An Amazing Chapel in Chorley, England-Part 2

       Before I blog on some more of our adventures while in England two weeks ago, I will begin by telling you about our missionary work this past week. Last Monday, we had 9 YSAs come to FHE. We haven't had that many come since before the holidays. It was so wonderful to have them all gather in our flat again. Since Elder and I had just come back from taking family names to the Preston Temple, I started off my lesson that night by telling them about our temple experience and the special feelings we felt while in the temple. Afterwards, we shifted our focus over to the FamilySearch app and spent the rest of the night using the family history activities that the website supplies. 

     The activity that all the YSAs really loved was the compare a face activity. In this activity, everyone in the room takes a picture of their own face and then they compare their face to either a relative of theirs or to a famous "look-alike" person. I was greatly surprised how much the YSAs laughed and laughed! Some of their comparisons had some very high percentages of their look-alikes. We noticed that the male YSAs enjoyed the comparisons to famous people, while the female YSAs enjoyed the comparisons to their relatives.

     As we went around a circle and showed each other our favorite comparison that night, we could all agree with several of our YSAs look-alikes. One of the young elders match one of the Wright brothers almost to a "T"! They thought my comparison was awesome. Here is why. As you look at the picture below, FamilySearch thinks that I look like one of my favorite heroes from the past. I really like this comparison! Take a look!

What an honor to think that I could resemble her just a little!! She was amazing.

     I made a fresh batch of oatmeal banana muffins for treats that night. It was a very successful evening. On Tuesday, we had a district training session on zoom. It, too, went very well. Our main study was on Abinadi. We all could state the great influence the story of Abinadi has had in each of our lives. That evening, we had another zoom meeting with our Limerick branch council. I love to be a part of their planning meetings and personally hear their concerns, which, at times, we can provide support for them. It really builds upon our missionary work here. Wednesday was our English connect class, which is always entertaining and then after the class, we had a missionary lesson with the Bolivian sisters. 

     We had an amazing Book of Mormon lesson on Friday as we discussed 2 Nephi chapter 9. Did you know that Jacob includes a 10 point formula of how to be saved in that chapter and also, in contrast, he states 10 woes that will lead to eternal damnation! I also LOVE how he wrote on the metal plates in 2 Nephi 9:39 the words, "spiritually-minded is life eternal". Why??? If you use the acronym for every word in that phrase, it spells out "SMILE". Isn't that the truth!! 

     On Saturday, we had the young missionaries over for lunch. Neither elder never had a steak and cheese sandwich, so I made them warm steak and cheese hoagie sandwiches with chips and canned fruit cocktail mixed in whipped cream. Believe or not, they had never even had that before. We ended this week by having the monthly branch movie night. The movie I chose was "The Testaments: Of One Fold and One Shepherd. It is one of my favorites. Everyone was crying at the end of the movie. Talk about a movie that certainly increases anyone's testimony of Jesus! If you want to watch this hour long YouTube, the link is listed below. Make sure you have some Kleenex nearby!

Type in search YouTube and then cut and paste this link into the address bar: https://youtu.be/fnFITzc3cuY

     So now for part 2 of a 3 part series on our adventures in England. On our second day in England, which just happened to be Valentine's Day, we visited a small town called Chorley. The Preston Temple is actually in Chorley proper that also borders on the city of Preston. Chorley is the administrative and historic treasure of Lancashire, England. Prehistoric sites find evidence today of a Neolithic settlement that once was there, so Chorley has been around for a very long time. Chorley also has played in the vast history of England over the years. Most of Chorley's historic records begin during the medieval times. 

     One of Chorley's treasures today is St Laurence's Church. This church is the oldest remaining building in Chorley and first appears in historical records when it was dedicated in 1362, though it is believed there was already an earlier Anglo-Saxon chapel on the site. It is believed that the church is named after Saint Laurence, an Irish saint who died in Normandy in the 12th century, whose bones were conveyed to the church by local noble Sir Rowland Standish of Duxbury, an ancestor of Myles Standish, who was an English military officer hired by the Pilgrims as military adviser for their Plymouth expedition to the New World. The Church of England parish church of St Laurence has been a place of Christian worship for over 800 years.

      It is this Standish family that drew me to this chapel! Being of Mayflower descendants myself, I was thrilled to be able to walk through this historic church for myself. While there, I did find several really cool facts that made my visit even more memorable. Let's first learn more about Myles Standish and his influence in the new world.  The long line of Standish family consists of many lords of the Standish Manor of that area starting from 1202-1920, when the last Standish lord of the manor, died. The most famous of the Standish family was Myles Standish (1584-1656).  As previously stated, Myles traveled with the Mayflower pilgrims to be their military advisor in the new world. Myles was also the assistant governor and treasurer of the Plymouth Colony later in his life and died while in office. Though the earlier life of Standish is not well known today, many historians link him to the Standish's in Chorley. It was Myles that made a treaty with the native Indians that blessed the lives of the Mayflower pilgrims. Standish also fought in several small wars to ensure the security of those he served. 

     St Laurence's chapel today stands with three different renovations that can be seen both on the inside and out. Part of the church dates back to the 13th century and the last renovation was completed less than 100 years ago. It is amazing to stand outside where the three renovations meet each other and see how well the pieces fit together. The chapel also displays many amazing  images. I certainly had fun photographing it while there. Let's see some pictures already!!!

What a beautiful small historic chapel. I fell in love with this building as soon as I laid my eyes on it!

Beautiful stained glass windows could be seen from the outside along with really cool medieval images 

I love doors that look like this! I have seen several here while in Ireland and I never get tired of them. These doors have seen a lot of history!

Medieval gargoyles were found on the corners of the older portion of the chapel

I have never seen a sundial mounted on an outside wall of a chapel before. It was so beautiful and it still works when the sun cooperates!

A close-up of the outside windows

These carved faces just fascinate me

A picture of the inside. Look at that ceiling!

A stained glass image of St Laurence

This column is in the oldest portion of the chapel. I really loved being inside this very sacred room. I love the medieval lettering and illumination. Just beautiful!

These are candle holders found in the oldest portion of the chapel. Aren't they awesome!!!

A historic chair from the medieval times

This is the original floor of the chapel dating back into the 13th century. It was so amazing to have the privilege of just standing it's solid stone pieces!

Wow!!! Need I say more!

This is Elder with Joyce Fielding. Joyce is a spunky treasure trove of knowledge about the history of the chapel and of the Standish family

A historic picture of Myles Standish mounted on one of the walls inside

This was cool! This is THE Standish pew. Tradition states that every sabbath, the Standish family  would occupy this box while hearing the word of God

Another view of the chapel inside 

The fairly new organ pipes near one of the stained glass windows.

     By the way, I didn't tell you about the huge heart in caring for others that this little chapel has today. This Christian organization prepares and feeds anyone a lunchtime meal with homemade bake goods daily, who are in need of help, whether they can pay or not. We were invited to stay and share their meal with them. In return, we place a donation in their hands as our support of their goodness. And this is only one of the things they do daily. They certainly live by their religion!!

     After our visit and lunch at St Laurence's, we went over to visit the town's public park, Astley Park. This was a wonderful, huge park with well groomed trails and play areas. At the end of the park lies Astley Hall. This hall/museum is a proud addition to Chorley as it houses the interior of a 17th century home, including many wonderful pieces of original dated artwork. The grounds also have a small manmade lake that certainly adds beauty to the grounds of the hall. 

The gateway into Astley Park

The park has huge fields like this everywhere you look

The children's playground includes a medieval play castle with lots and lots to do inside

The park even has a very, very long zipline. Ok! you guess it! Yes, I had to try it out. It was so great. I almost felt like a kid again!

This is Astley Hall with it's manmade lake

     After the park, we drive to our accommodations at the Preston Temple and then got ready to celebrate our Valentine's Day! I decided that our Valentine's while in England should include a wonderful meal and not Subway! Knowing that our reservation (I was able to get one of the last two for the night), was at 5:00 pm and that the restaurant was only minutes away, we left to share a wonder evening together. Well, after driving for about 30 minutes and never finding the restaurant, I called them and they give us directions of how to find them. Funny, but we drove another 30 minutes before we did pull up into their driveway. I thought that was strange.

Out front of Elliot's Bistro which had amazing reviews and very high marks!

This is what our table looked like that night. So cute, right? I felt so special. Yay for Sister Muirhead!

This was our appetizer, warm pita bread and delicious hummus

My main meal was the most tender, tasty chicken I think I have ever had with amazing roasted vegetables.  It was soooooo good!!!

     It certain was a Valentine's dinner to always remember. And I will never forget our drive back to the temple housing complex because...IT WAS ONLY 5 MINUTES AWAY! I don't know how we drove out so very far away that night. I don't think anyone will ever be able to figure that one out, but it was very strange that we had to exactly drive the same amount of time back to find the place. Oh well! I chalked it up to being able to have more time that night with Elder Muirhead!

     As another week goes by, my service to my God and my personal testimony continues to grow and develop. I am so grateful for our time here in Ireland. It truly has made a difference in my life. I love the church. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so blessed. I know that the Book of Mormon is absolutely true. I know that God is keeping His promises that He made to me before I left the states and I know that He loves me and continues to watch over us. I know better today than at any other time in my life that I can always trust Him in all things. My daily prayer is for Him to care for each of you until we return. May God bless you and shed peace and happiness your way!

Part 3 next week!

     

A Very Special Blessing!!! Part 1

    This week, we had a very special blessing happen in our lives. Before I tell more about our special blessing, I wanted to add some background information from earlier in my life. If you don't already know, I am a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was baptized right after my 17th birthday in 1969. No one else in my family joined the church with me at that time, but I feel like my parents and my Grandfather Wills (my father's father) certainly appreciated the change of heart I received going through the process of conversion. 

Me and my dad! I treasure the very special relationship that we had together

     I mention my Grandfather Wills for a reason. After grandfather's wife died in 1961, he started spending time being interested in genealogy/family history. Not being a member of the church yet, I had no idea that he was actively researching out names of ancestors, let alone what even genealogy/family history meant. Through his years of research, he searched out and made some important connections related to his and his wife's family history. I'm sure that grandfather had a lot of past family history stuffed in his head, but I also know that he had many unanswered questions. One major connection that my grandfather fervently worked on before he died in 1972, was to prove our family's relationship with the Mayflower pilgrims. This, my grandfather not only proved, but he also became a member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, which he was most proud of. My line comes through Sir Isaac Allerton, 3rd signer of the Mayflower Compact and second leader next to William Bradford.

     After my baptism, I was slowly exposed to genealogy and family history. Though I didn't really become active in these areas until after my grandfather died and I ended up at Brigham Young University, I have always remembered my grandfather once telling me of his love and interest in our family history. He told me before his death that a family history tradition past down through the ages in my family was that my Wills line had direct connections to King Richard I, otherwise known as the "Lionhearted". He also told me that he never could find the connection and then told me to find the connection for him. This has always been deep seeded in my heart. What is interesting to me today, is that after King Richard I died, his brother, John, took over the throne. That same King John lived right here in Limerick and the castle literally blocks away from me is, indeed, his castle! Hmmmm, maybe another reason why we were sent here of all places???

     One of the unanswered questions my grandfather had was concerning his grandfather on his father's side. My grandfather wrote in his personal history that he was able to meet his grandfather only once as he accompanied his father to Pennsylvania for a short visit. For some reason my grandfather's dad did not spend time with his own father once they both immigrated to America. The one unanswered question that never got answered before my grandfather died was where his own father came from in England. My grandfather zeroed it down to several small places in Stafford, but was never able to find any documentation. That unanswered question weighed heavy on my heart. I also want to state that my patriarchal blessing speaks concerning the "members of (my) family that have now gone into the spirit world." The blessing continues using these words, "They are looking to you to bring them full salvation." No pressure, right??? Knowing this is one of my earthly charges, I have placed myself anxiously engaged in the work!

     Now shoot forward to 1973. As I said earlier, I applied and was accepted to BYU. When I arrived that fall semester, I was place in a BYU branch. One of my branch counselors, Brother Vail, posed a question to me one day with a bet. He asked me if I would like to join him at the Salt Lake City Family History Center. I said, "no, thank you. I'm the only member of my family in the church and there won't be any records there for me." He said, "I bet you lunch that I can find an ancestor of yours in less than five minutes!" Being the betting person that I am, I responded, "Your on!" Well, we meet in SLC and, yes, he won! He cheated though. He was a seasoned genealogist and tricked me. He never did, though, ask for the lunch I owed him. That day opened my eyes and my heart to the great joy and blessing that comes from doing genealogy/family history research. 

     Well, after years of research and a lot of prayers, I found documentation on the unanswered question for my great grandfather, Joseph Wills. He was born in Tipton, Staffordshire, England in 1854. I also have found several other important documents for this Joseph, including his marriage record, information on his children never well known before and other critical info up to the end of his life. I know that my grandfather is very thrilled about this accomplishment. Unfortunately, that Joseph had no real information about his earlier life. In time, I was able to found information on his father, another Joseph Wills (1831). After that name became public, no further info appeared for years, until I found his marriage certification on an index and sent away for the copy. I will never forget opening that piece of mail and reading that his father's name was William Wills (1805)! I cried.

Jospeh Wills (1854) and his dad, Joseph (1831), both from England

     Now, like millions of other people, I am slowly trying to keep going back and back to make the family connections needed to complete my family line. As I have done this research, I have also been able to take each of these names to have temple ordinances done, and in doing so, have felt inexpressible joy for each and every one of these family members. Having that level of joy felt for every name completed has been worth more than any earthly payment that I know of. Well, just after Christmas this year, I was blessed again. Hold onto that thought!

     In mid January of this new year, our Limerick branch Relief Society President, Sister Jackson, announced that she wanted to arrange a temple trip for any sister who would like to go. If you will remember or for those who don't, my friend, Sister Smirnoff, months ago told me that she desired to return to the temple after not attending for a time. After she told me her desire, I responded that I wanted that exact same thing for her too. From September 2022 on, we often talked about the temple and by October, she announced that she made a personal change and was one step closer to going again! Woot, woot!

     Elder and I were told in the beginning of our mission that we would not be able to go to the temple here unless we were to be invited by a branch member and could get permission from both our mission president and our area seventy. Knowing that, I quickly asked both Sister Smirnoff and Sister Jackson if they would invite us. DONE!!! So, of course I desperately wanted to be with Sister Smirnoff in the temple as she renewed her sacred covenants, but I also personally wanted to go to the temple because of the blessing I received just after Christmas. On that day in December as I opened my laptop, I had a notification from FamilySearch with names were now ready for temple ordinance work. When I opened the email, I started crying again (yeah, I cry a lot!). The names that were listed in front of me were for William Wills (1764) and his wife, Ann Sweet Racker (1776), the parents of William (1805). To me, that was a miracle!

     So here is what our special blessing was as mentioned in the beginning of this blog. Last Monday, Elder Muirhead and I flew to Manchester, England in preparations to go to the Preston England Temple.  With us, we took my precious fourth great grandparent's names, who both lived and died in England, to a temple that sits on English soil. We also had the privilege to perform all of their temple ordinances from baptism to sealing in the same day. Is that just amazing??! I never ever thought that we would be able to go to the temple while serving here and even more so, to take names from my family with us. This will always be the crowning event of my mission while here in Ireland!

William Wills and Ann Sweet Racker. These certainly are "sweet" ancestors!

     From the church's website, "The Preston England Temple was announced in October 1992 General Conference by President Hinckley and was dedicated in June 1998. Located in Northern England, north of Liverpool and Manchester, the Preston England Temple anchors an extensive Church complex that includes a stake center, missionary training center, family history center, distribution center, patron housing facility, and temple missionary accommodations. Decorating the manicured grounds are mature trees, flower gardens, and a pair of reflection pools near the entrance. The Preston England Temple was the sixth temple built in Europe and the second built in the United Kingdom, following the London England Temple (1958)." Also, I think all of you back in Utah where temples are so easily accessed, need to know that it took many hundreds of Euros/GBP and over ten hours of travel time for us just get to the Preston England Temple and back from Limerick, Ireland. All worthy Irish members certainly sacrifice a great deal to come to the temple of the Lord. Now for some pictures of the Preston England Temple! 

Sister Smirnoff and I standing in front of the temple. Isn't she so cute. And look at the light shining from her eyes!!! Such joy!

The main temple gate

The is housing building for patrons of the temple. We had very nice accommodations that were comfortable and functional for our use. Two nights here only cost us 34 British pounds total!

This is the MTC on the temple grounds

They have a beautiful garden walkway that goes from the patron housing right to the temple

This is the last arch of the garden walkway as you near the temple front doors. So beautiful!

     I would be totally ungrateful if I didn't publicly thank my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus The Christ. It is because of Their great love for the children of men that we could even have had this blessing of being proxy for these two Wills ancestors. Starting right from Ann's baptism, my heart swelled with love and the greatest of joy, which is what I testify was Ann's same feelings at that very moment. I stood in awe knowing that so many of my ancestors have had to wait patiently for me, some for hundreds of years, to be able to have this most important earthly work done on their behalf. And, then, not being able to progress or join the other members of their family must have been of greatest sorrow to each of them as they had to wait.  

     I loved the actuality of knowing that after Ann (and William) was baptized under proper priesthood authority, that she (he) could quickly progress in both preparation and knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Having the greatest privilege of being her earthly proxy and to feel her continuation of joy and comfort gave me so much joy and comfort also. I can't tell you how many times I felt of her feelings that day. As Elder Muirhead and I knelt a little closer to heaven in obedience and humility, joined together as one, I, once again, was overcomed with not only the Spirit of the Lord, but of this couple's great joy and love that they have for one another as they were finally sealed together forever. God be praised for His amazing plan of salvation and His precious Son that makes the plan all possible!

 

Approaching the front

The grounds crew is just beginning to plant flowers all around

The side of the temple with the Moroni tower above

This is the right side of the temple with sun, moon and star symbols

This is the back of the temple. From the inside first floor, this is the chapel window and on the second floor, the same pattern exists and is the back wall of the celestial room

From the side while the sun was out

From the side while the moon was out

The temple at night

Moroni calling all to come and be saved

The beautiful Preston England Temple 

     I will always feel the greatest of joy as I think of this temple. Always! What blessing can be greater than allowing the atonement of Jesus Christ be in full force for my precious family. Great blessings are also mine as I participate in the gathering of Israel as an authorized servant of God on both sides of the vail. Oh, how I love William and Ann Wills. 

     Feeling their immense joy while in the house of the Lord was so sweet and I felt them near me more than just once that day. Now my charge is to continue to be faithful and endure to the end so that I can join them in the courts above with all my family surrounding me, both past and present. The Doctrine and Covenants states in Section 18:15-16, "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!" This scripture saids it all for me at this time.

     As I end this week's sacred experience, I want to bear witness that God, our Father, lives. My heart swells with emotions as I think of my Savior, Jesus Christ, and all that He has and will still do for me. I truly stand all amazed! I am so, so grateful for sacred temple ordinances and the power of the priesthood that binds families together forever. Like President Holland said, "I wouldn't know how to speak of heaven, without my husband or my children (or my ancestors or my descendants). It would not be heaven for me." I'm so grateful that heaven is eternal and that Jesus Christ has shown me to path to return there one day to live with Him and my family forever. 

Next week...part 2!

Another Week Gone By!

      I think one of the hardest things I do every week is come up with a title for the week's current blog. You would think that I could be so much more creative than I am tonight. I will think a little harder as I finish this blog and see what I can come up with. It just dawned on me that you wouldn't know if I even change this week's title. Duhhhh! I"m the only one would know that. Well, for sure, now I'm going to keep you all guessing!!

     Last Sunday, Elder and I drove to the Limerick train station to pick up Elder Petrovey and his new companion, Elder Jakko, (pronounced Yakka) after church. Elder Jakko will spend his last 6 weeks here in Limerick with us before he goes home. It is always amazing to me how the young missionaries here can immediately love their new companions like they do. These two zone leaders are already the best of friends and work very well together. 

Elder Petrovey on the left and Elder Jakko on the right

     On Monday of this week, we, again, had our weekly YSA FHE. After doing this for just over 6 months, it has been getting harder and harder to come up with ideas. I have asked several times for several of our YSAs if they would do a lesson, but no one has ever done one yet. I'm so hopeful that in the next couple of weeks that the branch will re-organize the YSAs with new leadership and that they will take over. We will always want to be a support to them. I love the YSAs! So, for this week, I came up with a fun idea. I decided to make a big bowl of homemade cookie dough and let each YSA decorate their own cookies. Boy, you should have seen them go. I certainly giggled as I watched some of them decorate their cookies with the finest details. While the cookies were baking, we all took turns talking about our mothers. It was sweet! And so was the milk and cookies finale!

Here I am cutting up a delicious peanut mixture. You can also see that I supplied them with chunky chocolate, chocolate chips, brownie M&Ms and other goodies!

Here is one plate of freshly baked cookies waiting for the cold milk to get passed around the table

       On Tuesday, our district, minus the zone leaders, meet for our weekly missionary district training meeting. The Sligo sisters were available by a zoom chat. We had a wonderful spiritual thought given by Sister Blake and a good discussion of how we can help new friends come closer to Christ in their individual lessons from each of the missionaries. Elder Nelson, our district leader, also surprised us with his homemade peanut butter cookies, which were pretty good, I might add. Elder and I were also able to give the Galway sisters needed supplies for their flat that will make their daily lives better, including a new pillow to sleep on!! Later that evening, Elder and I met with our Limerick branch presidency correlation meeting. Our new branch president certainly has a defined path that he would like to see all of the branch's members incorporate. 

     Wednesday morning, Elder and I went back to the chapel to meet with our branch's family history expert, Sister Rose Elder. Though I know much about doing family history and genealogy, I barely know anything about Irish family documents and history, so I was so glad for her expertise and her good advice! In preparation for our meeting that morning, I opened both FamilySearch and Ancestry.com the night before to see where we might want to zero in on Elder Muirhead's John Hall family. I was pleasantly surprised to find to new addition to the Hall family line in documentation. The Hall line is the main line that lived in Northern Ireland and is also the ancestors that we plan to find in St. John's Church graveyard in Fivemiletown, Tyrone, Northern Ireland in another month or two. 

     As I was searching around on ancestry.com, one of John (1851) and Jane/Jennie Walker Hall's son, Robert (1889), had a principle documentation appear. Jane/Jennie Hall was John's Hall's second wife. His first wife died after giving birth to their fourth child. What I found on ancestry.com was a 1920 passport issued to Robert Hall loaded with important information and his photo! For you who may not know, the 1920 US passport became the first worldwide standardized passport ever. Little did they know that this edition was to become a huge blessing of recording genealogical information like never before. I certainly thought that this find was a great blessing to our family. Here is Robert Hall's photo and signature.

Robert Hall's photo and signature 

     Later that night, we also attended a gospel lesson for the Bolivian sisters and then participated in the weekly English connect class. The next day was a study day for me to prepare for the weekly Book of Mormon class that I teach. I like to study for one or two hours and then go for a walk. Well, that day I went for a super long walk.....why?, because I needed to teach two Isaiah chapters! Look at what my little feet accomplished!

Yeah, over 14,000 steps!

          I also saw a rowing boat club preparing to practice their coordinated skills on that same walk. Here in Ireland, next to such a great river, many of the rowing clubs are training the youth to compete. Even on cold damp days, these determined youth will brave the weather to go out to practice again. Here are some pics.

A youth team carrying down a boat

Stepping into a boat and fastening the oars

and off they go!

     On Friday, I taught the weekly Book of Mormon class. We talked about the importance of Moses and Isaiah in the Old Testament and also the importance of using the Book of Mormon to study and better understand Isaiah. The class provided good participation and I feel like we all benefited from that lesson, especially me! Elder and I spent time on Friday night and Saturday morning/afternoon enjoying having contact with several family members. No one needs to convince me how amazingly great our children and grandchildren are. We feel more than super blessed to share our lives with them! I did take three additional photos as seen below.

This sweet pigeon was just waiting for me to take its picture as it posed on one of the narrow war windows of King John's castle.

We were also invited to the Murphy home for dinner this week. Sister Murphy is also from the same area of Finland as is Elder Jakko. They had a great time talking in Finnish with each other

Sister Murphy went all out to make us an amazing dessert. She saw it earlier this week on the Ireland version of the Today Show and thought that she would give it a try. Yeah...WOW!!!

     For this week's blog, I thought that it would be fun to present a deeper photo study of Limerick's perpetual weekend Milk Market experience. Limerick's Milk Market has certainly evolved over time to what it is today. "The Milk Market is the oldest weekly market in the country. The quadrangle was built in 1792 as an extension to the old city walls and has served as the hub for the sale of local produce ever since. The site, while steeped in local history, has a completely modern ambiance bridging the oldest of traditions with modern elegance."

     "In the heart of Limerick City every weekend for over 150 years the weekly cycle continues with the freshest of produce arriving from land and sea for the people of Limerick city, County Limerick. Over three days the Market changes faces with a Friday, Saturday and Sunday market." Some people would even argue that the Milk Market is one of the oldest markets in Europe. The market is certainly one of the big selling points for the city of Limerick. So what's so awesome about this market that makes it such a huge part of Limerick's weekend life and brings so many people from all over the countryside together? Let's take a look through my photographs.

Only one old street sign on the Main Street directs you to the Milk Market, but everyone here knows the way

This is a outside picture of the large tent that covers much of the market

Here is a picture of some of the many little tents with wares to sell and the musicians that provide outside entertainment

One of the main entrances to get inside the tented part of the market

When you see this sign, you know that you have arrived!

They have stuff for everybody...children...

Or for the child within us

Clothing both factory manufactured or handmade

Beautiful fresh flowers (and nice photograph too!)

Lots of tools of every kind for every project

Fresh fruits and vegetables. Really...some of those carrots are freshly picked...dirt and all!

Fresh fish right from the ocean

Local plants for any early bird gardeners that want to get a jump on planting

So I got a little hungry while walking around and tried out this pretty, but not so Mexican tasting street taco

Big crowds of people. Notice there are even more up on the balcony near the edge of the tent

More music. This group of lads are playing traditional Irish music. I loved to listen to them!

This sweet, older man can sure create some of his own beautiful Irish music

Let's keep going! There are more treasures to see!!

Yeah! European delight!!! Look at the Cannoli!!

Sweets, sweets and more sweets!

Homemade marmalade in every flavor possible

Irish honey. Notice the different colors with its different flavors and richness!

Say cheese please!!!!

Freshly home baked breads and scones

Amazing breadsticks!

Dried meats like salami and other dried meat delights

Right off the farm, fresh Irish meats-all organic!

Lots of eateries with fantastic snacks or meals for sell

Homemade soaps of every scent! I didn't include all the handmade jewelry, artwork, crafts and paintings done by some amazing local artist. I probably still missed many, many more items.

The Milk Market really is an incredible adventure every weekend!

     Wow! That was a really fun blog to put together. I really like Limerick. I know without any doubt that Limerick was exactly where we needed to serve. I am so very grateful for God's blessings in our lives!

     This week, as I end my blog, I want to testify of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Since I have been teaching weekly from this amazing book, I truly have come closer to my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I can't imagine what my life would even be like without the great Godly influence that this book has had on me. The more I deeply study and feast upon the words of this book, the more and more I love the Lord, the more I want to serve others and the more I want to keep my covenants. I absolutely love the plainness of its teachings. I love how simply I can get answers and revelation from Him who knows me the very best. It is truly amazing that if I will simply ask of God in prayer, knocking at His door (which is always open) and stand still to see His hand in my life, that I can become so much more than I could become by myself. The gospel is as easy as "Come follow me" and, oh, what blessings will be yours for doing so! I am so blessed both temporally and spiritually! Hallelujah!! See you next week.