Wonderful Associations with the Best of the Best!!

On our flat inspections this week our lives were enriched by meeting with Elder Hummer from Murry, Utah (Upper left). He is our new District Leader and conducted his first District Meeting this week and did an amazing job. His theme was unity in companionship's, in councils, in wards and branches and in the mission. What better focus could we have? He asked us to talk on the unity in our marriage and we simply said we tried to make Christ the center of our life and it works!! In the upper right is Elder Stokes from Texas and Elder Brewer from New Mexico, great missionaries. They had a large American Flag in their window cheering our guys on in the World Cup. England is crazy about this tournament let me tell you. There are flags everywhere. In the lower left is Elder Ackerman who is in LLanelli and we are working closely with him and his companion now. He is a great elder. In the bottom right are Elders Amuah and Elder Balla, both from England. They had the tournament schedule posted in their flat. Of course they can't watch it but the members keep them posted. We so enjoyed them all and they lift our spirits immensely.

Young Women We Love

Can you see why we love the teenagers in the Carmarthen Branch?????? We are at the Merthyr Tydfil Summer Family Dance and they all came up and gave me a hug. They always do that. They are the youth leaders in this stake and I am so very proud of the fun, clean and spiritual lives they are leading. I love them and will always be interested in their future lives. They are in for so much happiness because they are making all the right choices!!!

People we love!!!

At the Merthyr Tydfil Stake Summer Dance we had such a great time and it was all because of the members we have had the privilege of getting to know and love. We have never met greater saints. In the upper left hand picture are some favorite teenagers, Lienna, Charley, and Jennifer. They are so amazing!! In the upper right hand is Angela Greenhalgh and Beverly Pomfret. As I think of them, I wonder if they know how much they have touched our lives here in Wales? They are remarkable, stalwart women in the gospel. In the lower left is a picture of Lisa and Vince Shambrook. They have been so very caring and loving to us. We are so grateful to them for their thoughtfulness. Their lovely daughter, Rebekah is to their left. Behind them is a very dear friend, Delia Harding our Relief Society President and great source of strength to us. We study scriptures with her family every Thursday evening and it is where we fill our cup every week. In the bottom right hand side is a picture of Brother and Sister Baldry from Milford Haven. We worked closely with Brother Baldry when we were working in their area and he is a great strength to their branch. The center lady in this picture is our " one and only" Theresa Williams, our Stake YW President and close friend. She and I are very much alike. She even shops at "Dress Barn" when they go to the states. Can you believe that? That is my favorite dress shop!!! She and her husband have looked after us and taken such good care of us ever since we have arrived in Wales. We were meant to come to Wales and are grateful for the opportunity and challenges it has brought into our lives.

What a neat couple!!!

Our Stake Primary President, Sister Jenkins and her husband were a darling couple at the Merthyr Tydfil Stake family summer dance. Most of all I love to listen to her amazing Welsh accent. She spoke at stake conference and I could have listened to her forever!!! Of course her strong testimony and spirit contributed to the joy of listening to her also.

A Remarkable Couple

President and Sister Jones were the highlight of the evening at the Merthyr Tydfil Stake summer dance. Can they ever "cut a rug" so to speak. They were just released from one of the UK temple presidencies and spoke at Stake Conference and at Sister's Day and were most inspirational. Their zest for life is contagious!!! That's what living the gospel does for you.

Special Friends at the Dance

At the Merthyr Tydfil Stake Dance there were many of our special friends. In the top left hand picture is Theresa Williams, the Stake YW President & Branch President's wife and Lienna Pomfret both being very special friends. In the top right hand picture are President Evans, a counselor in the Stake Presidency and his lovely wife. In the bottom left hand picture is Alan Phillips, High Priest Group Leader in Llanelli Ward and his lovely wife Joan who is Primary President. Next is Charles Goodford, Elders Quorum President in Llanelli Ward with his son. In the bottom right hand picture is Lisa Shambrook, Carmarthen Branch's Primary President with her son Daniel. Lisa has become very dear to us. We have a little bit of Sister Greenhalgh also in that picture. We love all of these members and are so happy they are part of our lives here in Wales.

Merthyr Tydfil Stake Family Summer Dance

The Merthyr Tydfil Stake held their family summer dance this past week and it was so much fun for everyone who attended. They had some excellent impersonations of Elvis and Michael Jackson and a few other characters. I don't know what they call the dance on the floor but in the one picture it is lead by our very own Lienna Pomfret!!

Lienna Pomfret's 17th Birthday

Lienna turned 17 today and we celebrated with her at the Branch Activity at her home. We gave her the flowers and her Mom gave her the cake. We sang to her as she blew out her candles. She is one special Young Woman with many gifts from Heavenly Father. When we first came out on our mission, we told her we wanted 24 grandchildren but have only 22 now with 23 on the way. She wants to be number 24 and we think that is a perfect idea. We had a wonderful time together as a Branch and having Lienna's birthday with it made if perfect.

The Latest in Missionary Work in Wales

At our Branch Party on Friday night, the Stake President's wife, Dianne Allen was teaching an innocent Senior Sister Missionary a wild dance!!! But that missionary does appear to be very willing!!! ( It was so much FUN!) Dianne is a most delightful, fun lady. Everyone just loves her.

Have they gone mad?????????????

Check out the next blog and we'll explain.

Fun, Fun "Ride a Pony" Game from Girl's Camp

The youth and some of their "youthful leaders" (Sister Williams and Sister Allen) had the time of their lives playing, "Ride a Pony" which they learned at Girls Camp. I hope I called the game by the proper name but if not let's call it "Just Plain Fun"!!!

A fun Soccer Game at our Branch Activity

At our Branch Activity our youth played soccer in the Pomfrets back yard and had so much fun. It was great to see them be competitive but kind to each other. As I watched them I thought of the unity activities like this bring into the branch and I then really missed the branch members who were not there. We had a good turn out however.

Fun, Fun Branch Activity

At our Branch Activity we had yummy food that the Young Women and Elder Crandall and I brought. Everyone donated money for the food and the money is to be used for EFY this summer. The youth had lots of fun on the trampoline also.

More Fun Branch Activity Pictures

Here we have more people we love with Dianne Allen, our Stake President's wife in the upper left picture along with our Relief Society President, Delia Harding. In the upper right is Beverly Pomfret our Young Women's President and her beautiful daughter Lienna. In the bottom left is our Branch President, President Williams and his handsome son Ross and in the bottom right is Delia Harding again with her beautiful daughter, Jennifer. We had so much fun together at our Branch Activity tonight.

Our New Abode Starting July 1st

Here is a picture of the new rental we will be moving into on July 1st. It is very conveniently located in the small village of Llangunnor, Carmarthen. It is two story but Elder Crandall says he needs the exercise, so stairs here we come. It was very hard to find a furnished place that wasn't a row house which we didn't want to live in. It has a washer and a dryer which is very hard to find also. We are following our leaders counsel regarding moving so we will be blessed while living here.

More Fun Flat Inspections

This week we did flat inspections with elders in the Cardiff area. In the upper right hand picture are Elder Luu from Washington (new District Leader), Elder Piredda from Italy (new Zone Leader), Elder Guo from China, and Elder Newbury from Springville, Utah (Awesome Zone Leader just released). Because we were packing up to move this week we took them to Subway for a quick meal. They are just the best elders. They were stopping people on the streets as we went to Subway. How we admire them and their dedication to the Lord. In the bottom right hand side picture are Elders Ercanbrack and Schreiner (new Zone Leader) both from Utah and another set of awesome elders. We also took them to Subway. We saw Elders Pedersen and Griffiths, both also from Utah. We took their picture on our last visit. Elder Pedersen's Grandmother owns about 1/4 of Texaco, so he has little to worry about financially. They are wonderful elders and we took them to one of their investigators whose family member had just died and they wanted to comfort him. The tall building is where the first four elders meet for our church meetings in Cardiff.

St Fagans National History Museum

As part of the Senior Missionary Couples" retreat we went to St Fagans National History Museum. They were having folk dance contests between the schools and here are some pictures of the children in their Welsh costumes. It was so fun to watch them dance and see how much they enjoyed it.

Senior Couples on the Wales Retreat

Here we are with the senior couples who were able to attend our Senior Missionary Wales Retreat this weekend. When we got to the hotel that we had reserved, the hotel had over booked and therefore sent us on to the Vale Resort and Golf Course. It was amazing!!! We were thrilled they were overbooked. The surroundings were breathtaking, the rooms wonderful, the food delicious and the company the best!!!

Beautiful walls and ceilings inside the Cardiff Castle

Here are a few views of the beautiful paintings on the walls of the Cardiff Castle. We had a most enjoyable day with the other senior couples who came on the Wales retreat with us.

Senior Missionary Outing at the Cardiff Castle

Here we are inside the Cardiff Castle with Elder and Sister Long and Elder and Sister Green on the senior missionary outing that we planned for Wales. We had a delightful time. Several couples couldn't come but the smaller group made it much easier to get to know each other and we all had a fun, relaxing, and enjoyable time together.

The Elders Become Such Great Friends

The Elders become such great friends and it is most touching to see them work together so diligently. The most humbling time is when they kneel in prayer together with their hands on each other's shoulders--I can't keep back the tears it is so powerful!!! Where else in the world would you see 19-21 year old young men working together with such diligence serving the Lord?????????????????/

Saying Goodbye Once More at District Meeting

This past week we said goodbye to one of the most dedicated missionaries we have met, Elder Wood from Park City, Utah. He is one of our devoted zone leaders. We always take a serious group picture and a silly picture. We have almost more fun setting our cameras and dashing to our seats than anything else. Elder Wood is also demonstrating the "no touch" rule regarding sister missionaries. We will miss him terribly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear, dear friends

It was so beautiful outside this week. It was end of term break so the students were out of school and there truly was the "summer spirit" in the air. We went out to eat with the Pomfrets, who have become such dear friends. Lienna, Beverly's daughter has spoken for the 24th slot in our line of grandchildren and we readily agree!! She is amazing as is her mother and grandmother. We ate outside and enjoyed the wonderful warmth and most of all the special friendship!!

Relief Society Luncheon at Taybarns

For the Relief Society Activity this month we went to Taybarns in Swansea where you can eat all you want. It was so much fun and we giggled like school girls!!! In the upper left hand picture is Lisa Shambrook, Angela Greenhalgh, Catherine Rees, me, Theresa Williams, and Dianne Allen. In the lower right hand picture is Sarah Gaskell and little Eric, Delia Harding, Annie, and Lisa. Now will you please notice our lovely and very fun Branch President's wife trying to justify that her desserts were really from the basic food groups i.e. "Carrot Cake" truly being from the "Vegetable" group. Remember, my dear friend Theresa, that you are dealing with a "Dietitian" here!!!!!!!!!!!! She can get away with those desserts however because she is so tiny!! I love being with these great women from Carmarthen Branch. What a fun day!

Natures Beauties

We have tried to capture the Hawthorne tree with it's white blossoms several times and found this one right where we attend church. These beautiful trees are everywhere and add such a contrast to the green trees. I also love this small stream that runs right by the hall we meet in for church.