Storms
The last two weekends have been a bit blustery and wet. Two big storms hit all of England the last two weeks. They were called, the "Storms of the Century." The first one was called, Clara. It was bad in some areas of England but we weren't hit too hard in Leeds. The second storm was called, Dennis. It also ended up being not such a big deal. We heard plenty of wind and saw lots of water fall. The ponds and lakes are all very full. Thank goodness it wasn't as bad as predicted.
President Green sent out several special warnings for all the missionaries. We were prepared. The windy and wet weather is supposed to continue for the next few weeks. I wonder if they'll name each one? It all seems pretty much the weather of England to me.....wet, wet,wet.
The worst part of the storms was the lack of heat we had in our apartment. We only had one working radiator. Luckily, there was someone here to fix the broken ones. Since then we've had plenty of warmth.
Goodbyes and Welcomes
Elder Hopkins
One of our valiant missionaries finished his mission. Elder Hopkins ended his mission as an assistant to the President. He was our zone leader before he was called to that position. He's a great pianist and a good leader. We wish him well as he returns home. 
Elder Hopkins is on the left. His companion is Elder Sprinkerhoff is on the right. Ben is a recently baptized member. Elder Hopkins was one of the many missionaries who taught Ben.
Baptisms
Ben Carney
Ben Carney's baptism was last Saturday. He took 2 years to finally make the decision to join the Church. During that conversion time, he made lots of good single adult friends. We saw him often at the institute and we had the priviledge to teach him with the elders a few times. A great young man!
Mthunzi was also baptized last Saturday afternoon. He came here from South Africa to learn how to better play the English football. He will return home to Africa is May. He approached his coach, who was a member of the Church, and asked if he could attend Church with him. Mthunzi is a quiet gentleman. He's also a great football player. He played every Thursday evening with the single adults from the institute. We enjoyed interacting with him as he attended institute. He is loved by many. He also will be a great member of the Church and bring much strength to the members in his homeland.
Johnny Friend of the Sisters
Johnny is being taught by the sister missionaries. He's been attending the institute for a few months. His birthday was on Saturday so the sisters baked him his first birthday cake ever. He was so excited. Johnny is not yet a member but we have hopes he will make the decision soon. He is from China. We enjoy his attendance at the institute too.
Preston Temple & Ancestral Sites
Bury
We decided to use a p-day and visit the Preston Temple again. We love going to the temple. This trip we decided to visit some of the towns of our ancetors that were close or on the way to the Preston Temple.
Bury was the birth place of Mary Smith the wife of James Walsh. This family comes from my maternal grandmother. We took a picture of the church where she was christened. The church has been rebuilt a few times so it probably looked different in the 1700's.
Inside the Parish and Baptistry
Bury Street
Leigh
Leigh was another ancestral stop. It was the hometown for the Morris family. They are from Pete's paternal Carrier side of his family.
I also had some ancestors from the same town. John Hodgkinson & Katherine Hoope. Katherine Hoope was born in the town of Leigh. Her husband is an ancestor on my maternal line.
Institute Fun
Bake a Date
Every year at Valentines the young adults do an activity called, Bake a Date. The girls bake cakes and the boys bake cakes. Then, the boys bid and purchase a girl's cake and the girls do the same. It was loads of fun watching all the different types of cakes that appeared. It's a surprise in the end. No one knows who's cake they bought until the big reveal at the end. The highest bid on a cake came from a female bidder offering £25. The lowest bid came from a male bidder offering £2. It was all great fun. They're supposed to take the person who baked the cake on a date and spend the amount of money on the date that they bid on the cake.
Bidding on the girl's cakes
Bidding on the guy's cakes
Saturday, Fun p-day Activity
Neil Diamond Tribute, Hello Again!
Pete was lucky enough to find tickets to the Neil Diamond tribute that was held in one of the theaters in Leeds, England. It was a short distance for us to walk but because of the storms we parked as close to the theater as we could. The concert did not disappoint. We danced and sang together to many of Neil's greatest hits. The audience was all full of people our age. Lots of gray hair.
We are blessed to have so many great artists come from the 70's. Included in those fantastic artists was Neil Diamond. His 'look-a-like' did not disappoint. It was such a fun treat, our Valentines' Celebration!
Is This Really a Mission?
We're glad to say it is. We're experiencing lots of fun times together and with the young single adults here. We're also learning much as we study the scriptures, teach the gospel, and try to be good representatives of Christ. We're grateful for this opportunity.
