Christmas Parties

I apologize that everything on this post is in reverse order with the most recent event on top.

 This is the top of the lighthouse at Roath Park.

Roath Park is a place I found on the Internet before we came here and I have wanted to see it ever since. Imagine my surprise when our little Christmas walk took us exactly there. I loved it.

And there sits Nanny McPhee on the bench with her walking stick (a gift from President Parry) and her long black coat. Ben gave me the name but was at least kind enough to say I was prettier than Nanny McPhee who had big warts and awful teeth. But she is magical!

Meg, Lisa, Jocelyn and Peter (on his cell phone) below.  Elder Cable and Ben on the right.  We all walked to Roath Park after dinner and after Brother Parry passed out all the gifts and they were opened and appreciated.  It was a beautiful day and I think the walk was my favorite part of Christmas. 

Peter and Lisa Hammond

Lisa is the Parry's daughter, she has three children. The food was fabulous and the company delightful. President Parry was the main cook:

Turkey, Yorkshire pudding, chestnut dressing, steamed vegetables, roasted potatoes and Christmas pudding with a fabulous sauce, among other things. Nummy!

President & Sister Derek and Sue Parry invited us to their home for Christmas dinner and sharing in family time together.  It was wonderful, relaxing, and most pleasant.

Our missionaries:  Elder Adams (Florida), Elder Alex Bearnson (Providence, UT), Sister Morris (California) and Sister Martinec (Las Vegas) and our new convert, Jack Kirby at the Christmas Eve party at Lisa & Peter Hammond's home.  They make me happy.                                                                 

On Monday the 22nd of December we went to downtown Cardiff to sign a lease renewal for a flat in Roath and saw the above church with a vegetable market right by it.  Sadly, the church is now a discount store inside.

The older gentleman, Jack Kirby was baptized on 13 December 2008

amid much vicious opposition from his pastor and family.

He has a lot of courage and says he is "happy" with what he has done.

The gentleman on the right is our bishop, Jamie Holcombe, 

a policeman and a great person.

These ladies are fun friends: Gillie Grant and Linn.

Pam Fitzpatrick went to Canada for the holidays.

The above photo taken at Derek Parry's 70th Birthday Party

is of Margaret, Ann Dearden, Gil (say  Jill)Davison,

and on the floor Melissa, and Louise Dearden with

their dad, Andrew Dearden, our Stake President who

is a very prominent physician in the U.K.

Sorry, but I like the following video of a spur-of-the moment-dance so much I want to see if I can post it on my Blog.  It was taken at our mission Christmas party and the white guy is Elder Adams with Elder Brobbey joining in. Elder Adams is a convert from Florida and is in our ward here.  He and Elder Bearnson are our Zone Leaders. Elder Brobbey is a life-long member from London. Later in the talent show, Elder Brobbey also did a mean Gladys Knight with lots of spur-of-the-moment missionaries joining in as "Pips". Loved it! But that video is too long for my Blog.  

The last shall be first, especially on my Blog. The top of this post is the most recent of our happenings.  All in all Christmas was nice - but ohhhh how we missed home. 

Merry Christmas

With wond'ring awe the wise men saw

The star in heaven springing,

And with delight, in peaceful night,

They heard the angels singing:

By light of star they traveled far

To seek the lowly manger,

A humble bed wherein was laid

The wondrous little Stranger.

And still is found, the world around,

The old and hallowed story,

And still is sung in ev'ry tongue

The angels' song of glory:

The heav'nly star its rays afar

On ev'ry land is throwing,

And shall not cease till holy peace

In all the earth is growing.

Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to his name!

We wish you all the peace and beauty of a meaningful Christmas season. He is the meaning.

Our Merry Christmas tree made by Kim's Beehive class, I am sure with love. It makes us happy every day. We also have received many cards from home and from members here. That's nice.

Wales Countryside in Winter

We recently had to go to Newport to inspect missionary flats and took some photos along the way.  It was a misty-moisty day, as many of them are.  The little white specks on the countryside are sheep.  There are millions of sheep in Wales and we have had some delicious lamb dinners. Shepherds Pie is the best! 

Mission Zone Christmas Party

Our President and Sister Moffat made sure we were all well fed, had time for lots of fun, watched the talent of the missionaries, had a rousing competition with "Preach My Gospel" Jeopardy (which our zone won, of course), saw the movie, "Errand of Angels", sang carols, popped English crackers, celebrated Wayne and Elder Bearnson's birthday and were each given gifts from the mission as well as Christmas letters for all the young Elders and Sisters from family.  We can't figure out how they did that because the envelopes were addressed by their families, but there were no stamps on them.  All Sister Moffat would say was Santa Claus brought them.  The party lasted 10 hours and it was great - every minute of it.  I absolutely love these missionaries.  

England Birmingham Mission

This photo was taken when we arrived in Birmingham.  We really like President Moffat and his wife.  It is so good to see them when they come for Zone Conference, etc.  We were surprised and pleased to see them at the convert baptism Saturday night as Birmingham is two and a half hours away from us.  She bore a great testimony and he gave a wonderful, encouraging talk to Brother Kirby after his baptism.  It was a beautiful, spiritual evening because of the efforts and testimonies of so many people.  

Ahhh, We Have the Internet

Photos:  Nancy, James, Luc (pronounced Luke), Ben and his birthday cake, Sean, Luc, James, Alex - some of our Institute students.  Ben is an investigator, Sean and Alex are converts, Luc and James (and David) are returned missionaries.  Love them all.  This is at Family Home Evening - we have about 30 who come to Institute.  They are amazing, brilliant and have beautiful testimonies.

We are so excited to finally be connected with the world again.  We have the Internet and email and now we don't feel so isolated.  Now the only problem will be to discipline ourselves to stay off the Internet as much as we can.  It is so good to hear from family and friends again -- and to be able to pay our bills and see our bank account.  

I have added a few photos to this post so you can see a bit about where we are and what we are doing.  As to what we have been doing and will be doing, Friday we inspected missionary flats, Saturday we went to a convert baptism, Sunday we spoke in Sacrament Meeting and went to dinner at Gill Grant's home (absolutely heavenly delicious) and then went to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional at the Church, yesterday we went shopping at Staples, went with the sister missionaries to teach the newly baptized convert about the priesthood, and last night we went to the YSA Family Home Evening in Cardiff.  Today our car is in the garage being serviced and tomorrow we have a Mission Christmas Party that starts at 9:00 a.m. and goes most of the day and it is Wayne's birthday.  Thursday we have CES training by David Beale, Friday we inspect flats and go to the Rhiwbina Ward Christmas Party.  Saturday is President Perry's birthday party at the Church, Sunday is a Stake Carol Service in the evening.  Busy, busy.  On Christmas day we are going to the Parry's for a Christmas dinner and family party.  On the 26th, Boxing Day, we have been invited to Swansea to celebrate with the Rasmussen family.  That should be nice and I am looking forward to finding our way to Swansea and meeting Sister Rasmussen, one of the Seminary teachers.  And so it goes.  

In Cardiff Without Internet

We are here, we are safe, we are busy. But we don't have Internet or email yet and it is making us feel very isolated. We finally walked through Whitchurch Village to the Cardiff Library and are using their computers. Driving is a total trauma. We spend most of our time lost, listening to our GPS tell us it is "recalculating" because we have taken a wrong turn. We can never figure out how to get off at the right place on the round-abouts.

The students are amazing and we already love them. We attend Family Home Evening with them every Monday at Student House by the University. We teach Institute to about 30 students every Tuesday. We will be inspecting missionary flats every Friday. We are speaking in sacrament meeting this coming Sunday. In addition, there are a lot of Christmas celebrations, dinner engagements, training sessions, YSA meetings and activities, a baptism this Saturday, dinner with a member this Sunday (our second dinner engagement), and we will celebrate Christmas with a nice dinner at Brother and Sister Parry's home and stay for their big family celebration. We truly enjoy the people.

I left the class rolls on the table when I left Institute last night and our S&I Coordinator called me "naughty" for doing so. He said, "You came all the way from America to lose the rolls! We could have had someone here do that." I don't think they are lost forever, but he certainly gave me a hard time. He is the greatest!

We love hearing from home. Shawna sent a card, Mom & Dad sent a card and a great gift, and Kim and her Young Women all made cards for us and a big paper Christmas tree with hand made decorations. We love it! It is hanging in our living room. Thanks. I will post photos when we I can use my own computer.

MTC - Missionaries from Wales

We finally met the missionaries who are here from Wales.  We met Sister Williams, Sister Brown, Elder James and Elder Morgan.  They are so excited and it was so fun to meet them, especially the Sister missionaries as we had been looking for each other all week.  They will soon be gone on their way and we on ours and we will be meeting some of their family members.  

MTC - In Bountiful

We asked our granddaughter if she wanted to be baptized and she said she did.  Does that count as our first convert baptism?  It was nice to be at this sacred event and Paige was so happy to become a member of the Church on her 8th birthday.  It's hard to say good-bye again to those you love so much, but it was a delightful day.  Cherie, Kari and all of the kids came with us back to the MTC which made us very happy.  The whole day was good (except the score of the BYU-Utah game) and we loved seeing Julie and Tom, Melissa and Jeff, Lauren, Mom and Dad and all of Cherie's family again.  

We finally met Sister Williams from Wales.  She and Sister Brown have been looking for us all week.   We will be able to meet the three other missionaries from Wales tomorrow.  This is the first time they have had so many from Wales at the MTC at the same time so they are taking a picture together tomorrow for the Liahona.  It will be fun if it gets published.  Sister Williams was so full of life, so happy to meet us and so warm and expressive.  That was extra nice.

MTC - Day Five

Today was the best day for us as far as our teaching goes.  We had a "new convert" to teach the "Gospel of Jesus Christ" or in other words, faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end with a little Family History thrown in.  Our "new convert" was wonderful and it was so much fun teaching her.  The Spirit is so strong when we are teaching and testifying, even if it is in a role play.  

The teachers here are amazing and now that they know us a little better things have become a bit more relaxed and we are having a fun time with them.  They just have to get us back on track once in awhile. I can't remember when I have been surrounded by so many pure souls. When they tell us, as Brother Depperman did today, "If you work and believe in miracles they will happen," I can't help but believe him.  These teachers are so young, yet so wise. He reminded us to, "Be a missionary every day all day - in fact, be a full-time missionary."  They have given us a brighter and a broader view of what our responsibilities will be. I thought we would just be going out and working with Young Adults and the youth in the Church Education System. Now I feel that we should be doing much more, being "anxiously engaged".  We have been reminded over and over again that when you meet someone who is interested in the Gospel, do not look for the missionaries - "You are the missionaries."  I knew I was going on a mission, but I didn't think of myself as being a missionary. But they also told us, "Where much is given, much is expected. But where much is expected, much is given." I hope we can do this right.

MTC - Day Four

What a wonderful thing it is to be here with so many dedicated missionaries.  The senior couples are amazing and we are having some very touching experiences and a lot of fun exchanges with the senior couples and with the young missionaries.  I love the interaction we can have with the young elders and sisters as we walk along the campus and when we eat in the cafeteria. They are so fun to talk to and we all enjoyed the bird flying around in the cafeteria for the past two days The elder we sat with this evening was from Canada, had lived in North Salt Lake and attended WX High School. He is on his way to Richmond, Virginia.  He was really fun to talk to, very friendly. Wayne remembers his name as Elder Furnell.  Kristy and Rustin will have to watch for him.  

MTC

We are here!  Just like everyone says, it is an amazing experience.  It has changed my perspective of what our purpose is as CES missionaries.  I had put the emphasis on the CES part and had not completely realized that we are missionaries so very much like other missionaries.  It has been a learning, growing and humbling experience.  

The highlight has been the devotional last night.  Elder Jeffrey R. and Sister Patricia Holland were the speakers.  They never let the missionaries know who it will be until they arrive.  It was a thrill to see them come in and the talks were outstanding.  The singing of "Called to Serve" with all those missionaries was thrilling.  Such power and conviction! I love seeing the missionaries and we are encouraged to interact with them.  Today 586 new missionaries are coming in.  They doubled up this week because they aren't having any missionaries come in next week because of Thanksgiving.  

Down to the Wire

It must be about time.  We were invited to express our feelings to the Stake Presidency and the High Council this past Sunday.  That was a little intimidating, but a very good experience.  Our Stake President, Jamie Dester, is one of the greatest men I have ever met.  He is so loving and kind and the light of the gospel just shines from him.  He has a great smile and is generous in displaying it.  How lucky to be in our ward and stake.  

Our Bishop, Kent Larson, is fun and a very excellent man even if he does give me a hard time occasionally.  Five months ago when I told him I had fears about submitting our mission papers and going into the unknown he called me a "big baby" and told me to get out there.  This from my kind, sweet, spiritual bishop.  I will miss our ward and stake but am grateful for the strength they have been to me and for all the people who have taught me so well and set such exceptional examples of righteousness and helpfulness for me. Now is the time to put into practice all they have given us.  I hope we can represent them well, or at least not be an embarrassment to them. 

I was invited to lunch yesterday at the Little America to say good-bye to some of my friends from work.  It was most pleasant though sad to close the door on that part of my life.  I have learned so much about service, going the extra mile, generosity and that "good enough never is" from them.  I love their "can do" attitude and hope I take it with me.  

We speak in church Sunday, Julie and Cherie are helping us so much in the winding down process and they have no idea what a burden they have lifted from our shoulders, we turn our home over to Emily and Jeremy Leger who have been a blessing to us -- in fact one of the Lord's tender mercies manifest in our lives, then we enter the MTC Monday morning and fly to Birmingham, England on Thanksgiving morning at 8:30.  (We will take a little detour on Saturday the 22nd to come up here for Paige's baptism.  I'm glad we don't have to miss that.) We will be on our way before we know it.  We have communicated with our landlady so things are set.  We arrive in Birmingham at the Mission Home at 10:30 the morning of the 28th.  Be sure to write to us because we will be missing you. 

Addresses

Autumn, and indeed winter is in the air. The snow is falling on our autumn leaves outside my window and soon we will be leaving. We hope to hear from some of you whether it is by comments on our blog; by email: ccableusa@mac.com or wcable3875@msn.com; or in a real, live letter. From the 17th until Thanksgiving we will be in the MTC:  

Elder and Sister Cable

Birmingham England CES Programs Mission

Provo Missionary Training Center

2005 N 900 E

Provo UT 84604

Our Mission address is:

England Birmingham Mission

187 Penns Lane Sutton Coldfield

West Midlands

England B76 1JU U.K..  

No later than the 1st of December we should be able to be reached at: 

7 Retford Court, The Philog

Whitchurch CF14 1EE

Cardiff, Wales, U.K.  

I hope that isn't too much information and I do hope we will be able to keep in touch.  

Frame of Reference

It is somethings surprising to find that things are not as we think.  We project on the unknown ideas and beliefs so familiar to us.  I have learned that there is no Institute at the University of Cardiff like there is at the University of Utah, Utah State, etc., but we will hold our Institute classes in a chapel.  I guess part of the time in the summer the classes were even held on the beach. ("They are a hardy people.")  

I have had other occasions to find this frame of reference thing true recently.  I have found that when I have an opinion of someone, I assume that people I really like have the same opinion of them - and it is not necessarily so.  

I hope in the future I will remember this and not be so quick to form opinions or jump to conclusions.  Pob-bendith.  (I am told that means-- "All Blessings" in Welsh.)  

General Conference

General Conferences are my favorite times of the year.  Of course it always rains, but it also cleanses, lifts and renews.  H Burke Peterson, a dear friend of ours, has given us perfect advice before each General Conference.  He tells us to do three things: 1) Before Conference consider your concerns, needs and questions, then pray that you will receive inspiration regarding them; 2) During Conference write down your impressions, whether or not it was something spoken; and 3) Take a nap - between sessions.  I try to do this every April and October. This time I wrote down seven impressions and I would like to share a few of them. 1) Ask our family members to pray for us when we are on our mission then always remember that they are doing so; 2) Be more reverent during the prelude music before sacrament meeting and don't use it as a time to give messages to others; 3) We should not try so much to impart new information when we teach as to bring the Holy Ghost into the teaching; 4) Use our best efforts to get more young adults involved in the seminaries and institute programs in Cardiff and South Wales; 5) Believe in angels - and be one.  It would be so interesting to have you share what your impressions were.  I hope that I will not just enjoy General Conference, but will "go and do."  

Adorable as Children - Fabulous as Adults

Unexpected Tears

I thought I was doing really well. I thought I would miss my grandchildren, my parents, my sister and my children, but not so much that it would be a huge deal. Then today as I was sorting through old files I came across the immunization records of my children. I looked at each of them and they reminded me of so many things. How adorable Kim was and what a cute, talented little girl she was. How afraid Chantel was whenever we took her to a doctor and what a beautiful, kind little girl she was. How brave Cherie was and how tiny she was and what a sweet natured baby and child she was. Then I came to Julie's. I remembered how she broke out with red spots all over her body after her smallpox vaccination (which they no longer gave by the time Kim was born) and how worried I was about this. I remembered how I told her it would be fun to go get a shot - and she believed me! She didn't even cry, she only looked surprised. It wasn't until the third booster that she figured out that it wasn't fun. All of these memories brought tears to my eyes, then there were even more tears. I realized that I really am going to miss my family more than I bravely tried to tell myself I would. After all, they are an adorable family, so who could blame me.  

Thanksgiving Departure

We have learned that we will be departing our fair city, after we have completed our training at the MTC, on THANKSGIVING morning. Onward and upward. We are excited about this, but will sorely miss our wonderful Thanksgivings at Steven and Kim's and the amazing times we have when we are all together. We hope you will enjoy the day for us.