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| Pipers at Edinburgh Military Tattoo |
Week Six (6)
Journal (November 3 through November 9, 2013)
Week 6
November 3, 2013 (Sunday)
· Mosiah 18:23
23 And he commanded them that they should observe the asabbath day, and
keep it holy, and also every day they should give thanks to the Lord their God.
At the last Institute evening, we were talking to Michael,
and he informed us that he was going to be confirmed a member of the church on
Sunday, so we decided to attend the Sacrament Meeting in which he resided.
Thus, we drove to the Irvine Ward today.
We had a lovely drive to the Irvine, which is toward the
west coast of Scotland. The sun was out; and once we got out of the city, we
were into narrow country roads. The Irvine Ward was only went 35 miles away,
but the trip took about 50 minutes.
We must be getting use to the driving because Elder Browning
said,
“I was having fun driving the winding, narrow Grand Prix
course. This time I only made one wrong turn. The lady in the GPS told me to
take a certain turn at the roundabout; but because the roads were close
together, I chose the wrong exit. Not bad. I'll get the hang of these
roundabouts yet.”
We were warmly greeted by the ward members. The ward has two
sets of Missionaries (1 set of Elders and 1 set of Sisters). One of the
Sisters, Sister Ryan, we previously met, but we didn’t know the Elders. The
Sisters taught Michael the lessons. Immanuel, a friend of Michael's from school,
confirmed Michael a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and
bestowed the gift of the Holy Ghost on him. Immanuel is a return missionary and
attends Institute on Wednesday nights.
After traveling to Irvine Ward, we have a new appreciation
for the commitment of these YSAs. They have a 45 – 60 minute drive to the Glasgow
Stake Building for institute, which means some of these YSA are getting home
late and driving these dark winding roads at night - very impressive and
humbling that they’re willingness to make the commitment to be at Institute
every Wednesday night.
After church we had a wee blether (talk) with a couple of
brethren – one Brother was Brother Ferguson, and his wife is the Relief Society
President. We talked about the church, the YSA Program, and other things. We’re
convinced more than ever that we need to get out to the other wards on Sundays
to meet, to connect with the other wards/branches, to get to know the YSA, to find
out who is active, and to find out who needs extra fellowshipping.
On our return visit to Glasgow, the GPS didn’t send us back the
same way we traveled to Irvine. However, the drive back was equally interesting,
enjoyable and beautiful.
On one stretch of road it was soooooooooooooo exciting that
it got our hearts racing very fast…This is how Elder Browning described it…
“As a point of reference, there was a body of water on the left-hand
side of the road. The road took us up a short, steep grade that dropped off to
the right. I couldn’t see the bend in the road to the right. Consequently, we
reached the crest of the road; and all I could see was the body of water, the lake;
and it had the feeling that we had been led into a dead end that shot us off
into the lake. For a split second I thought we were going into the water -
Scary moment!!!!!!!!”
Here’s another GPS story that was part of the Irvine trip. Later
as we were driving into town the GPS said the two left lanes took us to where we
wanted to go - Nay not so. We ended up coming to a stop where the road divides
until we could get back into the correct lane to get to our destination. As
Elder Browning puts it, “I’m sure I’m leaving a wake of Scottish drivers waving
their hands at me.”
As we mentioned before, we also need to learn that when the
GPS lady tells us to take the next "slip" to the left that she means
to take the "off ramp." For the longest time I, Sister Browning,
thought she was saying “slick road,” and Elder Browning thought we should be
looking for a road called the "Slip" until he realized there couldn’t
be that many streets with the same name - Funny stuff.
Well, we attended another "Patsy Dinner." She does
all the cooking and tonight there were about twenty in attendance made up of
YSA, a couple of recent married couples, two zone leaders and us (Sister Tracey
Browning and Elder Ron Browning). It was a delightful evening of getting to
know the YSAs better and enjoying a good meal with good company.
While at the dinner, we FaceTimed with Nonny and introduced
our Scottish friends to Nonny and Kay. We had to cut the conversation short
because of the noise, the poor connection, and the low batter on my IPad. After
we arrived home, we called and FaceTimed with the whole family (Nonny, Kay
& Roy, Leigh’s family, Lew and Ivy’s family). They were gathered at Nonny's
place in honor of her Birthday. It was wonderful to see everyone and to say
"Hi". We love technology when it works!
November 4, 2013 (Monday)
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| THERE IS FROST ON THE CARS this morning! |
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| We better get ready for a Scottish winter! |
First part of the day was spent in scripture study.
Mosiah 4:9
9 Believe in aGod;
believe that he is, and that he bcreated all
things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has allcwisdom, and
all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not dcomprehend all the
things which the Lord can comprehend.
The Sister Missionaries called to ask if we were still going
to take them grocery shopping - which we were but we had forgotten. (Love these
mental hiccups!) Sooooo, we got ready and headed their way only to be hung up by
a disabled bus. We finally made it and went to ASDA where we talked to a worker
by the name of Peter. He helped us find a product, so we gave him a Joy to the
World pass-along card, which generated a friendly conversation.
We then spent the afternoon working on a Mac & Cheese
dinner for FHE. We also made bread from a recipe Sister Whitney gave us and
also a Texas Sheet Cake and a Toss Green Salad. We’re not use to all this
cooking; it’s very tiring! However, FHE rejuvenated us.
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| Mac & Cheese |
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| Homemade Bread |
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| Texas Sheet cake |
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| Toss Salad |
We want to share with you a funny thing that happened while
eating. As mentioned, we had Mac & Cheeses and the Texas Sheet Cake. Well,
on a few occasions we heard a low moan of ecstasy come from Elder Huthings. He
was enjoying this meal soooooo much (the Mac & Cheese, the bread and the
cake) that he was almost in a swoon. He later admitted that the cake tasted
just like the cake his mother makes, so he was in 7th heaven. We’re glad we
made someone happy! :-). It made all the hard work worth the effort.
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| That was a great... |
In Attendance tonight were Rachel, Mairi, Chris, Sabrina,
Elders Hutchings and Thackeray (who are teaching Sabrina), Elders Luo and
McKahnn (often referred to as the Chinatown Elders), and Enya, who is a recent
convert, and us. It was a good group. (We forgot to take photos until after Elders
Luo, McKahnn, and Enya left.)
After dinner we began the lesson by singing, I Am a Child of
God, and Sabrina was really studying the words. We hope she felt the Spirit.
Below is a link to a video plus a copy of the lyrics.
I am a child of God,
And he has sent me here,
Has given me an earthly home
With parents kind and dear.
Chorus
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday
I am a child of God,
And so my needs are great;
Help me to understand his words
Before it grows too late.
Chorus
I am a child of God.
Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do his will
I'll live with him once more.
Chorus
We had a fun activity.
Rachael made an award for the winner, who happened to be
Elder Thackery!
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| who happened to be Elder Thackery! |
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| Rachael made an award for the winner |
As mentioned earlier, Sabrina attend, (she’s the person we helped teach last Saturday). She seemed to enjoy the evening and seemed very comfortable in this setting.
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| We want to share a special recognition and Thank you note to Kris. He comes after work, so he comes late, and he doesn’t leave until we’re in our car and leave the church parking lot. |
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It started out cold today and it never really felt like it
warmed up much. Before District Meeting Elder Browning called HP to have them
ship a new AC adapter to the Oregon address and 30 minutes later it was
completed. He said it felt like pulling teeth. He thought they had all the
information in their files and thought it would only take a few minutes to
complete the order. Nay not so - he was wrong in his wishful thinking... It
took a lot longer. The important thing, the order was completed and the adapter
is on its way.
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| We welcomed a new sister into the district by the name of Sister Allen. |
| District Meeting was enjoyable. |
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| Photo of District plus Zone Leaders was taken at our flat.
Front row: Elder Andrews (ZL), Elder Farnsworth (DL), Elder
& Sister Browning, Sister Casewell and Sister Allen.
Back Row: Elders Thackeray, Maughn, McKhann, van den Bron,
Liu and Hutchings
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At District Meeting, we asked the district if they would be
interested in having a Thanksgiving dinner at our flat. They thought that would
be a great idea and were all supportive of us putting on the dinner. Elder
Hutchings, in his childlike innocence, again gave a sigh of joy at the prospect
of having a turkey dinner and pumpkin pie as he noted, "I haven't had
pumpkin pie for a long time!" We really love Elder Hutchings.
Following district meeting we were asked to assist in a
teaching appointment held at the church. The investigator is a friend of Dovile,
and he is also from Lithuania. Very quiet but reflective, and I trust he is
taking the lessons seriously.
When we came back to the flat; I, Sister Browning, began making
Nonny's homemade sourdough whole-wheat bread while Elder Browning got online to
see if we could find a nearby pumpkin patch. We have learned that the grocery
stores we go to don’t carry Libby’s canned pumpkin, so we thought we would have
to get some fresh pumpkins and steam them - but our stores no longer had
pumpkins in stock. Elder Browning did find a couple of pumpkin patches in
Scotland, but they were both a couple of hours away. One pumpkin patch was near
St. Andrews, but we thought that was a little too far to travel. Then Elder
Browning asked what stores in the Glasgow area carried pumpkins; and a Whole
Foods store popped up - so he called them. He asked if they had either canned pumpkin
or pumpkins. In hindsight, he may have misunderstood the store clerk, because he
thought the lady said they had pumpkins but not the canned pumpkin. So we drove
across town - driving across town is always an adventure. When we got there, we
found no large, orange pumpkins like we anticipated; but as the grocer was
explaining what he did have, Elder Browning noticed several cases of Libby's canned
Pumpkin - so we bought 8 cans, in the event we have to do a Christmas meal. We
also bought the green pumpkin the grocer described to us, and we will steam it
and our orange pumpkin and combine the two to see what kind of pie it will make.
At best we'll have discovered a new pie; at worst we can dump it in the
garbage. And we love it…Also, Whole Foods had some Bob's Red Mill products and
other items we have not seen at the other stores. The down side is that the
store is not convenient and the prices are expensive, especially if we’re using
YSA funds.
On a side note, the GPS did not take us home the way we went
to Whole Foods but sent us through a different part of town. ADVENTURE IS OUT
THERE!!!!
Another side note. On the way home from Whole Foods, we
stopped at a few bed stores to check out a bed for a sister missionary whose
bed has "died". We need to get back to the mission office with our
findings, so we can get a bed delivered ASAP.
When we returned I finished making the bread, which tasted
just like home. We even purchased from IKEA the same jar that Nonny keeps her
sourdough in, cool – huh?
Do you care that we had pork chops with applesauce for
dinner? Yummy, although the homemade bread was not ready by the time we sat
down to eat – so it turned out to be part of our dessert. J
November 6, 2013 (Wednesday)
The morning was spent in personal study time.
We then we talked about some topics to discuss at the YSA
Committee Meeting that will be held Wednesday evening.
We then met the Chinatown Elders and went with them to a
teaching appointment. The sister is less active and has a daughter that is now
8 years old, so we went to teach the mother a gospel principal and asked about
the possibility of teaching her daughter the lessons to prepare her for
baptism. All this was done in Chinese, so when we spoke, the Elders would
translate, so sometimes we lost our train of thought. It was interesting and at
the same time very spiritual.
We spent the rest of the afternoon, what was left of it,
preparing salsa for chips to be served at Institute.
The YSA Committee met prior to Institute for an hour. President
Wark, the counselor in the Glasgow Stake Presidency over YSA, conducted and
presided. President Hale from the Paisley Stake Presidency was in attendance. Included
in the meeting were the Institute teachers. It was proposed for future meetings
the YSA Committee will meet separately from the Institute Student Council. The
YSA Institute Student Council was called and sustained that night. Besides the older
people (President Wark, Robert, Janice, Allan, Elder & Sister Browning) that
attended, the young singles attending the meeting were Rachel, Holly, Jonathan
and Jared.
Since Elder Browning will be teaching the Book of Mormon class
next week, we (Elder Browning and I) sat in on the Book of Mormon class which
is taught by Brother Richardson. Next week Brother Richardson will be attending
a training meeting for Institute teachers. We think it’s held in Manchester.
Elder Browning will be teaching from the Book of Jacob in the Book of Mormon.
The person who was to conduct Institute and have an activity
did not make it to Institute. It turned out OK, because President Wark had some
business, which he conducted. So that took care of opening exercises. However,
it left us without an activity. No need to worry, a young man, Darren, stepped
up and created a game on the spot. He used the chairs to divide the cultural
hall into four quadrants and then started tossing the soccer ball around with
the idea that you did not want the ball to end up in your quadrant at the end
of a 30 second time period. If the ball was in your quadrant at the end of 30
seconds that team received a point. The quadrant with the fewest points won. I
was amazed how such a simple act generated so much enthusiasm and fun. After a
while, no one kept score, they were just out to have fun. So simple - so much
fun! When the game finally dwindled down and kind of died a natural death, one
sister asked with disappointment in her voice, "Is the game over?" I
was amazed. It doesn’t take a lot to entertain the Glaswegian YSAs. We’ve been
told more than once that we don’t need to entertain with the "big"
events. We’re now believers of this…
All in all, it seemed to be a good evening with a lot of
hugs among the YSA as they departed. They enjoy each other and enjoyed
lingering until around 10:30pm. We’re glad they enjoy each other’s company and
lingering. We’re usually very tired and need to go home to get some sleep…
November 7, 2013 (Thursday)
We spent the day in the flat. We went through a bunch of
papers left behind by former senior couple missionaries. Once we get updated
YSA rosters from the Bishops, we can then get rid of some of the old rosters. We
will then work on organizing binders to leave with those that follow us.
We also spent time researching online bed frames and
mattresses for two missionaries in the zone. I think we have decided on a
longer, 6'6', bed rather than the standard 6'3" bed to accommodate taller
missionaries.
We also cleaned out the refrigerator. Something was really
stinking up the place every time we opened the refrigerator door. Ugh!
We keep realizing more and more how spoiled we and most Americans
have been. The refrigerator we have is set up for very little food and the
sizes and selection at the grocers are minimal. It is a step up from daily
shopping. We really have to adjust our shopping habits. Hopefully, this will
help us when return home after our mission to shop and use smaller quantities
of food.
November 8, 2013 (Friday)
Elder Browning couldn’t find his scriptures, so he made a
trip to the church before I got out of bed. He didn’t find them at the church
nor in the flat. Thus, when I got up, we decided to both go to the church to
look for them. When we got in the car, I, Sister Browning, looked under the
passenger seat and found Elder Browning’s scriptures. What a relief. Elder
Browning realized how much he cherished the written scriptures for studying. He
spent the whole day in a rejoicing mode.
We also had a teaching appointment with Elder Farnsworth and
Maughn. It was a woman from Tunisia. It was an interesting visit as she shared
a bit of her life which was hard with an abusive husband and other family
members abandoning her. But, I think the appointment went well under the circumstances.
We stopped by Costco on the way home for some supplies.
Also after the appointment and later in the day, we spent
some time researching beds for two missionaries. After settling on a couple of
choices, we went to Archer's on Great Western to see if they had the beds and
mattresses in stock, so we could look at them. We learned what was online is
not in the store. Soooooooo, the salesman took us around, and we ended up
buying the bed frames and mattresses from the store. One little problem, when
we called the mission home to have Elder Hansen give Brian (the salesman) the
credit card info, the card wouldn’t go through, so we had to put it on our
credit card that we had just activated. We either own two beds in the mission,
or we will get reimbursed. No need to worry, the mission will reimburse us. J
November 9, 2013 (Saturday)
We did our usual morning scripture study.
I, Sister Browning, spent a good portion of the day trying
to figure out how to send an email with inserted pictures, so family and
friends could see what we are up to through the written word and pictures.
Elder Browning thinks I’m tenacious, but so far the computer is winning. It’s
not working the way I want.
We were invited to go to a teaching appointment with the
Zone Leaders, Andrus and van den Bron. We have no idea of where they took us. We’ll
have to look at a map to see if we can find the town on the map, once we
remember the name of the town. A member of the Bishopric lives in the town, and
it takes about 30 minutes to drive to the church. What’s interesting to us is
the time and distance factor. In Oregon, it takes 20 minutes to drive from Quail
Park to the stake center in Beaverton, Oregon; and because it’s somewhat a
straight shot on long stretches of straight roads, it doesn’t seem to take that
long. Here, to drive 20 to 30 minutes to get some place seems like it takes
"forever." The destination may only be a few miles away "but you
can't get there from here." There are no straight shots. Perhaps the more
we drive the area the more the routes will shorten due to familiarity.
Well, anyway, the appointment was 20 minutes from the Zone
Leaders’ flat, but we took 15 minutes to drive to their flat. We met with
Granny (Mary), her granddaughter (Hannah) and Hannah's friend, Caitlin. Gran is
a member, but less active. The two teenage girls have had no real church
training so they were indifferent about religion as a whole, but they were
willing to listen to what we had to say. The missionaries do have a return
appointment. We’ll see how it all progresses.
We went to another appointment; but because we were running
late by the time we arrived at the appointment, it was not a good time for the
contact and her family; so the Elders made arrangements to come back another
time.
We left the Elders at their flat and traveled to the church for
a stake sponsored "Movie Night." Families were encouraged to make
movies and to share them with the stake. I don't know what a normal turnout
would be, but it seemed a goodly number of stake members attended. The gym in
the Stake Center was set up with the chairs facing one of the white walls.
There were a few flaws on the wall, which made for some interesting scenes for
the movies. The movies were great. We were very impressed with the ability of
some people in shooting and editing their movies. There are some very talented
people in the Stake. It was an enjoyable evening.
As fillers, someone had also pulled some videos from the
internet to share. One was a cappella doo wop group singing a medley of Disney
tunes - Very impressive.
One was a Berlitz commercial about learning English. The scenario
goes like this:
A Senior Officer leaves a Junior Officer in charge of a German
Coast Guard Control Center when a stress signal comes in, but the Junior
Officer doesn’t understand the “may day” plea. It was very cleverly done. Every
time Elder Browning thinks about this or views the YouTube clip, he bursts into
laughter. Below is the link to the clip. It begins with a commercial, which are
always different, so I never know what is included with the YouTube clip. If
this clip doesn’t work, you may have to look it up (Berlitz commercial about
learning English”) or ask Elder Browning about it when you see him. Warning:
This may not seem as funny to you as it did/does to Elder Browning.
I wouldn’t be a very good missionary if I didn’t share a
spiritual message. In the New Testament the scriptures state that the Lord’s
church was built upon apostle and prophets, and Jesus Christ is the chief
cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:19-20)
19 Now therefore ye are no more astrangers and foreigners, butbfellowcitizens with the csaints, and of the dhousehold of God;
20 And are built upon the
foundation of the aapostles andbprophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief ccorner stone;
Here is a link where 12 modern day apostles and prophet
share their witness of Jesus Christ. Enjoy.
LDS Video: Special Witness of Christ
Well, it’s time for me to say cheerio the noo for now. Sure
do luv ya,
We keep asking ourselves, “Have we done any good.” Here’s a
video featuring Alex Boyé and Carmen Rasmusen Herbert singing the song, “Have I
Done Any Good.”
