A Peaceful Place for the Process of the Changing of the Guard

I remember watching a film of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace when I was a child, and hearing my mother read, many times, a collection of poems by A.A. Milne, which included his well-known one which starts out with....

They're changing guards at Buckingham Palace.
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.

And it came to mind as we were at the Citadel in Hue last week, showing it to our cohort of senior missionaries as part of our semi-annual senior missionary conference, because we happened to arrive there just before the early morning ceremonial posting of the guard there.

And because we are heading into the period of time when our 2016 group of 8 seniors will start returning home and new ones will be joining us.

One thing that has been particularly good is that, blessedly, the government required authorization letter finally was issued 24 hours before our newest senior couple, the Braithwaites, were scheduled to fly here. Without that authorization, entry into the country would be impossible.  But it came.  So they could.  And they did, arriving about 10 hours before our morning flight to Hue.  So they were able to be part of the conference too.

Elder Braithwaite is our second senior elder who served here previously in the military.   

And no, it wasn't raining.  Umbrellas are also sunshades in this part of the world.

The meetings were helpful and insightful and good.  We have a group of thoughtful, earnest disciples here and it is a pleasure to work with them.

This was L. and my third trip to this historic city.  It's a pleasant break from the hustle and bustle of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and offers, along with it's surrounding area, some lovely, peaceful places.  

So, we also spent some time facilitating our senior couples in seeing some of that while we were here..  

This pagoda complex is one of my favorites.  The quiet, still in the city but up on a hill, is calming.

And I particularly love the view of the river it offers

Here are a few more photos to give you a bit of a sense of this city.

And then, this week, we held our next Hanoi Zone Conference.  I can't say how much I love these people.  Not enough words.  I love, particularly, watching them learn to listen to, love and watch over each other as they engage in their work.

Elder T. rolled his ankle on his way to the conference.  Elder V. was prepared.

Practicing the art of counseling together

Such good hearts.