Why do we always focus on weather ? It is just one piece of our life but it seems to affect much of what we do and how we feel. Our blog titles seem to reflect the weather so we must be obsessed. So, we'll just get it out of the way and say that the weather in Manchester continually surprises us. We have had to learn to never, ever trust the forecast. We often hear howling wind at night and then wake up to a sunny blue sky which quickly turns to clouds, then rain. We have decided that there is no bad weather... only bad clothes. Below is a beautiful day on Oxford Road where we experienced the bluest of skies and sunshine galore, first time in almost 16 months we've seen the sky that blue.
We look forward to General Conference next weekend and we are focusing on what questions we need answers to. It has been said to pray that one of the messages at General Conference will give you the personal revelation you need. We will put our trust in him and he will guide our decisions. We see the faith of members and missionaries working daily. Our young missionaries particularly operate on faith. We have a great respect for these young men and women. They do hard things. We also enjoy them and laugh with them...everyday!
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| St Patrick's Day in Manchester... I think we were the only ones wearin the green.. We are OH SO LUCKY ...to be Missionaries.
We have never been city dwellers but we are NOW city dwellers. We walk everyday most places we go, and we walk on errands. At home, we go out for a walk (exercise) and then come home get in our car and go on our errands to the post office or the shoe repair or out to lunch or dinner. We often walk to dinner here or on errands because driving the car in a congested city takes forever and then...there isn't a place to park...so, we walk. Here in Manchester like any other big city, life is congested, noisy and busy. There are more buses on Oxford Road than any city in Europe. At any time on Oxford Road, you can see anywhere from 4 to 10 buses. We have learned some new city skills such as occasionally riding a bus, or the service of UBER, (an App that brings a car wherever you need it within minutes) Grocery Delivery which we have tried but have gone back to old fashioned shopping and services and a service called Let's Eat or Deliveroo where you can order restaurant take-away food to your door.
Busy, Oxford Road. The YSA Building is on the right but tucked back in so not visible in this photo.
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| Javier Ramerez is an enthusiastic new convert from Chile who is also a student at the Univ of Manchester. She was approached by missionaries and knew of Mormons from ...get this....The Book of Mormon Musical ! She saw it several times in London and after a little reading, she decided the book was better. Here she is pictured with Ward Mission Leader Matt Robinson and Elder Peterson. |
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| The Elders (Elder Green and Peterson) with new converts Frances (from India), Ali (from Iran), Javi (from Chile) and soon to be Pillar, also from Chile. You may notice that very few of the new converts to our church are from England. Sadly, it is true, the English are the most difficult to convert. |
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| This was HUGE. Brogan Morrision was finally baptized. She has been coming to church for about 16 months and has been taught by countless elders and sisters. She has attended and participated in almost every institute class and attended the YSA ward mostly because of her good friend Melody. Last Friday we drove Brogan and Sister Reed to the Preston Temple grounds to talk about the temple. She was baptized the next day and confirmed on Sunday. (and she is English) |
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| We love the Preston Temple. |
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| Our YSA Missionaries..Elder Johnson (a Halfie) With Elder Maughan, Elder Peterson, Elder Ding, Elder Curtis, Elder Gordon, Sister Reed and Sister Cristobal. |
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| Two Thumbs Up for Sunday Dinner.... |
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| Elder Johnson is showing Elder Curtis some love...Elder Pew Elder Maughan. Sister Cristobal in the front. |
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| Our district has lunch together after weekly District Meeting. left is Sisters Cristobal from Spain and Reed from Houston, Texas, Elders Johnson from Las Vegas, Ding from China, Gordon from Ephraim, UT and Curtis from Logan, UT. |
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| Sisters Twin Tops Sister Reed from Houston has a connection with us...her grandparents live in Fruit Heights just a couple of miles from us and they are neighbors to the Bell's (our daughter's in laws) |
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Elder Pew at the YSA building, in the Institute office area, talking with Elder Falaiai and Elder Falapua. They affectionately call themselves the "brown elders". We love them, they are very outgoing and friendly, don't take themselves too seriously and work hard. 
These Elders went to Wales to hike Mt. Snowdon, the highest peak in the UK, about 3,600 feet. While it does not look like it here, it was below 0 celsius and winds of about 40mph at the top of the mountain. They froze. Elder
Fa aleilei, Elder Falapua, Elder Maughan
Elder Peterson
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Elder Ding from China and Elder Maughan from Boise, Idaho
at Elder Maughan's 21st Birthday Dinner. Elder Maughan returns home in June and will play basketball for College of Eastern Utah next year. Trust me, he can shoot it! Elder Ding is amazing and has an amazing story. He is from a city in the middle of China (literally) and began smoking at age 8, drinking at age 10 and was in a gang. But a couple years ago, he decided to turn his life around and is now a missionary. Even more amazing is the 2 branches in his city in China. From the middle of China, where the church is not yet even legal, there are 13 missionaries serving around the world.
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| Monday Missionary Lunch at Pizza Hut. We had almost 25 missionaries, and the buffet had to be shut down while they baked more pizza. Overload of Elders!  Our Mission President, President Ulrich is a dynamic leader and Gospel Instructor.  Missionaries Always Role Playing! |
Manchester Zone Leaders
If we write a lot about our Zone Leaders, it is because they drop by often and would
move in with us if they could. All of our past Zone Leaders have been great and felt right at
home with us and these two are no exception.
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| These are our Zone Leaders Elder Peterson and Elder Maughan. They are toasting to missionary work as they email home. |
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| Elder Peterson at Pizza Hut. |
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| Our Zone Leaders came by when we were not home and surprised us with notes of thanks and love...also evidence of drinking Diet Coke |
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Elder Peterson modeling Elder Pew's hat. We know it looks funny, but on a cold windy day, it is very valuable. Elder Peterson modeling Sister Pew's apron. Yes, at times, he's as funny as he looks! BTW, Elder Peterson is from Marana, AZ. Elder Pew loves his AZ mates.  Elder Peterson modeling Elder Pew's Trousers (don't say pants in England) because they came to our flat to get dressed up after climbing Mt. Snowdon and he had forgot his own dress trousers. The only issue is that his waist is about 30" and Elder Pew's is, well, more.  Nice Presentation by our Zone Leaders at Specialized Training for 3 zones.  They had pocket take aways for all. This shows the Sword of Laban that was with the gold plates. It will never be sheathed again until Christ comes again. |
Fun Family Visit
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| Janussa dressing up in costume at Lyme Park. |
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| Kristine and Janussa at Trafford Centre after shopping. |
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| Janussa at Avenham Park in Preston where the River Ribble is nearby. This site was the site of the early baptisms of the church where people raced across the bridge to be the first baptized. |
Kristine brought fresh oranges and lemons from her tree in Arizona.
Her bag was super Heavy but after unloading it, she filled it with new purchases.
When Life Gives You Lemons...Make Lemon Bars! Yummy!
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| Mothering Day Cards from Missionaries and YSA....So Sweet |
Other Happenings...
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| This is the Stockport Ward building where Elder Pew spoke a week ago on making wise choices in our lives. "Refuse the evil, and choose the good." Isaiah 7:15 |
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| Roadshows are alive and well in England and here is a little sampling of the Manchester Stake Roadshows. The YSA ward won Best Actress and Best Villain awards. |
Elder Pew teaching Leadership Principles Institute Class, he loves teaching this.
BYU- Idaho Pathway Program
We have come to love the BYU-Idaho Pathway Program. It truly is inspired and so beneficial to those who need further education and are still figuring out what direction to go. We enjoy our students on Thursday nights and they are growing and learning beyond measure.
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| This is Ismael from Portugal. He is the lead student this past week and facilitating the discussion on personal finance |
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| This is Carl Bowler's night to lead the group. |
YSA Spotlight
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| Sara Martin is a Photography Student from Portugal, she is friendly, talkative and a great addition to the YSA Ward. |
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| We love Stephanie and Tania both dynamic young women |
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| Elder Curtis and Elder Johnson with recent converts, Kuda and Ted (the two in the middle) |
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| Frankie Buntain, talented but apparently shy, Music Student who gets a plate at Munch and Mingle. |
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| Elder Ding with Alma..a great and brilliant new member from China. |
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| Rhianne Hoyle and Michelle Mac at Munch and Mingle ...Jacket Potato Bar this month. |
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| Keya Joseph from India is a BYU Graduate and convert while at BYU, who is seeking a Masters at University of Manchester. |
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Eternal Friends, Brogan and Melody. Melody and Anatole will be Eternal Partners...Yes they are engaged. Finally... A YSA couple is engaged ! |
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| Ann- Christine from Germany who studies at the Univ of Manchester and works at the Preston MTC teaching new missionaries. |
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| This sharp foursome of YSA's are Anna Ykleif (Masters Student), Sam Norton (works for Adidas and BYU-Idaho Pathway participant), Ella Goodall (Science student at Univ of Manchester) and Ryan Cooper in the British Army. |
We remodeled the Christmas Wreath into a Spring Flower...
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| Amy Hickey and Ella Goodall are both converts within the past year from London and we took them to the temple to do baptisms for the dead on a Saturday afternoon. |
Other Bits and Bob's
When we make a Costco Run (which is weekly) for Institute we have to block the Elevator door and run back and forth from the car bringing the boxes in. We live on the 5th floor of our apartment building. Then of course, after preparing the food, we have to get it back in the elevator and down and into the car to take it over to the building. We do a lot of hauling.
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| Love this sign...by an old church in the Stretford area of Manchester. |
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| A great building in St Ann's Square, in central Manchester. |
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| Easter Bird's Nests for FHE on March 30, 2015. |
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| This is a photo of 1/2 of our mission at the Mission Christmas Party... |
Friends Who Serve
It is amazing how many Senior Couples we know who are serving missions in so many parts of the world. Our hats are off to them and we know what a difference they are making. Here are just a few.
Elder Greg and Bettie Turman, former neighbors who are serving in Siberia. Better them than us!
Elder Lonny and Glenda Adams, former neighbors who are serving in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Elder and Sister Peterson who we met in the MTC are serving YSA's in FIJI - don't know how much they paid to get their assignment! lol
Ken and Mary Pettingill former neighbors who recently returned from Manchester, New Hampshire. We all laughed hard when comparing our calls - both to Manchester but separated by an ocean.
Elder and Sister Nuttall, college friends who are CES Missionaries in Lithuania.
New Words and Phrases
I'll give you a bell- I'll give you a call
The weather is not too clever- not too good.
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