https://www.lds.org/children/resources/topics/plan Week Five (5)
Journal (October 27 through November 2, 2013)
October 27, 2013 (Sunday)
Today is Sunday, the Sabbath day, which is a very special day
set aside by the Lord for us to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8; Exodus 31:13; Exodus
31:17; D&C 59:9-10; D&C 59:12-13; D&C 59:16). It is a day where we
can attend church and partake of the sacrament. The Sabbath is a day for us to
meet as a congregation of saints and to be taught the gospel by one another.
Since Elder Browning and I are on a mission, and since we
have two wards that meet in the same Chapel/Building at Julian Street, we
decided to attend both block meetings for both wards while we're in Glasgow. Thus, we attend the Sacrament
Meeting and Sunday School Meetings of the Glasgow Ward and then Sacrament,
Sunday School, and Relief Society/Priesthood Meeting of the Springboig Ward,
which is our ward of residence while in Glasgow.
On this particular Sunday, after the administration of the
sacrament, we were blessed sooooooooooooo much, by having the Primary Program in
both wards, which is a program by the Primary children (ages 2 – 12 year olds).
The Primary children are so cute, innocent and engaging. They prepare for
months prior to the sacrament meeting, so they are prepared to give the talks, to
sing some songs and to share spiritual thoughts. Each child in Primary has a
part on the program. The Primary leaders are given the same basic material from
the General Primary Presidency; and even though each ward has the same
material, the presentation is tailored to their ward and primary; and thus, the
primary program turns out to be very different from other wards. Actually, we have
now seen the program four times - Portland, Oregon; Draper, Utah and twice in Glasgow and all
have been very enjoyable and different. The young children teach us some very
important doctrines. At the same time the children can be way funny to watch
and listen to. It is very obvious that the older children (11-12 years old) can't
wait to until they are in the young men's or young woman's programs. Age twelve
is the magic age to enter YM and YW.
We were invited to the home of President Wark for dinner and
to discuss the YSA program (Young Single Adult Program) in the Glasgow area. President Wark is the 1st Counselor of the Stake Presidency and is over the YSA program of the Glasgow Stake. He
and his wife have 6 boys of which two are married, one just this past
September.
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| I forgot to take a photo of their family. However, I did find this photo of their family on Facebook. |
What an awesome family. They were all very comfortable interacting
with us. It was great to watch. Needless to say, we quickly fell in love with
this family. We met them all.
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| Calum is preparing to serve a mission. |
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| Jared |
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| Aaron |
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It was a fantastic meal, and they all helped (prepare,
serve, and clean up). As we prepared to leave, Elder Browning was asked to leave
a spiritual thought. Only a few were at the table, so Elder Browning thought he
would be giving a quick message to those in the room, but President Wark called
everyone to the kitchen to hear the message. While that was impressive enough
what was more impressive is the fact they were all engrossed in the message and
listened. That "blew Elder Browning away." The family totally
impressed us.
October 28, 2013 (Monday)
Today we had our last flat inspection until the next
transfer which will be in 6 weeks. We went to a flat in the Paisley Stake, some
missionaries we have not met before. It was a routine inspection after which we
went to IKEA to shop for some household items that we can't live without!
Since the Zone Leaders borrowed our church key, we went by
to pick it up. While we were there, we asked them what changes were taking
place in the zone during this transfer. In our District, only one sister left, Sister Cuff
and one new sister, Sister Allen, arrived. For the Zone, we'll say goodbye to five (5)
missionaries and welcome 7 into the zone, with an additional two Elders going
to Airdrie, so they will have four elders in their area.
We then picked up the Sister Missionaries and headed off to
ASDA to do some grocery shopping. We wanted to prepare Hawaiian Haystacks, so we
had to buy all the ingredients. It’s fun shopping and trying to get a feel for
a new store. Even though this is a Walmart Store, we realized there are many
things in the US stores that aren’t found in Scotland. For example, we couldn’t
find Chow Mein Noodles and Cream of Chicken Soup. But, with the ingredients we
could buy we made a good Hawaiian Haystack that the YSA liked.
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October 29, 2013 (Tuesday)
This is a photo of our zone prior to transfers. Our zone
includes the following Wards and Branch: Airdrie Ward, Cumbernald Ward,
Dumbarton Ward, East Kilbride Ward, Glasgow Ward, Motherwell Ward, Oban Branch,
and Springboig Ward).
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1st
Row: Elder Merrill, Elder Cziesla, Elder van den Bron, Elder Thackeray, Elder
Hutchings, Elder Roper, Elder Whalquist, and Elder Browning
2nd
Row: Sister Browning, Elder Hunter, Elder Phippen, Elder Andreus, Elder
Farnsworth (DL), Sister Oliphant, Sister Hulet, Sister Cuff, and Elder Urbieta
3rd
Row: Elder Parsons, Elder Maughan, Sister Casewell,
4th
Row: Elder Thomas, Elder Shubin, Elder Utley Elder Boehme
5th
Row: Elder McKhann, Elder Luo, Elder Edwards
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With transfers taking place on Wednesday, the District Meeting
wasn’t held today; so we spent the day in the flat organizing the kitchen and
the YSA food. We took an inventory of what food is in the flat, so we can plan menus
according to food on hand.
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| We have some cans of Coconut Cream and Coconut Milk. Does anyone have a recipe that uses either or both of these ingredients? |
Since Elder Browning hasn’t had access to his laptop, it’s
been very frustrating for him. Thus, about 6:30 pm our time, Elder
Browning used MagicJack to call Best Buy about his faulty AC adapter for his
laptop. They couldn't help because they didn't have an adapter, so Best Buy gave
him HP's 800 number The end result after 1 1/2 hours on the phone, is they
can only replace his adapter in the US; so he has to ship the faulty adapter to
Leigh and when Leigh receives the new adapter he sends it to Scotland and he also returns
the faulty adapter to HP in the box in which the good adapter arrived in. Did
you follow the bouncing ball? In any event, it's costing £49 (about $76)
to ship an £18 (about $28) adapter to the US, and that’s only one way… (Oh, the
price you have to pay for a free replacement!)
October 30, 2013 (Wednesday)
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Here
is a photo of Sister Cuff.
She’s going to Limmerick, Ireland.
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We drove to city center and parked in a parking structure
and the three sisters, Elder Browning and I helped transport all the luggage
into the bus station where we waited for the other missionaries being
transferred. It was great fun to watch them greet one another and say their
goodbyes. Elder Browning said it brought back memories of his transfers, except
they seemed to be more organized than he remembers being. It was great fun being
a part of the experience. We then took some sisters to the train station.
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About the time we were getting ready to settle down for the
night, the Chinatown Elders called and asked if Elder Browning could be a
witness for a marriage. The Elders had asked Sister Cuff, but she was transferred,
so they contacted us. The couple had been living together for about three years
and had two small children; but after being taught the gospel, they realized
they needed to be married before they could be baptized. The marriage ceremony
was quickly arranged and was very intimate and small in numbers. There were
seven adults and two children - the Bishop (Bishop Green), the two Elders (Luo
and McKhann), Elder and Sister Browning, the couple getting married and their
two children. It was an interesting ceremony. I entertained the baby; the two
year old ran around with the energy of a two year old. While all this was
happening, the Chinese Elder translated what the Bishop said in his counsel and
ceremony, which was in English and translated it to Chinese for the couple -
Fun experience and very special.
October 31, 2013 (Thursday)
We’re making progress in getting set up and settled in
Glasgow. We met with Sean today. He’s one of the managers that we
met a few weeks ago at the bank. The day after we met him he left for holiday, so we waited
until he returned, because we didn’t want to start all over again. Thus, we met
with Sean and he was able to open the account for us. Yeah! We now have a bank
account with the Royal Bank of Scotland ("RBS"). It’s not easy getting a bank
account here. I guess it’s their way of keeping riffraff out of their country.
We had to show them our passports, and we had the Mission President write a
letter on the Mission Letterhead. Whatever it takes… Well, we’re set up with a
bank, and now we need to wait until sometime next week for our checks and debit
cards. The important thing - it’s done and we can soon stop going to the ATM
for cash for our shopping, etc.
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| Happy Birthday! Sure do luv ya... |
We called and talked to Ron’s Mom (Marge / Nonny) to wish
her a happy birthday. She’s 94 years young. It’s always fun to FaceTime with
her. We’re always blown away by how good the reception is and how it seems like
there’s no delay in the transmission. It’s awesome and mother looked great. Thanks
for hanging in there, Mom. Sure do luv ya,
November 1, 2013 (Friday)
We spent time today cleaning the guest bathroom and
organizing the kitchen cupboards. We’re talking about traveling to Sterling
tomorrow.
November 2, 2013 Saturday)
Before going to bed on Friday we talked about going to Sterling
for the day. However, Elders Hutchings and Thackeray called and asked if we
could be present at a teaching appointment with them and a young woman. The
Elders need another person to attend a teaching appointment with them when they
teach a single woman.
Before we left for the teaching appointment, Elders Luo and
McKahnn - the Chinatown Elders - called and asked if we could open the YSA
cabinet at the church.
We then received word that Mairi's father unexpectedly passed
away last night. We’re so glad we were here to give some comfort to her. We
also helped in getting documents, so she could leave school and Scotland to
attend the funeral, which will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah.
So is it just a coincidence that Elder Browning had a rough
night – he’s thinking it might have been a kidney stone, which means he needed
to stay in the area; so that we could help the Elders and Mairi! The Lord
wanted us around. We can sightsee later.
The teaching appointment was with Sabrina. She is from Ethiopia
and has been looking for work in Europe. She has been a caregiver in Italy, and
she is trying to find similar work in Scotland while going to school on an
education visa.
The appointment went quite well. She is quite inquisitive
and very open to the message as she is seeking some sense of purpose which the
family religion is not offering. Since she is about 22/23 we told her about YSA
FHE and invited her to attend with us. She put it in her calendar so hopefully
she will attend and find a good spirit there.
Let me just say how much we love the diversity of Glasgow
and the area in which we serve. It is great to see the worldwide nature
of the Church right here in our Stake - Simply AWESOME.
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Before I close, I want to send out a thank you to my sister-in-law, Kay, for the darling scarf she gave me which she brought back with her from Italy. It’s a classy scarf and is wonderful for this Scotland weather. I’m really enjoying it.
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Oh, we purchased a hair clipping
set, so I could trim Elder Browning’s hair, so he can keep his missionary
haircut…with what hair he has - ha, ha, ha…(He told me to say that!)
Also, since I had to leave my favorite
bathrobe in the states (too heavy for my suitcase), I finally found one
that is warm and comfy, so I won't freeze this winter...
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These are the photos on our
wall. They are pictures of Heavenly Father’s perfect Plan – The Plan of
Salvation. It shows that we lived with Heavenly Father in the preexistence, we came to
earth as a baby, learned, grew, married, had a family, had life experiences,
grew old, died and returned to Heavenly Father.
https://www.lds.org/topics/plan-of-salvation?lang=eng
The Great Plan of Happiness
(Adapted from an October 1993 conference address. See Ensign, November 1993, pages 72–75.)
Questions like “Where did we come from?” “Why are we here?” and
“Where are we going?” are answered in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Prophets have called it the Plan of Salvation and “the great
plan of happiness” (Alma 42:8). Through inspiration we can understand this road map of
eternity and use it to guide our path in this life.
The gospel teaches us that we are the spirit children of
heavenly parents. Before our mortal birth, we lived as the sons and daughters
of the Eternal Father. We were placed here on earth to work toward eternal
life. These truths give us a unique perspective and different values to guide
our decisions from those who doubt the existence of God and believe that life
is not part of an eternal plan.
Our understanding of life begins with a council in heaven. There
the spirit children of God were taught his eternal plan, the “great plan of
happiness,” as Alma called it. We had progressed as far as we could without a
physical body. To realize a fullness of joy, we had to prove our willingness to
keep the commandments of God in a circumstance where we had no memory of what
took place before our birth on earth.
In our lives here on earth, we would become subject to death,
and we would be soiled by sin. To reclaim us from death and sin, our Heavenly
Father’s plan provided us a Savior, whose atonement would redeem all from death
and pay the price necessary for us all to be forgiven of our sins if we keep
his commandments and repent of our sins.
When we understand the Plan of Salvation, we also understand the
purpose and effect of the commandments God has given his children. He teaches
us correct principles and invites us to govern ourselves. We do this by the
choices we make.
We who know
God’s plan and have covenanted, or promised, to participate in it must desire
to do what is right, and we must do all that we can all our lives. When we have
done all that we can, we can rely on God’s promised mercy.
I absolutely love the three pictures that you said are on your wall that show the plan of salvation. They look like they were done in the 50's or 60's. Do you know who the artist is? How blessed you were growing up with such a visual reminder of why you are here. Beautiful!
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