Week 10 Fun Places / Christmas trees / Creation

For P-day we visited 

Tintern Abbey 

built by monks in the late 1200's

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 

I am amazed what these people were able to build from stone and mortar.

Tintern Abbey is a national icon — still standing in roofless splendour on the banks of the River Wye nearly 500 years since its tragic fall from grace.

It was founded in 1131 by Cistercian monks, who were happy to make do with timber buildings at first. Abbot Henry, a reformed robber, was better known for his habit of crying at the altar than for his architectural ambitions.

A simple stone church and cloisters came later. But then, thanks to the patronage of wealthy Marcher lords, the white-robed monks began to think bigger.

In 1269 they began to build a new abbey church and didn’t stop until they’d created one of the masterpieces of British Gothic architecture. The great west front with its seven-lancet window and the soaring arches of the nave still take the breath away.

They are working hard to shore up the walls to keep them from crumbling. 

The massive arches and windows would have been amazing to see. 

https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/tintern-abbey

We continued on up the Wye Valley to see the views there. 

The River Wye and the valley is lovely. Matt didn't get to see much because he had to keep his attention on the winding road. 

The 2nd and 3rd pictures are photos I found. 

On our way back home we stopped again at the Roman Fortress and Baths to see a few things we missed. We came across a Priory that had been turned into an Inn and restaurant. We found several wood carvings around the area. So much talent in the world. 

Enjoying the fall colors!

 All carved from wood!

A couple of weeks ago I talked Elder Herdt into purchasing a 4ft artificial Christmas Tree. In the 42 yrs we have been married we have always had a real cut tree. Usually by the end of the season the trees would actually grow new tips at the end of the branch. 

I'm sure we would have survived with an artificial tree like this but we saw some live trees in pots and decided to have one that will keep until next year!

It is enjoying the out of doors for now:)

I'll update the transfer into the house in a few weeks!

Some Christmas Decor I came across the other day in a shop. 

In memory of Katie and Allie or two wiener dogs

I made cookies for ward council this week. My cookies are looking a little better. I'm starting to figure out the oven and ingredient substitutions. 

Happy Birthday to Elder Herdt! The 38th Anniversary of his 30th birthday!

I was able to procure the only can of pumpkin in the area which I found in the Mission Office.

I was happy to make his annual Birthday Pumpkin Pie! We went to a Carvery for dinner with our friends and then brought them back to the flat to share some pumpkin pie. It was Colin and Christine's first taste of pumpkin pie. They were surprised that they liked it. Pumpkin is not something they use here.

We spent most of our time this week either visiting members in the homes, checking on less active members on the ward list or cooking for some thing or another We took the zone leaders out to Popeye's for dinner for doing a good job cleaning their flat!

The last thing of the week was preparing a talk for Sunday on the Creation. Science delves into how the earth came about but we know there is more to the purpose of the earth than how it was created. We have limited knowledge of how the earth was created but God has revealed enough for us to understand who created the earth, where we came from, the fall, the atonement, why we are here and what life after death brings. The three things that are the most important events that ever have or will occur in all eternity are the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement.

Sometimes I think of the information regarding the Creation, our purpose here on earth and where we will go after death, as a big jigsaw puzzle. You know the kind that has pieces that you know exactly where they go, other pieces that are difficult to find where they go and some that seem to not fit at all, and you wonder if they have been added to the wrong puzzle. But in the end each piece has its place. If you are ever curious about these things, reach out to the missionaries where you live and they can answer your questions. 

(thechurchofjesuschrist.org)

Week 9 Lest We Forget

November 11th

 Remembrance Day!

(Veteran's Day)

I love that here in Wales they are very good about remembering those who fought and died for freedom.  Friday night they had a Remembrance Evening at the Cardiff Chapel. It is the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings. 

They also honored 200 yrs of the RNLI 

(Royal National Lifeboat Institution)

Sunday, Churches had Remembrance Services where different organizations brought wreaths to lay at different memorials. We had a 2 minute moment of silence in remembrance at church.  Today we stopped by a memorial in front of the library to pay our respects. 

So many lost in just this little area. 


 

Matt found this in the parking lot one day and attached it to the car keys. He was looking at it later and noticed it had our daughter Kelli's birthday. She had her birthday this past week. Love this girl. She's our angel here on earth:)

Castell Coch 

We got to spend the afternoon and evening with this fun couple, 

Elder and Sister Munson who are serving in Aberystwyth, Wales.

Caerleon Roman Ruins dating back to 43BC

Roman Amphitheater

The are mock ups of what the Amphitheater might have looked like. 

Life was hard for a Roman legionary in first-century Wales. When he wasn’t cooped up in his barracks or being barked at by a centurion he was out risking his life in skirmishes with ancient Britons.

But here in Isca, one of just three permanent legionary fortresses in Britain, there were compensations. He could always hang out with his friends at the fortress baths – or take a stroll to the amphitheater to watch the gladiators.

A couple of Gladiators!

Remains of the foundations of the Barracks. 

Roman Attire

Inside a modern covered building in today’s Caerleon you can still explore the remains of the immense open-air swimming pool, that once held more than 80,000 gallons of water. Thanks to the wonders of film projection you’ll glimpse a Roman soldier still diving the depths today.

There were different area for hot, warm and cold bath areas. 

There was also a wonderful museum with all kind of artifacts from the Roman occupation. 

mosaic floor design

We later drove to Bristol Wells Road Chapel and attended the 

Bristol Women's Devotional

Sister Kristen Yee

Sister Heidi Griffith spoke first on Rays of light. The Lord magnifies every effort we make. 

Elder Alan T. Phillips, the 2nd counselor in the Europe North Presidency and his wife, Lindsey Phillps, spoke. Sister Phillips said that in perfectionism brings about comparisons. Perfected in Christ is a constant. Elder Phillips thanked everyone for coming and spoke of covenants in Mosiah 18. 

Sister Kristen M. Yee of the RS Presidency addressed the sisters. The highest level of discernment is seeing the best in others and helping them to see it in themselves. Lots of other wonderful directions given by her. 

 

There were over 500 sisters in attendance!

 

Flat Checks & Interviews

Much of this week was doing flat checks to see if the missionaries are keeping their flats (apartments) clean. We had a mixture of very clean and organized to poorly kept. It is a priority of the mission president to make sure all of the flats are being kept up. The missionaries in our Zone also had interviews with the mission president this week. We went to the chapel to Change our visas to e-visas. 

Elder and Sister Herdt with Sister Lunt doing e-visas.