London (again)
This past week has been a busy one as our OGC (Office of General Counsel) was the host of a multi-area conference for all of the Associate General Counsels, their wives plus a few other leaders from the Area and also Church Headquarters. The other senior missionary wives and I were involved in some of the planning and then we were able to spend two days in downtown London—I definitely got the better end of the deal as Jon spent most of the time in meetings while I and the other senior missionaries got to tag along with the women as we toured the sights in and around London. If I weren’t a missionary, I think I’d decide to be a tour guide (with a snazzy hat)!
On our last night, we took a boat trip on the River Thames. After months of constantly cool and rainy weather, this past weekend was an amazing gift of warmth, blue skies and a perfect sunset for an evening cruise.
Truly the best part of the conference was the opportunity to meet and get to know so many wonderful people who are serving and working throughout the world (this conference included all of the Europe and Africa Area offices) and to witness their devotion and sacrifice and be inspired by their goodness. The days leading up to the meetings, for unrelated reasons, were very stressful and had us wondering if we were up for this challenge. It would have been easy to be among this group of stellar people and feel intimidated and discouraged. Instead, we both left the conference feeling uplifted, inspired, encouraged and motivated to do and be better. We recognized that each person is giving their best, using the talents God gave them to bless others, and striving to become who God wants them to be. That’s the kind of work we want to be involved in!
And speaking of work, and more specifically missionary work, I had a sweet missionary experience last Saturday. As you’ve probably noticed, our specific responsibilities are very different from what you might typically think of as “missionary work”. We’re not doing the same things as the young missionaries out on the street talking to people, teaching lessons, etc. However, we are still missionaries and our simple purpose is to invite others to come to Christ.
I had just been reading the email of a high school friend who is serving a senior mission with her husband in Colombia. They’re having very different experiences than we are, and are probably having a lot more missionary experiences similar to the young missionaries. I was feeling a little bad that we weren’t having those kinds of experiences. Then I got a message from the young sister missionaries in our ward asking if I could meet them at the Church to sit in on a short lesson with a new friend who they were meeting with. Just so you know how flawed I am, my immediate reaction (in my head) was something along the lines of, “Oh man, I’m so tired, we just got home from the conference, I have so much to do, I don’t really have time…blah blah blah.” And this was literally hours after I had read my friend’s email and felt bad about not having missionaries experiences. Like I said, I have some serious flaws haha!
But thankfully I said yes and drove over to the Church to be with them. We met a young man named Marius who had replied to a message the missionaries had shared on Facebook. Now this might sound sketchy to some, but that’s part of why the missionaries often have another ward member meet with them when they meet someone new. When we met Marius at the Church, I could immediately feel of his kind spirit and his sincerity. He’s from Romania and has lived in the UK for five years. He has no family living here and said he has only a few friends in the area. We could sense a feeling of loneliness and he expressed that he’d been going through some struggles and wondering why hard things were happening when he wasn’t doing anything wrong. The sisters shared a few scriptures and then beautifully and simply shared their feelings about the purpose of this life, and about the Savior and His love for each of us and specifically for him. He was visibly touched and encouraged, and I was as well. He came to Church the next day and felt the love and friendship in our wonderful ward. I hope he chooses to come again and continue to connect with God in a way that will help him to move forward with peace and joy.
♥ Until next time, we love you! Cheerio! ♥
Words of the Week:
(Words or phrases we hear “on the street” that either delight, confuse or amuse us.)
In honor of our first solo drive into London (not something we’ll do too often because traffic and parking is crazy!), here are a few car related words:
Car park - parking lot or parking garage
Boot - trunk of the car
Petrol - gasoline
“First we’ll get some petrol, then we’ll go to the car park and leave our things in the boot.”
The Lord knows what we need to stretch ourselves, but it’s no surprise to those of us who know you both that you’ll always take the high/right road, even when you’re tired. So glad you had that experience with Marius. I’m sure it solidified the feelings I’d your heart. Lovely pictures as always!❤️ Love you guys!
Ooh. I loved hearing about your experience with Marius