This New Year has started fast. It seems like we just welcomed 2017 and now we are about to welcome February 2017. The number of tourists in London slow down tremendously in January and February and consequently the number of visitors to the Hyde Park Chapel VC also slow down. However, we’ve still had some great visitors to the chapel and had some great experiences teaching people more about Jesus Christ.

On Wednesday, January 11^th, Exhibition Road in front of the chapel filled with people more than its usual number of people and we soon learned that the Science Museum across the street had been evacuated. Many of those standing in the cold were school children who had been in the museum on a field trip. Soon a worker for the museum came into the VC and asked if we could have some of the children come inside. After some quick evaluation we said, “Yes,” and in they came---almost 400 in all. We had them sit on the floor in the cultural hall and some went into the building’s Institute of Religion room. We even had some who (their teacher requested it) asked to learn more about our church. So we even got to teach the gospel to some.

On Saturday, January 21^st, we had The Organ Club come to the Hyde Park Chapel for their monthly meeting. This club consists of organists from all over the United Kingdom and some additional guests with the club were from other parts of Europe. Some were given the opportunity to play the pipe organ in the Hyde Park Chapel. One of the original designers of the organ spoke to the group about the organ and how it came to be. The organ was built in 1960 so you may guess that this designer is not a young man today.

We had another fun group of visitors on Thursday, January 26^th. One of our bishops’ daughters talked to her teacher about bringing their class to the Hyde Park Chapel for a field trip. They are studying world religions and visited a Jewish synagogue, a Hindu Temple, an Islamic mosque, and St. Paul’s Cathedral. So the teacher was willing to add the Hyde Park Chapel to their tour. We had 28 4^th grade children and 2 teachers and 2 chaperones. We had all of our VC sisters come to help with the tours so we divided the class into four groups and had our sisters show them all of our exhibits. It went really well and it was amazing to see all of these people being taught so much about the Restored Gospel.

We enjoyed a visit from our son, Todd, and his friend Rick, from January 18^th until January 22^nd. We were able to attend a British musical called “Half a Sixpence” and toured the Tower of London. We also went on a Thames Riverboat cruise and visited Kew Gardens. We walked through St. James’s Park, Green Park, and Hyde Park seeing Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Horse Guards Parade, Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace. We had an enjoyable time and love showing our family around London.

We enjoyed a great Christmas time here in London. We were very busy at the visitors’centre with our live nativity and the church’s Christmas Initiative #LIGHTtheWORLD. Every evening from November 27^th through December 21^st we had Joseph and Mary with baby Jesus in a stable that was built in front of the chapel. This was quite an attraction on Exhibition Road and thousands of people passed by and many stopped to check it out. We had some people climb into the stable with Mary & Joseph to have their picture taken and we had many who came into the VC to learn more about our church. We received a lot of great comments like “it is so nice to see someone displaying the true meaning of Christmas.”

 

The Beesley Family

We had a very enjoyable Christmas Eve get-together at our flat with our entire VC family. We had a great dinner, sang some songs, watched the Mormon Tabernacle Choir A Dickens’ Christmas video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZe-hLewU80), and exchanged some gifts. The Dickens’ Christmas video was particularly special for all of us gathered because it portrays things right here in London and the young man playing Charles Dickens is in our YSA ward here at the Hyde Park Chapel.

Being with our VC family made Christmas special for us but it did not replace our own family. Through the marvels of technology we were able to witness the excitement of Christmas morning with seven of our eleven grandchildren as they were gathered together in Arizona at our son Brian’s home. We also got to video chat with all of our other children and grandchildren.

Although we spent a lot of time at the VC including Christmas Day, we also managed to see some Christmas sites in London. We took an evening and went to see Christmas at Kew Gardens where we witnessed some unique displays including a light tunnel, fire presentations of the first five days of the Twelve Days of Christmas, and a laser light show over a pond and projected on the Palm House.

The Palm House at Kew Gardens

Another evening we went for a walk through the ritzy, retail area of London. We saw the fabulous Christmas lights and decorations along Regent Street and Oxford Street. We visited the famous London store called Liberty and also the famous toy store called Hamley’s. The streets and stores were very busy but it was an enjoyable evening to see these seasonal sites of London.

 

Regent Street Decorations

We were privileged to attend a performance of Handel's Messiah at Royal Albert Hall with our mission president and his wife (Mark & Jean Stevens). It was performed by four excellent soloists, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and three different choral groups combining over 500 voices. It was an amazing production.

Another unique thing we found here in London was the creation of a huge amusement park in Hyde Park called Winter Wonderland. They built the entire amusement park with 65 rides, a couple of ice skating rinks, several stages for performers indoors and outdoors, and many, many food booths and gift shops. The rides included several full-blown roller coasters, towering swings and drops, a couple of ferris wheels, and a couple of large “fun houses.” The whole complex was built in about a month’s time and was open November 19^th through January 2^nd. It now is being taken down.

 

Winter Wonderland

Our past year at the Hyde Park Chapel was amazing. We learned so much and got to meet so many great people. As a VC family we were able to welcome almost 37,000 visitors to the Hyde Park Chapel Visitors’ Centre and over 11,000 of them took tours (we were able to share something about the church or show them at least one of our exhibits). From our guests who came into the VC and through our sisters’ work online we were able to send over 4,400 referrals to missionaries throughout the world. From those referrals we learned of 67 people who were baptized. It is so rewarding to see the joy that comes from those who choose to follow Jesus Christ.

We are looking forward to a great 2017 and wish all of you a very Happy New Year. We want the best for you and appreciate your interest in what we are doing. Thank you for your prayers and support.