Visit to a real country manor

And still it rains! The south of England is virtually being washed away by the high tides, winds and waves. The Thames (pronounced-“Tems”) is at flood stage and going over. We still cannot walk on the lawns here at the temple or we will sink into the ground and disappear. Every morning we wake up to more rain washing down our windows. However, I’ve started to think that this is a normal winter. Even if the Brits tell me it is really unusual to see SO MUCH water, I won’t believe them. Truly, I was planning on a lot of rain, so I’m certainly not disappointed.

Let’s see—what else is new? Oh yeah, we spoke in Sacrament Meeting last Sunday. Once again, I took some of Niel’s time. Honest, I try not to do that, but it just seems to happen every time. How on earth am I going to give a talk on the purpose of Jesus Christ in the Godhead in only twenty minutes? It’s impossible, I tell you. Anyway, we must have made an impression because before I could even get up off the pew, there was a lady right there, wanting us to come to her house for dinner and give the talks to here two inactive boys. Seriously, I’ve never been put on the spot quite like that. We will send her our outlines etc. in an e-mail and hope she will take it from there. Sounded like they are a ways away from being active again. Boy, you never know who or what is going to jump into your life and get you involved up to your ears.

On Monday, Sister Littlefield and several of the other temple missionaries took what we call a “Van Trip” in the temple van to a wonderful country manor located on the other side of London. Even though it rained for most of the time, we enjoyed it immensely. Kenwood Manor was built in the 1600-1700s. At one point a wing was added (the library) and remodeled by a Robert Adams. May I say, it was beautifully done. 

Snow drops

Kenwood back entrance

Kenwood front entrance

Then in 1924, it was purchased by Sir Edward Cecil Guinness, first Earl of Iveagh, of the Guinness brewery in Dublin. This fellow was best known for his art collection. He used the manor to house his large and very expensive art collection, where it is today.  People, we’re talking about Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Turner and many other great artists. Part of his philanthropy was that anyone could come to Kenwood to see it and the art and not have to pay even a pence. Can I tell you how wonderful it was to stand in front of paintings worth millions of dollars, much less take pictures of them? 

The pictures included with this blog are something that we have never been allowed to do in any other manor, castle, or palace we have visited. Usually, no pictures are allow. As long as I didn’t use a flash I could take all the pictures I wanted to, which ended up at almost 100 snapshots. This is as close as anyone who would like to see the interior of a manor will ever get. It just isn’t done. So please enjoy them. I wasn’t able to attach dialogue or explanations with the pictures that I e-mailed. So I’ll try to tell you about some of the things you will see in this blog. Remember, I couldn’t use my flash and they kept the rooms fairly dark to protect their contents, so they aren’t the best quality.  

Two of the paintings I’ve included are a self-portrait of Rembrandt and a painting by Vermeer (he’s my favorite) called “Girl With a Guitar”. There is a painting of the old London Bridge, which now resides in Arizona, which was very interesting. I hope I put in some darling dogs etc. I took some pics of a beautiful needle point rug. And then, if the English Heritage Org. didn’t want you to sit on the old chairs, etc. they put a couple of thistles on them. Kind of cute.

Hope you enjoy them half as much as I did. By the way, Dad stayed back at our flat, relaxed and worked on the computer. He was in seventh heaven, and stayed in his underwear all the day through. What a life.

We loved reading the talk our granddaughter, Ashley, gave in her Sacrament Meeting on Sunday too. We love her so much and were very impressed with her testimony.  I have a great quote about sacrifice for all of you. 

President Spencer W. Kimball once said: “There will come a time when everyone will have to lay everything on the altar of sacrifice.” Brother John Hafen added to this that everyone who is willing to offer their all in sacrifice and do it willingly will find in the end that what they thought was sacrifice really isn’t. 

We love you all, Happy Valentines. Niel enjoyed his 68^th birthday this week and passed the UK Theory driving exam!!

Also, a big Happy Birthday to our daughter-in-law, Lezlee on the 15^th!

Niel and Carolee 

a.k.a. Granny and Grumps 

What Happens in Temples?

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SHOULD WE PRAY FOR THE RAIN TO STOP?

This is just plain ridiculous. I’m beginning to wonder if we are going to float away or become water-logged swamp rats. Where does all this water come from? In our lives, it has been common for us to pray for rain or more snow, but we’ve got a whole other problem here. Right now, it is past my bedtime and I can’t sleep because the wind and the RAIN won’t stop. From what we hear from the local Saints, January of 2014 has officially broken all and any records in the history of England for the amount of rainfall that has taken place. We are the Baptistry Coordinators tomorrow and I’m pretty sure that the temple basement will be flooded---again. I’ve lost count of how many times we have experienced flooding in the temple and in the Accommodation Centre.  I just checked my toes to see if they are starting to web. Duck Dynasty here we come.

-Next Day-

Yup, the women’s dressing room in the Baptistry was flooded and unusable. We had to use the children’s nursery room for their dressing room. No mirrors, toilets, or hair dryers etc. The patrons still came, but not at the time they were scheduled, they came in a stream. It was like being in Victoria Station (Jill and Steven Lancaster know what that is like). Both Niel and I ran around in circles the whole time. It was a mess in some ways, but, you know what, we got it done. Everyone who came to be baptized and confirmed were able to do it.  Then---we staggered to our apartment! 

However, tomorrow will come and we will persevere. All will be well. Even if the temple is flooded, I couldn’t think of a better place to be. Have we told you lately how blessed and happy we are to serve the Lord’s House? Every day, we drag ourselves out of bed, straighten out all the creaks and bends, stagger into the bathroom, where the mirror does absolutely nothing for our morale and hopes, fumble to put on clothes, eat the same porridge, and reel to and fro as we descend three flights of stairs, put up an already water-soaked brolly (umbrella) and shuffle into the temple. And then the miracle happens. We become as good as new, ready to work and serve and so very happy to be there. With God, everything is possible!

Niel has been taking fly-fishing classes during the last week. One of our temple co-workers is an expert fly fisherman and guide. (See http://breakingrods.blogspot.co.uk )He has very generously offered to help anyone who might be interested. Niel is hoping to do a little fishing, here, from time to time and a whole lot when he gets back home. Fishing in the UK is rather expensive. You are always fishing on privately owned land and can expect to pay L25 to L50 pounds ($40 to $80) for the privilege. There is also a fee for each fish caught. You cannot catch and release these Rainbow Trout. Against the rules for some reason.  These would be trout ponds or streams. Carp, Catfish and other non-edible fish are found in public ponds and I don’t know if there is a fee to fish. But of course I would rather fly fish while I’m here.

On our days off we look for little charity shops on the high streets of small villages. People and estates clean out their “stuff” and give it to these shops. We have found beautiful furniture, display cabinets, tables and chairs, paintings, jewelry, books, crystal and clothing. Some of the stuff is to die for it is in such good shape, fashionable and very well built. Well worth the asking price and I have even made 50% offers on some paintings which they have accepted to my surprise. No, I (Niel) didn’t purchase because we have no way to bring it home. Good thing I guess. 

By the way, Niel takes the UK driving theory test on February 12^th. He is confident he will pass. Then comes the driving test. His driving skills have improved tremendously. We need to be legal by the time we have been here for one year. If not, we will be in violation and could end up in the local constable’s office.

I have been working on a crocheted alter cloth for the temple. It’s something I have wanted to do for a long time. I’m about ¾ done. It’s a pattern that I down-loaded from the internet and figured out. I’ve looked and tried a lot of other patterns, but always had trouble interpreting the directions etc. This one worked great for me.  

On Monday, (P Day) we ventured to a town called Horsham. It is one of the few villages in England to retain its Saxon name. (410AD to 1066AD – following Roman Rule)  It is close by so it wasn’t a long journey. The town was a wonderful surprise. It was quaint and different, with lots of darling shops and quite a few charity stores to peruse in. We had a very expensive (but not too good) Italian lunch and wandered around until the cold wind drove us back to the car and home. Now is the time to vacuum, mop and do the ironing, for tomorrow is the start of another week in the temple.  Next Sunday, Niel and I will be speaking in the Crawley Ward. We are speaking on the Godhead. I’m speaking on the role of Jesus Christ and Niel is speaking on the role of Heavenly Father in the Godhead. Wish us luck.  

We enjoy seeing your posts on face-book, etc. and would love to receive e-mails when you can jnielstrong@gmail.com Let me end by saying we are doing well. Our aches and pains are manageable and not keeping us from serving faithfully.

Love to all, Carolee and Niel aka Granny and Grumpa

p.s. Here is a great quote I heard this week:  “God whispers to us in our pleasure: speaks to us in our conscience; and shouts to us in our pain.  It is His megaphone to arouse a deaf world.”  C S Lewis

This is a painting that hangs in the Accomodation Centre. 

It is by a friend and client, David Lindsley

Holiness to the Lord, The House of the Lord

More pictures from their trip to Beachy Head and Seven Sisters

Close up of the cliff being washed away, and the chalk kind of falling apart. 

Looking in the opposite direction you see the Seven Sisters. If you could view this from the Channel, you could see seven distinct cliffs rising out of the water. Very pretty!

This is looking toward a guest house on the edge of the cliff. Sadly enough, the tides have washed away the cliffs and one third of this building is missing. 

The light part should be in the middle. 

Standing at Beachy Head, looking out

Looking straight down from the over hanging look out to the beach below. We were hoping to go down the stair and onto the beach, but apparently it was too dangerous.

Chalk Beach

The waves undermine the cliff, causing the chalk to fall. 

There are homes and facilities in this area that will eventually fall into the sea.

Turning the the land side you see a lovely farm. Notice how the cows like to stay on top of the rise.

And all face the same direction!

FINDING THE SEVEN SISTERS

It’s surprising how quickly the weeks fly by. It’s almost as fast as the jet planes fly over our Accommodation Centre as they approach to land at Gatwick Airport. Like the planes, some little, some big, we have little and big weeks as we serve in the temple. This week was a combination of both, however. There were a few days during the week where we had only about 30 patrons come to the temple and only one baptistry scheduled. Then, on Saturday, the Lord must have used a spiritual awakening on a lot of saints, because they came in great numbers. It was wonderful, or I should say, "brilliant" to see so many patrons appear all throughout the day. I don’t think we have EVER been that busy, at least whilst we have been serving here. The problem was, we are short, and I mean short, of temple workers. Even the English temple workers have been heard to say that they don’t know what they would do without the Americans. We truly need members to commit to serving on a regular basis in the temple. Honestly, I don’t think I could last through another busy day like the one we just had. Both Niel and I are TOO old to run that fast all the day long. But, may I say that we were certainly blessed. Because of my diabetes, I need to eat every so often or I start to get the shakes and lose my concentration etc. The Lord was with me, as I was able to keep going without food or rest for the whole day. It was a miracle. So, I want you all to know that I have a testimony of what Nephi said: “I will go and do the things which the Lord commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the things which he commandeth them.”  1 Nephi 3:7

Now on to our little trip, which, by the way, we really needed. Happily, the weather was perfect, cold, but still perfect. We have been literally washed and washed here with rain this winter. The temple and accommodation centre have now been flooded three times. The temple baptistry and baby nursery is where it is usually bad and the accommodation centre basement is wet and extremely stinky with a musty, moldy smell. So we were absolutely thrilled to see sunshine….

Excuse me, I need to break into song…. 

“Oh, there’s sunshine, blessed sunshine.When the peaceful happy moments roll. When Jesus shows his smiling face, There is sunshine in the Soul.”

And off we went to a place called Beachy Head and The Seven Sisters. Let me tell you, the White Cliffs of Dover are nice, but these bluffs are truly spectacular. We had a wonderful day. It was restful and so nice to get away. We old people really need a few more days like this. Thankfully, the coast is fairly close to where we live. The channel was completely calm and beautiful. We had no wind to deal with and, of course, no rain. (Hip Hip Horray)   

    

English Channel at Beachy Head. Calm channel, beautiful day.

Call box in the middle of nowhere. Used for more than making calls.

The Royal Mailbox

Half of this building is already gone to sea.

Taking time to rest

Now, a new week has started. We are ready for it, and, if we keep our door shut tight, the moldy smell can’t come into our flat. (So there!...or as Elder Littlefield says, “Neener Neener”)  Niel is attempting to take the British Driver’s License Theory Test, which comes before the actual Driving Test. He sent away for the book (?) from which the test will be taken and got back a real book of 512 pages. It’s not like the pamphlet the DMV puts out, let me tell you. 

There are 13 categories and each category has about 100 possible questions that could be on the test. So, of all these questions, 50 will be on the test, but no one knows exactly which of the questions from the 13 categories will be there. Capeche? He is able to take a trial test on his laptop every day, twice. He’s getting better all the time. He is also practicing “good” driving techniques when we are out on the road. He checks both his rear view and side mirrors (with a turn of the head, no just looking with your eyes) and keeps his hands at 10 and 2 at all times. Even when he does a turn, his hands NEVER leave the 10 and 2 position. That would mean he could lose control. So, he shuffles the steering wheel between his 10 and 2 position. His provisional driving permit should come soon and then he can take the theory test etc. Now you know that if you can accomplish getting your driver’s license here as a teenager it will not have to be renewed until you are 70. What da you think?

We miss you all.  

Please keep us in your prayers.   

Love Mom

LOOK OUT NEW YEAR, HERE WE COME!

  Having succeeded in having a wonderful, if not, slightly “Abby Normal” Christmas, we are looking forward to the New Year. Our daughter, Jill, who makes this blog possible, shared a post on Facebook: 

2014 will be better!  We are happy to begin anew, and are committed to this being the best of years. We have to say that, only because we will be working (did I say working?) in the temple straight through to March. So, it’s time to buck-up and get the work done. 

We have been in the process of helping the Littlefield’s plan a New Year’s Eve party. Since we will be in the temple until 8:00 pm on New Year’s Eve and back there again on January 2^nd, we decided to use the French New Year and be done at 11:00 pm. So far, there are only two couples signed up to come. We’ll see. Well, what happened is a certain Bro. Jimmy Osmond called the temple presidency and inquired if they would hold a special session for his daughter, who is leaving on her mission to Milwaukee, WI. She needed to be endowed on the "QT." Everyone who attended the session (which was held on Dec 31^st, around 8:00 pm) came to bring in the new year after that. We had a lot of fun playing games and singing Old Lang Syne. Then we went to bed.

By the way, on our last week before Christmas, we helped patrons from Portugal, New Zealand, Spain and France in one session and then, a couple from Bulgaria in the next. Once again, that is what’s so special about this temple. We just love meeting and helping these patrons from far off lands. 

We began the new year with a wonderful trip to see Windsor Castle. I just love seeing these places with all their history and beautiful architecture. 

The changing of the guard at Windsor. The soldiers on sentry duty are usually drawn from the five regiments of foot guards, (Coldstream, Grenadier, Scots, Irish, and Welsh guards) of which one battalion is always stationed at Windsor.

St George's Chapel began under Edward the IV in 1745. It was completed in 1528 by Henry the VIII. We saw the burial places of many nobles including Henry the VIII and many kings and queens.

St. George's Chapel

It was a cold, windy, rainy day, but if you live in England that doesn’t stop you one bit. We are really learning how to cope with all the water coming down all the time. It makes coming home to a warm, cozy flat so much more fun. Usually, I crawl into my bed and cover up with a warm comforter.  

We said goodbye to several missionaries and temple workers this week. 

Sister Lynne Barker says "Good bye"

Sister March in her "Hello"

Sister Mullholland in her "Hello"

Brother Mullholland saying his "Hello"

The London Temple Presidency

Temple Visitor's Centre sisters, singing together

It is very rewarding to get to know all of these people. Some of them come from places and lifestyles that are foreign to us and we have been able to appreciate them all the more.

We trust that all who are waiting out a very chilly and harsh January will be warmed by the light of the gospel and comforted by the knowledge that “This, too, will pass.”  

Love to you all.

Sister Strong -aka- Carolee and Granny