Konold Chronicles

Christmas in the mission field is memorable.  Emotions are intensified by missing family; experience is enriched by local customs and new friends; and service magnifies the relationship with He whom we remember.  It was a relatively quiet and simple Christmas.  Our home was modestly decorated.

The cards, letters and gifts received were thoughtfully selected and gratefully received.  We had Christmas dinner with the Backmans and their son and his family from Ethiopia.  It was nice to be around children.  It made us realize how important they are to the Christmas story.

New Year’s Eve is also Jim Backman’s birthday.  He wanted to go to Scotland for the traditional Hogamany celebration (Scottish for gallons of whisky) .  As the date approached, it was clear there would be flooding, cold and wind and we wisely decided to find another option.  As it turned out, Scotland would have been an absolute disaster.  Instead, we decided to go to the east coast and visit the cities of Whitby and Durham.  We stayed in a nice B&B in Hurdlepool (near Whitby) where we enjoyed some beautiful sunsets and sunrises.

Whitby is a small fishing village punctuated by a Benedictine abbey the earliest portions of which were built in 657 AD.  It was destroyed by Henry VIII in 1540.  It is perhaps most famous by the fact that it inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula.  It is one of those places where you can spend hours imaging what events occurred there and what life was like “in the day.”

Near the abbey is an old church where, during the Christmas season, they invite citizens and businesses in Whitby to decorate a Christmas tree above the pew boxes.  One could spend hours reading the messages that were part of each exhibit.  The tree below is made of law books and was created by a local law firm.

Whitby is also known for having the best fish and chips in England.  Each year, one of the restaurants is awarded the “Best F&C” in England and the 2015 winner was Quayside in Whitby. We had our New Year’s Eve dinner there.  We did not know that as we walked out, they would close the door behind us for 2 months of renovations.

One of the things on my bucket list has been to climb Pendle Hill.

Several historical events occurred on this hill in the 17th century: the Pendle witch trials (1612); Richard Towneley’s barometer experiment; and the vision of George Fox (1652) which led to the foundation of the Quaker movement.  Pendle hill is just above the towns of Chatburn and Downham where Heber C. Kimball baptized most of the residents in his first mission in 1837. Well, my climb was attempted on January 2nd–a very cold and rainy day.  The trail was washed out which required that you hike through tall grasses.  We probably got 2/3rd of the way to the top when prudence suggested we call it quits.  I will attack it again.

Work continues to bring daily surprises.  Today, I was drafting opposition for legislation being proposed in England in an effort to stem the spread of radicalism in education of children.  The thrust of the law is that all programs educating children outside the public school system will be registered, inspected and monitored by a governmental agency.  It will, at least, affect our seminaries and institutes.  While, of course, we don’t think they will find radicalism in our programs, who is to say what is radical.  Something as simple as “follow the prophet” could be seen as seditious to the throne.  The explosion of immigration in Europe will inevitably lead to laws and regulations which will erode religious freedoms and threaten all religions.

Kathy has been enjoying the two week break while the temple is going through its annual maintenance.  She is spending most of her time studying for her driving tests.  I may have mentioned earlier that a driver’s license is very difficult to obtain in England.  You must score a minimum of 88% on a 50-question written test; pass a hazard perception test; and pass an actual road test through the narrow streets and round-abouts for which England is famous. The law requires that you must have a UK license by the end of 12 months from the time you entered the country.  I just passed my written and hazard perception tests and have my driving test scheduled for the 26th–3 days before my 12 month anniversary.  Major pressure!  I don’t remember this being disclosed in the senior missionary booklet.

As I am writing this, Kathy is on the train on her way home from Watford (near London)–location of the Harry Potter Studio attraction.  I have to pick her up at midnight at the train station.  I know the rest of the night will be listening to her complete thrill and satisfaction with the experience.  It is said to be the best theme attraction anywhere–so I must prepare myself.

As soon as I sign off, I know I will remember some things I intended to include.  If so, I will just have to post again soon.  Good night for now.

 

 

Today marks the one-year anniversary of our arrival in England.  As is usually the case, in some ways it seems we have been here much longer and in others, like we just arrived.  My theory is that the things you think about often result in it seeming like a longer time and those we rarely think about make it seem much shorter.  In any event, we have enjoyed our time here beyond our expectations and are already feeling a little sad at the thought of leaving.

As I am typing, we are waiting for Richard and Suzie (Kathy’s sister) to arrive.  They just finished their mission in Johannesburg and are stopping by on their way home.  They will be here for a few days and then driving to Scotland (where Richard served his mission) for a week or two, then back here for a few more days.  They are driving up from London and were expecting to arrive here in the a.m.  As we speak, they have pulled off the road about 2.5 hours away (with no traffic) because they have sat for hours in traffic that has not moved.  I predict they will not be here for about 5 hours (about midnight).  Friday night is not the time to be heading north on the M6 or the M61.

While the winter has been very wet, it has been relatively mild.  I think I have only had to chip ice off the wind-screen three times all winter.  The flooding up north of here has been horrific. Our office is full of chairs on their way to Kendal–where the church was gutted by waters when the river over-flowed.

Two weeks ago, we drove over to Lincoln (about 2 hours southeast of where we live).  It is known for its important part in the English Civil War and for its cathedral.  We found it to be a really interesting and pretty village.

Getting from the town center to the castle and cathedral requires that you walk up a very steep road (so named).  Fortunately, there a lot of shops going up so you can rest without lying down in the street.

The castle houses one of the 4 original Magna Cartas.  We had seen it in Oxford so we did not pay to see it again and it was out on loan anyway.  Had I gone to see it, there would have been some major disappointment.

They had a wedding the day before, so all the chairs had been removed from the nave–making it look even bigger.  Very little of this cathedral has been rebuilt or replaced.  Construction started in 1185 and it opened in 1311.  John Ruskin (a preeminent Victorian writer said of it “I have always held… that the cathedral of Lincoln is out and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles and roughly speaking worth any two other cathedrals we have.”

Last Saturday, we took a drive through the Forrest of Bowland (about 1 hour north).  Tiny roads and villages and a lot of moorland–which is quite beautiful this time of the year.

We took a very small side road (like 9 feet wide) towards a farmhouse and came upon a strange site.  I have mentioned before the mole problem in England.  Well, this is the time of the year they are in their prime and farmers hire professional mole trappers (where do I apply?) who are paid by the mole.  To prove how many they killed, this is what they do:

There were hundreds of these displayed.  I realize this may be offensive to some; but it is business–or, if you prefer, it is evidence establishing animal cruelty.  In either event, the crows love it.

We ended with a quick run through Clitheroe–an old village–with what is left of a medieval castle.  Heber C. Kimball had quite a few converts here and in the nearby villages of Chatburn and Downham.

No sooner finished the weekend when I took AND PASSED my driving test–so I am now a full-fledged British-licensed driver.  Sort of like passing the California bar exam, but harder.

Last week, we attended a baptismal service up in Blackburn.  A Romanian fellow was baptized a few months ago and his wife, who just arrived from Romania a month ago was baptized tonight.  It was a very nice service and we met some good folks.  Elder Backman and Sister Backman have been teaching Chiprion and Anka in the Gospel Essentials class and have been major fellow-shippers.  Blackburn has a very large Muslim population.  Four mosques are visible from the front door of our church.

Well, that’s it for now.