We took this picture while sitting under what is known as the David O. McKay oak tree.
President McKay picked the site for the temple and dedicated it after it's completion in 1958.
President McKay took interest in one particularly beautiful oak tree, believed to be about 450 years old. He asked that it be preserved. There is a plaque on the tree with the following inscription.
The David O McKay Oak:
"Giving beauty and inspiration
Great strength and stability
Reaching toward heaven
Responsive to God's sunlight
Casting friendly and comforting shade
Gentle in its contribution to mankind
Unmoved in disturbing winds
To be remembered"
So, obviously, we have arrived safely at the London Temple.
It has been a very busy week and a half!
Packed up and ready to go!
All set for 13 hours of flying.
We arrived on time in Tampa Bay, grabbed a bagel and boarded British Airways for Gatwick Airport.
Excited...not for the long trip, but for our arrival in London.
We look excited! After 9 hours on this plane we did not look so fresh.
We look excited! After 9 hours on this plane we did not look so fresh.
They are so very kind and loving and also so very proper.
It was a little cloudy and cool, but the fresh air felt great.
It is only a few miles from Gatwick Airport to the London temple.
Riding on the left-hand side of the road is a bit unnerving, but I'm sure we will get used to it.
The roads are very narrow with high hedges on both sides.
The roads are very narrow with high hedges on both sides.
The Freeman's showed us to the Accommodation Center where we will be for probably a
couple of months before a flat becomes available in the Lodge.
couple of months before a flat becomes available in the Lodge.
They provided us with some lunch, snacks and this note and left us to unpack and settle in.
This is our room. Very nice actually. The Accommodation Center is for the patrons that
come to the temple and missionaries waiting for their flats to be ready.
It has lots of rooms (62) and is always very busy. Patrons here are very surprised to hear
that all temples don't have patron housing like this.
come to the temple and missionaries waiting for their flats to be ready.
It has lots of rooms (62) and is always very busy. Patrons here are very surprised to hear
that all temples don't have patron housing like this.
This is the view we have out the window, the temple is right there!
We unpacked and tried to find places for everything and had a nap.
Jet-lag, yup, jet-lag is real, or as Sis Freeman calls it let-jag.
We arrived at 8am, but Arizona time that was midnight.
At 4pm the Turners took us to the store to do some grocery shopping in East Grinstead at a store
called Sainsbury. It is a nice store, but it is going to take some time getting used to all the
metric, brands, and the different names they call certain things.
On way home we stopped at Harbour Fish & Chips and had a delicious fish & chips dinner.
Sunday morning was church.
Monday we went with the Davenports (who have a car) to Chartwell.
It is a country house near the town of Westerham, Kent. For over 40 years it was
Winston Churchill's home. He bought the property
in 1922 and lived there until shortly before his death in 1965.
The grounds and gardens are beautiful with many azaleas and rhododendrons blooming.
The home is large and spacious and he had a studio where he painted. Churchill loved to paint.
"When I get to heaven I mean to spend a considerable portion of my first million years in painting."
--Sir Winston Churchill
"When I get to heaven I mean to spend a considerable portion of my first million years in painting."
--Sir Winston Churchill
We are on shift B. There are two shifts, A and B. They alternate working mornings with afternoons.
Our shift this week is 9am to 2:45pm, Tuesday to Friday, Saturday 8am to 3pm.
We started Tuesday morning in the temple with President and Sister Otterson (Temple president
and matron) greeting us, showing us to the ordinance worker dressing room and taking us to preparation meeting. After the meeting we were set apart as London Temple Ordinance Workers.
We spent the remaining of the day learning our way around and the procedures for this temple.
Each day has gotten better as we are learning our duties.
Everyone is so kind and friendly, and we are enjoying the British sense of humor.
Wednesday we did some laundry after our shift.
This is the building where the laundry is and,
this is the view out the window from the laundry room. That is the temple spire with the Angel Moroni atop. Where else? We don't know, it's pretty amazing.
There is a temple van that goes to East Grinstead on Thursdays and takes missionaries shopping.
I went to PoundSaver (dollar store) and the grocery store. It is still a challenge to find things
I am looking for and what the substitution might be. Two things we recognize, Hellman's mayonnaise and Heinz ketchup! The fruit is divine!
So sweet and delicious, grapes, blueberries, strawberries.
So sweet and delicious, grapes, blueberries, strawberries.
This temple is very busy, with just a few workers. There are very few district (they call them periodicals) workers. Pres Otterson said the temple could not run without the missionaries.
There are several couples that are from England and one couple from New Zealand.
Friday the temple was especially busy. We are amazed at these dedicated Saints.
They come for days at a time and spend all day in the temple. As our room overlooks the
temple,we are able to watch the people coming and going and walking the grounds and taking pictures...couples, youth, families with children. It is a very busy place.
We love these people and have had some amazing experiences with them inside and outside the temple. Already on more than one occasion I have been told that the card a sister was doing
work for was her mum or grandmum. They are so faithful. We can learn a lot from them.
They are so grateful for us and what we are able to do for them. It is very humbling.
Friday was again a very busy day. We think the mornings may be a bit more busy
than the afternoons. The Burkinshaws had us over for dinner. We had Chicken Kebad's from Lingfield Fish & Chips, yummy!
There are several couples that are from England and one couple from New Zealand.
Friday the temple was especially busy. We are amazed at these dedicated Saints.
They come for days at a time and spend all day in the temple. As our room overlooks the
temple,we are able to watch the people coming and going and walking the grounds and taking pictures...couples, youth, families with children. It is a very busy place.
We love these people and have had some amazing experiences with them inside and outside the temple. Already on more than one occasion I have been told that the card a sister was doing
work for was her mum or grandmum. They are so faithful. We can learn a lot from them.
They are so grateful for us and what we are able to do for them. It is very humbling.
Friday was again a very busy day. We think the mornings may be a bit more busy
than the afternoons. The Burkinshaws had us over for dinner. We had Chicken Kebad's from Lingfield Fish & Chips, yummy!
Saturday is a longer shift, 8am to 3pm for us this week, next week it will be 10am to 5pm.
And you guessed it, it was very, very busy. We are finally not making too many wrong
turns in the temple and enjoying the work very much.
On this past Sunday we attended the Crawley Ward. It is about 1/2 hour away
and is a nice size ward. The temple van takes those who do not have cars to the
Crawley Ward each week.
After church the Davenport's had us over to dinner. They have moved out of the
Accommodation Center and into their flat this week. It is very nice. It is so fun to be here serving with them...friends from our Nauvoo mission!
After church the Davenport's had us over to dinner. They have moved out of the
Accommodation Center and into their flat this week. It is very nice. It is so fun to be here serving with them...friends from our Nauvoo mission!
We had a fireside Sunday evening. The Temple Choir sang, there were a couple of solos
and a violin number. The music was beautiful. There were also quotes read from
prophets about temples and temple work.
"The temple is the House of the Lord. The basis for every temple ordinance and covenant--the heart of the plan of salvation--is the Atonement of Jesus Christ."
--Russell M Nelson
We have a testimony that temples are where we can bind our families together.
We are so grateful to be here. We are loving it!
prophets about temples and temple work.
"The temple is the House of the Lord. The basis for every temple ordinance and covenant--the heart of the plan of salvation--is the Atonement of Jesus Christ."
--Russell M Nelson
We have a testimony that temples are where we can bind our families together.
We are so grateful to be here. We are loving it!
This past Monday was a bank holiday and the temple is open in the morning on bank holidays.
The Accommodation Center is buzzing with people and families. It starts a week of school
holiday as well so there are lots of families here for I guess most of the week.
This is a view out our other window. You can see the new hedges they are planting and the
Lodge in the background.
We worked 8am to 2pm and then headed on the train to London. A bunch of missionaries
were going together to see Les Miserables at Queens Theatre. It was good to be with
people who knew where they were going so we could sort of learn the trains.
We walked around Chinatown, these are the Muellers in front.
We walked to Leicester Square where this statue of William Shakespeare is, walked
around the M&M store and ate dinner at Shake Shack.
After dinner we stopped and had a Bubblewrap. Yummy gelato in a bubble cone.
These guys are making our Bubblewrap. Really delicious!!
Then it was to the theatre.
It's a beautiful theatre and and the show was fantastic. The music and talent was top notch.