Wanderings . . .and one of the last big adventures

The scenery on the drive around the Ring of Kerry

The Cliffs of Moire

A pretty Irish cotta

Blarney Castle in Cork Ireland 

Ross Castle in  Ireland --where Harry Potter learned to fly his broom.

Last week on Thursday my companion and I along with the Millers flew to Ireland. Can you believe the ticket was 36 pounds round trip??!! The Millers are also senior missionaries (married) and serving as YSA (young single adults) leaders in the Edinburgh ward. The four of us have become fast friends and enjoy "wandering" together. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                    We flew into Dublin and spent the night at a quaint B&B and then left for Waterford the next morning. I have always wanted to visit the Waterford Crystal factory to buy a crystal vase.  Which I did buy and had shipped to NC---Happy Birthday, Sister Gifford!

The Cliffs of Moire--stunning beauty & used in the Harry Potter
movie with Harry flying around on his broom.

We saw Blarney Castle and all but me kissed the Blarney Stone. I climbed the first 100+ steps and then decided that the next steps were just too steep, so I turned around and came down--I truly had a defeated feeling :-)  We drove the Ring of Kerry (111-mile) circular tourist route in County Kerry, south-western Ireland. Elder Miller had served his mission in Cork 50 years ago, so we looked up his flat and took pictures of him standing by a boarded-up building. Kinda sad for him, but we toured around the area that he served in and he was a happy camper. We visited Galaway and  Limerick, enjoyed several wonderful B&B's met with missionaries in the various cities and ended our trip by meeting the Walkers (a senior couple serving in Galaway) for shopping and dinner. We missed our early morning return flight and that's a whole other story for another time! I've been to Ireland 3 times on my mission and I am so grateful for this wonderful opportunity.

And now, let me take you to another one of those "pinch me I must be dreaming" experiences. This week Elder Massimo Defeo a General Authority Seventy made an official visit to our Mission. He spent two days in Ireland with our President & Sister Macdonald hosting and then they all flew back to Scotland for 2 days. I hope I can put into words the events over the last couple of days. We held Zone Conferences in both Ireland and Scotland so all the missionaries could participate in the meetings with Elder Defeo. On Thursday we closed the office and all senior missionaries were able to participate in the Zone Conference. Because this is Sister Call and my last zone conference along with 3 of the young missionaries we all had to bare our testimonies. As I was walking from the mission office to the church I had the most extraordinary thing happen--I felt the mantle of the spirit come over me and by the time I reached the church I was in tears. Right after the opening song & prayer, we were asked to come up to the podium and bare our testimonies. First Sister Call and then me. I had not stopped shedding tears so when I started to speak my voice was a little wobbly. I won't go into what my testimony was about, but I did mention how I had felt the mantle of the spirit. Both Sister Call and I mentioned that we were widows and spoke briefly about our husbands and what amazing examples they were to us. I was so honored when Elder Defeo got up to speak he said he didn't know either of us but felt a great deal of love for us. Then he gave this amazing talk and mentioned my testimony three times. I'm not wanting to boast, but believe me having a general authority mention my testimony was such a thrill. What a wonderful way to bring my mission to a close.

NOTE: Most of you probably know that my hometown was hit hard by hurricane Francis. My house is safe and sound--I've been so blessed. I appreciate so much those friends in New Bern that took the time to inspect my house and calm my fears. My prayers go out to all those who have so drastically been affected by the storm.

Wanderings . . . and picking up the pieces

THE TATOO  

2018 Tatoo - makes me realize just how long I have been here. This was my 2nd Tatoo performance and it was a fantastic performance. Military groups from all over the world performing their specialties. My favorites are the bagpipers--absolutely outstanding. At the end, they turn off all the lights and just one bagpiper stands atop the castle wall and plays "Amazing Grace." Goosebump time!                                                                                             

At the right side of the picture is the Edinburgh Castle --light shows
play off it all night.

The Tatoo doesn't start until 9 pm and is two hours long, so it is a late night. We taxi to and from the castle and always get caught by at least a little rain. Nobody seems to mind, they just don their ponchos and keep on enjoying. There are people from all over the world in attendance. Maybe I will come back to visit someday and see the Tatoo again, but then who knows, there are lots of places to see.

These are all bagpipers and drummers

My companion will be with me just one more month, so we are trying to see every little thing we haven't seen--so much of our travels are "bits and pieces."  We have seen over 60 Castles and still have more to go. We have seen palaces, estates, gardens and the Royal Mile at least a couple dozen times. The Royal  Mile is the mile between the Edinburgh Castle and the Holywood Palace (where the Queen resides in the summer). The mile is filled with shops, souvenir shops, and restaurants as well as interesting alleys and nooks and crannies. I couldn't even begin to tell you all the places we have seen and explored. We both enjoy the Castle ruins the most, especially if you can climb around inside. Oh, I forgot to mention that my new companion will arrive on September 23 so I will have several weeks to train her. She is a single sister in her late 50's from England. Sister Call will return home on October the 8th and I will leave on November the 8th.

Sister Call's replacement is from the states (Utah) also in her 50's. OK enough talk about "replacements"--its bringing tears to my eyes.

Dunoor Castle
I loved this castle ruins. I can understand why they would want their
castle built right on the cliff overlooking the sea, but what I don't
understand is "how" they build it on a cliff, who does it and where does
all that rock come from and how do they get it to the site. It is just amazing.
Did I tell you that there are over 3,000 Castles in Scotland?

These structures are often found with Castles-- It's where they kept their doves (birds)

My trip home is as follows: Nov. 8th I leave Scotland for Michigan (to see my siblings), then to NY (Lewis family), then to Vermont (grandaughters & their families), then to Ohio (Boyer-Gifford family), then to Maryland (Gifford family), then to Virginia Beach (grandaughter and her family), Dec. 12th leave for North Carolina. I'm so excited about this trip. I have two new great-grandchildren to see and many grandchildren that I miss (not to mention my own children . . .I miss them too).

NOTE:  As most of you know I usually close my blog with a message to my mom, but my mom passed away last week and her funeral was just this past Friday. So I dedicate this blog to her . . .she loved to have my sister, Kay, read my blogs. I'll miss you mom and I love you so much.

Hindu Prayer Tree - each ribbon is a prayer sent to a deceased