AMAZING PEOPLE - AMAZING STORIES..............

What a privilege it has been to meet and take part in the lives of the people here. Most of them have an amazing life story to tell. We ask them why they come to London in the first place. They think about it for a while, and say they were drawn here. Fortunately, some of them come from countries close enough that they can pay a visit home from time to time.

We visited with a member couple who had come out of an Eastern bloc former Communist country.  They are limited as to what employment they may seek here, but work hard and struggle to make it. They told of both losing their fathers at an early age, one to cancer from the Chernobyl accident, and the other, a photographer, suddenly went missing and was killed by the Communists. They were both exposed to the church after the Communists lost power, joined, then met and married. We admire these lovely faithful people so much.

We mentioned in an earlier blog our Chinese professor friend who also comes from a Communist country and Atheism. She was searching and studied hard, and joined the church here in London. She has now returned to China where it is very hard to find other members with whom she can meet.  It is also illegal to proselyte, only with family. She is a rock. We love her so much. We stay in touch by email.

Just a week ago we had a baptism for a wonderful young man who came out of troubled Egypt. He has been a devout Muslim all of his life. He met the LDS missionaries some time back on the streets of London, and discussed both religions. It got a little heated. However, he received some materials about the church and went online to study more. Through his own study, and after visiting several different Christian churches, he decided this was the church he wanted to join. He showed up at the chapel one day and asked to be taught. Wow, how about that?! He knew much already, and was a real pleasure to teach. Sometimes we felt like he was teaching us!

We had another great day out with some of the other Senior Missionary couples to Greenwich (of Greenwich Mean Time, GMT). We saw the Cutty Sark, the Maritime Museum and other interesting spots. We all ate together at a restaurant and had a great time visiting, then went off to tour the town.

In front of the Cutty Sark, one of the last and fastest British clipper ships that shipped tea from Shanghai for the East India Company, before steam powered ships took over.  The Cutty Sark is named for a fictional witch in the poem Tam o' Shanter by Robert Burns.

This barge was built for Prince Frederick, the son of King George II in 1732, for when he wanted to go for a little float.  However, it took 21 men to power it!

These are actual preserved figureheads from sailing ships.  Figureheads were often religious symbols used to protect the ship, or animals or other characters to show power or frighten other sailors.

A local artist painting a beautiful street scene of Greenwich.

These britches and socks were worn by Lord Horatio Nelson as he fought and died in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.  The British beat the French and Spanish in that battle, and thus the Great British Empire became the ruler of the seas.

Meet Sir Elder Knight Adams. His headpiece is so heavy he can hardly move, let alone see or conquer anything!

We took a drive to see Hastings (of Battle of Hastings fame of 1066) on the south coast. Then we went inland a little ways to the town called Battle, where the actual battle took place.  William the Conqueror was made to build this Abbey as penance for killing so many English people.  (Of course, we are sure his enslaved English subjects did all the work!)

Last Sunday we celebrated our 40th (Ruby) Wedding Anniversary quietly at home.  It has been quite an exciting ride.  Where did all that time go?!

Our ward members gave us a lovely signed card.

A beautiful day at the London Temple.  We assisted the YSA group that went to do baptisms.

All in all, we love doing the Lord's work and are enjoying every minute of it.  We feel needed here, and hope we can be a positive influence in the lives of the British saints.

Tata for now,

Elder and Sister Adams

THE SAHARA DESERT IN LONDON?

We awakened a few days ago to find our previously clean car covered in a mucky coating. We saw the same dirty cars wherever we went. It was revealed on the news that it was sand from a sandstorm in the Sahara Desert. How about that? That was some storm!

You've heard of Mountain Dew - this is Sahara Mist.

We had a lovely Stake Relief Society Birthday celebration last Saturday.  We played games like Beetle (Beatle?) Drive, and did different crafts and had a jolly old time.  We finished it off with all kinds of delicious cakes.  I brought a cake that was topped with strawberries that I dipped in chocolate.  A wonderful time was had by all.

Elder Adams wowed the ladies by serving them very generous portions of cake. Those were gigantic California strawberries we bought at Costco.

Sucking M & M's up with a straw.  Sister Adams won that game, but she always was a sucker for chocolate.

We travel all over, and see all kinds of interesting things. We walk a lot, or ride the buses, or trains or subways. Sister Adams has a doctor appointment to have her plantar fasciitis treated. Hopefully she can get some relief so she can keep up the walking and running all over London.

We see this ad for the musical all over the place, on buses and in the subways. Gives us a kind of warm feeling.

Sometimes we pass places where we think we are in one place, but we are really not.  Thankfully, the City of London can straighten us out. 

Every day we ride a bus that goes to Sloane Square.  We have never been to Sloane Square because we always get off at Tooting Bec station, or the church, or Clapham Junction to switch buses or trains before we get there.  Yesterday, we decided to ride all the way to Sloane Square and get a little dinner in town.  Well, we quickly realized we were in a tony part of town and couldn't really (or didn't want to) afford to eat here.  We took in the sights and boarded our bus back to Clapham Junction and ate at KFC!

This is Sloane Square.

These are some of the shops at Sloane Square (Tiffany & Co and Cartier).

We had a Zone Meeting this week and the Senior Missionaries served Sloppy Joes, potato salad, strawberries and Jaffa Cakes to the missionaries  They were very appreciative.  We have a hard working group of missionaries from a variety of countries.

Part of our zone.  Some had to leave early to catch trains.

We continue to work on the ward list to identify members who have moved out, or less active members.  Our main calling is to support the members and leaders here in any way we can. 

If you watch the first part of this youtube video, it is a London member who is teaching a photography class in our chapel (Stake Center).  It gives one an idea of where we are and what it's like here.  Copy and paste it.  Enjoy!

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRfc_5pb6Wc

We would love it if someone would make a comment now and again! 

PS  Tonight we watched the Saturday morning session of Conference at the Stake Center.  We had an investigator there.  It was great - but it did make us a little homesick.

SHE'S GOT A TICKET TO RIDE....SHE'S GOT A TICKET TO RI...I...IDE......

We get free transport over here because we are seniors. We had a little time to kill the other day in Central London before Sister Adams' eye appointment, so we just jumped on the first bus we saw, and off we went. We sat right at the front on the upper deck of a double decker bus. What an education that was. We saw all sorts of interesting things as we drove through different suburbs. When we got to the end of the line, we jumped off, crossed the street and boarded the next bus back. The most interesting thing we saw was an enclave of Hasidic Jews. First of all we spotted one man,  then there were two, then more, and more and more. They were all over the place! All dressed identically! We saw a few women and children too, but it was the men who held our attention. We looked it up, and this is the largest enclave of Hasidic Jews in all of Europe - over 30,000 of them.

We would love to learn more about them, and plan to.

This is the eye hospital in central London that Sister Adams visits.  It is always packed.  We didn't know so many people had eye problems.  She is getting excellent care here.  One of her doctors who has been knighted by the Queen is amazing  He is so humble, kind and caring.

This green line runs all the way from the subway to the eye hospital to help people like Sister Adams find their way.

While in Central London, we stopped at Chinatown to pick up some chopsticks.  It felt good to see and smell some of the things we remember from our missions. Next stop was the oldest fish and chip shop in London - Rock and Sole Plaice. It was OK but the price was too high for our taste. Also, we prefer our fish and chips up North.

We were in Chinatown early before things got buzzing.

I don't know what those orange things are, but I'm not having any!

We had a beautiful baptismal service for our Chinese friend Shu Jie.  She gave a wonderful testimony telling how she had come from Atheism to Mormonism over several months. She returns to mainland China next month and that will be a trial for her with no established church there.

Shu Jie with the missionaries. 

One of our sweet Elders was transferred yesterday. We will miss him very much. Such a great and humble servant and only 18 years old. We become so attached!

We had a Senior Missionary outing to Hampton Court Palace last Friday. What a great day that was, to be with the other seniors and enjoy such a beautiful historic palace. Henry VIII was the first royal to live there around 1514. We missed the amazing Maze, but we will be going back - especially for the Flower Show in July.

Beautiful day - beautiful palace.

One of the many gardens at the palace.

I hope I didn't disgrace the 3 Graces.

Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell. How fortunate to run into these guys in the gardens.  They were very friendly, and we had a nice chat about some interesting things!

A shameless selfie as we headed out the door to start our day.

Another heartbreak.  My favourite boots are wearing out. I haven't worn out any shoes since my first mission!

Flipping pancakes for the young missionaries at Zone Conference.  Notice the trays are empty and waiting for refills.

We are still so happy and having a wonderful, enjoyable time.  The work is moving forward and we are glad to do our little bit!

BOBBIES ON BICYCLES?

A friend from the US asked us if we had seen any bobbies on bicycles yet. The answer is no.  We live on a fairly busy street, which we are set back from quite a bit, but we very often hear screaming sirens as police cars and ambulances race by at breakneck speeds. You had better get out of the way if you hear a siren!  Elder Adams almost got hit in a zebra crossing the other day, as he didn't hear the sirens til the last minute.  Of course, the police may have thought they were encountering the Unajogger.

We had a great day at the London Temple Visitors' Centre with Shu Jye our Chinese friend.  She is a visiting professor here from Mainland China.  She has been studying the lessons from the missionaries for a few months, and while at the Visitors Centre decided she wanted to be baptised. What a lovely person she is (and she cooks amazing Chinese food!).  It has been good to polish up our rusty Mandarin a little too.

Shu Jye, the Elders and Sister Adams

We took a stroll around the south bank of the River Thames the other day with another senior couple, and ate at a waterfront cafe.  There is always plenty of walking to do and always something to see.

The London Eye.  It is 443 ft tall. It is currently Europe's tallest Ferris wheel, the most popular paid tourist attraction in the UK with over 3.5 million visitors annually.  Did we ride it?  At almost $50 a ticket; no.

We attended this chapel for a baptism.  Quite a few of the chapels here seem to be 2 storey.  Our chapel is the Stake Centre and it is also 2 storey.  Real estate is so expensive here with an average flat in our neighbourhood costing about $680,000 and a detatched house costing over $2,606,000.  These are averages - nothing too fancy.

We had cleaning duty at the chapel this morning.  Oh how we love to clean - no seriously!

We buy these at the grocery store for £1. It is so fun to watch them open - almost like time lapse.  We sure hope they were ethically sourced!

We continue to visit less active or lost members - its funny how they all seem to live up a hill! We also go teaching with the Elders.  On Monday we are taking one of the Elders' golden investigators to the Hyde Park Chapel Visitors' Centre.  It is on the other side of the River Thames in the London Mission, and the Elders are not allowed to leave our mission.  Duane Cardall is the Director of the VC.  Some of us may remember him.

Headed down into the Underground (subway).

Dr Who?

Pancake Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday was last Tuesday.  It's kind of a fun day to celebrate in England.  It is the day before Lent starts and a traditional meal is pancakes, as people usually give up butter or eggs for Lent.  The YM/YW met together and played pancake games and races, and consumed numerous pancakes.  Lots of fun for all.

This is the traditional way to eat pancakes in England.  They are more like crepes and they are rolled up with lemon juice and sugar.  Pretty delicious.

We are still loving it here, and thoroughly enjoying the work.  We have been asked by our Mission President to study the missionary lessons in Mandarin.  It is really hard, just like it was the first time!  We are not sure how or where we will be using this Mandarin, but time will tell.

SO MUCH TO DO - SO LITTLE TIME!

Where does the time go? We are still trying to settle in and find our bearings, but we are getting really busy teaching with the young Elders, visiting less actives, attending ward meetings and activities and finding other ways in which we can serve.  We can set our own schedule and be just as busy as we please. 

Our local subway (or Underground) station.

Keeping that head warm and dry.

On P Day we drove to a 5 story mall in Kingston Upon Thames (where there had been some flooding) and were finally able to find Sister Adams some decent boots, suited to this cold wet weather. Good sensible shoes are so important here because we walk (and run for buses and trains) so much. We enjoyed a nice pub lunch while we were out, then found a Super ASDA (British version of WalMart) and bought Elder Adams some warm workout clothes. We live across the street from Tooting Bec Common, so he enjoys a good workout over there. It's a world of trees, walkways and green open ball fields with people walking, running, skating and biking amidst the squirrels, ducks and birds.

Elder Adams carrying a luxurious carpet remnant home to beautify our flat.

We had another great District meeting with our Elders. They never cease to amaze us with their mature and spiritual approach to their work of teaching about Christ. It's hard to believe they are only 18 and 19 years old! It is not easy working here, but they rally on. We all live in very diverse ethnic neighborhoods.  We were walking on a Tooting High Street the other day and saw a sign which said "Largest indoor market in Tooting". We ventured in there, and I swear, it felt like we were in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul"!

Easter is coming  Ever heard of Cadbury Creme Egg biscuits?  Oh my, delicious!

Elder Adams is in the Bishopric, so we try to attend YM and YW activities. This Friday evening we are going to drive our YW to a dance in Maidstone, which is quite a ways away, but they are so excited to be able to go. Earlier that day we will be driving two of our elders and their investigator to the London Temple and Visitors Center. Tomorrow, we are picking up another senior couple at a rail station down the road a ways, and driving them to our Multi Zone Conference in Crawley. We are pretty excited about this, as we heard the local Relief Society are going to be feeding us - yay!  We had to turn down two sets of Elders who asked for rides to the conference, and instead felt compelled to drive the seniors. Our car is in big demand! We use public transport most of the time as there is usually nowhere to park, and the traffic is pretty horrendous. All the aforementioned places are chapels and will have parking lots. 

Making paper roses with the Young Women.

Big day today!  Our new bed is to arrive at 8 am (or later)!  We can't tell you how much we are looking forward to a good nights' sleep on a decent bed! ............... Well, the bed just came at 12:20  that's not too bad.

The bed was delivered in dozens of pieces.  We asked the delivery guys if they were going to set it up and they just shrugged their shoulders.

Aaagh thats much better! Elder Adams 
did a great construction job.

This Wednesday, Elder Adams will be conducting a funeral service for a lady in our ward who was murdered in her home. We didn't know her which makes it a little difficult, but it will be an opportunity to preach about the Savior Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation.  Sister Adams is organizing the service, collecting photos and personal information, and printing the program.  

We went into the beautiful tourist area of London last night with two other senior couples, to attend a YSA fireside at the Hyde Park Chapel.  We rode 2 buses each way, rather than the subway, so that we could enjoy the scenery.  Going up there is like going to a different world - it is beautiful.  What a great time to meet with so many saints also.

Recently renovated Hyde Park Chapel.

The Christus statue at Hyde Park Chapel.

Just got this urgent message from our Mission President:

I would ask all of you to inquire through your contacts, ward, and friends if there are any couples that would like to serve in England London South Mission. If they are interested, have them email or call me: rogerclive.millar@ldschurch.org 1-435-767 0203. In talking with the missionary department in SLC, the number of applicants is drastically down at this time and they are not filling all the requests that are presented to them. They will help direct couples to us if they put in a preference and we also request them.  Thanks for your help and attention to this matter of great urgency. 
Forever Faithful,
President Millar

 OK!  Does anyone want to join us?  Maybe Mabelle should put this in the ward bulletin.

We bought a game of UNO so that we could get together with the other seniors around here for FHE.  One couple has Phase 10, another couple has SKIP BO.  Now, if we can ever make time to get together for dinner and games it sounds like a wild time!  

We are happy and healthy and loving the work!