Met the Ward family by the big roundabout and we
headed over to church in Harborne, where we were one of the first in the
parking lot. As Martin has his high counselor duties out in the Kidderminster Branch
today, he dropped us off and will return to collect us later after the block. I
helped Leah set up the Primary room and then headed off to Relief Society on my
own. My friend, Pauline, a member of the Relief Society presidency, (who I first
became aware of as she was part of the phone conversation catalyst {my
connection to Gillian – they both work for the Church in Solihull} that eventually
lead me to my very first Singles Convention, in Manchester), gave the lesson centered
around President Eyring’s General Conference address, Mountains to Climb. She disclosed
intimate details of several of her own life’s struggles, as did others. It was
very poignant. At one point she referenced a poem by Rudyard Kipling that
suggested a guide for improved critical thinking, and encouraged us to use this
format in considering the hows, whys and wherefores of how difficult times have
fit into the construction of our own evolving existences:
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
We talked about how there seem to be critical
periods in our lives, when everything is very comfortable, where perhaps our
Father in Heaven sees it as the perfect moment for us to experience change and
growth – otherwise known in our minds as afflictions and trials. In such times,
the Saviour has promised that angels will be there to bear us up through these trying,
burdensome times.
I really like the concept one brother shared in
Sunday School, as we discussed the roller-coaster pride and wickedness cycle
that was so prevalent among the Nephites prior to the Saviour’s advent. He
suggested that Satan’s ‘control’ over us is much like the common cold in that, while
we have cold germs around us always, it is only in times when our immune system
is down that it can cause us harm. Satan cannot influence us for ill except in
instances where our guard is down – when we are choosing to live unrighteously,
that he can wheedle his way in. The moral, of course, is that we need always to
be vigilant and never let our defenses down.
Can you believe we have two sets of elders AND a
set of sister missionaries assigned to our ward alone? Wow, that’s a lot of
missionary effort – obviously we are a ripe field! The bishop invited the
newest set to come up and introduce themselves. The greener of the pair, from
Heidelberg, Germany, was an even cuter version of Archie, than the real David
Archuletta himself. (We are to be his first area.) One of the elders from the
already-established pair was sitting next to me on the pews (we have cross
members separating the rows and he was sitting on the other side of that). He reached
over to greet me and shake my hand, at which point he remarked, Man, now that’s
a good old Utah handshake! I acknowledged that I had had several of the other
variety already that day – which was true (you know, of the limp-noodle ilk).
Probably the most noteworthy thing about sacrament
meeting was that soon after the sacrament concluded, I was abandoned on the
second row with three active, ADD-talkative, normal children, in their third
hour of attempting to sit quietly – and this was the case for the remainder of
the meeting. The bishop had asked if his son, Thomas, who is Katya’s same age
and her dearest friend (according to her, a future marriage is a definite
possibility), could sit with us as his wife, Ann, a member of the stake young women;s presidency, was away. (We also had the privilege of having Thomas to our home
for all the afternoon. Lucky us! Lucky Katya!!) In case you were wondering where Leah had
gone, squirmy toddler, baby Ella, was being seen after by her mother for the
whole of that period. Well, just picture that – knowing me and my desire for the
children around me to please sit quietly and not talk! It was quite the comedy
of errors, but that’s okay – because before you knew it, we were singing the
closing hymn . . . and we were all still friends.
As church was ending, Sister Wheatley (all the way
from faraway Provo, Utah) sat down beside me and asked if I would be willing to
sit in on a potential-convert discussion they were having in an adjoining room
just then. Sure, seeing as how I’d just be waiting for Martin to come and claim
us anyway. The investigator was Fahad, from Kurdistan (which I see, by looking
on a world map, is not actually a country at all, {didn’t realize that!} but a combinatin
of regions of three different countries – Turkey, Iraq and Iran. He told us
that, though born a Muslim, he had not experienced the comfort and
life-affirming principles he had found in Christianity – thus the attraction to
it, and now “Mormonism.” It was, on my part, and unexpectedly so, a very
pleasant and faith-affirming experience (though I must admit a little
distressing to me when, at practically the same moment Fahad was expressing the
desire to know more about this “Joseph Smith” personage, the Sisters mentioned,
as part of the discussion, his upcoming baptism date, that had already been set
and was at this point just a few weeks away). It was time for me to leave with
the Wards before I had a chance to get that sorted out in my mind.
Dinner, very soon after church, was a fantastic
spread of taco fillings with store-bought crunchy or soft tortillas. I made
this interesting coleslaw from some already-made, store-bought coleslaw from
Sainsbury (way too much mayo, thank you!) that needed embellishing with
additional shredded cabbage and carrots. The flavor was the thing – mango and
chili. For yum!! It was a perfect complement to the tastes of Mexican fare.
Our afternoon dining, and congeniality, was also enriched
by the presence of the Amison sibs. I have mentioned Michael (20) and Timmy
(14) before (see last Sunday, day seventy). Timmy has been staying with the
Wards for the week as his parents are off on that exciting anniversary holiday
to France (oh, that they had taken me with!). Also in the company were brothers,
David (18) and Nathan (12). There are six brothers in all – the oldest married
and the next younger on a mission. Brother Amison is in the bishopric; Martin
served with him before he was released to function as a high counselor. I
learned something very interesting in regards to British missionaries, when in
conversation it was confirmed that David had recently put in his mission papers
– because of British higher education contingencies, young men are allowed to begin
their missions at the earlier, than we are used to, age of eighteen.
Of particular note, this very day was Timmy’s
birthday. So having now arrived at 15, we sang a very happy birthday to him, ate
yummy Leah-made lemon cake, and showered him with a few random gifts. I gave
Timmy a spooky pack of ping pong eyeballs (a must-have for any budding
teenager, don’t you agree?!), among other trinkets.
[As further regards “Timmys,” look on YouTube for a
session of one of my favorite CBeeBies kids’ programs (the BBC equivalent to
PBS Kids) called Timmy time. In this show, all the characters (little animals,
in this case, kind of like Muppets as babies) speak in their own native tongue
– as in moo moo, cluck cluck, baa baa, etc. The star of the hour is Timmy, the diminutive
lamb. Baaaaa!]
Photo_
Birthday party cheers- David, Michael, birthday
boy TIMMY, honey bee, Daddy Martin with Ella
Nathan,
off on a row by himself (kind of where he fits)
Katya, prince
Thomas, and Spiderman Oliver - all in the Ward’s living room
