Jobless in England: February 2014

Tuesday 25 February 2014

My Adopted Grandparents

I wanted to post about a couple who I have really grown to love while living in England. Ann and Alan Bradley were the first people to really reach out to Simon and I when we moved here. They have invited us over to their home every Monday night for Family Home Evening since we got here. They have also had us over for dinner and for a movie night (we watched 17 Miracles). They are amazing people and I am grateful for the opportunity I had to meet and get to know them. Last night was my last FHE with them because I am heading back to the states next week and they made me a goodbye cake... it was so sweet. Anyway, here are a few pictures:

The cake and note in it

Alan wanted to look good for the picture, love it

Simon, Me, Alan, and Ann

Monday 24 February 2014

Funky Cow and Pound Bakery

I have a list of things that I am trying to do before I head back to the states. Saturday Simon and I went on an afternoon date to get a chicken bake pasty at the Pound Bakery and to get milkshakes at Funky Cow (2 of the things on my list, don't judge me most of them involve food). Simon had given me gift certificates at Christmas for the milkshake place, but we just hadn't gone yet. Both were scrumptious and it was the first milkshake I have had in over 6 months! This may not seem that crazy to some of you, but milkshakes and donuts are probably my favorite treats. Anyway, here are a few pictures from that afternoon.

Chicken Bake Pasty- just imagine chicken pot pie goodness housed in a flaky crust

Simon outside the milkshake "bar"

Mint and Vanilla for Simon and Vanilla and Reese's for me

Monday 17 February 2014

Missionaries Coming and Going

It has been a while since I have done an up-date on the missionaries that have left us. Elder Paheroo left us a transfer ago. He was the one from Tahiti that I wrote about in an earlier post. Also, fun fact about him- he has won an Olympic gold medal! Crazy I know. It was for some type of rowing (can't remember the exact event). He said when he gets home he plans to train for the next Olympics. I told him we would be cheering him on. Here is a picture with an old companion (he is on the left):

In December we also lost Sister Crookston. She got here the same week we did back in September. She finished her mission though so she headed back home to Utah. She was also awesome and we were very sad to see her leave. She is probably one of the nicest and sweetest people I have ever met. Here are some pictures before she left (we had just gotten back from teaching a lesson):

Sister Crookston and I back in December

Sister Snarr and Sister Crookston

Me, Sister Snarr, and Sister Crookston

Elder Leiva is leaving is this week. He has only been here for 2 transfers and is a great missionary. He is a really good teacher and we have enjoyed being in lessons with him. He is from Chile and is leaving to become a Zone Leader in another area. Here is a picture after a lesson with John:

Elder Gourrat (also from Tahiti, this is his second transfer out on the mission), John, Elder Leiva, and Simon

Lastly, our dear Sister Snarr is leaving this week as well. She also arrived in Chester the same week that we did in September. She has been here the whole time I have and leaves about 2 weeks before I do... we always joked about who would leave first and she beat me to it. She has been such a good friend to me while I have been here. Here is a picture of her:

Sister D (can't spell her last name), Me, and Sister Snarr

Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration

Last night we had the Elders and their investigator John over for dinner. After dinner we watched Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration. It had been a long time since I had seen it and it helped me remember how grateful I am for Joseph Smith. He had so many trials in his life and seemed so positive through it all. I cannot even imagine the type of adversity he and his family faced (as well as other early members of the church). My favorite line in the movie is when he is with Emma and they have suffered so much hardship and sorrow and he says "maybe I am meant to swim in deep water." I think that literally swimming in deep water helps us build greater muscle. I think spiritually swimming in deep water can help us become stronger spiritually and help refine us. People outside of the LDS church sometimes think we worship Joseph Smith. We don't. We worship Jesus Christ. We respect and love Joseph Smith because of all of the sacrifices he made to help the church be restored. We respect his faith and admire his determination to do God's will. He is a great reminder to us of how we can live our lives more faithfully.

The spirit was really strong during the movie. I think that we all felt it and felt of God's love. When Elder Gourrat gave the closing prayer he was very emotional. I felt the same and was grateful for the spirit that was brought into our home. If you haven't seen the movie, or haven't watched it recently, I highly recommend you do. I have included the YouTube video and link below.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpz5lIGS85k

Saturday 15 February 2014

Dia de Amor

Valentine's Day is pretty chill for us. Simon had class and a meeting with a professor until after 2:30pm so we met in town around 3pm at this little donut place I have been wanting to try since we got here. Finally after 5.5 months of waiting we went. It was another terrible weather day, so by the time I walked into town from our house I was soaked. We enjoyed ourselves anyway. The donuts were delicious and I may have to eat them once more before I leave. After donuts we went grocery shopping (so romantic I know) and went home. We made BLA's (bacon, lettuce, and avocado... oddly enough neither of us likes tomatoes) sandwiches for dinner and they were scrummy. We then watched some movies and relaxed together. It was a great afternoon and evening.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Thursday Simon and I went to Scotland for the day. We knew it was going to be a long day because we wanted to save some money by not staying the night. However, it was longer than expected because of the bad weather we had the day before (see my post Stormy Weather). It was supposed to be a 4 hour, 3 train ride to Edinburgh, but ended up being a 5 train, 6 hour train ride. All of the trains were delayed in the morning because drivers were stranded the night before in places they weren't supposed to be because of the trains closing down. So the next day, it was a beautiful sunny day, but drivers were late getting places because of the previous day. We even had one train cancelled and had to find another one because the trees had fallen on power lines in one section of the track. It was crazy, but we made it safely to Scotland.

Once in Scotland, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day! We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was definitely cold and windy, but there was no rain... yay! We didn't want to spend a lot while we were there so we walked around quite a bit and went to all the free museums (which were brilliant!). Here are some pictures from the trip: