BritishSmarts: Week 40!

We were so strongly reminded today how much we love public transportation! Paul has finally accepted the fact that if he wants to keep Annie happy, he will pay the price and ride the train on Sundays. It usually gets us to church 1/2 hour early. Our "old age travel pass" is only good part of the way to our chapel. This is because our chapel in Staines is out of the Greater London Area. We have to buy a ticket for the last part of our journey. If we ride the bus we can ride all the way on our pass, but we have to change buses part way there and wait outside for 15 minutes for the bus connection. This usually get us to the church 2 minutes late.

We left the house at 8:40 to catch a bus to the train station (of coarse to make Annie happy.) We got in line to purchase the train ticket. We were told that the train line to Staines was being worked on and the train line in service would take us to another station and then put us on a bus to go to Staines and everywhere else that the train usually stops at. We decided it would be better to get back on the bus that we usually take and head to church. We were glad that we were able to catch a bus to get us to where we have to make the connection for the other bus on time. Due to the fact that the trains were not running in that area, the bus was very full and stopped at every bus stop on the way. This put the bus behind schedule and we arrived 10 minutes late, at 10:10. It is always nice to walk into church 10 minutes late and have to walk across the room to find a seat :o) .

We have finished digitizing all the World War I Royal Air Force records. We are going to be doing some of the Navy records now. Most of the records are old books and require a different kind of camera set up. Our area supervisor came this week to change the camera set up for Paul. It is a dinosaur contraption that they pulled out of a scrap heap. The camera itself is still the same one he has had, but the desk, lights and cradle are all different. It appeared to working fine except there were no screws to affix the camera to the bracket that holds it steady and so the supervisor left to other parts of the country. Late the next day the screws arrived. The following day Paul mounted the camera to the bracket, but when Paul tried to use it, one of the lights did not work. (Mind you, they were working fine when our supervisor left.) He made sure it was not just a bulb problem, which it wasn't. He has not been able to get it working and who knows when it will run again. Anyway, having no camera, has given Paul time to do family history work and time to help a lot of others with theirs. Annie has put him to work to find the death records of Jane Wood Windus Eaude. He is almost through solving this puzzle. The spelling and pronunciation of names in the 17 and 18 hundreds is unreal. Thank goodness for Paul's talents and "Smarts" in doing genealogy.

Annie spent Tuesday with our friend Helen Baden. We have mentioned her to you in earlier posts. We went with her for her first visit to the temple just a short while ago. She has had a challenging few weeks, to say the least. Her brother-in-law was hospitalized with pancreatitis and in intensive care for a while. He is home now but not over the hill, yet. Her mother in law is in the hospital with terminal cancer. She is going down hill fast. Helen has been under a lot of stress with her new job and her jaw has locked. This week her husband lost all sensation and use in his right arm and hand. He has been hospitalized and going through tests for stroke and lots of other things. While her husband, Paul, was in the hospital, her father fell and dislocated his shoulder and tore up his leg. Their home had been torn apart due to painters coming to paint the walls. She was beside herself!!! Annie and Helen spent the day cleaning and straightening her house and sharing things with each other. They finished the day, before Helen went to the hospital to pick up her husband, with dinner at the Smart's home. It was fun for Annie and life saving for Helen.

We just have to think of Helen and her trials this month to realize how blessed we really are. The Lord loves each of us and sometimes our trials make it hard to recognize all of the love we are being shown. It has strongly impressed us that trials are given to us because we are loved. The Lord wants us to grow and be refined while we are here on this earthly journey. We all must remember that the way we handle our trials can determine how much we grow and improve and help us be more ready to meet Heavenly Father.

Happy Birthday this week to Sara and A J (Austyn).

Sara enjoying early Birthday Cake.

She is growing up!

We love you all and pray for you. The Church is true. The Lord loves you.

Grandpa and Grandma Smart, Mom and Dad, Paul and Annie, Elder and Sister Smart