Despite all of the work required for moving, the hardest thing about moving is saying "good-bye" to friends. We treasure the connections we made in England. I'm glad we have ways such as FaceBook to keep in touch with people, because England is so far away and so expensive to get a family of 7 there. That's hard to think about that we might not see some of these people again. Outside of church, we didn't make very many friends. Owen made a good friend at school, whose family we got to know a little bit. They are from Australia, so also in England temporarily (although they are there for much longer than we were). The kids all had friends at school, and I took pictures with most of Savannah, Weston, and Owen's friends. I'm not sure about posting their pictures on-line - the school has a strict policy about that, so I'm not going to post their pictures here.
We also enjoyed getting to know our neighbors. There was a nice older couple that got to watch us running off to school every day, and we enjoyed chatting with each other sometimes as we were walking back from school. They enjoyed watching out their window in the morning, looking for us to come running (as we were usually running late). They are pretty good about seeing the coming and going of people in the neighborhood. There was one day that made us laugh though. Owen and Weston were waiting outside while Savannah was still getting ready inside. A few times, they took off to school on their own and Savannah and I would follow later. Well, one morning when the boys had been waiting outside, Savannah and I came out and didn't see them anymore. I assumed they probably headed off to school. Our neighbors were outside, and as I walked by, I asked if the kids had come by there. He said "yes", so Savannah and I continued on to school. I was completely surprised when I got back home to see Owen and Weston standing outside our front door! Apparently, they had been playing in the back yard and thought we were still inside. (It was nearly 20 minutes later when I got back from walking with Savannah!) So then I had to run Weston and Owen over to the school. Our neighbors saw us go, and then it dawned on them what I had been asking earlier when I came by. They thought I was just asking if any kids had come by there, not realizing I was asking if MY kids had come by there. We had a good laugh about thinking about the boys playing in the backyard for 20 minutes without realizing we had left for school. Bill and Jess also watched Savannah one day (home sick) while I was in Ireland and Alex had a presentation. They were a really nice couple. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture with Bill, but we got one with Jess just before we left.
This picture was from June, on one rainy Sunday afternoon. Not all of us went, but Alex and the 3 youngest had fun taking a little hike with some of our friends.
Our last Sunday at church was very emotional, and by the end of our meetings, I was a mess. I wasn't thinking about getting pictures with all of our friends. I did get some with the kids and of the young men & young women. Thankfully, Alex got a couple of pictures with the kids primary president, Heather, and with the Young Men President, Aaron. We were so grateful for all of the leaders and teachers who taught and loved our kids. Heather was one of the most kind and caring leaders our kids have ever had.
We got to know Aaron and Jude pretty well. Jude was my first contact by e-mail, who went and looked at places for us when we were trying to find a place to live. Aaron helped me navigate the deposit dispute process when we left. And it was always fun hanging out with them, because they have such easy going personalities. The boys really loved their time in YM, because Aaron always had fun things planned and good lessons. One of the favorite memories with Aaron and the YM was when England was playing in the World Cup Final vs. Croatia. Nathan knew that game was happening on Wednesday, during their YM activity. On Sunday, he asked Aaron if their activity could be watching the game. Aaron, very convincingly, told Nathan they had bike maintenance planned that night. But unbeknownst to Nathan, Aaron was planning for the YM to watch the game. What was funny is that all of the other YM knew they were watching the game, but Nathan didn't know until they got there that evening. What is amazing to me is that Nathan still chose to go to the activity, thinking it was bike maintenance, instead of skipping the activity to go watch the game at his friend's house! That's dedication to the YM program. (It wasn't as funny for Aaron when Nathan showed up cheering for Croatia, who won the game...) Good times!
I got some photos with the young women and some of the leaders I served with. The second picture below, with Heather and Caroline, was at the beginning of July. Heather and her family went on vacation for all of July and into August, so I had to say some early good-byes. I just barely got a picture with Rei (bottom left in the photos above) as well, the afternoon before she left in June. Rei was the first person I had to say good-bye to, and I couldn't hold back tears then either. Rei was one of my counselors in the Young Women presidency, and she didn't have a car, so I picked her up for all of the Wednesday night activities. I got to know her pretty well, since we had at least 45 minutes to chat in the car on Wednesday evenings.
Caroline was the wife of the Bishop of the ward there - we got to spend some time with both her and Jonathan. Caroline taught several of the Sunday lessons in Young Women's and she also helped out at the Wednesday night activities. Since I was the YW President, I attended all of the ward council leadership meetings, as well as talking with the Bishop about the needs of the Young Women. So I got to know the Bishop pretty well too. I wish we had gotten a photo of Caroline and Jonathan! They were a great couple and we loved their family.
Heather was my American friend. She and her family moved in shortly before we did, from Texas (although theirs was a permanent move). We could relate to the transitions to a "new language" and new culture. I put "new language" in quotes, because it's not really a new language, but it is sometimes hard to understand the British accent or phrases. It is a bit of a learning curve to understand. Heather's oldest daughter, Emily, was one of the young women - she is an amazing singer! Heather also has a son, Blake, in Young Men's, who became friends with Nathan and Jared. We had Thanksgiving dinner at their home, as well as a few of the youth activities there. They were always willing to open up their home, and they were just a cool family. We will miss interacting with them.
I tried to get a photo of all the Young Women, but wasn't successful at that. I did make the 45 minute drive on our last Sunday to visit 2 of the young women that didn't come very often. Olivia wasn't there, but Katie was, so I got to say "bye" to her.
The first photo below was Nathan and Jared's Sunday school class. The 2nd picture is 8 of the 13 Young Women on our last Sunday.
I made scripture journals for each of the girls, with questions to help them ponder what they were reading. I also made a SPA journal as part of a spa night - we did facials and nails, but I added a spiritual aspect with journals to take home. These journals are to record Spiritual Promptings & Answers to prayers. One of our combined activities with the Young Men was a spiritual version of Cranium that I created using the youth pamphlet For the Strength of Youth. The 3rd picture is another sort of activity/game that I made focusing on the choices we make on our path of life back to God.
One of my young women, Beth, turned 18 in July and graduated out of the program. I put together a farewell / birthday party for her. I knew she likes art, so I thought it would be fun to do some painting. I discovered black glue art, which is black acrylic paint mixed with white glue. It was easy to make the roses with the glue. I printed out a rose on the printer, then used that on a window to trace on watercolor paper. Then I just had to use the black glue (still in the bottle), to "draw" over the pencil lines and let it dry. It was easy, but a little time consuming to make several of them.
We had cake, cheesecake, fruit and Schloer. I also put together a gift for Beth, a photo book with notes from the young women and the leaders, along with a Forget Me Not figurine. Each of the girls got a small gift bag as well, with their favorite drink and candy.
One thing about Beth that was a nice moment for me was being able to encourage her to finish her personal progress and receive her Young Womanhood Recognition Award. It's a very significant accomplishment, with several requirements to complete to earn the award. She was pretty close to finishing, but dragging her feet at the end in getting it done. I reminded her that she had already completed one of the hardest requirements, by attending 4 years of early morning scripture study. We talked about completing the remaining projects. She was so close to finishing! I didn't do anything except encourage her, but she did the work and finished. I was able to see her get the award on our last Sunday. She even insisted that we do it while I was still here, even though her parents weren't able to be there that day. I insisted she wait and get her award when her parents were there. But they said she probably wouldn't have finished if I hadn't given her the encouragement to do so. I did get to see her receive her award. And I was able to more fully recognize what she had accomplished in some thoughts that I was asked to share. Alex, Nathan, Jared, and I were asked to share our thoughts and testimonies on our last Sunday. That was hard to do!
As a farewell gift for the YW, I gave each of them a card with a personal messages about the things I admire about them, the qualities they possess, and my hopes and wishes for them. They were a great group of YW, and I will miss them. I hope I made a difference and impact on the girls in some way. I think I did, but may never know. I've thought about the patriarchal blessing I received when I was 18, in which part of it talks about that through my influence I can influence many for good. I feel like this was one of those opportunities.
On our last Sunday there, I gave the Young Women a hand-out of some of the things I wanted them to know:
Remember who you are, a choice daughter of God who loves you. You can speak to Heavenly Father and he hears and knows you. You can develop a relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. You have great worth and great potential. Have “eyes to see what Heaven sees in you.”
Participate. Half the battle is just showing up, being in the right place at the right time. Don’t just think about what’s in it for you - be there because someone else needs you. You can be a powerful influence for good in the lives of others.
Don’t be afraid. Trust in the Lord that He will guide you and help you overcome trials, weaknesses, to do things you didn’t think you could. You can do hard things, and don’t be afraid to work.
Keep your eyes focused on the temple. Prepare to go and then go often.
Change. Become. The gospel has the power to change your heart, if you turn to the Savior and use the power of the Atonement in your life. Learn how to recognize the Holy Ghost and the power of God in your life. Pray often and read your scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon.
Keep your eyes focused on the temple. Prepare to go and then go often.
Change. Become. The gospel has the power to change your heart, if you turn to the Savior and use the power of the Atonement in your life. Learn how to recognize the Holy Ghost and the power of God in your life. Pray often and read your scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon.
You have the power to choose faith and to determine your own destiny. You are not defined by the choices of others or your circumstances.
As I studied and taught about these things, I changed this year too. I'm grateful for this year of growth and opportunity to teach and serve. Having made the connections with our ward family there, it was hard to say "good-bye". The words of a hymn comes to mind "God be with you 'til we meet again." Someday we'll meet again. Farewell friends in England! This was a great chapter in our lives.
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