Jan 29, 2012
It has been a nice Sunday.
For the last two weeks we have taken the Sisters in our car after church
to visit some of the less active (or inactive) members that live in the far
reaches of the ward. Last week it was
dark and raining (it still gets dark around 5:00) We were able to meet two families that
haven’t been seen for some time. One I wouldn’t really call a visit, although
we talked on the front porch for maybe ten minutes. The second couple actually let us in. They
are in their 60s, are converts, but haven’t been out for nearly ten years. He
went through two bouts of cancer during that time. It was hard to visit as the
wife was cooking in the kitchen and the man was hard of hearing. They did seem like a sweet couple, though,
and when the Sisters asked if we could come back they readily agreed to have us
return this Sunday. This week we stayed for a youth baptism after church and
then again went with the Sisters to visit the couple. We felt it went much better; they were
expecting us and we had a nice, sit down visit with both giving us their full
attention. We talked about their
conversion and why they had stopped attending and then Elder Curtis led in a
very bold, yet gentle invitation to begin the steps that will bring them back
into activity. The spirit was there as we all shared scriptures and thoughts
along with our own testimony and asked them to remember back to the reasons and
how they felt when they joined the church. We left them with a commitment to
begin reading their scriptures, pray and attend church next Sunday. It most
likely will take more than one visit to see all these things take place, but
they welcomed an appointment for us to return next week and for the Sisters to
call on them during the week. Our other attempts for visits today didn’t come
through, but we came home feeling good about the time with this couple.
Our work at the office the past two weeks as been a little
unusual – at least for me. I just
haven’t had a lot to keep me busy and I’ve decided I like ‘busy’ much better
than down time. Paul has had plenty to
do and I’ve helped where I could. One day we had another Senior Couple, the
Smiths, help us take three cars that needed body work to the shop we use up in
Boaz. The Smiths and I each drove a car
and Paul drove the mission van so we would have a way home. This is the same shop an hour and a half away
that we got lost trying to find a month ago. This time we went straight there
with no problems, but it is still a long drive.
Paul wonders sometimes if it’s worth it, but when looking at the bill he
can see that it is. Also, it is owned by a member and it’s nice to give him the
work. Salt Lake is really cracking down on any
damage to the cars. In the past the
mission used to just take them in when pushed to, usually when they were ready
to retire and sale a car. Now Salt Lake wants an accident report on all
dents or scratches the size of a golf ball or larger. This becomes difficult as
every missionary reports, “Oh, that was there when we got the car”. No one wants to take responsibility. We have had an unusual amount of activity
lately when it comes to accidents, and admittedly, many aren’t the fault of the
missionaries. There was one car parked
at the library while the Elders were writing their weekly letters. When they came out someone had backed into
their trunk completely smashing it in. Another car, one of the brand new ones
we just gave out, had a six inch scratch down to the metal on the side when the
Sisters returned to it. Of course, both
were hit and run. Grrrr Some are more
serious like the two earlier this week.
Thur. afternoon Paul got a call from a very shook up Elder in Miss. that
had come to a T in the road, looked both ways and then turned onto the street
only to be hit on the passenger side by a car that had come up over a
rise. Thank goodness, neither Elder was
hurt, but the other car had a woman and four children in it. One of the children was taken to the hospital
with injuries (we think a broken arm). The poor Elder that was driving was so
distraught and worried. He was afraid he
would be sent home, that his family could be sued and all other
imaginings. I was proud of Elder Curtis
as he calmly talked to him and reassured him. Even after we got home he was
back on the phone with him. We actually
don’t know the end of this story. The
Church has already heard from the other lady’s insurance, but until all the
reports are in we don’t have answers. In the meantime, these Elders that are
out in the middle of nowhere three hours from us are without
transportation. Elder Curtis had barely
hung up from talking with them when another set of Elders called and reported
they had hit a deer. There was some pretty major damage to this car as well and
it is out of commission. Thankfully again, neither Elder was hurt. They are also in the middle of nowhere up
north, so tomorrow (our P-day) we are going to take them one of the cars we
just had repaired and then drive theirs on up to Boaz to be worked on. We are doing
a good job keeping the member owned body shop in work.
When it’s not cars or accident reports or just reports that
Paul’s working on, it’s BIKES. We have
five missionaries coming in on Tuesday.
Once again Elder Smith spent a day helping Paul put together bikes so
they would be ready when they arrive. Elder C also arranged for some used ones
as he wants to help the missionaries and goes beyond his assigned duties to do
so.
One last thing and then I’ll leave this subject….. Remember back in Nov I mentioned that the
Missionary Department was having black ‘safety’ boxes installed in all the
mission cars, but they wouldn’t be activated until the first of March? We have
since learned that they have been randomly monitoring cars and Elder Curtis got
a call two weeks ago from the SL Department saying that two of our Elders had
been caught going “#@#” miles an hour on a back road. What were they
thinking? The President called them in
and there were some emergency transfers made and we’re told driving privileges
will be taken away. One of those things that would make a Mission Pres pull his
hair out. Thankfully, the good we see makes up for these kinds of issues.
I’m trying to remember what else we’ve had going on. On the 21st we took the Sisters
from our area with us to attend a baptism in the Oak Mountain ward. The Elders
there are our Zone Leaders and we have become good friends with them. The
Sister being baptized was so ready she had asked to have her date moved up a
week. It was a sweet and spiritual evening.
We have had two special evenings with President
Holzapfel. The first was a conference
call on the anniversary of the Prophet Joseph Smith receiving the vision of the
Celestial Kingdom. With his great
knowledge of Church History he told of the events leading up to this vision and
of many things that took place in the Kirtland Temple. He gave answers to some questions that we had
always wondered about as to what parts of the endowment were performed in that
temple. It was a very enlightening presentation.
The second evening was this past Saturday when Pres and Sister
Holzapfel invited all the Sr Couples to their home. We spent an hour or so listening to Pres. H
speak of the temples starting with Moses and on through Herod’s temple in
Jerusalem. He gave us drawings that he had made for a book he wrote on this
subject and we discussed each part of these temples and the importance of what
took place. If there’s an interest ask us to show you the drawings when we
return home. Once again we were taught and enlightened. We would have loved for
him to go on longer, but Sis H had prepared a delicious meal for us which we
also enjoyed. Elder Bluth, the Area
Seventy over several Southern states, was a guest and we were privileged to
have him and his wife sit at our table. A lovely and interesting couple.
Another guest of honor that evening was a new missionary
couple, Elder and Sister Johnson, who had arrived earlier in the week. They
will be serving in Miss. so this was the first chance for the rest of us to
meet them. We didn’t have much time to visit, but prior to their coming we had
heard that he is the inventor of the stem that hangs down letting you push your
cup against it to allow the drink to fill your container at a soda fountain, or
any fountain for that matter. He hasn’t retired, but took a six month leave of
absence to serve a mission. We probably won’t see as much of them as they are
three hours away, but hope to get to know them better. We will be going to their Zone next week for
Zone Conference. Our first time to that
area.
I’m at the end of the page so I’ll say goodnight for this
week. Blessings to all. Love, Mom & Dad
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