Here are other pictures of our district meeting and the other elders and sisters there. It was so rewarding to see them be the leaders and to be so sincere about the guidance that their mission president has given them. They also know how to devour rice krispie treats.

Here we are at our district meeting and Sister Zechman and Elder Chamberlain dressed and acted like investigators, while the other Elders and Sister Nemec tried their approaches on them trying to get an appointment or to place a Book of Mormon. They were so fun!!! How we love being with these amazing young servants of the Lord. They are devoted missionaries that know how to have fun and enjoy their time here in Wales.

Here are pictures we took when we were in Aberystwyth. The town if located right on the Irish Sea. It was over cast but still very beautiful that day and very COLD!!!!

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The Red Dragon the Symbol of Wales

I don't think this picture made it on my last post. So here it is.

We have the opportunity to do flat inspections for the sisters and elders in two different zones. Here we are with the sisters in Newcastle
Emlyn. This is Sister Zechman from Austria (she is on the left) . She is awesome. They speak German there but she speaks fluent English also. The other sister is Sister Nemic from Croatia. She is a convert of a couple years and no other member of her family are members. They were not happy with her joining the church. She also speaks fluent English as well as Croatian. Sister Zechman goes home soon and she will be very missed. Sister Nemic came out the same day as we did, so she is a greenie along with us. These two sisters are simply amazing. We treated them to lunch in this fun little restaurant run by a delightful lady from Ireland. We then went on to Aberystwyth and inspected the flats of Elder Bedford from St George, Utah and Elder Stokes from Georgetown, Texas (near Austin). They are awesome Elders and are having a great deal of success because there is a University in Aberystwyth and the students are from many different countries. We treated them to a delicious meal at the Hot Rock Restaurant.
It is pure delight to feel of the dedication and love for the gospel that these young LDS missionaries have. It strengthens my testimony every time I am with them.

Walking back to our car from the restaurant we found the famous red dragon which is the symbol of Wales and felt we needed a picture with the dragon. What a wonderful day!!!

Count Your Blessings

As you can see we are paying 1.14 pounds per liter for gas here in Wales. There are 4 liters in a gallon and when you take into account the value of the dollar vs the pound it is like paying $7.60 per gallon. All we do is travel to one location after another so it is rather expensive. Count your blessings in more ways than one for the opportunity of living in the "Promised Land", America.,

Our little Welch Home

Here is our laundry room with a washer and dryer. What a blessing. The washer takes about 1 1/2 hours to wash a batch of clothes and the dryer drys by pulling the water out of the clothes and we empty a container of water after each batch. The next picture is the second bathroom and it very small but good to have. We are very blessed to have such a nice place and it is in a very modern village.

Our little Welch home

Here is our main bathroom and our kitchen. There in the kitchen is our refrigerator which is a below the counter type. Doesn't hold much but we just don't cook like we did at home. The last picture is of our bedroom with two twin beds pushed together. That comforter is awesome and keeps us snug and warm.

Our little Welch home

Aunt Marilyn asked to see the inside of the house we live in. It is very comfortable and nice. Here are two pictures of what they call the lounge. The quilt on the chair was sent to us by Rich and Patrice and we use it everyday to keep warm. We bought the lamps in order to have enough light to read by.



This is our dining area. The flowers are for a sister whose birthday is on Monday. The next picture is of a bedroom we converted into an office. Our neighbor and good friend from the branch, Fred Peters loaned us the dining room table and the desk and the bookcase. We live in this office and in the lounge.

Kidwelly and the Surrounding Countryside

Here is the beautiful village of Kidwelly and the surrounding countryside. It is breathtaking now. I can't imagine what it will be like in the spring. We had an enjoyable time together there today.

Kidwelly Castle

Today was our PD day and we went to a little village by the name of Kidwelly which is about 15-20 miles away from us and has several of our branch members living there. The name of the castle there is The Kidwelly Castle and dates back to the 1100's. It was built mainly by the French and the French, the Welsh and the English fought over the castle throughout the years. We about froze as we walked through the castle. We couldn't imagine how they kept warm. The Great Gatehouse ( where Elder Crandall is standing) took over a century to build and could stand alone in defense even if the rest of the castle fell. You can see where the draw bridge was in front of where Elder Crandall is standing. Above the entrance of the Gatehouse are three Arches through which missles could be dropped on invaders thus called the murder hole. There were over 400 castles in Wales but only about 100 are still standing. Wales is often called the Land of Castles. We hope to see many more of these fine examples of fortified medieval architecture.

This is the picture of the new school for elementary and high school age children and where most of our branch kids go to school. Today Princess Ann was there dedicating the school. We saw all of the students along the street we drive on all of the time waving British flags and waiting for her arrival. We then saw her procession as she arrived at the school. Of course my battery went dead at just that time but it was exciting for us to watch this experience. Her brother Prince Charles has an estate about 20 miles from Carmarthen that they felt that she stayed at the night before. See we really have Princes and Princesses to go along with our castles.

Here is our Branch President's lovely wife and family. We
had dinner and a wonderful family home evening with them
this evening. They are going to fly into Phoenix the summer
we are released and we will show them Arizona. The Branch
President was in a meeting. They are an outstanding family
and have made us feel so welcome and needed and we can't
wait to entertain them in "Sunny" Arizona!! They are really
helping our little branch do all that it should do and are helping
us help it grow.

More About New Beginnings

Here are more fun pictures from New Beginnings and also a picture of the creative value pizzas the Young Women's President made for this evening. We had so much fun being there with everyone and look forward to many more fun events with the Young Women in this great branch.