WEEK 11: Visit to Preston

September 17 – 23, 2018

Steve and Elder Foy continue to be in high demand for projects all over the farm.  They are a good team and come up with some inventive ways to solve problems.  Their best quality is that they are production oriented and love to complete projects.  Exactly why they are collecting more and more things to add to their to-do list!

Oh!! I learned how the hay/straw gets stacked so high!! I asked one of the farm hands, and he told me (with a straight face) they use a ‘teleporter’!  I KNEW it must be magic! 

Then, on further discussion, I found out that they call those fork lifts that move up and out, teleporters! No ‘beam me up Scotty’ teleporter here.  😢

This week was wet and extremely windy so the guys couldn’t put the tile on the weight station bridge roof they have been working on, but they purchased materials and are ready to move forward when the weather breaks.  They insulated water pipes and replaced the lock at the Hungary Hall electrical substation, pulled the leaking rear seal on the Hinomoto tractor, replaced the chain saw gas line, sharpened the chain, got my John Deere tractor tire replaced, (which had an untimely death while I was riding it) then they made a temporary repair on one of the shed roofs at Moat Farm and repaired and strengthened the sprayer platform on the Kabota tractor, and found materials, cut them out, and applied the first coat of paint to sign boards needed at each farm for notices and deep water warning.  It was a busy week!

Sister Foy and I have finished our other projects and are back to mowing the lawns around all of the farm’s housing areas.  With the “unseasonably warm “ weather all summer, the grass growth has slowed way down so we haven’t had as much to do! We have been getting moisture lately so it’s been growing again! We mowed 5 farms, and somehow I got a flat tire on my tractor. 
The places we mow are so bumpy that I didn’t even notice till I was done, and ruined my poor tire! ☹️ So we couldn’t mow the last 2 days. But that was ok, because with all of the new housing renovations going in, the Elders have been involved with a lot of soil preparation for new lawns. They have been doing a good job with equipment available but Steve found a reasonably priced, used rotavater (rototiller) that would be a great help to their projects, in Preston. So, we had to go to Preston to pick it up.  Since we were in the area, we also did a temple session and did the work for a relative from England! So we brought her back ‘home’ to do her work!  

We spent the night at temple accommodations, which is a service available for out-of-town guests, and was only 24 pounds for the night.

 Near the temple is a restaurant called Goodwin’s where we stopped for lunch prior to the temple session.  It was delicious food for a reasonable price, so we went back for dinner!  The same cute waiter was there, and we enjoyed talking to him about America and President Trump!  On Saturday, we had a good time going on the church history tour of Preston. We visited the place where Gordon B Hinckley stayed, and also walked to the River Ribble, where the first saints in England were baptized.  I could feel the Spirit really strong in the square where the missionaries stood to share the Gospel with those early saints. It was so sweet.

We planned to tour Liverpool on our way home, to see where our ancestors from that area set sail for America.  We stopped at the Liverpool Costco for lunch and a little shopping, then walked to the docks but couldn’t find a parking place.  A parking garage wouldn’t work because the rotavator’s length necessitated leaving the tailgate down, so we looked for a parking structure.  Then there appeared to be some type of large organized march, rally or protest going on, closing streets where we could have parked.  We tried to get around it but finally gave up and just called it a day. We were a bit tired anyway from all of the walking!!  We were disappointed, but we will experience the sights at Liverpool another day. 

Sundays are always fun for us, as Steve and I co-teach the 10-12 yr olds for primary, and we are studying the Old Testament right now. And I volunteered to lead the music 🎶, since they didn’t have a Primary chorister, so I’m loving that!! We have 22 kids. They are so cute!!! After the meeting block, we both attended choir practice as Sister Hubbard specifically invited Us to participate.  We are beginning to practice for Armistice Sunday.  All the churches in England have a big celebration on the Sunday closest to November 11th and ours is no exception! We love the great people we work with here!!