Ray's Mission IV

Gillespie

A couple days prior to my receiving my testimony, we had been tracting and handing out Books of Mormon to those that would receive them. We had entered one man's home; and had been invited into the living room to give him a ‘Meet the Mormons’ discussion. Unfortunately, some people entered the home and looked at us rather suspiciously as they passed by in the hallway. The man had gotten obviously uncomfortable with their arrival; and he explained to us that we were not supposed to be in the living room; because he was just a border at that home. The people that had arrived were the owners of the home; and had been surprised to see us in their living room. We explained that we understood and left a Book of Mormon with him. We then exited the home; and carried on with our tracting, thinking nothing particular about the event. The day following my ‘testimonial event’, we were out in our tracting area; and going about retrieving Books of Mormon that people just left on their doorstep because they didn't want to engage with us at all. As we approached the home of the individual who was a border; we knocked on the door and he came to the door with the Book of Mormon we had left with him. It was my senior companion’s door; and he was attempting to persuade the man to keep the book and read it a little bit. Standing behind him I could see that he was having little, if any, influence in attempting to persuade the man to keep the book. Having received significant spiritual confirmation the night before, I found it difficult to stand by and see this man treat such a valuable book so nonchalantly. I reached out and with my hand pushed Elder Hansen aside; and began to engage with the man myself. Elder Hansen was rather surprised at this development; because he was used to me being obediently subservient to his direction! Ignoring elder Hansen's surprise, I stepped forward and expressed with significant passion the importance of him examining the book he held. I said amongst other things, “You really need to read this!” as passionately as I could. He agreed to keep the book and we admonished him to prayerfully consider its existence. We then went on our way and once again thought little of the event. Elder Hansen expressed significant surprise with my aggressiveness at that door. (What he didn't realize is that I had been obediently subservient to him for many months; and was no longer going to accommodate his nonchalance with the work we were doing! [I suppose this was a case of where the student had become the master.]) Several days later we returned to the home and knocked on the door. The man came to the door opened it and put forth his hand as if to shake ours (it was my door). I took his hand and he said, “Come on in, I know the book is true!” he then escorted us down the hallway and up a flight of stairs to his digs. As we sat on wooden chairs, he explained that he had sequestered himself away from his family; because he felt that he needed something (He knew not what) in his life. He had been reading the Bible and praying in order to ascertain what it was in his life that he needed. He explained that he had read some of the book (Book of Mormon) and prayed about it; receiving an answer that it was true. He then surmised that we were genuine servants of the Lord; and he was ready to receive whatever it was that we had to give him. His name was Thomas Gillespie; and we were rather impressed by his genuineness toward his circumstance and our arrival at his door. He had clearly been humbled by his life's circumstances. We then took it upon ourselves to teach him the gospel over the next week or so via the six discussions we were to present. He clearly accepted everything we presented and readily altered his life to the necessities the six discussions presented. He readily accepted the word of wisdom and lived it. He readily accepted tithing and lived it. He readily prepared himself to be baptized; and we escorted him to the local baptismal font, and I was privileged to baptize him. Of particular note, brother Gillespie was a big man almost my height and fairly stout. As I was baptizing him, I recognize that I needed to have my full strength to lift him up out of the water. So I wrapped my right arm a crossed his shoulders and went down into the water as he was being baptized. Because I was so involved, the water reached almost my mouth and I turned my head to keep my mouth above water as I immersed his body in the water. At that moment I was concerned that I might have to go under the water with him! I brought him out of the water and he expressed extreme gratitude for the ordinance. We rather enjoyed the opportunity to be involved with brother gillespies conversion and bid him a fond farewell as he later returned to his family with a testimony of the church and the gospel of Jesus Christ! 

Elder Joyce

Shortly following Brother Gillespie’s baptism, Elder Hansen was transferred out of Shirley and my new companion was Elder Peter Joyce. Elder Joyce was a native of Britain and displayed the characteristic British accent. I don't remember anything particular about working with him other than that we spent a great deal of time in the rain. Our raincoats were referred to as a mac (which stood for MacIntosh); and we're fairly thin plastic raincoats that would keep out the rain. Intended to be worn over an overcoat, they were not especially warm. Elder Joyce and I spent a significant amount of time tracting in the rain. He was not particularly demonstrative of feelings (as was common among the British); but I was confident in his recognition of the value of the church and gospel. He would later become an Assistant to President Childs. During this time, I had the opportunity to spend a day with Elder Ian Duddy. He was a Scottish elder; and displayed the common Scottish brogue in his speech. As a bright red haired Scottish Elder, he was a delight to tract with; and he took the opportunity to teach me a little bit of his Scottish. He explained to me that, ‘Aye, twer a braugh monlit nik tanik’ was to be interpreted as ‘Yes, it is a bright moonlit night, tonight!’. Following Elder Hansen’s somewhat dismissive attitude, it was a welcome delight to spend the next several weeks with Elder Joyce. 

Maidenhead

Following ~10 weeks in Shirley, Southampton, I was transferred to an area in Berkshire county by the name of Maidenhead. I was teamed up with another Elder that had not been in Maidenhead either. We were both new to the area; and we're able to locate digs in the nearby town of Slough. In fact, our digs were accompanied by another set of Elders assigned to another nearby area that had digs in the same home a ourselves. We were in the small township of Taplow. My new companion had been out about the same amount of time as I and had been a former soldier of his home country of Rhodesia. (it is now called Zimbabwe.) He had grown up in the national capital of Salisbury; and had owned a slave. While foreign to me, it was somewhat customary among the people of Rhodesia. Clearly both of us were confronted with the cultural differences between our home countries; as well as between England and our home countries. Elder Colin Corbett seemed like a reasonable young man who certainly displayed the discipline customary of someone who had only months earlier been in the army of his country. In fact, we had another elder in the mission who came from South Africa (a country bordering Rhodesia) and had been serving in the South African army! In fact, these two countries had been warring with each other during the time that Colin had been in the Rhodesian army. Thus, the elder from South Africa and Elder Corbett from Rhodesia had been genuine enemies in the armies of their separate country’s prior to being called to the British South Mission. This made for some very interesting zone meetings if they were both in attendance. We did not have single beds in our digs. Rather we had one double bed that we both slept in. I think neither of us found that situation very comfortable. Nevertheless, we did the best we could and rested as comfortably as we could. Elder Corbett had a very distinct accent and I had to get used to his way of speaking. Our digs were approximately 5 miles from Maidenhead; and we had to cycle the five miles to and from Maidenhead each day. though we had kitchen privileges that attended our digs, we seldom if ever used it because the hosting family was Relatively large and almost always dominated activity in the kitchen. Thus, very little was done to remedy that situation; and we did the best we could to provide breakfast and evening meals - either away from our digs or minimal at best. We also had bathroom privileges and used the only bathroom as quickly as we could; relieving ourselves and taking our weekly baths prior to Sunday meetings. Thus, our accommodations were not optimal for our needs. Being 5 miles from our assigned area took almost 45 minutes one way to get to our area. It also took 45 minutes to get home. We traveled along a fairly active road And had to contend with traffic as we endeavored to cycle to and from our digs. Clearly because it was so far, we took our lunch anywhere we could find a bench to sit on in Maidenhead. I remember sitting there in a pouring rain attempting to eat my lunch and appearing absolutely crazy to any of the passersby that happened to observe us. Maidenhead was not the easiest place to work in. I remember being somewhat discouraged as we set out one evening in the rain to cycle home to Slough. The rain often caused the wheels of our cycles to spray dirty water from the road onto our backs and fronts. 

Mrs. Thatcher 

One rainy day in Maidenhead, Elder Corbett and I were tracting in a relatively poor portion of Maidenhead. We could tell because the homes were somewhat worn and didn't seem to have a great deal of heat emitting from them. As we went from door to door, we were getting wetter and wetter. I'm confident that we appeared drenched though we were wearing raincoats. Not only was it raining; but it was getting rather cold. We would huddle in the doorway of a home sometimes to benefit from the heat that was escaping as the investigator opened their door. With this being our condition, we approached a door hoping that we would get in and be able to warm ourselves while presenting a discussion. As we knocked on the door of a rather rundown home, we hunched over to protect ourselves from the relentless rain. Just at that moment, a little old lady; appearing to be in her 80s; answered the door and saw two young men standing in the rain at her door. We both approached her and somewhat pleaded that we could come in and warm ourselves by her fireplace. Naturally she seemed reluctant to risk inviting two young men into her home. She was old and feeble and vulnerable. Nevertheless, she took pity on us and invited us into her home and living room. The living room was not especially big nor well furnished; but we placed ourselves in a couple of chairs near her small coal-fired fireplace and relished the heat that we could feel emanating from its burning coals. We took a couple minutes to warm up and then decided that the time would at least not be wasted if we taught her a ‘Meet the Mormons’ introductory discussion. I'm ashamed to say that we began our discussion as somewhat of a lark - believing that someone of that age was not going to Entertain the possibility of change. However, as our discussion progressed, we observed that she was listening rather intently to our message. Upon completing our discussion and preparing to re-enter the rain, we extended her the opportunity to read the Book of Mormon; and she accepted it readily. To our surprise, she accepted the remainder of our six discussions over the next several weeks; and desired to be baptized. We were still mesmerized by her willingness to absorb the gospel of Jesus Christ and be baptized at such an advanced age. She had been a member of the Church of England (As was customary for most British citizens) all her life. Yet she was now accepting the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints! We had discovered that she was in her mid 80s and somewhat feeble. As her baptismal date approached, Elder Corbett and I arranged to take her to Reading on the train to be baptized. (rRading was the closest place we could take her that had a font.) As the day arrived, we transported her to the train station via taxicab and accompanied her on the train to the Reading train station. We then transported her to the Reading Chapel via another taxicab. We were both concerned that such travel might tire her too much; but we were pleased to see that she was handling the jostling of travel rather well. Shortly after we arrived in Reading, we discovered that, the water in the baptismal font was not heated! Nor could it be heated because the plumbing was in disrepair. The water was rather cold! We were concerned that were she to be baptized in cold water it might shock her too much and she might experience a health hazard! Rather than making the decision for her ourselves, we decided to present her with the circumstance. She indicated that she doubted she could make the trip to Redding again anytime soon; and she wanted to be baptized. So, she courageously decided to proceed with the baptism in cold water! I remember as she descended the steps into the font water that she exclaimed that the water was very cold! Elder Corbett was to perform her baptism and it went rather well considering her age and the condition of the water. Following her confirmation at the font side, we escorted her home. I suppose I'll never forget this little old lady letting a couple of rain drenched missionaries into her home and discovering that their message was of utmost importance. Especially at her advanced age as she approached the time when she could no longer choose. Death was truly a consideration on her part. It will be good to greet sister Thatcher on the other side of the veil! 

Achievement

In the British South Mission, there were approximately 280 missionaries in 1969. At the commencement of that year, President Childs along with the help of his assistants set a goal for the mission of 1200 baptisms. That is to say, the goal for the mission and these 280 missionaries was to accomplish 1200 conversions and subsequent baptisms. By the time we approached the end of the year, we were very near completing that goal. It was a relatively exciting time for the mission because it was believed on the part of all missionaries that we could probably achieve the goal we had set. There was a particularly accentuated drive 2 continue the momentum and achieve the goal in the final weeks of the year. Of course, it was not known whether such a goal could be accomplished; and it would have been a disappointment to come so close and fail to meet the goal. As the new year began, mission communication was exhilarated with the final tab of baptisms for 1969 of 1209 baptisms! President and sister Childs seem to be rather electrified at having achieved what seemed to be a huge goal at the commencement of 1969. It was one of the highlights of my mission! 

Hertford

While transfers occurred weekly throughout the mission trauma it was not uncommon to be either transferred or receive a new companion about every six weeks. Such a redistribution of elders provided an opportunity to absorb new elders; release elders; assign new district leaders; and resolve any conflicts that might occur. Thus, I was either presented with a new companion or moved to a new area approximately every six weeks. This kept relationships fresh and avoided stagnation (which might occur from time to time). After a few weeks at our new digs in Maidenhead, I received directions to transfer to Hertford in Hertfordshire County in the Stevenage district. This would require me to travel to Stevenage where I could meet my new companion and be transported to my new digs. Transfers of this type were not particularly easy. British railways virtually always routed through London. That is to say, all railways extended outward from London like spokes of a wheel. One might think this would make travel to a new location in southern England easy; but they would be wrong. Difficulty was introduced because there was no way to transfer to another spoke of the wheel without having to get on another route leaving London. Unfortunately, one had to traverse London; and there was no easy way for us to get to a new station (I.e. spoke) with our luggage and bicycle (yes, it went with us) except by taxicab. Travel in London via tube (the London Underground [subways]) was just too difficult with bicycles and luggage. (Taxi drivers would wait while you loaded all your luggage and bicycle.) The routes did not converge in the center of London; rather various stations near the outskirts of London commenced the various routes extending from London outward. Thus, once I had packed all my luggage; I took the train into London; transferred all my luggage and bicycle to taxicab; took the taxicab to King's Cross rail station; transferred my luggage and bicycle to the proper train; and took the train out to Stevenage. This was just to get myself to the area; and it took most of the day. If all went well, you'd be greeted by your new missionary companion and transported to your digs by the district leader in his car. Finally, you'd unpack your luggage and prepare for missionary work the following day. Transfers were unordinary experiences for missionaries inasmuch as they didn't happen all that often. But they were almost always exciting and nerve wracking because one could always become stranded whilst enroute! 

Elder Colburn

Upon arrival in Stevenage, I was introduced to my new companion Elder Richard Colburn. He had been in Hertford for some time; and I would receive his experience as I settled into the new area. As we were taken from Stevenage, we were transported to Hertford by our district leader in his car. As we turned off the main road into a rural setting, I was a bit confused. It turned out that our digs were in a small village separated from Hertford by about 3 miles. The village was comprised of about a dozen homes and named Waterford. As we traversed a little bit of agricultural land, we saw a small flock of white ducks; and Elder Colburn took it upon himself to issue a nickname for me - Duck (which was a reference to the white ducks we saw). I didn't like this nickname; but tolerated it because it seemed that he needed a way to control others via naming someone himself. He was to use that nickname repeatedly and I resented it every time. As we arrived at our new digs, I was introduced to the elderly lady that was our landlady and then introduced to our digs in an upstairs room. It was comprised of two single beds, nightstands and bathroom privileges in a separate room just outside our door. It contained a West facing window that looked out upon the surrounding backyards and extended throughout the valley that spread out below our home. I could see the steeple of a nearby church and thought that the scene was beautiful and typically British. Elder Colburn was a good-looking young man; somewhat shorter than me; and seemed to be rather comfortable in his surroundings. I would not call him one of the hardest workers I ever encountered; But he was certainly not lazy. He seemed to embrace almost any setting he found himself in and would seldom display any anxiety or nervousness regarding any circumstance he found himself in. One of the things I remember quite well is that we would prepare our breakfasts in the kitchen of the home every morning. This would almost always consist of fried bread and a couple of over easy eggs. I had never before had fried bread; and I found that I liked it. It was simply bread fried in oil to the point  of crispy; and supplied with a couple of over easy eggs on top. Inasmuch as we had this kind of breakfast almost every morning, I learned to like it and appreciate its ability to stay with us throughout the morning prior to lunch. 

Waterford 

Because Waterford was a quiet little village near the outskirts of Hertford, it was separated from the hustle and bustle of a large city by about 2 miles. We would cycle to Hertford via a back route through the countryside and along a country road. Almost immediately from our digs, we crossed a small stone bridge that was just wide enough for a very small car. It was a bridge over a railroad track that ran through a relatively deep ravine near Waterford. I remember crossing that bridge on a daily basis; and thinking that travel to Hertford was rather pleasant and peaceful (I remember watching the rabbits play in the sun on the hillside that accompanied the railroad) - prior to commencing tracting and repeated rejection. It was here that I started to notice that my face was covered with tears as I approached our tracting area daily. I surmised that I was actually traumatized by the constant and sometimes harsh rejection from those we sought to benefit. I suppressed such traumatization and considered it just one of the hazards of missionary work. Later I would be counseled by a companion that the people's rejection was not personal. Rather it was a rejection of our message; and that I needed to perceive it that way. I was taking the rejection way too personally; and I found such counsel to be genuinely beneficial to me! Coming home to Waterford each night provided me with a place of refuge from the terse and sometimes bitter treatment of those we attempted to tract. Because the main road through the Waterford village was within walking distance, we frequently walked to the pub that resided across the street from the intersection we hiked to. Here we would hitchhike the 15 or so miles to Stevenage in order to attend our Sunday meetings. Such hitchhiking was also employed to attend weekly district meetings in Stevenage. Though I was nervous about hitchhiking, Elder Colburn saw it as a viable alternative to having to catch a bus for such a long distance. Occasionally we would have to take a bus to return home from Stevenage.