February Flying by...

Norwich Training

This is not an atypical view from our window!

In between two snowstorms that hit central England we slipped over to Norwich (which is three hours to the East of Solihull) for a couple of media trainings with the Norwich Stake. We continue to be amazed at the faithfulness of these great people who take a Saturday to learn to how to represent the Church and their local congregations when engaged by the media.

Bishops in the east of England participate in a couple of 'mock' interviews as they are asked common questions about the church's beliefs and practices.

President Corte Real (third from the left) is serving as a stake president for the second time as he brought his family from Porto Portugal and was called shortly after arriving from Portugal to serve as the leader of the Norwich congregations. 

Bishop George (a paramedic and spokesperson for the Norfolk area ambulance responders) handles the question posed to him by Sister Jones with clarity and ease. Later we interviewed his very capable daughter as we are collecting names of Young Single Adults who can be moderators for internet-based videos concerning the Church.

Cardiff Interfaith Event

We travelled to Cardiff for the national Interfaith Harmony Week event that was held in the Cardiff Stake Centre. We checked into Tripadvisor which suggested that the Premier Inn group in Cardiff would be the best place to stay. So we did what Dan thought was his due diligence and chose a location close to the Cardiff Stake Centre and a nearby motorway. After our trusty GPS directed us to an alley in back of a large supermarket (Morrisons), we humbled ourselves to call the hotel for directions. We were told to go to the end of the alley, turn into the David Lloyd Health Club (a large chain of health clubs in the UK) proceed through the gate and parking lot to the rear of the health centre. We proceeded to find the hotel which is tucked behind the Health Club and were directed to our room...which luckily was comfortable. Breakfast was served in the Health Club and proved to be very good, although it felt a bit unusual to stay in a room next to tennis courts.

Later that night following the Interfaith evening, we collected the banners and decided we were starving. Trying to find anything open after 9:30 p.m. is a bit 'dodgy' as they say here. We remembered seeing a McDonalds (not our favorite, but dependably consistent) near our hotel. Making our way to our hotel 'in the alley behind the health club,' we took the roundabout and pulled into "Macky D's" only to find it closed for renovation. No fries, no cheeseburgers, no food.... You would never believe how much we enjoyed breakfast the next morning! Ham and cheese omelette, croissants, fruits, yogurt, juice, milk, English bacon... It was like we had never eaten before and didn't believe we would ever eat again.

Cardiff is a very progressive city with remarkably innovative city designs replacing a rather 'worn' inner city.

Cardiff is being completely renovated... The Welsh National Assembly meets in this beautiful new building near the harbor in Cardiff.

Julie Jones (LDS Interfaith Director for Wales) and various representatives of the Jewish, Muslim, Bahai and Sikh faiths at the Cardiff Chapel --- all lovely individuals that cooperate in Wales to promote religious tolerance and freedom along with community harmony. Joyce was particularly engaged with Saleem Kidwai's wife who was delighted to find we have so many similarities with her Muslim religion. Later in the evening as we were about to depart, Mrs. Kidwai (a Phd in Chemistry) commented that she loves and identifies with the Mormons as both our faiths "require a life of discipline." Within a couple of days, Mr. Kidwai (OBE knighted by the Queen) suggested that each faith select 14 representatives to join services to be held at the local Mosque and at our stake centre to promote better understanding among our faiths.

Crawley Training and Lingfield

Near the London Temple, the Crawley Stake takes in all the area from the south of London to Brighton. We trained some of the women and men of the stake on a Friday evening... I wonder whether we could get a turnout in Utah on a Friday night for 3 hours when you need to drive an additional hour each way? We are always delighted to see the faithfulness and commitment to learn how to share the gospel message more effectively.

Grant Neale (above) is the Stake Director of Public Affairs who was telling us that he also serves as an Executive Secretary to an Area Seventy, Elder George. Brother Neale proceeded to tell us how they now have a programme in the Crawley Stake and 3 other local stakes where they have 100% activity of Returned Missionaries during this past year. He said it was all due to a programme started in St. George Utah by a fellow by the name of Steve Mann. The member of the Stake Presidency responsible for the interviews of the RMs chimed in how they credit Brother Mann with saving a dozen or so young men just this past year because of the ideas developed by Steve. Isn't it amazing to see how small the Church is and how far reaching 'creative' ideas are felt? We had just heard from Susan and Steve that day and we shared the Mann's latest adventure in the Navajo Nation with the Self Reliance Programme of the Church (based on many of the principles of The Academy for Creating Enterprise on which Steve and Dan were board members).

We stayed the Friday evening in Lingfield at the Marriott which overlooks the racecourse.

The trainers warming up the horses early in the morning.

English Steeplechase races still include the jumping which is a 'real trick' as speed, jumping and endurance are required. The Grand National has a winning payout of over 1 million GBP and even these regional steeplechase races are broadcast on television with millions of GBP wagered each week. No winners in our family as we haven't succumbed to this national obsession with betting shops in almost all the towns and cities.

We did make it to "Joyce's with Best Wishes" in Lingfield for sweets and cards. 

There are 9 million dogs in Great Britain among the 60 million people... The English absolutely love their pets!

Valentine's Day

Joyce says she will miss the green of England and the flower shops that can be found on the High Streets in every village. Their flowers are beautiful and very reasonable as are the greeting cards. Cards are a very big deal in the UK... people value the remembrance and the hand-written messages. I have given my permission for Joyce to take home dozens of English cards! 

Camisani family

We home teach this darling Camisani family in our ward with Gulia, Fabio and Susie along with their parents, Daniele and Anna. Each month they welcome us with open arms and treats that are traditional to Italians. We play games, give the home teaching lesson and eat yummies. It's more like a Family Home Evening as they seem to enjoy our visits. 

Fabio, Susie and Gulia Camisani

Warwick with the Sisters

In our effort to introduce the Sisters to local sights and culture, we took a late afternoon trip to Warwickshire to visit the wonderful little town with a great deal of charm. These two senior sisters are certainly 'brave' and we try to get them out when the weather permits.

Sister Banner, Sister Russell and Elder Jones brave the cold winds to visit Warwick.

Warwick is just a few miles from Solihull and has a famous cathedral and castle.

Sister Russell on the left and Sister Banner seemed to enjoy the castle visit.

Warwick is a medieval city with a great deal of charm.

Malcolm's Birthday at Five Guys

Malcolm and the Sisters hadn't been to the Five Guys in Solihull, so we took them to enjoy the experience with American fries (versus English chips) and those tiny Cheeseburgers with everything under the sun on them.

Being a 'true English gentleman,' Malcolm is very appreciative of any little gift and seemed to enjoy the birthday tie as well as the lunch with Sister Banner, Sister Russell, Elder and Sister Jones.

Training in Wandsworth

Have you noticed how those with some of the greatest economic challenges are the most giving individuals you ever meet? Everything in London is so expensive and some members have to support themselves with multiple jobs. So when you have a training session it is a real sacrifice to take time from an occupation, travel to a stake centre, arrange care for children, etc. Yet these great saints sacrifice and bring the Spirit with them due to their faith. Let me introduce a few people to you...

President Selvadurai, counselor in the Stake Presidency, was raised in the Hindu faith and is the kindest, most humble man. As a member of twenty-three years, he speaks of the blessings of tithing as it has provided him with upgrades (even recently) to his security guard employment. This good man came from work to attend the training for fours hours, then returned to work all night before going straight to Stake Presidency meeting at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. After those meetings he will attend the three hour block and then be able to spend time with his family. He invited us back to the Wandsworth Stake in an email later on Sunday as he would like the entire stake to experience the training.

Charlotte, Karen and Sylvia came from the far reaches of West London to attend the spokesperson seminar. Each is a professional - primary school teacher,  probation counselor and an accountant. All have wonderful families with many children (Karen has six from 2 years old to 18 years of age).

The Mundens (to the left of Elder Jones) are the Multi-Stake Directors of Public Affairs for London and are committed to the gospel. Paul is a Barrister (courtroom attorney) and Corporate Director and Sue is as she says, a "full-time grandmother of four." We came away from this experience with our testimonies and faith increased as the experiences that were shared touched our hearts in a very special way.

Stake Conference

Elder Donald L Hallstrom presided at the Birmingham Stake Conference last Weekend. Having served a mission in the Central British Mission some 45 years ago, it was Elder Hallstrom's first visit back to the midlands of England. The conference was outstanding as the Saturday evening session focused on councils at every level of the Church and in the family. The Sunday session was heart-warming as the building was filled to the rafters and Elder Hallstrom spoke on respecting and valuing cultures in society and the Church. President Rasmussen gave an excellent address referencing the author of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing".

What was most impressive is how Elder Hallstrom spent 20 - 30 minutes before and after each session visiting with members and others. He truly engaged everyone by introducing himself, asking about others, answering questions and making people feel he cared about them. Remarkably everyone felt the same about the experience that we did... It is very easy to sustain our inspirational leaders in the Church.

Dinner with the missionaries

We have the opportunity to take each set of our Sheldon Ward missionaries to dinner a couple of times each month. As our flat is too far from their areas, we often take them 'out' to dinner. Elder Burke (Australia) and Elder Pailate (Western Samoa) are very good missionaries who have been working hard in Acocks Green. Elder Pailate has 4 other cousins on missions currently and about 30 of his extended family have served missions. He is happy and speaks excellent English having been a teacher prior to his mission. 

Elder Burke and Elder Pailate at ASK ITALIA