Day 27: Church History and the Lake District

Monday was the first day of a great adventure to northern England.  It started with meeting up with my co-worker and friend Jared!  He has been touring England with his parents to show them his mission in Manchester and to see the other areas of the country.  They are spending the entire week in London, which unfortunately coincides with the only week I won’t be in London.  We figured that the only time we’d be able to get together would be early Monday morning before I left.  I ran through Hyde Park to meet Jared at the Princess Diana Memorial fountains and we walked and talked to the Peter Pan statue.  It was great to see a friend in the city and I wish we could’ve spent more time together.  

One question he asked me when we were talking was, “What have you learned?”  My mind kind of went blank.  I thought that I’ve learned a lot about what shows are the best and some great places to eat.  I’ve learned a lot about British history and literature.  I’ve learned a lot about the geography and sites in London.  I think I’ve learned about Londoners and the English people.  Most importantly, I’ve learned a lot about myself as far as what kind of person I am/ want to be and what kind of life I want to have.  I wasn’t really sure how to articulate an answer to him but not because I haven’t learned anything but because I have learned so much. 

After my short visit with Jared, I ran back to meet my group just in time to get onto the coach and head to the north!  We started watching a BBC series called North and South, originally a book that I am in the process of reading.  We only got to watch two of the four episodes and it left us all on a cliffhanger!  Our professors were getting a kick out of us girls begging them to let us watch the other two.

Our first stop was Chorley.  This is a beautiful town just outside of Preston where the England MTC and Preston Temple are located.  The temple was closed but we got to walk around the grounds which were beautiful!  It is currently the largest temple in Europe.  

We also had the unique and amazing opportunity to go on a tour of the MTC.  I’ll never have that opportunity in Provo (unless I serve a mission of course).  The England MTC serves missionaries going to The United Kingdom and Ireland who already speak English.  They also serve some missionaries going to Germany or other missionaries learning English.  Right now they have 61 missionaries, including elders, sisters, and couples from 18 different countries.  On average, they serve 30-35 and have capacity for 108 missionaries.  After taking a few steps in the door, I felt like I was at home.  It wasn’t a strong impression but just a slow peaceful feeling that settled on me and assured me that there was a great work happening in that building.  I loved it and was sad to leave!  

I think it would be absolutely wonderful if Hayden got called on a mission and got to go to this MTC.  It is much smaller than I imagined but it feels homey.  I’m sure each of the missionaries here feel that they are important because they’re 1 in 61 instead of 1 in hundreds.  There is a very nice gym, a great cafeteria, beautiful classrooms, and the landscaping is outstanding!  There is a beautiful natural pond right outside of the building that the windows look out to.  When President Hinckley visited the building he stated that it was much too romantic for the missionaries there.  The whole time I was at the MTC, I was thinking about Hayden and how he will be preparing for his mission soon.  I also thought about my missionary friends and Aaron.  They are doing the best work and I am so proud of them.  Their hard work, along with the missionaries I met at the MTC here, inspires me.

(A photo of my friend from high school, Richard Flores, who is serving in London right now!  This was on the wall in the MTC.)

After our stop in Chorley, we drove into Preston where the church work originally began in England.  Joseph Fielding had a brother-in-law that was a minister in Preston (an industrial town) who invited Joseph and three other apostles to speak to his congregation.  Many members of the congregation believed and were converted.  These saints had such a passion for the gospel that two men raced down to the River Ribble to be the first one baptized.  George Watt won the race and he was the first member to be baptized in England.  The apostles were eventually kicked out of Preston because they were “stealing away” all of the congregations but the work continued to grow all around northern England and up into Scotland.  Our teachers put the message of these early missionaries into perspective.  They arrived in an industrial town with horrible conditions and were speaking mostly to the working class.  You have people like Joseph Smith who was a farmer and is now the President of the Church.  The Church members live laws of community and sharing, not master over worker.  That kind of context would be very appealing to early converts.

Today, Preston is kind of a trashy town but we saw two important things there.  President Hinckley served part of his mission in Preston when he was a young elder.  At one point, he was so discouraged about his lack of success in the city that he wrote his parents saying he wanted to come home.  After being in the city that seems to lack beauty as well as kindness I can understand why he felt this way.  We saw the apartment he was living in when he famously received the letter from his father that told young Gordon to “forget yourself and go to work.”  

We also saw the River Ribble and a plaque designating that the Latter-Day Saint missionary work began in Preston.  I imagined members running to the river because they were so passionate about being baptized.  That was a beautiful moment.

Our group then traveled further to Ambleside where we will be staying for the next few days.  It is a quiet little town (well…. It’s so small that I would call it a village) in the Lake District just on the edge of Lake Windemere.  There’s really no hotels in this town and so our group was all divided up into different bed and breakfasts.  My idea of a bed and breakfast was old rooms with bad floral wallpaper and communal bathrooms.  I thought bed and breakfast owners were like the Scottish couple in 39 steps, very nice but into your business.  My preconceived notions were entirely obliterated!  I LOVE my bed and breakfast!  I never want to stay in a hotel again but only bed and breakfasts- that’s how much I love it.  My bunkmate at the Centre, Whitney, and I were roommates and we both loved the room.  It has tan and cream damask wallpaper, cranberry pillows on a white bedspread, and a nice little chandelier.  It is very feminine and I want my room at home to be as cute!  We also had our own bathroom that had really nice shower and jetted tub.  Whitney and I were in heaven!

Mom- I think I need to redo my room to look like this.  Wallpaper and all!  Don't you agree? :)

Something we didn’t expect about Ambleside is that it is HOT!  It was overcast and cold enough for a light jacket in London when we left.  Our professors said that the northern trip would be about 60 degrees and it feels more like 80’s!  I packed jackets and rain boots which are not working in this heat.  My body has been in cold weather so long that I forgot what it feels like to be hot.  I don’t know how I’m going to handle coming home to Utah heat!  I do know that it’s making me really excited for summer.

We only had a quick stop at our B&B before dinner time.  The 40 of us were split up into two groups and my group went to dinner first.  Do you remember how I talked about William Wordsworth?  We’ve been studying him extensively in class and we had a very unique and rare opportunity to eat an authentic 19^th century dinner in Dove Cottage, his home in the Lake District where he wrote his best and most famous works.  This doesn’t happen very often but our professor has connections and so we were probably the second group that has ever had that opportunity.  The recipes they made for us were delicious including Coleridge (chicken) stew, potatoes, and some sort of carrot dish that came from Wordsworth’s sister-in-law’s family cookbook.  I couldn’t get enough of the food!  I ate every bite of the hearty stew, the soft potatoes, and the sweet carrots because it was so yummy.  We also had a lemon custard for dessert that was light and sweet.  This was heightened by the fact that we were eating dinner in the exact spot that Wordsworth ate dinner.  All of us in the group were so happy!

(It doesn't look as appetizing as it was!)

(Kayley and I eating where Wordsworth ate in front of a painting of his dog Pepper.)

Since we were the only ones at the cottage, they let us explore around his home and gardens.  We all ended up in the backyard/gardens which William landscaped himself.  The sun was just starting to set and we all just kind of found our own space and started writing.  We didn’t have an assignment or anything but we all felt inspired by our surroundings and felt impressed to write something down.  Some of us wrote poetry, some of us wrote about our experiences or what we were feeling.  It was truly enlightening!

(A view of the cottage from the hill on the back of the property.  You can't see the lake from here but it is right past the two story home which wasn't originally there when Wordsworth lived here.)

(Walking in Wordsworth's steps... literally)

(Whitney, myself, Kaylie, and Kayley on top of the hill overlooking Dove Cottage)

(Jared, Kayley, Jaden, and myself in a little hut on Wordsworth's property where he and his sister Dorothy would often sit.)

We left Dove Cottage and took a quick walk to the town of Grasmere where William Wordsworth is buried.  The setting there was fitting for his resting place as it is so peaceful and surrounded by natural beauty.

(Wordsworth's tombstone)

(Wordsworth family plot)

(A little stream right next to the cemetery.)

When we were driving back to Ambleside I feel like I was acutely aware of the beauty of my surroundings.  We passed a couple of tarns (small lakes)which looked like glass because they were so smooth.  I could perfectly see the surrounding hills and trees in their reflections.  I saw one lone kayaker on the lake that I thought would be my aunt Lisa if she were there.  She would absolutely love the Lake District!  I think it’s one of my new favorite places in the world.

On our return to Ambleside, a few of us girls walked down by Lake Windemere and on the boardwalks there.  Again, it was very peaceful.  

(Jaden and myself)

Well- it was peaceful at least until a boat pulled up to a boardwalk near the one we were on.  The guys on the boat shouted hello to us and started saying things like “Jump in the lake!  We have towels and a hot shower!”  After hearing that, we booked it back to our B&B because we didn’t want to be near them or out late.  


Five of us girls were in a B&B and we had a “movie night” in one of the rooms.  We watched an episode of Psych and I think I need to watch more episodes of the show!  It is really funny!  We ended up all telling funny stories to each other and laughing past midnight.  Something I’m grateful for this trip are the experiences I’m having but also the friendships and bonds that I’ve been able to develop.  There’s nothing like it!