Dear Family and Friends,
Monday we took Sister Owens to a cardiovascular and thoracic specialist as directed by her pulmonologist. He was going to explore the possibility of a lung biopsy because of the persistent infection and cough she has had since May. I guess it would be a pretty involved procedure if they decided it would be necessary. Thanks to the prayers and faith of many of you the doctor didn't seem to feel that anything is really necessary at this time. She actually has been showing some improvement in the last couple of weeks and he looked at the scans she had done a few months ago. He said what he saw does not seem to be anything serious enough to consider a biopsy at this time. He suggested considering it again in about six months if she is still having problems. We did take some sandwiches and salad with us to Tuscaloosa and stopped at a park to have lunch before her appointment (attachment #1). I think it helped to relieve her apprehension about the visit with the doctor.
Tuesday we had to catch up on P-day chores and we worked on RS and EQ lessons for Sunday.
Wednesday we worked on bulletin board ideas and got some logos printed at the print shop. The branch council is trying to find a way to enlist the help of the non-member parents of all the children that come to church most weeks. We want them to support their children in their personal goal setting in the four areas of improvement in the new child and youth program. We want to have some kind of activity this fall that the non-member parents will be encouraged to come to and then we hope to convince them that it will be in their best interest as families to support their children in their goal setting. We usually have more non-member children in primary than we do members and the children have no gospel learning or support at home during the week. The branch has several serious challenges among which is the two deep leadership with all the youth and children. There are only about five sisters in the branch that would be considered qualified to serve in leadership positions with the youth and children and they are utilized as presidencies and teachers already. Sister Smith is struggling with major challenges with the primary in that the age range of the few children that attend is from two to eleven and right now she is the only adult in the primary.
Thursday we picked up the sisters at 6:45 AM and headed to Bessemer for our Zone Conference. President and Sister Allred just got back from training with Elder Bednar and had several things to share with all of us. The mission is shifting focus to working a great deal with prospective elders, less active, and part member families. A huge emphasis from the mission, going forward, is going to be in the area of family history. A senior couple is here on their third mission to help with family history. They will visit each district in the mission to give us training and we will go back to our areas to train the members (and non-members) so they can submit names to the temple. The missionaries will get to go to the temple once in every transfer (six weeks) and will take names that have been found by the members of the wards and branches if the people do not have recommends to go themselves. Sister Snarr (who was trained here and is now serving her last transfer before returning home) and Sister Allen (who was just trained by Sister McCreath) are the Sister Training Leaders for our Zone so they are doing exchanges with the sisters throughout the zone. They split with another set of sisters and we took Sister Snarr and Sister Woods (from Bessemer) back with us to Demopolis so they can work together for a day.
Friday we drove out to visit a less active member to see if he would accept a visit from the Stake President this Sunday but he wasn't home. We started getting some pretty good rain from the storm they are having down on the coast. There were several tornado watches issued for counties just south of us. We went in the afternoon to help Ollie again with her Bank statement. It was raining quite a bit so we didn't want to try to get her into and out of the car to take her to the church. We just sat out on her covered patio and worked on her statement. I wish our counsel and advice would make a difference but it doesn't seem to. She just keeps giving money to anyone that asks her for it. She knows she doesn't have the money to keep paying so many people, but they offer to do any little thing for her (defrost the freezer, put drano in the sink, etc.) and she says they did work for her and pays them $20 or $40.
Saturday was laundry day for Andrea and her Mother and for us. We went and picked them up with their two huge bags and two laundry baskets of dirty laundry (I really didn't think it was going to fit in our car) and drove them to the laundro-mat. Then we went out to see Brother Harbin again (the one we tried to catch on Friday) He was home and we had a good visit with him and his wife. He said he would be home and the Stake President could come and visit him on Sunday. Then we stopped to see the Kirks on the way back and they agreed to a visit as well. Andrea and her mother weren't quite finished with their laundry so we got to go home and get ours started. Then we went back and took them back to their apartment. When we got home we got a call from Ollie. Ross had a bit of a tantrum and walked out after he splashed drano all over the sink and she was worried about the sink and wanted us to come over and check it out. Her husband had been quite rude to her and the lady that comes to bathe her and the lady said she was never coming back as long as he was there (she later relented—I think she realized she was cutting herself off from some really easy money). While we were there to check the sink Ollie asked if I would give her a blessing and asked if I would give her husband one as well. I said I would if he wanted one. He said he would like one. That was an interesting experience! He is a drug addict, compulsive gambler, and abuses his wife (and just about everybody else that comes to their house except his supplier and his bookie). But the Lord did have a blessing for him. We will see if things get better. It is hard here.
Sunday we thought the Stake President was visiting the branch. We got there and it was the entire Stake Presidency plus the Stake Clerk, Executive Secretary, and our High Councilman. I had told Brother Harbin and Brother Kirk that the Stake President would like to visit them and that President James would come with him. When I told them what appointments I had for them, President Lewis said, "Great, we can go see them as a group!" I hope it went well. Sister Owens went to a training meeting in Tuscaloosa after church along with the rest of her presidency and the EQ Presidency (which is Brother Smith and Brother White). So Brother White stayed in Demopolis until it was time to leave for the meeting. We had him come to our apartment for lunch and a little rest before they left (attachment #2). I went to the church to work on membership records while they were gone to their meeting.
Keep the commandments and read your Book of Mormon every day, every day, every day.
We love y'all,
Elder and Sister Owens
Rob and Suzie
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