Thankful for.....

All mission conferences,

marvelous missionaries,

Murals on buildings......

Night sky that is breathtaking.......

Old buildings covered with foliage.....

Flowers in the back yard that change every few weeks......

Fresh dried clothes blowing in the wind.......

Orange poppies......

A good husband, friend and companion! Happy Father's day Birch!

Missing my dad and Birch's dad....both wonderful men! Happy Father's Day to you too!!!!

And to my sons....all 5 of them!!!!! and my brother and brother-in-laws, I guess there are lots of good men in my life!!!! Happy Father's Day!!!!!!!

A Trip to The Giant's Causeway

Monday we had a Belfast Zone Activity day! We met at the Newtonabbey Chapel and headed north to The Giant's Causeway! We rode with the McBrides, a new couple that have been here for about 3 weeks. They come from Canada, but were both born and raised in Northern Ireland, so it was a treat to be with them....they knew where we were going and how to get there!!!!

We had a barbecue on the beach with the whole zone. President and Sister Creer came along too.

Elder Holt did most of the cooking while the missionaries enjoyed playing in the sand and running along the beach. They really wanted to go into the water, but you know the rules!

They did have a great time playing American football on the beach.

It was a beautiful beach, a beautiful day and there was lots of good food!

We first went to The Giant's Causeway. The Causeway is an area of approximately 38,000 columns, the result of ancient volcanic activity 60 million years ago. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1986, due to its outstanding geology. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with 4,5,7 and 8 sides. The tallest are about 36 ft. high. As well as columns, many of the rocks have been named due to their shapes and their connections to the Giant Finn MacCool. Legend tells the story of how Finn actually created the Causeway and the stones around it as a challenge to his Scottish rival Benandonner. Every rock tells its unique story.

This is the organ.

Missionaries on top of the rock, President and Sister Creer below!

It was fun to watch them shimmy up there!

Missionaries again on top....they had to be reminded there was no rock climbing down the side!

Elder Watt, for once, taller than Elder Evans!

They all had a great time...this is a close up of the picture below....

The rock formations were pretty amazing.

Elder Ranger walking along the top.

Elder Holt with Elder Fox. There were several groups of children there on field trips! And people from all over the world.

The Giant's Causeway con't....

When we got to the bottom of the trail, there were Elder Watt and Elder Evans at the top of the hill.

This is the large amphitheatre. The Henry's from Omagh were with us. They helped transport the elders that day.

Amazing rock formations!

We didn't walk the trail over to the point this time......

The giant's Granny is walking up this hill.

After we left The Giant's Causeway, we headed for White Sands Beach. On the way we passed the Dunluce Castle. We didn't have time to stop for long. This castle was built right on the cliffs, and legend has it that in 1639, during a storm, the kitchen fell into the ocean, along with many servants.

More of the Causeway....

We were luck to have a beautiful day. There is Scotland on the horizon! It's only about 23 miles away!

Beautiful view, beautiful beaches, but cold water!!!!!!

We went down to a little harbor that Elder McBride used to explore when he was a child. This little cottage has been there for a long, long time. It used to have a thatched roof. There are some large caves to go exploring in right next to this.

Very calm and very beautiful.

We enjoyed the day with the McBrides. We are glad they are here, it's nice to have another "Senior" couple serving in the north with us!

The harbor....

Another wonderful Prep-day! Next time we are taking the McDowell's back so they can enjoy Northern Ireland with us!

Wonderful Weekend

Saturday was a wonderful day. John was baptized! Elder Holt baptized him and Brother Weir confirmed him on Sunday in Sacrament meeting.

We have enjoyed teaching John the gospel. He has a humble spirit and is eager to learn all he can about the gospel. It was a very special evening for all who attended.

Brother John and Brother Donnely, who spoke at the baptism.

Sister Evelyn and her daughter Bette introduced John to the church. They have been great fellowshippers. We have taught John the lessons in their home.

Good friends, our single adult Family Home Evening group....minus a few! It's so nice to see how good the members are to each other. Lots of support to us and to each other! The Portadown Ward is a great place to be serving on a mission!

Happy Birthdays!

Today Jasper is one year old! Happy Birthday Jasper!!! We are so thankful that Jasper is here. He has been through a lot in the last 12 months. He is a pretty special little guy and a joy to have in our family. We are looking forward to the day when we can give him hugs and kisses in person!

It's also Jana's birthday today!!! Happy Birthday Jana!! We love and miss you too!!!! Hope you have a wonderful day!!!! May 19th, a pretty special day for two pretty special people in our family!

Another week gone by...

This week we were pretty busy teaching, finding and delivering b-day gifts! I'm becoming pretty good friends with the girl that owns the balloon shop! As we were parked at one home I took this picture of the foliage across the street. It is really beautiful.

Last Saturday the youth in the ward had a car wash. They did pretty good earning pounds for camp. We have 1 young man and 5 young women in the ward.

It was chilly, but they were troopers!

Elder Watt and Elder Evans came to support them (and eat the refreshments)!!!

We had our last interview with President and Sister Creer. They go home July 1st. We will have one more zone conference with them. They spoke in Stake Conference today. It will be sad to see them go. Our CES couple the Magelsons are leaving too....

Yesterday we went to Bangor to visit the Stewarts. The Stewart's daughter married our mission president in Minnesota's son. We had a wonderful time with them and they fed us the best salmon (poached in cream) that I have ever had! (along with leeks, potatoes and my favorite new dessert, pavlova) They are wonderful people and we will definitely visit them again.

We had the Elders with us since we were going to Stake Conference. We had a little extra time so we drove through Bangor. Bangor is a really nice town. There are two wards there.

We went to Bangor castle. The grounds were beautiful, with a beautiful view of the bay.

Bangor castle. Not quite as old as some of the other castles we've seen. But still pretty old. Elder Watt thought it was built in the 1500's.

We will have to go back and go for a tour and visit the museum. Never enough time in the day.

The flowers were beautiful and since it's Mother's Day I thought I would post these pictures for my mom. She loves flowers and I wish she could be here with me to see how beautiful it is.

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I miss you and hope we can spend some future Mother's Days together! You're the best!!!!! I have a pretty wonderful mother-in-law too! Happy Mother's Day Ruth!

Love you both! Linda