Merry Christmas (and Happy New Year) everyone,
I hope this finds you well and enjoying the holiday season.
I'm playing a bit of catch up for a number of reasons -
ineptitude being at the top of the list:) I've been trying, unsuccessfully, to
begin a travel blog for several weeks. I had just about given up, but remembered Blogger from Kyle and Erin's missions, so here we go. I have been keeping a journal
sporadically, and I have a multitude of photos to share so I'll try to give an
overview - I apologize for the lack of brevity:)
We studied and taught from Preach My Gospel during the day, and attended various presentations during the evenings, along with a trip to the Timpanogas Temple on Thursday evening. Tuesday night we were blessed to hear from Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the twelve. He spoke about - wait for it - Preach My Gospel! Appropriate, since he was heavily involved in it's creation.
We also ran into Elder Ethan White, our next-door neighbor many moons ago in Daybreak. Such a small world!
Friday, we hurried back to West Jordan
for Halloween festivities. What a blessing it was to have fun with our
grandchildren one more time.
After prepping our car for storage on Saturday and finishing packing everything away, we were ready to go.
The next week was spent at the FamilySearch headquarters in Salt Lake, being taught by the best, and beginning to understand what we are going to be doing.
Our group of missionaries now included,
along with our first district, a couple going to Abu Dhabi, a sister going to
the Rome FamilySearch center, and an Elder that has the responsibility for the
whole of West Africa. What an amazing, inspiring group of people, and some new
lifelong friends.
Monday afternoon we were on our way,
first to Amsterdam, then to Leeds, where we were met by two young office elders. They dropped us and our 300 lbs. of luggage off at our new flat and
went to retrieve our new transport. Meet CherryBoM - named by the elders:)
The next week we attended a mini conference in Preston,
where we met with our supervisor and IT guru, our friends and cohorts from the
Manchester mission, and new cohorts from Birmingham. Here, we finally began to
understand the assignment. We are here to train and support FamilySearch
coordinators, stakes and wards in the new FamilySearch programs and to make
sure the FS centers (there are 25 in our mission) are up to date and have
everything they need to be successful.
There are four couples in the Europe North area doing what we are doing. It may take a while to get up to speed.
After our meetings, we had a lovely tour of the Church History sites around Preston and were able to go to the temple. It is truly beautiful and historic in this part of England. Can't wait to go back when it's a bit warmer and drier.
After our meetings, we had a lovely tour of the Church
History sites around Preston and were able to go to the temple. It is truly
beautiful and historic in this part of England. Can't wait to go back when it's
a bit warmer and drier.
We've been assigned
to the Keighley Ward, full of kind and loving people. We've made some good
friends here already.
This is just a random picture out the window of our flat. The stone lined canal was built in 1774. – crazy!
Most days so far are spent working in the office, with databases and spreadsheets, email and letters. Gary is a machine. I often have to pull him away from the office at midnight. Who knew office stuff was so time consuming? We have spoken in a few wards and met with some high counselors and FS center coordinators. I expect that will pick up in the next few months.
We have gone to York a few times now, for Zone Conference
and just for fun. The history of York is fascinating.
We went on a walking
tour of the old city, walked on the old city walls, explored the Minster, and
wandered through the Christmas market. The York Minster is one of the most
stunning pieces of gothic architecture in the world. Literally hundreds of
stained glass windows, each with a unique story to tell. There are also reminders of it’s
Roman past under the cathedral.
This past week, we had our zone
conferences. How exciting it is to be around so many young missionaries, who
love each other and the work. You can truly tell that Jesus Christ is the focus
of their lives. The senior couples are treated as honored grandparents and
friends. And we found another of our missionaries. Elder Jackson Mosteller was
in our Ward in Traverse Mountain when Gary was Bishop. A great young man and zone leader. Such a fun
and uplifting week!
Well, that's about it for our catchup. We miss our family
and friends in the states, but we wouldn't trade this experience and
opportunity to serve for anything.
In this glorious Christmas season, may you and your loved
ones find the peace that only the Savior of the world can bring. He is the
light and life of the world, and because of him, we can be made whole. May the
Lord bless you,
Elder Gary and Sister
Claudia Griffeth
P.S. I know this is late, but I'll try to catch up and keep up. Also, if you really want to see the whole photo dump, check this out! Disclaimer - all the photos are in random order, and they begin the week before we left.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ysZmp5NHK6H8VR8W9
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