Everyone Will Know, Polly and Peter, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Beacons, The Hidden Message

"Be not afraid only believe..."  Mark 5:36

Zone conference last week was a wonderful day.  We prepared our tried-and-true recipes of taco soup and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  All the missionaries loved it.  

President and Sister Clare, our mission president and his wife, taught us well at this conference.  Here are a few quick quotes:   

Have child-like faith.  "Children are not full of years but are full of faith,"  said Elder Neil A. Maxwell.

"The Savior will fill our gaps... we are enough," said Sister Clare.

"The Lord has called us here and endowed us with power... don't be fearful of the gifts and power of God," said President Clare.

In chapter 17 of 3rd Nephi we learn of the many healings Christ performed amongst the people in America who received Him.  Then in chapter 18 the Savior empowers His disciples with the ability to heal and confer the gift of the Holy Ghost.  No further mention is made in chapter 19 of the Savior performing healings because he had empowered His disciples to go forth and minister to those in need.  Likewise, we as missionaries are sent forth with power to heal those in need with the endowment of power we have received. 

Everyone Will Know 

What do you know about your ancestors?  Weather you know a lot or a little, it is important to remember that they were real people.  Each is a beloved daughter or son of Heavenly Parents.  Think about how many of your ancestors and others through-out history lived and died without a knowledge of Jesus Christ...

Our institute lesson for the young adults centered on the teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who have died. We taught that between the Savior's death and resurrection He visited the spirit world and taught the spirits who had passed from this life.  He taught of His Atonement and the Plan of Salvation for all of God's children.  "...The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God:  and they that hear shall live,"  John 5:25.

Tea with Polly and Peter

Friday evening we were invited over to Polly and Peter's home for tea (dinner).  We had a delightful time with some of the most gregarious people we have ever met.  Polly is a lover of nature and feeds the foxes and hedge hogs that gather in her yard.  We saw pictures of foxes, observed a real wild hedge hog munching on vegetables and a plump wood pigeon dining at the bird feeder.  She then took, what appeared to be, a delicate little ceramic mug off her book shelf and was pointing out its finer qualities, when all of a sudden she squeezed it in front of us and out popped a pug, she called it "a pug in a mug".  It was hilarious.  

Visit to Berwick-upon-Tweed

Our preparation day featured a hike around the fortress wall of the beautiful town, Berwick-upon-Tweed. Berwick is the last town along England's eastern coast before you enter Scotland.  It had traded hands in the 1700's over 18 times, between the forces of Northumberland (Northeast England) and the Scotts.  It has a population of about 28,000 people today. 

Beacons

Along the East coast of England is a series of historical beacons, metal baskets on a pole,  each one in line-of-sight of the next one.  These beacons were filled with wood and lit one after the other by the local folk when they saw a beacon up or down shore from them a-blaze, thus warning the next settlement along the coast of approaching intruders. What beacons should we light and share in our life?

Hidden Message

As we walked around the wall at Berwick, we were delighted to be accompanied by the sister missionaries from Ashington and President James Perry, president of the Alnwick branch, and his family.  James has three delightful children, the oldest is Leah.  She was seated quietly on a park bench weaving a necklace of wild daisies.  It was a perfect picture moment, so I snapped one.  As I looked closer at the picture I discovered a hidden message in the picture.  Can you find it?

It says, "Every child deserves love, guidance, understanding and protection."  May it so be.

Bring your Kilt, Scarborough Affair, Donkey Beach, 1 Year Old Plays Piano w/ Feet

District Trip to Scotland

One of the joys of serving a senior mission is to spend time with these fun, enthusiastic, dedicated young Elders and Sisters.  We occasionally will go on a preparation day activity with them so they can get a break from missionary work and enjoy the local culture.  Because we are the furthest north mission in England, and the furtherest north zone of missionaries in our mission.  Our area covers all the way up to the Scottish border.  They were anxious to see Scotland (from the England side) and get "the picture" to send home.  It was a wet and windy day, but they got KFC, which made them very happy!

Transfer Day 

Missionaries typically can get transferred to a new area within the mission on a 6 week schedule.  Because we have a car, we get assigned to take the missionaries to their new area.  We did this on Tuesday of this last week, transporting Elders between Sunderland, Hartlepool, Leeds, Hartlepool again, and then to Billingham.  We left at 8:00 AM, were hit with a 2-hour flat tire repair, and then returned back to our apartment around 8:00 PM that night.  It was an exhausting day for us but it gave us a chance to get to know several Elders as we traveled in the car together.  We also saw beautiful images of the countryside. 

Institute

This week was one of our favorite institute lessons. We discussed receiving the Savior's divine gift of Grace.  We covered what it is, identifying in our lives where we need it, and understanding the balance between it being a gift to us versus us doing something to merit its reception from the Savior.   In the end, it will always be a gift we receive from Him.   We loved this quote from Elder Holland, one of the 12 Apostles:

"Some gifts coming from the Atonement are universal, infinite, and unconditional. These include His ransom for Adam’s original transgression … [and] the Resurrection. …Other aspects of Christ’s atoning gift are conditional. They depend on one’s diligence in keeping God’s commandments. For example, while all members of the human family are freely given a reprieve from Adam’s sin through no effort of their own, they are not given a reprieve from their own sins unless they pledge faith in Christ [and] repent of those sins. …Obviously the unconditional blessings of the Atonement are unearned, but the conditional ones are not fully merited either. By living faithfully and keeping the commandments of God, one can receive additional privileges; but they are still given freely, not technically earned. (“The Atonement of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, Mar. 2008, 36–37)"

We also liked this quote from Elder Christofferson, also one of the 12 Apostles:

"We do not need to achieve some minimum level of capacity or goodness before God will help-- divine aid can be ours every hour of every day, no matter where we are in the path of obedience... My plea is simply to take responsibility and go to work so that there is something for God to help us with.  (D. Todd Christofferson, "Free Forever, to Act for Themselves,"  Ensign, Nov. 2014, 19)"

Family History Trip

Thank you for the many birthday wishes to Elder Betteridge.  As a birthday gift to Elder Betteridge, Sister Betteridge took him to the birth spot of his grandmother Emily Ness.  Emily was born in the resort town of Scarborough.  It is a beautiful spot on the eastern shore of England.  We visited the home where Emily was born-- she lived just 50 yards from the south beach. We stayed in the Crown Spa Hotel which was built in 1844, 36 years before Emily was born.  This hotel and several others including the one time largest hotel in Europe, The Grand Hotel, hover on the cliffs above the beach as if to say, 'we were here before Emily was born, she is like us now a guardian angel hovering over you as we hovered over her when she lived here'.... something like that.  It was a meaningful moment in my life.  Emily died just 1 year before I was born, so I never had the privilege of meeting her, but I do have a profound appreciation for her, after walking in her shoes in this beautiful town and on her beach.  She helped her uncle manage a string of donkeys on the beach, giving rides to the children at the beach.  She earned money doing this and certainly helped her mother who had recently been widowed when Benjamin Ness, her father, died at the young age of 43.  Emily was just 5 years old at this time. 

Elder Betteridge can be seen simulating a donkey ride on the beach.

Mothering Sunday

We gave talks in the Alnwick Branch on "Mothering Sunday".  President Perry, one of the editors of the Saints Volume 3 book and the Branch President, started using this term instead of "Mother's Day".  We actually like it better too, because it includes all women who 'mother' not just those who have born children.  Her is a quote from Heather's talk.  President Nelson said in October 2018:

"My dear sisters, you have special spiritual gifts and propensities.  Tonight I urge you, with all the hope of my heart, to pray to understand your spiritual gifts--to cultivate, use, and expand them, even more than you ever have.  You will change the world as you do so."

The branch president's wife is the Sacrament Meeting organist-- she has 3 young children, the youngest assists her on the keyboard with his feet.  Very talented young man!

  

 

Institute for the North, Cradle for Christianity, Temple for Eternity

 Institute in Ashington

We started a new institute class on Wednesday evenings for the northern part of the Sunderland Stake in a town called Ashington.  We had felt impressed to do this and the support was overwhelming.  It provides an opportunity for the young adults in the northern part of the stake to gather, share a meal, discuss gospel truths and socialize.  It draws saints from the Alnwick Branch, Ashington Branch and some from the North Shields Ward.  We were pleased to have 11 in attendance on our first week.  

 

We will continue to teach on Thursday evenings in Gateshead for the central part of the stake.  The lesson this last week was on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We are so grateful for this great gift and gospel truth, that He was resurrected and has given us all, without exception, the gift of a resurrection in the future.   

Elder Paul Johnson of the Seventy said, "Each of us has physical, mental, and emotional limitations and weaknesses.  These challenges, some of which seem so intractable now, will eventually be resolved.  None of these problems will plague us after we are resurrected... The miracle of the resurrection, the ultimate cure, is beyond the power of modern medicine but is not beyond the power of God."

Bamburgh Castle - Cradle for Christianity

Our P-day this last week involved a short 1 hour trip to the Bamburgh Castle on the eastern coast of England just north of Alnwick.  Bamburgh is known as "the very foundation stone of England".  Edwin, king of Northumbria, was the first Christian king of Northumbria in the early 600s. St Aidan was invited by king Oswald to bring Christianity to the pagan north.  

The Castle is still owned by the Armstrong family and has been from the late 1800's.  This location has been a strategic center of skirmishes with Scotland over many years in the 1600-1800's time period.  The archeological finds on site date back to the 500 AD time frame and the time when Rome ruled these Isles. The weaponry from the different time periods is amazing and authentic weapons are on display in the castle.  This is truly a treasured history along England's northeastern coastline.  The views from the castle are stunning. 

            

Preston England Temple X 2

The highlight of the week was the opportunity to attend the Preston England Temple.  We accompanied an 11-year member of the church from India to the temple to do baptisms.  Mohan Chukka joined the church in India as a young teenager after he and his brother met missionaries at a bus stop in their home town.  He  has not been out of India until now so has never had the opportunity to see a temple in person, let alone go inside. (He is in England to study international business, working towards a masters degree).  After he finishes his masters degree he is planning to serve a mission for the church.  He is a remarkable, faithful Saint.  Here are his own words about the time we spent in the temple.  

"I'm so excited! I'm so blessed to enter into the place of God. The experience that I had in the temple is marvelous. The ordinances which I performed in the temple, gives immense pleasure and happiness. I believe that showing their faith in Heavenly father and his son Jesus Christ by living the gospel and keeping the commandments. I believe that this is the only true and living church upon the whole face of the earth. There are a lot of testimonies built in temple and church's to carry them till generations. Have faith in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the blessings will come abundantly. I wish everyone receive the same joy that I received in the temple. I share all these things in the sacred name of Jesus Christ. Amen!"

Another amazing experience in the temple this week was with a young newlywed couple, Isaac and Julia Woodward.  We were celebrating their one year wedding anniversary.  Isaac joined the church 5 years ago in York and then met Julia, a full-time missionary from Moldova, who had joined the church in Moldova just a year or so before being called to serve a mission to Leeds, England.  They have both been endowed and are looking forward to their sealing in the near future. This was Isaac's second time to go to the temple for an Endowment session.  

Closing Thoughts

We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity to serve God's children in the Newcastle area of England.  We recognize our attempts are feeble, but joy in the little difference we can make in other's lives.  We are grateful for our dear President and Prophet Russel M. Nelson, who said the following:

“Our Heavenly Father never intended that we would deal with the maze of personal problems and social issues on our own...God so loved the world that He sent His Only Begotten Son to help us. And His Son, Jesus Christ, gave His life for us. All so that we could have access to godly power—power sufficient to deal with the burdens, obstacles, and temptations of our day... When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him—when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life—you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do…The gospel of Jesus Christ is filled with His power, which is available to every earnestly seeking daughter or son of God.” April 2017

 

Stake Conf, More to COME, The Wolf, Senior Missionary Roundup, Cribs for Kids

Stake Conference

We love stake conference which was held here in the Sunderland Stake this weekend.  The theme was on the "Doctrine of Belonging."  

"Although we rarely think about it, much of our belonging comes from our service and the sacrifices we make for others and for the Lord. Excessive focus on our personal needs or our own comfort can frustrate that sense of belonging. We strive to follow the Savior’s doctrine: “Whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister... For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Belonging comes not as we wait for it but as we reach out to help one another." Elder Christofferson, Oct 2022.

The Saturday Evening session was completely presented by the rising generation.  It was conducted by a Priest on the Stake Youth Council;  all the talks were by youth and young single adults-- the final speaker was a young single adult, the stake young women's president, an amazing sister, Faustina, a returned missionary who served a mission in Italy and is originally from Spain and now lives in England (picture).  It was truly an amazing experience to see the strength of the stake through these youth and young adults. 

The Sunday General session featured speakers outside the cultural norms of the church.  First, we were invited to share our testimonies 😳, we spoke of the wonderful welcome we had received from the members of the stake.   The second speaker was a brother in a wheelchair with a chronic illness, who often felt overlooked (literally) while other standers spoke amongst themselves above his head, often feeling left out of conversations.  The third speaker was a sister, who suffers from autism, and who was recently married and serves a church service mission and spoke of her desire to be more a part of the mainstream as she often felt forgotten. The fourth speaker was a deaf brother who signed his talk (voiced by a signing interpreter).  He spoke of his challenges and feelings of isolation with his handicap-  he invited hugs and simple signs as ways to help him feel a sense of belonging.  The fourth speaker was a widower who had been married for over 30 years and how he had lost his way after the death of his wife but was miraculously led to the temple where he met a sister he had known many many years before and is now planning to marry on April 8th in the temple. 

Their talks were inspiring and focused on how they overcame the barriers they encountered to 'belonging' and we were reminded how important it is to look around and make sure no one ever sits alone or comes and goes without a warm welcome.  We were blown away at the faith and testimony of these brothers and sisters and the importance of including and recognizing all who worship with us.      

More to COME

In a letter to the American Fork East Stake, the stake presidency invited the stake to attend a devotional with Bruce Hafen (father of David Hafen, our home stake president).  The invitation letter included the following meaningful quote: 

"As we COME unto the Savior Jesus Christ, He will help us to strengthen our faith, overCOME our shortcomings and trials, and beCOME more like Him through the gifts of His atonement... and we will be inspired to welCOME those around us into His love and His grace." 

Institute

The institute lesson this week was "Embracing the Savior's Great Atoning Sacrifice."  This was a such wonderful lesson to teach and yet a challenge to present it in such a way that it would be inspiring to the students.  We were moved by a review of Elder Holland's pivotal talk entitled, "None Were with Him", May 2009.  Here is an excerpt we shared:

"That the supreme sacrifice of His Son might be as complete as it was voluntary and solitary, the Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit, the support of His personal presence. ...For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, [Jesus Christ] had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone. ... Because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so." 

As we were preparing the lesson we came across this wonderful insight to go along with John 10:11-15.  "I lay down my life for my sheep (verse 15)."  In these verses there is a wolf coming to harm the sheep;  we often think of this wolf as the adversary.  However, Hank Smith likens the wolf to Justice--  "I have done something wrong, I have sinned.  Therefore, the law of Justice says I must pay.  So here comes the law of Justice...  come to devour me.  And who stands between me and the law of Justice?  The Savior.  The Good Shepherd."

On our trip to Leeds the following day, Friday, we saw many fields of sheep which reminded us of this message.

Senior Missionary Roundup Dinner

We had a wonderful dinner with all the senior missionaries in the mission.  There are 7 couples in the mission, and two senior sister missionaries; one couple serves in the mission office, one serves as service mission leaders for most of England, the sisters serve as MLS sisters (member and leader support) along with two other couples, and then three couples serve as Young Adult specialists, which includes us.  The two-hour drive to the mission home in Leeds was definitely worth the effort.  

 

Flat Inspections

We inspected 8 flats this last week and met with some amazing young Sisters and Elders.  We brought them treats and inspected their flats and had a wonderful time talking to them about the young adults in the wards where they serve.  One flat was right on the bay at South Shields, near the Tyne river mouth to the North Sea.  A little pond outside their flat was full of 6' ornamental metal boats.  Many of the missionaries had taped on the back of the entrance door to their flats encouragement from President Hinckley, who served in the British mission years ago.

Student Cribs

There are 4 universities in the Newcastle area (often referred to as going to 'UNI'), as we have been driving in the area, we noticed several signs that said, "Student Cribs",  and we thought to ourselves, wow, the older we get the younger the students look, but really, cribs?  -- we assume it means student dorms.