Happy driving!!!!

Dear family and friends,

Happy April!  I think Spring has finally arrived in England, at least for this week.  The leaves are starting to pop out and the cows in Kings college field are back!!!  They are quite a picture event!

We had a great week!  It was one of those when all the people we wanted to see or meet with were still out of town for Easter holiday, (these people take a lot of long holidays!!!!) or just weren’t available.  However, we did start up Institute again this week which is always a great thing!  We are trying to find some of our lost souls in our YSA group.  So to find them, we do a lot of searching on facebook.  It’s amazing what you can find.  One of our young single adults works as a bartender at a local pub, so since we’ve never been able to find her at home,  we found out the name of her pub!  So here we are two missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, entering a pub and walking up to the bar to ask if Ashleigh worked there!  I think the bartender thought we were from the FBI or Mafia or who knows where.  Needless to say, she wasn’t working that night and he was very hesitant to give us any information!  We are just going to have to go back hoping to catch her there!

We had another baby boy born into our ward which is always a wonderful thing!  Sweet little Elijah Huck Lucas!  As always it is such a treat to go visit these new parents and cuddle their little bundles of joy.  It fills a need I have to hold a new baby!!!

We spent some down time this week studying for our theory and perception driving tests.  I was nervous, but Brad was really nervous!  So Monday morning, we went to the testing center.  Our American driver’s licenses are good for 12 months while we are here, and then we are required to get a British license.  We can also leave the country and get a stamp on our passport and we would qualify for another 12 months.  But as missionaries, we can’t leave our mission, so we’ll take the test!  You are not allowed to take anything in the testing center, like a purse, keys, phone, paper, etc.  They required that we take off our missionary tags.  They push up your sleeves to make sure you don’t have any answers written on your arms I guess.  I had to lift up my hair to make sure I had nothing hidden there!  Wow!  There must be a lot of people that cheat!  Well, to let you know, we both passed!!!!!  We were both relieved.  Brad beat my score, but we were just excited to have passed.  Now we have to schedule the driving part of the exam.  That is the part I am nervous about, because they might make me parallel park!  I can’t do that in America, so I’ve got some practicing to do!!!

Saturday we spent the day with our friends the Hutbers at Wimpole Hall, a National Trust farm estate property.  They opened their gardens and it was lambing season.  It reminded me a lot of Thanksgiving Point.  They had corralled all the expectant ewes in a protective area while they awaited their “time”.  I was hoping we would see a lamb being born, but we didn’t.  We saw baby lambs though, baby pigs, chicks, goats, and large Clydesdale like horses.  Just the smell and feel of a working farm was so invigorating to me!  I think I must have been a farmer in a previous life because I feel at home at one!!!!  We enjoyed being with Carl and Goshia and their children Alex and Angelina.

On Sunday we were able to talk to Julie’s primary class about baptism on skype!  We loved that!  We believe in it!!  My thought for you all this week is from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Keep loving. Keep trying.  Keep trusting.  Keep believing.  Keep growing.  Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever!”

Have a glorious week!  Please know how much we love you and can feel of your love and prayers!  This is the work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!  What a grand blessing to be involved in it!

With all our love,

Dad and Mom
Grandpa and Grandma

our new friends in our back garden, Fred and Ethel

daffodils at Wimpole Hall--they are everywhere and stunningly beautiful

this little lady spins the wool, washes it and knits it into hats and mittens.  She buys about 73 wool fleeces each year.  We figure she makes about $2.50  an hour, but she drove off in a Mercedes, so she must have a side job!!!!!  She is one of a few women who still actually spins their own wool in the UK