Interview Day

These are pictures of the Blackpool, South Ribble and Workington District Elders at our interview day. We have elders from Alaska, Germany and many places in the States as well as England and Turkey. Everyone is interviewed by the mission president and also receive instruction from the Assistants to the President and President and Sister Jacobsen. We are so proud of each of these valiant young men. To hear how they gained their testimonies and see how hard they work and the joy they bring to their Wards is a real inspiration to us. This was a very rewarding day.

These were some pictures that we took while visiting church history sites near us. The first is a building on St. Wilfrid Street in Preston, where the first missionaries stayed in a boarding house during their first few weeks in the United Kingdom. The building has changed but the street remains.
The Old Cock Pit was the site of a temperance hall that was their first meeting place where many were converted to the church. The building is gone but a plaque recalls it as the birthplace of the temperance movement in England. That seems appropriate too.
The third picture is of a home that John Taylor grew up in. He was the only President of the church that was born outside the USA. The house is near a village north of Lancaster called Beetham. It is near the beautiful Lake District. That area is breath-taking in summer and definitely worth a visit.
Finally, there is a picture of Market Square in Preston that is sort of ruined by chidren activities. It was the site of early proselyting and was also used by President Hinckley on his mission. Missionaries still GQ (ask golden questions) visitors there. I will try to get a better picture on another day.

Some wonderful ward members, Thomas and Florence Holden, who live in a small village named Nether Kellet, took us for a ride in the country. The roads all looked like this country lane with hedges on either side. As you drive them you hope nothing is coming the other way.
The lambs were so cute and came right up to investigate us. Barbara was able to pet the black lamb who was the bravest. He got in trouble with his mom, however, and she told him off for being too friendly.
The road went right between the house and the barn, (rocks and a hard place) which we tend to see a lot.
The country house is called Leighton Hall and we will visit it some day to see how rich folks live. The pictures make you think that all we do is tour. It's a nasty job but somebody has to do it. We do get some work done, we usually tour on our P-day.

Here are pictures of a garden down the street from our flat, flowers along the notorious road to Blackpool (perhaps marking graves of previous travelers?), and the castle at Lancaster which we just toured. Type in Lancaster Castle on Google to take your own tour of the foreboding Castle. Finally is a picture of a road just like the road to Blackpool but it is main street in our village of Heysham.

These are pictures from our district meeting. The chapel is in Blackpool, an hour away. The elders are (from left) Elder Fielding, Elder Johnson, Elder Morin, Elder Weber, Elder Colton and Elder Fisher. Elder Johnson is the District Leader.
The other picture is of our Lancaster Elders Colton and Fisher (the tall one) in front of our Lancaster Chapel. They go everywhere with us, which makes it really fun.
Finally we visited the Lancaster Castle, started by the Romans in the 20 A.D. It has been a court and prison for the last 800 years and is still in use as a working prison. It is a dark, forbidding place. It is famous for 11 witches that were hanged together here. To see it for yourself, just type in Google...Lancaster Castle... and it will come up. The music and trailer are awesome. They give a night tour that is guaranteed to scare you stiff and give you nightmares.