22 April 2018

Sheep & their lambs

Signs of spring in Yorkshire 

Sister E, Vivien Ramsden, Amelia, Theo, Charlotte and Emma

Sister E, Elizabeth, Claire & Vivien 

Sister & Elder E on top of the world!

Group photo at the top of the hike 

The happy hikers 

It was another busy week here in Leeds.  In fact, it felt like summer with Thursday being in the 80’s and other days being in the 70’s.  We even turned the boiler (radiator heat) off for a couple of days!  Of course, they jokingly told us in ward council this morning that fall starts tomorrow since we just had summer! 

We had 21 people at our Family Home Evening this week.  That ties a record for the most we’ve seen in our time here.  We had a new friend that our Mandarin speaking missionaries invited named Zhenwei (Sister E. called him “John Wayne”) who is an MBA student here for 18 months.  He is scheduled to be baptized next Saturday evening.  Newcomers are asked to “sit in the hot seat” when they come so we can get to know them better.  They get asked any questions by any other attendee.  Questions we’ve heard asked multiple times include:  If you could visit with anyone in history, who would it be and why?  If you could have any super power, what would it be and why?  What is your favorite film?  What sports do you like?  They do this for 5 to 10 minutes to get to know each other better.  It’s quite fun.  “John Wayne” had a great time with that game.  Not everyone enjoys it as much as he did.  He told us he was in the army in China for a few years before he moved here to attend Graduate School.

We had 15 at our Wednesday class regarding the Restoration of the Savior’s church and the Living Christ.  We’re going to miss teaching this course when it finishes in a couple of weeks.  We have great discussions with our core group of students. 

Thursday found us arising early and preparing our evening meal of taco soup and leaving to cook in slow cookers all day while we drove to Nuneaton to attend the funeral for Alwyn Crux, age 98, who was married to Dana’s cousin Colin.  (Sister Edvalson mentioned this in last week’s posting.)  It was a 2.5 hour drive south and outside our mission boundaries.  We received permission from our mission president to attend this event.  It was good to be together with Alwyn’s daughter Vivien Ramsden and her 2 daughters Elizabeth and Claire and her 4 grandchildren, Charlotte, Emma, Amelia and Theo.  We gathered for a meal at a nearby hotel to visit afterwards.  Claire told us that Alwyn frequently talked about Sister E’s first visit to their home when she and Sharron Minsker first visited them while in their mid-20’s.  When going to pick them up at the train station, Colin was expecting someone near his age at the time (67) and was surprised when 2 young lasses greeted him!  Thus began a lifelong friendship with this memorable woman and her family.  We left at about 6 pm to drive back in time for an 8:30 meeting to finalize a planned field trip for the YSA to hike the hills of Skipton on Saturday.

Saturday brought us to our much anticipated trip into the countryside.  We hired a coach which transported the group of about 25 for the hour long drive to the Yorkshire Dales town of Skipton.  From there we assembled at a little reservoir above the town to hike to the top of Crookrise Crag which overlooks the valleys of the Dales.  It was an hour or so hike to the top where a beautiful panorama was visible. Sister Edvalson’s Dr. had suggested that she stay indoors as she has battled a cold and chest infection almost since we’ve been here.  However, the day was very beautiful so she came along to visit and see the sheep.  (Hi all – this is Sister E. reporting that living  56 steps up in the Institute and walking up and down those stairs several times a day produced the wonderful miracle of me being able to get to the top of the crag with little problem.  That is not usual for me even at my healthiest.  It felt great although I would certainly never consider looking over the side of the cliffs up there.  But I did enjoy the walk and fun with the YSA and Elder E.)  Along the way we passed numerous pastures of sheep with many newborn lambs.  It was a great contrast to the busy city where we live.  There is a branch of the Church in Skipton with 5 active YSAs who hosted us at the church for a lunch of fish & chips after our return.  The church is in the old courthouse of Skipton which has been converted into a meetinghouse right downtown.  After this delightful day, we returned to Leeds by about 5:30 pm and exchanged pictures with each other before collapsing on the sofa of our flat and watching the Queen’s 92^nd birthday party on BBC One for our evening’s entertainment.  They even had Tom Jones singing “It’s Not Unusual” and “The Green Green Grass of Home” along with numbers by Sting and many other British celebrities from the Royal Albert Concert Hall.  It made us feel as though we celebrated all things UK for this great excursion.  And the YSAs all had a wonderful day together.  We had several come from adjoining stakes which added to the festivities.

That’s about it for another week across the pond!  Wishing you all a Happy Springtime!

 

Love,

Elder & Sister Edvalson