NEWS of the WEEK

Happy Easter from London!  This is Springtime in England -- cold, with variable weather, often rain, yet with blossoms beginning to bloom and brighten any day.  We hope to hear church bells ringing around the city this morning.  Surprisingly, it is rare to hear them, with all the churches they have in the city.  How grateful we are for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for His infinite and atoning sacrifice for us, and for His and our Heavenly Father's love for and knowledge of each one of us.  We are grateful for each of you, our family and friends.  How blessed we are!  Nature is beginning to show us the wonders of Springtime -- even with it being still cold and quite rainy.  The daffodils are blooming in clusters in parks, around trees, along fencelines and sidewalks.  A few trees are full of pink or white blossoms, and many more have buds eager to burst open.  Spring always gives us hope, just as thoughts of and prayers to our Heavenly Father and our Savior.  How very blessed we are!

It is also General Church Conference for us this weekend.  Time-delayed sessions are shown at the Hyde Park Chapel.  For those who have laptop computers, the senior couples, the option is available for us to listen to conference sessions via the Internet, which is what we have chosen to do this weekend.  We are strengthened, uplifted, and given personal revelations for our own situations through our faithfulness.  Our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, thanked Church membership for their service and faith -- certainly we should be thanking him for these qualities, and for leading us in humility and righteousness, and by example.

Elder Hawley is finally feeling better; so many others here have been sick with this cold/cough that just hangs on.  Some have had lung infections, even pneumonia.  We are greatful that we have found times for Elder Hawley to rest and to recover his energy.  

A sweeping transfer was completed relatively smoothly this past week.  Changes were made in iMOS, preimbursements assigned, and over 26 companionships were changed across the board.  We greeted a new sister missionary from Switzerland, Nicole Muller [in blue], seen in the picture below with her new companion Jamilyn Ostler [in pink], and President and Sister Patch.  Sister Hawley takes the photos of all the new missionaries, usually in the office [with the ELM presidents' board behind them]. if there is a small group of incoming missionaries.   If there is a large group pictures are taken in the Hyde Park building foyer on the ground floor, with orientation in either the high council room on the 2nd flooror the Institute room on the 1st floor.

Sister Hawley prints a copy of all new missionary photos and sends it with a letter from President Patch to the parents of the new missionaries to let them know that their son or daughter has arrived in the mission field and is well and happy and already busy in missionary endeavors with guidance from a loving companion.  President & Sister Patch always greet new missionaries.  

Another senior couple, Sherrie and Bob Harbrecht, two of our ELM missionaries assigned to the Family History Centre, invited us to visit Canterbury and Dover with them.  Because of poor [cold and rainy and windy] weather, we four chose to see Cambridge instead.  [We definitely want to have good weather when visiting the Cliffs of Dover, so this trip has been postponed for several weeks until the weather improves.]  

  

The FHC was closed for England's Easter Friday, so the Harbrecht's wanted to go to Cambridge on this day as they did not have assignments for this day.  We asked the Miles to come and they covered the office for us so that we could go with the Harbrecht's.  We arose early and met at King's Cross National Rail Station in time to take the fast train at 8:45 a.m. to Cambridge; the trip takes about 45 minutes without stops.  Trains at other times make several stops and the trip takes about 60 minutes.  These computer trains certainly are comfortable and make traveling from one place to another very easy.

At the train station we found the tour bus and took a full tour around the Cambridge area.  From this bus ride we were able to pick and choose the areas we wanted to spend more time seeing, and for our second go-round we spent time at those places.  Our tickets were good for 24 hours with the option to get off and get on at any points along the tour route as often as we wanted.  For most of our trip, the crowds were minimal, and the rain held off until about 2 p.m.  It was cold and we were grateful to have coats and scarves and sweaters beneath the coats.  Along the bus tour route we also listened to history about the Cambridge area via sets of headphones.

Some factual highlights about Cambridge--The Romans were the original settlers of the area, and, after the Romans came the Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, and Normans came to influence and enhance the settlement.  The three Christian cultures are represented in the names of various old structures.  In the 11th century Cambridge was one of eastern England's largest towns with a population of some 1,600 citizens.

In 1209 King John declared Cambridge to be a royal borough; a merchant's guild wa established and regular fairs were held on Midsummer Common.  Many goods were transport by boat, and Cambridge's wharf trade boomed.  In the early 13th century, riots broke out in Oxford, and later Paris, causing many of those cities' scholars to flee, fearing for their lives.  For unknown reasons many headed to Cambridge, and small groups of young men gathered in groups to lessons all taught in Latin.  Because these groups lacked formality they were unruly, and problems soon prompted teachers and townfolk to impose some sort of order.  Students were gathered in hostels and rules were established.  In 1284 the Bishop of Ely founded Peterhouse--this was the first of the Cambridge colleges and the only one without "college" in its name.  Over the next 70 years, seven more followed.  The Old Court of Corpus Christi College is the oldest surviving university building.  During the years of the black death there was a shortage of priests to bury the dead so a college was founded just to boost the number of priests.  Corpus Christi or "body of Christ."  The town and its university have survived time, age, plague, peasant uprisings and fire, and in the 15th century more colleges were founded.

Cambridge was at the centre of the English Reformation.  The University has evolved slowly and for much of the time it has been more like a collection of monasteries than the University that exists today.  King Henry the VIII destroyed the monastic system in England in the 16th century in order to quell opposition to his rule and to accumulate wealth and greater power.  He did not destroy similar institutions in the universities, probably because he valued the technological advantage that might derive from their knowledge.  He endowed Isaac Newton's Trinity College.  The current Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, attended Trinity College.

In 1800, 150 "freshers" "came up" [began their studies]; by 1870 this figure had risen to 800.  Reforms centralized university facilities.  In the 1820's rowing, cricket and other sports became college pursuits.  The first college for women was founded in 1869; although women were allowed to study there since the 1840's they were not allowed to receive full university membership until 1947, and all male colleges only began admitting them in the 1970's.  Today there are 2 all-women undergraduate colleges, with the rest being co-educational.

When the railway arrived this ended the riverside wharves, and "punting" became and remains a popular pastime.  Over the 20th century "town and gown" have learned to work togetehr.  In 1951 Cambridge was granted city status by King George VI.  The University now has 35 colleges, the newest being Robinson, founded in 1977.  Over 50 Nobel Prize winners come from Cambridge University.

King's College [see below] and the Fitzwilliam Museum [one of the best museums outside of London for its collectin of porcelean and Egyptian artifacts] were both closed when we were there.  Also closed [too early in the season] were the Botanical Gardens.  Before Henry VIII the monarchs of England focussed their patronage mainly upon King's College and  [located next to it] Queen's College.  Colleges are made up of groups of buildings, and both these have some beautiful and striking architecture.  Inside the King's College, for example, is an amazing fan-vaulted ceiling.

We saw two very, very old churches:  the Round Church [an Anglo-Saxon church dating from 500-600 AD] and a small Catholic church created in 1306 in the Norman period and continuously used since then, both downtown and easily missed.  Fortunately, as we passed St. Mary's Chapel we happened to be there while an Easter service was in progress, and we went inside and sat in on a small portion of this service where a replica of the Cross was carried down the center aisle and members of the congregation were invited to approach it, which many did, to kiss the cross, kneel in front of it, or embrace it.

We were also touched by the World War II American cemetery and memorial just outside the city, where both Christian and Jewish airmen are buried, including Joseph Kennedy, oldest brother to President John F. Kennedy, and bandleader Glenn Miller, as well as markers placed here -- crosses for Christians and Star of David for Jewish -- those who were unidentified.

Punting is riding a flat-bottomed wooden boat propelled by thrusting a long pole into the water and pushing the boat along.  There are many boats floating along the River Cam to see the back views of many of the college buildings and chapels, and the view along the river is one of the best -- hence, "punting along the Backs" is one of the most popular pastimes.

Another interesting site in Cambridge is the Mathematical Bridge, originally built out of wood without any nails.  It was the first bridge in the world to be designed according to mathematical analysis of the forces in it.  Years after it was built it was taken apart but those who tried to rebuild it were unable to do so, and now its pieces and parts are bolted together.

Christopher Wren, architect of the famous St. Paul's Cathedral in London, built his first project, a chapel copula, in Cambridge.  There is a library here named after him.  Other sites to see include Trinity College with, among other things, a statue of Henry VIII holding an orb AND a wooden chair leg placed there as a joke.  Lord Byron studied there and kept a pet bear that he went swimming with because dogs as pets were not allowed.   The Erasmus building in St. John's college is the oldest surviving building in Cambridge but access is restricted; the views from the tops of St. John's College Chapel and St. Mary's Chapel are spectacular, but don't climb the stairs on the latter when the bells are ringing.  And, on the Fens [open space] is a memorial to Diana, Princess of Wales.

Here are some photos of the streets of Cambridge as we saw them--

The favorite mode of transportation, and the most needful one, is the bicycle, for students, professors, and residents alike.

We tasted the world-famous Chelsea "sticky" [definitely] buns at Fitzbillie's confectionery shop, and had lunch at Brown's Restaurant.  We enjoyed our time in Cambridge with the Harbrecht's and enjoyed learning about its historic significance.  We see now where the prototypes for our own colleges and universities in the U.S. have come from.  When it got really rainy we returned to the train station just in time [3 minutes to hop on] to catch the next train back to London.   Throughout the day we took with us Flat Stanley, a school project that our grandson Tanner Hawley is doing with his 1st grade class.  Flat Stanley is thin enough to be mailed around the world, and so we took him with us and took his picture in various places in London and in Cambridge.  We will write up our travels and print our pictures and send them back to Tanner so that he can share Flat Stanley's adventures with GG Hawley in England.

NEWS of the WEEK

We continue to be busy.  Each day and each week seems to 'fly' by.  Elder Hawley has had a cold for the past two weeks and is ready to get well.  It began as a head cold but progressed rapidly into his lungs and has been a bad version.  He still is coughing often and has no energy, even after resting.  This bug has been going around the mission and of course we know where he picked it up--from the happy missionaries shaking hands with everyone everywhere.

The work is progressing.  Many newly baptized members.  It is interesting to note who is joining the Church in the London area.  President Patch reviewed the past year's baptism records and about 1/2 of the people baptized in 2009 were not born in England. Of the other 1/2, about 20% have names not of English origin.  This says that those joining the Church are those who are looking for something to fill their lives and are open to receiving messages of the Spirit.  They come to London to seek work, education, or improved living conditions. Many people from the eastern bloc of countries, formerly under communism, are in England because the economy of their nations is so poor and opportunities almost non-existent. Humility is often a product of circumstances and need. Those who are so very comfortable in their situation rarely seek anything other than what they have--as they are satisfied in their condition and cease to seek for truth.  This is a problem for everyone, regardless of circumstances.  We should never cease to seek for truth and to add what we find to the truth we already possess.  If we live according to the truth we possess, we will be open to find truth through the Holy Ghost as He will "teach us the truth of all things."  It is when we are too "comfortable", that often we become stagnant and unteachable and closed to true ideas.

We are awaiting a Book of Mormon shipment.  We get a monthly shipment of over 20 cases shipped from Church Distribution is Salt Lake City by DHL air freight.  But this last shipment went in error to the England London South Mission in Lingfield, rather than to us in London. But getting DHL to admit the error and bring the books to London has been a problem.   This is the second Book of Mormon order that was shipped to the ELSM; then it cost us about $450 to move them 60 miles to London from Lingfield. So we have a pallet of 22 cases (40 books per case) in England, but not in London where we can use them. Hopefully, this gets sorted out this next week.

Transfers are this next Wednesday.  Sister Hawley has everything under control and all the changes made in the computer system to allow proper addresses, phone numbers for each of the 114 missionaries, and Elder Hawley has all of the changes for the payments to missionaries for their travel in their new locations worked out and money transferred to their JPMC card accounts.  This MOVES or set of transfers within the mission will involve over 26 companionships.  We will also go back to having only 2 APs in the office.  

Each missionary uses a JPMC card, a special credit card, for all his or her transactions.  Elder Hawley oversees putting 145 BPS for elders and 155 BPS (that is British Pound Sterling) for sisters in each account each month and also the advance payments to cover travel during the transfer period.  Travel in each proselyting area varies, but may be up to 175 BPS [British pounds Sterling] per month for subway and bus passes in London.  There are 43 areas that get travel advancements.  Sister Hawley moves all of the pictures, names, positions & locations in the computer when new assignments are made, and this allows all of the other necessities to append to that placement in the computer, such as addresses, phone numbers, and payments.  From these changes, phone lists and organizational rosters are made.  We have been busy getting this all set up and screened for accuracy before we finalize these "moves" in the computer system.

Interestingly, this computer system is an online system and ties into the Church missionary system worldwide. We access it by password and work in this system every day.  We can even work from our flat as the system is online.  It is called iMOS, for Internet Mission Operating System, and was developed by the Church specifically for missions and missionary operations worldwide.  The online version of this program began last June and we have been involved in working through some of the bugs and problems of this new system, and also giving input for some upgrades and improvements.  It is good, but not perfect and could be improved more, but it does make our work easier and more efficient.  For example, once Elder Hawley has preset information entered into the system, he can pay the monthly rent for some 60 flats in about 10 key strokes.  The presets take the time, but once set up the system works quite well.  Sister Hawley has the ability to add money into the JPMC accounts (or take away), to make reimbursements for travel expences and other special expenditures that some missionaries need beyond their basic monthly allowance of 145 or 155 pounds.  It also has a module for travel and Sister Hawley makes most of the travel arrangements coming to and going from the mission online. She is becoming a travel agent of sorts, interfacing with Church travel and parents  for soon-to-be-released missionaries, and to coordinate travel if family is coming to pick up a son or daughter.  Much of that communication with families is done by email and some by regular post.  It is a perfect fit for Sister Hawley's skills and inclinations.

We are using SKYPE now for telephone calls to the US.  For about $4 per month we can call any number in the USA with unlimited access.  Of course Skyping by computer to families through the internet is great, it just takes coordination to be online at the same time.  However, now we can call anytime.  The bad news is no one can call us unless they set up a similar telephone account with Skype on their end

We are doing fine, actually quite well, expect for Elder H's hacking and coughing.  It did get up to 56 degrees this week so it is warming up. Sister Hawley did not wear an overcoat all week long and no gloves or scarf either.  We are soon half way through our mission and are looking forward to warmer weather and perhaps seeing some more of the sights of the London area, with our next trip this Friday with the Harbrecht's to see Cambridge.

Love to all,  Elder and Sister Hawley

NEWS of the WEEK

LAVENHAM, SUFFOLK, ENGLAND:

Elder Gary and Sister LaLeene Ricks, another senior couple from Rexburg, Idaho who have been assigned as reactivation missionary to the Ipswich area of England London Mission, invited us up to take a tour with them of the area.  We hopped bus, tube and train and it took us 2 hours from our flat to the Ipswich Train Station where they picked us up.  They have a car so this was  a real treat for us.  Also a treat -- getting out of London and into the countryside of England that is so beautiful and peaceful, with its rolling hills, even in the wintertime.

The first place we went was to Lavenham, and this is where we spent most of our time.  Lavenham is north and east of London.  It is a small hamlet-town dating back to about 700 AD, and was a wool-growing/ship-building town up to the 19th century, when it was unable to compete with the larger cities such as Liverpool and Birmingham.  The above photograph is of THE SWAN HOTEL and RESTAURANT.  It was wonderful go inside and tour some of the rooms, to see the huge fireplaces and the "mind your head" low/small doorways, and to see all the wood beams and curving staircase to the guest rooms upstairs.  It's a renovated 5*hotel and restaurant.  Posh, as they say here.  Although the buildings and central rooms retain their "old world" charm [thank goodness!], the guest rooms are very "posh" and modern, with up-to-date bathrooms and beautiful linens and king-sized beds.

Most people are drawn to this attractive Suffolk town by the half-timbered medieval cottages.  In England, a cottage can be large or small and most likely has at least 2 floors.  There are some Tudor buildings as well.  The old, original houses and shops in Lavenham have been well preserved.  Many have been given a brick support floor, but none of the buildings were built with solid foundations, only with wood, and that wood was green oak.  If the wood had been left to dry it would not have been workable with the tools they had at the time.  Mansions are mixed with simple cottages, many with crooked beams and pink or yellow painted exteriors.

The older buildings are centered around the market place.  There is a 16th century Guildhall building that now houses a tea room and shop, and in the town center is an earlier-dated market "cross."  The market cross [below] was the scene of bear-baiting contests during the late medieval and Tudor periods.

The Guildhall [16th century] is now owned by the National Trust, and houses a permanent local history exhibition, a tea room [and there are a LOT of tea rooms in Lavenham!], and a gift shop & bookstore.

One of the most appealing and interesting aspects of this medieval town and its buildings is the shape of the buildings [or lack of straight walks and chimneys and roofs!]. One wonders while strolling through the cobblestoned streets how some buildings can remain standing! There are also an assortment of thatched-roof cottages.  We can admire what people of other times and cultures can make using the materials and tools and information they had at the time.  Here are some samples of the charming cottages in Lavenham.

During the Middle Ages Lavenham was a thriving centre of English wool trade, and the prosperous wood merchants are responsible for most of Lavenham's memorable buildings, including the Parish Church, or the church dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, quoted as "perhaps the finest 'wool church' in the land.  The glory of the church is the rich carving, both interior and exterior.  Inside are two 'Parclose' screens, completed in 1525 to enclose tombs" of generous benefactors.  The tower is of knapped flint and rises 141 feet, making it the tallest in Suffolk.  

From Lavenham we drove through golden rolling agriculture fields to a small town or villege named Kersey, where we spotted a building of red stone constructed in 1490 and named on a sign above the front door, Ye Olde Brick House.  Kersey is a small picturesque village about 2.5 miles northwest of Hadleigh.  Without the cars parked or driving through town we could almost imagine ourselves slipping back 500 years:

We had lunch in a nice pub/restaurant called "The Cock."  Don had his first sampling of Yorkshire Pudding, which is more like a roll or muffin and nothing like pudding at all.

At the end of our day we drove through the small town of Mistley, where there is a sea inlet, lots of boats, and home to wild swans that we fed . . . and even got close enough to pet a few:

It was a wonderful day and, although we enjoy and are grateful for all of our modern conveniences and transportation options, it was a lot of fun to travel back in England's time to medieval times and to learn enough to appreciate more than just what we see in today's big cities.  We hope to travel more during our stay in England:  next up?  A possible trip to Dover, Kent; Deal; and Canterbury -- still in our mission, southeast of London.

P.S.  We strolled between some buildings and found ???  Do you know what it is?  Your guess is as good as ours!!!

NEWS of the WEEK

Our flat is located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.  It is quite a modern building, compared to so many of the old, character-filled buildings in England:

Both Kensington and Chelsea date back to Saxon times, with the name Kensington thought to be derived from "Chenesi's Tun", [tun being Anglo-Saxon for homestead or village].  Royalty did not arrive until 1689 when William III moved into Kensington Palace, an event that acted as a springboard for the area's development.  Kensington Palace further secured its place in royal history when the future Queen Victoria was born there on 24 May 1819.

Henry VIII acquired the manor of Chelsea in 1536 and Queen Elizabeth I lived there for a time.  Kensington Palace is where Princess Diana had apartments and where her sons also live part-time.  

By the 1830s Chelsea was part of London.  Kensington rural atmosphere changed in 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition.  Following this the area was developed as a centre for institutions dedicated to the arts and sciences, including the now-famous Natural History and Victoria and Albert Museums [next door to both is the Hyde Park Chapel building where we serve, built in 1960-61].

Notting Hill, an area made famous on film, lies north of Kensington and Chelsea, and is another pricey place to live.  It is also the home of both the street market in Portobello Road and the largest carnival in Europe.  

The Baden Powel House, on the corner of Queen's Gate and Cromwell Road, is of course named after the famous military man who was the "father of the Boy Scouts" organization.  The Baden Powel House serves as hostel, hotel, and convention centre.  

The Borough is home to other well known sights, museums, shops [High Street Kensington, Knightsbridge, King's Road and Sloane Square], such as Holland and Hyde Parks, Prince Albert Royal Hall, the Royal Hospital [for veterans] where the Chelsea Flower Show is held each May, and Earl's Court, where Olympics' volleyball will be held in 2012.

This week in the office was not so busy.  We are enjoying have another senior missionary couple's help on Tuesday and Thursday.  We are gradually getting on top of things as related to flats and vehicles.  We will swap out three mission cars this coming week for new cars. The Church policy is to replace the cars at about the 60,000 miles mark.

We sometimes get requests for letters from former ELM missionaries about their time in the mission, for education-related recommendatons and other such needs.  This week a call came from Germany.  The bishop of the Esslingen Ward, just outside of Stuttgart, called to get a letter to help him clear up something about his drivers' license.  He was a missionary 20 years ago in this mission.  Sister Hawley told him that I served a mission to southern Germany and he immediately wanted to talk to me.  We had a good chat and discovered that we know several people in common, as 45 years ago I was a missionary in Esslingen.  I tracked out a man and his wife and two small boys who later were baptized sometime after I was out of the mission.   Brother Madrejefski and his wife visited me in  Orem some 20 years ago.  His two little boys grew up and both served missions in Germany.  This bishop from Esslingen knew one of the sons and we made some good connections, one also with the Jedamschec Brothers who were still in Esslingen and were strong members of the Church.  The world of Mormondom is so very small.  We have some very strong missionaries from Germany serving here in England.  This has brought  back a few memories from so very long ago.

Sister Hawley is fighting a good head cold and we are hoping for her to get over it soon and not pass it along.  Elder Hawley is fighting the effects of arthritis and is finding it hard to get going in the mornings and also to walk or stand for very long periods.  Oh, the joys of growing older, since we are required to sign up for Medicare this summer.  I never thought I would get so old . . . to be required to sign up for Medicare. We are looking forward to spring and summer and are planning to get to see some of the sights in and out of London.  the high the other day was 45 degrees and the lows are in the mid to high 30's, so winter must be waining.  Most days in London are cloudy and we are happy to see the sun now and again.  It never really rains hard in London, but it drizzles a lot, most days for the last two weeks.  We saw a program on the TV the other day that described parts of the United States and we remembered all of the good things about home and suffered a little nostalgia.  Elder and Sister Watts and Elder and Sister Scott both returned home this past week.  This also got us thinking about home, which is not good for us. Sister Hawley prepares all of the travel plans for the returning missionaries and so she gets to think about this type of thing regularly.  The difference is that she loves London and I tolerate it as a big, noisy metropolitan city.

This week we met Elder Joe Worthlin and his wife.  He is the son of Elder Joseph B. Worthlin who recently passed away.  He is over all of the physical facilities in Europe and is based in Frankfort, Germany.  He was here to discuss and review plans for a remodel of the Hyde Park Chapel building.  We has a short moment with them alone when they first arrived.  They are very nice, warm and welcoming type of people.

We are reminded of the need for the gospel in lives of the people of the earth as we see all of the faces and lack of happiness all around.  People trying to get ahead and seeking the worldly things and not knowing who they are and what they should be doing . . . the important matters.  I noted that the Pope recently spoke about there really being "right and wrong".  The world is in trouble if they do not accept that right and wrong exists.  This is humanism which is the philosophy of our day.  The missionaries are great and find many people so prepared by the Lord to hear their message.  The other day the APs taught a young lady for the first time and she said,  "What is this that I am feeling?  I know what you are telling is the truth."  Such is the power and effects of the Holy Ghost.  If she pursues it and stays true, she will accept the message and be baptized and follow Christ the rest of her life.  This evening, Sunday, there was a fireside at the Chapel for the young adults of the area.  There were over 250 present.  Strong young people in the gospel.  It is a problem for them to find spouses to marry in the temple.  So these activities are crucial for the future of the Church in this area, as the hope is that they will find a mate, marry in the temple and start gospel families to build the Church here.  Elder and Sister Little, our YSA missionary couple, work very hard and are very dedicated to these kids.

Love to All.  We miss you and are rapidly coming up on having served for eight months.

NEWS of the WEEK

GOOD DAY FROM LONDON!

We enjoyed our time in church today, and are grateful for each opportunity to partake of the Sacrament and to worship with gratitude.  Today was Ward Conference, and we had seven speakers, with the Stake emphasizing not a stake agenda but one from the bishopric/individual wards throughout the stake.  We've had Transfers in the Mission, which also affect which missionaries attend our ward.  This time we have our former office elder, Elder Landon Johnson, with a new companion, Elder Espinosa, from Salt Lake City.  Also, we have still Elder Morley, Elder Jentzsch, and new AP Elder Cusick, from Herriman, Utah.  Elder Monk has been transferred and is now a zone leader.  We also have still Elder Ambihaipahan, from Norway, with his new English companion, Elder Smith.  Each new companionship change enriches the companionship, their assignments, and the wards to which they are assigned.

We now have a new office-assistants couple, Elder Darrell and Sister Shelley Miles.  They live in Wembley, outside of London, and are reactivation missionaries, but they have some extra time and so the mission president has reassigned them to help us in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  We are delighted for the extra help.  It turns out that Shelley Miles, who retired from State of Utah/Health Department employment last year, is the HR person who "hired" Don when he started working at Healthcare Finance.  Sister Miles will be the "Fleet Manager" and Elder Miles will be the "Flat Manager."

Transfers brought about many changes, mostly to the zone leader assignments.  Some new, some renewed, and some retired [just transferred to other areas to teach others..  We did not have any new missionaries come this past week, but we did send Elder Morgan home via train to northern England/Darlington; and Elder Duschletta's mother came to the office to pick her son up on Friday; they are going to tour the mission before returning home to Switzerland.  I had some email correspondance with Elder Duschletta's mother over the past few months, and by way of thanks she brought me some Swiss cookies -- nice!

With Transfers and MOVES over we continue a forward motion into interviews with the MP throughout the mission, and soon it will be time to put together the mission newsletter, TRUTH WILL PREVAIL, our winter issue.  Elder Hawley has been busy-busy with a set of auditors/trainers from Solihull for two days this past week, and he has shown what good he has been doing, and has also learned much for future.  He and President Patch are also working together to find ways to save the mission money.  It helps, when two zone leaders, in separate car accidents, totaled two of the mission vehicles.  It is costly, but not tragic.  Tragedy would be if someone had been hurt or killed in any of the vehicles, and thankfully, this was not the case.  The president's car and the APs car both were replaced [high mileage, usual Church procedure] with new vehicles this week also.  

Weatherwise it is getting slightly warmer here in London . . . degree by slow degree.  We heard it said at church today that Spring may indeed be not far away, and we are grateful indeed for a lessening of the really frigid temperatures of this winter season.  We have even had some lovely sunny periods this past week -- still cold, somewhat windy, but lovely and bright and cheery.  We continue to work on regular office assignments:  flats, moves, telephones, referrals, reimbursements and pre-imbursements.  

Sister Hawley has begun the spring mission season by sending out letters to parents about travel-home arrangements for their sons and daughters.  Once the parents send back information like which airport they want their missionaries flown home to, or that they will indeed becoming to London to pick up their missionaries, then Sister Hawley uses the Church Global Visa Management program to request travel for each missionary.  It's a fun assignment, and one that she enjoys doing, both for the families and for the missionaries, who try really hard not to think about being "short-timers" at this stage.

With the warmer weather Elder and Sister Hawley hope to get out of London more, and in March we have planned a trip to Ipswich to visit Elder/Sister Ricks, who are reactivation missionaries there.  We also plan to seek out some places that fall within mission boundaries of birthplaces or homes where English novelists lived, which is an interest of Sister Hawley's.

We hope to see more of downtown London, to take a ride on the Thames, to also [as a senior's FHE activity in April] take a riverboat ride down the SE waterways, and to attend the famous Chelsea Flower Show at the end of May.  Giving full dedication to the office and our mission assignments during the week is fulfilling and enriching.  Doing other things to provide balance on a Saturday is restorative and informative.  How fortunate are we!

Here are more photos of our beloved missionaries.  These wonderful, hardworking, dedicated and faithful young elders and sisters inspire us and enrich our lives here.  

We love the Lord and are so grateful that He 

gives us opportunities to serve this couples' 

mission, to be of assistance to others, to give

our small portion of kindness to those in need,

even, or especially, without notice, but with

thoughts of the Gifts of our Savior.  How sweet

are the "multiplicity of blessings."

We love each of you.  Elder and Sister Hawley

"Walking on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London.  How blessed are we!

NEWS of the WEEK

Winter wears on and we are looking forward to spring.  Even a few flakes of snow again as the air is getting cold enough to freeze the rain into snow flakes.  We are grateful for warm clothes and buildings and places to get out of the wind.

Elder Hawley had "a first" this week.  He, Sister Hawley, and the office elders, Elders Johnson and Cardon went in the mission car to Costco in Watford.  About a one hour drive through London and into the outskirts to the northwest.  What is unusual is that  Elder Hawley did the driving.  His first in London, and he stayed on the left side of the road most of the time. The traffic in London is very congested and tight.  Of course, everything is backward, the steering is on the right, the stop lights are in different positions, and of course one drives on the left side of the road.  We had a good time and picked up some things we needed at the office and a few things for ourselves also. The missionaries were the guides and we had a digital navigation device that told us the way. We were gone for over 4 hours.  Everything takes a long time here with the congested traffic, narrow roads and many cars, and we got home safe & sound.  We dropped the elders off at the church [office] because they had a teaching appointment, and then drove the car to our flat where we were able to park it overnight w/o charge.  We unloaded our groceries with pleasure!  We will definitely appreciate more fully the conveniences we have at home!

This Saturday we were priviledged to go to the London Temple.  We petitioned the area President, Elder Kopischke, for permission for our senior missionaries' family home evening group to travel to Lingfield, and received permission to go + a new policy change.  Now we are allowed to go once a quarter as approved by the mission president.  The picture shows the group of senior missionaries at about 7:45 a.m. in the Victoria Train Station, located in London near Buckingham Palace, as we were preparing to ride the train to Lingfield.  We then took three taxis from the train to the Temple, about a 5-8 minute ride. It was a good weather day and we enjoyed the time with the other missionaries and also our time in the temple.  

There is such a good spirit in the temple and we were rejuvenated by the time there.  The train ride was about 46 minutes and it was good to visit with the other missionaries as we do not get that opportunity very often.  These are all great people with good hearts and dedication to the Lord.  Each has a unique story that tells of faith and some hardship and sacrifice to serve their missions.  We are so very blessed to be here and be a part of this great work. Two of the couples will be going home at the end of February. They have been serving in the Family History Centre located in the basement of the Hyde Park building.

Sister Hawley is getting all of the letters retyped into the computer that were lost when her computer crashed.  [I'm helping, too.]  There must be 25 different types of letters and correspondence [plus other types of documents] that she has put back together to address new missionaries coming in, transfers and callings and missionaries going home, and includes letters to bishops and stake presidents and parents informing them of the home- coming dates of their missionaries. This has required many hours of keyboarding and input.  It is good that she is so very good at this sort of thing.  She has also been very busy inputting the baptismal information and writing the new baptismal letters to the new converts.

The Gospel is so wonderful and fulfilling.  The whole notion that we are children of a  Heavenly Father who loves us, and that we dwelt with Him prior to coming to this earth, is wonderful.  The earth was specifically created so that we could come here and gain a  physical body and prove ourselves to see if we will obey and follow the Lord in faith.  Through the whisperings of the Holy Ghost God, our Father, shows His willingness to provide for us, and He sent His only begotton Son to save us by taking upon Him our sins, contingent upon our repentance and overcoming death through the resurrection.  This demonstrates His great love for us.  We are so very blessed to have this knowledge and understanding that motivates us to want to tell this message to everyone so that they might come unto Christ and be blessed through these truths.  The temple covenants are just reminders of these truths and help us more fully understand then and gives us great strength to want to live the Gospel and walk in Christ's footsteps.

Our house at 176 East 1950 South in Orem is being sold and the closing looks  to be on track for Friday.  We sent the documents by FedEx on Thursday.  Emails and attachments and PDF files and such.  My, we live in a very wonderful time with the technology that we have to communicate and transmit data and files all over the world so easily.

We love you all and very much enjoy our Skyping times with each of our children and all the emails and  communications around the world.  We hear regularly from missionaries in Tonga, Montevideo, Uruguay, Florida and from temple workers from the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.  Thanks to all for keeping in touch.  May the Lord bless you all.  We are still looking for spring!!!

NEWS of the WEEK

One of the senior couples we serve with are assigned to the Family History Centre in the Hyde Park Chapel.  The following story from Elder/Sister Price was shared with us this week:

"When we arrived at the Centre, Sister Scott [1/2 of another senior couple assigned to FHC] told us that when they were at the London Temple last Friday, she met a lady from Australia who had been a member for a month. She had come to the temple to do baptisms for her grandparents. She told Sister Scott that she had a wonderful experience, and then she told her why she was there. That week, she was in London on business, and had just come out of the South Kensington Undergound station [located directly opposite the Hyde Park Building]. The first thing she saw as she gazed about was the London Family History Centre sign. Her bishop in Sydney was on the ball, and had recently given her a temple recommend (limited to baptisms). As she looked at the Family History sign, she thought, "This can wait. I'll do my grandparents work when I get back to Sydney."  Then she felt something pushing her toward the sign. She told Sister Scott that she had no choice, but to go to the Centre, and there she met an elder who told her that he would help her sign up on http://new.familysearch.org, and enter her grandparents' names. After everything was complete, the elder gave her a sheet of paper, with public transportation directions for her trip to the temple in Surrey. She told Sister Scott that she was so grateful to that elder, went on about his kindess.  I remembered her, and how afraid she was about the process. She was wondering who would do her grandfather's baptism. I assured her that she shouldn't worry. [I told her] just go to the temple, and things will work out. I was happy for her, and hoped that she would follow through, and go to the temple.

Sister Scott wanted me to know what she had said. It put tears in my eyes. I get "misty" every once in a while, doing this work."

Experiences like this are testimonies that what we do as senior couple missionaries does make a difference.  Most of the time we don't hear the "end of the story."  We help where we can, and the days fly by.  Elder and Sister Hawley's work in the office is, for the most part, the support system, the "stuffing" in the mattress that gives others a good night's sleep.  Occasionally we are told that what we do does make a positive difference.  Yesterday was one of those days for us.  We met with President Patch, along with the office elders, Elder Johnson and Elder Cardon, for our bi-monthly office administration meeting.  Before beginning the agenda President Patch told Elder & Sister Hawley how grateful he is for what we do, and that we are here, because what we do enables him and the other missionaries to do what they do.  The office elders concurred, with Elder Johnson telling Sister Hawley how the missionaries appreciate her because she is always happy.  [Little do we realize how our mood, our countenance, as well as our manner and words, can affect and uplift others for good!]  If we as office missionaries can make sure they have what they need financially and physically [flats, supplies, etc.], and if we can "scatter a little sunshine" and greet/treat them as if each one is important [which they are], then we will have done our jobs well.  Elder and Sister Hawley remember the hands and hearts of those nameless, faceless supporters who loved and cared and smiled at our children when they were missionaries far from home.  This mission provides us with an assortment of ways to give back, or pay it forward, because we know how both the missionaries and their parents feel about it.  It is also a generous Father's way of letting us give back to Him all that we can in gratitude for all He has and continues to give to us.

We have a trio of APs now in our mission:  Elder Morley, Elder Monk, and Elder Jentzsch.  Elder Monk will be transferred soon, because he is the senior AP and it's time.  All three are great young men and leaders.  They just finished planning and conducting our 3 mission zone conferences [Colchester, South Kensington, Milton Keynes].  They make a good team.  The other day they came into the office wearing Harry Potter 'Gryffindor' House neck ties -- a sign of their unity.  [It IS England, after all!]  Here's a photo of them taken that day:

 Here's an "exercise" we missionaries in the office "practiced" this week.  How about you?  What [or rather WHO and  what] can you add to this list?

Be OBEDIENT like NEPHI

PRAY like ENOS

TESTIFY like ABINIDI

Be DISCERNING like MOSES

SERVE like AMMON

Have FAITH like the BROTHER OF JARED

FIGHT like MORMON 

Have COURAGE like MORONI 

Be DILIGENT like KING BENJAMIN

TEACH like ALMA and AMULEK

Be PURE IN HEART like ENOCH

Today we went to our own Sacrament Meeting and heard speakers speak on unity and the Church's program for addiction.  Then we caught the bus and tube to the area of Hayes, outside of London, to hear the Campbell's presentation on LDS Employment and what helps are available.  The LDS Employment Office is across the hall from our ELM office and the Campbell's are senior missionaries, as are our hosts for the day, the Bird's, at whose ward the Campbell's spoke because it was the 5th Sunday in January.  We enjoyed being in a smaller ward and going outside of London -- a chance of pace for us.  We went back to the Bird's flat and made burritos and talked and laughed and relaxed.  We had a very nice time and enjoyed ourselves very much.  There is a great need in the Church today for senior missionary couples, and so many opportunities locally and abroad for those desiring to serve.  The Campbell's are in the photo in the left and the Bird's are in the photo on the right [below].  The Campbell's are from Hilton Head, South Carolina; the Price's [above] are from Mesa, Arizona; and the Bird's are from New Haven, Connecticut.  We come from everywhere, with similar purpose to serve.

What a blessing it is for the Hawley's to serve.  We are grateful we have made this decision and are energized by the work we are  privileged to do.

It's a new year, a new week, a new month.  More work awaits [thank goodness!], and many more blessings.

We wish all of you many "blessings on your heads" and send you our love.

P.S.  Our son and daughter in law shared this poignant story with us about our grandson Tanner, who is six:  In our Christmas boxes to our children and and grandchildren we included small [children-sized] paperback Books of Mormon.  Inside we wrote our testimonies and added a photo of Nana and Grandpa.

Tanner loves his so much that he wants to give his Book of Mormon to someone who he thinks would love Jesus and His gospel as much as he does.  Tanner is a missionary-in-the-making, and loves people, and is following in his parents' [and grandparents'] footsteps.  Taught about getting "misty-eyed!"  We love you, Tanner!