The Lord’s Tender Mercies

By Heather Walgren
I’ve always known that God loves me and that he hears and answers my prayers. One of the most memorable examples of this, in my life was when I was just barely seventeen. I had just moved to a new state so that I could go to college instead of high school. I didn’t know very many people my age because most of my peers were juniors in high school. I was missing my old friends and had little opportunity to meet new ones my age and I kind of wanted a date so I prayed for a date. I was attending early morning seminary at the time and two brothers who were cheerleaders at the high school were giving me a ride to seminary. Well, I asked for a date in my prayers one night and one of the brothers asked me out on a date at 5:30 am the very next morning! I accepted with a smile in my heart. When he picked me up for our date, he came with roses. We had a wonderful evening and I knew that God loved me.

God has perfect timing. He knows exactly what we need and when we need it. I was pleasantly reminded of this once again last Friday. Since I graduated from college last August I have been rather busy and have had precious little time for myself. Still, I feel like I have been blessed, tremendously. I started working for my company at the beginning of October. For almost three months now I have been blessed with a job I love. I work for a company I love, which is funded by an amazing man. He made his fortune inventing medical devices all of us have benefited from (like disposable surgical masks, machines that recycle blood during surgeries and machines that give a real time image of a patient’s heart). The whole concept behind the company I work for is showing people how closely connected they are to each other through genetics and genealogy in the hope that they will care about each other. In short, it is the perfect place for me.

I did not realize I was in need of an amazing day, but that is what I was blessed with. Friday was my company’s Christmas party. Because it was held during business hours all employees, who attended, were paid to attend. Because I wanted to attend I had to come into work late, so I wouldn’t go over on my hours. Consequently, I got to sleep in until 6:30 am, which was exciting for me. When I arrived at work people started exchanging gifts, which was rather fun. After two hours of work it was time for the party!

Now, all I knew about the party was we were doing a white elephant gift exchange, there would be food, and the company usually gave out a $50 gift certificate to the Gateway plus a small gift for everyone. I had heard a rumor that one of my coworkers knew a family that was in desperate need this year, so the general impression was we were going to give up the little gift and apply the money to this family. All in all, I was rather excited about it.

The food was great. The white elephant gift exchange was so much fun, but then it came time for the gifts from the company. We were given a lot more than was expected. Beyond that, we were also given very generous Christmas bonuses. Now, the money and gifts were nice, but what was even better was the knowledge that everyone walking out of that Christmas party knew they were valued and appreciated. Everyone knew there were a lot of people out there who cared about them.

But my great day did not end there! As I was walking to Trax, a 20 minute walk, I knew there was a good chance I would miss the train by a matter of seconds. Sure enough, as I was standing in line to buy my ticket the train pulled up. As I realized I was okay about missing the train a teenage boy, who had just exited the train, came up to me and asked if I needed a ticket. It was such a small little act of kindness. It wasn’t something huge, but it was a wonderful gift to me (don’t worry, I bought a ticket at the end of the line). As I approached the train the door closed, but a passenger pushed the button from the inside and the door opened and I caught the train.

By the time I reached Sandy, my heart was so full of joy at the tender mercies of the Lord. I felt like I would burst if I didn’t share my joy with someone else. So, I said a little prayer and asked to know who could use a little act of kindness in their life. One woman, who was standing on the platform just seemed to stick out to me. My bag was so full of gifts I couldn’t zip it shut. I pulled out the top present, walked up to this lady, and told her I had just experienced a wonderful day and wanted to share it with her. As I handed her a gift she looked surprised and asked why I was giving her a present. I just repeated that I had had a wonderful day and wanted to share a piece of it with her. As I walked away, I was overwhelmed by the joy that came with giving.

When my mother picked me up at the end of Trax, I found out that she too had experienced a wonderful day. Every other Sunday she volunteers at a facility for handicap children. Their wheelchair blankets are worn and in need of replacing. My mother’s company provided her with enough money to make each of the twenty-eight children a new blanket.

So often, the Lord blesses us through those around us. It is one of His tender mercies. The previous Sunday, while attending tithing settlement, I asked my Bishop about the needs of my church in regards to fast offerings for the poor. He indicated that there was a need and so I said, “Well I can give more.” I pulled out my check book and wrote out an additional check. When we have the opportunity to be God’s agent in giving, we are given a glimpse of what charity – the pure love of God – feels like. I know that in the Holy Bible, in Malachi 3:10 the Lord promises us, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you our a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” I have walked with angels my entire life and have always been very aware of just how blessed I have been, but I just didn’t expect such an immediate blessing to be poured out on my head at this time.

I want to thank all those who made my day so special. For all of you who have helped make someone else’s day special I want to thank you, as well. For everyone who has not been presented with an opportunity to bless the life of someone else I ask you to create an opportunity. At the heart of this season lie the tender mercies of the Lord.

Gratitude for Everyday Blessings

by Heather Walgren

There is a care facility for severely handicapped children within the boundaries of my stake. Each Sunday members from at least one ward travel to this facility to bring primary to these children. Primary consists of an opening prayer, opening song, a short and simple lesson, singing time, a closing prayer, and then a walk. Volunteers make two or three trips outside pushing the children in their wheelchairs so that everyone gets an opportunity to have an outdoor adventure.

My mom happens to be one of the stake coordinators for this program. As a result, I get the opportunity to participate two to three Sundays every month. I must admit I haven’t participated as often as that, but something tells me I’m going to start visiting more often than I have.

Today I took a little boy out on a walk at the close of primary. This little boy is the only child in this facility who can have a conversation with another person. The other children can smile or make noises as they try to sing along during primary, but this boy is the only one that can articulate his feelings using words. I’m not sure what his medical condition is called. I do know he is wheelchair bound, and his legs are in constant pain.

As the little boy and I went on our walk he told me about how much he likes primary, singing and visitors. He also told me how much his legs hurt and how he wished someone would cut them off so he wouldn’t cry anymore. As we finished our walk I found myself making him two promises: I promised I would come visit more often, and I promised to tell the nurse that he wanted to go back to his room.

At this point my mom and I headed to church to catch the last block in our ward’s meetings. Upon entering the building we found our bishop walking the halls with his one-year-old daughter. As my mom spoke with the bishop I found myself watching the joy of the bishop’s little girl as she stepped on and off of the air vent and saw her dress puff out. It was obvious she was having a grand adventure.

At that moment I had an epiphany centered on gratitude. The bishop’s daughter found so much joy in just walking around and exploring. The little boy, who will never be able to walk around and explore on his own, found joy in primary, singing and having people visit him. Meanwhile, I have the ability to walk around and explore. I can speak, sing, visit people and have people visit me, but I don’t thank my God for these blessing on a regular basis.

Now, I do pretty well in the gratitude department for Big Blessings like an education, graduation, the gospel, a wonderful family and recently, a trip to England (to name just a few). But I think that I am guilty of taking some of the every day blessings in my life for granted. The ones like walking without pain, having shoes, being able to read, and speak, and having the opportunity to go to yard sales with my mom on a hot Saturday, even when I would much rather find an air conditioned building to visit. I am grateful for these every day blessings, and I need to do better at showing my gratitude for these things.

A few more thought on the subject. When Brigham Young was asked what the greatest challenge to the saints in the last days would be he answered that we would struggle with ingratitude. Also, when President Hinckley wrote to his father of his struggles while serving in England his father told him to forget himself and serve the Lord. I know not everyone has a care facility for severely handicapped children near by, but all of us are surrounded by numerous opportunities to serve others.

Show gratitude for the simple blessings in life by serving in simple, but meaningful, ways.

A Worthwhile Journey

by Heather Walgren

Lately, I have been doing a lot of reading. Reading about different countries, different political institutions, biographies, poetry, short stories, longs stories, classics, novels, old textbooks, even. I’ve found myself wondering why I like some books better than others. It’s not a matter of genre – I’ll read almost anything uplifting or edifying. But I have discovered I like books that are brilliant.

When I say brilliant I don’t mean earth shattering or revolutionary, although these types of books are great in moderation. No, I mean brilliant in writing style. I mean the books that make you forget you’ve just finished a chapter. The ones that make you want to read just one more page until you find yourself at the end of the book searching for an appendix so you can read just one more page.

So what makes a book brilliant? The book takes the reader on an interesting and fun journey; A journey that is dynamic, not for sheer entertainment, but because it is worthwhile.

In fact, a brilliant book is much like a life well lived. It puts me in mind of a new favorite quote of mine:

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming, wow what a ride!” – Peter Sage.

What type of journey will you create?

Where have all the good guys gone?

By Heather Walgren
An interesting conversation popped up at work today. I’m not really sure how it got started, but suddenly, I found myself discussing my dating life (or the lack thereof) with my coworkers. This past Sunday an elderly gentleman bore his testimony on family: it’s one of the only things you can take with you when you pass from this life. Hence, the sign of a wealthy man is one with a love of the gospel and a rich family life. I came away from that meeting wanting to get married more than ever and have lots of children. But then reality sunk in.

How can I get married when I can’t even get a date? Sure, I could start going to a singles ward. Then again, my stake’s singles ward scares me, and the BYU singles wards I have come in contact with make me feel like I am a second string contestant in a beauty pageant. Like most girls, I fall into the happy medium of looks: I’ll never be Miss Universe, but I don’t shatter glass. I’m not even a plain Jane. I am happy to be in the main stream in the looks department, but when guys tend to see better than they think (especially in a singles ward paradigm) it makes life complicated for a girl who is a lot more cautious about putting herself out there. Guys just overlook girls like me.

As frivolous as the conversation with my coworkers was I was amazed at the number of girls at my work that felt like they were in the same boat. Though I do not joy in the trials others face the conversation made me feel less like a one-woman anomaly and more like a girl with a common plight. I will never be the type of female that flirts easily – I feel like I am acting like a two year old. Yet, blatant flirting seems to be the only way some guys figure it out. Do guys really want to date girls who do nothing but laugh? What is wrong with good old, intelligent conversation (to see if you can respect someone) intermingled with humor? That’s what I want, but it begs the question: How do I get to that point before I reach my 93rd birthday?

It reminded me of a sister in the Britannia Ward who introduced a song by saying it was the song she would play when she wanted to go to bed and she thought, “You are going to grow old all alone except for your cats… Wait! You don’t even like cats.” It’s enough to make one consider (for a brief moment in time) marrying someone who meets the basic requirements (breathing and holds a temple recommend). But then reality sets in. I would be bored witless if I married someone without anything else to offer.

As I pondered this conundrum this evening I logged onto MySpace to send my sister some contact information. As I cleared out all of my unread mail I looked into my pending friend requests box. I found one of the funniest requests I have ever seen: it was a LDS rent a date four guys had put together for single LDS girls. Apparently, they are bishop approved and willing to help out a girl in need. At first, I smiled. As I read through their biographies (where they used adjectives like “General Authority material” and “world champion scripture mastery specialist”) I started to chuckle. But what had me rolling on the floor and truly laughing out loud was the number of friends these four boys had accumulated (I’ll let you follow the link to see the grand total). Apparently, I am not an anomaly after all.

The End of an Internship

By Heather Walgren
Isn’t it horrible when someone leaves you hanging? Well, I have been back in the U.S. for two weeks. I called home before I left, so I did not send an email describing my last days in London. Worse, I want to start blogging about other topics. Don’t worry. For anyone I haven’t spoken with in the past few days I won’t jump into an unrelated topic until my next post.

London was great! I think I enjoyed it more my second time around… or maybe it was the fact that I was a tourist rather than a researcher. Regardless, we left Essex early Saturday morning. By 10 am we were settled into our B&B and ready to explore. I got to spend four hours in the British Museum, get my picture taken with Sherlock Holmes on Baker Street, visit the international headquarters of the Boys Scouts and go on a walking tour of one of London’s shopping districts.

Sunday I went through Green Park, St. James’ Park, walked around Buckingham Palace, and got to see the preparations for a parade, which I couldn’t attend. The parade celebrated 25 years since the Falkland Wars. Prince Charles, Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher were scheduled to speak. As I rushed across town to meet Jillian and MaLese at the church I found a memorial for the London Bombings during the Battle of Britain: it was a wall outside of the Victoria and Albert Museum that still had damage from the bombs. It created a silent contrast in my mind. I walked away from a parade that honored a war I don’t agree with and found a silent but powerful symbol of a war that needed to be fought. The scars in the wall bore a silent witness to the sacrifice the British people made during the 1940s.

On Monday MaLese and I went through Hyde Park, found a really neat tree, and went paddle boating on the Serpentine. Then we made our way through Kensington Gardens and went on a tour of Kensington Palace. After we ate we went to the tube stop to find Jillian and take her through the Gardens. After we took pictures with Peter Pan we headed to the Tower of London. Unfortunately, we got there a half an hour before it closed, so we were advised not to go in. Instead, we visited the gift shop, took pictures of Tower Bridge and went on a ferry ride down the Thames. As we reached Westminster Jillian bade us goodbye as she set out to meet a friend from Yorkshire and attend a concert. MaLese and I visited the shops in Trafalgar (hoping to find a few more souvenirs). Then we went on the Eye of London. Following this, I took MaLese through the Westminster Tube Station (the 5th Harry Potter movie used the station as part of the Ministry of Magic) and we went home.

We met up with Jillian and her friend, Sarah, at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Tuesday morning. We fed the birds, and then crossed the Millennial Bridge. We bought tickets for the evening’s performance of The Merchant of Venice. Then we walked down the waterfront until we could cross at Tower Bridge. MaLese and I went through the Tower of London while Jillian and Sarah sat on the grass. We saw the crown jewels as well as some of the other attractions. Following this we ran to Piccadilly to see a matinee of The Phantom of the Opera. During the performance Brad dropped off a bag of his books and jams he asked Jillian to take home. He told her it was a grocery sack. We found a large department store bag. I had been thinking of buying another suitcase, so I ran into a store and found something we could put his stuff in. We went to dinner then ran back to the Globe. The performance was brilliant. When we got out we strolled along the banks of the Thames and then headed home.

Wednesday morning found all of us preparing to go home. We left around 8:15. Our flights were around 12:30. After experiencing massive delays on the tube system we ran into Heathrow around 11:00. As MaLese headed for her terminal Jillian and I embarked on our airport security adventure. We got through to our terminal about 10 minutes before passengers started to board the flight. A very kind gentleman traded me seats, so Jillian and I could sit next to each other (a nice arrangement because both of us wanted to stay awake to minimize the jet lag). We arrived in Chicago with three hours to get through customs, collect our bags, recheck our bags, take the train to the other terminal, and go through security again. Oddly enough, it took less time for us to do this than it did for us to get through Heathrow. We had dinner, looked around the shops, and used our cell phones to call family. Both flights were very full, but the one to Salt Lake carried a surprising number of missionaries, returning from their missions. By the time we arrived in Salt Lake we had been awake for 21 hours and traveling for 20 of those hours.

I feel so blessed to have had this experience. I don’t think you can have an opportunity like this and not grow. Despite how much I love England (I am already planning on traveling their again) I was so grateful to be home. The trip feels like a closing chapter in my college experience. Although there is editing that needs to be done (I still have to go through all the research we brought back and complete some projects at work) I know that the BYU stage of my life is at an end, and I am okay with that. I am ready for some new adventures. Speaking of which, did any of you know you can go four wheeling in a 95’ Geo Metro?

June 18, 2007

Hi Mom!

We will be going at a whirlwind pace now until we catch our flight home. We are out to see Kensington Palace and Gardens today. Yesterday I went to Buckingham Palace to get better pictures and they were setting up for a parade to celebrate 25 years since the Falkland Wars. The Prince of Wales, the Prime Minister and Margaret Thatcher were set to speak.  I had church, so I took pictures walked through St. James Park, and Green Park then left.

I think that my flight comes in around 8:00 PM on the 20th. I will check tonight and email you. I love you lots and I’m looking forward to being home. Thanks for everything!

Love,

Heather

Editor’s note: This will be the last post from Heather until she gets home. I would like to thank Heather for allowing me to share in her journey by appointing me to be her editor/blog manager while she has been in England. I would like to thank you for sharing in her internship with us.

All future entries will be made by Heather after her return to the states. It will be fun to see what she decides to do with this blog so stay tuned.

Janet Walgren – aka Mom, the best title in the world!:)

June 16, 2007

Hey Mom,
We just got into London a few hours ago. I sent Dr. Doxey the paragraphs on Wednesday and all of my hours are in. MaLese and I went to Colchester on Saturday. It is the oldest recorded town in England and has the largest Norman Castle anywhere in Europe. The Castle was built on a Roman Temple. We went on a tour of the Castle and they took us down into the foundations of the Roman temple. It was very fun. I got to see 16th century graffiti and walk where 4 kings of England have walked.

I am coming to be a firm believer in “there’s no place like home.” I have loved this experience. I am so grateful I got to come, and I do want to return and visit, but home is home and I will be so excited to see you and just take a break. I have researched about 200 hours and feel like I have been going and going and going. These last few days will be a marathon. I am glad we are doing it, but I am excited to come home and see you. After seeing some of these places I am very grateful for the sacrifice that our ancestors made in leaving to go to a barren desert (and it was and still is in comparison), but I am so thankful for all the little things I have in my life that are a direct result of their sacrifice. You are great.

 Love you lots,

Heather

A letter from home

Dear Heather,
Time is flying now and it seems impossible that you only have one week left on your internship. I will be excited to see you and have you back for a time. I have had so much fun since you left. Last night I got to go with Heidi and Dillon to a special ticketed concert at the Tabernacle for the families of the choir and the workers that restored the Tabernacle and their families. The night started with a slide presentation in the Assembly Hall showing the work on the Tabernacle as it progressed. Then they took us on a tour underground from the Assembly Hall through the basement of the Tabernacle and up outside by the north visitor’s center and back into the Tabernacle. It has changed a lot since we first toured it with Mike seven years ago.

I tried to write a blog about my experience last night after I got home, but my heart was just too full and I couldn’t do it. After an hour, I gave up and went to bed. The way the power of music speaks to your spirit is so incredible; it is no wonder that the prophet has counseled us to guard ourselves as to how we use it. I just thought of this, but it is interesting to note how evil movies (and good ones too) use this power to drive a message deep into our minds and souls. I will have to think about the messages attached to my favorite movie music.

Well back to the concert. We got to sit in the sweet spot, not because we were the first in line, but I don’t think the people in the front of the line knew about it. With the renovation, the reserved section where the tardy choir members used to sit on Sunday is no longer reserved so you can sit right next to the choir. The stage has also been extended so that the sweet spot is behind the orchestra. This allows you to observe the face of the conductor and it is a real treat.

I never knew how athletic conducting music could be. Watching Craig Jessop conducting was like watching a dance and he danced the lead for over an hour. Wow! He is an Olympian. I don’t know how he physically can do it. The music totally consumes his soul and you can see him orchestrating the score to conduct every part in the choir and orchestra using some part of his body. He mouths the words to bring in each part and his expressions and gestures control the dynamics of each measure with a finger, a hand, a nod of his head, or the baton as he sways and taps a foot or marches out each measure. He is a masterpiece in his own right and I found my eyes riveted on the man; it was fascinating to watch.

The Tabernacle has always been to me what the library is to you; it is so special. My first memory of the building was 54 years ago. I was six when my sister was baptized there and I remember that day. Knowing how our ancestors loved music, I imagine that they were playing their instruments and singing the hymns of Zion on that very ground before the Tabernacle was even built.

Last night you could feel the presence of the pioneers listening to the concert. Entering that sacred edifice is in some ways like entering the temple. I can always feel the presence of angelic spirits when I go there. If you ever want to be near me when I am gone, go see the choir and I’ll be there. It is interesting that you find our ancestors in the library, cemetery and temple, and I find them in the tabernacle and in the temple. Last night the music was especially powerful and I was overwhelmed. The testimony of the sacredness of that place was so strong. I wish that you could have been there to experience it with us.

I love you very much. Enjoy the rest of your trip.

Love forever,

Mother

June 12, 2007

Hi mom,
This is a quick check in. I am in Essex researching. We are not going to the Channel Islands. Trying to figure it out when we do not have internet has been an interesting experience. I just got a chance to look today, however, and it would take two research days to do the trip. The archive is not open on Friday which means we would be leaving tomorrow and getting home on Thursday, I just can’t deal with planning at the moment. It is alright, though. I already knew the chances of us going were very slim.

 

The wheel on my suitcase is going to break. I am not sure how much it has left in it, but I am hoping it will last till I get on the plane. I will need to buy another bag to check, so I don’t go over the 50lb. weight limit. Oh well, I guess I will have to go shopping when we go back to London.

 

The Essex Record Office is great. It is the most high tech county record office we have encountered. Another reason I am a little relieved I don’t have to plan a trip to the Channel Islands is because it will allow me time to research the Gunn family. I really feel like I need to look into them while I am here. The family that we are staying with actually lived right next to the villages the Gunn family came from. They say it is beautiful countryside over there. I might try to go over and see it.

 

Oh! On another fun note, I was reading through this little history of the church in Essex on Sunday (Gloria and Peter got me a copy when I mentioned I wanted to write my religion paper on the early church in East Anglia). Anyway, the book mentioned the ship of Mormon emigrants Charles Dickens visited and wrote about (we had heard of this account from Peter when we were on our church history tour). The ship he visited was the Amazon: the ship the Castleton family, as well as MaLese’s ancestors, emigrated on. So, Charles Dickens called our ancestors “the pick and flower of England…” Now I can say that Jane Austin walked where my ancestors walked (I got to walk there, too) and Charles Dickens toured my ancestors’ emigration ship, and paid them a compliment. I really think I am going to have fun writing my family history report at the end of this trip.

 

I need to go, but I love you lots. I am so excited to see you again. We will have to both come to England, so I can take you to some of these places. You can be my travel buddy to the Channel Islands.

 

Love,

Heather

June 9, 2007

Dear Mom,Thank you for your email. You have an amusing way of summing up events.

Hi Sweetie,

Thanks for the update. I enjoyed your post and I am so glad that you finally found a family that is jumping. I must admit that it probably is a good thing that Robert Pennel had his work done after he was dead if he got baptized 100 times. Otherwise he might have thought they were trying to drown him instead of save him, and approximate dates would have been hard on his hinny when the doctor slapped him and said, “It’s a boy!” (How many times?:))

The weather is incredibly sweet today. It has been cool – almost cold and it is raining. The clouds are hovering low on the mountains and it is just the kind of day that makes you want to get outside. The rain is a good solid almost heavy rain so everything is looking very green. At work today, Shauna said, “Janet, look out the window. See that soft steady rain and how everything looks green? That is what England looks like on a typical day.” Perhaps we got our love of the rain and the green from our English ancestors… 

I Love You,                               
~Mom 

Tonight is MaLese and my last night in Bury. Oddly enough we haven’t spent much time here. The Saturday we got here we went through the market with Gordon and Jean. Sunday we begged a ride back to Ipswich to go to conference. Then we went out to the country for dinner in the house with the mote. Monday we researched in Bury and realized there are not a lot of emigration records here. As a result, we traveled to Nottingham and back on Tuesday. I found quite a bit there. Wednesday, we went to Norwich to research at the Norfolk Record Office. The archive was beautiful, but the records I needed no longer exist. I still found some helpful records, though.

Thursday we returned to Nottingham. We were one our way to the train station before 6 AM. We arrived a little after 9 AM. And we got to travel through Netherfield! While in Nottingham, MaLese and I found an emigration card index for transportation, I spoke with the archivists and will email the archive when I get home. We arrived home around 9:30 PM.

We visited Cambridge on Friday. I worked on emigration while MaLese researched her family. The archive closes for lunch, so we climbed to the top of Castle Mound and took pictures. MaLese’s family was only in Cambridge for one generation. The family joined the church in Cambridge and immigrated to Utah. As a result, she was at a loss as to what she could do that was unique. Luckily, we remembered the project Dr. Doxey was working on to locate the homes of early converts in the tri-county region. As a result, MaLese spoke with the archivists and found a map of Cambridge from the mid 1800s. After the archive closed we found her ancestors’ church and the street where they lived.

MaLese still needed some family research hours so we decided to find
the parishes of the ancestors she studied for History 412. After sleeping in for the first time this week we headed to the bus station (the train did not go to Saint Elmham or Rumburgh). Unfortunately, MaLese forgot the paper she wrote the directions on, so we showed up at the station and asked how to get to South Elmham. We were met with blank stares. MaLese did remember that we needed to go to a place called Diss. When the bus station employees pulled out a map they decided if we went to Diss we might find a connecting route. So we hopped on a bus and rode through the beautiful English countryside.

On arriving in Diss, we could not find any bus information, so we found the tourist information. The lady in the information center looked at us like we were from another planet when we asked for directions. She was horrified that we were trying to go there on a Saturday without a definite plan. She phoned the bus company and figured out our itinerary. She was so worried about us traveling on our own that we listened and analyzed our plans. At worst (if our transfer bus arrived before our bus) we would have one hour to walk three miles to All Saints, find the church, and walk back three miles to catch the last bus to go through the area. If we missed the bus we would be stranded for the night.

At this point we thought of our mothers and decided to be responsible. We analyzed our time constraints for the rest of the trip and discovered we have less than 20 hours of research left that we need to do. We can finish our IAP research by Tuesday. We are still looking into flying to the Channel Islands Wednesday, which leaves Thursday and Friday open. There is regular bus service to South Elmham on Thursday, so we will run up there next week.

We only have 11 days left on this trip. It seems like the time has slipped away. Most of our time has been spent in archives, but I feel like I have learned and grown so much. I have always loved Britain. England has a fascinating history, but now I feel like I am a part of that history. I feel the presence of my ancestors in this land. I felt them with me as I researched. I have walked their streets with them. I also feel the pains they must have felt as they left their home to travel to a new land. The land they traveled to is my home, and I am so glad I had the opportunity to leave my home to walk the streets where they lived. I feel like I know them just a little more than I did. I appreciate the sacrifice they made for me. They left everything they knew so their children and decedents would have a better life. My ancestors will always be my ancestors, but now they feel like they are truly a part of my family.

I am so glad I will be seeing you in less than two weeks.

I love you,
Heather