Some of Our Final Adventures

We’ll pictorially fill you in on the month of March and our visit with Jason.

Yellow Submarine? Liverpool John Lennon Airport, where else? 

Night shot of the Preston England Temple spire

A YSA dog pile in the Accommodation Centre.  They are always up for a wee bit o' Tom Foolery. 

Trafford Square - the mall of malls! Amazing! I’ve never seen a mall this big OR this ornate!  Manchester, England

United Kingdom’s Mothering Day: 10 March 2013

Jason is singlehandedly defending Carrickfergus Castle!

Beautiful Northern Ireland. Lush even in the dead of winter.  Newtownards, NI

The amazing Giant’s Causeway - We’ve brought many a visitor and missionary here. It’s an impressive area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

A bit of rock climbing...Jason’s pulled a coin out of a crack. Must be a 'make a wish’/'good luck' thing? The Giant’s Causeway

Oooops!!! Honestly didn’t see this sign till AFTER the climb!

Jason at Dunluce Castle

St. Gobban’s Church - Smallest Church on the island. 8 feet by 4 feet! Portbradden, White Park Bay,  NI

Oh, how I’ll miss it here and most especially the rare sunny days!

The beautiful wee village of Cushenden, County Antrim, NI

Downhill Demesne, County Londonderry, NI.  “Home” of Fredrick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol, Bishop of Derry. Built in the 1700’s. Much of it was destroyed by fire in 1851. Rebuilt in the 1870’s.  It fell into disrepair after World War II

Downhill Demesne from another angle.

The Mussenden Temple was built in 1785 as a summer library for 

Frederick Hervey and his family.

A belvedere, or summer home built for Frederick Hervey’s daughter 

Grianan Ailligh - A stone-walled fort built in the time of Christ!

The inside of Grianan Ailligh

I am in love with these conservatories (sun rooms) they tack onto so many of the homes over here.  Helps you feel kind of like you’re outside with lots of daylight coming in from three sides, but still enjoy the warmth of being inside your home.

Fort Dunree, County Donegal, Ireland 

Peace Bridge, a cycle and footbridge across the River Foyle in Londonderry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland

Londonderry is the only remaining completely walled city on the island and one of the finest examples of Walled Cities in Europe.  It was built during the period 1613-1618  as a defense for early seventeenth century settlers from England and Scotland. 

Here we are with our mission president, President Alan Brown and his sweetest of wives (she’s holding a little something I made for their family) at our last zone conference in Dublin.

Michelle, one of our lovely YSA, ready to open her mission call to.........England Birmingham!!! Congrats!!! soon to be Sister Harkness!

So missions DO come to an end.  I wouldn’t have thought so 18 months ago.  It seemed like such a long time on that end!  But now it’s here and we are having a bit of a hard time coming to grips with it.  We will miss so many people we’ve come to love! They’ve opened their hearts and their homes to us and have been so incredibly inclusive.  We wish we could bring them home with us.  But alas, this chapter of our lives has to end. Can’t bear it unless we will plan to come back and/or they will come over to see us (which quite a few of them have promised that they will)!  "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” (From the musical ‘Annie.’)  I love that.  It is so true!  We have truly been blessed beyond measure here.  This mission couldn’t have been a better fit for us!

Love,

XOX  Sister Blickenstaff

Didn’t remember to include some Irish Slang last time, so here’s double this time!

nye - now

here’s me - so I said

tray bake - cookies, cupcakes, cakes

quid - pound (buck/dollar)

at the weekend, on the Tuesday - over the weekend, on Tuesday

wick - useless