Correcting mistakes, Ops.

Dear family and friends,
 The trouble with writing on the run, when your husband is stating we have to leave in 5 minutes so hurry up, is that typos are made and you don't get time to correct them, So here goes,
        First of all the Chapel we do exit interviews in is Eastgrinstead, NOT Eastbourne. I also forgot to mention we also have a Testimony meeting with all the departing missionaries after dinner, before we have to say goodbye to them all, and I must say that this is probably the hardest part of the whole missionary experience, These young and sometimes Senior missionaries become so dear to us, they really become like family, It's a very emotional and hard day, especially for me, as my husband says, "Leaky Eyeballs".  Many will go back to their homelands and very hard living conditions, and we will probably never get to see them again, especially at our age.
  We counted up the other day and we have had over 60 countries represented by our missionaries. what an experience for them and what a blessing for us, The world is certainly coming to us here in England as well as we going to them.
 Also those white cliffs really are between Eastbourne and Brighton, just west from Dover, the White cliffs are not as long there, These are the ones you see in war movies. What a welcoming sight they must have been.
 England has been doing an awful lot of celebrations this year, as it's 100 years since the outbreak of WWI. England entered the war on August 4th 1914, America didn't join the war until 2 years later with the bombing of the ship The Lucitania off the coast of Ireland.
    I also forgot to mention that 2 weeks ago after my husbands eye appointment in London, we had the opportunity to meet up with Bonnie and Jim Parkin at the Marble Arch Marriott. They were there visiting for a few days before sailing from Southampton on a cruise and visiting the beaches at Normandy. We were able to go to the Imperial War Museum, and apart from everything else there is to see about ALL warfare, planes, tanks etc, they have a special exhibit about WWI, It was very well worth visiting, and we had a wonderful time with them,
    Jim and Bonnie were Mission President and Wife here in the England London South Mission from 1997 to 2000, and we actually had dinner with them in the mission home were we are now living when we visited them in 1998. We came over for the Preston Temple Dedication, (which is in Chorley, just up the road from the home I was born and raised in). The Preston MTC is there on the grounds along with the Stake House and Distribution Center.

Outside the Imperial War Museum with Jim and Bonnie

Outside the museum, These are HUGE guns
Below a couple of iconic views of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben with the London Eye in the background,(Ferris Wheel)
Love to all and God Bless, Roger and Val.

Fall is coming

Dearest family and friends,
        Sorry it's been so long since we wrote, We can't believe how time is flying. Everyone told us the last year would fly by, and we thought the first two years had gone quickly, but we hardly get a breath and it's another week gone,  October is going to be even crazier, with approx. 314 missionaries, (thats including the senior couples), we don't seem to have a minute to breathe, but somehow the Lord provides, We go to bed exhausted and wake up around 5:30 - 6:00 am. refreshed and ready to go again.
       The week after General Conference we start Monday with dinner with our departing missionaries and a fireside that night, Usually we show a move, Ephraim's Rescue or 17 Miracles, at the Eastbourne Chapel. Then Tuesday we meet with the departing missionaries in the Temple for a session, have lunch in the Temple cafeteria, then go to the Eastbourne Chapel, where we have exit interviews by President Millar, and also a presentation which the Church is trying out, called Live my Gospel,
       This program is to reorient the missionaries and make it easier for them to adjust to "normal" life after their mission. They have been so focused on Preach my Gospel for two years, or 18 months for the sisters. that we hope this will help them get back into school and daily living with a smoother transition.
  The next day is transfer day with the new missionaries coming from the MTC. (Missionary Training Center) in my hometown, Chorley, to join with us in the London England South Mission, We do most of the transfers at the Staines Chapel because it is across the road from a Railway Station and makes it easier for those with luggage to get to their new areas.  Thats an all day job, that includes training the new trainers and orienting the new missionaries.
       The week after that we have a mission tour by a General Authority from Germany, He will be here with his wife and staying at the Mission home with us for 4 days, We will be having our Multi-Zone Conferences in three consecutive days, so there will be a lot of travel involved, Crawley one day, then Poole the next, then Staines for the final one. These will finish on Friday, and Saturday we will be starting our 9 Stake Conferences, and we usually have to stay overnight to get to all the meetings, The first one is in Portsmouth.
   The next week on Tuesday, we leave to go to Portugal to the Mission Presidents Training Seminar. and we will be there for 3 nights and 4 days, arriving home Friday evening in time to re-pack for the Plymouth Stake conference the next day.
     Never a dull moment.!!!!
   We did manage to grab some pictures of the Seven Sisters Cliffs on our way home from Eastbourne a few weeks ago. They extend from Eastbourne all down the coast to Brighton and are incredible. I'm sure you've all seem pictures of them in WW1 movies, They are the White Cliffs you see that pilots used as landmarks as they approached the English coast.
    This is just a small section of them

A kind Japanese tourist offered to take this for us

This is part of the old Manor House on the Temple Grounds.

Below an Inn next to the B&B we stay at just outside of Exeter

Well love to love all WE DO THINK OF YOU ALL OFTEN.We are so grateful for your patience and understanding, God Bless, we appreciate all your prayers and can't wait to see you all again, Love always, Valerie and Roger, aka President and Sister Millar.