All of us have been divided up into different wards through out London. I was assigned the London North Ward. It starts at 10 and were told it was about an hour away so we left by 9. I should have known better to give ourselves more time, but we didn't. So we got to the bus stop at 9 and the bus was late. And then we got to the tube station, hopped on and then got off at our stop to switch to another train. We waited at that stop for about 15 minutes and then decided we would ask somebody. So I went and asked the helper who told me that they were doing construction on that track for the day, so we would need to take a bus. He told us to take Bus B. We took Bus B to our stop, got off and then waited another 15 minutes for yet another late bus. That bus ride was another 30 minutes. We then missed our stop and had to backtrack back to the chapel but we made it! Finally! And we were only 55 minutes late! It had taken us a whole 2 hours to get to church!
The ward was amazing! As we sat down for sunday school and older woman came up to us and asked our names. She asked if we were with the BYU group and when we said we were she took our faces in her hands and said how much she loved us. She was so sweet, but we were all taken aback! She then told us that last year, when she was serving in primary, her helper was sick and she was on her own with an abnormally large group and was feeling really overwhelmed and stressed when she asked the BYU girls to help out and they did. Such a simple thing but it had made such a great impression on that lady!
Church is very different there, as I imagine it is in any place other than Ashland, Oregon but I absolutely loved it! The people of the ward were so welcoming and seeming to be honestly overjoyed to have us there. On only our first day 5 of us were given callings and 2 were asked to speak in church! You could tell that they really needed the help and we were truly glad to give it. The people seemed to be so open as well, talking freely of the things which the had previously or currently struggled with and the others not only listened but were sympathetic and would speak of their own trials. It seemed to be a really great feeling of community and I felt as if I began to understand the whole "ward family" thing a little bit more-because they really did seem to be a family.
The room in which we had relief society was tiny. There were probably 50 of us in there, and I'm sure we were exceeding the maximum occupancy! They also do not have air conditioning in most buildings and so with that many warm bodies in there it heated up quickly! But the lesson was incredible!
After church we had to take a different route home as more of the tube stops were being closed down as the day went on. On the way back we ended up taking 6 busses and 2 trains. It took us a whopping 2.5 hours! Nuts!
Later on we had a fireside by the stake president. He was incredible. He was probably in his mid 30's and had been in the stake presidency for 10 years! He was a really great speaker and really touched me. He encouraged us to make ourselves better while we were here, to leave behind those things which we had struggled with at home and to leave London better than when he arrived. He counseled us to take time to ourselves where we would not only be able to think and to foster and grow our testimonies but to grow to know ourselves better. It was actually really inspiring despite how hokey I seem to be making it sound! haha
Then just a little while ago I was able to skype with one of my friends from BYU. She opened her mission call and was called to Washington!
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