Dear Family and Friends,
Sorry this is late. Things kind of piled up on Sunday and we were both just too tired to get this out Sunday night. Monday we spent the day in Tuscaloosa and Bessemer for Sister Owens to have some tests to figure out why her cough isn’t clearing up. She had a cat scan on her lungs to follow up after the one she had in May when she came down with the bronchitis. After her scan we checked to see if she could go ahead and have her bone density test which was actually scheduled for Wednesday. They did the test so it saved us a trip on Wednesday. Then she had to see the pulmonologist and have another breathing test. Then the doctor couldn’t compare the two scans because her office didn’t have a copy of the original scan. It was sent to them last month and then they gave the disc to Sister Owens (???). Then they told her she would have to bring the disc in sometime so they could compare the two (I do love Alabama). By the time we were done with the tests and the doctor Sister Owens was pretty disgusted with the medical profession here and thought they are all just trying to make as much money as they can and don’t really care about the people at all. It kind of ruined her whole day and she ended up pretty negative about everything. We stopped at the mission office to pick up a package that they received for us from the Silver Sage Young Women. It was “just what the doctor ordered.” It had ten gifts for each of us and ten quotes from President Hinckley about what he hoped every missionary would take home with them from their mission. It totally changed her attitude and saved the day. Thank you to the Young Women for thinking of us.
Tuesday was District Council. They sent out an agenda on FB Messenger. Sister Owens’ facebook account is the only one attached to the group and she has no idea what her password is and hasn’t even opened it since we set it up. So we were totally unaware of the agenda and the assignment for the training. It was good training on Faith. They said they would text the one for the next week to us so we would have it. Then we took the sisters to lunch and drove to Bessemer for interviews with the President. We had a great visit with him. He told us he has been really impressed that Alabama is about to blossom. He thinks the government is passing laws that agree with the gospel and the people are prepared and the work is really going to move forward. I really tried to agree with him but find it a little hard. I’m sure nobody has noticed my attitude degrading over the past few weeks. I have just about decided we are just biding our time here until its time to go home. I haven’t felt like we have been able to do much of anything to move the work forward here. Our Stake Presidency as well as President Allred has asked us to pray for miracles for Demopolis. I have found that to be really hard to do. It has seemed to me that they just aren’t going to happen. Nothing has changed here since we have been here and President Sainsbury told us months ago that regardless of who he sends to Demopolis, it always stays the same and never changes.
Wednesday we went to coordination meeting and the sisters told us about all the people they are teaching from their tracting and they don’t seem to remain interested much past a couple of meetings. Then we went to the hospital here in Demopolis to see a member of the branch that has dementia. She was very tired. The staff said she hardly slept at all the night before. She was actually sleeping when we came and we didn’t want to wake her but they said they had to wake her and take her to the restroom anyway and then we could visit her. We went in and said hi and read one scripture and she was totally asleep. Short visit. But it was good she could finally sleep.
Thursday we met with Otis who called us last week to take him to church. We read from the Book of Mormon with him. He declined to read when asked but said he will study over it when we are gone. It is hard to know yet whether he can actually read or not. He hasn’t opened up to us enough to let us know. He is very positive about the message but he is very positive about everything. Its hard to know if he really is accepting the message or just being agreeable like so many others here. Then we went to Book of Mormon class in Greensboro. Deborah wasn’t there again. They told us she is still in the hospital in Tuscaloosa. It was a good class. We read from Romans 7 and then a chapter from the Book of Mormon. The managers wanted us to try to keep it short because the tenants go outside while we are there and wait for us to leave and it was quite warm Thursday. We always tell them they are welcome to come in while we are there but nobody ever does.
Friday we got a call from Human Resources advising that they were going to court to have Deborah placed in a nursing home and they needed a sponsor for her to help her apply for Medicaid. They asked us if we would be willing to do it and we said yes. They said they would call us back bur we haven’t heard from them yet. We went to Tuscaloosa again so Sister Owens could give the doctor another blood sample and copies of all her records from the fun time she had at all the doctors here in Demopolis back in May. We stopped at the hospital to see Deborah. She looked better than she ever has since we have known her. She was so alert and happy. It is amazing the difference it makes when someone is properly cared for.
Saturday we did our P-day chores and had another meeting with Otis and the Sisters. We read chapter 31 of Second Nephi about the Saviors baptism and why we need to be baptized. He was very agreeable again but we still weren’t sure why. He was planning on coming to church again Sunday.
Sunday morning I was with President James in Branch Presidency meeting and I got a text from the sisters and a phone call from Otis. The sisters were telling me that I didn’t have to pick up Otis because he was driving himself and he was going to call me and tell me. I missed the call form Otis but he left a message saying he was driving himself to church. He borrowed his mother’s car. They told us about Stake Priesthood meeting last week and Otis was there. We told him he was welcome to come if he would like to come with us. I figured he would end up opting not to go since it would be a two hour drive to get there and then a two hour drive home after the meeting. So this Sunday I asked him if he still wanted to come to Priesthood meeting and he said yes. As we were sitting waiting for Sacrament meeting to start Sister McCleskey walked in and sat on the front row just as the meeting was starting. We had tried several times to see her a year ago and she would not come to her door. She finally let us in one time and then stopped responding again. She was the Relief Society President when the Greensboro branch was still in existence. She hasn’t been to church as long as we have been here. We greeted her and she was very happy to see us and told Sister Owens she was in the hospital for a couple of days and was not on any medication and had an experience that she knew was real and she is convinced it is time for a change. She invited us over to her house this next week so she can tell us about it. So after church we had time for a bite of lunch and had the sisters over to eat with us along with Timothy so he wouldn’t have to go home to Forkland and have to be picked up for Priesthood meeting. Sister Owens had the three Smith girls stay at our house while we went to Priesthood meeting because Sister Smith is out of town this week. Then Brother Smith drove his Suburban and eight of us went to Priesthood meeting and met President James and his son, Terrell, there. Brother Smith said that was the most people from the branch that has ever gone to Bessemer for Priesthood meeting. They talked about Priesthood responsibilities, Keys, and Family History work. I figured Otis would have plenty of questions on the way home, but he didn’t ask any when I invited him to do so. After we dropped everyone off in Greensboro and just had him in the car going to Demopolis we had a little discussion going and learned that his Dad was killed in an auto accident 20 years ago and we told him how he could be baptized for his dad in the temple after he is baptized. We found out later, talking to the sisters, that he called them after we dropped him off and said he wanted them to help him so he can get baptized. He is really excited to be baptized for his dad. It made him feel so happy that he went over to his mother’s house and told her that he would be able to do that. He said that made her happy too.
The miracles are continuing this week but we will tell you about that next week.
Keep the commandments and read your Book of Mormon every day.
We love y’all,
Elder and Sister Owens
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