A December to Remember in London

Well it is the day after Christmas and I am feeling a strong desire to share with those I love at home the tender feelings we have felt this month as we serve here in the England London Mission.  My desire to keep an updated blog has been moved further down the TO DO list time after time... but home is calling me and I am longing to connect with those we hold so dear!!  We want to share with you just a glimpse of this most amazing experience.

We have a small flat so decorating for Christmas this year was a little different from years past.  Instead we got to decorate the Visitors Center with the other senior couples and the sisters.  It was so much fun.  

With a tree in the Lobby.  Sisters Griffeth and Von helped "fluff" the branches 

and Elder Mullen took care of the ornaments on top.

A second tree was added with ornaments, or baubles as they are called here, 

handmade by the children of the Hyde Park Stake Primary.  

They loved coming and finding their bauble on Sunday.

And this was the finished product.  Wow.  Truly a sight to behold!!

And the Christmas lights went up all over London as well.  We find it very fun to ride the bus instead of taking the tube or underground.  Even though it takes longer we love seeing more of London as we travel to and fro.  Front row seats on top of the double deckers are the BEST!!

 This skating rink is literally a block away and is on the property of the 
Natural History Museum.  
Such a delight to pass by every day.

 And these are the ANGEL lights on Regent Street.  Still amazes us time after time that we are able to serve here and Light the World in our own way in London.

And these sweet lights were found just around the corner on Oxford Street.

And the busy tubes....yeah not exactly my favorite part!

Everywhere we go we take "Light the World" pass along cards and invite people on buses and on the street and on the tube to stop by the Visitors Center to see the Light the World video.  It's amazing the super powers this black name badge gives us.  We LOVE IT!!

In late November we bid adieu to these amazing sister missionaries.  Oh my how we will miss them.  Sister Croft on the left returned to her home in Kaysville, Utah.  Sister Griffeth returned to her home near Preston Idaho and Sister Kerr in the middle stayed for three more weeks until her parents arrived to pick her up from Mesa Arizona.  It was a sweet reunion that we had the privilege of witnessing.

Sister Kerr with her parents just after they reconnected following her 18 month mission here at the Visitors Center.

We absolutely love serving with the young sisters.  I was so sad when I was released as Young Women's President in Granite Bay but Michael and I are really grateful to have these new young women to love on.  Our hearts are full.

These sisters are (beginning on the front row from Left to Right) Sister Dabrowska from Poland, Sister Zeng from mainland China (she joined the church just 18 months ago and had to fly to Hong Kong in order to get baptized), Sister Koiv from Estonia (one of our favorite little countries), Sister Wallace from Maui Hawaii (second row) Sister Kerr from Mesa Arizona, Sister Yau from Hong Kong, Sister Von from Woods Cross, Sister Gregson from Edmonton Alberta Canada and Sister Fuhriman from Wisconsin.  We are totally in love with these sisters.  As you can see we cover the globe with our sisters.  Which is particularly critical at the Visitors Center as the guests here are literally from all over the world.

It is a tradition here in the Hyde Park Stake at Christmas time to hold an international festival celebrating the diverse cultures present in the Hyde Park Stake.  Over 105 languages are spoken in this Stake alone.  And they thrive on their differences.  It was a delightful evening with a fun "Name that National Anthem" game and performances from all different nationalities.  It was held in the Cultural Hall which by the way was so named originally in the Hyde Park Chapel.  When the Chapel building plans were sent to the local government for approval they were declined as they did not allow churches to have gymnasiums.  So President McKay suggested they rename it a Cultural Hall.  They did so, resubmitted the plans and they were approved!!  And we have used the term cultural hall in the church ever since!!

Elder and Sister Wade from So Cal are the YSA missionaries here and they are delightful as you can see from their picture above.  They work tirelessly serving and feeding and feeding and serving the young adults of the Brittania Ward which meets here in this building.  We have grown to love them and their flock.  They fed them a Christmas dinner here followed by an evening of Scottish Folk dancing with a live band and caller.  I don't think I've ever seen an event that involved every single person.  It was truly a gift for these young people.

The parlor of the Charles Dickens Home

We spent one pday in December going to the Charles Dickens Home/Museum which had been decked out for Christmas.  This week we will go on a costumed walking tour of the streets of London that Dickens frequented.  I can't wait.  Following our visit to the museum we headed to Portabello Road to do a little Christmas shopping.  It was a chilly perfect December Day!!

The next preparation day we found ourselves at the Victoria and Albert Museum and followed it up with a trip to the Christmas Light Show at Kew Gardens.  Perfect for putting us in the Christmas Spirit. 

Our favorite displays at Kew Gardens were the Partridge in a Pear tree fire rings and the Light show at the end synchronized with Christmas Carols.

The next Preparation day we headed over to Soho or The West End Theatre District as they call it here.  We were able to see Simon Callow in a one man production of A Christmas Carol.  It was beyond amazing.  80 minutes straight dialogue, no intermission.  He moved between narrating and acting the parts.  Phenomenal production.  Perfect for our Christmas here in London. 

Afterwards we quickly headed over to St Pauls Cathedral for their Celebration of Christmas.  We waited in the longest cue we have yet experienced. Had Disneyland beat for sure.  We were told the chances of getting into the Cathedral were possible so on that clear winter night we stood in line and visited with the folks in front of us.  And to our surprise and delight not only did we get in but along with just 30 other people we got the best seats in the house.  At the last minute they opened the only gallery in the Cathedral, just to the right overlooking the sanctuary that held the orchestra, choir and readers.  Unbelievable Christmas gift for us.  Pinch me please.  The program included readings from Charles Dickens, poetry, and most importantly Luke 2. The audience joined in on many of the Christmas Carols. And the readers were Vanessa Redgrave and her daughter, another famous British Actor by the name of Fox and Benedict Cumberbatch. Hands down THE BEST Christmas Concert we have ever attended.  Such a gift.

A Christmas Celebration from the Gallery at St. Pauls Cathedral

And our last Pday prior to Christmas was the VERY BEST as we were able to take Kira Bishop to the temple for the first time to do baptisms for the dead.  Kira came into the Visitors Center the first week we were here in May.  She had passed the Visitors Center several times and could not get the courage to come up the steps and enter in.  She had been taught online by missionaries and the spirit as she entered the chapel overwhelmed her and us.  Our sisters taught her, we sat in on the lessons and Michael baptized her just 3 weeks later and have been very close ever since.  She has remained so faithful as she has grown in the Gospel.  We just adore her.  So we could not begin to think of a better Christmas gift than to spend the day with her as she entered those temple doors for the first time.  Oh my, the Lord is so very good to us.  We had a bonus as we were greeted at the temple by Joseph's mission president and his wife, the Irwins who are currently serving in the London Temple Presidency now going on their fourth year.  We love them so dearly.

I hope one day my friends at home will get to meet this amazing woman.  
She is lovely, talented, an amazing dancer and business woman, 
a faithful follower of Jesus Christ and such a joy!!

Mission zone conferences were held the week before Christmas and it was so fun to watch these missionaries gather to focus on Jesus Christ and the purpose for which they are here.  And it was a joyous occasion as following their morning meeting they donned their Christmas "Jumpers" (sweaters) and celebrated with lunch, gift exchange and games.  All included President and Sister Stevens.  I have never seen a greater love than the love the Stevens have for their missionaries.  So very sweet!!

Christmas Eve there is a tradition in the mission that all the senior missionaries of the England London Mission celebrate Christmas with a luncheon at President and Sister Stevens flat which is in the building next door to the Hyde Park Chapel.  We gathered together, ate a wonderful lunch and sang Christmas Carols led by President Stevens, a former member of the Tabernacle Choir.  From there we walked as a group to Royal Albert Hall where we attended a Candlelight Christmas Concert.  The Visitors Center is open 7 days a week year round from 9 am to 9 pm so a senior couple is always required to be present during those hours.  Our sweet directors, Elder and Sister Hulet, covered so that we could attend the afternoon concert.  We are so grateful.

Lunch and caroling at the Mission Home.

The concert included a choir and orchestra, all dressed in period costume.  We loved that they read Luke 2.  That would seldom happen in a public concert in the United States.  

We could learn much from our Mother Country.

Following the concert we received special permission from Salt Lake Headquarters to close the Visitors Center at 6 pm in order to celebrate Christmas Eve with our sisters.  The Hulets opened their home and their hearts and welcomed us in.  Each senior couple had purchased a gift for each of the sisters so that they each had three gifts to open.  We had a taco feed, opened gifts around the Christmas tree, watched the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Special from 2013 about Charles Dickens (which featured a member of the Young Single Adult ward here as Charles Dickens), and ended the evening with Elder Hulet reading from Luke 2 and all joining in on Silent Night.

Can you see why we are in love with these young women!!!

And Christmas in the Mullen home would not quite be the same without a few Gingerbread men.  We had to get creative this year with flat surfaces for drying the frosting.  And delivery was a much different process but thanks to good souls who have brought us American brown sugar, King Arthur flour, shortening and powdered sugar we were able to bring a part of home here to our flat and to our mission.  Thank you kind souls for being so good to us. We ended up making over 300 gingerbread men....not bad for a single oven and small cookie sheets.

The highlight of this Christmas season for us at the Hyde Park Visitors Center was the live Nativity.  The last week in November they installed a stable at the end of the ramp which leads to our front door.  Each evening for 2 to 3 hours we had members or missionaries "starring" as Mary and Joseph.  The Church media department sent us costumes like they used in the Bible Videos and weighted baby dolls that felt like a real baby.  When missionaries were featured as either Joseph or Mary then their companion would be on the street inviting onlookers to come inside the Visitors Center and see our Light the World Video. We offered to take photos for any who so desired.  We even invited children to enter in and "hold" the baby Jesus.  Each evening we would challenge ourselves and the sisters to hand out so many pass along cards.  The nights where there were events at the Royal Albert Hall the foot traffic was amazing as we are between the tube station and Royal Albert Hall.  Sometimes we handed out as many as 3 dozen pass along cards an hour!!  It was soooo much fun.  When children stopped we offered them a Light the World pass along card as a "ticket" to see the movie inside.  They LOVED it and so did we!!  One of our favorite admirers was a little boy named James and his little brother.  They live in the mews behind the Church and so passed by the nativity every day.  They loved getting a "ticket" to the movie.

 James and his brother visited us daily

We loved the evenings when we had a "real" baby Jesus!!  Though the weather was definitely cold.  

We did have a little heater inside the stable.

And yes, one night they even let this old gramma and grampa play Joseph and Mary.

We love that Christmas fell on a Sunday this year.  All the wards met together as there is no public transportation available in London on Christmas Day.  The leaders were not expecting many to be able to attend.  Imagine their surprise and delight when both the chapel and the cultural hall were filled.  It was a beautiful Sacrament meeting.  Our friend Mark was confirmed a member of the Church and received what he says to be his best Christmas present ever....the Gift of the Holy Ghost. 

Elders Speiser and Helistro with Mark on Christmas Day.

 Christmas Dinner at our flat.

 The wonderful poster from the ward members back home adorned our flat.

 Christmas wouldn't be quite the same without a puzzle to build.

Home Sweet Home

Today was once again our Pday which we spent cleaning our flat and preparing for the Johnsons from Sacramento to come and visit tomorrow.  We decided to head out for a bit and went to see the tree at Trafalgar Square that is donated every year from Norway in gratitude for the help England gave to their country during World War II.  We finished there around 615 and decided at the last minute to go to the West End and see if there were tickets available for a show.  We had heard that Half a Sixpence was an appropriate and fun musical so we decided to try to get tickets.  They had front row aisle seats in the royal dress circle.  AMAZING!!  It was our favorite West End show yet and that is saying A LOT!!  Oh my goodness, if you ever get a chance you should definitely add it to your list of MUST SEE's. 

And so it goes for the Mullen Missionaries.  We love our mission.  We love greeting people day in and day out at the Visitors Center.  December was a busy month with many 10-12 hour days because of needing extra hands for the Nativity.  We pray that areas where there are not missionaries will be able to accept them soon.  It's so disheartening when we cannot send a referral because there are no missionaries allowed in that country.  We miss our family and friends deeply but we DID Christmas on a mission.  Yippee....and we did not just survive...we loved it.  Did we miss family?  Oh my yes!!  But thank goodness for Facetime. Such a wonderful gift for us.  Thank you to a loving Heavenly Father who is always there for us.  May He bless your lives as He has ours!!

Inviting Others to Come Unto Christ

Each week at our Visitors Center Training Meeting we begin by reciting our purpose which states:

Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the End.  In the England London mission we teach repentance and baptise converts.  Obedience is the price, Faith is the Power, Love is the Motive, the Spirit is the Key and Christ is the Reason.

It is such a perfect reminder of why we are here.  At the Visitors Center we give tours to those who come through our doors.  If they so desire they complete a referral card with their name and contact information.  Our job, we believe is to be an appropriate conduit for the spirit.  And we can testify that miracles happen.

One of our first tender mercies in our mission happened as we met this sister who was serving with us at the VC.  Her name is Sister Lung and she is from Hong Kong.  As we were chatting and just getting to know each other we found out that she had been converted to the church when she was 10 years old.  I told her that my niece Kate Connors had served a mission in Hong Kong about that time and asked if she by any chance knew her.  Guess What!?!?!  Not only did she know her but Kate is one of the sisters who taught her and was at her baptism.  The next day Sister Lung brought in a card she had received from the missionaries on the day of her baptism.  Sure enough, there was Kate's well wishes and signature.  Oh my.  So we texted Kate and she expressed how very much it had meant to her as doubts had crept in over the years as many she had taught the Gospel to fell away from the church.  Now here was one of her converts on a mission herself.  And what a powerful missionary she is.  Thank you Kate Connors for your faithful service that now is reaping wonderful rewards as Sister Lung so diligently brings others here in London unto Christ.

The card my niece had given to Sister Lung 10 years ago on the day of her baptism.

Each day we are given the privilege of moments like these where in Sister Kerr from Mesa, AZ and Sister Apiyo from Uganda embrace, Book of Mormon always in hand.  Love this!!

We have also discovered another sweet bonus to serving here in London.  We get to see lots of familiar faces as they travel through or work in London.  Such a gift to our hearts.  

Thank you Heavenly Father for good friends in our lives.  We consider friends to be one of God's greatest gifts to us here on earth.

Kexin and Nathan Smith are living in London.  

Our son Joseph stood in the circle to confirm her a member of the church during their freshman year at BYU and was also her dance partner on several occasions.  

Small world.

Matt Kern is here on an internship this summer.  His dad is a lifelong friend of Ann Marie's from Pittsburgh and baptized her brother-in-law David Connors.  So fun to spend time with him this summer.

Our first weekend in London there were four, count them FOUR,  baptisms at the Hyde Park Chapel.  The baptistry is behind beautiful sliding wooden doors right in the Visitors Center.  So we are able to partake often of the spirit that accompanies such glorious occasions.  It is particularly powerful for those who come in from the street to take a tour and are then able to witness a baptism.  This day a couple, Hasaan and Malood, originally from Iran, entered the waters of baptism after having been taught by Elders Lindsey and Tragante.  I was able to welcome Malood as she stepped out of the water with a dry towel. Tears of joy streamed down her face.  I reminded her never to forget how she felt at that moment.  The next week when we came to church we hardly recognized Hasaan as he had shaven his beard and cut his hair.  When I commented about the change he told me that he was clean on the inside and he had decided to make the outside match the inside.  Wow!! We have grown to love this sweet couple and have had them to our flat for dinner and Family Home Evening. What a blessing it is to serve!  As it is with most service we are the beneficiaries!!

Hasaan and Malood on their baptism day

Yes, the opportunity to invite others to come unto Christ is an amazing experience for us.  We will treasure this time in our life always!!