Today is the first sunny day we've had in over a week...glorious. It did give way to light showers in the evening, but the day was glorious. I heard a report on the radio that said April has been the coldest on record in England in 26 years....I believe it!
One of our YSA girls is a student in the Culinary Arts department at Birmingham City University. She invited us to have lunch at the university's restaurant today. She was in charge of creating the menu, ordering the food, and running the kitchen for the lunch event. There were five entrees and five desserts to choose from. It was amazing! The food was outstanding! It was very high class with pressed linen table cloths, napkins...the works. The waiters were all students practicing the art of serving and were oh so cute - best food and service we've had in a restaurant in Birmingham (admittedly, we don't go to the expensive places to eat). The prices were very cheap. We will definitely go again - wish we had known about it sooner.
FHE was really good tonight - I think I say that every week, but it was really good! Hannah prepared a great lesson that everyone loved, Sharoon brought the treats, and Yanos organized a really fun activity. He divided us into three groups and gave each group a large cardboard box and a roll of packaging tape. Our assignment was to build a bridge (using only those supplies) that would reach between two tables, and then see which bridge would hold the most hymn books. Team 1's bridge held 43 books before collapsing. Team 2's bridge collapsed rather quickly. Team 3 quit putting books on their bridge at 70+, and were declared the winners.
Team 3
L to R: Sister Tufts, Hannah, Tina
Tuesday, May 1
Another rainy day... It's also the beginning of our last round of flat checks. Elder and Sister Morgan are going to take over flat checks when we leave, so they went with us today as we checked Woodsetton, Stourbridge, and Kidderminister. It was pretty routine. The missionaries had made an effort and the flats looked pretty good. After I finish filling in the check list, I tell them if I find anything they need to clean. In one flat I mentioned how clean everything was, except that the inside door of the microwaver was dirty, to which one of the elders said, "Dammit!" - not once, but twice! We've chuckled about it all day. Winning the award for the cleanest flat is pretty important to some of the elders.
Wednesday, May 2 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELINDA
We picked up the Harborne C elders to go to District meeting - it was very good. After we drove the elders home we had just enough time to go home, grab a bite and gather up things for Institute. Devon's lesson went well. We had lots of YSA there including a couple who haven't come in quite a while. The activity was tons of fun - finger painting pictionary. President and Sister Ogden were there for our Advisory meeting prior to Institute and I had a nice visit with her after the meeting. We rarely get to spend time with them, so it was nice...especially as we will be leaving soon. They will be going home about three weeks after us.
Thursday, May 3 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACELYN
Always so tired the morning after Institute. We ran errands and spent most of the day working on our next round of lessons. I have to teach "Intimacy in Marriage" next week. I have been dreading it, but after reading all the material I think it will be a good lesson.
Friday, May 4
Another day of flat checks. The Solihull sisters' flat was outstanding! They will be hard to beat. After coming home we spent some time calling about the bank mix-up. The rest of the day and evening was spent working on lessons.
Saturday, May 5
Grocery shopping, cleaned the flat, Skyped with family. The Morgans came over in the evening. We went to dinner at the Carvery and then enjoyed two games of pinochle. Well, the boys enjoyed the games...the girls lost!
Sunday, May 6
Absolutely lovely Fast Sunday. We had a new investigator at church - a young man from China who is here going to university. He is taking lessons from the sister missionaries and loving it. The YSA had a Break the Fast after church. We invited him to join us and he was thrilled - wants to come to everything! Our amazing group of YSA were very welcoming to him. They also did a terrific job of organizing, setting up, and cleaning up the meal. How I love being with these kids! Don't know why I'm so tired, but totally enjoyed a little nap and then more Skype/FaceTime with family - such a blessing!
Wednesday, May 2 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELINDA
We picked up the Harborne C elders to go to District meeting - it was very good. After we drove the elders home we had just enough time to go home, grab a bite and gather up things for Institute. Devon's lesson went well. We had lots of YSA there including a couple who haven't come in quite a while. The activity was tons of fun - finger painting pictionary. President and Sister Ogden were there for our Advisory meeting prior to Institute and I had a nice visit with her after the meeting. We rarely get to spend time with them, so it was nice...especially as we will be leaving soon. They will be going home about three weeks after us.
Thursday, May 3 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACELYN
Always so tired the morning after Institute. We ran errands and spent most of the day working on our next round of lessons. I have to teach "Intimacy in Marriage" next week. I have been dreading it, but after reading all the material I think it will be a good lesson.
Friday, May 4
Another day of flat checks. The Solihull sisters' flat was outstanding! They will be hard to beat. After coming home we spent some time calling about the bank mix-up. The rest of the day and evening was spent working on lessons.
Saturday, May 5
Grocery shopping, cleaned the flat, Skyped with family. The Morgans came over in the evening. We went to dinner at the Carvery and then enjoyed two games of pinochle. Well, the boys enjoyed the games...the girls lost!
Sunday, May 6
Absolutely lovely Fast Sunday. We had a new investigator at church - a young man from China who is here going to university. He is taking lessons from the sister missionaries and loving it. The YSA had a Break the Fast after church. We invited him to join us and he was thrilled - wants to come to everything! Our amazing group of YSA were very welcoming to him. They also did a terrific job of organizing, setting up, and cleaning up the meal. How I love being with these kids! Don't know why I'm so tired, but totally enjoyed a little nap and then more Skype/FaceTime with family - such a blessing!
