Olympic Fireside

During the Olympics the street in front of the Hyde Park Chapel (and our flat), Exhibition Road, was turned into a street party.  All traffic was diverted and the street was a wonderful mixture of sights, sounds and smells.  There were dancers, singers, acrobats, science experiments, and lots of food.  People walked up and down the road (We even had a visit from Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall aka Prince Charles's wife!)  Our Visitor's Center handed out balloons and it was delightful to see children walking with "mormon.org"  floating over their heads!

This was the view from our front room balcony.

One of the real treats for us was a fireside on August 5th with 4 LDS athletes who competed during the games.  They represented the Cook Islands, Venezuela and the United States.  It was inspiring to hear them bear their testimonies of the gospel and talk of the challenges of being a member of the church whilst training for the Olympics.  We are so thankful that they would take time away from Olympic activities and speak with us.

From the left: Patricia Taea from the Cook Islands, Athletics, competing in the 100-meter sprint.

Celeste Brown from the Cook Islands, Swimming, competing in the 50-meter freestyle.

John Nunn, from the United States, Athletics, competing in the 50km race walk.

Johanna Fuenmayor from Venezuela, Fencing, competing in Individual Foil.

Our own happy Elder Alarcon, from Mexico, translated for Johanna and did such a wonderful job.  The spirit of her sweet testimony came through so beautifully in his translation.

Thank you, thank you, you wonderful athletes!

Missionaries love a photo op!