Wednesday 1 January 2014

Our first Christmas in England

If it wasn't for my calendar, I might not have even known it was Christmas.  First off, they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here, so there was no "Black Friday".  Then there wasn't the displays and sales in the stores that I am used to.  No Christmas music playing or people arguing about when they should actually start playing it on the radio.  Very few Christmas lights, in fact, I would guess that you might have only seen lights in the windows of every one per 1000 flats.  Eventually, (and not until two-three weeks before Christmas) I did start noticing some tree lots or small artificial trees in the stores.  Terry knows how I love Christmas decorations and was a good sport to make sure we got a tree.  It was a sad little tree compared to what I am used to, but I loved it!  We decided to go with a flocked tree and colored lights hoping we wouldn't have to have decorations on it.  I made a star for the top and all in all, it made me very happy.
 
 
 
But then the Christmas activities began and it was starting to feel more like Christmas to me.  We had a nice ward Christmas party.  A great turn out and good food.  We all had a fun time.

Our Bishop and other ward members at the Christmas party. 
We meet at a Catholic school that is for primary age kids, so the tables are very small.

 
The Mission brought in all the missionaries to go to the London Temple and put on a nice Christmas dinner.  There are so many of us that they had to do it on four different days.  It was wonderful to be able to get back to the temple.  It was our first time to attend the London Temple since we got here.
Some of the missionaries that were at the Christmas party the Mission gave. 
There is real strength in being with all these young missionaries.  We love it!

We were able to provide a breakfast for the missionaries of our zone a few days before Christmas.  Elder and Sister Hom (another senior missionary couple) and us made French toast, scrambled eggs, "streaky" bacon, hash browns and fruit for all the young missionaries.  They were so excited and so appreciative.  We played games, sang Christmas carols and just enjoyed being with each other.

Sister Hom and I in the kitchen.

All missionaries love to eat,and they were thrilled with this breakfast.

Our District.  We love these missionaries!

Our Zone.  Awesome missionaries, every one of them and a great
example of dedication and Christ like love.

So Christmas wasn't what I was used to, but I realized that the things that took so much of my time and energy are not what Christmas is really about.  It is about a baby.  It's about love.  It's about the greatest gift that only our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ could give.  It is about the chance to be with our families forever.  It is about the great Plan of Happiness and the chance to return and live with our Father in Heaven again.  It is about all the things we are trying to share while we are out on our mission.  I'm grateful that I was able to spend Christmas in England, and to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.

2 comments:

  1. Love, love, love this! I can see and feel closer to you with visuals!! Happy New Year!

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  2. I'm glad you clarified the children's table...I was beginning to think it was a ward full of Hobbits. Ha! So glad you had a festive holiday! I did send a card, couldn't break my record. I sent it to the mission address so I hope you received it.

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