England, London Mission: Another Baby Boy!!!

Yes, it is true!!! We have another baby boy! Samuel Spencer Bishop was born early Monday morning, December 21, 2015. He came about 3 weeks early. Julie was doing fine, but couldn't feel the baby moving, so decided it would be wise to go to the hospital to get checked out. The doctor was concerned and so they took the baby caesarean section. The cord was wrapped twice around his neck and his foot. Samuel came in weighing 6 lbs and was 19 1/2 inches long. He spent a few days in the NICU to warm him up and get his blood sugar levels where they needed to be and get some food in him. He and Julie have been given the go-ahead to home today however and he is doing great!! We are so very grateful for this sweet little boy and that he arrived safely. We are grateful for the wonderful Bishop family who has stepped in to help and will be there for Christmas!

We will share just a few notes from our past week! We have been given the assignment from President Stevens to help with flat inspections (apartments). So we get to do 14 of them, all the ones in our zone. We do them once a quarter, which is good, because we have to drive so far to get to all of them. But what a blessing because we get to meet all of the missionaries in our zone. We are so impressed with the caliber of young men and women who have been called to this mission. Their parents should be so very proud of them all!

Last blog post, I told you about our dear friend who met with the Bishop to see if she could be restored to full fellowship. Guess what! She received all her blessings back! Sunday, we got to sit with her in church and participated with her as she partook of the sacrament for the first time in 8 years. I have always loved the Sacrament, but Sunday, I experienced a very deep understanding and extraordinary love for the Savior as I felt her joy, her relief, and an exquisite peace that only true repentance can bring. I am so grateful for the Savior's atonement! I can't wait to respond to her husband's questions about "how does the Savior relate to me personally 2000 years later?"

We had a great zone Christmas conference with missionaries from 2 zones. We have come to appreciate more than ever the role of a mission president and his wife! Their celestial glory is guaranteed we are sure!!!! We have been on a mission Book of Mormon reading schedule to read the Book of Mormon from Oct. and finish on Christmas Day. It has been a very tender experience. Then, of course, we had white elephant gifts, goofy skits, food, Christmas jumpers, lots of visiting and laughing and pictures.

We had a visit on Friday night! A sweet and lovely woman called and asked us if she could come and meet us. I had met her the first Sunday we got in the mission field, but I couldn't remember her. I was still in jet lag mode at the time I guess. Well we chatted for a while and she asked us if we would teach her the gospel. She is not a member and feels as though she needs some direction, some purpose in her life. Now that is one for the books. How many missionaries are blessed with someone who just comes to their house and asks to be taught the gospel? What a blessing. So she came to church with us as well on Sunday. My heart felt as though it would burst! We will keep you posted on our sweet Lucy!

Just to let you know the diversity of what we do in the mission field, on Saturday, we helped one of our YSA's put together a wardrobe she had just bought and then we went with a sweet teenage boy to the Imperial War Memorial. We asked him to take us to be our tour guide. We wanted to start building a relationship with him. He was amazing as he had such a knowledge of all the planes and tanks we saw. We even saw the Concord! Brad was in heaven! I was intrigued with the history. I bought a book about the Battle of Britain, but will have to wait till I get back to America before I read it. A mission is an amazing experience. We feel so blessed to be here.

We love you all. Thank you for the Skype call on Sunday night. It was amazing to talk to you all in one place. Thank you Dad's and Mom's for the time you spent with our children and grandchildren. That was such a choice experience for them to be with you. I'll send a Christmas letter by my blog post probably on Boxing Day! (the day after Christmas)

Quote by Sister Linda S. Reeves: "....the reward is so great, so eternal and everlasting, so joyful and beyond our understanding that in that day of reward, we may feel to say to our merciful, loving Father, "Was that all that was required?"

Have a very Merry Christmas! Our thoughts, and prayers will be with you all this wonderful week!
With all our love,
Dad and Mom
Papa and Grandma