Greetings
to one and all as we wend our way through October. It has been a beautiful month so far…we even
had one more 70 degree day with several in the 60s. But the days are growing shorter rapidly and
next weekend the UK sets their clocks back to standard time so the darkness of
evening will be that much earlier.
Meanwhile,
we’ve had a whirlwind couple of weeks.
We spent 2 more days with Sister E’s cousin Katie Walther before she
departed on Wednesday 10 September. On
Tuesday the 9th we spent the afternoon at the Royal Armory at Leeds
Docks. Since Katie is a retired Lt.
Colonel from the Army Reserves, she perhaps had a greater appreciation than
your average visitor of centuries of British war history there. This time we saw some relief sculptures
remembering WWI and WWII. The Church
here, as well as the whole country is preparing to commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the armistice ending WWI on 11 November. Our Stake will be presenting an evening of
remembrance where several will tell the stories of their ancestors who fought
in the war and some who gave their lives.
We had an enjoyable few hours at the Armory and an enjoyable late
afternoon meal at an adjacent restaurant.
With
the exception of our Institute class for new members of the Church and the
missionary’s friends (whom we used to call “investigators”), each of the
classes have been very well attended. We
had 37 at our last Home Evening group meeting (up from our summer average of
6-12), and about 15-20 at our Wednesday Hymns course. Last Thursday we had 59 attending Institute,
with about 28 having the dinner we prepare beforehand. Then on Friday, we had 23 for our Pancake
Breakfast and Devotional! That’s well
above our last year’s average of 3 to 10.
Our Friday evening showing of the first Harry Potter movie for movie
night also had about 23 or so in attendance.
It’s been a very fun, rewarding, and sometimes tiring experience keeping
things running smoothly. Our trips to
the grocery store and Costco have multiplied in both frequency and volume to
keep up with the weekly meal preparations that go on.
Last
Saturday 13 October we were able to remotely participate in our granddaughter
Sabrina Stock’s baptism from Anchorage Alaska!
Sister Edvalson gave the talk about the Gift of the Holy Ghost via Skype
to the service there and we were able to witness the whole meeting and the
baptism which was a great blessing!
That’s the second baptism we’ve physically missed but been able to be a
part of through our modern devices.
Congratulations Sabrina! We’re
so proud of you and your choice to follow the Savior and accept His invitation
to follow Him on the covenant path.
We
also had Zone Conferences this past week where we traveled a half hour to
Huddersfield to join 4 other zones to spend the day receiving instruction from
President and Sister Turvey and the other mission leaders. We also visited the wards in Wharfe Valley
and the Leeds 4th Ward these past weeks. That’s been a very enjoyable part of our
mission getting to know the local Saints all over our Stake (8 wards and 2
branches). We also had a new family from
Lincoln Nebraska move in to the Leeds 1st Ward for this school
year. Ben and Rachel Terry and their
daughter are here for his sabbatical year from the University of Nebraska where
he is a professor of mechanical engineering.
He’s doing some research here for the year and they have been called as
ward Young Single Adult advisors for our home ward. They consequently spend a few evenings a week
with us in mentoring and serving the YSAs.
It’s been fun getting to know and serve with them.
Yesterday
we had most of the day to ourselves as our first “P” (preparation) day in
several weeks. We took some time with
some of the other senior missionaries and went to the Leeds IKEA to do a little
shopping, have a late lunch there and then went to the movie “First Man” about
the life and career of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. That brought a lot of memories back of my
childhood and affection for those astronauts.
It emphasized the price paid by those who dedicated their careers and
sometimes lives to achieve that lofty goal.
We’re
grateful to be here in England, sacrificing some of our time away from you, our
friends and loved ones, while we joyfully serve the Savior and the Young Single
Adults of Leeds for another school year.
Thanks for your cards, visits, calls, emails and prayers in our
behalf. They are much appreciated.
Love,
Elder & Sister Edvalson
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| Fun and games after Home Evening Group |
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| Sabrina’s Baptism in Anchorage and us via Skype |
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| Katie Walther and Sister E at Leeds Docks |
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| WWII relief sculptures at Leeds Armory |
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| Poster from Leeds Armory |
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| Zone Conference Group Photo |
