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Well, here I was yesterday thinking that I was going to have a really quiet day just getting things ready for dinner last night, tidying up the house and doing my weekly chores, etc.   We didn't have a Prep day on Monday because we had to go to Manchester for the meeting, so yesterday was supposed to be it!

 Our quiet day ended up being really busy however, but in a really good way.  Kinda sorta!

Today is Transfer Day, and I have always loved to go to the Transfer Meetings in Manchester, but  there will no longer be Transfer Meetings.  Cue in sad face here.   The Transfer Meetings have always been our favourite of all the meetings.  You get to see and greet the new missionaries coming into the Mission.  You get to say goodbye to all the missionaries going home, etc.  It's always just been a meeting charged with feeling and spirit and energy.

They are no more.


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Our fine young people are now having to get themselves from their present areas to their new areas with the help of Senior Missionaries, or on their own, etc.  This is the first transfer it is being done that way and so everything is a bit uncertain and kind of confused, but all will be okay.  We are losing Sister Gregson and Elder Singsam this transfer.  (Cue in tears here.)  Sister Gregson is going up to the Liverpool Stake and so is Elder Singsam.  We will surely miss them, but we also will surely love the new Elder and Sister who are coming in.  Elder Johansen will be driving Sister Gregson to her new Ward today.  Can you imagine a young Sister trying to manoeuvre two large suitcases and a carry on via the train all by herself?   NOT EASY!  Thank goodness for Elder Johansen!  Elder Singsam will be going on the train by himself.   I wish that we could take him to his new area.  It's not possible however as we will be busy driving the New Sisters that are going to Wrexham to their area.

Sister Harp called early yesterday morning asking for our help to get her from the Chester Train Station along with her companion and six cases.  So a lot of yesterday was spent in organising who was going to be where and when, etc.  All sorted.


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I am sure Elder Singsam will be okay on his travels.   We were able to give him a LARGE suitcase that I used when I first moved over here to the UK.   The handles on his suitcase were broken and we knew it would be very difficult for him to manoeuvre so I said to Todd we will never be using a suitcase as large as the one I had ever again and so we dug it out of storage and gave it to him last night.  I hope it stands him in good stead.   We will surely miss him.  I have never cried before when a Missionary was leaving us, but I did yesterday.

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Sister Gregson and Sister Holmes stopped by in the early afternoon so that Sister Gregson could say goodbye to us.  We will  miss her so much.  Her cheerful face and demeanour, that beautiful spirit she brings to all that she does.  I know she will do well in her new Ward and we will love her replacement just as much but it is always sad to see them move on.  We were her first area here and she has been here for about 6 months now.  I was so pleased that they stopped by.  We have a Missionary Book that Todd has been keeping since he was baptised some 18 years ago now.  (17 for me!)  We usually try to get the Missionaries to all sign it and share a bit of their feelings with us in it and we add a photograph of them to it.  We have missed a few of them through the years because they left before we could catch them with it.  But generally speaking a lot of them are in there.   The Missionaries love to go through it and see some of their old friends that perhaps came from the same places as they do, old companions etc.  Sister Gregson wrote in our book in pretty pink ink!  Yay!  (She knows I like pink)  and then it was goodbye, for now at any rate.

  We had all of the Elders for tea last night.

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From left to right, Sister Holmes, Sister Gregson, Elder Lolesei, Elder Judd, Elder Singsam and Elder Hollingsworth.

I made them my Beef Enchiladas (which went down a real treat),  baked chicken breasts (with a ciabatta, bacon and cheese crust), rice,  butternut squash and carrots and broccoli, with a chocolate cake and banana fudge pudding cake for dessert.  They all seemed to really enjoy everything, and I do so love to feed the missionaries as you know.  Afterwards they treated us to a song which they sung for us together, accapella and in perfect harmony.   Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy.  (If you click on that, you can hear it being sung accapella and the Elders were just as good last night as these are.)  What a beautiful gift to us it was.  Elder Singsam wrote in our book and we wrote in his.   One of my most favourite tea appointments ever.

You know, you don't have to be a member of the church to feed the missionaries.  They are always happy to receive and share a meal with anyone!  No strings attached.

So that was our day yesterday with all of the comings and goings and plannings.  Today will be very busy, with getting the Sisters sorted and into Wrexham and then we have to pick them up again and drive to Rhyll for a special Missionary Meeting there being broadcast from Salt Lake for us all.  I am looking foward to that.  Love all of our broadcasts.

You know  . . .  I really won't know what to do with all of my time when Todd and I are finished our mission because we are just so busy now with it all and enjoying every minute.  I am sure we will always be involved somehow in some way, in whatever way that we can be.

A thought to carry with you through today  . . .


✿¸.•*¨`*•..¸✿ ✿¸.•*¨`*•..¸✿
"Being truly converted means 
we are acting upon what we believe 
and allowing it to create 
“a mighty change in us”."
~Bonnie L. Oscarson
✿¸.•*¨`*•..¸✿ ✿¸.•*¨`*•..¸✿

Spiritual Enlightenment

 

Cooking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  Layered Tuna Bake.  Quite simply delicious.

Have a great Wednesday!  Don't forget!

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And I do too!


7 comments:

  1. I am sorry you are no longer having the meetings you cherished. Perhaps they will revise the system. Yesterday sounded awkward.

    Will you have a quieter day today. Sadly for my financial state I found out a quilt shop has opened down the road. Ouch.

    God bless your day.

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  2. It was a bit of a bundle of things Suzan, and to top it off I had put a cheese and potato thing into the slow cooker that ended up scorching on the bottom, and had to be thrown away, so a quick rethink at the last minute! My slow cooker is too ferocious and that was on LOW. Oh, what fun a new quilt shop! Yay! xoxo

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  3. They have all put an extra spring in your step..
    Kudos for everything you hae done in sush a joyful way!

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  4. Hi Marie! I can tell you love those sweet Elders and Sister missionaries. They are so easy to love and become attached to. I'll bet they love coming to your home for dinner, but, how wonderful for them to have someone close that they can trust and lean on. I know that as a mom, I really appreciated and loved all of the senior missionaries that loved and helped my son on his mission. He was in Boston, Massachusetts, and spent most of his time in some very scary places. But even in those scary places, there were people who were good and kind and who loved he and his companion, and helped them so much. You will be so blessed for your service!!

    Have a wonderful day! Hugs to you!

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  5. I always enjoy reading about your missionary experiences. We have two Elders that we work with for lunch every week before we have our weekly planning meeting. I really enjoy this meeting. I am sure all the Elders and Sisters love coming to your home for tea. I am sorry that they changed the way they do transfers. We just had a transfers too. I too feel sad when we lose one of our Elders in a transfer.
    We attended the Mission Conference broadcast today and it was so good. I really felt uplifted and inspired in the work. I love that we are serving at the same time you both are.
    Thanks for sharing the hymn; I loved it. That is a favorite of my husband and I's.
    Have a blessed week dear friend; sending hugs and love your way~

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  6. Hi Barb, we have always cared deeply for these wonderful young people. As converts to the church they have been instrumental in changing both of our lives for the better and we love all of them very much! We also care about their safety and do whatever we can to make sure they are safe. There are some pretty scary places over here also! xoxo

    Thanks LeAnn! I love reading about your Missionary Experiences also! What a blessing! I love that hymn too. You hae a blessed week also. Love and hugs. xoxo

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  7. Thanks Monique! Trust me there is not always a spring in my step1 Sometimes I am shuffling, but so long as I am moving forward, that's what counts! xoxo

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Your comments mean the world to me, and while I may not be able to address each one individually, each one is important to me and each one counts. Thanks so much!