We arrived a little after 1 p.m. in Birmingham after the short hour connecting flight from Paris. Elder and Sister Coppin were extremely well organized and prepared a quick four-day training course that covers most of our assignment... now we just have to remember everything we "learned" in that short timeframe. Malcolm Adcock, the Area Public Affairs Director for the UK, greeted us as did the small staff in the Solihull office.
People are wonderfully supportive and the name badges elicit loads of questions and opportunities to comment about what we are doing in Great Britain.
Surprises include: nice weather (first three days only), absolutely beautiful city, amazing shopping, drivers on the wrong side of the street, steering wheel on the wrong side of the car, good food, lovely 'flat', huge refrigerator, wonderful dryer, Costco (it's like walking into the USA), schools on holiday and there still is a Fish Shop in every little shopping area.
Not-so-surprising: extremely high prices, VAT taxes on virtually everything (making the already expensive, prohibitive), lots of traffic, beautiful green spaces, rain (hence the beautiful green spaces) and tonnes (English spelling) of very nice people.

The Coppins (Pat and Ann) are a delightful, organised (English spelling) and positive way to begin any mission. From the daily learning agendas to the cheery spirits, they epitomize the "best" in senior couples dedicated to hastening the work!

Beautiful Countryside... billowing clouds, lush green and magnificent yellow rapeseed fields!

Car with steering wheel and "driver" on the wrong side in front of our flat building 80 Eversleigh Court, Shirley B90 1BU

We met the sister missionaries while visiting with President Craig Rasmussen of the Birmingham England Mission.... Below is Sister Rasmussen and Sister Jones reuniting after not seeing our Eagle, Idaho friends for more than a dozen years.

President and Sister Rasmussen have 250 young missionaries and more than 10 couples. During dinner they were constantly taking phone calls from their missionaries and President said he only have 5 personal interviews to do on his "P" day. Remarkable dedication and commitment!

Sister Jones perusing the outdoor flower shop at the Touchwood Shopping Centre.

 Solihull is simply the most "posh" city I have seen in the UK.... where are the row houses that I remember populating the cityscape?

We live on the right of the second floor (Story 1 is always the 'ground' floor in the UK)

Joyce (Sister Jones) is on her way out the door and off to the office... calls to answer, spreadsheets to do, plans to be made. She simply has 's'miles to go before she sleeps...

Here's the flat in Shirley... Our thanks to the Fugals who have made this so nice!

OK, I know I'm not the biggest fellow in the world. But I'm not the smallest either... That's right folks, a 22 inch wide shower! The shower-head is aimed at my mouth... the world's largest sonicare waterpik only 6 inches from my face. Joyce obviously uses the "other" shower. Be aware that I'm not complaining, as forty years ago I took 'baths' once a week at a public bath!

The master bedroom has 9 pillows on the bed which makes Sister Jones feel more at home.

The living and dining rooms are bright and very homey.

Take a look... An American Refrigerator and dryer in the midlands of England! Bless Guy and Paula Fugal's hearts and pocketbooks... where they found them, let alone how they got them in the flat is truly a modern-day miracle!

As nice as the surroundings are, it's really all about people. Here are some of our new friends in Solihull office who have been "lovely" to us. Malcolm Adcock is the English gentleman on the right and a true delight for us to support. These people are truly 'saints' as they work long hours and live for the church and their families. The UK saved the Church with thousands of converts from the late 1830s to the 1860s. Most of us trace our ancestry through the British Isles and these remnants of the seed of Ephraim are as stalwart as the emigrating saints of a hundred and fifty years ago. Our little ward (Sheldon) has 75 active members and covers the most diverse parts of Birmingham, but those who attend are as strong as any Utah ward. The Sunday School lesson was "brilliant" as they say and the Bishop is optimistic as he declares "we're growing" with 4 baptisms this year among the 2 sets of missionaries. When we have time, we will share the story of Tim, the 52 year old Down's Syndrome "boy" in the primary. We'll take his picture and fill you in on how tender everyone is with him.

We are planning to be in London next week, Germany the week after, a Multi-stake Public Affairs training to deliver the following with a YSA spokesperson training (video each as we question them) in Manchester the weekend after that... Love to all!

And we're off!

 Grandpa and London (with her darling UK socks)

Grandma and the last hugs from our Madeleine... she'll miss the cuddles!

Treats for the waiting...

'Union Jack' London

Smiles before the soon to come tears at parting... and then we're off!

Pre-training and MTC Week

We attended our first training by the Public Affairs Department of the Church from February 19th-21st at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City. We learned much and were inspired by all the Church is doing with our friends in interfaith committees, media relations, and government entities.

We loved our week at the Provo MTC, where we joined 180 other senior missionaries in the largest group of "mature" missionaries ever. Our days were spent in training as we learned to more effectively implement the principles in Preach My Gospel. Our trainers were wonderful returned missionaries who taught with fervor and faith. By being divided into districts, we became well acquainted with amazingly faithful, optimistic couples going to serve despite many personal trials and hardships.

Elder Lystup and Holland were inspirational returned missionaries guiding us with patience and experience! It's almost impossible to comprehend how the Lord raises up such a marvelous generation to move His work forward.

Sister Holland is a Senior at BYU majoring in accounting headed for a job at Apple. She returned from New Mexico Spanish speaking just a couple of years ago.

 Our answers (dated by experience and tempered by the pressures of age) make the trainers laugh!!

Pictured in front of the most famous and photographed map in the world... Elder and Sister Jones

The "beauties" of the season...

Family Home Evening and Setting Apart

This week was quite busy as we hosted a benefit banquet for the Academy for Creating Enterprise, an organization we've been privileged to be involved with for the past couple of years. The event took place in the beautiful Empire Room at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and our dear friends Clayton and Christine Christensen graciously flew in to town so Clayton could be our keynote speaker. It was a wonderful evening!    

We enjoyed an uplifting Conference weekend which also included a sleepover with Jackson and Madeleine, a visit to the Natural History Museum, and a wonderful performance of Les Mis starring our friend Casey Elliott. On Sunday evening we were privileged to have Brittany, Corey, and family, President Barfuss, and Bishop Gimperline to our home for a Family Home Evening and setting apart. 

Dan shared stories about his first mission to England. The kids were tickled to see pictures of a very young Grandpa, hold his British driving record, and play with his coin collection.  

President Barfuss set us apart as full-time missionaries and gave us beautiful blessings that we know will sustain us over the course of this mission. It was again confirmed to us that this is what the Lord would have us be doing at this time in our lives. We're now official--and we're ready!