December in England

Where do we begin?

We could focus on all the things we’re missing while being away from home at Christmas…time with family and all of our traditions and food and decorations. But then we’d miss all the amazing things we have right here - beautiful music, wonderful friends, magical Christmas decorations, sweet treats (a few too many, oops!) and more! Christmastime in England has lived up to all of the expectations! And my camera roll has the hundreds of pictures to prove it. ;)

So get cozy, grab a cup of hot cocoa, and come with us on a tour of December in England…

(Okay, technically we’re going to rewind and share a few things from November first.)

Another holiday we missed being with family was Thanksgiving. That’s where friends came in to save the day. We were invited over to the home of a friend in our ward, along with a group of other Americans away from home. Everyone pitched in to provide all the traditional Thanksgiving foods. Just like at home, we stuffed ourselves with food, and felt so grateful for so many things! We shared our family tradition of writing things we’re grateful for on a “thankful tree”.

Speaking of friends, we also said farewell to some dear senior missionary friends, the Jolleys, who returned home. Missionaries serve for a season, and the seasons are always changing! We will miss them!

A tradition among the missionaries seems to have started by having a little open house before they go to both say goodbye to everyone and offer up all the things they ended up buying while they were here but now can’t fit into luggage. The Jolley’s departure also coincided with a short visit from a missionary couple who recently returned home, the Lunds. It was so fun to spend a little time all together again!

Now on to Christmas!

We had the amazing experience to participate in the Church’s “Light The World” campaign as they filmed a spectacular Nativity light show in the heart of London. And even more special was the fact that my super-talented cousin, LJ, was one of the creative directors of the whole project. You may have seen the video last year that was filmed at Times Square in New York City, you can watch it here. She and her team came up with the idea last year and it was stunning!

This year, they “took the show on the road” and created the same beautiful experience all over the world—London, Tokyo Japan, Sydney Australia, Guanajuato Mexico, and Salt Lake City, Utah. We were all invited to gather at the London Eye to watch the projection on the County Hall building as they filmed the whole experience in preparation for creating a compilation of all of the locations.

Here’s the final video, it’s amazing:

It’s hard to explain how it felt to be a part of something so beautiful and powerful on such a grand scale and in a place as grand as London. But most importantly, the sweet and simple message of the Savior’s birth shone through the experience. The message of the final video was to remind us of the angels’ role in proclaiming Christ’s birth and that we can be angels in the lives of those around us.

We loved getting to watch LJ in action and share the experience with the other missionaries and members of our ward. It was fun to get to see some of them (and us!) show up in the Church’s final videos.

We even got a little cameo in the Church Newsroom video, here’s a snippet:

Or you can watch the full video, we’re at about the 1:35 mark: Light the World

But even better than that, my cousin and her team put together a “Friends & Family” version for all those who came to support them in the different locations. (I’m at about the :55 mark, and also at the end around 2:10)

So sweet! This whole experience will be one we will never forget!

Now, on to more lights. You’ll find houses in England decorated with Christmas lights, but not nearly to the extent that you might find in the U.S. However, go visit any manor or castle or village here, and especially major streets in London, and you will find Christmas lights galore!

We visited Waddesdon Manor to see the light display both inside the manor and around the grounds. They had a Christmas market and a Sleeping Beauty theme.

Any time we go into London, we try to walk around as much as we can. The lights of London are spectacular!

Trafalgar square has a beautiful Norway spruce (donated every year from Norway in gratitude for their help during WWII).

Every evening in December they have caroling from various groups. This was such a fun version of “Oh, Come All Ye Faithful”!

And a video from my Instagram:

This past weekend we visited Blenheim Palace, one of the largest and grandest “homes” in England. Wow! I mean, I guess if you’re a palace, you decorate in a big way! It was Peter Pan themed throughout the house, there was a big Christmas market, and an illuminated trail throughout a couple of miles of the grounds, including a fountain display like the one at Bellagio Las Vegas! This is also the home where Winston Churchill was born and spent time in throughout his life.

Some might look at all the over-the-top decorations everywhere and think they’ve lost some of the true meaning of Christmas. That may be true, but I also think there is a sweet feeling of light and joy that seems to permeate the air wherever we go. So bring on all the lights!

However, meaningful experiences aren't always the ones with the biggest fanfare or brightest lights. Sometimes, it's the quiet moments that mean the most. We have had numerous experiences this past month or so that will stay in our hearts just as much as seeing these grand Christmas displays.

Our greatest gift at the end of November was having our Denmark family come visit us again. They were heading to Utah for Christmas and were able to make time to be with us for a week so that we could have some Christmas celebrations with them. We filled the week with wonderful memories together—reading books, playing games, making cookies, decorating a tree, crafting and sewing, seeing Christmas lights in London, and just lots of time spent snuggling. And it snowed while they were here, just for about an hour, but it was a magical gift!

Our next outing was one of those experiences that you just pinch yourself and wonder if it’s really happening. We were able to see a performance of Handel’s Messiah in Westminster Abbey. George Frideric Handel spent most of his life in London and is buried in Westminster Abbey. The choir echoing through the Abbey's hallowed halls was breathtaking!

Earlier that day I was able to meet up with a former seminary student (and her brother who I was a Cub Scout leader for many moons ago!) and their family who are friends from Roseville, the Souliers. Their oldest son had served as a missionary here in London and they were here on a holiday visit. So fun to connect with people we love from home!

We’ve had numerous Christmas gatherings throughout the month—our Office of General Counsel had a dinner together, the whole Area Office had a special Christmas devotional and luncheon, our ward had a Christmas party, and the senior missionaries gathered together. We are surrounded by so many wonderful people!

We went with friends and missionaries to another concert of the Marlow Band, a local brass band that a colleague from the office plays in. Such a lovely, hometown feeling and the music was delightful!

In conjunction with the Light the World events here, we had the Giving Machines for the first time in the UK. They were located in Spitalfields Market, a really cool shopping area in London. If you’re not familiar with what these are, our Church has placed these “vending machines” in cities all over the U.S. and now abroad—you operate them just like a vending machine, but instead of getting a snack or a drink, you choose something to donate to a local charity partner. All of the donations go directly to the designated charities. Some of the missionaries in our Area Office have been instrumental in making all of this happen here in the UK. It’s a beautiful thing! We “bought” a sheep and an emergency shelter kit.

And the gift we received in return was way better than anything we gave—we were there on the day this darling children’s choir from our ward and other nearby wards were performing. Children singing Christmas carols = ♥. Children singing Christmas carols with a British accent = ♥♥♥♥♥!!!!!

If this song doesn’t bring your heart joy, well, you might be the Grinch and need to check the size of your heart. ;)

I also got to go with some of these children to sing carols at a nearby nursing home. So sweet!

By now, if you’ve made it this far, your hot cocoa is gone, and you’re wondering if this email will ever end. :) But we’re almost there, thanks for enduring! I’m saving the best for last. We had two visits to the temple this month. The first was with the big group of senior missionaries from both the Area office and the England London Mission. So many wonderful examples of service and sacrifice!

The second temple experience was with a wonderful family in our ward whose oldest son is leaving to serve a mission in the Czech Republic. His mom is French and his Dad is Czech. He initially was disappointed to be called to a country he is already so familiar with, as he had hoped to go somewhere different. But he had a change of heart and is now so excited to serve there. He is a stellar young man whose love for others and testimony of the Savior will bless the land of his heritage. It was so sweet to be with him and his family and friends at the temple.

As everyone gathered together after the temple, we were in a waiting area with this large Christus statue. Their two darling daughters were looking intently at the statue of the Savior. As they touched Jesus’ hand, I noticed that both hands of the statue were a little dirty from the many people who had touched them.

My first reaction was to tell the girls not to touch the statue. But then I realized they were doing just what Jesus had requested: “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not.” Isn’t this what the Savior does for each of us? He opens His arms to us, He reaches out, and He invites us to take His hand. He doesn’t care if our hands are dirty or clean. He takes our hand in His and he takes our stains on Himself. For that, we are incredibly grateful.

We’ll close with this quote from our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson:

“My dear brothers and sisters, in a coming day, Jesus Christ will return to the earth as the millennial Messiah. So today I call upon you to rededicate your lives to Jesus Christ. I call upon you to help gather scattered Israel and to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord. I call upon you to talk of Christ, testify of Christ, have faith in Christ, and rejoice in Christ! Come unto Christ and “offer your whole soul” to Him. This is the secret to a life of joy! The best is yet to come, my dear brothers and sisters, because the Savior is coming again!”

We add our testimony to his that putting our life in the hands of the Savior really is the secret to a life of joy! It doesn’t mean we won’t have challenges—there are plenty of those to go around and we have them regularly. But we can choose to focus on the joy all around us, the blessings, the miracles, the light, and the people we get to love and serve.

We hope you have joy this Christmas season!

♥ Until next time, we love you! Cheerio! ♥

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Words of the Week:

Poppet - a word often used in greeting an adorable child, a store clerk said it to our grandchildren when we bought them balloons, “Here you are, Poppet!”, “Would you like the pink ribbon, Poppet?”

Father Christmas - sometimes interchangeable with Santa Claus, he’s often dressed in long robes, but has slightly different history than Santa