First weekend in London

Louis Armstrong had it right when he said "and i think to myself what a wonderful world." Everyday that song has popped into my head as i have been walking around London, looking at sites, observing British culture, meeting strangers and sharing a townhouse with 40 girls.

My weekend started off rather bleak to say the least. On Friday we had to complete 3 walks. When we left our house around 9 it had just started to rain. I brought my umbrella but my shoes were already mopping up the rain by the time we got to the train station. Our first walk was long, but the second even longer. It took us downtown by St. Paul's, by the Tower Bridge and down the Thames River. It would have been cool if it wasnt raining but the wind was horrendous and my body was shivering because of the bitter cold. We stopped by the Globe Theatre and then came home. By that time it was 4 and so I had to hurry and meet Stuart. He and I took a quick stroll down Hyde Park right by my house and then by Kensington Gardens. I think that night we just stayed in and watched "Arrested Development."

As a result of Friday's rainy day excursion, I woke up Saturday morning with a cold and cough. Not fun. I still had 3 walks to complete.The weather yesterday was gorgeous so we all got Starbucks and walked around the Thames again and down the theater district where tons of plays are shown and we walked through Covent Gardens, which is like a Third Street Promenade but 50 times more classy. That's one thing about England, everything/one is so classy and polite. Its amazing. I met up with Stuart again yesterday and we went to Buckingham Palace where the Queen lives. The changing of the guards was earlier that day around 11, so we missed it but it was still ridiculously awesome. Then my friend and I went to H&M, spent some money, and went out to dinner with a group of us. We're starting to know our way around the tube a lot better now so we decided to go down to Leicester Square (the theater district) and found a random little fish n chips restaurant, which actually turned out to be pretty good. After that we just kinda walked around. Shops in London close at 8 everyday, which is really early, so we just came home after that.

Today was the best day of the week. Each of us girls got assigned to a local family ward. Me and 4 other girls were assigned to the Stratford Ward, which was an hour and a half away. We took the underground as far as we could, then we had to hop on a train. Our ward started at ten. When we got to the building the bishop was outside waiting for us. When we got in there were only maybe 10 people in the congregation. As the meeting continued more came in until the chapel was full. The talks were both amazing. They weren't any different than anything that I heard before, but it was great to know that the church is the same no matter where you go. The first speaker was a woman who talked about service. The last speaker was a young man from Ghana. He did a fabulous job and i really felt the spirit. I'd say about 95% of the ward was African. After Sacrament meeting I got up to meet with the Bishop and i turned around and there was Pat Beta!!! Parker kept telling me to look out for him and i thought no way, thats ridiculous. London is HUGE, yet on my first Sunday in the ward that I was called to there he was!! So we chatted for a bit. I get to see him every week until he's transferred. That was really cool. The Bishop assigned me to Primary so I start teaching next week. Today I was in the Nursery since the leader didnt show up. There was only one little boy but he was super cute! There is just such a spirit there. The Holy Ghost just kept re-iterating to me that the church is true. It changes peoples lives, and it especially changed mine today. One our way home we were riding on the tube and a small family got on with 2 children. The Dad was holding the little girl and the mom had a baby in the stroller. The train started to move and a man gave up his seat so the parents could sit down with their children rather than stand. I have noticed that many times. People are so courteous here and extremely polite and mannered. It's witnessing those small acts of kindness that change my life, whether they are given to me or i just observe them, they still warm my heart. It has been a great experience being here so far.