England, London Mission: Great Reason to Rejoice!

Dear family and friends,

We have great reason to rejoice!!! Brad passed his British driving test!!!! I’ve never seen him so nervous. We went to King’s Lynn, a village about 45 minutes from us. We were told that it was a good place to take the practical test, so we thought it would be a sleepy little village. Ha!!!! The examiner goes in the car with you and tells you where to drive and then keeps a tab on all the mistakes you make. If you make over 15 minor faults, you fail. A minor mistake is forgetting to look in the rear view mirror before you signal, brake, or turn. While he was taking the test, I was talking to two driving instructors asking them all kinds of questions. They told me that if 10 people walked in to take the test from America, 9 of them would fail! They told me I would be very smart to hire an instructor for 2 or 3 hours before taking the test. The irony of the situation is that they were with students who were taking the test. Well, Brad passed with 3 minor errors which is excellent! Neither of their students passed! Needless to say they couldn’t get out of the building fast enough! I think they were very embarrassed! But me, I’m not sure I will even try. Brad says I will. Needless to say, I’ve been driving everywhere since he passed!

We had a great week! We had dinner with many dear friends this week, Mike and Sandra Budd, Jim and Nita Haskins, and John and Vivian Cook! I’m going to have to come home to relearn how to cook! All of these friends are very good cooks. Their food is superb and the company is so fun! We also try to keep tabs on our YSA’s whom we don’t see a lot of for one reason or another. We love them all so much, and we feel such a closeness to them all!

We got to do a training for district meeting on using the Book of Mormon in our missionary work. We learn so much from our dear young missionaries, our time with them is so inspirational!

I had a great morning with Sister Bader and Sister Vizaco as we helped clean a kitchen for a young sister in our ward who is moving! We really had a blast and got to laughing so hard as we boxed up and cleaned her kitchen. Amazingly enough, she didn’t have an oven, so I didn’t have to clean the oven. (that is usually my favorite job!!!!!not) I am constantly amazed how much I feel the spirit when I serve someone, and feel an increase of love for the people I serve and serve with. We then had another service project with the YSA’s and the missionaries as we helped clean up the cemetery with the Anglican church folks! They were so excited to see 10 of us show up ready to help. They love these young people and are so impressed that young adults would show up early on a Saturday morning to work hard. We uncovered gravestones that have been hidden under ivy and bushes for decades. And I’m always so impressed how the young people love to do it. One of our missionaries made the comment that this is the coolest service project he has ever done!! This is one of our missionaries that is having a tough time, so this was particularly rewarding to hear him say that!

We are still teaching and staying close to Lucy and Gail and Andrew Tilbrook. As their lives have become so busy, scheduling time with them gets to be a real challenge. Gail and Andrew are hoping to move to Scotland and get into the hotel business. We don’t like to think of them moving, but their home sold in one weekend, and it looks like they will leave if the offer is accepted on the hotel they want to buy. I always thought it would be so fun to run a Bed and Breakfast, but after talking with them about this new adventure, I’m not sure I would want to do it anymore!

We’ve got a full week ahead of us! We are excited! Our thoughts are always with you. We love you and miss you. Keep sending the pictures! The videos are the best! Then we get to hear how their little voices are changing, and their vocabulary is growing!

News we have heard is that Jacob Robertson (John and Barbara Robertson's son) passed away on April 23 from brain cancer. We watched this young man grow up and it has really affected me. He is an outstanding young man, age 37, a loving husband and doting father of 4.

Have a great week! Please tell your precious little ones often how much you love them. Hug and kiss them a lot and pray with them! You are the most glorious blessings in our lives! (Happy Birthday today, Nate!!!! We love you! Happy Birthday Asher on Thursday! We love you!!!)

With all our love,

Dad and Mom
Grandpa and Grandma
Brad and Vicki