What a frantic pace we keep, and yet we are managing to survive somehow, Things seem to be slowing down as far as opening new areas, and we seem to have reached our full compliment of missionaries for the moment. Now we are just trying to keep on top of things.
We got finished with interviews and three tri-zone conferences, and now we are preparing for another round of tri-zone conferences because we are having the Area president, President Teixeira of the Seventy, coming to do a mission tour for four days the week of 25th November. He wants to meet, and talk with all the missionaries. He and his wife will also be staying with us.
December is approaching very quickly and we are having the missionaries come in four different groups to the accommodation center on the Temple grounds for a Temple Session and Christmas Dinner, We can only accommodate 70-75 at a time in the Temple or the accommodation centre, so that is going to be a lot of traveling and quite an expence getting the missionaries here, but it's a wonderful time and worth every penny.
We have been tied up every Saturday and Sunday with Stake Conferences, so we have been traveling around the mission quite a bit. Sometimes when travel is too far to get home, and then be back the next morning for the Sunday Meetings, we stay overnight.
It's hard to believe Christmas is around the corner, so if you think Thanksgiving is too early too start Christmas, you should have been in Costco in August, Because they already had their Christmas decorations up, Trees and everything,
We love to drive through the little towns and villages around Southern England at Christmas time, they literally look like a "Currier and Ives" Christmas card. With it getting dark at 4pm, it really is magical, As the days get shorter the sun rises in the south east and sets in the south west,
Last Friday we managed to change our schedules so we could go with the Senior Couples, on their monthly outing. One of our couples who work with the YSA (Young Single Adults) and are living in Oxford, took us on a walking tour of Oxford, and then to Christchurch College, where we were shown around by the Bishop of one of the Oxford Wards. He happens to work there. He then took us into the dining hall where they got the inspiration for Hogwarts Dining Hall in the Harry Potter Movies, and were some of the filming took place. We then
had "High Tea" there, clotted cream scones and chocolate eclairs with hot chocolate. We were very glad of the refreshment by then as we had walked about 2 miles in absolutely pouring down rain and we were soaked, and feeling rather waterlogged.
