Finally!!!! Part 3 of Our Trip To England

      Before I entertain you with the end of my part 3 series to England, I, again, like last week, will start off by telling you about our last week's missionary activities. Let's start on Sunday, February 26th!

     We had a wonderful day at church on Sunday. We had 3 speakers, including one of our YSAs, Camilla. Camilla and her sister, Barbara, are from Brazil and are here to learn English. Camiila has been here longer and though her English isn't perfect, it is quite understandable. Way to go!! She talked about service to others. I was so proud of her. Later that evening, found us at the Faloon's home for a fantastic dinner and a long lesson on the restoration of the gospel. 

     Sister Faloon is our branch pianist and also is in the YWs program. She is also in her last semester at college earning a lawyer's degree. Her husband currently helps in the YMs program. They are both so wonderful. Brother Faloon was born in Australia and Sister Faloon is from New Zealand. We have had 3 meals now at the Faloon's home and I can honestly say that she is an amazing cook! Her desserts are unbelievable! She made us baked chicken drumsticks with mixed vegetables and potatoes. Wow!!! Her chicken was the tastiest drumsticks I have ever had....EVER! She then served us chocolate lava cake that sent my heart to the moon and back. I felt so very special and well blessed after that meal.

     After dinner, the 4 of us retired to their living room to watch a power point about the restoration of the gospel. During our presentation, I was able to show them some meaningful artifacts related to the restoration. They both stated afterwards how much they loved our presentation and the feelings of the spirit that they felt. Believe me, it was certainly our pleasure to spend that time with them and give them additional knowledge of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here is a photo of us.

The Faloon's

     On Monday, our YSAs joined us for another game night. Isabella, Camilla and her sister, Barbara, brought the desserts. Camilla and Barbara brought some tasty Brazilian bread and Isabella made us homemade brigadeiros, which is a traditional dessert in their country. Isabella said that they are very easy to make and VERY TASTY!!! She made 3 different types, milk chocolate, original and dark chocolate. Yum! Now about our game night.

     We, again, played Jenga, which we all love. We have had so many laughs in the past while playing this game, but Monday night topped them all. Let me tell you why. On the third try of our first round, Elder Petrovey's turn came up and while removing the piece he chose, the tower crumbled in his hands. You could see how hurt his feelings were. We quickly set up a new round of play. This time I suggested that Elder Petrovay start the game to earn back some confidence. Certainly he would find success being the first to start. Believe it of not, as his was removing the very first piece, the whole tower  fell down again. Don't ask me how that even happened, because I don't have any clue.  There was literally no reason. I thought he was going to cry. Seriously!

     So, after setting up the game again, we all told Elder Petrovey that he needed to start the next round first. He was so nervous. Literally his hand was just shaking, but he successfully removed the first Jenga. We all stood up and applauded him. He was quite embarrassed. As we continued to play, we all took turns over and over again while going around in a circle, each one of us being very successful, even against all odds. We even saw miracles while playing. There were several successful moves that can't be explained. We grew that tower up and up to thirty-three levels. We all thought that that was pretty good for us collectively. By then, the tower was very shaky and had many, many holes in the original construction. Take a look:

On this try, I captured the tower swaying, but when the Jenga block would not move, the tower swayed right back into place. By the way, that is Elder Petrovey in the background

If you look in the middle, 3/4 up, that is Isabella looking at me through a hole of the structure

Here is Matheus, Isabella's brother, and her putting their heads (literally) together for his next move

This is how many holes there were and how tall the structure got in that last round. It took us almost 25 minutes to play that round. 

     Ok! Everybody was very nervous to play when their last turn came up! Poor Elder Muirhead's hands shake a little anyways, so he was especially on alert. I was very surprised when he successfully pulled his Jenga block out. Next turn fell on me. I have to admit, I, too, had pretty shaky hands on that turn. Everyone was giving me their individual advice on what I should do, which was totally different from the person next to them. Thanks a lot, right???? I don't know how it was done, but I successfully got my Jenga block out too. Camilla, next to me, picked a edge block and quickly flicked it out faster that you can say "boo"! She was also successful with her turn. That very gutsy move was totally awesome!

     Next turn was Barbara's and she studied and studied until she picked a block and very slowly and carefully (not like her sister) pulled her block away in success. Then the lot fell on Isabella. She really didn't have much to choose from, but bless her cute little heart. At least she tried. In the picture below, you can see her result. That whole tower of blocks completely fell on the top of her head. I can honesty say that she really "got into" her turn! And look at Elder Petrovey in the background. He is not even breathing!!! It was so, so funny!!

TIMBER!!!!!!

This are the brigadeiros that Isabella made for us. Super yummy

Our YSAs! From left to right, front row: Me, Isabella, Camilla and Barbara. Back row: Elder M, Elder Jakka, Elder Petrovey and Matheus

     The next day, we started Tuesday morning off in a zoom district training meeting. This week we studied and discussed in Preach My Gospel family history and temples. I can't tell you how thrilling it was to hear those young missionaries, some of them still teenagers, express their great love and gratitude for temples and temple worship. After dinner, Elder and I had a zoom meeting for our monthly senior missionary's FHE. The lesson was given by the Colton's and they provided us with a challenging trivia game about the subject love, which actually surprised me. Oh! Earlier that day, as I was out and about that last day of February, a large private boat was noted on the River Shannon. Really??? Out boating in winter! That's crazy!

Boating in February! I'm sure they made several people who witnessed this very jealous

     On Wednesday, we had to excuse ourselves from our weekly evening missionary work as Elder and I went out to celebrate his up coming birthday. Many months ago, I purchased tickets to go to the University or Limerick's concert hall to see the Ukrainian National Ballet Company perform Swan Lake. They were very good and their costumes were beautiful. They surprised the audience after they took their last bows and brought out 2 Ukrainian flags and sang their national anthem for us. We were all on our feet, giving them our heartfelt support.

This was the company's principle dancer

    Thursday, I spent the day getting ready for the weekly Book of Mormon class and we also had a wonderful meal with another one of our branch members, Gemma Graham and family. She is originally from the Philippines, but has lived in Ireland for 20 years. She is a young widow with 2 young adults. She, too, has become a treasured friend here for me. She made us homemade spring rolls and a traditional Philippine dinner, which was divine! Our branch's Book of Mormon class was held again Friday evening with 5 in attendance. We had a great discussion on how we can apply the Isaiah chapters in the Book of Mormon personally to ourselves. Then we ended our week on Saturday by driving one hour plus away to Galway to help the young sister missionaries move to a newer flat across town. We spent almost 10 hours with them, not only moving and shopping for extra supplies, but Elder and I stayed until their kitchen was completed and their beds were assembled. 

The wonderful Gemma Graham 

     Now for the last part of our recent trip to England. Besides being able to go to the Preston Temple to bless my ancestors, our first day in England will always hold a special place in my heart. I actually felt like a teenager again for a couple of hours that day, but let's start at the beginning. The day before our trip started, Elder had a swollen and sore right foot. By early Monday morning, he was really struggling. When we reached the airport, the staff offered him a wheelchair, which he took and it really helped him. Our flight on the Irish airlines, Ryan Air, was great and once landed, we shuttled over to our rental car. While waiting for the car, I walked to a nearby pharmacy and got Elder some Ibuprofen. Taking that really helped him too, not only that morning, but for the rest of our trip.

Our plane

Welcome to Manchester, England!

A familiar Old English style building

     We are so grateful for those of you who pray for our safety. After picking up the rental car, not 10 miles away from the agency, the car's tire warning light turned on. Nothing we did helped for very long. Not only did this warning light appear more than once, by we also experienced three separate times with the car's steering wheel being jerked hard to the left by itself. Elder drove with a "death grip" after those events, not knowing when the next one was to come. We finally stopped at a service station and put additional air in the front left tire, after the tire gauge stated it only had 22 pounds, which is really low. That action stopped both the tire warning light to ever come back on and also stopped the jerking of the steering wheel. Thank you for your prayers. 

     Our first destination that day was to Liverpool, England. Ever since February 9, 1964, as 12 years old, I have always hoped that I could get there one day. For those of you that are around my age, that night of all nights, was the first U.S. performance of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. I can still remember that night and my heart couldn't be happier. My parents always watched the Ed Sullivan Show. It was a Sunday night tradition. Well, on this night, I was sitting in my parent's living room, probably only inches away from our TV set, one hour before the program even started. I told my mother that I wasn't hungry when she served dinner that night. I just wanted to see the Beatles! That was all I wanted. And I was NOT disappointed. My father, though, would not let me scream that night, but, boy, I wanted to!!! Here is a link for the memorable evening:

https://fb.watch/j25yy5K-aT/

     Just like thousands of teenage girls from almost around the world, I certainly fell in love with the Beatles at that age. I loved their music. It certainly was so very different and so new; more than any other sound out there at that time. I loved their professionalism. I loved their clothes, their haircuts, even their shoes. My favorite Beatle was Paul. I loved his smile and he always seemed so happy and full of life. To prove to you all how deep my feelings are now for the "Fab 4", I still own my original Beatle cards that I collected back then (60 years ago). I would ask my parents for extra jobs around the house to earn money so that I could go to the local 5 and 10 cent store to buy more cards. 

     You always had to take a chance when you bought those cards, because sometimes you might get the same card over and over again. I remember I would pray that I could get all new cards every time. After paying for my purchase, I would open up the package, throw the stupid piece of bubble gum that was  inside with the cards away and hug my new set of cards to my chest while walking home. At school, many girls would gather in a certain spot and trade their cards back and forth until the bell rang. I wasn't quite that crazy. I did buy many of their single records whenever possible and also owned several albums.

     I actually learned how to play the drums because of the Beatles. My dad had 2 stools to sit on in our basement and one padded vinyl chair with a back rest. I tore apart one of his stools and used 2 matching horizontal pieces of wood to make a pair of (fat) drum sticks and then I would beat that vinyl chair to death while playing along with a record. Well, after I tore apart the second stool and was taping together the vinyl chair pieces on a daily basis, my dad asked me if I wanted a drum set. You can imagine how excited I was when he asked me that! 

     I found and purchased, with the help of my dad, a used set that I played on for years. In fact, I played it so much that, in time, I had to fix most of the metal legs on the set regularly, because I would beat that thing over and over for hours at a time. My father, being the smart man that he was, realized by then that this was not going to be just a passing fad of mine. I was getting better and also started playing in a few local bands often. For my 16th birthday, my dad picked me up that afternoon and told me that he wanted to take my out for a car drive. We ended up at a music store downtown that had the my "dream-come-true" new drum set in the front window. My dad looked at me and said, "Let's go!" When we got to the door and tried to open it, the store was locked. It just happened to be closed that day. I thought that I was going to die! Fortunately, we went back the next day to an "open" store and this little drummer brought home the best birthday gift ever!

     For the next 15 years or so, I played my drums as much as I could and played in many rock bands over those years. I was told by many people in the audience, that "for a girl", I was pretty good. I never believed that, because I had witnessed for myself that I could actually play just as well as most of the local male drummers in town. Being the only female drummer on stage in the western part of New York State, believe me, I was seen by many audiences. That was always one of the selling points with any band that I played with. 

     My favorite drumming memory was the day that the band that I was then playing with in high school competed in a "battle of the bands " in front of the whole high school. The best local band played just before we did. They were VERY good anytime they performed. That's why they were considered the best! Of course, after their performance the audience went nuts. My band members, including myself, were very intimidated, but it was our turn. We told each other in my band before we went on that we just needed to do our best, and boy, we did. By the time we finished the couple songs we played, the audience was screaming ten times louder and chanting our band name over and over. In the end, my band won!!! To me, that was one of my greatest accomplishments.

Yeah, that's me on stage performing!!

    Ok, back to Liverpool, England and my "turned teenager again" experience. Well, in Liverpool (of course!) they house the largest Beatles museum in the world. So knowing what you already know about me, do you think I would finally make it to Liverpool and NOT go to this museum? I guess you already know the answer!! And what an awesome museum it was! I loved it. The funny thing about it is that I couldn't get Elder Muirhead to even walk through it a little faster. I was greatly surprised that he stopped at every display there and studied everything. Ok! Here comes a lot of pictures! Ready???

This is the front of the museum. It's called the Beatles Story

These is the original marketing display for their second movie "Help!" It was so cool to actually stand in front of this display in real life

The earliest photo of John and Paul playing together even before the Beatles were a reality. They were called the Quarrymen and the photo was taken in 1957

This IS George Harrison's first guitar. He got it when he was 12 years old

This is a rare find. It's an original single cut radio recording that promoters were using over the radio waves trying to sell the Beatles to the world. This is also rare because both Paul and Ringo autograph it

An early promotion photograph of the "Fab 4"

This is an original poster from the Cavern, the popular night club in Liverpool where the Beatles really got famous

An original photo of the Beatles on stage at the Cavern

This "Cavern" mock stage is found in the museum. The band equipment shown on this stage actually belonged to the Beatles, some being back-up equipment if ever needed

A famous photo of George, Paul and John on stage

A pair of Ringo's drumsticks

Beatle memorabilia that maybe some of you owned at one time

As an young adult, one of my neighbors had one of these sets from her childhood. I thought that was so cool then and felt the same seeing this same set at the museum

A Beatle pillow. I wonder how many teenagers got this as a Christmas gift and then slept with it every night!

This was quite the treasure for me. This is the original music score for the Beatle song "Yesterday". It has Paul's handwriting who claims that he, John and Mozart did the arrangement.

Here is a close-up of the title of Paul's original score

An authentic movie house poster of the Beatles movie "Help!" This was my favorite movie of the four the Beatles produced

Remember this iconic Beatle album cover? Who doesn't!

Here are the uniforms that they wore that day. Amazing!!!

This is the last of the Beatle movies. This one was animated. Did you know that the Beatles made a 4th movie that was a huge flop? Yep! It was called The Magical Mystery Tour

A part of the museum was made to look like the inside of the yellow submarine

More Beatle memorabilia

The museum had a Magical Mystery Tour bas sitting outside to give you a tour

A nice photo of Paul

A famous photo of John Lennon

This was another treasure for my eyes. This is John's orange colored round glasses that he wore towards the end of his life. This was really cool and this display sat in front of a replica of the white Steinway piano that John used in the song, "Imagine". The museum also had John's and Ono's marriage license framed on the wall. 

After we finished with the museum, which sits on the docks of their famous river, I went for a walk. This is a picture of the Mersey River. Gerry and the Pacemakers wrote and produced a song about this river that made it up the music charts back then. I always loved that song, so to stroll on the edge of the Mersey was sweet.

     Well, that was our trip to Manchester, Liverpool and Preston. That trip will always be special to me. It was very enjoyable. I want to close to again declare that I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that God loves  and He knows me and loves me. I witness that the Book of Mormon is true. New evidence is produce almost on a weekly basis. There is no doubt about this book to me. I am so grateful for all of our experiences while serving here in Ireland. The work is hard, but worth it. I will end with a scripture found in John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." May this scripture linger in our hearts this week and give us hope in and through Christ, I pray. And I say this in His Holy name!

     See you next week