Dear Family and Friends,
This week we had our absolute worst day so far on our mission. Actually, on Saturday I had to say to Sister Owens, “Now wait, I need to get this straight. Which day this week was our worst day?” On Tuesday we heard from several members of the branch that a young girl, a recent convert, was telling everybody that she is going to have a baby. She is not married. After hearing it from several people in the branch, we got a call from her telling us about it and she said she was so happy. Sister Owens told her that she is not happy, she is very sad. She reminded her that she has broken her covenants that she made when she was baptized. She said she thought that everybody would just be so happy for her. The poor girl has some mental challenges and just doesn’t realize what a serious situation she is in. She has been married before and has had children that were taken from her. We met the father who was helping her move to a new apartment and asked him if he is going to do right by this baby. He said, “Yes ma’am, I already have one young’un, 11 years old.” Of course there is no indication he has any intention of marrying the mother. It is a very depressing situation. She told her friend that when she has the baby then she will get more money to spend. Such a large percentage of the population her is made up of single women with several children, even in the membership of the branch. It is so hard to overcome the wicked traditions of the fathers.
On a much happier note, Sister Owens made a visit to the Doctor this week, after her mission president told her she better (he seems to wield more influence than her husband does). She had a bit of an episode several weeks ago where she was unable to form the words she wanted to say in her Presidency meeting. The two health professionals in her presidency were both sure she had a mini stroke. After an EKG and an ultrasound on her carotid arteries they said her heart and blood vessels were fine and her blood pressure was fine also (although it was higher than Elder Owens’s, just if you want to know). We both seem to be doing pretty good at becoming childlike. We both get to take a baby aspirin every day now. They are supposed to call us when they can schedule an MRI to check to see if she actually had any kind of stroke. They aren’t really concerned about anything that they are seeing at this point.
We did do a couple more apartment inspections this week. It is always a privilege to meet with the different elders for a few minutes and hear about the great work they are doing and hear about the miracles that are happening every day in the mission.
Our great renewal was the glorious Sabbath we had today. We got to attend Fast and Testimony meeting and hear the awesome humble testimonies of the members of this branch. The clean up man bore his testimony today. Brother Morgan, President James only councilor, conducted and bore his testimony. He is 78 years old and can hardly use either of his hands. He started to say he was thinking about the sacrament prayers and got so emotional he couldn’t speak. He said he loved wife and family and the Savior and closed and sat down. The spirit was so strong throughout the whole meeting. Sister Humphreys is going home in a week and a half and no one here knows it but her and her companion and Sister Owens and me. At the start of the transfer President Sainsbury asked all the missionaries that would go home at the end of the transfer to make this an invisible transfer and not let anyone know they would be leaving. We would not have known it except that we figured it out when she was asked to bear her testimony at our Zone Conference this transfer. The departing missionaries are the only ones that bear their testimonies. She bore her testimony in Sacrament meeting today. I don’t think I have ever heard anything more profound in my life than what she said to the members of the branch (and not even a hint that she was going to be leaving). She is an awesome missionary. It has been such a privilege to work with her here in Demopolis for the past fourteen weeks. We got two phone calls tonight one from the mission housing coordinator and one from our district leader. They both asked me how our Sunday was and I told them it was great. We had 37 people attend our Sacrament meeting. Elder Barfuss said they had 15 in attendance at their meeting, and Elder Foster said they had 20 at theirs. The Lord is really blessing us here. We got to visit with President and Sister James this afternoon while they were waiting for their son so they could take him home. They had driven over 30 minutes from York to pick him up. That was after they had driven in this morning for church then Sister James drove 40 minutes one way to Greensboro to get kids and bring them back to church and then go to get children here in Demopolis and bring them to church and then take everybody home after church and come back and pick up President James and drive another 30+ minutes to get home.
I have to tell you about the visit we had this week with Sister McCleskey who used to be the Relief Society President in Greensboro before they closed the branch there. She stopped coming to church for various reasons after the branches were combined. She had had periods of inactivity in her life previously. She married a non-member and went through the temple by herself a few years later, but has not stayed active. She told us about her two daughters. One is in the church and attends periodically and, commenting on why that was, she pointed back at herself and raised her eyebrows. Her other daughter has joined the Pentecostal church and has broken her heart. As we visited further she began to tell us how much she admires Sister James for all she does for everyone. She told us that Sister James told her once that she will never say “no” to the Lord because she wants her family to be with her after this life. It is such a privilege to be here and to know the James. I noticed on his record that he was sustained as Branch President in 2007 and that was after seven or so years serving as councilor.
Sister McCleskey called us later in the evening to tell us to call her daughter that works at the Moundville archeological site and she would arrange a private tour for us. She had given us her name during our visit and we said we were going to try to find her if we got to go there sometime. She had called her daughter and told her about us after we left. A couple days later she called Sister Owens and wanted her to know that she didn’t know what she said when she called but she wanted her to know that she wasn’t drunk. She had taken some allergy medication and intended to call to tell us about her daughter but couldn’t remember what she said. She just wanted us to know she was not drunk. We assured her that she didn’t seem drunk to us at all and that she did, in deed, tell us all about her daughter and we did appreciate it.
We love y’all!
Keep the commandments and read your Book of Mormon.
Elder and Sister Owens
PS. Sister Owens finally saw a live armadillo. It made her day. Sorry, no pic. It was too fast. I know, you wouldn’t think so, as many as we see dead on the road.
Attachment: Storm systems here are beautiful from far away.
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