Week of Feb 26, #2

The highlights of this week have been teaching with the elders.

All the elders in our district have invited us to teach lessons to their investigators. When they call on us, there are usually circumstances in which a mature couple is a good resource to use to answer specific questions, or provide a different perspective. Sister Johnson is especially good in these lessons, and really relates well to the women, because of her sincerity and genuineness. We have met some wonderful people this way, and hope to be able to meet many more.

I must tell you about a faithful member who lives in the nethermost part of the branch (congregation). She is a long-haul truck driver for a furniture company, and each week makes drives as far away as Indiana or Massachusetts. Her schedule will not permit her to attend our branch meetings every Sunday, and when she does come, it is a 1 hour drive each way - this after a full week of driving!! It is delightful to meet with her. Each time we go to see her, she gives us pecans from her trees - these are a local treat, and most anyone around here with a home 30 years old or more has pecan trees growing on the property, or nearby. Shelled and lightly toasted on a cookie sheet with a little salt, and they are the ultimate taste treat for me!

We have also been trying to find "lost" members - whose names are on the records, but no one has seen them. We went a 2nd time to a home out in the county, with a well-kept yard and car in the driveway. This time, there was a TV on in the house, but multiple knocks on both doors went unanswered. This is frustrating, we are not able to find out if the person whose name we have even really lives there. I will try to find her name in the phone book, and see if she can be contacted that way. Out here in the mission field, you have to be pretty creative to find some of those who think they are safely off the radar.

Our missionary district: Week of Feb 26, #1

We are in a district with 6 young elders. 2 - 4 districts comprise a zone, and there are about 9 zones in our mission. Our district meets weekly to give an accounting of our responsibilities, and to discuss ways we can help our investigators progress, and help each other. Our district covers West Point, Starkville, and Columbus, MS.

These young elders are great! Sister Johnson and I consider them our young sons, and we try to take good care of them. This means transporting them as the need arises, fixing their bikes, making sure they have enough to eat, remembering their special days like birthdays, bringing treats to district meetings (both the delicious and the healthy kind), and our favorite: teaching discussions with them. We consider it a great privilege to meet with their investigators and teach them. Those learning about the Church benefit from getting to meet a mature couple, and we can bring perspectives to the teaching that sometimes the young elders don't have experience with.

This week was Elder Roberts' birthday, so we took the elders to a local cafe for a good meal. These elders are assigned to West Point. They were assigned here shortly after we arrived, and have re-opened the area after the last missionaries were transferred away several months ago. They live in the apartment that we would have been in - and I can truthfully say that I am glad they are there, and we are in our nice Starkville apartment on the golf course.

The West Point and Starkville elders "car share", meaning that there is one car for 2 areas, and they trade every week. During non-car weeks, it's bicycles and shoe leather, and we help out when we can. We have been called to rescue them from bad weather, bike trouble, long distances between close appointments, and other needs. We are glad to be able to help them in their work.

Week of Feb 19, #3

We have started volunteer service at the West Point Food Bank. It is run and managed by a wonderful couple here, with hearts of gold, and a real love for those less fortunate. Many needy families get bags of groceries with good food that they would not otherwise be able to afford. Unfortunately, there is still a great need that is not met. The workers are all volunteer. The sponsor arranges to get the food, much of which comes from near-to-expiration items from WalMart, as well as the USDA. We try to participate 2 nights a week in bagging and organizing the items for distribution the next day. Sometimes the morning volunteers who direct the distribution will have time to bag for the next day, and we don't have to come in.
This has been a great way for us to get involved in the West Point community, meet some great people, and provide service.

Week of Feb 19, #2

I am posting more than a month late, but as we move through a period of frenetic activity interspersed with delays, cancellations, and other daily events in the lives of missionaries, there are some things from our notes and calendars that are worth sharing:

The West Point branch is small in numbers, but big in heart, caring, and service. The load shouldered by the faithful members here would shame the big wards in Mormonville. As an example: The few faithful brethren here have 7 - 9 Home Teaching families assigned, and most of them do not have companions, or shoulder the burden with their wives in a joint Home/Visiting teaching assignment. The branch is approximately 60 miles square, and some of the members must drive 1 hour, each way, to Church.

Following the initiative of one of the members in the branch presidency, we have undertaken a tree-clearing project for one of the members. Look at the photo - this was a BIG oak tree that partially came down against the house during a recent storm, and had to be completely removed. The main trunk of the tree is the size you see in the "round" of this photo. Br. Redwine owns the hydraulic splitter (a lifesaver), and Br. Shields and Lewie are in the background. We have to cut the big log into manageable lengths, and then manhandle them over to the splitter. Look at the size of this monster!! So far we have been at it about 6 Saturday mornings straight, excepting for rain, and we're still working on it. About 2 more weeks, and we should have it done. I knew it was a good idea to bring my chainsaw, and it has really been helpful so far. Some days we have had more help, other days it is just the crew in the photo, plus me. It breaks my heart to cut and split the beautiful straight-grained oak for firewood, but there is nothing else to do with it. I have cut a thin round, and we may bring it back to Utah with us to make into a table, as part of our memories of Mississippi.

We haven't been posting lately

Out last post was 3 weeks ago.

These 3 weeks have been a whirlwind of activity (but no real whirlwinds or tornados), including: teaching Temple Preparation classes, 3 trips to Birmingham in 3 weeks, multizone conference, felling and cutting trees, teaching with our elders, going to the gym (regularly), visiting a care center, TAXES, setting up career days at the high schools and jr college in our areas, planning a trip to 2 civil war battlefields & re-enactments, and taking care of our elders.

Please stay tuned, there will be a flurry of new posts forthcoming

Week of February 19, #1

As we continue locating members of the West Point branch, we out to the area of Prairie, MS. A lot of Mississippi is rural, with small towns spaced out about 10 – 15 miles from each other. Unfortunately, most of the towns have seen better days, and they are declining, both as to condition and economics. A lot of the local businesses that thrived in years past have shuttered and are vacant. Each is unique, each with its own local history. At one time, Prairie (think of Scipio, UT) had a munitions plant that operated from WW2 into the 60’s that employed over 11,000 workers. It’s hard to believe there were even that many people living in the whole county back then. It’s now gated and chained, and doesn’t look like anyone has set foot inside the grounds since it closed.
We had names and addresses of several members in the Prairie area. No one in the branch had ever seen them, or knew anything about them. With a Google map and GPS, we finally found them. I should add that GPS maps of Mis'sipi are not accurate (frequently), but most of the time they will get us close. We located the first home, guarded by a pack of dogs of all sizes. The biggest ones were on chains, but there were lots of smaller ones nipping about. In that case, I have found that the best thing is to head straight for the front door. Sister Dawn, usually brave, elected to wait in the car this time. As I was greeted by the adult son of the sister we were looking for, he told me that she had died in 2010, and gave us the date. We were sad to hear that, but at least we were able to confirm that for her records.
When we made our way to the other address, we found out the same thing, the member had died in 2011. With the information we were able to provide, the branch mission leader was able to access Social Security death records, and confirm these events.

Our "Hello" gifts

Since we towed a U-Haul trailer down to Mississippi, we had enough room to take along some items that we use as Hello or Welcome gifts when we meet someone. These have proven to be very useful, and are appreciated by those we meet. I should say that these kind people usually respond with a gift of their own, and so far we have received fresh pecans, toasted/salted pecans, fresh eggs, turnips, and frozen blueberries.
Shown here is an 8oz bottle of hand sanitizer. I scored a 5 gallon bucket of hand sanitizer (thanks Alayne) before we left, and I thought it would be a good idea to bring it with us. I went online and bought 100 clear bottles with pumps and had them delivered to our apartment. Next I had a Book of Mormon scripture (Alma 5:19) referencing "clean hands" laser printed on acetate (thanks Jann Park for the technical details), and then rolled them up and stuffed them inside, and pumped the bottles full of sanitizer. These have been a hit, and are appreciated by those who receive them.
I also brought along several cases of baking cups left over from our cup denester machine tests. The "tulip" cups and the printed cups have also been well received. I gave a tube of printed cups to the lady that runs our favorite Mennonite cafe, and have received generous servings of pecan pie (Mmmmm good) in exchange, so that has been an excellent trade.
Also, we brought one of our few remaining cases of baking parchment sheets. They are new to most of the ladies we give them to (lots of butter and shortening used here), but they are also a hit, and we have already had requests for more from those who have run out, or who have heard about them. We usually roll a dozen sheets inside a page printed with our picture, email, and phone numbers and leave these with a note tied to doorknobs when no one is home.
Finally, we have a supply of our Dawn Designs perpetual birthday calendars (that we made in 1979 and still have left).
It's been fun to have these things with us, and always breaks the ice and gets a friendly conversation going.

Week of February 12

Lest you think that all we do is drive around and take pictures of the South’s unique features and peculiarities, I wish to assure you that we are diligently working, and that the other events are incidental.
The West Point Branch is roughly 60 miles square, and the members are scattered all over. Some live so far away, that it is a 1 hour drive to the chapel. This, along with other factors, makes it difficult for some of them to be in attendance regularly, but we are very appreciative of the faithfulness they show, and the sacrifices they make to be with us.
After church, we met Cary and Cheryl Wilson (think Gary and Jeanine Porter for those of you who know them – some of the similarities are striking). He is the 2nd counselor in the branch presidency, and she is a counselor in the Relief Society presidency. They have home teaching and visiting teaching responsibilities in the NW area of the branch, which is the most distant. We all got into our Jeep, and headed that toward Houston, MS to meet the members in that area. As per usual, some were home, and others were not. We did get to meet some delightful people! I should say that they were unique, and not the cookie-cutter members that we from Mormonville are used to seeing. Each one has a fascinating story of their membership and history in the Church. Their backgrounds and families are equally unique. I will likely describe them in more detail in future posts, but let me say that they are warm and welcoming, and are so glad to see us. As always, Sister Johnson is an instant friend of all the sisters we meet. We usually came away with little gifts ranging from fresh pecans to fresh eggs to frozen blueberries. Total mileage on this day’s driving: 206 miles. We average about 120 miles every day.

Tornados missed us!

Pretty wild weather the last couple days across the South. You probably have heard about the tornados in IL, IN, and KY. There were a few near Huntsville, AL also, but none within 150 mi of us, thank goodness.
On the map, we are south of Tupelo about 80 mi, and directly west of Birmingham, so it looks like we are really getting it, but it really was not much other than a few bursts of heavy rain. A few more gusts and rain last night, but it cleared off nicely this morning. We were getting Severe Weather alerts all through the day yesterday, but no events near us.
The mission has missionaries scattered across 3 states, and the President is very concerned about safety. There is a call-in procedure that allows him to know that everyone is OK, within 30 minutes of any designated time. No one hurt in the last event. We did have 2 elders in our district that live in a "vulnerable" place, so they took their sleeping bags and went to the Church and slept in the baptismal font! That is probably the safest place they could have been, as it is below ground and protected on the interior of the building, but turns out there was no danger. They will have a good story to tell.
More posts to come about our work, sorry, I have not been keeping up with everything on a timely basis.