Mission Map

I though it might be interesting to see a map of our mission area.  It will help to know where we are talking about as we go to the various locations.
    Yesterday we drove in the rain down to Hastings, the lowest most Eastern area in the mission.  We have four sisters down there, two are awaiting to be transferred over to the Isle of Wight tomorrow as soon as their flat is available. They are from Switzerland, Malaysia, Denmark, and England. The diversity  never ceases to amaze me. Hastings is a very historic place, where the `normans invaded England in 1066.  William the Conqueror.
     Each of the zones represent the nine Stakes in our mission.  The wards or branches are the labels.  The mission home is near the Kingston ward.  The Temple and Mission office is near the East Grinstead Ward. they are about 25 miles apart.

Second transfers

Last night as we were driving home in the car, I said to Sister Millar, I don't think we wrote the blog last week.  We are so bad, please forgive us.  The week of Moves as we call it starts with a trip into London .with the departing missionaries.  We bring them back to the office at the London temple, feed them then have a family home evening.  The next morning we take them to the temple for a session. I then interview them and try to give them some counsel for after mission life, feed them again and then have a testimony meeting.  Wednesday they leave for home. I have a  Presidency meeting with my counselors to review the files on the arriving missionaries (12 new ones).  They arrive at noon, feed them, interview them to make sure the assignments are correct and appropriate.  We then introduce them to their new Companions and Trainers and send them to work.  Some of them have a 200 mile journey back to their areas.
     Yesterday, Sister Millar and I drove to Paignton, a town on the south west  coast to interview an Elder having some problems then up to Bristol for a missionary correlation meeting with the Zone leaders and the Stake Presidency.  We finished at 8 PM and then drove home.  In total 438 miles and a long day.
     We received missionaries from Thailand, Uganda, France, Panama, America, Wales, Scotland and England..  It keeps the variety going in the mission.
     Last Saturday and Sunday we attended Stake conference in Poole ( about a 100 miles South) Drove back to the Temple Visitors center to speak at a fireside that same evening..  It has been nonstop as you can see.  We are taking a little break time today (Friday).. We are catching the train into London in a half hour.  I have an eye appointment at the Moorfields eye  Hospital.  Oh, Yes we went with some of the senior couples into London lasttThursday to see a musical, called Matilda.  It was not as great as it was billed.  We did have a good time. We continue to be busy but we are extremely happy and love to be with the missionaries.

  We love you all and miss seeing and talking with you.  President and Sister Millar  aka Doc and Val

Busy week and sadness

     This past week was busy.  We held three individual Zone conferences ,(Maidstone, Portsmouth and Poole), sent one couple home (the Hamblins from St George), sent one Elder home one week early so he can start Uni) held two Stake correlation meetings, attended a 4 hour Area Coordinating Council, and the sad part; had to let an Elder go home at his own insistence after only 30 days in the field.  He was a very bright and talented missionary but his family were nonmembers and he felt like his mother was in too much pain for him to stay.  I worked with him in multiple ways with many long distance phone calls but in the end his mind was made up.. I felt like I had a patient die on the table.  At least it felt as bad.  It always makes you wonder if you did all you could and so it is easy to blame yourself for what seems like a failure. But life goes on and we have another 150 missionaries to look after.

     I hope you like some of the random photos that I attached.  As much as anything to learn how to use this blog better.  We love you and appreciate and feel all of your prayers in our behalf, keep them coming.   

Random photos

This photo was in Guernsey at the hotel we stayed at.

 The day we were set apart by Elder Russell M Nelson and Elder David F Evans

 The fox, one of three that frequent our back yard.

Winchester Cathedral built in the  600s , that is  right after Moroni buried the Gold Plates in America.

 This is our own sacred grove in the back yard.

 This  is the four new mission presidents in England 2012

 Some of our back yard critters.

Two months flown by

Dear friends and family, how time flies, We have been here two months already and yet in some ways it seems a lot longer, We are doing well, constantly busy from morning to evening yet very happy, We have now put 5600 miles on the car and are enjoying the travelling, We have been having Zone Conferences in each of the 9 Zones over the past couple of weeks, finishing up with Maidstone tomorrow, and then a long trip to Plymouth Zone on Thursday morning then Poole Zone in the afternoon, and a Stake correlation council meeting in the Poole Stake house that evening with the Stake President and ward leaders, after that, the long drive home. Poole and Plymouth are on the south coast bordering the English Channel, It's going to be a very long day.
    The weather has been a little cooler and overcast the last few days, but today it's been beautiful again, although the trees are beginning to turn just a little, The forecast is for an indian summer----- we shall see,   We don't have air-conditioning in our home, so we sleep with all the windows open, but most nights it's so hot and muggy it's hard to sleep.
We love you all, and you are always in our prayers, sorry we don't keep up with all the birthdays, but we do think of you and wish you all a very happy birthday, I get my pet fix with a garden (yard) full of squirrels, crows, wood pigeons, sometimes small red deer, and my foxes, we have 2 or 3 every night waiting for scraps near the back door. Must close now, Sorry we are a little late sending this out this week, We love you all, and are so grateful for your support, We pray for you constantly and are grateful for your prayers for us, Till next week, WE LOVE YOU ALL                                

Two months