Dear Family and Friends,
Monday we drove to Tuscaloosa to visit a couple that served a mission here in Demopolis a few years before we came. They are now serving as self reliance missionaries in the Stake (I believe I already mentioned that). They heard about Brother White's passing and wanted to give some money to help with the funeral costs. They didn't want to give it to the family as they thought it might get spent and not go to the funeral home. They said they trusted President James to get it to the right people but he needed it before the funeral. We had to check on a death date from a couple years ago at a funeral home there so we told them we would pick it up and get it to President James. They offered to take us to lunch while we were there. They took us to two of their favorite exclusively Alabama restaurants and both of them were closed for some reason. We ended up going to Red Lobster (not really so Alabama-ish, but very good).
Tuesday we had our first video conference District Council. It was the last meeting of the transfer and the last meeting of the month and all the elders and sisters were out of miles on their cars so they couldn't make the drive to Tuscaloosa for the meeting. It was an interesting experience. Those who had assignments to present something participated, but it took a little while and a lot of coaxing before they got any comments from any of the rest of us. But eventually people were making contributions to the meeting. Later we met President James at the branch building to give him the money for the funeral. While we were in the parking lot a person pulled in and asked who was the branch president now. President James was right there and he said he was. She said, "I know you." She was in the branch thirteen years ago and was in the Young Women as a teenager with Sister James as President and President James as Branch President. Sister James was there in another car (they were driving young women home to different towns after a young women activity at their home in York). They were both there in the parking lot right when this woman happened to drive by and they got to see each other. The lady is living in Texas now and was only in Demopolis for three days seeing friends for the holidays. That was the second time we saw that happen. Last time was about a year ago when a man that served his mission here twenty years ago when President James was President. He had his wife and family with him and was wishing he would have a chance to see people he knew when he was here. Five minutes earlier or later and no one would have been there. It's so neat to witness the Lord's tender mercies.
New Years was quiet for us. We undecorated our Christmas cotton tree and cooked the ham the couple in Tuscaloosa also gave us for Brother Whites funeral. We talked to some of the family and enjoyed the video texted to us of the kids singing happy birthday to Tami.
Thursday was our day of good deeds. Our Free Alabama Taxi Service (FATS) is increasing in popularity. Another less active member of the branch has found out about us and called us to ask for a ride to the bank to cash a check so she could get groceries for her and her children. We went to get her to take her to the bank and she had a friend with her. She asked if we would take her to the bank too. Of course we were happy to. After they finished at the bank they asked if we could stop at the Walmart so they could get a few groceries. Luckily the groceries for both of them fit in the back of the car. Then they wanted us to stop at a gas station to get something (I guess Walmart didn't have just what they wanted). Then they just needed us to stop by the only other grocery store in town so they could get some cans of pop out of a pop machine. She barely made it back to the car without dropping the armful of cans. It was quite interesting that when we dropped the neighbor off at her house she told Sister Owens how much she appreciated what we did and said when she gets her food stamps next she wants to take us to get some food. Of course Sister Owens told her we wouldn't accept that and we were glad to be able to help her. Then when we went to the less active members home her boyfriend was standing on the porch waiting for her (it was raining all day, by the way). He walked in the house and waited for her to bring the groceries in. She didn't even say thank you when she left the car. We are not complaining, we are here to serve. We are just making some interesting observations. We cancelled Book of Mormon class. Sister Borden was in the hospital in Tuscaloosa. Then we picked Beth up to take her home to Linden. She spent New Year's eve and New Year's day with Ollie after doing the same over the Christmas holiday. Then we picked up a ham donated by another sister in the Branch for the funeral and sliced it up and got it ready to go. Another sister in the Branch went in with us to get some fried chicken to take. They were planning on feeding 150 people.
Friday we had "carwash rain" again for most of the day. Andrea called to see if we could take her to Walmart for groceries. The poor girl, she bought over eighty-four dollars worth of OTC medication for her mother and then picked a bag full of prescription drugs. Sister Owens in pretty sure they are both over medicated, like most of the poor here.
Beth and Ollie had asked us for a ride to the funeral but we had to pack the back of the car with food so there was no room to put Ollie's wheelchair. So she had to pay her driver to drive them to Greensboro to the funeral. We took another sister from the branch with us. First we had to go to Linden to pick up Beth and bring her to Ollies house. Ross would have charged her extra to go to get Beth besides charging them to take them to the funeral. Of course he was driving Ollie's car and using Ollie's gas and he went joy riding while they were attending the service (sorry, just making another observation—that's code for "I love Alabama"). After two days of rain it was a beautiful day for the funeral, although it was a little bit chilly and a bit of a wind came up when we went out to the grave site (right behind the church), but it was still sunny. President James presided and conducted the funeral which was held at the Union Grove Baptist church. That was where Brother White first confessed hope in Christ at a very young age. His mother still attends there. President Lewis (our Stake President) came also. I don't think he was expected to be there so technically I guess he was presiding though it wasn't indicated on the program. President James gave the Eulogy and then a "spiritual talk." He explained the importance of the sacrament in the church and told them how much Brother White loved it. He told how Brother White insisted on getting there so he could take the sacrament no matter how much pain he was experiencing. He said it always made him stronger. The church was packed. Eight of us were white with seven of the eight being from the Branch. They had all of us from the church sit up in the front of the chapel to the right of the family (who was seated in the center). After President James spoke about the sacrament and what it meant to Brother White, they made time for President Lewis to speak and he began his remarks addressing everyone as brothers and sisters and explained that he did so because we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and he considers all of them his brothers and sisters. Then he told about how Brother White touched his life and made him want to be closer to Christ because of Brother White's example. Then he challenged everyone there to pick one thing they could do the next day that would help them come closer to Christ. There were a number of "amens" and "yeses" during his remarks and he received quite an ovation when he finished. I noticed that we "Mormons" need to learn how to use the low gain mics they use in Baptist churches. The Pastor and others put their mouths right up to the mic and their voices boomed throughout the building, but when President James and President Lewis spoke they stood back from the mic, as we all do in the church, and it sounded like they turned the mic off and it was a little hard to hear them. The choir was awesome. They sang three songs. It kind of puts you into a trance. Sister Owens was having a hard time fighting the urge to dance. Brother White played drums and was part of three different singing groups during his life. I just can't imagine what he thought when he sat in our meetings listening to the thirty of us in the congregation basically destroying the hymns we were trying to sing each week. Just one other interesting "I love Alabama" observation: After the service President James was talking to one of the sons who pointed to another gentleman and said, "I guess that's my brother, I never met him before today." Brother White had six children and we never even knew he had any until he brought two of his sons with him to church last year on Fathers Day.
Today we got to church about twenty minutes before Presidency meeting. When we came in President James was already there and was on the phone with the Pastor from the Baptist church. He was telling President how nice everything was yesterday and that they would love to be together again. President James told him he would like that very much but hoped it wouldn't be for the same reason. That was when we found out that Brother Whites other sister had not died during the service. I have always been impressed with how the sacrament is so important to Sister James. We found out in Testimony meeting that she gained that appreciation for the sacrament from Brother Whites example. He was an awesome man and it is really hard getting used to not having him with us in Sacrament meeting.
Attachment #1: Brother White's Funeral Program.
Attachment #2: The chapel before the service, President Lewis walking up to the stand.
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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