Dear Family and Friends,
Monday we were going to do three of the four apartment inspections that we normally do. We contacted each of them last week to schedule the inspections and the first ones said they had a district activity so they wouldn't be home but we could come anyway (same as last transfer), The second set said we could come, and the third set said they had a district activity and asked if we could come a different day (we found out they were all at the same activity). We went to the first apartment and were quite disappointed. The apartment really wasn't up to standard. Last transfer things were not as nice as we expected they would be but they had always been good so we just left them a note and told them some things they needed to do to tidy up. This time it was a lot worse and we decided we needed to talk to them. We went to the next apartment and found four elders there. They said they just got back from fishing for a district activity. We saw the muddy shoes at the front door when we arrived and were proud of them for working in the garden (the apartment complex has raised garden boxes for the tenants) but they had just been fishing. Their apartment looked pretty good (it always has) and as we were leaving we found out the other elders there were the ones from Selma (our first inspection). I got my ipad and showed them the pictures we took of all the things that were sub-standard and told them we would come later in the week and they needed to be there when we came.
Last week when we took Brother White to the doctor he told us he might not be able to get to Dialysis the next day because he didn't have enough money for gas (he spent his whole check buying his car). Sister Owens asked him if he had food in his fridge. He didn't say anything so I repeated what she said. He said, "I heard you Sister Owens." He told us he doesn't like to ask people for help (WOW! That's the first time we ran into that since we've been here). Sister Owens said we would stop by the next day and see what he needed and get some groceries for him. When we dropped him off I gave him some money for gas so he could get to dialysis and get some groceries and told him we would check at Book of Mormon class to see what else he needed. I mention all this because we totally forgot to ask him anything Thursday at class and he didn't say a thing. We didn't remember until Sunday. So after inspections we went and got some groceries and took them out to him. Monday night we met with Otis and the sisters again and taught him about the plan of salvation.
Tuesday morning we were just leaving to pick up the sisters for District Council and Otis called and said he needed a little help getting his phone working again. I asked him what he needed and he said he needed the fifteen dollars to pay for the card for the month. I told him we had our day pretty full but we would come buy in the afternoon and see what we could do to help him. We just got home from District council and were picking up Ollie to take her to the church and help her with her finances and Otis called again. I told him we would come by after our appointment with Ollie and we could have him wash our car and I could give him the money he needed for his phone card. He said that would be great, he would be ready for us. He called again before we finished with Ollie and said he had been waiting for us for an hour and all he wanted from us was a little help and we didn't come through for him so we could stop coming to see him and he wasn't going to come to our church with us again. We had an appointment scheduled for Saturday so I asked him if he wanted us to come for the appointment. He said no and not to come to see him anymore. We went home when we finished with Ollie and called the sisters and apologized for losing their most promising contact. They assured us that it was okay and that it was better that it happened now and not after he got baptized. We got a call that night from a sister that had called Sister Owens last week to tell her she needed help paying her power bill. Sister Owens told her she would have to talk to President James about that. She was not authorized to commit to anything about that. So Tuesday night she said she found a way to pay her power bill but now she needed help buying some food. She was a little disappointed to find out she still had to talk to President James. She did and President James called Sister Owens and told her to buy some groceries to last until the first of the month (when she gets her food stamps).
Wednesday we went to Tuscaloosa for my doctor appointment. I told him I feel a little light headed when I stand up after I bend over and he said it was probably a minor inner ear thing going on and just to give myself enough recovery time and be careful and I should be okay. Then I told him about passing out on the fourth of July at American Village and he said we might cut back a little on my blood pressure meds. Then he said to just stop taking it and let him know if it goes up very much in the next little while. After my appointment we went to re-inspect the Selma apartment and then on to inspect the sisters' apartment in Camden. The Selma apartment was next to immaculate and we congratulated the elders. One of them is from the Florida mission and one is from the Arkansas mission so I guess they both know now what the standard is for the Alabama mission with respect to apartment upkeep. When we got back to Demopolis we went to write up a grocery list for the sister in the ward that had called Sister Owens, then Otis called us. He apologized for what he said the night before. He said he was just upset that day and he was sorry. He said he sent for us and he is not going to turn us away. He is ready to talk to us whenever we are ready to talk to him. I told him I would still like to have him wash the car. He said he was going to get his phone working and that I could call him. We went to coordination meeting and the sisters started to give an update on Otis and I interrupted and said I had something to say about Otis. They were pleasantly surprised since they had been over to talk to him that morning and he had been quite cold to them and when they tried to confirm the appointment for Saturday he said he would have to call them about it. We went shopping after the meeting and took the groceries over to the sister in the ward. Sister Owens wanted to take some soup and eggs and meat to a non-member that we are getting to know a little bit. It was a long hard day for Sister Owens. She said Alabama is starting to get to her, she is starting to wonder just where are the honest in heart. She is starting to agree a little bit with Ollie who asked if everyone in Alabama is crazy.
Thursday morning Sister Owens called Sister Morgan to have an announcement put in the bulletin and found out she had rubbed off a scab or something on her ankle when she was washing her leg in the shower. It starting spraying blood all over the tub and bathroom and she couldn't get it to stop. She was yelling for her husband at the top of her lungs. He is seventy-nine, almost deaf, severely disabled from a boiler explosion thirty years ago, and was in the other bathroom with the fan on and did not hear her at all. She banged on the wall between them with a laundry basket and he didn't notice that. She wrapped a towel around her leg which didn't help much, the blood was still pouring out from under the towel. She walked through her bedroom to the other bathroom and got her husbands attention. They still couldn't stop the bleeding and called an ambulance. When the paramedics got there they said it looked like someone had been shot, there was blood all over the bedroom as well as the bathroom. They got the bleeding stopped and told her she didn't need to go to the hospital unless she wanted to. She stayed home. As soon as we got off the phone we went to their house and started helping clean up the blood from the carpet. Her daughter in law arrived shortly afterwards and then her son came. Otis had called us just before we talked to Sister Morgan and wanted us to come by so we left Morgan's and went to see Otis. He asked if I could still help him with the phone card. I told him I could and gave him the fifteen dollars and asked him if he would still wash the car. He said he would so we were going to come by after Book of Mormon class and have him do it. On the way to Greensboro for Book of Mormon class we saw a huge smoke plume in the distance and knew there was a pretty major fire somewhere. It was the first time we have seen something like that since we have been here. It actually made us a little homesick. I remembered that when I went to walk that morning I noticed it felt a lot like it did in Boise early in the morning. I thought it was really quite dry for Alabama. It must have been dry enough for a fire to start, finally.
It was a little late for the car wash Thursday so we took it over Friday morning and Otis did a very good job. We'll probably have him do it for us the rest of the time we are here. We kind of took it easy the rest of the day. It was a bit of a hard week. We got things ready for fixing pizza for the sisters. We decided to make it a thing to have pizza for them the weekend before each transfer. It doesn't look like either of them are going to be transferred this time. We feel sorry for them (this if a very hard area for the sisters) but we are happy for us and the branch. They are great missionaries.
Saturday we thought we were having a meeting with Otis in the morning but we found out the sisters met with him Friday night with Sister Smith. It was good to have another member of the branch go with them to see him. So they came at noon to have pizza. After lunch Sister Allen read Alma 30:44 to us and said all things denote there is a God, "even Elder Owens' Pizza." Gee, no wonder we like these sisters so much. Otis called us Saturday night to ask if we would pick him up for church. We told him we would be happy to do so.
Sunday morning He called at 8:00 and said he woke up to late and didn't have time to get ready so he wouldn't make it to church today (at 10:00??). Andrea had texted us needing a ride also. After Otis called we got another text from Andrea saying her mother was coming as well. That worked out since we only have room for two people. Then before we left we got a text from Sister Smith that half her family was sick and wouldn't be to church. Now Sister Owens is taking care of Primary. Then Sister Smith texted saying she was being asked to give rides to a couple primary kids and wanted to know if we could pick them up. It all worked out. Andrea and her mother were ready early and we were there early to pick them up. We took them to the building and went back to get Amaria and Kia and got them there before church started. There were only twenty-seven of us there today. It was a great testimony meeting. The James were out of town again (this time they were on vacation). President Lewis was there (counselor in the Stake Presidency) and presided and Brother Smith conducted again. Brother Borden and Brother White both bore their testimonies. They are both awesome and humble men. It is neat to hear their testimonies. Sister McCleskey was there again (three times in a row) and bore her testimony. She said the thing that has helped her the most even though she has been inactive for some years is the payment of her tithing. It has helped her keep her testimony. She hopes she can keep coming to church. Several people told her how glad they were to see her there again.
Keep the commandments and read your Book of Mormon every day.
We love y'all,
Elder and Sister Owens
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