"Weathering the Storms of Life"

The newest traveling exhibit for the UK called "Weathering the Storms of Life". This is very timely with the latest credit crunch. The last couple of years exhibit was Family Search on the Road...very successful with wonderful success stories of people finding their ancestors.

One of the displays, which slowly rotates, consists of a 72 hour kit of emergency foods and supplies. They play the game watching it for 30 seconds. Then while it's covered have people write down as many things they can remember seeing!

Other displays include comments on emergency preparedness. In 2007, the UK was hit by massive flooding they had to contend with.

The show is very well done. For the premier we went to Leeds. the exhibit will eventually go to all 46 stakes (church units) in the UK. These are just a few pictures to get an idea of what we saw. There were nearly 100 people visiting this small chapel. All were favorably impressed.

I hope this inspires all of you to remember to begin setting a few $ a month aside, food, mylar blankets, lights, radio, etc. Whatever is needed. No matter where a person lives some emergency at some time will occur!

November's Gone...But It Just Started!

My birthday flowers...such a beautiful surprise! It helps me recover from the shock of so many years. But I'm certainly happy to have more years added in the future!
Small theatre from 16th row...you should have seen where Wicked played!
John's first time on London roads! They're tricky due to buses, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

I found November flew by...and now we're flying the coop! (Just a turkey joke!)

We move northward in three days to the new offices there, third floor. So we will get stair stepping exercises every day. In the UK you always enter on the ground floor, so the 1st floor is up one, etc.

Office Building in Solihull by Stratford-Avon







We will have a car so John has been busy practicing. It's just in London that's more challenging. He's doing very well so far.

The beginning of November was my birthday and knowing we were leaving, John got tickets to Phantom of the Opera. We'd never seen it performed. The staging was beautiful. As was the outside of the OLD theatre (they are all old).

The theatre was quite small. We were in the sixteenth row and nearly at the back. But there were two balconies. The only other available rows were right in the first row. Too close!

Thanksgiving for us will probably be on the road. KFC will be the closest we can get to a drumstick. Our car is TINY for now and we have to pack some of the office equipment up with us so we're taking three days of trips to close up our flat here in London and get moved in. We'll be in our office space temporarily for three weeks. Furniture comes up at the beginning of January.

Well, dear friends and family members. Enjoy each others company and companionship. It is to be cherished and protected. We love you all

The first picture shows Plymouth Harbor still mostly untouched. This is where the Spanish Armada fought to try and take control over England. But the Lord has preserved English soil as He has American soil.
The second picture shows the pub still standing where the Mayflower was moored on the Thames River, London, before sailing around to Plymouth on the most southwesterly point of England. Inside this 500 year old pub are very old, original (?) pages from the ship's log. In London, everything is old so it could very well be the real thing! The pub can be seen better from the Thames as buildings have grown up around it. Behind and within an arms throw from the pub is St. Mary's Church where the Mayflower captain that sailed the Pilgrims is buried. His name was Christopher Jones. He died when he returned from Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621.
Here we are at The Mayflower Steps, Plymouth, England, where my husband's ancestor, Richard Warren, sailed off to America in 1620. The Mayflower was 90 feet long and 25 feet wide at the widest point. There were 104 passengers and crew on board for just about 3 months! No private facilities. Babies were born and others died on board. It was a very difficult life and they were "thankfully" very courageous to take the elements head on.

We are so fortunate to have central heating, warm beds and kitchens to cook fresh food.

Another Thanksgiving story to share is about Squanto...the Indian who saved the Pilgrims that first winter. Just think how cold and uncomfortable it is staying outside for a long period of time during a snowstorm...And remember the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in winter, having begun their voyage in September. Newly arrived in a strange land, can you imagine their surprise to find a very differently dressed human speaking your own language?

Squanto had been kidnapped during his youth by sailors who wanted to keep him as a slave. He was taken to Europe and eventually purchased by an Englishman who took him back to England and in the course of time, taught him the language. He was sometime thereafter set free to return to America. The Lord truly raises up others to help us in times we aren't even aware of. Another thing to truly be thankful for at this season of the year.

I am grateful for our heritage, the traditions of our forefathers and for our freedoms. My mother, Grandma Zeze, taught me early in my life about history, and the love of my country and family histories by taking my brother and I to visit all these wonderful places. So it's no wonder that I love going with my husband to share new places never before experienced, while we are here.

A Season of Change

Fall seems as good a time as ever to get started on my blog. Leaves are falling (perhaps signifying old ways) and the weather is changing. Time is slowing for us in the mission...giving me more time to spend figuring this new concept out.

I love graphics and this is perfect for me! I love pictures since mine as a child were lost and discarded. I also knew early in our marriage that I would someday write a book about "us" but never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine one could type on a movable machine (laptop) and add pictures printed by me from our own camera; let alone send them to all parts of the world.

This blog will end up in Iraq, England, Germany, The Netherlands, America (several states there), Africa and maybe even Japan (that I know of so far). Our grandchildren can trace the pictures and "discover" where the countries are.
Grandma and Grandpa move and visit a lot of places and some time one of our grandchildren may also visit some day.