Hi, everyone. Don is adding a note, rare as this is--or may be. We are winding down our preparations to get everything ready to leave. Both houses, cars and stuff. But we are getting more excited about the mission every day. The Lord must laugh at us on a regular basis and extends His patience to us as we work through our fears and all of the things we deem important to do before we leave. Portia made a great dinner for Father's day and added a fantastic new device as a Father's Day gift. She gave me a KINDLE. Amazon.com's new electronic book reader that allows one to down load books electronically. It is quite a new gadget and I had a great time getting it to work and now have the scriptures, Glen Beck, and a book on ending overeating in America. This will be my pass-time activity on the flight to London.

I taught the High Priest's Quorum this past Sunday. The lesson was on The Redemption of the Dead. Such wonderful and just doctrine revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I found that Paradise is a place where the Spirit of the Gospel is present in its fullness. Those there have the gospel and are living it. They are out of the influence of Satan. All other spirits reside in "hell" or spiritual darkness, a place of suffering and torment, but more a place of great learning, repentance and change. As they have the gospel preached to them and upon there repentance and worthiness they are allowed to accept the ordinances of vicarious baptism and are set free of this prison, this hell, and are allowed to reside in paradise. See Thoughts on Redemption of the Dead in the side column for a more comprehensive look at this subject.

We are learning a great deal from Preach My Gospel. I wish this had been used when I was on my first mission some 45 years ago in Germany. We love you all and are firm in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. He it is that loves us and is our hope. In deed we are, like the Primary song, "trying to be like Jesus."

Lessons in Humility

[1] Next Friday, June 26th, is my last day on-shift at the temple. It will be a day of mixed feelings for me. I have dearly and deeply loved working in the temple as an ordinance worker. The Lord has taught and humbled and loved me in this calling. I have received personal revelation there. I have a beloved family of friends there with whom I share this extraordinary experience. I feel I 'come home' whenever I enter this House of the Lord. I know I will miss both the 'job' and the people. A few weeks ago when I was guiding for a marriage/sealing, I received a personal revelation through the Spirit that "it was all right to leave" temple service for now. Isn't it interesting, and wonderful, that the Lord knows us SO well that He knows and understands our thoughts and concerns? And that He is so sensitive to us regarding them. I now can leave with peace and with my heart full of all the good feelings and memories from my almost seven years at the Mount Timpanogas Temple.

[2] Our bishop has scheduled our mission "non-farewell" for this coming Sunday, June 28th. Kristina and Evelyn will play, on violin and piano, "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief," which fits right into the music commemorating the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith [June 27, 1844]. The music and the ward choir number, "Praise to the Man," will also follow this theme.

For several weeks prior to last week I had been concerned with what I should say in my talk. The bishop gave us President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's April 2009 General Conference talk, "The Way of the Disciple," as our guideline for our talks, and I'd read and re-read the talk, which is wonderful. I wanted to tie in principles of the gospel with our mission application experiences. But I couldn't seem to pull my thoughts together. Then one day as I was reading the Deseret News section of Mormon Times and I found a story told by Orson Scott Card that brought it all together for me. One hour at the computer and I had my talk, and with it such a comfortable and calm feeling about it. Answers to prayer come to us as we patiently wait upon the Lord, having brought to Him our concerns and our requests for His help. And, with each answer, more lessons in faith and humilty, respect and meekness. My cup runneth over . . . continually.

[3] Elder Hall is one of two young missionaries who are currently working in the ELM office. He is very hard-working, polite, helpful, willing and dedicated. He has provided us with information and answered all our questions quickly. Mission calls are always humbling, aren't they? Elder Hall wrote yesterday, telling us that they are now implementing a new Church financial system called iMOS that functions via the Internet and will transfer all financial transactions to Church Headquarters in SLC. [We've heard from friends in Florida that it is also being implemented there.] It will relieve the mission presidents of a lot of responsibility and free up more time for them to take care of mission responsibilities and their missionaries. It is a bit complicated, but the office elders are working hard to understand it so that they can teach us how to do it when we arrive. We are told we will get preliminary training on iMOS and other office procedures during the second week of training at the Provo MTC. Unwittingly, and with such youthful enthusiasm, Elder Hall concluded, adding more to our sense of REAL humilty with this calling, saying "We're excited to have you come to the mission! In just a month's time we'll be together trying to figure out the mission office. I pray that the Lord will bless you as you prepare to run the mission! Keep the faith." Keep the faith indeed! How would anyone do anything without FAITH?!

Preparing, Counting Down, and Remembering our Fathers....

Last week our daughter Debbie encouraged us to go and see the new Pixar/Disney production "UP." We loved it! And yes, we do indeed have that 'Spirit of Adventure!' Guess we'd better pack A LOT of BALLOONS and be prepared to "inflate" and infuse them with our own spirit and testimony and faith!

Last Wednesday we went to lunch with Don and Diane Snow, recently returned FHC missionaries from the ELM. Elder Snow has created a web page with LOTS of helps and hints for missionaries going to the ELM. Don and Diane have been so generous in answering our questions, providing sources for further information, and sharing with us their love for their mission and for the Lord and His gospel plan.

When we collected the Wednesday mail we found the much-anticipated letter from ELM President Clayton Foulger, welcoming us to the England London Mission, sharing his testimony with us, and providing us with further information to help us in our preparations. He wrote of speaking with President Patch, who will arrive in London on July 1st: "He is expecting to have you work in the mission office to assist him in the administrative and financial operations and affaires of the mission." We have also had the help of two office missionaries, Elders Hall and Weibel. We are spending many hours on the computer, looking for flats in the Queen's Gate, Knightsbridge, South Kensington areas, which are all close enough to Exhibition Road and the mission office. Expensive, yes. Some very nice indeed, and in a beautiful area so close to Hyde Park. We look forward to enjoying our walks to and from the office. We are told about London weather that . . . it is less foggy than Americans expect; that it's more misty every day, perhaps drizzly, rather than rainy; and that England is in the 7th year of a drought! Also, that some sort of head covering [plastic hat that fits in a purse or pocket for women] will be more useful than would carrying an umbrella around every day. We are grateful for lightweight raincoats with/without hoods and liners, which we think will serve us well.

Yesterday we gathered items to ship to the London office ahead of our arrival. When an apartment is advertised as "furnished" or "fully furnished" this does not include linens like towels and sheets. Nor does it include dishes, utinsils, pots and pans. We have decided to wait to purchase pots and pans, and to see if things like toasters are going to be provided in the kitchens. But we can save some money [we lose half the U.S. dollar in the conversion to pounds] if we send some of our own extra linens, towels and other items. We can also pack in the box some small kitchen or bath items, and perhaps some books that we won't need until we get there. Each project we complete brings us closer to our departure date and closer to the beginning of our Big Adventure.

Today we remember our fathers, the ones we knew, dearly loved and miss, the ancestral fathers whom we hope to become acquainted with some day, and the ones we know today . . . husbands, sons, brothers, uncles, friends & neighbors. We express our deepest gratitude for you, and for your excellent examples and for all the blessings you bring into our lives. And, from our hearts, we love and thank our Heavenly Father, and know that because of Him, we are blessed indeed. We hope you who are fathers are having a wonderful day. You deserve it. We cherish you and what we learn of and from each of you. And, just as an aside, THANK YOU for GRANDCHILDREN, nieces & nephews & cousins! In my heart is a special place for my husband, and the father of our children. Thank you for all you do and are. We are traveling hand in hand. ILUM.

Practice Runs....

Yesterday we performed a 'trial run' --  we weighed our suitcases and made note of the weight of each when empty.  We decided the items that we wanted to put in our carry-on luggage and set them aside.  Then we packed all that we are requested to take plus all that we want to take, and we were delighted to find out that we still had room and 'weight' to spare--what a relief!  And we also have additional extra space in our carry-ons, so we are doing well.  

Also yesterday we sent several emails to "letting" or estate agents in London.  We made a list of the requirements we are looking for in a "flat" or apartment.  Apparently there is a difference between the two but we haven't been able to discern what that difference is.  We made a second list of the areas around the Hyde Park Chapel where the mission office is located and where we will be working.  We added this list to the first, and emailed it to the agents we located online.  This morning we got half-a-dozen replies.  We are learning a lot by looking at flats and apartments online, and then checking to see if the flats have what we want and if they are [by map] in a location close to the office.  We have received excellent advice and tips from other couples and from the woman who heads the Family History Centre in Hyde Park.  She is going to be visiting here and will stop by.  The agents also pass along information that helps us.  Once we arrive in London, and President Patch has the answers to our final questions, we will be able to actually search the area and find us a flat that will work well for us.

We have started to prepare our farewell talks.  Our "non-farewell" will be held at the Canyon View 3rd Ward on Sunday, June 28th, at 8:30 a.m.  We will have family and friends over to the house afterwards for munchies and conversation.  Then during our final week we will do last-minute preparations.  I think it will be somewhat of a relief to get there!  The MTC is supposed to be calling us 2 weeks prior to July 6th to give us information, and we will tell them at that time that we are opting to sleep at home but that we want 2 meal tickets.  We continue with our spiritual preparations as well.  This is such a wonderful and quite special experience that draws us closer together, and we'll go 'hand in hand.'

ELM Contact Information

Elder Don B Hawley
Sister Portia Pyle Hawley
England London Mission
64-68 Princes Gate
Exhibition Road, South Kensington
London,
England SW7 2PA
Phone: 011-44-207-584-7553

June 3rd

 

 

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We had lunch today at the Chef’s Table with President and Sister Patch. They are lovely people and certainly will do well leading the Mission.   Sister Patch has been recently to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple to do Initiatories and the subject of the ELM came up. The sisters in the initiatory area indicated that Portia was also going to the ELM this summer.  Sister Patch reported they said very complementary things about Portia and that she was certainly loved and held in high esteem by the Temple sisters.  It’s good to know she got such a good report and of course we all know that is just right and correct.  The Patches will begin on the 1^st of July and we look forward to working with them.  He is an attorney and worked many years in Washington, DC for Senator Hatch.  He has been working at the Presiding Bishop’s Office for the past several years.  Sister Patch is very gracious and complementary and they will make a good team.  We talked in general terms about the mission and some of the couples who will be serving and are serving.  The 100 or so missionaries are about 30% from the US and the remainder from Europe, England, Africa, the Caribbean, and many from the South Pacific.  This will be quite an International mix.  Several missionaries are from Germany and we talked about my language skills and ability to understand the German culture.  Many of the baptisms are young, single adults and there is a large number of African and Blacks from the Caribbean in the Wards at Hyde Park.  We indicated our support for the work and our willingness to do what they needed to be done, of course, they are green to and didn’t have any more details on our assignment as the mission office couple than we do. 

 

We ordered glass from Jones Paint and Glass to put over the dinning room table as a protection to the wood surface and discussed selling cars to the Nissan Dealer and picking up a new car when we are released from the Mission in January 2011.  The deal with Nissan probably will not happen, but we needed to talk about the possibilities, ask the questions and get the information.  Cars depreciating for 18 months and paying insurance and registrations doesn’t make any sense either.  There are a few stresses and decisions to be made in preparing for missions.

 

Nervous as the time is moving fast to entering the MTC.  We are also not very proficient at this Blogging business either.

 

Elder Hawley

Pix to Post 2--Opening the Call