Christmas Tree

   

Hi Loved Ones!                                                                                                         December 3, 2014

Life is good here in Preston England.  We have put 2,000 miles on our car since we have been here.  We still dislike driving here in England but we are willing to do what needs to be done.  When our mission president or zone leader calls and needs something done we always say “Yes”!  We love the people here.  The missionaries are fantastic and are energetically serving our Heavenly Father as best they can.  The missionaries are wonderful examples to us.  They serve with great faith and dedication as well as have an amazing knowledge of the gospel. 

We had a multi zone conference last week.  Elder Dykes and his wife taught us for two hours, as well as President and Sister Ulrich.  We were taught for a total for five straight hours before we had a break.  Oh, they gave us a minute to stand up and stretch but then we went right back to work learning how to be the best missionaries that our Heavenly Father needs us to be.  During our training, if you needed to use the rest room you had to sneak out quickly and get right back as soon as possible.  When we finally had lunch we had been spiritually fed and really didn’t notice that so much time had gone by.  It was a wonderful day!

Visiting the less active members is a special experience.  There are many reasons why a person goes inactive but the most difficult to deal with are the ones who just stopped caring.  We have found it difficult to encourage them to return to activity because nothing seems to touch their hearts.  We have talked to people who have been offended, have had major health problems or their lives have just gotten too hard to manage to get to church, such as no car and major financial problems.  We are not sure how to help them but Heavenly Father knows.  He can cause miracles to happen in their lives.  We are just reminding them where to look for the miracles they need and how to ask for them.

We met a sweet nineteen year old girl who became sick a year ago and is house bound.  She grew up in foster care and when she turned 18 she had to move into a very rundown apartment building.  She has migraines and her joints become dislocated at random times.  Sshe is in a great deal of pain which causes her to be on major painkillers.  She passes out often and so she cannot cook or do things for herself.  She walks with crutches and is so thin, yet when she met us at the door she had a huge smile and was so happy to welcome us into her home.  We are looking for ways that we can help her and look forward to meeting with her again soon.  The Elders and Sisters want to do a service project for her on Christmas Eve but we need ideas.  Do you have any?

All the senior couples got together on Saturday for a Thanksgiving Dinner at a Pub in Warrington.  The food was amazing as well as the conversation.  It was nice to finally meet and talk with the other couples serving here.  They all complain about driving here and even told us to expect a fender bender or two.  Our mission president talked to us about how the mission is growing.  He said that Heavenly Father is sending people from other countries here to England so they can learn about the gospel.  He said the three top baptizing ethnicities are the Asians, Muslims and then the Brits.   It is surprising how many Chinese and Japanese people are being baptized.  The University here brings students from all over the world whose hearts and minds have been prepared to learn the gospel and when they hear it they recognize the truth.

We are doing well.  We have been blessed with health beyond what we were experiencing at home.  We have energy and strength to do the work that Heavenly Father needs us to do.

We pray that you are being blessed in all that you do.  We love you all so much and miss you!  Keep smiling and working hard to learn the Lord’s will for you and your family.  He knows you and He loves you!  He is blessing you to bear your burdens so that you can accomplish the things that will bless you and your family.  Trust in Him and all will work out for your good.

Love,

Elder and Sister Blunck