Edvalsons in England: Saturday, February 3, 2018

Another week went speeding by and we had intended to do something touristy today, but awoke to pouring rain on the skylight in our bedroom so we kind of settled in. I had wanted to go to York and visit one of our Senior Missionary friends who had fallen and injured her elbow, but we’ll have to put that off to another time. I prayed this morning that we would be able to serve in some way on this rainy Saturday. A short time after the prayer, Elder E. informed me that he saw the sister missionaries leaving on our spy-cam in the parking lot. These cameras allow us to see when anyone is coming or going from the Institute. On the cam we can see the back parking lot and other areas and doors around the Institute. There are alarms hooked up to the building and a noise sounds when the front or back doors open. During the week, Marian works in the front office and welcomes visitors. Elder McMorn’s office is across from Marian’s. Most of the YSA come through the back door. The bottom floor contains a kitchen, lounge, billiard room, bathroom, dedicated missionary teaching room and various storage closets. The upper floors are classrooms, bathrooms and a few offices - including the office of Elder Tunnicliffe, the regional director for England Seminaries and Institutes. It’s a very beautiful office and since Elder Tunnicliffe lives in York and only uses it occasionally, we use his office as our classroom.

So - back to the story - Everyone walks everywhere around here. There are buses and trains and Ubers. Only a couple of the students own cars and within the mission, only senior missionaries, mission president & wife and a few missionaries who work in the office or serve in more rural areas have cars. Our area sisters, (LigaLiga & Barnett) are assigned to this area and use the Institute to teach and also rest when needed. Sister LigaLiga was hit by the rampant cold bug going around and hadn’t been feeling well. She saw a Dr. who advised her to stay indoors, but there they were. So we grabbed them, found out they had not gone to pick up their cold medicine and when I suggested they go home and have some tea, toast and chicken soup, they said they didn’t have any of that in their flat so we took them to the store and then dropped them at their flat with instructions to stay indoors and for Sister LigaLiga to sleep!) We then stopped at our favorite Fish n Chips store by their flat to grab our takeout lunch.

This week we had a great turnout for all meals, devotionals, classes and spent a lot of time getting to know everyone better and helping all of them to get to know each other better as well. The English students know each other fairly well by now. Many are from this area and grew up together and many had siblings who attended Uni (University of Leeds) or other schools in the area so they are familiar with the Institute. But we have many from out of town and out of country and as we attended the Institute Council Meeting this week, we were pleased to hear one of the leaders of the group encourage everyone to focus on “friend” activities and welcome anyone unfamiliar or new and include them. We invited one of the students from Skipton (the little town we visited last Sunday) to join the council and suggest ideas. As a result, we have scheduled a visit to Skipton in April to take some walks around the Dales and see the new lambs. We will rent a large bus and all go together. I know she was thrilled as she and the other students from Skipton have to ride a bus or train for nearly an hour just to get here every week.

The weekly “Come Dine With Us” guest chef program is working out great. This week, Adam made chili and Oscar, who is the dessert specialist, actually made a Tres Leches cake. If you know anything about Cafe Rio in Provo, Utah, you know it’s a featured dessert there. Elder E. was pretty excited as it’s his favorite. The whole meal was very tasty and our next week’s chef already signed up to make Chicken Pot Pie. Also the weekly “Friday Movie” activity is getting very popular. Lots of participants and a few who just came to hang out and not watch the movie, but play pool together. We watched “Zootopia” and it was a crowd pleaser, then everyone stayed late getting to know each other better. We’re happy with the warm, inviting spirit they all bring to this home away from home.

So it’s another week crossed off the calendar. Elder E. is prepping for his driving test. You can drive on an American license here for a year, but after that you must get a British license and they are very picky. One of the Senior Missionaries waited too long, then didn’t pass the test the first couple times and so they had to take the train or walk everywhere - not practical. It’s expensive to take the test and expensive to get the license and they are very strict. It’s also really crowded here and as Elder Flockhart - who manages the cars for the mission - explained, “England is about the size of Utah (he’s from Utah via Scotland) but in Utah there are about 3 million residents and in UK there are 65 million. In Oregon - larger land mass than UK - there are about 4 million and I manage to scratch and dent cars frequently - so I’m not getting a license here. :)

We held a Fireside here last Sunday to show the Worldwide Devotional held by Elder and Sister Uchtdorf. The students love their stories and are inspired by their relationship with one another and of course, by their testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a privilege for us to be here working, serving and enjoying getting to know these amazing young people. They work hard, are serious about their education, their future and dedicated to serving Jesus Christ and learning more about Him and His Gospel. They are kind to one another and circumspect about the world they are preparing to lead. The Church is in good hands..and we are blessed.