On Sunday, July 26th we attended our first church services in the Hyde Park Ward. We were welcomed warmly. The ratio of ward members and visitors is about 50-50. After church we were invited to lunch by Sharon Hintze, head of the Church's Family History Centres. The FHC is located in the basement of the Hyde Park Chapel. For the evening meal we were invited to dinner with two other missionary couples, the Little's [who are Outreach missionaries], and the Watt's [who are FHC missionaries]. Both meals were very nice and it feels good to get to know so many friendly people. The weather continues to be a combination of sun, clouds, and rain, so wherever we go I take a sweater or jacket and our umbrellas.
On Monday we began training with the two office elders, Elder Weibell, from Germany, and Elder Hall, from southern California. Both are so quick and are great multi-taskers. Our challenge comes when we are trying to translate their system into how we were trained at the MTC. Their method is 1/2 with iMOS [Internet Mission Office Systems] and 1/2 "whatever works at the time!" and these two elders are agile at doing both quickly and on time. Elder Hawley and I are feeling that multi-tasking must be a gift to the young! What needs to be accomplished at the office is not difficult; it's just learning the whys and whens and wherefores of what is needed and how to get the info required to do the job. Once we learn these things, we will be fine.
We finalized details on our London flat this week, and it took most of the week to do what is required here, but it is all done now and we moved out of Citidine's Apart-hotel and into our "Huntsmore House" flat Friday afternoon. Our son said that this address was apropos for us as missionaries, and we agree. The Little's discovered that there was a flat available in their building. They emailed us about it before we left home, and we liked what we saw and it fit our budget and our travel requirements, but we didn't want to commit w/o seeing the flat for ourselves. When we arrived we learned that there was already an offer on the flat, so we thought we'd missed our chance. However, a few days later the estate agent called us to tell us that the offer had fallen through and that the flat was again available. We went to see it and immediately made an offer. Hands of the Lord in our lives? We think so! We are now unpacked and have made a couple of trips to the very-handy, around-the-corner large grocery store named Tesco's. We are unpacked, but are still trying to get settled. We are learning to think in centigrade [for the oven], to light burners with matches, to use a toilet with a wall lever, and the shower with knobs for the tub water and a dial inserted in the tile for the stretchable shower head. We're also learning a new foot and bus route to/from the office, and are trying not to get lost! Every day continues to be an adventure, but a fun and quite interesting one! I love all the old architecture. There is still a lot of evidence of damage to streets and buildings from WW II.
The favorite English word amongst the elders is "BRILLIANT!" And evidently, according to a fellow at church today, the word "AWESOME" is totally American! Whatever! We think it's both Brilliant & Awesome here! We find ourselves laughing at something, or at ourselves, and it's all good! What a blessing to come here together, and do this all hand in hand with each other and with the Lord. We also appreciate the support and backing of family and friends.
During the week at the office we have two meetings: AP/Mission President meetings on Monday mornings, and administrative meetings "as needed" [or at least once a month on the last Friday]. The APs attend and set the agenda for the Monday meeting, with the Mission President, the president's wife, the office elders. On Fridays it's just the six of us w/o the APs. We will attend the Hyde Park Zone Conference as it is held in our building, but we will most likely not attend zone conferences in other districts or zones. There is much to learn! We have official titles now: Don is the Financial Secretary and I am the Administrative Assistant. Don will have meetings with the MP regarding financial matters. I will assist Sister Patch with meals and snacks for the missionaries when they come for training and transfers. The next transfers occur in 4 weeks. Right now we are juggling desks and computers. In a few weeks, once we are trained, the office elders will spend part of their days proselyting, which they are longing to do. Please pray for us to be well trained in a timely way so that they will be able to go out and teach!
The APs told of an interesting experience they had this week: they had reached a slow point, so they looked for ways to challenge themselves and to try something new. They went to the closest hospital, explained who they were & what their purpose was, and requested to be put on the list as religious advisors to any patient or patron at the hospital who might be in need of someone to receive spiritual comfort or guidance from. The first person they spoke to didn't quite know what to do with them, so he took them to see someone else, and this second person asked, "Are you Mormons?" They acknowledged that they were, and he went in search of the "reverend" on staff there. The religious leader soon joined them and he was in his official clothing for his position. He too asked them, "Are you Mormons?" They again introduced themselves and explained their purpose. He said that he didn't know much about the Church but that he would like to know more, and could he come and visit with them! So an appointment was made for this coming Wednesday, when the Reverend will come to the Hyde Park Chapel to "hear more." The Lord works in "mysterious ways" -- so true! We just need to do our part and watch the Master at work!
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