THIS BLESSED PLOT............THIS ENGLAND

This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
~ Shakespeare

We have done quite a bit of traveling over the last month, and have seen some marvellous scenery.  We always have our iPhone cameras with us so we don't miss a thing.  Our monthly Senior Missionary outing was to Bath, in Somerset.  It sprinkled rain just a little, but all in all it was a great day.  The previous few days had been termed a "heat wave" and had temps of as high as 74 degrees.  We were heading for the hottest May on record, but then it turned back to cooler weather.

The ancient Roman Baths

Bath features Georgian architecture from the 1700's.

Bath Abbey

I had an unusual experience several weeks ago as I sat in church. I had taken a purse that I was using for the first time over here. One of the side pockets had a key in it with a familiar-looking fob. I thought and thought, and thought and thought, but for the life of me I couldn't remember what it was. When we got home, I pulled it out and asked Elder Adams if he knew what it was. He gasped and gave me a look of astonishment. Just at that moment it struck me - "Oh..........it's our front door key at home!". It really seemed like a world away as we are so absorbed in our life and work here. We truly are happy in our work, and we are really learning to love the people here.  The members are so dedicated to the Lord and his church.

A day out in Regents Park with its secret gardens.

Elder Adams has been in charge of the ward pretty much as the Bishop went to Nigeria, then when the Bishop returned he fell down his stairs and spent several days in the hospital.  He is home now and recuperating.  We are sometimes invited to teach with the young Elders, and we always love that experience.  We will attend a baptism tomorrow evening.  We have a car, so we are asked to drive returning missionaries to the mission office as they return home at the end of their missions. We will do that again on Monday, and take him for a nice pub meal before he heads back to Spain.  We love these young missionaries!

A friend from schoolgirl days came to visit with her husband.  We went to Kenwood House in Hampstead Heath.

Kenwood House, a Georgian villa built in the early 1600's.

(My camera had a weird setting.  This stone is really a buttery color.)

The villa contains an amazing array of paintings by artists such as Rembrandt, Constable, Turner, Vermeer, Van Dyck, Gainsborough and more.

Kenwood House rear view.

We are actually working most of the time, and these outings are highlights of our time here. However, we are still loving being here and doing this missionary work.  We need to take more time out to write this blog, and not wait so long in between.  Au revoir until next time.

~ Elder and Sister Adams