Seventh Week

We were learning a new coordinating position in the Temple this week, which they usually have husbands and wives do together in this Temple, so it was fun being with each other but always intense when you are learning. It meant they did not have Tom working in sealings. We will do the same coordinating positions this week, only it will be on the early shift, as opposed to the late shift.

When we work the early shift, we are able to get our walk in first thing in the day, as well as go to town to get groceries or such. Karen Larsen asked us to take her into a hospital appointment one morning. She is a single sister serving a mission here and none of the single sisters have their own cars and even some of the couples have decided not to purchase cars. Everyone is always willing to help each other out. It is a wonderful atmosphere to be in.

Trevor and Tammie celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary this week and our coordinators, the Davenports, celebrated their 50th anniversary - two milestones in life. We celebrate our 50th in August.

Every couple of weeks the missionaries have a movie night in our old “Visitors’ Center”, which is now used for meetings and such. Saturday night, as we walked into the building, the door to “Christus” statue was open and rather than turning left to go down the hall to the movie room, where everyone was gathering, I walked toward the Christus and Tom followed. We just pause a moment and when we turned to leave, saw one of our dear friends sitting in a corner. I walked towards her and could see that something was wrong. I hugged her, we talked briefly and I asked if she needed a blessing. She replied in the affirmative. She said that she knew she needed a blessing and had been praying for help and had felt prompted that we should be the ones to give her aid. There are many wonderful people here and we are not her ministering people but when we walked in, she felt it was an answer to her pray and prompting. She sat with us thru the movie, we spent some time talking in our flat afterward and then Tom gave her a beautiful blessing. It confirmed to us that when we walk toward the Savior, as we did the Christus that night, the Lord puts us where we should  to be to assist his children when needed.

We had noted, that though our little Tunbridge Wells ward had a cute teenage girl to play the piano for church, she did not understand how to play the organ in the building. We made arrangements for Sister Sandy Beck, our fellow missionary, to come with us and give her a little organ lesson. It went well and young Tannia Castro was thrilled with the experience. While Sister Beck taught organ, Tom taught a young man, in the ward, his final Temple Prep lesson and he is now ready for his first visit to the Temple.

Sandy teaching our organist

We had a Hi/Bye meeting Sunday evening, where new missionaries introduce themselves, and departing  missionaries say farewell. We have three couples leaving - Davenports, Stokes and Days. We have one Sister leaving - Dora Robertson. The Rushforths have been here for sometime but, for  various reasons, have been unable to do their “Hi”, so they did that to get it in before they have to say good-bye. These meetings are funny and fun, but filled with a spirit of love for each other and for the work we are here to do. These are truly dedicated, faithful people and it is a privilege to serve with them and feel of their acceptance and love.

On Monday we went with a group to Hampton Court Palace, another remarkable site, where King Henry VIII and other monarchs, held court. There are large  reception rooms and opulent surroundings but we enjoyed seeing the huge kitchen complex, where great feasts were prepared, mainly for those who worked for the monarch. The monarch’s food was prepared in private kitchens. Interesting fact - citizens were allowed in to watch the monarch, family and friends dining. We had a great Italian meal after at a restaurant with everyone.

New week ahead and we will continue training in our coordinating position together.

The Royal “Throne”

Hampton Court

Sixth week

We have had a busy week at the Temple as the “Single Adults” had a Temple week and conference. They would attend the Temple during the day and have firesides and activities in the evenings. We were asked to participate at a fireside on Thursday evening with the Shurtleffs and the Sharlands. We were all discussing Temples. The Shurtleffs have been a Temple President and Matron too and the Sharlands are from New Zealand and they discussed their Temple there. I told about the coming of our Temple and Tom talked about Temple miracles. Sandy Beck came to play the piano. We hope it went well. We probably all spoke too long because we are somewhat enthusiastic. It was fun and nice to be with them.

Farewell to Carol and Clive Sharland

We had our Family Home Evening on Wednesday evening with our B shift in the common room. We were all to tell about our special songs. It was really fun as we had everything from “Great Balls of Fire” to Hymns, to Brother Evans, who sings in a Welsh Man’s choir, singing to us, to George Playter serenading us with “Autumn Leaves”. Everyone sang along and had such fun. We did “O My Father” and I told how the Hurd family had come into the church, here in England, in the early days, as a result of hearing the missionaries on the street singing “O My Father”. We also did “Sweet Caroline” and they loved singing that one. Fun.

 Storm Dennis hit on the weekend, and as we had no directive to remain here for church, we drove with the Muellers to Tunbridge Wells. We probably should not have gone. The motorway (freeway) was closed and we had to take another route to get there. The Bishop announced that we were just going to have sacrament meeting and get everyone home. Tom and Elder Mueller taught the young man, in the ward, his Temple prep lesson and Jan Mueller and I taught MaryAnn a Temple prep lesson. This was my first time meeting MaryAnn. She is very sweet but I can see that her life has not been easy. We drove her home and then started making our way home. We traveled the back way and went thru flooded areas and encountered a tree which had fallen right across one road. We were rerouted a number of times by the “satnav” and yes, finally made it home. It was an adventure.

We had invited David and Deborah Davenport for dinner Sunday evening and when Tom messaged them to come up anytime (they live below us), they phoned back that, while driving back from singing to the seniors, they and Grames had decided to drive thru a very flooded portion of road for FUN! Their car stalled part way thru. They had, had to push it out in knee deep water and were waiting for a tow truck. Please remember that these are not young missionaries but grandparents, senior Temple missionaries and David is a medical doctor. This are what responsible missionaries do for FUN! They finally all made it home and both couples came for dinner. It was interesting dinner conversation to say the least.

On Monday, Chris Fitzner drove a group of us, in the Temple van, to Blue Water, where there is a very large mall and we all had a good shop, ate and went to a movie. Ours was not a good movie - “The Life of David Copperfield”. Don’t bother going.

It has been a good week full of interesting people and situations but sadly we all had to say farewell to the Sharlands, who have concluded their mission, and are making their way back to New Zealand. They have been our trainers and we have appreciated them and enjoyed their friendship.

Fifth Week

Our week’s activities are always determined by which shift we are on and this week we were on the late shift. It makes it a little more difficult to get out and do errands and our walking but we manage to get both done.

We went into East Grinstead to pick up a few groceries and see if they had “essential silver” at the vitamin store for my eye, which is still infected. They did not have it, but knew of a store a little further away that might. We went to a traditional “sweets” shop to see if they had Tom’s little licorice “nipits”. They said they did not but, just as we were leaving, the owner asked us to wait and told his assistant to grab a little container of them off the shelf behind where he was standing. He said that he just remembered that he found the box the other day and he gave it to us - no charge. What a little miracle. Tom is doing sealings now and, when his voice gets weary, the little candies, being small, quickly sooth his throat.

Clive and Carol Sharland have one more week before their return to New Zealand and a group of us went out Saturday evening for dinner at the Peacock Pub and Restaurant,  just around the corner from the Temple. We sat across from Peter and Maggie Stokes, who are from England, and they related to us their amazing conversion story. They decided to sell their things in England, go to America, buy an RV and tour the USA, Canada and Mexico for a year or so with their young daughter. As they traveled in the eastern states, they began to feel that something significant had happened there, that there was reason for the strong feeling of freedom and that they needed to start praying and reading the Bible. They came to the conclusion that they needed to be baptized, but didn’t know how to go about it. Then they remembered a family, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that they had met in a campground while at Disneyland. They remembered too, that the family were from Burley, Idaho and they decided to travel there and ask for their advice. They parked their RV at the family’s home for a month, learned about the gospel and yes, were baptized. They are solid as a rock and absolutely hilarious. We had a good time.


That night Storm Clara blew in from the North Atlantic and she certainly blew. In the morning we received word that the missionaries had been given permission to have church on site due to the intensity of the storm, so we walked across the street to our Welcome Center meeting room and had a
lovely Sacrament meeting and Sunday School. The sacrament serving was improvised with large plastic cups containing small amounts of water, blessed and passed by two elderly Ordinance Workers using a kitchen tray. President Anitsui asked four people to share their testimonies and we closed the meeting. President Jensen led a discussion, for the Sunday School lesson, on President Nelson’s talk on living the second great commandment to love our neighbours as ourselves. Some wonderful stories were shared and we all left the building feeling that we needed to pray for a storm each Sunday.

Aftermath of Storm on Temple Grounds

Pat and Chris Fitzner had us and the Sellars for dinner. It was very nice and we had fun using the find a relative “ap” to see if we were related to each other. Pat is Gibb, so is related to Tom closely thru Grandma Tanner. Some of the rest of us were also related, though more distantly.

When we walked the grounds this morning, we saw the affects of Storm Clara on the Temple grounds.   A construction tent had taken flight and ended up some distance away, the creek was overflowing it’s banks and a large, mature tree had a good portion of it broken off. We saw more trees and flooding as we drove out around the surrounding area today. We also acquired a leak in the roof of our building, manifesting itself in one of the common areas.

Today the Temple vans took a group of us to tour Hever Castle and the grounds. It is the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII, whom he had beheaded. He broke from the Catholic Church to be able to divorce his first wife and marry Anne, but she fell into disfavour and had to be removed. He married four other wives after Anne, making a total of six wives. It is a beautiful little castle that was bought and restored by wealthy American William Waldorf Astor in the early 1900s. He added a Tudor wing, developed very large and beautiful gardens and had a lake made  using a small army of workers. It was a social hub for the elite. It is close by and we definitely want to return and perhaps stay overnight in the Anne Boleyn Tudor wing for a special treat - perhaps my birthday.

Hever Castle

Bridge to Hever Castle

Fourth Week

We were on early shifts this week and so it means that we are up and off early. The Temples front steps and baptistery entrance by the front steps have been under construction for some time. We can go in the front door but to facilitate baptistery youth coming in, they have allowed us and the youth to come in thru a lower service door and as it turns out that door is a quicker access for us to the Temple and our locker areas. We were on baptistery again with the Sharlands but most weekday mornings are slow baptistery wise so we did other things too. The Sharlands were gone on family business on Saturday so Saturday morning, which was very busy, we were on our own and we did alright. Tom has done some sealing work this week and has done well.

We both had eye infections this week in our left eyes. We are hoping they are on the mend and not require a visit to the doctor.

Being on morning shifts we do our walking later. We were just heading out for our walk when Brother Rushforth saw us and invited us to drive with them to a nearby hill and do our walk with them as well as see a view of the area. They had also invited Sister Beck. They first needed to drive some Canadian Temple patrons to the train in Lingfield and then return for us. It was getting a 

little late in the day when we finally arrived at Reagate Hill and it was starting to get dark but we had a nice walk thru the woods and were still able to see the view. We saw some tips of bomber wings which were a memorial to a USA bomber that crashed into the hill while returning from a mission during WWII. Nine crew members were killed. Very sad.

We took the country back road to church on Sunday. It was a scenic drive but the roads were narrow and winding. Our little Tunbridge Wells ward continues to impress us. They have a couple in the ward that are both nuclear physicists and travel throughout the world consulting. He is American and she is Swedish and they are needing to move back to USA at this time because they are needed there. They will be back in England however, as the British government requires their consulting abilities too. We have a woman in the ward who has epilepsy and has sensitivity to light and sound and so remains behind the back curtain. She too is extremely bright and funny and an impressive individual to be around. It would  be much easier for her to stay home snug and safe but she is doing her very best.

We had “Break the Fast” with the other missionaries Sunday afternoon and President and Sister Irwin had the Temple President and Matron from the Kiev Temple there with them. They must be on a Temple closure time. Always good food when the missionaries get together. Some of the food is new to us and some is familiar. It all depends on who is cooking.

Attended our safety and emergency training meeting this morning. There seems to be some concern for the Temple’s safety from terrorists but we are in the Lord’s hands and not really worried. However, we do have a pray in our hearts every time we set out on a driving excursion and we did venture out to the town of Crawley today to get some needed shopping done. We actually went to a   mall. Home again and ready for another week.  

Reagate Hill

Walk with Rushforths and Sandy Beck

Third Week

Each day and each week bring new adventures in England. We needed to make a Costco Run and, being on the late shift this week, we determined that Tuesday morning we would make the attempt, on our own, with the assistance of our GPS or SatNav as the British call it (satellite navigator). We did make it and although it was a bit daunting, it was a real relief to at last to walk into the familiarity of a Costco. Several hundred dollars later we exited, packed our little car to the brim with needed supplies and made it home before shift time, proving to ourselves that we can do it!

We worked the late shifts this week and although we did other things in the Temple each day, our specific training for the week was on how to run the baptistery on our own. The first night was a little challenging as we had numerous drop-ins and each time we thought we were finished and had cleaned up all the towels, bath mats and necessary equipment, another group appeared. We cleaned the baptistery up three times that night and it almost became comical. We have really enjoyed the Sharlands who are our trainers. They come from New Zealand and will be going home next month. They are patient and fun. They are “white badge” missionaries because they are English citizens. Our baptistery capabilities improved as the week went on and by Saturday, when we were dealing with large wards and yes, more drop-ins, we were feeling more comfortable.

After our Thursday preparation meeting, President Irwin asked the “black badge” missionaries to remain behind and he announced first, that our badges had finally arrived from Salt Lake and secondly, that Salt Lake has decided that extensive travel outside the UK during Temple closures will no longer be approved for senior missionaries. They feel we need to stay closer to our mission Temple and areas and that exotic trips could take place at the ends of our missions. We are approved to travel anywhere in the UK, even beyond our Temple district. Then he asked that the Walkers remain and our coordinators. He told us that President Nelson had sent a lettering saying that Tom could serve as a Sealer in the London Temple and that he would not require being set apart as a sealer again but could immediately start to function. We were surprised, thrilled and very touched. Tom had hoped he could serve as a sealer but was uncertain if they would want or need him and he had not said anything to President Irwin. This will influence the way they use both of us in the Temple as Sealers and their wives do not normally serve as trainers and coordinators in this Temple. It would difficult, if not impossible to do so.

By Saturday evening we are all exhausted from a busy Temple week and what do Temple missionaries do? Temple missionaries watch a movie and eat popcorn and treats. It was fun and we all enjoyed watching “The Other Side of Heaven II”.

Back to Tunbridge Wells ward on Sunday with the Muellers in the car guiding us. Our ward is small -   about 60 regulars in attendance but they are a very capable  and friendly group. Tom helped Brother Mueller teach a young man the first Temple Prep lesson and Tom said he felt this young man was very prepared for the Temple and mission and that he could probably be fast tracked thru the rest of the Temple lessons.

We signed up for the Temple Van trip to Windsor Castle and so Monday morning we met with about 18 other missionaries and piled into the two Temple Vans and set out for the Castle. Chris Fitzner, from Edmonton was our driver. He is a former fireman and handles the van and these busy roads well. We had a lovely day exploring Windsor, which is one of the Queen’s residences. She considers Windsor home and spends most weekends there. Many state and private functions are regularly held there and we were able to walk thru some of the rooms which host such events. Harry and Meghan had their wedding in St. George’s Chapel  at Windsor and then had their reception in the castle. The Queen’s parents and sister are buried in the chapel, as are Henry the VIII and his wife Jane Seymour plus many others. The art collections, the china collections and the architecture of the castle and the chapel are remarkable and almost overwhelming in their grandeur. Much of the Castle was destroyed in a fire in 1992 and it has been lovingly and painstakingly restored.  We were unable to take interior pictures but got a few outside ones. We had a delicious late lunch at an Italian restaurant, a quick look around the cute town outside the Castle grounds and then back to our beautiful Castle - The Temple.

Windsor Palace

Windsor Palace

We are are weary but ready to start another Temple week.

Second Week - January 13th to the 20th 2020

This was our second week serving in the London Temple and we worked the morning shift everyday. We have continued our training but for the most part basic training is over and we are on our own. They will now start training us to coordinate different areas of  the Temple. We will do baptistery all next week.

We spent Monday getting more driving experience by going to register at the “surgery” or doctor’s office in Lingfield and then for groceries in East Grinstead. We had a fun Family Home Evening with members of our shift in the common room across the hall from us.

We left the Temple early on Tuesday, literally in hurricane like conditions, to take our car for a required inspection called an MOT. We made it there to find that they had cancelled our appointment because we had not prepaid online. Out into the darkness and storm again and a very kindly gentleman in a very run down MOT garage agreed to fit us in. He returned with the sad news that our left front tire did not pass inspection and needed to be replaced. Out into the storm once again to locate a tire shop before closing. Found one shop that would do it and once done, we then raced back to our little fellow to pass our MOT inspection and  be given our certificate. Exhausted and just happy to get home safely that night. The Temple grounds had branches down and part of one big tree down the next day as a result of the storm.

After our adventure on Tuesday evening we were given a lovely dinner, hosted by the Brother and Sister Day, who live across the hall from us and are white badge missionaries. They also invited Brother and Sister MacFarlane and Sister Beck. They served us a feast produced in one of our tiny kitchens - a miracle beyond our current abilities. The white badge missionaries are remarkable and work extremely hard. The Days return home on the weekends to care for her aging mother and serve in their callings as Stake Relief Society president and Stake Executive secretary. We are continually impressed by the dedication of these English members and impressed with their devotion to the gospel.

On Sunday, we ventured to drive to our assigned ward, Tumbridge Wells, with the Muellers in the car directing us. It is about a 45 minute drive and we even drove on the Motorway or Freeway, as we would say. The ward and the chapel are both very small but again we were impressed with the members and their devotion to the gospel. We stayed, afterward,  for the baptism of Elise Hogg, a little girl in the ward. The baptismal service was very nice and they served everyone a lovely lunch afterward.

Sunday evening we had a “Hi/Bye” meeting with all the missionaries where new missionaries tell about themselves and missionaries that are returning home say goodbye. It was a very special meeting and you could feel the spirit and power of both these fifty some odd missionaries and the Temple presidency.

Sellars, Sandy Beck, Kerry Farr, Karen Larson, Us, Carol and Clive Sharland

Today we took the train into London with the Davenports, our coordinators, and had a lovely day exploring that wonderful city. The architecture and the history so beautifully cared for are remarkable. We visited Hyde Park Chapel, Hyde Park, Kensington Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. What a wonderful day spent with wonderful guides.

London Telephone Booth

Gates of Kensington Palace

Each day provides us with something new to learn, experience and see. We feel very blessed.

First Full Week

The Manor House

The London England Temple is in Newchapel Surrey. The property was originally owned by the “Pear” soap family and the family home, called the “Manor House”, still  remains and houses the Temple President and his wife and the single sister missionaries, each with their own apartments. The Pear family’s “Gate House” also contains suites for missionaries. The church added housing for patrons visiting the Temple called the “Accommodation Center” and our complex called “The Lodge”, for missionary couples. Couples serving missions have a one bedroom apartment complete with living/dining room, kitchen, small laundry room, with a freezer in it, a bathroom, bedroom and very large storage room. It is quite comfortable and our windows face west looking out onto a forest. The Temple is about a 30 second walk across the parking lot.

There are about fifty Temple missionaries serving, including singles and couples. We have one single brother serving and the rest are single women. There are two categories of missionaries - white badge missionaries and black badge missionaries. The white badge missionaries come from England and have volunteered to serve a mission in the Temple. The black badge missionaries are called thru the Church’s Missionary Department and are from countries other than England. We have missionaries from the USA, New Zealand, Australia and two couples, counting us, from Canada. There are three former Temple Presidents and their wives serving right now. One couple served in a South American Temple, one in Australia and then us in Vancouver. The Temple missionaries are really the core base for manning the Temple. A few local people come weekly but most come periodically, every few weeks and stay in the Accommodation Center while they serve. There are two shifts serving each day, the morning shift and afternoon shift. We alternate each week. We are on the “B” shift. It is a well organized machine. They train you as you arrive and you are expected to welcome train and assist those coming after you.

We worked a full five days this week and worked about seven hours a day. We were being trained this week with the London Temple’s procedures. Ordinances are the same in every Temple,  just the procedures differ. This is a big Temple, with a complex layout and we are moving thru it with ease now. The missionaries seem to do all the coordinating of shifts and training, so you are expected to learn quickly as those leading shifts at this time will be going home soon and others need to take over. Here in our Lodge and always in the Temple there is a lovely spirit of kindness and love. Everyone is doing their best to see that you are well taken care of.

We have now started driving our little purple car and are still getting the hang of narrow lanes and fast speeds all while driving on the wrong side. Yikes! We have been out twice. Hopefully we will feel confident enough to offer others rides soon. We have taken the Temple van the last two Sundays and attended two different wards but now we can drive, President Irwin has assigned us to a third ward which we have yet attended. We have been impressed with the wards and the members.

We have seen two people we know in the Temple this week - Giga Swan, Mike’s daughter and Ray, from Bellingham, who worked in our Temple office. She lives in Ireland now with her husband. Giga lives in South Africa. It was fun to see them. We hope to see many more familiar faces.

We are enjoying our walks around the beautiful Temple grounds, serving in the Temple and are feeling privileged to serve along side such loving, generous people. Just like it always is in the Temple.

The London England Temple