The was Transfers week. Ten missionaries going home and only one replacement. Sister Hawley has been busy with all of the letters and travel instructions. Elder Hawley has been busy with finances and getting the advance travel money to the missionaries and seeing that the bills are paid for the 56 apartments/flats. The weather has turned colder than normal and though flowers and trees are in bloom, we have yet to see much spring weather. We put our winter coats back on and are happy to have them when out in the wind waiting for buses and going grocery shopping.
The above photograph was taken at the departing dinner given by President and Sister Patch at their flat for the 10 missionary going home the next 6 May 2010] day. We will miss these dedicated, faithful, funny and happy missionaries. This group is made up of missionaries from the U.S., Spain, State of Georgia in the Ukraine, and Canada. The 10th missionary was an early-release situation due to medical reasons. If/when a solution is found, this missionary can return to the mission and continue his service based on his original arrival date.
The mission is progressing and although lots of experienced missionaries have left, they leave behind many new young missionaries who are well trained and willing to carry on the work. Sister Hawley has made many changes in travel plans for the missionaries to get home, many due to the volcano eruption in Iceland that still effects air travel. On one afternoon last week she changed one elder's return flight plans three times within two hours as the travel office in Salt Lake was making the necessary changes to get everyone where they needed to be. It is sometimes difficult when these last minute changes occur. Both the travel offices in Salt Lake and Solihull work very hard to find the best travel options possible at the time. Last-minute changes cost the Church money since the Church pays for missionary travel coming and going.
Our new missionary is a young sister from Denmark. She speaks excellent English and was eager and ready to join the work. We had seventy or eighty missionaries come into the Hyde Park Chapel to complete the transfers. Often it is easier to just bring those being transferred into London (the trains come into London to connect to other parts of our mission anyway) and make the transfers at the Chapel. They can pick up their mail, packages and supplies, and visit with their former companions as well as get acquainted with their new companions, and then head back to their assigned areas. So it is a big, busy "grand central station" atmosphere in the cultural hall of the building for most of the day.
We are happy to be a part of this work and add some measure push along missionary work. We do understand and know it is important work and necessary to share this message with the world and the Lord has commanded us to do. Love to All. We enjoy the "skyping" with children and grandchildren. It is a great way to keep in touch and see and hear what is happening at home.
On Wednesday evening we had the opportunity to visit the Temple Church in downtown London. This was a rare opportunity to learn about an interesting part of English history. This is a round church (one of four left in the UK) built in the middle ages, I think it began about 1200, by the Knight Templars. The round churches were built as replicas of the church built over the "supposed" tomb of Christ on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. That is a round church with the tomb of Christ directly in the center. It was supposed at the time to be the center of the world as then known. This church was maintained by and for the Knight Templars who were the protectors for the crusades of the middle ages to Jerusalem. This church, though called temple church because of the Knight Templars connection, is now home to a congregation of the Anglican Church of England. In the last 1700's it was restored and redecorated by the famous architect Christopher Wren. It was almost destroyed again in 1941 during the London Blitz of World War II by the Luftwaffe bombing, but was restored in the 1950's. There is an impressive organ there and we were treated to an organ concert by a fine musician. We also listened to a historical recounting given by the current Master of the Temple Church. Like most cathedrals is a large impressive building with an elongated rectangle added somewhere along the line to almost double the original size. It is a beautiful ediface, clean and well maintained and often used for church services on Sundays, weddings, funerals, and so forth, but it did feel cold and void of the Lord's Spirit. This building was also used for a small part in the filming of the movie The DaVinci Code. The Master of the Temple Church has written several books, one in particular about the church's history with many excellent photographs and drawings, and another one detailing the small portion of the above movie with any truth to it. Here below we have included some photographs taken of the inside and exterior of the round Temple Church near Fleet Street in London.
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