Dear Family and Friends,
Our district leader was telling us all last week that we were going to have a district activity on Monday this week. Then Sunday night they cancelled it. Monday was a beautiful day. When I got home from walking I told Sister Owens we should call the sisters and see if they had plans for lunch and if they didn't we would offer to take them on a picnic. She thought it would be a good idea so I sent them a text. I told them if they didn't have lunch plans that we all deserved a Veteran's Day, P-day, cancelled district activity picnic. I told them we wanted to take them to Payne Lake so they could see it. While we were deciding to invite them they were feeling a little down because they had a couple discouraging days and were deciding what to do for P-day. They didn't have enough miles to go anywhere and decided they were going to go to the branch building and have a "pretend" picnic. Then they got our text and were grateful for the Lord's tender mercies. We drove out to the lake (see attachment) and had a nice lunch of pork chops, baked beans, macaroni salad, and potato chips, and some spinach and feta cheese salad that the sisters brought. The weather and the scenery was beautiful.
Tuesday morning Sister Owens got her hair cut so she has been happy all week. We went to visit the non-member mother of a nine year old girl in the branch that wants so badly to be baptized. We are trying to determine who her legal guardian is. She lives with her aunt. We want someone to come to the face to face on Sunday to learn what the program is that their daughter will be involved in next year. The mother wasn't home. We went to Greensboro to find a woman we have been looking for since we got to Alabama. We had an address for her in Demopolis and have never had anyone answer the door yet. We found an address in Greensboro online and decided to check it out. We turned onto the street and drove down to where we expected the address to be and could not find a house with that number. We were going back to the highway and just as we got to the intersection Sister Owens noticed that the house on the corner had the number we were looking for on the mailbox. A couple was just getting out of their car when we drove into the driveway. It was the lady we were trying to find. We were confirming her name and she asked us why we were asking all these questions. I told her who we were and she said, "OH, are you talking about the Mormons?" And laughed. She said she hadn't been to that church in nineteen years. She couldn't believe we still had her name on our records. We are going to try to see her again this week and see what happens. Everybody here is polite and friendly when you catch them in a situation where they can't avoid you. Unfortunately its often a whole different story when there is a door that they can "not open." I don't mean to sound negative, that just really is the way it is here. We stopped to visit with Brother White and Sister Nixon at Canterbury Manor before we left Greensboro. We are still trying to get a primary care physician for Brother White. We got some misinformation from the clinic here in Demopolis as to who in Tuscaloosa actually provides that service so we kind of have to start over. We found out Sister Nixon's seven year old grandson died in a house fire this past week along with his adoptive mother.
Wednesday morning we substituted for Sister Smith and went to the food bank to pick up a couple food orders and deliver them to members of the Branch. It was very cold (21 degrees). We even had to scrape the windshield before we could go. That was at seven in the morning so I went walking after we finished. It still hadn't warmed up very much. We tried to see Mary Kirk again (the nine year old's mother we are trying to contact). She still was not home (at least there was no answer at the door). We had coordination meeting with Brother Smith. The sisters most progressing person who was on date for baptism got a job in security at one of the paper mills. She is working night shift Thursday through Sunday. She hasn't responded to the Sisters' texts since she started working.
Thursday was rainy, cold, and gray, but we did have a good Book of Mormon class. Brother White was there again but we missed Brother Foote (our new high council rep.). Sister Borden missed again this week. She was seeing her Migraine headache doctor. Sister Jones answered her phone and said she would come to class with us so it looks like she might be coming regurly again. She still isn't coming to church on Sundays though. We tried again to see Mary Kirk, still no answer at her door. It doesn't seem to matter what time we go there. I'm starting to wonder if anyone really lives there other than the dog that in on the porch inside a kennel with a sleeping bag draped over it. He whines every time we come. We haven't ever actually seen him.
Friday was our district council this week. We had Family Search training by Elder and Sister Price. It was great training. The goal is to get all the elders and sisters to develop basic skills in using family search so they will be able to provide one on one training to anyone that wants to start doing family history. Their presentation is very good. We received a booklet and viewed six training videos with step by step instructions for navigating the family search website. We have the link to the videos and can refer back to them anytime we need to. The mission is focusing on making family history a major part of the work for all the missionaries, as well as working to reactivate less active members and attending the temple once every transfer. Before we left Tuscaloosa a member from Greensboro called and asked Sister Owens if she would make a batch of brownies for the family after the funeral for Sister Nixon's grandson. The lady is bedridden so it was hard to say no, but some people really don't have much consideration for others when they ask for things. Anyone in Greensboro would have been happy to go to the store and buy brownies for her (she has an ex-husband and two grown sons there in town). Instead we bake the brownies and drive thirty minutes there to take them to her and then thirty minutes to get back home.
Saturday was Preparation Day and boy did we prepare. We did the laundry and fixed ham and beans and cinnamon rolls for the face to face on Sunday. We gave up trying to find Mary Kirk and just went to Ella Mae Kirk, who has the nine year old living with her. We asked her if she was the legal guardian for Aaliyah and if it is documented. She did a little double take when we asked about the documentation and then said, "I have Guardian." We asked Tasha Kirk about it and she assured us that Ella Mae really is the legal guardian so I guess I believe it (I have always been a little bit skeptical). Ella Mae is single and works full time and has part time jobs (under the table, as they say) and has three children living in her house. The oldest is thirteen years old. We invited her to come to the face to face and bring the children. She said she was scheduled to work from six to six, but if she got off earlier maybe she would come. Brother White called us Saturday night and said he wasn't sure his car would make it to church because he has a bad tire. He asked if we would call the Bordens or somebody to give him a ride to church. This is a strange place. They have been friends for more that nine years (I think a lot more). I don't know why he just didn't call them himself. Brother Borden has told him they would pick him up any time. We told him we would call them. We called and they said they would pick him up.
Sunday started with a call from Sister Borden at 6:12 AM to let Sister Owens know that she wouldn't be at church because she had stomach problems. Sister Owens asked if Brother Borden was still going to come and bring Brother White. She said he couldn't because he was going to take her to the emergency room. We called Brother White and told him we would come to get him. He refused to have us drive all the way there to get him and said he would get in to church. We went a little early (Branch Presidency Mtg. starts at 9) so we could put the food in the fridge for the face to face. At 9:15 President James was not there. About ten minutes later one person came (a lady that is actually an excommunicated member). I started to worry a little bit. I started sacrament preparation since there were no priesthood holders there yet and we had to leave at 9:40 to pick up Ollie. I wasn't finished (and I had no bread anyway) and it was time to go to get Ollie. When we walked out the door Brother White was just driving up. He usually sits in his car until the meeting starts because the chairs are uncomfortable for him. I went and asked him to go in and finish getting the sacrament ready. There was still nobody there besides us, the sisters, and one member. As we were leaving Sister James drove up and told us President James drove to Tuscaloosa to take Tirrell to YSA and was coming but would probably be a few minutes late. Then the Smiths drove up with the Aaronic priesthood (their boys) and the sacrament bread. We went to get Ollie and on the way back to the church President James called to tell me he would be a few minutes late but he was coming. Brother Morgan asked Brother Smith to conduct since President James wasn't there. A family was there from Tuscaloosa to speak but they were not the speakers that were listed on the program. The ones on the program were not there. President James walked in at 10:00 and conducted the meeting. After the sacrament another family walked in and sat down. They were the speakers listed on the program. Their GPS had taken them to the Church of Christ instead of our building. So we had four speakers instead of two which was kind of a shame because we could really use two of them on the second week of December. Speakers are hard to come by when you have average attendance of less than 40 and most of them wouldn't speak if you asked them to. They all had very good messages. It was a good meeting. We had a total of nine visitors and still only had 34 people in attendance. A lot of the "regulars" were not there this week. After church we went home and had some lunch and then went to set up for the Face to Face. Five minutes before it was supposed to start President and Sister James were there with the sisters and us. We ended up with 16 people in attendance though, so it was pretty good. Tasha and Cedric came but neither of their girls came. One girl came but her mother didn't come with her. And the Smiths were there. We had a pot of beans and a pot of Taco Soup from Sister James with some rolls and some cornbread that the sisters made and brought. By the time we got home we were too tired to do anything but have prayer and go to bed.
Keep the commandments and read your Book of Mormon every day, every day, every day.
We love y'all,
Elder and Sister Owens
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