"Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great purpose in heart." Gordon B. Hinckley

As we think about what gives us daily smiles, there are some people and things which bring twinkles to our eyes as we enjoy our experience in England:

Communication with family and friends

Our bulletin board next to the dining room daily puts a twinkle in our eyes as it reminds us of what is going on in the lives of loved ones back home. It's difficult to take a picture of Skype or FaceTime, but we absolutely love the technology which has allowed us to instantly see the smiles on loved ones faces.

People we admire and love to serve with in the Solihull office

Pauline and Anna with Sue (below)

Almost everyday we find a note, treat or both on our desks as these three continue to believe there is a direct correlation between the heart and the stomach. Attempting to reciprocate, we bring our fair share of treats...especially the filled doughnuts from Morrisons or the Chocolate Cakes from Marks and Spencers.

Sister Russell and Sister Banner 

These two great examples of faith and commitment are 'stars' in our minds as we daily see the twinkle in their eyes.

Malcolm

Described as a 'true English gentleman,' Malcolm puts in long hours in behalf of the Public Affairs for the Church and has a unique gift of language. It is rare to find anyone with Malcolm's prodigious 'wordsmith' skills. 

Craig White

Always willing to give a 150%, Craig keeps everything and everyone 'going' electronically. 

Daily learning opportunities in our long, but happy days.

Typical Weekly Schedule:

Monday through Friday

5:30 a.m.     Joyce arises
6:30 a.m.     Dan thinks about rising
8:00 a.m.     Breakfast after morning study and daily prayers
8:30 a.m.     Travel to office
9:00 a.m.     Begin on Monday with scriptures: then media, email, programme development, training
11:00 p.m.   Finish office, training, church - bishopric and primary, missionary, home teaching, etc.
11:00 p.m.   Watch BBC News
Saturday
5:30 a.m.     Joyce arises
6:30 a.m.     Dan is dreaming about arising
8:00 a.m.     Generally traveling to deliver training or responding to church assignments
7:00 p.m.     Return home and plan Sunday
Sunday
6:30 a.m.     Dan arises to get ready for bishopric meeting... Joyce has been up for hours
7:30 a.m.     Bishopric meeting while Joyce practices the piano at the church or prepares for Primary
2:00 p.m.     Deposit tithing funds at the bank
3:00 p.m.     Dinner and then pass out from exhaustion
7:00 p.m.     Highlight: Skype / FaceTime with children & grandchildren

Missionaries

Elder Farley (Tooele) and Elder Peterson (Cache County) are wonderful missionaries representing the Lord in a very difficult area. This is outside the council building where their flat is located in a predominantly Muslim area. Note their optimistic smiles as they share the gospel's message of the restoration in the dead of night... it's 5:00 p.m. in the photo.

Courteous Drivers

Each morning on School Lane we play 'dodgems' with the parked cars on both sides of a two-lane street, oncoming traffic including trucks, "loads" of traffic and it all works due to the courteous nature of the English drivers. It's truly amazing as they let cars pass, merge and avoid potential accidents with smiles and waves. We are learning a great deal about the virtue of 'pleasant' patience.

"Learner" Drivers

No this "L" for Learner is not hitting into the other car at the roundabout on Stratford Road, but they do get very, very close to one another. It seems every fifth vehicle is a Driving Instructor's vehicle and the driving tests are extremely challenging to pass. Perhaps this could account for the good driving and the courtesy exhibited on the road...

Kind People

We cannot say enough positive about the kind people in the United Kingdom and especially the helpful people at the Post Office in Shirley. We have become quite friendly over the past eight months as we seem to use their services on occasion.

Roundabouts

Roundabouts give senior missionaries second chances and facilitate a great deal of traffic. The concept of a roundabout originated as 'circulations' in the beautiful English city of Bath during the 1760s and has become the most popular of English road junctions.

Trains and our little Shirley train station

Getting to Birmingham or Stratford-upon-Avon is very convenient due to the rail station just two blocks away with train service every 20 to 30 minutes.

Green, lush landscape 

This lovely English park is just a short distance from our flat on the way to the office in Solihull. Surprisingly it is still green with the exception of the leaves on the deciduous trees. One of the favorite past-times in England is walking the dog...

Ward Family and especially the Primary

Joyce loves the Primary children who presented their annual programme (UK spelling) this past Sunday and were 'brilliant.' The British term brilliant' is just a bit more effusive than our term of excellent!

Bishop and Anna Stilger's family

Bishop and Sister Stilger with their entire extended family (from Switzerland and Germany) at Elisa's baptism a couple of Sunday's ago. Dan conducted the baptism with the entire ward attending. A celebration in the cultural hall followed with seemingly endless amounts of delicious food.

Highfield Fish and Chips

Considered one of the ten best in Birmingham, Highfield Chippy is a favorite! The owners recognize us as we quite frequently visit them to get the best traditional fish (Cod) with the accompanying mountain of chips (french fries).


ASDA

Within recent months ASDA (Walmart) has thrown open its doors. Lucky for us we live only a few blocks away. On chilly or stormy days, we are grateful for underground parking.

The Gym (24 hour access) where we 'attempt' to keep in shape after those fish and chips.... in wee early hours of the morning or the late hours of the night.

Notice the rows and rows of equipment which are fully utilized each evening by the younger set looking for socialization by virtue of a lot of sweat. Mornings are almost exclusively accessed by the more mature and the use is considerably less vigorous. Guess what time of day we fit in?

Products found in England that are reminders of home

We have been able to source Campbells products at the local Sainsbury's, but Amazon brings us Pam from South Africa, Skippy from Canada, Pumpkin from the states (only recently we found some at Tesco), Bisquick at about a $1 an ounce from an American store in London and Karo syrup for the popcorn balls at a liquid 'gold' cost. Such simple pleasures bring smiles....

Wonderful milk products

Milk products are very reasonable and extremely good in the United Kingdom. From tasty yogurt to "soured" cream or incomparable custard, all are of the highest quality and readily available.

Flower vendors make every day a beautiful visual anticipation. Holly Christmas wreaths are this week's delight.

Jacket Potatoes

'Potatoes with Jackets' are a treat with the severe cold outside. Baked potatoes do come from places other than those wonderful family farms in southern Idaho. Jacket Potatoes with your choice of butter, cheese, beans, cottage cheese and chives, tuna or any combination of these ingredients offer a quick break and delicious alternative to sandwiches for lunch (some still call it 'dinner' here).

We could fill these pages with specifics which bring smiles to our faces and twinkles in our eyes... which would only bore you. Most importantly, we have 'moist' twinkles in our eyes as we contemplate on the rich heritage of the gospel in the United Kingdom and the impact it had on our ancestors. Although not all came to Utah by virtue of their testimonies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, many first heard the restored gospel's message in this great land. Gathering to Zion, they provided a quality of life for the generations that followed in the United States. That pioneer spirit continues to leave us in awe as we see the richness of our lives in terms of opportunities, security and fulfillment. Hopefully, we can show these courageous forefathers our appreciation by serving the great people of the United Kingdom with great purpose. It seems the more opportunities we have to serve, the more smiles and twinkles are brought to our countenances.

This week brings the Family Values Award at The House of Commons where we meet with at least 10 MPs, an Archbishop and the chaplain to the Queen along with Elder Kearon and Elder Herbertson.
Busy days... interesting days...