Got up really early this morning to drive with
Beate and two brothers from our ward to attend the Preston Temple – for the 2nd time. Our
male companions were, Sven, from King’s Heath (same as Beate), a single man who
has been progressing in the gospel towards this first-time-ever, eternity-shaking
day, and his escort, Peter, from Rubery, (married to Josie – who rules his
world, I am told), five foot four, and verbose. It was me and Peter in the
backseat all the way – quite a pair! Sven admitted that
he had had a difficult time sleeping as he was so excited for this day to
arrive.
Sven, though he has a Scandinavian name, is German, like Beate. In
fact about the time I am headed for Weymouth, he is moving back to Germany,
after twenty some odd years here in the UK – because he has a brother who is
dying from cancer and wants to spend this time with him before he is no longer
around. Sven said he got the name he did because his mom’s sisters kept stealing
the names she’d chosen for her babies – so Sven it was! It means young warrior,
half-god.
The live endowment session was at eleven, so Beate
and I had time to try and get in some initiatory work in advance – the only delay
being a dearth of temple workers. (One really friendly, smiling, temple worker
entreated us by saying, ‘Sisters, come and serve with us; as you can see, we
could really use your help!’ I would happily have joined her in this; however,
soon the London Temple will be my temple district, and then there’s that little
thing about driving for two and a half hours to get to the temple. That is
truly a real sacrifice for those who do serve, whereas for us it is a mere stinkin’
five minutes.)
One really great thing was that while waiting for
the session to begin (I had the pleasure of standing in as proxy for Mary
Elizabeth Bennett – how British is that and how much a reminder of the Mary
Elizabeth in my life?!) I noticed in the chapel a friend, from Evesham, I had met,
and associated with twice, at a couple different singles convention. (She was
there with another friend, Sally – hers and mine – who has recently become
re-activated and was at that moment in the middle of interviews to have her
blessings restored.) Lucky me – friends on either side. (After the session I
went and greeted Sally near the front, and as she had been to Amsterdam, had
some great advise to share with me. Going there in a week to meet Andrew –
whoopee!)
Afterwards our little foursome met up and had some
lunch in the temple cafeteria. Martin, or somebody, had said to me, ‘not so
good, huh?!’ Actually, I liked it just fine, but then I’m the one who actually welcomed
school cafeteria food as a kid__ I had the vegetarian dish which was some sort of
potatoes and leeks and cheese (how can you go wrong with that?!) and rhubarb
crumble, yum! (Crumbles – we would call them cobblers – are big over here.)
Even though it wasn’t THAT many hours altogether that
we were gone today, somehow it seemed like an age. Naturally it was dark when
we left at an early 6:20, and then, because it was storming on the way home, it
became unnaturally dark again by 3:30 – seemed like all of 9, having gotten up
at such a primordial hour.
Sven got out of the car when we arrived back at my
house, gentlemanly like to open my door, to say goodbye and thanks for being a
part of his special day, and then postscripted it by adding ‘Honey Bee’ at the
end of his remarks. Aw – noice! (I must allow that that term had come up in our
conversation as we traveled today, so NOT so out of the blue as it may appear,
though it was as far as him using it. Very sweet!)
Photos_
1- beaming, humble Sven, with Peter, me and Beate,
r-l (cold, windy, overcast day – delayed on the motorway several times because
of fog. Peter told me, ‘as they say over here: The weather is the weather- you
just live with it!’)
2- the House of the Lord, as rendered by Miss
Katya Ward (angel atop)
3- the temple at Chorley, pathetically portrayed
by my little camera (kind of sorry the two renderings are not aligned
similarly, to give the full effect)
