Week 2 Big Week

Dear Family and Friends,

After our fantastic General Conference on Easter we had our first Zone Conference this week.  It was a multi-zone conference and our visiting authority was Elder Klebingat.  He was amazing.  He taught us for about six hours all together without any notes and was quoting scriptures (chapter and verse) right and left right off the top of his head. The last hour he just took questions from the Elders and Sisters and he answered every one with a scripture.  He told us the chapter and verse and told us to look it up and had some one read it and then he would expound it.  It was truly awesome. He reminded us that we are here to fulfill a premortal covenant to gather scattered Israel.  We all know that already, but the way he got us to visualize the making of that covenant was a pretty awesome thing.

We told you about Johnny and Bobbie Jean and their family last week.  The referral we checked with the Sisters.  They met with them this week a couple of times and the family came to church today.  Johnny missed the lesson on the restoration so the Sisters taught it again during SundaySchool and asked Bobbie how she felt about the Joseph Smith story.  She said she knows it is true.  Johnny said he feels like it is also.  After church we had a nice visit with both of them because their kids didn’t want to leave the primary room.  They are a great family.  The Sisters have another appointment with them Tuesday night.

We went with the Sisters to teach a family they met tracting.  Wayne and Angela Airington.  Their neighbor was there with them.  His name is Michael.  He is twenty-one and very religious.  They both (Wayne and Michael) told us about several miracles they had experienced in their life recently. We had a very good discussion with them.  At one point Wayne said, “So what is it about the Mormon church that makes it so different from all the other churches?”  Of course good old Satan had to get his hand in things. Before Sister Humphreys could start to answer his question his daughter started a ruckus down the hall and he had to leave the room and was gone for more than five minutes.   The Sisters asked him if he would pray about the Book of Mormon.  He said he would pray to keep an open mind.  He was sick and Michael wasn’t there for the next discussion so it was just with his wife.  They didn’t make it to church today, but one out of two is not bad.

We didn’t make it to the Book of Mormon study class in Greensboro Thursday because of Zone Conference.  We will get to go this next week and are looking forward to it.  They are all really neat, humble people.  We are looking at starting one in Linden each week as well.  People are all spread out so far here and there just is no transportation for them to get together for things like that.

We had a great thunderstorm Friday night.  Rattled our garage apartment really good.  Hope we are built on a rock.  Still here so far.  There is only one window in the whole place so we didn’t really get to see much of it, but we did feel it and hear it really well.  We have found a beautiful path for walking every morning.  The temperature really fluctuates right now.  We haven’t gotten up to 80 anymore since the day we got here but it goes from the 70s during the day to the high 30s sometimes during the night.  You’ll have to check the blog for a picture of our spacious apartment and a couple pictures of the path where we walk in the mornings. 

The gospel is true! Our Branch President and his wife both bore their testimony in fast meeting today.  They are both amazing people.  Brother Smith told me when they came to Demopolis fourteen years ago President James was the Branch President and he has been running the branch ever since.  I told President James at Priesthood meeting last week that I just can’t believe he can do what he does.  He just told me the Lord has really blessed his family.

Love y’all! Keep the commandments and read your Book of Mormon

Elder and Sister Owens