NEWS OF THE PAST WEEK

The weather has turned into fall temperatures, which for London is about 62-65 Farenheit in the day and 53-58 F at night. All in all very bearable. We do enjoy the sun when it is out as there are many cloudy days.

We took in 8 new missionaries this past week and sent 5 home. Next month there are 12 coming and 4 going home. Only two of the eight are from the US or Canada, all the rest are Eurpoean, and one from South Africa. In October we will get a sister missionary from Miramar (Burma/ Thailand). Many are first generation in the Church and are strong and willing. Elder Paramalingam is from Switzerland, but he was born in Sri Lanka. My, how the Lord is blessing these missionaries with courage and dedication. We are so very blessed to associate with them. 

L-R:  Elder Jeremie Pichon [France], Joel Forbes & Peter Amuah [Manchester, England], 

Aaron Robertson [Scotland], and Ephraim Ho Kum [New Zealand]

The APs, the Patch's, and the Departing Elders at the President's Flat for the Departing Dinner & Testimony Meeting, 8 September 2010

From the five that went home, one is from France, one from New Zealand, one from Scotland in the UK, two from Manchester, UK. Several have their parents pick them up. The two from Manchester are unusual. Each has a twin brother also being released from other UK missions at the same time. Furthermore, they are from the same Ward in Manchester. One set of twins is English and the other African. Both missionaries were excellent and so willing and happy. We all shed a few tears of happy good-byes knowing we will probably never see these wonderful missionaries again. We wish them well and pray for the Lord's blessings on them to keep them strong in the Gospel and safe from the World.  We also had one elder released to go home in August to Austria.

Elder Dimitri Daniliants, in between APs Zemp, Katseanes [L] & Pres/Sister Patch [R]

The arthritis in my ankles was terrible this past winter and spring and I had hoped it would improve during the summer, warmer times. It did improve during the summer, but not back to normal. So, I don't walk without pain anymore and the stiffness comes with in a few minutes of sitting down. It seems that pain in my ankles increases as I walk, so it must be from fatigue. Celebrex 200 mg daily is helping, but not enough to remove the pain, just make it tolerable. I will be happy to get back to a car instead of walking and public transportation to get around. This all comes from the many sprained ankles incurred during High School sports. I was really affected last Tuesday, when the Tube (Subway went on strike for one day and the buses were all full, everyone hailing cabs, and they were not stopping as they were full too. So we ended up walking the distance from our flat to the mission office. These took about an hour to walk and I was really hurting and limping by the time we arrived. It took two days to recover, and I was glad for the buses to be less crowded the next day. We had to get in to the office early because there was a missionary going home day and we needed to process them out, give them their final travel itineraries, passports, and presidents' letters, and take their JPMC credit cards which they use to get their money for living expenses while serving. Sister Hawley is the star of the office with travel arrangements and going away packets and preparations for departing missionaries.

If you want to see the building we live in go to Google.maps and type: 72 Huntsmore House, 35 Pembroke Road, London W8 6LZ, and then go to Satelite View and double click on the balloon and get the ground image, which lets one look up and down the street and all around. You can do the same using 64-68 Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2PA and you can see the Hyde Park Chapel. We are on the second floor (3rd by U.S. standards). What wonderful technology we live in. As to the office it is all done online, including the ordering of Books of Mormon. The mission receives an allocation of 750 Books of Mormon each month and we order them online indicating the number of books in each selected language. We stock all 107 languages into which the Book of Mormon has been translated.

I read an account of the deportation of a man to Mexico and how it split up his family and all of the problems created when they come in illegally and then are caught or commit crimes (as in this case) which resulted in the government action. The Judge passes judgement according to the law and can use little or no mercy to help the family. They are all victims of laws being broken and justice, cold and unrelenting, having is claim. This is the way we all were after the fall of Adam. We would have been shut out of the presence of God. We would die, and our spirits be forever separated from our body. These would have been permanent consequences and not our fault, but it is the consequence of broken laws. We would be permanently deported out of God's presence and could never return. This clearly is why we need a Redeemer and Savior so that mercy can be used to satisfy justice. It is more so the case, because of our individual sins, as we are culpable and do break the laws ourselves and would be forever suffering the second death without the Atonement of Jesus Christ on condition of repentance. We are so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the increased understanding that has come to us while serving this mission.

It was a busy week and we are worn out. Yet, Sister Hawley and Sister Little, chose to go Portebello Road in London to a street market early on Saturday morning. All sorts of wares and things for sale, including antiques, farmers market food items, clothes, jewelry, bags and stuff of all sorts. They had a few things in mind for gifts for children at home....

Queen Victoria's Fine Bone China Pattern

Any guesses as to what the above items are???  They're 'veddy British, donchaknow!

Regency Bone China Tea Cup, Saucer, Cake Plate

I'm not telling what they found, but they came back happy and tired about 11AM. We went to the grocery store at Tesco's around the corner and got home about 1 PM and both had naps. That is very unusual for Sister Hawley as she rarely naps. I am, however, a master napper and can sleep almost any time or anywhere. . .even propped up in front of my computer at the office.

We are still waiting to see if another couple will come to replace us, but the time has passed for them to get a call and arrive here in time for us to train them before we leave in 86 days. We leave the matter with the Lord and His wisdom.  And we'll make our last days the Best of Days!

Love to All, Elder and Sister Hawley

NEWS of the PAST WEEK

London's "rainy seasons" are not limited to winter months:  the weather report for the upcoming week brings us rain every day, and one day with "London fog."  We'll wait and see.  Clear days sometimes bring rain showers; reports of rain don't turn out to be true, and there are equal numbers of different types of weather to match the varieties of weather reports.  

The same is true for Elder and Sister Hawley's days in the ELM office:  some days that are supposed to be quiet bring multiple surprises; some planned-for busy days are quiet and slow.  Slow is a good word for us here:  we are given the time and opportunity to get ahead in our work, or extra time to complete an ongoing project, or even the pleasure of cleaning up "messes", organizing files, or "hunting for things to do" that usually reveals to us something very worthwhile.

Today is Fast Sunday, and we again are fasting for a senior couple who can afford to live in London and who are qualified to serve as office couple missionaries for the England London Mission.  In addition, we are fasting for a replacement couple for our friends, Elder David and Sister Denece Little, who are serving as Center For Young Adults missionaries and who will be released the end of October.  And thirdly, we are fasting and praying for a sister missionary, Sister Kristin Christensen, from Utah, a talented singer, who is having ear surgery to improve her hearing.  It is a special privilege to fast and pray for others.

We have written before about the variety of people who come to visit and/or attend the Hyde Park Ward.  Today we had Brother Spence Kinard and his wife visit London while on holiday here.

Tomorrow the mission president will finish his choices for MOVES, and Sister Hawley will be given the changes before noon to make online in iMOS.  Then Elder Hawley will make changes re finances based on the transfers in the new schedule.  Tuesday the president with conduct departing interviews with those missionaries going home.  On Wednesday about noon we will greet and orient the 8 new missionaries arriving in London from the Preston MTC.  And on Thursday 2 missionaries both from England] will be greeted and picked up by their families, while the other three newly released missionaries [all elders this time] will board their flights home to Marseille, France, New Zealand, and Scotland.

One of the challenges given to new and young elders and sisters by President Patch in the England London Mission is a 12-week study of the Atonement.  The challenge issued / offered by the mission president comes in three parts:

1.  Read and carefully study the material and scriptures on pages 51 and 52 of Preach My Gospel under the topic "The Atonement."  Discuss your thoughts, impressions and feelings daily with your companion in "Companion Study."

2.  In addition, prayerfully read, study and ponder each of the scriptural passages set forth in the red box [of PMG] titled "Helping Others Learn about Jesus Christ" on pages 47 and 48.  This will require that you read at least 3 pages of scripture each day.  Write your thoughts, insights and revelation received in your study journal.  Discuss your thoughts, impressions and feelings daily with your companion during Companion Study.

3.  Finally, on one page, write for yourself, in your own words, with a copy to the President, your personal understanding and new insights of the Atonement.  Please complete your study and submit your own page understanding to the President on the last day of the current "MOVES" period.

In large part because of seeing this challenge given to the younger missionaries, when it came time to find a Father's Day gift for Elder Hawley, Sister Hawley chose a book by an unknown-to-her author [Callister] on the Atonement. [See previous blog entries.] Studying the Atonement has broadened our minds, expanded our spirits, touched our hearts, and brought us closer to the Lord, to our Heavenly Father, and to each other.  

Here is a picture of one of our favorite sister missionaries, Sister Umurshadyan, from the State of Georgia in the Ukraine.  We got to know her well during her assignments in the Hyde Park/Britannia Ward assignments.  During a special part of each zone conference, missionaries due soon to depart/be released are given a few minutes to share some "departing words."  I was impressed by Sister U's spirit and with what she said, and some of it I've quoted below:

"As I have worked to the best of my ability I came to understand what was the best way to do it is stated in Mosiah 18:12.  Alma wanted to do the work with the holiness of heart and [with] the Spirit.  I grew to love feeling the Spirit, and to learn to listen to my Heavenly Father.  I did have times when I just wanted to go to our flat and take a nap, but I learned that if I focus on my leisure hour instead of my working hours I may be prevented from seeing much greater opportunities around me.  I learned that missionary work shouldn't be a job for me, but [should be] service [instead].

"Here is a story about attitude:  A traveler passed a stone qurry and saw three men working.  He asked each man what he was doing.  Each man's answer revealed a different attitude towards [doing] the same job.  The first man said, 'I'm cutting the stone.'  The second man replied, 'I am earning three gold pieces per day.'  The third man smiled and said, 'I'm helping to build a house of God.'

"Sometimes I did feel 'down.'  But I learned that if I am helpless, He is not; if I am lost, He is not.  If I didn't know what to do next, He knew.

"I would like to read a sentence from Elder Robertson's favorite chapter in Preach My Gospel on page 22:  'Ask yourself:  How should I change as a result of what I have learned?  Set Goals!'

"I learned to love The Book of Mormon as I read it over and over again, which I hadn't done before.  I learned that The Book of Mormon is not on trial . . . WE are.  

"And the list goes on forever . . . [of things I have learned on my mission....].  I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for this opportunity.  Here is a quote from President David O. McKay:  'Let us realize that the Privilege to Work is a Gift; that the Power to Work is a Blessing; [and] that Love of Work is Success.' "

Here is a photo of Sister Joan Groves, a senior sister missionary assigned to serve in the LDS Employment office.  She shared with Sister Hawley the story of how she went about applying to serve a mission.

"As I prepared for a mission, I desired to come to England.  I pondered and prayed as to whether I should indicate a preference.  After reading the story of the brother of Jared in the Book of Ether, I made my decision.  The brother of Jared, after building vessels to cross the sea, prayed to the Lord [so] that they might have light in the barges as they crossed the great waters.  And the Lord said, 'What do ye desire?'  The brother of Jared 'did molton out of rock 16 small stones' and asked the Lord to touch them and bring forth light.  I felt after reading this story, the Lord would listen to my desires.  I turned in my mission papers in the second week of November and received my call two weeks later.  Little did I know that the England London missionaries had been praying for three months for a single sister to fill the position in the Employment Centre and also to be a companion to Sister Linda Field [see below], the senior sister missionary called to be the Hyde Park Music Director.  [Sister Hawley can support these events, as she was involved in emails back and forth with the Senior Missionary Department in Salt Lake.]  Unless it was the will of the Lord, there would have been no place for me in England.  Of 650 missionaries in England, only six are single senior sister missionaries.  I am grateful for my call and feel I am here to do the Lord's work."

In Sister Groves' farewell talk in Sacrament Meeting from her home ward in Utah, she said:  "I am happy to share this podium with Ryan Anderson.  I have often said, 'I feel like an old car.'  It takes more upkeep to keep me going.'  If I were to write an ad, it would sound something like this:  


"For Ryan--Sleek new sports model with turbo engine...500 horsepower, loaded with extras, 6-speed automatic transmission, low miles, fuel efficient, delivers high performance, fully equipped with power-operated features, stylish body work, shock absorbers that automatically adjust to road conditions, good in snow, most technologically advanced vehicle on the planet, comes with lifetime warranty.


"For Me--Completely restored full-size auto with a few dents and scratches, has had recent paint job, comes with spare parts, inefficient parts have been removed, high mileage, whitewalls stained with varicose veins, 5-speed manual shift, headlights out of focus, needs additives to run smoothly, not dependable on slick roads, good for work, clean title, has passed inspection, no warranty.


"The one thing we have in common is our value, because I could be considered an antique and thus be just as valuable as a new model.  For the Lord does not look on the outward appearance, but into the heart.  He loves everyone.  With that in mind, I am willing to serve the Lord with all my might, mind, and strength."


What a wonderful attitude Sister Groves has.  And what she says is true.  The Lord is not concerned with outward looks, amount of money, position, perfection or prestege.  He loves all of His children, and will extend to all His mercy, love, light, peace, with special blessings to those who try to be obedient and faithful.  Some of us can serve out of the U.S.; others are called and able to serve in one of our 50 states.  Still others can serve from their homes in their home states.  There are calls and needs from all around the world for worthy and willing senior missionaries.  Elder and Sister Hawley are so grateful to the Lord for their opportunity and the multiplicity of blessings from service as senior missionaries.  The more we serve, the more the quality of our service improves.  And the more we serve, the more grateful we are.  We can never give back enough to equal the Lord's blessings, but we will spend our lives trying.  Our love and gratitude for our Savior grows commenserate with our efforts.  How blessed indeed we are.

One last P.S. story.  Several months ago a sister in our Hyde Park Ward came to Sister Hawley with a request:  She had just celebrated her 80th birthday in her homeland of Germany, and had been able to unite her whole family [non-members] for this wonderful celebration.  Upon her return she asked Sister Hawley to forward a referral to the missionaries in her German home town for them to call upon one of her nephews.  Sister Hawley didn't hear 'the rest of the story' until today, when this sister bore her testimony: in  sacrament meeting:  her nephew asked her for a copy of The Book of Mormon, the missionaries are teaching him, and baptism / membership in the Church is in his future.  The Lord is loving and merciful to us all.  We just have to do our part, and wait upon Him, and put ourselves, or our requests and/or concerns in His hands.  It is wonderful to watch Him work!

NEWS of the PAST WEEK

This week was average as to the work load.  We did have a Zone Conference with the General Authority, Elder Kerr, an  Area Seventy, who trained the missionaries.  One half of the mission on Friday and one half on Saturday.  We were in charge of feeding about 70 for the lunch.  Sister Hawley engaged five Senior Missionary Sisters to make salads and we purchased fruit, chips and dessert (Swiss Cake Rolls).  Sister Hawley drove the mission car (stick shift, yes, you shift with the left hand) to Subway Sandwich shop and Brother Hawley hauled 9 large trays of sandwiches to load into the back of the car and arrived back at the Hyde Park Church at 12 noon. We engaged several of the young Elders to set up tables and chairs prior to the 10 AM  conference start and helped with take-down/clean-up.

Saturday we took a one hour train ride to Northampton, a city about 60 miles northwest of London.   We saw the beautiful countryside of farms and hedge rows.  It was harvest time for grain and the combines were working harvesting wheat.  The country is rolling hills and is all watered by rain. . .  no irrigation of any kind.  It has been a dry summer and the country was showing effects of dryness and was not as green as normal.  Northampton was nice. We caught a taxi to the town centre, about a five minute ride from the train station.  We visited the All Saints Anglican Church there.  

It was built in the typical Anglican style and dated centuries back.  Most interesting is they have a restaurant shop at the front of the Church, part of the church and there we saw people were being served coffee and cakes.  We found this strange to mingle retail and religion, but we had a good visit inside.

We went into the city building, know as the Guildhall, or what we'd call a multi-use building for City Hall, also very ornate and old with typical English trappings. 

There was an outdoor bazaar  a couple of blocks away, with all sorts of wares being sold.  We bought fresh corn and nectarines to take with us.  We ate in a little family run shop and had their soup of-the-day and bread, which was quite good and topped it off with a slice of apple pie with Cornish Dairy Ice Cream with two forks for sharing.  The soup base was mashed peas and chicken broth.  The English love peas and mashed peas are often served with meals just like mashed potatoes.  [We prefer the peas in their original not-mashed form.]

We took a bus ride out into the suburbs (Duston, Bletchley) just to see the landscape and houses in the residential areas--mostly in the terraced or semi-detached but Victorian-to-1950's modern styles.  The missionaries live in Duston, so we took our ride into and back from Duston.  

We stopped at a smaller, very old  Church of St. Peter, which was built beginning in 1170 on a site that had previously held an Anglo-Saxon Church.  A nice lady showed us around and told us about the stone carvings and restoration work.  The Spirit is not present in these old churches, but they are interesting.  

Front door of the old Church

The ropes are lowered in the central section allowing access to ring the eight bellls

We walked a few blocks to the train station and caught the train at 3:50 PM back to London Euston Station.  Then went by tube (subway) with two changes to Earls Court via Victoria Station, and then caught our friend the C1 Bus,  [the bus that brings us home from the office each day], back to our flat.  It was a fun and leisurely day.  Not much walking required which is now a necessity, due to my arthritis, which seems to be getting worse with the increased humidity.  What we do enjoy doing more of is using our time together to talk of gospel subjects, spiritual goals, and personal revelation.  We find we grow in strength and faith by these talks and from each other's example and knowledge.

Sister Hawley had the following letter placed on her computer keyboard when she came to work this week.  It was written by three of our beloved young missionaries:

Hello, Elder and Sister Hawley.  Today going about our daily missionary work we noticed that there are lots of plays coming out in theatre.  Not that we are interested in that.  But we saw something interesting about the plays.  There are two types of actors:  the first are those who are behind the curtain to make sure that other actors on stage are successful.  The second are those who are seen and receive all the praise and recognition.  This thought reminded us of you whose hard work and service are "behind the curtain" and unnoticed to make the Lord's work successful, and we receive all the praise and thanks.  We know that it not right, so we thought to write and say thanks for your noticed and unnoticed work behind curtains to ensure our everyday success.  Thanks again for all you do."

We have also received thanks and praise from the senior missionaries who say that the office is now run efficiently, that they appreciate our dependability and all our help.  One senior sister told us this morning that we have "transformed" the mission office.

This praise is welcomed, of course, but we are feeling very humbled by it also, and very grateful.  We have put our hearts into our service for the Lord, and it is gratifying to know that we are being effective and helpful.  We are looking ahead at our final three months as senior office-couple missionaries in the England London Mission, and have re-committed ourselves to making these three months our best months yet.

We look forward to beginning another week. Love to all.

NEWS of the PAST WEEK

We live in a country that cannot make up its mind . . . at least as far as the weather is concerned.  The weather report now says that here, in mid-August, full summer still at home, summer is now over, temperatures will drop, and be prepared to have umbrellas handy for not the next few days or few weeks, but for the next few months, i.e., until the first of NOVEMBER, when, we are told, there 'might' be a change for the better, with LESS rain....  Well, by then, we'll be into winter, won't we?  Ah, well.  So now we pack the umbrellas, and the weather goes from sunny, to cloudy to sprinkles to full-on rain to cloudy to partly sunny, etc, etc..  The mantra of 'if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes, is back in full.  Temperatures are still pleasant enough, but the mornings and nights are cooler, and it's a good idea to wear a sweater or light jacket.  We now see more people wearing overcoats and scarves around necks are back in fashion again.

In our last couple of blog entries we forgot to mention an enjoyable trek we made to see Hampton Court Palace.  We went by bus and then tube/train to Kew, where we boarded one of the tourist boats that sail the Thames River and after a very pleasant ride of about 1 1/2 hours we arrived almost at the entrance to Hampton Court Palace.  Its origins date back to the 1300's, and yet what we know more about is that Hampton Court was acquired by Thomas Wolsey in 1514.  He was at the time the most dominant churchman and politician in England and he gained enormous power and wealth as Henry VIII's administrator and as a cardinal.  He quickly becan to turn what was then just a Manor House into a palace in which to entertain his king and receive foreign dignitaries.  Wolsey added a new entrance courtyard, the first long gallery to overlook the new gardens, and had several hundred fine tapestries hung around the palace.  By 1525 Hampton Court was truly a palace, and Wolsey formally presented it to the king, and still continued to add things to the building.  He also created a chapel with a stunning blue and gold ceiling.  However, when Henry VIII wanted to gain church permission to divorce Queen Katherine of Aragon, Cardinal Wolsey was unable to persuade the Pope to annul the royal marriage, and in 1529 Henry removed him from Hampton Court once and for all.  Henry took more of an interest in the palace design then, preparing special apartments for his new bride, Anne Bolyn, who didn't live long enough to ever use them; Henry's next wife Jane Seymore also died young, in childbirth.  Henry's 4th wife, Anne of Cleves, he divorced, his 5th wife was also beheaded.  Henry married for the 6th time, to Kateryn Parr, and the wedding was held at Hampton Court, but four years later he was dead.

Although Hampton Court is permanently associated with Henry VIII, other royals used the palace through the centuries, including, briefly, his son Edward VI, Queen Mary I, Elizabeth I, King James I [who held a business conference/somehwat staged religious debate at Hampton Court that resulted in the King James translation of the Bible.  Charles I contributed a grand art collection.  Oliver Cromwell, although not a king, used Hampton Court to keep some of its greatest treasures, and lived there like a king.  By the time of George I and George II, Hampton Court was in a state of decline.  George III never liked it.  In 1839 Queen Victoria opened the palace to paying visitors and gradually the palace was restored to something of what we can see today.

We toured the young Henry VIII's apartments, those of William and Mary II, and what we found most impressive was the size of the kitchens that were used to prepare and feed both royal guests and those who served them.  Here are a couple of pictures we took on our day there.

Bob and Sherrie Harbrecht and Portia on the Thames River boat ride + Don and Portia standing in front of the Hampton Court Palace entrance.

Pictures of some of the back gardens and of the inner courtyard where the fountain shown in the center had spiketts all around to give guests drinks of wine, not water.

One portion of the painted walls and ceiling leading to the upper floor apartments.

The "wall art" in one large room is made up totally of sorts and guns/rifles.

Don inside one huge oven and another oven large enough to cook a full carcass of beef.

One sample of the beautiful tapestries hanging in Hampton Court Palace.  Many show, as this one does, biblical events.

It was a rather slow week in the office for most, although Sister Hawley was able to keep busy, and both Elder and Sister Hawley worked a bit on preparing the training materials ready for use when our replacements come.  At least we hope they will come.  So far we have heard nothing other than it is hard to find couples who are financially able to afford to live in London.

We have two senior couples arriving on 9 January.  One is the "replacement" couple for the Ricks and their assignment is proselyting/reactivation/at the president's discretion.  Sister Hawley was asked by the Travel Department in Salt Lake, as part of her regular duties, to submit for travel for all missionaries 4months in advance if they are going home during the holiday season [to either Canada or the U.S.].  This also includes US.  So Sister Hawley submitted the return travel request for us in the morning and by evening we had our tentative travel itinerary/reservation made and confirmed.  Amazing.  We do hope that a couple can be found who can arrive some time in November, which will allow us time to train them and allow them also a bit of time to work on their own with us as backup.  Again we are so appreciative of those who have prayed and fasted for us in this regard.  During a few free moments Elder Hawley has helped Sister Hawley to update and create new training binders for new missionaries, new trainers, district and zone leaders.  When Sister Hawley has extra time, Elder Hawley is showing her how to make council tax payments, rent payments, and other financial duties he is responsible for.  This is one of the great blessings of our missionary calling here -- we are united both in purpose and in sharing the duties of keeping the office running smoothly and efficiently.  We feel good about saying that we are not only up-to-date but "ahead of the game."  We know the Lord is blessing us to do these things.

Another blessing is how we are studying the gospel together.  We are going to start on Joseph Smith's lectures on faith.  We have just finished reading out loud The Infinite Atonement, by Tad R Callister, and we feel so uplifted and inspired and desirous of more 'light and knowledge' that we are going to go back to the beginning and read it again.  We also have our study periods.  Elder Hawley researches topics like 'faith', and Sister Hawley is reading the Book of Mormon again.  We join up to study and prepare for the Sunday School and Priesthood/Relief Society lessons, and we like to share other topics and scriptures that prove meaningful to us.  We feel our mission is uniting us as a couple and also uniting us on a higher plane with Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ.  We pray together, including morning and evening prayers, we hold hands a lot, we read a talk each night from the Ensign conference issues, and we feel connected and more loving than ever before, with a greater understanding especially of the love for us from our Savior.  How blessed indeed we are.  We love each other better, and love the Savior and Heavenly Father more, and we appreciate the gift of the Holy Ghost and the wisdom and insight and protection and guidance He provides.  We are, again, being changed for the better.  How grateful we are!

News of the Past Week

We have had a good week.  The missionaries are busy with a lot of activity in the office.  Sister Hawley has had many referrals to type up and send out, and a host of baptismal records to enter into the Church System--CDE or Convert Data Entry.  She has also written letters to parents of the incoming missionaries, new district leaders and new zone leaders, new trainer letters, and letters to those who have been baptized in recent weeks.  Even the president commented on the volume of letters going out as he had to sign them all.  Sister Hawley is currently getting ready for the group of new missionaries coming in for September and October, and the corresponding groups of departing missionaries as well.  This past week she has submitted travel info for each of our departing missionaries, and has prepared the materials for those incoming missionaries.  Only one elder is departing mid-August, and there are no new missionaries arriving for the month of August.  Of course there are always "surprises," so we both have adapted a "wait and see" attitude.  

Wednesday morning we took two hours and went with a group downtown [the Little's, 2 friends of theirs, our guide, another YSA friend of the Little's, and the Price's]  to go through the British Parliament buildings at Westminster and Westminster Hall. The word "parliament" comes from the French  word "parler",  which means to speak or to talk.  Our tour guide took us to the House of Lords (more like our Senate) which is a body of over 800 appointed for life.  They can make laws and send it to the House of Commons (like our House of Representatives) which is a body of 649 elected for five years by the people.  These two groups make the laws in Great Britain, which is made up of Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Prime Minister acts like our president and has a great amount of power. The Prime Minister is not elected but 'invited' by the Queen to be Prime Minister, and who is 'determined' by the leader of the party which got the most votes in the last election. The original room for Parliament was in the converted chapel, where there were benches on opposite sides of the length of the chapel with opposing parties facing each other.  This came about as the first Parliament building was an old cathedral which had the choir seats facing each other on the sides of the hall just before the altar. The members of Parliament sat in the choir seats with each party taking a side of the hall and it has been that way ever since.  The space between the two sides was just far enough apart that the members could stand and debate and swing and thrust their swords, but could not touch or reach the opponents of the other party debating on the other side.  There is a  line painted on the floor of  each side which they can not cross.  They are to "toe the line"! which is where that phrase comes from.   Currently there are separate chambers for each house, but the seats [benches] still remain on opposite sides with members of each party facing each other.  There is a throne as each room's top end, and spectator room around the walls on the 'balcony' floor.  We heard 'Big Ben' chiming on the hour and 1/2 hour.  We went in at 9:00 a.m. and came out right at 11 a.m., so we got first 9 and then11 large 'bongs' from this very famous clock tower.  The Westminster Chimes are played.

[Side note:  just before we left Utah we purchased a beautiful grandfather clock for our entry hallway that plays -- wait for it -- the Westminster Chimes!]

The halls and rooms are so very ornate and filled with large paintings and so much pagentry.  There is little of the modern day in the decor.  There are however, TV cameras and up to date communication systems about. And they have plenty of security and even have their own post office which must stay open until the House of Commons closes for the day or night, which- ever comes first.  Britain is about history and tradition  The queen opens Parliament each year in the House of Lords and walks over to the House of Commons where the ballif strikes the door three times announcing the Queen.  The door is opened and is symbolically closed in her face and then she is let in.  Power to the People!   The House of Lords still is a place of powdered wigs and the like.

We were back at the office by 11:30 and took on the activities of the office and all of the good that happens there.  Zone Leader training is every first Friday of the month and we arrange for the food for lunch, but that is for only about 26 people.  The Church has changed our Zone Conferences from one every 6 weeks to one every quarter.  The mission president now only interviews the missionaries every quarter, instead of every six weeks as before.  This will cut down of some of the work and some of the travel, especially for the Mission President.  Our mission had 30 baptisms last months which is good for the London Area.  So the work progresses.  We feel blessed to be here. 

We continue to help with the Addition Recovery Program on Wednesday nights.  Sister Allred has left to go to California for 6 weeks to help care for her sister who is not expected to live much longer due to cancer.  We are helping Brother Allred for the next while.

London has been so very dry.  The lawns are burning up for lack of water.  This is most unusual as London gets about 2 inches of rain per month for each month of the year as regular as clockwork.  We have not had to use umbrellas for the last three or four months, most unusual.  The weather is about 70 to 75 in the day and 59 to 60 degrees at night.  The humidity has not been too bad this summer.  We are blessed again.  Love to all.  We are still waiting to see if a couple is assigned to replace us and hope and pray that it can be arranged.  Last Fast Sunday we dedicated our fast to several things, among them our prayers included our hope for a replacement couple who are qualified to do the office work and who can also afford to live in London close to the office, AND, who can arrive some time in November so that we can have enough time to train them before we depart ourselves on 7 December.  Sister Hawley has been asked by the Travel departments in both Solihull, England and Salt Lake City, to submit travel info 4 months in advance because of the upcoming November-December holiday season.  And on Monday, tomorrow, she will submit for return travel for ----
ourselves!  We cannot believe how fast the time passes.  This mission has and continues to change us for the better, and we feel extremely blessed in so many different ways.  We were touched, and are so very grateful, for those who fasted with us, and prayed in our behalf.  Thank you so very much, Everyone!

Yesterday we got on the 328 bus and rode it to the end of the line and then returned to our flat.  We saw a part of London to the north that we have never seen.  We also stopped at a farmers market and picked up some fresh corn on the cob, tomatoes and watermelon.  We have not had watermelon for over a year--what a nice treat.  I think I feel fall in the air!  Fresh-picked corn and tomatoes and cold night air!!  More blessings!

QUOTES

[1]  "Commandments are no more restrictive to the spiritual man than street signs are to the motorist.  Neither prohibits our progress; to the contrary, they enhance it by serving as guideposts or directional signs to help us find and reach our destination."  [Tad R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, p. 258.

[2]  "We are too inclined to think of law as something merely restrictive . . . something hemming us in.  We sometimes think of law as the opposite of liberty.  But that is a false conception....  God does not contradict himself.  He did not create man and then, as an afterthought, impose upon him a set of arbitrary, irritating, restrictive rules.  He made man free--and then gave him the commandments to keep him free.  We cannot break the Ten Commandments.  We can only break ourselves against them -- or else, by keeping them, rise through them to the fulness of freedom under God."  [Movie producer Cecil B. De Mille, famous for The Ten Commandments movie.]

[3]  Obedience is not an enemy of freedom; to the contrary, it is freedom's best friend."  [Ibid, 1]

[4]  "I once wondered if those who refuse to repent but who then satisfy the law of justice by paying for their own sins are then worthy to enter the celestial kingdom.  The answer is no.  The entrance requirements for celestial life are simply higher than merely satisfying the law of justice.  For that reason, paying for our sins will not bear the same fruit as repenting of our sins.  Justice is a law of balance and order and it must be satisfied, either through our payment or his.  But if we decline the SAvior's invitation to let him carry our sins, and then satisfy justice by ourselves, we will not yet have experienced the complete rehabilitation that can occur through a combination of divine assistance and genuine repentance.  Working together, those forces have the power permanently to change our hearts and our lives, preparing us for celestial life....  The doctrines of mercy and repentance are rehabilitative, not retributive, in nature.  The savior asks for our repentance not merely to compensate him for paying our debt to justice, but also as a way of inducing us to undergo the process of development that will make our nature divine, giving us the capacity to live the celestial law.  [Elder Bruce Hafen]

[5]  The definition of grace as set forth in the LDS Bible Dictionary: ". . . is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts."

[6]  Bruce Hafen:  "As King Benjamin suggests, the Atonement does more than pay for our sins.  It is also the agent through which we develop a saintly nature....  The Savior's victory can compensate not only for our sins but also for our inadequacies; not only for our deliberate mistakes but also for our sins committed in ignorance, our errors of judgment, and our unavoidable imperfections.  Our ultimate aspiration is more than being forgiven of sin -- we seek to become holy, endowed affirmatively with Christlike attributes, at one with him, like him.  Divine grace is the only source that can finally fulfill that aspiration, after all we can do."

[7]  Spiritual Gifts or Gifts of the Spirit [source=The Infinite Atonement; Callister, ibid]:  [a]  Since the gift of the Holy Ghost is gien only to members of the Church, it follows that the fruits and gifts of this Spirit are given in their fulness only to Church members.  Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught:  "Men must receive the gift of the Holy Ghost before that member of the Godhead will take up his abode with them and begin the supernal process of distributing his gifts to them....  Thus the gifts of the Spirit are for believing, faithful, righteous people; they are reserved for the saints of God." [pg. 270]  [b]  Whether or not the Atonement itself is the source of these spiritual gifts seems not yet to have been revealed in the scriptures, but certainly the availability of these gifts is conditioned on our faith in and demonstrated acceptance of that divine act.  Our reception of the Atonement is key to unlock these gifts and all their enabling powers, for it is the Atonement that purifies us and prepares us to be eligible recipients [pp 270-271].  [c]  As we acquire the gifts of the Spirit, that gap between man and God is narrowed, for with each gift acquired we advance along the path toward godhood.  Is it any wonder that the Lord wants us to pursue these gifts with unrelenting determination?  [pp 271-272]  [d]  President George Q. Cannon:  "No man ought to say, 'Oh, I cannot help this; it is my nature.'  He is not justified in it, for the reason that God has promised to give strength to correct these things, and to give gifts that will eradicate them....  He wants His Saints to be perfected in the truth.  For this purpose He gives these gifts, and bestows them upon those who seek after them, in order that they may be a perfect people upon the face of the earth, notwithstanding their many weaknesses, because God has promised to give the gifts that are necessary for their perfection....  If any of us are imperfect, it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perfect.  Have I imperfections?  I am full of them.  What is my duty?  To pray to God to give me the gifts that will correct these imperfections....  So with all the gifts of the Gospe.  They are intended for this purpose."  [pp 272-273]  [e]  How?  "Covet earnestly the best gifts...."  "... with all [their] hearts."  [Apostle Paul]  Seek ALL the best gifts.  Be orderly, and persistent, and diligent.  [f]  In some respects these gifts are like a spiritual gold mine at our disposal that remains untapped if we fail to pursue the mining process.  These gifts refine us, ennoble us, and ultimately can perfect us.  Obedience is necessary but isn't enough -- WE MUST ASK.  "We must want the gifts so fervently that this pursuit is a constant unending struggle."  There must be "... a burning desire, a reaching out, a seeking, . . . an exhaustive exercise of our combined spiritual, intellectual and emotional energies, all focused on obtaining these divine gifts."  [pg. 274]  [g]  Moroni 10:  "I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift [meaning the gifts of the Spirit and the other blessings of the Atonement]....  Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yoursleves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ....  And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot."  Moroni 10 "defines the relationship among grace, gifts, and godhood.  The grace that flows from the Savior's atoning sacrifice opens the gate to the divine road, the gifts are the vehicle, and godhood is the destination.  By the grace of God the gifts come, and with the acquisition of the gifts, godhood emerges."  [ibid., 277]

[8]   "The tumult and the shouting dies --
       The Captains and the Kings depart --
       Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
       An humble and a contrite heart.
       Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
       Lest we forget--lest we forget!"
                      -- Rudyard Kipling --

NEWS of the WEEK

This week has just flown by.  It has been MOVES week, Transfers week.  Left:  one our our favorites, AP Elder Paul Jentzsch from Germany.  

Six of our best missionaries were given honorable releases and have flown home.  

And we have another new Assistant to the President. Below:  New AP Kirk Katseanes with AP Mason Zemp

Four new missionaries, two elders and two sisters, arrived yesterday.  There has been much activity in the office.  We've had fun and been BUSY!  

And yet our minds have been drawn more and more to spiritual spheres....  We have increased our efforts to be more faithful, prayerful, obedient ....  It is wonderful.  It is more humbling than we have words to express.  

Also, we are preparing ourselves to fast for several purposes this Sunday:  for our children, individually; for those we know who are struggling with difficulties; and for a replacement office couple to be found who can come to England and be able to afford to live here, and arrive here ahead of our release with, we hope, about a month's time for us to train them.  

Because of these things, taking the Sacrament on Sunday is becoming more meaningful in recent weeks, and so what we are including in the blog this week will be something different:  a quote from Elder David B. Haight that we hope will touch you as it has touched and instructed us.  We love you all and appreciate your support.

"Living God's commandments obligates a person to a life of goodness—goodness to society and a genuine helpfulness to humanity, and excluding from one's life hatred, enmity, immorality, selfishness, drunkenness, jealousy, and dishonesty. "May we experience the joy of regular attendance at sacrament meeting and feel the blessings of eternal progression in our personal lives through wholehearted compliance, in spirit and actions, with the sacred words of the sacrament. "The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: 'Reading the experience of others, . . . can never give us a comprehensive view of our condition and true relation to God. Knowledge of these things can only be obtained by experience through the ordinances of God set forth for that purpose. Could you gaze into heaven five minutes, you would know more than you would by reading all that ever was written on the subject.' (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1938, p. 324.) "The sacrament is one ordinance that allows us to experience a personal relationship to God and enlarges our knowledge and understanding of Him and His Only Begotten Son. "Our personal reward for compliance with the covenants and obligations in the ordinance of the sacrament becomes the companionship of God's Holy Spirit. This is the light that leads to eternal life. The divine virtues associated with the partaking of the Lord's Supper are to keep His divine life ever in mind; to love the Lord with all our heart, might, mind, and strength; and to labor to bring to pass His ultimate purpose—the eternal life of man."  [Elder David B. Haight, Ensign, The Sacrament, May 1983, p. 14]

We pray for blessings upon your heads, even a multiplicity of blessings.  We pray for your own progression in relationships with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, and with the Holy Ghost, whose companionship we cherish.  We sent you our love.  We bear you our testimony of the truthfulness of the Word of God in the scriptures and in the Gospel we practice and preach.  We know these things to be true, and to be great blessings in our lives.  And we pray for you and hope for you a 'heart/soul/spirit-touching' experience this week, that you may know the love of God for you individually.  Elder and Sister Hawley