Fall is creeping onto the London Temple grounds. I love to walk the perimeter with my Mikie. We tromp through the trees on wet leaf covered paths that are often mudtraps. There is a quiet under all the trees as if we are in our own little world. I love to stop and check out red or blue berries on bushes. Are they edible? poison? Or just pretty?
With the passing of this month, our family has celebrated three birthdays. Our ray of sunshine, Mikael, is seven. Her brother, Elijah, is five. How did that even happen? It has been such an amazing five years for our Jace and Lindsay as they have revamped their whole lifestyle to keep that little guy safe. And he is safe. And happy. And full of love. My Mikie turned 65 on Elijah's birthday also. Isn't that just wonderful??? We celebrated his day with an outing to our first castle and a lunch of fish and chips. Our friends, the Wallace's took us along with them as we have no "transport". It was a wonderful time.
We were on the "lates" here in the temple this week. There are two shifts and each week is a rotation, "earlies" and "lates". I am not sure which shift I prefer. I still feel as if I am in the Deer in the Headlights mode. I may be told to go to a specific assignment and I roll my shoulders, take a breath, and get ready for a little adventure. My trainer has been a proper English sister who would like me to speak quietly and move smoothly. When I lead a company of patrons up the stairs for a session to begin, I must move slowly, look ahead, and gently smile. Now, this can be tricky for me. I like to wave at any friend I have made over the stair rails; stop and study pictures; or even do a few exercises on every other step. None of this is allowed.
As I was getting trained for my first session that I would do alone, I felt like we were playing the game, Hot or Cold. You know - where one player guesses which direction to go, or even, what to do when you get there. I would hear Sister Perry "tsking" behind me. Nope. Not there......oh, getting warmer, warmer....no, Sister Seaman.......aw, closer.......no, almost.....Man, by the time I got situated where I was supposed to land, I felt like I needed to find my Mikie and shed a tear or two. He is my Home. My Rock. My One who knows my heart. As I reviewed the day's happening with him later that night, we both had a good laugh. That's because he is in the same boat. And sometimes neither one of us know if it's the correct boat.
We have found that all temples are Home as the ordinances are the same anywhere we may go. The trick in is the procedures. Each temple has their own procedures, due to the layout of that temple, the number of workers on a shift, or even the presidency of the temple. Procedures are what we have been trained on for two weeks now. Where to be, how to get there, how to sit, who to get cues from, etc. We continually pray that we both can be an asset to our shift and the patrons. We pray we can love our fellow workers, our presidency, and not squander our time here in the London Temple. I continually think of President William's blessing when we were set apart. I know I can feel a sense of familiarity in this sacred place. I also believe our family will be protected with angels surrounding them. We are here for them. But, oh, can I say, I miss them?!
We were fortunate enough to hook up with Mark and Laraine Eddington here today! They have been touring with their friends, Keith and Carol Brook. The Brook's were kind enough to invite us to their home for dinner - our first English homecooked meal. For dessert, they sang Happy Birthday to my Mikie, with their grandson helping him blow out candles. Such a dear, kind gesture! After the meal, we drove to Essex to walk to Christopher Robbins' bridge. Grandkids, get your old Winnie the Pooh books out. That was such a sweet spot with the tree where children leave their letters and honey for Winnie. Who knew???
Your Proper English lesson for the Week:
*Chinwag - Get together with your friends and have a jab session. (#1 word this week)
Oddbod - oddball
guillotine - paper cutter - Ouch!
"Over the Swanee" - I may as well throw money down the drain (or over the Swanee) when I spend it on clothes or shoes I will never wear. Get it?
All My Love to my Darlings at Home,
Sister Seaman
With Courage
For some reason one of my assignments was the "door" this week and I spent a lot of time on the door this week. (This means the reception desk or recommend desk at the front door of the temple.) I spent hours at a time there, with absolutely no one coming or going. It was very quiet and very lonely. I would get the scriptures out and read until I was about asleep and then put them away and pick up lint. Then I would study the guide for the person assigned to the front door for my upcoming exam.
On one occasion, when I was assigned at the door, there were two men actually waiting there for their group to leave and I had a real conversation with them. As I talked to the older man, an Englishman, he introduced me to the other younger man, who spoke very little English. He said that the other man was his Bishop. I was very surprised, because of his very limited English. I could tell that he had a Spanish accent, so I asked him where he was from, in my very broken Spanish. He said that he was from Ecuador. I asked him how long he had been the Bishop, but he thought I meant how long he had been in England. He said two years and that he had been in Spain prior to that. "How long have you been the Obispo?," I asked. He said five months. You talk about courage.
How would you feel if you were asked to be the spiritual leader of maybe 300 people in a foreign country, whose members did not speak your language, where you barely knew the customs, traditions and acceptable behaviors of the people. And especially could not communicate very effectively one-on-one. It literally brought tears to my eyes as I looked him in the eye and felt a great spiritual strength in him. I then understood why.
He could communicate, but not in the usual way. I believe that he will be a great leader to his people. I would love to see him and the ward members in about 5 years, when he will be released.
He had brought them to the temple, as many as would come. He has courage and he also knows what's important.
Dear family, step up when your called to do something hard. Do your best and the Lord will fill in the gaps. Give all you have and change the lives of the people around you. There is nothing better for you to do.
By the way, I did get passed off on all my assignments. So on to new ones this week.
Sincerely,
Elder Seaman
PS: I haven't seen one stop sign here. There are stop lights, but no stop signs. They use round-abouts exclusively. Except they circle clock-wise. Very Dangerous.
We were fortunate enough to hook up with Mark and Laraine Eddington here today! They have been touring with their friends, Keith and Carol Brook. The Brook's were kind enough to invite us to their home for dinner - our first English homecooked meal. For dessert, they sang Happy Birthday to my Mikie, with their grandson helping him blow out candles. Such a dear, kind gesture! After the meal, we drove to Essex to walk to Christopher Robbins' bridge. Grandkids, get your old Winnie the Pooh books out. That was such a sweet spot with the tree where children leave their letters and honey for Winnie. Who knew???
Your Proper English lesson for the Week:
*Chinwag - Get together with your friends and have a jab session. (#1 word this week)
Oddbod - oddball
guillotine - paper cutter - Ouch!
"Over the Swanee" - I may as well throw money down the drain (or over the Swanee) when I spend it on clothes or shoes I will never wear. Get it?
All My Love to my Darlings at Home,
Sister Seaman
With Courage
For some reason one of my assignments was the "door" this week and I spent a lot of time on the door this week. (This means the reception desk or recommend desk at the front door of the temple.) I spent hours at a time there, with absolutely no one coming or going. It was very quiet and very lonely. I would get the scriptures out and read until I was about asleep and then put them away and pick up lint. Then I would study the guide for the person assigned to the front door for my upcoming exam.
On one occasion, when I was assigned at the door, there were two men actually waiting there for their group to leave and I had a real conversation with them. As I talked to the older man, an Englishman, he introduced me to the other younger man, who spoke very little English. He said that the other man was his Bishop. I was very surprised, because of his very limited English. I could tell that he had a Spanish accent, so I asked him where he was from, in my very broken Spanish. He said that he was from Ecuador. I asked him how long he had been the Bishop, but he thought I meant how long he had been in England. He said two years and that he had been in Spain prior to that. "How long have you been the Obispo?," I asked. He said five months. You talk about courage.
How would you feel if you were asked to be the spiritual leader of maybe 300 people in a foreign country, whose members did not speak your language, where you barely knew the customs, traditions and acceptable behaviors of the people. And especially could not communicate very effectively one-on-one. It literally brought tears to my eyes as I looked him in the eye and felt a great spiritual strength in him. I then understood why.
He could communicate, but not in the usual way. I believe that he will be a great leader to his people. I would love to see him and the ward members in about 5 years, when he will be released.
He had brought them to the temple, as many as would come. He has courage and he also knows what's important.
Dear family, step up when your called to do something hard. Do your best and the Lord will fill in the gaps. Give all you have and change the lives of the people around you. There is nothing better for you to do.
By the way, I did get passed off on all my assignments. So on to new ones this week.
Sincerely,
Elder Seaman
PS: I haven't seen one stop sign here. There are stop lights, but no stop signs. They use round-abouts exclusively. Except they circle clock-wise. Very Dangerous.
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