Ray's Mission VII

Threat 

While in Farnborough, Elder hunt and I shared a very interesting experience. We had been teaching a woman of about 25 the discussions and observed her intently engaging the gospel. This was a genuinely delightful experience; and Elder Hunt and I shared a lot of hope for her, as she gradually progressed toward baptism. Unfortunately, midway through the discussions she explained to us that she had a boyfriend who found our presence to be rather unpleasant. He had expressed his disappointment to her at having sought instruction regarding the church; and required that she remove herself from our instruction! He appeared to just want to control her. She explained to us that he had an extensive criminal record and was not a personality to be trifled with. Elder Hunt and I deemed the situation as serious; and certainly didn't want to incur conflict with anyone. Nevertheless, we considered it her right to determine her own circumstance in life and chose to support her in her desire to receive further instruction! While we were certainly aware of her’ boyfriend’; we were not going to allow him to bully us into submission. We decided to continue to teach her if that was her choice - she explained to us that it was. We were not particularly concerned with this ‘boyfriend’ and considered it simply a complication surrounding her instruction. 

One morning, however, as we were preparing our breakfast of eggs and toast, a knock came at the kitchen door; and I found myself confronted by our investigator’s intimidating boyfriend. He was about my height; but had a slender build. He asked that I come out of the building; and join him and his ruffian associate near his car - which was parked in our rather long gravel driveway. I did; and he proceeded to threaten me with regard to instructing his girlfriend whom we were continuing to teach. About this time Elder Hunt joined me in the driveway as this ‘boyfriend’ continued to harass and threaten us. He intimated that we would be physically harmed if we continued to teach her! I remained rather calm; because I knew that I was not the one to be concerned about in the confrontation we were experiencing - though I appeared sizable. Rather, Elder Hunt was the genuine fighter there; and I was confident that he could wrap this fellow in knots - if he had to. His associate remained on the other side of the car as we continued our discussion. Neither Elder Hunt nor I chose to back down from our position. Furthermore, we explained to the fellow that if his girlfriend (who was not his wife) wanted to receive instruction – he had no legal recourse but to abide by the decisions she made for her own life. We went on to explain that if they were married, then we would have certainly abided by his wishes. Otherwise, his threats were nothing more than that – simply threats and we had been dealing with such threats for well over a year. He did not seem happy with our position; and he (and his associate) left in their car.  I suppose he thought that his confrontation with us too supposed ‘nancy boys’ would invoke our subordination to his threats. It did not! 

Scare 

Though we had not backed down when confronted by our investigator’s ‘boyfriend’; we nevertheless kept a sharp lookout for anyone that might be following us or potentially acting on a threat. Approximately a week later (following our experience with our investigator’s ‘boyfriend’), we were cycling back to our digs having stayed into the night. My front light operated off a generator running against my front wheel; so we had pretty good light in the front (as long as my wheel was turning) as we traveled the various streets of Farnborough. My rear light (which operated off a battery) was not working; nor was Elder Hunts front light working (which also operated off a battery); but his rear light was working. Thus, if I led and he followed fairly close behind we could be assured that we were operating with adequate operating light as a pair. We travelled along some fairly busy roads as we returned from a teaching appointment; and thus had the benefit of passing headlights to illuminate our way. As we approached home, we turned from Alexandra Road Into our driveway; cycling past the building and into the ramshackle garage in the rear. My running generator provided sufficient light for us to navigate the dark driveway; and gave me enough light to come to a stop just inside the pitch blackness of the always open garage. Thus, I could see enough to lean my bike against the garage wall and begin to leave. Elder hunt was just coming to a stop just outside the garage and was planning to walk his bike into the garage and put it away. So at that moment I was still in the garage; and he was just outside it in barely visible night light. Just at that moment, I decided I was going to play a prank; and I shouted out, “Run Elder, they're in here!” He could not see me but could hear me very well. Due to our circumstance and the excitement that was in my voice, he dropped his bike and began ‘running in place’; intending to ‘get away’! I had never seen anyone run in place before; and I burst out laughing at the sight. As he heard me laugh, he realized I had been playing a prank on him; and immediately began to chastise me for my foolhardiness. He took it good naturedly and we walked into our digs relieved that we were just fine. A week or so later, Elder hunt and I engaged in some playful wrestling. I'm confident that he remembered my prank at his expense; and he proceeded to trounce me and tie me in knots! I certainly paid for my prank. 

CID

One day near the end of Elder Hunt’a and my time together, we were tracting the area fairly close to our digs. As I knocked on one door, the woman came to the door and immediately began berating me and denouncing us for interrupting her morning. I became upset with her; and reached into my suit pocket; pulling out my ministerial card (which we always carried); flashing it in her face. {I didn't want her to be able to see the details of what was on the card.) I then announced that we were from the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) and asked if we could come in. She caught herself and opened her door wide - as if to invite us in. We stepped in as she asked what this was all about. I queried if her husband was at home (I certainly didn't want to have to deal with him also!); and she said no. Just at that moment she had to leave the room for a minute or so; and Elder Hunt began quietly querying me about what the heck I was doing. I just said, ‘go along, go along’ and he quieted himself (probably fearful that we’d be caught impersonating government officials) in order to appear as an investigating partner. When she returned, I asked her, “Do you always answer your door that way?” To this she retorted that no, she did not; but she thought we were some sort of religious group, and she didn't want to have to deal with it. I suggested she be more civil as she answered her door! I then figured we had pressed our luck enough; and we excused ourselves because her husband was not at home (thankfully). She asked if she could know what it was about; (wondering concerning her absent husband) and I said - not really; as we exited her home. We walked down her sidewalk as she watched us go and Elder Hunt was amazed (as was I) that we had pulled it off. It was an experience to remember! 

Luton

I don't remember much concerning my time in Luton as the district leader’s companion to Elder Patrick D Miller. This is not hard to understand because I was there less than three weeks prior to being called as a district leader myself. (it was fairly clear that I was being trained to be a district leader.) Elder Miller was a delightful companion; and I did my best to be his support as the district leader’s companion. We had reasonably good digs; and the use of a car in order to travel amongst the elders in the district. We held our district meetings in one of the rooms in the Luton Chapel. Because my responsibilities were less proselyting and more administrative, I did not experience the anxiety associated with being rejected by so many people at their doors while tracting. I remember that elder Miller had an expression he used for British drivers. He often expressed himself humorously as we travelled about in our car. He would refer to his fellow drivers as “Idiots! They're all Idiots!” While such an expression might’ve been derogatory; he expressed himself so humorously that I found myself laughing a great deal as we travelled about. 

About a week after I had arrived in Luton, our district was out in a soccer field across from our Chapel on our preparation day. We were kicking around a soccer ball and enjoying the opportunity to exercise athletically. In the midst of our playing, the soccer ball was kicked toward me; rolling at a moderate rate. I ran toward the ball; and just as it came to a halt, I swung my leg to kick it with my right foot and send it flying. However, unbeknownst to me, the ball had come to rest atop an in-ground sprinkling head. I kicked the head (rather than the ball); and of course, the sprinkling head did not give way. I fell, sprawled out on the field. I was grabbing my ankle because it hurt so bad; and noticed that my ankle and foot swelled up almost immediately! Such an immediate response was a surprise to me; and I figured I had done something rather serious. The other elders gathered around me quickly and provided what help they could. However, there was little they could do; and Elder Miller transported me to a nearby hospital where we could have my ankle and foot looked at. We were hopeful that I hadn't damaged my leg permanently. Upon examination the doctor explained that I had separated one of my ligaments that attached my foot to my leg. This was rather serious, and an explanation of why my foot swelled so rapidly. He said that while the ligament had separated rather significantly, there was still a chance that the ligament might reattach to my upper foot (It was barely attached to my upper foot at all). However, to do so I would have to keep the foot absolutely still for quite some time. I explained that I was a missionary and dependent upon the use of my foot to conduct our work. He said he understood; but continued to explain that if I were to have future use of my foot, I would have to immobilize it while the ligament repaired itself. I acknowledged his advice and decided to acccept his council; immobilizing myself for the foreseeable future. I would end up spending a week or two in bed in our digs as Elder Miller performed his district leader responsibilities with a substitute for me. I didn't like having to remain in bed; but I recognized that such was the case if I were to resume use of my leg in the future. The doctor applied some adhesive type tape to my foot and lower leg such that my foot was completely immobilized. I asked him if I should have a cast and he said that a cast might allow too much movement within the cast. He said the tightness of the adhesive tape would do a better job of immobilizing my foot and leg. 

Prior to hurting my leg, we had a chance to do a little bit of golfing at the Dunstable Downs golf course on our preparation day. We were enjoying a comfortable game of golfing with the rest of the district on a beautiful spring afternoon when I heard a whoosh in the sky above me. I looked up to see a beautiful sailplane flying about 200 feet overhead. It was a beautiful sight to observe this sleek sailplane cavorting in the sky - back and forth over our heads. We were all mesmerized as we watched the sailplane for about 15 minutes during our golf game. I was to learn later that the London Gliding Club was very near the golf course and the sailplane was undoubtedly located at that glider port. 

Amidst our proselyting, we had the opportunity to teach a ‘Meet the Mormons’ discussion to a young woman, her mother, and her daughter. It was an early evening; and all three women we're in attendance as we sat on the sofa and delivered our discussion. Upon turning the page to a picture of Jesus Christ, I observed the woman's eyes squinting and widening as she looked at the picture in the book I was holding. I observed her for a few minutes; and then ventured a question. I was curious about her reaction to this picture because she had shown no other response to any of the book that we had shown up to that point. I asked, “Are you seeing something particular about this picture?” She continued to fixate on the picture; and then said she had seen this picture somewhere before. She also said that the picture seemed to invoke a strong feeling within her. We went on with the discussion until its conclusion. She then took the ‘Meet the Mormons’ book, turning to the picture and examining it very carefully. She said she wanted to learn more of what we had to present; and we scheduled another discussion with her and her family. I was to have my torn ligament shortly thereafter and was unable to attend discussions that Elder Miller and my substitute taught the family. He said they were progressing rather well; and they had scheduled a baptism for the woman and her daughter. I was transferred to Shenley prior to their baptism; and only heard about their baptism after I had transferred. 

District Leader

In the midst of having my foot heal, I was called to be a district leader in another area. To this day I don't know whether they really understood the significance of my foot injury or not. Nevertheless, I heeded the call and made my way into Reading where I was given a car and set apart as a district leader. There I met my companion - Elder Humphries. Oddly enough, my foot was still in the taped bandage; and I was somewhat hampered by the sensitivity of the foot and its injury. As I was getting into the driver’s side of the car (because I figured I could drive the car), I somehow got my finger stuck in the seat’s mechanism controlling the seat’s forward adjustment. In fact, I smashed it; and it was held by my own weight - which was on the seat. I was wincing at the pain and my companion was asking what was wrong. I found that I could not get my brain straight in order to answer him; and finally surmised that I would have to control the pain while I adjusted the seat backward (it had become lodged in the smashing condition). I subdued my reaction to the pain; and gradually freed my finger as I adjusted the seat backward. It was quite a revelation to me that I could actually subdue my reaction to the pain sufficiently to allow me to adequately respond and release my finger. (it was truly a ‘no win’ situation).  We then drove to our new digs in Shenley with my very throbbing, damaged finger and my foot bandaged for a torn ligament.  Needless to say, I took it easy that evening as I cared for the finger and nursed the foot.  The next day my finger subsided to a reasonable condition; and I arranged with the local hospital to examine my foot!  The following day, an ambulance arrived at our digs; and I was taken to a doctor to ascertain the progress in my foot.  The doctor removed the tape and discovered that my skin had detrimentally reacted to it.  Upon examining my x-rays, he determined that my ligament was sufficiently improved such that he would not reapply the adhesive tape – because the skin was vivid red and starting to swell since it had been removed.  He treated (as best he could) the skin with gauze and ointment and then rebandaged my foot and ankle with a tightly applied Ace Bandage. He then suggested that I continue with the crutches for a few more weeks. I continued with the crutches for about a week and found them to be a hinderance to our work.  I removed the Ace Bandage to find that my skin had badly ‘burned’ everywhere the adhesive tape had been. I continued to treat my damaged skin as my ligament seemed to restore to utility.  Oddly, it took about 6 or 7 weeks before my skin began to show signs of improvement.  Thus, this was a case where the remedy was more difficult and lengthier than the original problem! When I removed the Ace Bandage, I was able to get a shoe on my foot and able to engage my responsibilities as District Leader. 

Shenley

Our digs which were composed of an upstairs room and bathroom; also included a desk which I could work at as the district leader. We had separate beds on either side of the room and a very pleasant window opening onto the West side of the house. Our landlady we called ‘granny’. She was a very pleasant woman approximately 80 years old and provided us with a pleasant Sunday afternoon meal that she prepared. (it was the first and only time I ever had Yorkshire pudding.) We had a driveway that we could park the car on. The front and back yards were nicely manicured with grass and flowers. Our digs were on a fairly narrow road that led into Borehamwood which was a part of Shenley. The road was bordered by fairly high hedges that didn't allow much room to pass a car coming the other way. I learned very quickly to navigate our car rather well in order to avoid the hedges and oncoming cars. In fact, I learned that when in town, if an oncoming car didn't seem to have enough room to pass, one would flash their lights to notify them that you were pulling over so they could pass by. The use of lights was significant and used both day and night. Shenley was a fairly small village just outside St. Albans where we attended church and held our weekly district meetings. It was here that I received some Hires root beer extract and learned to put a capful in a bottle of cream soda. This would simulate root beer rather well. (Root Beer was not available in England.) 

District Meetings

District meetings were held once a week in the attic of the Saint Albans church. It was a fairly dank area to have a district meeting; but it was the only place we could be assured that we would not be interrupted. It was here that I took care of administrative responsibilities and attempted to motivate the elders in their proselyting work for the coming week. The elders would leave their areas and transport themselves to St. Albans for about a four hour meeting. the district was composed of approximately 5 companionships - and five areas. I took the responsibility of district leader rather seriously and endeavored to do whatever I could to assist these elders in their missionary work. I often devoted my own time and money toward their benefit. One of the things that they didn't like and sometimes complained about was the fact that they had to share in the responsibilities I had in driving our car. That is, the cost of the petrol I put into the car was divided amongst the elders. I did what I could to minimize the use of the car and it's petrol. However I was responsible for an area that was very remote - Aylesbury. Aylesbury was very remote and required a significant amount of petrol for me to visit; So I only went there once during the time that I was district leader. The rest of our time was spent with the Aylesbury elders in our district meetings. My district meetings were divided into three parts. The first 15 to 30 minutes was devoted to covering the administrative part of caring for a district - the announcement of petrol costs took place during this time. (I should note that I only had use of the car every other week and was sharing it with another district leader. So my costs of using a car were automatically cut in half. Nevertheless, the elders of the district didn't like having to pay for the petrol I used.) the next hour was devoted to me in presenting a hopefully instructive and motivational presentation to them. I spent a considerable amount of each week devoted to presenting them with additional scriptural, motivational, and spiritual understanding. If I was successful in accomplishing this; I could almost always tell in the quality of their testimonies which the next 30 minutes were devoted to. I always allowed a little bit of time on either side of each section so that we would not run out of time for our weekly district meetings. 

Clown

The mission was introducing a program whereby the community would be exposed to a community-wide family home evening. As missionaries we would be hosting a large family home evening for anyone that wanted to attend it from our area. In order to advertise this family home evening karma we developed Flyers which were to be handed out by clowns in the local mall. As this program came into our district I was to select someone who would be the clown to help advertise this program. Our zone leaders would supply the second clown. (there were to be two.) rather than incur the logistics of and the elder coming a long distance and relinquishing his time karma I chose to be the clown from our district. I remember the day that the zone leaders showed up at our digs with clown makeup and costumes. I sat at the desk as the zone leader made-up my face to look like a clown. I had never seen anyone made-up this way and certainly had not been made made-up this way myself. Having had most of the clown makeup applied to me, I arose from the desk to see myself in a nearby window. It was quite a revelation to me that I did not even recognize myself. Furthermore, because I was and utterly new identity, I began to act and behave as a clown might – jettisoning my own reserved self and identity. With the clown suit and makeup I was no longer identifiable. As the zone leader and I drove to a nearby mall as clowns; I was having a genuinely unique experience. As we got out of the car and made our way to the mall center, we ran into various shoppers with their children. I had a clown horn which I honked to substitute for speech. Both this one leader and I to awarded about the mall for several hours as I honked the horn at various shoppers engaged various shoppers and handed out Flyers to anyone that would receive one. I learned quite a bit about myself during those few hours because I really was experiencing a personality within myself that had never had the opportunity to reveal itself. Hidden behind the clown costume, I could engage anyone and make them feel happy as my clown costume presented. I'll never forget those few hours!