Church History in Preston, England

We had a wonderful opportunity to tour some historic church sites in England with other senior missionaries from the Birmingham Mission. The first missionaries from the United States came to England almost 150 years ago, landed in Liverpool and made their way to Preston England. They were; Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Joseph Fielding, Willard Richards, John Goodson, Isaac Russell and John Snider. It was in Preston that the Church began to take hold and grow rapidly. Additionally, I find that some things are not random events but often come with the purpose.

One of the first places our guide Peter Fagg took us was a street where political rallies would have been held. It was there that missionaries saw an election banner that said “Truth Will Prevail”. They were so impressed with the statement that they used that as their theme and their guide as they continued on the mission.

This is the building where a banner inscribed with “Truth Will Prevail” may have been posted.

Another place we saw was an area called the “Cockpit” where cockfights were held. The missionaries were invited to preach in Elder Fielding’s brother’s small chapel. As the story goes, after people heard the missionaries’ messages in Rev. James Fielding church, many left his church and were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was after this that the minister decided that he would not allow the missionaries to preach in his church any further and told them not to return. As a result of being rejected by that minister, it has been said, one of the missionaries dusted his feet at the church.

The missionary work went on to grow, and in fact a crowd of between 7,000 and 9,000 people gathered in what is now Avenham Park to witness the first baptisms in England in the River Ribble. Today, Preston is the oldest continuous congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

On the banks of the River Ribble

Many years later, Rev. James Fielding lost his congregation and the church was no more. In more recent years, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints heard that the church was being demolished and went by to ask if he could have several bricks/stones from the building. They obliged and he took them.

It has been said, that when a new chapel was built in Preston, several of those stones were placed in the threshold of the entryway. To this day, everyone who comes into the Preston building dusts their feet across the threshold where the bricks are buried. The prophecy was fulfilled and continues to be so to this day.

While walking down towards the River Ribble I was speaking with one of the senior missionaries and asked where he served his mission. He mentioned the England Leeds Mission. I said that I too served in that same mission. As we delved deeper, we discovered that we served at the same time (’73-’75) in the same mission and that one of my companions was also one of his companions, Elder Nigel Reese. It was wonderful to reconnect with Elder Kevin Bates and to realize that it took 46 years and the “coincidence” of a tour to reconnect.

Elder Bates and Elder Bodine – England Leeds Mission ’73-’75

Some of the other sites we saw included the flat where Pres. Gordon B Hinckley as a young missionary wrote his father saying that he was wasting his time and that he should come home. His father made an important statement to Gordon B Hinckley would stay with him the rest of life. He said “Gordon forget yourself and go to work”. The rest is history as Gordon B Hinckley became the 15th president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Gordon B. Hinckley, *15th President of the Church,* lived in this flat on his mission to England. It was here
that he received a letter from his father that told him to “forget himself and go to work.”

We also stopped by the apartment of Orson Hyde and Parley P. Pratt where these missionaries were attacked by legions of devils. You can read their stories about battling these demons. The building is now empty and has been so for many years.

At the end of the day we concluded our tour at a small village about 40 minutes outside of Preston called Downham in Lancashire. It was an idealistic old, old English town. No street markings, no electrical lines, very few cars and people. We toured the church there that was built by a wealthy Lord and who also owned much of the surrounding countryside. We walked to the end of the road passing through the “kissing gate” and out onto a field filled with grazing sheep.

A large tree sits by the river and Peter told us that on several occasions Elder Jeffrey R. Holland would come to this exact spot. On one occasion, he came to receive answers to his prayers about the location of the Preston Temple. It was a calming and peaceful way to end our visit.

On this trip to Preston, hearing the history and meeting up with a missionary from my mission to Leeds that I was reminded of the dedication of early missionaries here in England and acquired a deeper appreciation for how the early English Saints lived what they did the Church.

Touring Warwick with our first visitors!

Who knew it would be so exciting to have visitors! Butch’s brother Jon, and his wife Kendra were in England recently on business and were kind enough to come spend a few days with us. In fact, they should get a prize for being the first ones to test out the second-hand hide-a-bed in our spare room, lol! Kendra said she slept fine most nights, but Jon didn’t offer up any comments:)

Before we left Arizona we told hopeful visitors that the price of a visit would be a can of El Pato, our all-time favorite hot sauce. This meant even more to us when we looked on Amazon and one 8 ounce can cost nearly $8! So you can imagine how excited we were when they brought us a care package from Whitney. Don’t ask about the combination of treats though, just things we need. Lol, this package may have even put them over baggage weight limit on the plane!

The night they came in they took us out to dinner to the Roebuck, a nearby pub that was established in 1470 and is the oldest one in Warwick. We started dinner with a delicious baked cheese fondue and all had a variety of meat dishes as a main course.

Sunday was “Mothering Day” in England and we attended church at our branch. Butch and I led the 5th Sunday discussion and were glad to have moral support there with us.
That afternoon Jon drove us to the Gadfield Elm Chapel, the oldest existing Church building in the world.

On Monday, we went to the Warwick Castle. I had no idea that Jon was such a history enthusiast. He loves reading and seeing everything. This medieval castle began as an outpost in the 900’s and later in 1068 was built by William the Conqueror. It is full of artifacts and details the history of Warwick. While Jon and Butch climbed the towers and dug deep into the what the castle had to offer, Kendra and I enjoyed sitting on the lawn in the courtyard. A favorite for Kendra was the bird show called “The Falconer’s Quest”. (She will have to tell you all about it:) Butch’s favorite was sitting on the veranda of the conservatory eating brie, bacon and cranberry sandwiches and feeding the peacocks.

On our way home from the castle, we stopped by St. Mary’s for one last bit of history fun. Parishioners have worshiped there for more than 1,000 years. It’s beautiful architecture features a chapel, crypt, and tower. It was also also well known as a training place for monks from all over, as well as the church where earls and their families are laid to rest. We did a lot of walking and by the time we were done, I think we were all glad to be getting home.

There is something very special about family. We haven’t spent this much time together in a very long time and had forgotten how fun Kendra and Jon are! We had a great time sharing stories, staying up late (until 11!), laughing until it hurt and eating way too much. We can’t wait for our next set of visitors so we can do it all over again.

I Want to Hold Your Hand (in Liverpool)

Recently we had an assignment to meet with a few public affairs directors near the Preston Temple early on a Sunday morning. So we decided to leave a day early and go to Liverpool to see the sights.

It is about a two- and-a-half hour drive to Liverpool from Warwick and like most of England, the scenery is beautiful and includes miles and miles of small rolling hills, covered with green.

Our first stop when we got there was The Cavern, the venue where the Beatles began their career and performed nearly 300 times. It is located on a small narrow street with bars, street entertainers and a few dubious looking characters, so we took a few pictures and headed to the docks.

Beginning of the Beatles
Composed using Jelly Bellies
No jelly just belly

The Royal Albert Dock is where tens of thousands early converts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints sailed to the United States. It was especially moving for us as we contemplated our great grandparents and others who sold everything and left their homes to join the saints and begin a new life in America.

Love locks on the wharf

The Legacy Sculpture is located near the edge of the water. It was given to Liverpool from the Church as a remembrance of the many families from all over Europe who left from Liverpool to go to other lands. Approximately 9 million people emigrated from this port. The bronze statue represents a family with a small girl stepping forward into an unknown world. The boy in the back is playing with crab and represents a strong connection to the sea. I of course associate more with the crab, and Delynn more with the adventure.

Just down the wharf is the Beatles Story museum where you can learn anything and everything that you ever wanted to know about the Beatles. We learned about their early years, their fans and their eventual break up as a group. We also learned that the original Cavern club where they started their career, generally smelled like sweat, smoke, and mixture of stale or rotten food. So glad we missed that one.

My absolute favorite part of the trip was a tourist attraction called the Hop-On Hop-Off bus. It is a double-decker bus ride that takes you through the sites of Liverpool and allows you to hop-on or hop-off at any site you wish. Even though it was a cold day, it didn’t matter to us and we went up top to the roofless bus for the tour while a recorded message pointed out highlights of the city. Sitting up so high, we had the best view and were amazed at the skill of the the driver who navigated the narrow streets as he zoomed by a cars and people with just inches to spare.

The next morning we went to the Liverpool Cathedral. It is absolutely brilliant and sits on the top of a hill which only makes it more impressive. The cathedral is the largest in the United Kingdom and the fifth largest Anglican church in the world. The only cathedral that we’ve seen that is larger is at the Vatican in Rome.

It is interesting to learn that the building of the cathedral began in 1904 following a contest to see who could submit the best design. Twenty-two-year-old Giles Gilbert Scott won, yet it became a concern when it was discovered that he was a Roman Catholic, not a member of the Church of England. He also didn’t have a wealth of experience, with the only major design work he could point to was a pipe-rack. Because of his young age and lack of experience a more senior architect, George Bodley was appointed to oversee Scott and the project. Shortly after construction began, George Bodley died which allowed Scott to revise his original plan and continue the construction of the epic monument. The cathedral took 74 years to build and in 1978 Queen Elizabeth II came to the dedication.

Liverpool Cathedral
Inside the main cathedral nave
Top of the Cathedral

We loved walking to the top of the belltower where a custodian/guard gave Delynn and I better feel of Liverpool, the surrounding view and the people who live there.

While we had a great time in Liverpool, we were very happy to be on our way to the Preston Temple. There is no comparison to the peace that can be found by entering the house of the Lord to do His work. We enjoyed our stay at the temple accommodations and were so impressed by the MTC, the stake center (church building) and family history centre located on site. We were also grateful that Sunday to meet with such dedicated public affairs directors for Manchester and Sunderland.

*Butch and Delynn,*Kevin & Barbara Fletcher, Greg Nettleship, Peter Trebilcock

Preston, England Temple

To Drive or Not to Drive, That Is The Question

For the last few weeks Delynn has been driving. She’s doing a great job and drove us into Stratford-upon-Avon to visit Shakespeare’s birthplace. To put it mildly, driving here on some of the small narrow streets can be stressful. The Brits have a tendency to park wherever they can, streets only wide enough for one car are usually used for two lanes, road signs and road markings cover the roads and are all different and have a variety of different meanings, and of course the ever present roundabouts.

I am not a good driving instructor. I couldn’t even teach our own kids to drive. I am too intense. I jump too easily and gasp way too often. In addition us Yanks, while driving here on the left, have a tendency to hug the outside lane, so that means we occasionally hit the curb and routinely pass cars and buildings on the left with just inches to spare.

Our Sat Nav, which is short for satellite navigation (that’s what Brits call GPS ) took us right into Stratford-upon-Avon Towncenter. We were driving blind for a place to park and pulled into a spot we thought was okay. After reading the sign we realized this was strictly for tour buses so we crossed the street and found private car park.

We had no idea where we were in the town and yet the Sat Nav told us we still had a 10 minute drive, so we started walking down the street and both agreed we would follow people who looked like tourists. After about a 20-minute walk it eventually worked out and we found Shakespeare’s birthplace.

There were actors in the gardens and upon request they would recite portions of your favorite Shakespeare play. Guides were also in costume and shared interesting information as well as answers to questions. It was also fun to see groups of school children on field trips, testing their knowledge of Shakespeare.

Did the kids or us have more fun?

In addition, we saw the location of where he lived in for 19 years. It is called the New Place and because it burnt down years ago, it is now a museum and garden. We also visited his daughter’s home.

We learned from the guide where the phrases of “hit the sack and sleep tight” came from. At night before going to bed, you would tighten the ropes under the bed and hit the hay filled mattress to get all the lumps out.
We are more thankful than ever for our modern beds.

We ended Shakespeare’s visit with our own visit to the Cornish pasty shop. I had a bacon and leek pasty and Delynn had the traditional steak and potato pie with of course, hot chocolate.

After spending the afternoon in Stratford-upon-Avon, we found our car within one-hundred feet of the entrance to Shakespeare’s birthplace!

London, Ambassadors, Osmonds

Three weeks after we arrived in the UK, we had the opportunity to provide support to our colleagues, Mark and Susan Dransfield, as they hosted a “Friends to All Nations” event held at Hyde Park Chapel in London. Ambassadors from all over the world attended a reception and concert featuring Jay and Merrill Osmond.

Part of our responsibilities included creating country flags for each ambassador to wear at the event. We also helped with the registration process and greeting guests as they arrived that evening.

The night before the event we went to dinner with our team and Jay and Karen Osmond. They were a delightful couple, very friendly and open. We even discovered that we live about a mile apart from each other in Mesa – small world! Karen even offered to share her favorite bread pudding recipe with Delynn. As we left the restaurant, we all got a big laugh when I handed them a card with our missionary blog and invited them to follow us!

The next day was spent in preparation for the event. A stage crew came in and transformed the cultural hall into a concert venue. Chairs were set up, tablecloths ironed, flowers delivered, food prepared and sound checks done. All was in place for a first class event.

Jay, Merrill and their band really know how to entertain a crowd. It was remarkable to see them interact with all the dignitaries who attended and bring energy and joy to the evening. They even took the time to have photographs taken with guests and others at the event.

Also in attendance were Church leaders and members of Parliament. What a rare opportunity it was to interact with these leaders. Does it get any more exciting than this?

The next day, we got reacquainted with London and walked across Hyde Park to the BYU Centre for a personal tour with Area Seventy, Alan T. Phillips. At the centre we learned about the programs offered right in the heart of London.

What a brilliant three days!

Meeting the mission president

A date had been arranged for us, along with our colleagues the Colemans, to have an introductory visit and lunch with President David Hughes and Sister Lisa Hughes of the Birmingham Mission. Again, Butch was in the driver’s seat going into parts of Birmingham we had never seen or been to before.

There are eight stakes located within the England Birmingham Mission. In addition, there are many other Church resources located within the region, including Employment Centers and several CES Institutes. While there is not a temple located within the mission boundaries, the area is served by two temples – the London England Temple and the Preston England Temple.

President Hughes is our eclesiastical leader while on our mission, but we report to the assistant director of Public Affairs and cover much more that just the Birmingham Mission. It was wonderful to be at the mission home, see the facilities, meet several senior missionary couples serving there and spend time with President Hughes and his wife discussing their missionary service, our missionary service and how we can help each other.

This may be the only time we would get to see or visit with Pres. Hughs. His advice to us as Public Affairs missionaries was to take time enjoying the experience and “just have fun.”

So on the trip home we all decided to take his advice and stop by a local Costco that sells basically everything they have at their warehouses in the United States. That is kinda sad that we are equating fun with Costco, lol!

How do you spell tire (tyre) at the Birmington Costco?

We bought things like peanut butter, salted nuts, artichokes and chocolate covered almonds. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and indulged with chocolate mint gelato on our way out. This definately won’t be our last trip to Costco while in England!

Gadfield Elm Chapel

A few Saturdays ago, after our cleaning and chores were done we took a 30 minute drive to the Gadfield Elm Chapel near the village of Pendock in Worcestershire, England. Its located in the country with narrow, winding, single lane roads surrounded by high hedges on each side. It is definitely Hobbit Shire country. We drove very slowly.

The building is alwasy open to the public and is totally a self serve/entry honor system. On the door are several questions one must answer to get the code necessary to unlock the door. For example, one of the questions is: How old do you need to be to be baptised?

This is the oldest chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the world. The structure was built in 1836 as a religious meetinghouse by the United Brethren. It was donated to the Church after 599 of the 600-member United Brethren congregation as well as their preachers were baptized and became new members of the Church.

Unparalleled missionary activity took place around this area. The following is taken from the book, “Truth Will Prevail” pages 135-136. It is an account of Elder Wilford Woodrufff, one of the early apostles later to become the fourth prophet of the Church. At the time, he was preaching to as many as a thousand people a day, while the rector of a local church saw only 15 persons in attendance at his service.

Wilford Woodruff as a younger missionary

The following is an account in his own words, as he rose to address a full house.

“A man entered the door and informed me that he was a constable and had been sent by the rector of the parish with a warrant to arrest me. I asked him, “for what crime?”
I told him that I, as well as the rector, had a license for preaching the gospel to the people, and that if he would take a chair I would wait upon him after [the] meeting.
He took my chair and sat beside me
I preached the first principles of the everlasting gospel for an hour and a quarter. The power of God rested upon me, the spirit filled the house, and the people were convinced.
At the close of the meeting I opened the door for baptism, and seven offered themselves. Among the number were four preachers and the constable. The latter arose and said, “Mr. Woodruff I would like to be baptized.”
I told him I would like to baptize him. I went down to the pool on the Benbow farm and baptized the seven.”

This chapel was the center of Church activity for thousands of Latter-day Saints until the most of the members emigrated to the United States to participate in the creation of a new Zion in America.

It is interesting to note that in 1840 President Brigham Young preached the gospel at Gadfield Elm, the only chapel owned by The Church of Jesus Christ at that time.

It is the oldest chapel of the Church found in the world today.

Some photos and information are from the Gadfield Elm Chapel website which can be found here: https://www.lds.org.uk/gadfield-elm-chapel

Stay left, look right

It has now been about three weeks since we arrived in England. We are starting to get more comfortable being around new foods, new ways of doing things and getting around Warwick’s narrow streets. We even have a few local shops and cafes that we like to visit regularly.

For Butch it is WH Smith, an office supply store, and for Delynn it is 1 MB Tech where she has been several times just to get her UK phone up and running, although that is a story for another day.

Getting around town seems like it should be an easy thing to do, but keep in mind that even when walking, you need to watch out as you cross the street because drivers are of course on the left side of the road. In addition, because the roads are narrow, the sidewalks are narrow too and pedestrians can often be close to moving cars. This is where the advice of stay left, look right really comes in handy.

At some point we needed to be adults and begin driving. So fellow senior missionary, Jim Coleman, gave Butch a few driving lessons and showed him how to navigate a roundabout and the nuances of driving. Most of the rural and city roads are so small and narrow that you can only go about 25 to 30 mph, but even that gets interesting when you’re on a road that has a one lane width and you see a bus coming straight at you.

It became serious though, when we received word from the mission office saying that my residency card had to be picked up within the next few days so that timely paper work could be processed. It was being held in a post office in downtown Birmingham. If it didn’t get picked up, it would be sent back and could cause problems for my visa.

So we decided that early the next morning we would drive into Birmingham (England’s second largest city) to retrieve the document. Now we were jumping off the cliff without a life preserver driving into Birmingham during rush hour traffic.

Butch slid into the right side of the driver’s seat with Delynn in the passenger seat. Thank goodness the car has a navigation system. So we programmed in the location where we needed to go to, said a heartfelt prayer for safety on the roads and headed out. Because a new driver in England takes full concentration, there was absolutely no radio turned on and minimal conversation.

Once we made our way out of Warwick and got onto the motorway (freeway) we both felt more comfortable. We went right into the heart of Birmingham and made our way to the post office. It was in a small shopping strip area and apparently was the main post office for all immigrants and refugees coming into Birmingham. You could definitely tell we weren’t locals.

Next, it’s time to take a train to London and get around on the Tube!

#BritainBound

We made it! We packed and weighed our bags at the MTC (they were mostly under the 50 lb. limit) and left Salt Lake City on February 4th, arriving a day later in Birmingham (the “h” is silent), England on February 5th. Although a long flight, the trip went well with only one layover in Amsterdam where we had our first real “Dutch” hot chocolate.

At the airport with our new friends the Colemans.

In Birmingham, we were greeted at the airport by Elder Jim and Sister Joann Coleman, seasoned missionaries from the Public Affairs Office where will be working for the next two years. They took us to our flat in Warwick (which they fitted complete with groceries!), showed us where the office was and then to a local pub for a typical English dinner with our new boss Malcolm.

The first two weeks have been really busy with trainings and orientation. It was an adjustment settling into new surroundings and a new time zone. (I didn’t think I would ever get over jet lag!)

The Office

Our office is located in Warwick (the second w is not pronounced) on the 1st level (2nd floor in the states) of the Warwick Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It is about 3/4 of a mile from our flat, so we try to walk home home from work as much as we can. The town center is just a short walk from the office too and has a library, post office, shops, and cafes. We have found ourselves frequenting the square at lunchtime just to get out of the office and learn more about where were live.
We love the people we work with and appreciate their patience with us as we learn our roles and responsibilities.

Warwick
The town is as beautiful as any English postcard you have seen. It is green everywhere and is home to a famous castle. The streets are narrow and lined with stone rows. It is very common to see people on bikes or walking their dog. One thing we have learned when walking is to always look over your right shoulder for cars who are driving on the left.

The Flat (apartment)
We live on the top floor of three-story gated red brick complex. There are 18 units with a car park. We hope to get to know our neighbors soon, although most people don’t answer the door, but will talk to you from the intercom located downstairs. There are doorstops throughout the flat because each door is heavy and self closing (for fire safety). Every room also has a heater, for just that room.

We have come to realize how spoiled Americans are. We are a society with abundance and wealth and don’t even realize it. There is such a variety of everything (food, clothing, hardware, office supplies) that we have come to demand with so many choices and availability that is not afforded to other countries. Everything is smaller here; houses, cars, washers, refrigerators, dish washers, yards, parking spots, roads, showers (if we drop something in the shower it is easier to pick it up with our toes). We were also very excited to get the internet in our flat and access Amazon UK. As spoiled Americans, it was like being reconnected to our old selves, lol!

Food & Cooking
Our first trip to the grocery store was quite the adventure. New foods, new names for familiar foods and new aisles. Cookies are biscuits, napkins are serviettes (trust us, you want to get that right!) ham is called gammon, and brown sauce isn’t mustard. Dill pickles are nowhere to be found, and eggs don’t need to be refrigerated. Mexican food items at the supermarket are rare, but if you are feeling really desperate, Amazon UK carries El Pato for 6 pounds or about $9 for a small can.

Recipe quantities are in metrics, so for two mornings in a row we had more porridge (oatmeal) than a person should eat! The oven settings are different and have only set the fire alarm off twice!

The Branch and The Mission
We were welcomed warmly by the branch, and have especially enjoyed getting to know the young elders and sisters attend here. There are about 350 members on record with an average attendance of about 40 (including the 8 missionaries assigned there). It is pretty amazing to think that you can go anywhere in the world and be strengthen by members of the Church. We are grateful to serve and hope to live close to the Spirit and bring others to Christ through the work that we do.

What we are learning about ourselves.
In the MTC we were invited to choose two Christlike characteristics to work on. We chose charity and patience. While we have a long way to go, we definitely have been able to practice these virtues with each other on this journey.

The experience thus far has reminded us of when it was just the two of us, newly married and relying on each other for most things. We are experiencing that once again, and enjoying being each other’s companion.

Mission Training Center

Monday
Our son Lucas told us that we would be blown away by our experience here at the Mission Training Center (MTC) and he was right.

Today we entered the Provo Mission Training Center (MTC) with about 80 other senior missionaries. We were greeted by two young sister missionaries. One who will be serving soon in Germany and the other who will serve an English as a second language (ESL) mission. After we checked in, they helped us with our luggage, which some of the bags seemed heavier and larger than the two young sisters carrying them.

After lunch we were welcomed by the MTC Presidency. President David and Sister LeSueur are from Gilbert, Arizona and previously served as the Gilbert Temple president and matron. They have been in their new calling for just two weeks and from our perspective seem right at home.

For those like us who have not fully experienced the MTC, it is an amazing complex, almost like a small city. There are about 1,500 missionaries here all learning how to be effective missionaries, many learning a new language.

To be surrounded by these young dedicated young men and women is truly inspiring and energizing! Where else in the world do you see young adults ages 18 to 20 prepare to serve throughout the world and set aside their will in order to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Today we saw two young missionaries from our home ward. Sister Kylie Woffinden and Elder Cole Driggs. It was so exciting to see friends from home, we couldn’t help but take selfie with them!

It is common here to have young elders hold the door for seniors and sisters. How cool is that? We have really enjoyed interacting with them in the halls, and at meal time.

In addition, the cafeteria serves mountains of tasty homemade food three times a day. Food is plentiful and is is particularly entertaining to see how much food young elders put on their plate. We almost got caught up in that practice too, lol!

Butch was asked to serve as a district leader. It was similar to the early days of the church when you would learn about your calling over the pulpit without the opportunity to say yes or no. Our district is comprised of another couple from Pima, Arizona and three sisters all who will serve different types of missions at Church General Headquarters in Salt Lake City. We are a fun group, with diverse perspectives and opinions but united in our desire to learn about our purpose as missionaries. We also have some amazing instructors who are all returned missionaries, filled with the Spirit and challenge each of us to work outside of our comfort zone.

We ended the day watching a 2016 Christmas Day MTC Devotional with Elder David A. Bednar. It was great to learn gospel truths from an apostle of the Lord

Tuesday
Every Tuesday night the MTC holds a devotional for all missionaries. Tonight, we were surprised to hear from Elder Jeffery R. Holland. It was incredible to hear from a modern-day apostle of the Lord. He spoke on obedience, and promised each of us blessings as we lived in accordance with the commandments of God.

Delynn joined with other senior missionaries and sang in the choir. There were about 600 in the choir. From what we knew, practice was held just an hour-and-a-half befor the meeting. Great idea for ward choir!

Tonight’s devotional was streamed live (or later broadcast) to all of the other MTC’s around the world, so choir members had to be mindful to watch the conductor, not the screen.

Wednesday
Today we had a very special experience. As part of our MTC experience, we are assigned to minister and teach another couple here. We have been paired with Elder Mark and Sister Ginger Brady from Truckee, Nevada who are our “others” and will be serve in the Germany, Berlin Mission Office.

We are to get to know one another and learn of desires and needs and then teach a 20 minute lesson on a Gospel principle to the other couple.

For those who know us, know that we both have strong personalities and have definite ideas of how things should be done, so it was a bit of a struggle for us to get on the same page of how we would organize the lesson for the Bradys. It was a very faith promoting to experience the Spirit guide our discussion and reframe the content we had prepared for our new friends. It was a very tender experience to feel the power of our calling as we boldly testified that they would accomplish the impossible through faith in Christ.

Next, the Bradys taught us. We were very touched to hear them address our personal concerns about the challenges that are ahead of us.

Brother Brady shared, John 4:18, which says that perfect love casteth out fear. Then Sister Brady shared the analogy of the threads of a tapestry, when woven together are much more beautiful than threads on their own.

Thursday/Friday

We learned how to use the Gospel Library to organize lessons (awesome!) and practice teaching with our “others”. On Friday morning, local members of the Church came in to be taught. We had a sister who had older kids. We had 15 minutes to get to know her, 10 minutes to prepare a lesson and then 20 minutes to teach, invite, promise blessings and testify. It was kind of like speed dating, but on a much more spiritual level.

It was incredible to watch the Spirit work as we listened to understand her needs. We all were crying by the end of the lesson as we testified that Heavenly Father loved and cared for her. We hope to remember to follow this teaching method as we continue to learn to minister to fellow members.

Friday/Saturday

As senior missionaries, the rules are very different from young missionaries, so we took advantage of leaving the MTC to re-connect with friends and family. On Friday night, our dear friends, Chuck and Joan Matheny picked us up and took us to dinner in Mid-Way. The food was great and the drive was beautiful. A highlight before dinner was going to UVU to see the Wall of Knowledge. It is the history of the world displayed in stained glass. It was incredible and we would highly recommend it to others.

On Saturday, our nephew Josh and his daughter Lily picked us up for one last run to Firehouse Subs. We also got to see their beautiful new home and catch up. Don’t the twins look alike, lol!

We also got to go to the Provo Temple, and then see Gwen (Delynn’s cousin) and Bob Evans who were in Provo seeing their new grandson. They are going to be wonderful grandparents!

We have loved our experience at the MTC and are grateful to have this time to learn and grow.

What we are learning about ourselves and each other:
Note from Delynn
I have learned that I mutter when I write, at least that is what Butch tells me! I usually put my headphones in and listen to music on Pandora to help me stay focused while writing. I have typically been alone when writing and we have not shared an office before, so who knew!