Week Seven (7)
November 10 through November 16, 2013
November 10, 2013 (Sunday)
This morning it was 3 degrees
Celsius - Brrrrrrrr! When we left for church this morning at 9:45am, it was cold
and frosty. We didn’t have a window scraper for the car, so we used a credit card
to scrape the windows.
Mary and Chi (one is a less active
member and the other is an investigator) were two separate contacts we joint
taught with the Elders. It was exciting, because both were at church today, and it
was great seeing them both there. One had to take 2 separate buses,
which took about an hour - that becomes quite a commitment.
During Sunday School the Bishop met
with us. He split his time between us and his 18 month old son who decided he
didn’t want to go to nursery. The Bishop’s wife teaches the Gospel Doctrine
Class; thus, the Bishop had child care duties. (In our church we don’t have
paid clergymen, so we’re all volunteers.) It was fun watching the little boy
get into everything and trying to make his escape from the Bishop’s Office. The
Bishop, between adventures with his son, asked Elder Browning to give a talk.
He also, since he’s the Agent Bishop, shared some lockup and cleanup protocols
to help keep the building safe and secure on the nights we’re responsible for
lockup. He also went over the list of the YSAs in the Springboig Ward.
On Sunday evening we watched the CES
rebroadcast that occurred the week before. The talk was great. Elder
Russel T. Osguthorpe, Sunday School General President spoke. His talk title
was, “I Will Give Myself to Him.”
Below is
the link to the CES Devotional for Young Adults • November 3, 2013 •
Brigham Young University https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/ces-devotionals/2013/01/i-will-give-myself-to-him?lang=eng
There was a good turnout; and after
the broadcast, the YSAs just hung around and talked with one another. It was
very gratifying to watch their interaction with each other.
November 11, 2013 (Monday)
We took the Sisters grocery shopping.
After shopping, we started preparing
the YSA Home Evening light supper. Elder Browning made cinnamon rolls and I
made the goulash. We also had a toss green salad. Everyone loved the food.
We had a spiritual thought/lesson. After
the lesson, we played password and had a lot of fun playing the game. It was
the girls versus the guys, and we split the two games. Elder Browning is convinced
the guys won both games. Ummmm…….
November 12, 2013 (Tuesday)
We drove to Oban to help the Elders
out. It was a beautiful drive.
We saw a full rainbow and at one point of the
drive it seemed like we drove right through the rainbow, but, alas, no pot of
gold.
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| Driving through the rainbow |
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| We also saw a double rainbow. |
Interesting bridges…
The scenery here in Scotland is
spectacular…Mountain sides with cascading waterfalls, winding roads, and varied
landscapes with and without trees…
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| Sheep grazing… |
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A beautiful setting for a country farm house.
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| Mountains with a dusting of snow! |
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| We stopped at “Rest and be thankful. |
We took
the Inveraray route which is faster and has better roads than the Loch Lomand
route that we took the first time we traveled to Oban.
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A beautiful setting for a
Country home.
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| We're getting close to Inverary! |
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| It started to rain. OK, it’s sleeting rain. Can you see the sheet of rain? Awesome! |
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| A sailboat was docked at Inverary harbor. |
These photos are of Invearary.
I took this photo from the passenger side
while traveling on a single lane bridge. The photo below I took as we traveled a few trips back and forth over the bridge to get it.
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| Inveraray Castle is a beautiful, which we’ll have to return to someday when we have more time. |
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| This photo was taken while traveling up the road behind the castle on our continued trip to Oban. |
While in Inveraray, we stopped at the
Edinburgh Woolen Mills shop. We met our first Scot in his kilt. (He was a tour
guide!) We each purchased a Harris Tweed jacket. Here we are with the kilt man,
and I’m in my Harris Tweed jacket. Looking good!
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| Sister Browning, the kilt man and Elder Browning |
There’s sooooooooo much to see in Inveraray,
but we just didn’t have the time to spend there, so we’ll be back…
We arrived in Oban about 12:30pm and
went to Norries for our Fish and Chips. The owner remembered us from our last
visit.
While at Norries, we had a stranger
talk to us - it was a delightful chance meeting in Oban of someone in a different
part of the world (not an Oban resident) - it’s interesting what a stranger
will share with missionaries and fellow members of the Lord’s church. While we
were eating, a gentleman came over to our table and asked if we were
missionaries - he noticed our name badges. He then proceeded to tell us he was
a member from England. He was traveling with some family members. He shared
with us that at one time, he had been a branch president in Thailand. His wife
was Thai. He then told us, with some emotion, of her recent passing. During
these few short minutes, our hearts
and love went out to him as he shared his loss.
As it says in the Book of Mormon (Mosiah 18:8-10)
8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here
are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are adesirous to
come into the bfold of
God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s
burdens, that they may be light;
9 Yea, and are awilling to
mourn with those that bmourn;
yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as cwitnesses of
God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even
until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the dfirst
resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
10 Now
I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against
being abaptized in
the bname of
the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a ccovenant
with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour
out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?
We linked up with the Elders. Talk
about a small world…Elder Simpson is related to Bob and Sue Nelson. The Nelsons
are in the Market Street Branch, in Portland, OR with Bob as the Branch
President and his wife Sue is Nonny’s Visiting Teacher.
The appointments that the Oban
Elders lined up, for various reasons, didn’t take place. The Elders apologized
profusely. It wasn’t their fault. That’s part of the highs and lows of
missionary work.
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| Here’s a home/dwelling we saw on our drive up the hill |
All isn’t lost. While in Oban, we
drove around and visited McCaig’s Tower
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| Grounds outside of McCaig’s Monument |
McCaig’s Tower is also known as
McCaig’s follies. It’s
a prominent landmark in the resort town of Oban
in
Argyll on Scotland’s west coast.
It’s a Stone hedge type edifice. It was built in 1897 by a local banker John
Stuart McCaig. He was a wealthy banker and started
the building with the intent of putting stonemasons to work during the winter
and to be a memorial to his family. He died well before the work was completed
but in his will he directed that £1,000 a year be set aside to complete the
project. Mr. McCaig’s heirs had other ideas about the money, so they challenged
the will in court, and the judge ruled that the banker was too eccentric and
voided that provision of his will - so the building was never completed. However,
the town of Oban did preserve the area for a tourist attraction. It has a
beautiful view of Oban Bay where we took a number of pictures.
The
gardens inside the tower are well maintained
By the observation deck, we found
this plant with
Very large leaves.
View of Oban’s dock.
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| Oban Bay |
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| Panoramic View of Oban from McCaig’s Tower that I took. OK, the visitor’s brochure says, “spectacular views across Oban Bay to the Atlantic Islands.” |
Our Harris Tweed jackets came in handy as the Oban weather was cold, wet and blustery, but the tweeds really blocked out much of the cold - what a great garment, and nice looking too.
Then we drove down the hill for our
deep fried Mars bar!!!!!!! And you thought we were on a mission - yes a
mission of culinary delights.
Can you believe it? I, Sister Browning drove
from Oban to Inveraray, then Elder Browning drove to Glasgow and back to our
flat.
Here’s one last item to add to our interesting
day. While we were with the Elders in Oban, Elder Browning received a phone
call from Elder Hansen in the Mission Office to report that Elder Browning had
received a ticket for driving in the bus lane. During certain hours of the day,
Glasgow doesn’t allow you to drive in the outside lane where the buses travel.
Taxis and Council cars can, but not the general public. Elder Browning now knows
this law a little better - to the tune of £30.
November 13, 2013 (Wednesday)
Wednesday was the Glasgow Zone
Conference with President and Sister Brown and the Assistants to the President
("APs"). President Brown spoke about obedience to the mission
rules and Sister Brown talked about staying healthy during the winter months.
President and Sister Brown also ordered in Dominos Pizza for lunch. Elder
Browning felt there were some interesting varieties of pizzas. He heard one
Elder remark that he had never had corn on his pizza before.
After lunch we had more training.
In both the morning and afternoon sessions they teach a principle and
then divide up the zone to practice the principle in a teaching setting.
In the afternoon the APs taught about issuing the baptismal commitment.
We had two sisters from Hamilton teach Sister Browning who was acting as
someone the Sisters were actually teaching. They really seemed to struggle,
so just before they were to conclude the training Elder Browning felt to
counsel the Sisters that if they felt they were struggling, which they knew had
occurred, they should step back and just bear a fervent testimony of the
principle and why it’s important and then pick up with the teaching. He told
them that he believes in "reset buttons" to get back on track but
never feel bad about bearing one's testimony since we’re trying to help these
people come to Christ, even if they don't know it yet.
The conference concluded by singing
the Mission Song. We were given a CD with the recording of the song. It was
written when the Church created the Scotland/Ireland Mission, SIM for short
Here are the words:
Till The Work Is Done
Scottish/Ireland Mission (SIM) Song
Our mission in life is to bring to
the Lord
Souls that are precious to preach his
word.
From Dublin and Lim’ric, Galway,
Belfast, Don-e-gal to all the emerald isle.
For miles and miles o’er land and
sea, teach the gospel truth to those who believe
Till the work is done,
United we must be as one
Royal, Strong and true
Till the Savior says the work is
done.
We thank God for his Spirit that
carries us forth
To share all the love that He has in
store,
For the high-lands and islands and
all in between
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen.
For mile and miles o’er land and sea
Teach the gospel truth to those who
believe.
Till the work is done,
United we must be as one
Royal, Strong and true
Till the Savior says the work is
done.
Like Nephi of old we will go and be
true
For we know each day
He’ll prepare a way
To accomplish all he asks us to do.
Till the work is done,
United we must be as one
Royal, Strong and true
Till the Savior says the work is
done.
(Repeated 2 more times)
That evening Elder Browning was a
substitute teacher at Institute for Robert Richardson, who was in England for
some Institute training. Elder Browning taught the material from the Book
of Jacob. He had a lot of fun and the students seemed to enjoy the class.
If you would like to read in the
scriptures, here’s the link to the Jacob Chapters:
Also, since one of the principle doctrines
of Jacob was the chastity of women. Elder Browning put on his former Bishop's
hat and did some serious teaching/counseling. It was well received and a number
of the class members were grateful that Elder Browning was blunt and
straightforward in the presentation of the materials because they felt it was
needed at times and this was one of those times. Elder Browning prays
that what was taught will have been a deterrent for any of the YSAs getting too
close to the slippery path of "going too far" in their courting
relationships.
Book of Mormon Student Manual,
Chapters 15 & 16, Book of Mormon, Jacob 1-7
Here’s an excerpt from the manual:
Jacob 2:28.
Chastity
- Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles clearly defined the law of chastity when he taught: “Any sexual intimacy outside of the bonds of marriage—I mean any intentional contact with the sacred, private parts of another’s body, with or without clothing—is a sin and is forbidden by God. It is also a transgression to intentionally stimulate these emotions within your own body” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1994, 51; or Ensign, Nov. 1994, 38).
Elder Scott also affirmed the divine sanction of marital
intimacy, as well as the divine condemnation of sexual immorality. He warned:
“Those intimate acts are forbidden by the Lord
outside the enduring commitment of marriage because they undermine His
purposes. Within the sacred covenant of marriage, such relationships are
according to His plan. When experienced any other way, they are against His
will. They cause serious emotional and spiritual harm. Even though participants
do not realize that is happening now, they will later.
“Sexual immorality creates a barrier to the
influence of the Holy Spirit with all its uplifting, enlightening, and
empowering capabilities. It causes powerful physical and emotional stimulation.
In time, that creates an unquenchable appetite that drives the offender to ever
more serious sin. It engenders selfishness and can produce aggressive acts such
as brutality, abortion,
sexual abuse, and violent crime. Such stimulation can lead to acts of
homosexuality, and they are evil and absolutely wrong” (in Conference Report,
Oct. 1994, 50–51; or Ensign,
Nov. 1994, 38).
November 14, 2013 (Thursday)
We started the day, like most
days, having our personal study time.
Since we needed to make a deposit at
our bank, we decided to leave the car at the flat and walk to the bank, which
is about a mile and a half away. As we were passing Tesco, much like a
Fred Meyer or Walmart, we came upon an 86 year old woman who had just fallen
down the steps of the store and took a terrible fall - banging the back of her
head. We and another woman ran to offer some help. Fortunately, this woman (Good
Samaritan) had some medical training and went into action. She sent her
daughter into Tesco to get a store manager and a first aid kit. The woman that
fell had a gash on the back of her head. Elder Browning gave up his
handkerchief to help as a compress to stop the bleeding. I noticed the
handkerchief wasn’t enough, so I approached a woman with a baby and asked if we
could have one of her nappies (Pampers), which I gave to the Good Samaritan woman, and
she put it on the back of the 86 year old's head. It was a bad fall. Finally a
person from the store came with the first aid kit and to assist. Shortly
thereafter the store managers arrived, two ambulances arrived to care for the
aged woman. We hope this trauma will not be life threatening.
The 86 year old kept lamenting that
her gloves slipped on the railing as she descended the stairs causing her to
lose her balance. She also didn’t want to go to the hospital.
Since she was
being cared for by the medical people, and since we were no longer needed, we and
the Good Samaritan woman and her daughter left. We didn’t want to be in the
way.
We’re so appreciative of everyone
that stopped and helped prior to the medical team arriving, and we expressed our
appreciation to the woman and her medical training. It’s fortunate that she was
there and had some knowledge of what to do, because we felt rather helpless,
particularly since we don't even know how to call for emergency services.
Others did and the response was very quick.
The rest of the day was fairly
uneventful. The rest of our walk was nice as it gave us some time to explore
the community at a slower pace.
November 15, 2013 (Friday)
The Zone Leader, Elder Andrus, was
on an exchange with the District Leader, Elder Farnsworth, and they had asked
us to go with them to a sister who was getting back into activity. We learned
that she joined the church a little before Elder Browning showed up in Scotland
on his first mission to Scotland. It sounds like she was pretty active.
She then moved to the states where it seemed she was active there as well.
However, after a long time away and upon her return to Scotland, she didn’t go
out of her way to find where the church was meeting; thus, she went into
inactivity. An additional factor is that she is the care giver for her 100 year
old mother and can't leave her mother alone for any length of time. Somehow the
church found her, and the missionaries contacted her, and now she seems to be
attending Sacrament Meetings quite regularly. She has never married. She has
done some extensive traveling. We had a wonderful time reminiscing about the
church in the early 1960's.
In the evening we taught with
Sisters Caswell and Allen as they taught Carlos, who is from Mexico and in his
first year at the University of Glasgow. We’re impressed with how many people
from around the world are at the University of Glasgow. In any event, Carlos
came to the appointment quite agitated and concerned about something he had
read in the Book of Mormon – “the great and abominable church.” We explained
that the reference did not single out any particular church but was a reference
to any thing/or church that draws someone away from God's true church. Elder
Browning asked him to think about his feelings – what were his feelings when he
was at church; when he was meeting with the missionaries; when he interacts
with the members, etc. He admitted that he had good feelings in those
situations. Elder Browning then referenced Elder Holland's April 2013
conference talk regarding not letting what you don't know or understand overshadow
what you do know and what you feel.
hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional
knowledge comes
Elder Browning also talked to him
about growing his faith, and then he read to him from Alma 32 about faith.
The Book of Alma
As we continued to talk, his
demeanor changed. As I was talking to Carlos, I received the impression to
invite him to be baptized, which he accepted. The Sisters were ecstatic and invited
him to be ready for a December 7th baptismal date, which he
accepted. It was truly a wonderful night and experience. We will be at his
baptism. Awesome!!!!!!!
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| Sister Browning, Happy Birthday! |
By the way, today (November 15) is my,
Sister Browning’s, birthday. We both agree that the day was momentous because
of the teaching appointments and to have the blessing of being an instrument in
the Lord’s hand in helping Carlos accept the baptismal invitation. It was
wonderful. Also, the Missionaries in the District made my birthday extra
special, because they were sooooooooooo nice and contacted me to wish me a
happy birthday. Some even called and sang Happy Birthday to me.
Late in the evening we talked to
family members who also wished me a Happy Birthday. It’s nice to be loved.
It was a good day all around.
November 16, 2013 (Saturday)
We spent a good portion of the
afternoon shopping at Costco and Tesco to get supplies for the FHE light meal,
the snack for Institute and the District Thanksgiving Dinner on the 21st here
at our flat. We could have 12 to 14 for dinner - who knows?
In the early evening we went with
Elders Farnsworth and Maughn to teach Mary. She comes out to church - and for
her, that’s a major ordeal (two buses to ride, taking about an hour to get to the
church building). The Elders taught the Restoration.
We then met up with Elders Hutchings
and Thackeray to teach an older sister, who has just recently began to attend
church again. She likes to reminisce a lot. We did read part of a chapter in
the Book of Mormon with her. It was a good visit. Since she has very few church
members to interact with, we encouraged the missionaries to continue visiting
her.
Sure do luv ya,
Cheerio the nu
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