Nearly there...

...in my words {Dana - youngest daughter}....

Elder and Sister Olson have had so many adventures.  These last 18 months has been a spiritual journey and one that has strengthened them, their children and grandchildren.  Before the weekend is out, they will be back in Mink Creek.  We look forward to having them there.  We know there will be plenty for them to do once they get home. 

Thank you so much for your prayers.
Thank you for your financial support.
Thank you for watching over their house and property.
Thank you for your notes and e-mails.
Thank you to the people of England for loving them as your own and for letting them into your lives.
Thank you to the Chinese group, you have stamped an impression on their hearts they will always hold dearly.
Thank you most of all to our Savior Jesus Christ, for his endless Atonement and for the Gospel.  Hurrah for Israel!!

What a blessing it has been to see them serve. 

They will report on their mission on Sunday, August 18 at 9:30 am if you would like to hear about their journey!

It has been a while

It's been a while since we have written, but we have been busy.  We had a couple of baptisms and are so excited!  Jim and Jenny,  who have two adorable children,  were baptized last Sunday. Yu Ying was baptized the week before that. It has been a journey of miracles and we are so happy!

We have been using the Hull Second Ward's sewing machine since we got here to sew quilts and mittens.  We finished all the sewing projects and took the machine back.  There is a little sewing group that meets each Friday and here they are. Now we have given all the mittens and quilts away.  I'm not sure, but I think that is about 35 pairs of mittens and 14 quilts.

Suki is going to Hong Kong to visit her family, so we had one last hurrah together.  We went to hers along with Sister Rawle and Sister Lam and had tea.

We were driving along and saw a sign that said "Strawberries, You Pick"  So we did!  And then we made strawberry preserves because we picked too many to eat and didn't want them to spoil.  They were so good!

 

Nancy, our Chinese friend, went back to China.  We met her parents when they came to see her graduate.  We may see her again if she goes to the U.S. to go to school in California. Sunny and Alice also came to see us.  Alice and William are best friends.

 

 

These are some of our favorite missionaries, Elder Griffiths and Elder Putnam!!  They work so hard, but invited us for a little drive through the beautiful English countryside on our Preparation Day.  What a fun day!

 

 

 

Temple and Chinese food.

We took "Elder" Jason and "Elder" Joey to the Humberside Airport. They are heading back to China. We love those young men. Elder Olson wrote a letter to each of their parents telling them how much we love their sons. They fixed us Chinese food the week before they left. It was yummy!

We went with the YSA's to the Preston temple. Brothers Wileman took us and each drove a big van. I think there were about 25 that went plus five more oldies. It was fun because the Wilemans are crazy, as you can see.

News from England

On July 1, we are getting a new mission president, President Pilkington. President Whall, counselor to President Lindley, was released this week. This is President Whall with Elder Olson.

We had one last farewell for President and Sister Lindley as they are leaving the mission field after three years. This is President and Sister Lindley.

 

Zone P-Day always brings fun and games. Here are a few pictures of the elders and sisters. The cookie is supposed to somehow "travel" from forehead to mouth without any assistance.

 

 

This is a companionship game. One companion feeds the other a doughnut on a string with no hands.

Doing well!

These are some of our favorite sister missionaries - Sister Kinikini and Sister Lam. Sister Lam speaks four languages, English being her last.

There are ruins all over this country. These ruins are in Helmsley; used to be a small castle.

Have you ever seen the entrance to OUR park? Well, here it is!

In the park

Look what we saw strolling in the park.

London & much much more....

The chopping block, which was used for beheading people long ago and the rack used in the torture chamber, where people were stretched until they gave up information.

The Bridge Tower and the memorial where many heretics, traitors, etc. were beheaded!

We also visited the National Gallery and Buckingham Palace. Yes, the guards are alive, they just hold really still.

The musical, Book of Mormon, has just started playing in London. So the LDS church is advertising the church everywhere: in the Tube, on the buses, on the motorways, in the airports and train stations. The ads say things like mormon.org.uk, You've seen the musical, now read the book. The book is always better. The church is encouraging members here to create a profile to put on the web, so people can find out that Mormons are normal people.

The LDS church has also put a three-page ad in the program of the musical. The musical is not nice, but the church is incredible!

 

We also visited West Minster Abby and saw Big Ben! Hands-on history is great. George Fredric Handel and Queen Elizabeth I is buried in the Abby. But the architecture is breath-taking. Of course we couldn't take pictures!

 

 

 

 

Everywehre we go, there are flowers, well-groomed parks, and gardens. We saw a few of those in London.

 

 

 

We were advised to take a UK license plate home with us, and there was one just lying on the ground!

 

 

At the train station we found Harry Potter's entrance to the train station which leads to Hogwarts, so Charlie and Flat Jaxon are on their way!

 

 

There was a Chinese "gathering" organized near our home in the park. I believe there were about 17 young people there. It was an incredible event, organized by Shawn, Jason, Joey, Peter, and Hardy.

 

 

When it got dark, it continued in our home. Good times.

 

 

 

 

Continued over-night and into church the next day. We had 43 at sacrament meeting at our home. 

 

 

Daniel Szpakowski, a Polish man just got baptized. We are so excited. He has been investigating for months. He has two very adorable children and wife and in order to be baptized he had to first get married. He has been coming to church though. Elder Ressler and Deshazer desire a lot of credit for hanging in there.

 

 

Elder and Sister Olson organized a service project. Turns out it was a big project. We had to move a big block of cement out of the back garden.The elders took turns with the sledge hammer. It was great to watch all that muscle put to good use. And no one got hurt.

 

We took lots of investigators to the ward walk along the Humber River. Here are a few pictures.

 

 

The streets are lined with spring blossoms. They are so beautiful, but you have to stand in the middle of the road to get a good picture.

Sunday our four Chinese men received the Melchezidek Priesthood before returning to China. It was an incredible experience. They are so pure and innocent really.