Belzoni and the Newsoms Visit

Hi everyone,

January started out rather cool but I’m not complaining...I would rather have it cold than hot! We still have beautiful light and dark pink Camellias blooming in our backyard. The Tulip trees and all of our neighbor’s daffodils are in bloom. The big storms that hit Louisiana and other parts of Mississippi and Alabama were heading for Jackson and then split and went around us. We got only one big storm and a short time of wind. What a blessing!

Our year is starting out about as it ended. We speak at a different ward every Sunday except Fast Sunday and it is fun to meet all the interesting members in all parts of the mission.

At the end of January we had 7 elders depart the mission and 13 new elders and 2 new sisters arrive. We are so excited about the great strength and enthusiasm these new missionaries bring into the mission.

One of these new elders and his companion are up in Greenville Mississippi, North almost to the Arkansas border. We were up there at their branch to speak this last weekend. The new missionary had been in Greenville only a few days when he met Chrisa Dunbar in a Walmart parking lot. She was baptized three weeks later on the first Saturday in March. We met her while we were there speaking this last weekend. She is great, and elder Jones got his first baptism in his first month. The members in that branch are really trying to make their branch grow. It used to be a ward until they divided it and then people moved out and lots of inactives and now it is just a branch. There is a senior couple there but this is the first time in a long time they have had elders in the area.

The missionaries are teaching an old couple there in Greenville (she is 80 and he is 73). They will be baptized in three weeks, but they have to get married first. They have lived together for over 20 years. He doesn’t read. He is a very “dapper” little man who reminds me of my Dad because he always wears a hat and doesn’t want his picture taken without it.

We drove through the town of Belzoni Mississippi. It is known as the Catfish Capital of the world. There are ponds of catfish everywhere you look along the side of the road. The land is so flat, I’m sure they extend for miles. They have a catfish museum and on every sidewalk in front of every store is a large catfish statue dressed up like the establishment it is in front of. For example, there is an Elvis catfish statue with a guitar in front of the music store. There is a fireman catfish in front of the fire house, an Uncle Sam catfish in front of the post office etc.

Latishia,(the new convert we had the wedding for) gave her first talk in the Jackson Branch a couple of weeks ago. She has never been up in front of people to give a talk. She was to talk on the Gospel in her life. She got up and started to talk, she was so nervous that she walked out to go get a drink right after starting and left us all waiting for her. Sister Richardson, the senior missionary, went to get her and then stood by her while she finished he talk. Her husband, Craig bore his testimony last Sunday and he had it all written out to read to the congregation. We have no concept how hard and how new giving talks and being in front of others is for some people.

Karen and Terry Newson were here to visit us on February 10th. They brought us a “King Cake”. It is a multi-colored cake that is part of the Mardi Gras celebration out of New Orleans. The cakes come in a number of styles. The most simple, said to be the most traditional, is a ring of twisted bread similar to that used in brioche, topped with icing or sugar, usually colored purple, green and gold (the traditional Carnival colors) with food coloring. Some varieties have filling inside. Ours had cream cheese, which is the most common.

The “King Cake” takes its name from the three kings. Catholic tradition states that the King’s journey to Bethlehem took twelve days (the Twelve Days of Christmas) and that they arrived to honor the Christ Child on Epiphany. The season for the king cake extends from the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas through to Mardi Gras Day. Some organizations or groups of friends may have “King Cake Parties” every week through the Carnival season.

Since 1950’s the most common trinket in the cake has been a small plastic baby. Many people say this represents the baby Jesus. The person who gets the trinket is declared king or queen of the party. That person is decorated with jewelry and is usually obligated to supply the next king cake or host the next party or both. We didn’t have a baby trinket in our cake...or someone ate it and didn’t know it! Thanks Karen and Terry for the adventure, it was fun and the cake was pretty good! The office elders loved it!

On the way back from Hattiesburg to Jackson we passed “The Biker Church” in Saucier MS. It meets in a large warehouse-type building every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. On the billboard outside it says it is “For Bikers and Those Who Love Them”. I’m a little curious about their services. It must be on Tuesday so they can ride on Sunday.

We were talking to the missionaries and one of them asked me if I knew what a farsee was. He said when he got here he asked a man directions to a certain address. The man told them to go a farsee to the big tree and then turn left and go farsee to the post box. The Elder didn’t know what a farsee was until a member explained that it was – go as far as you can see.

The southern recipe for the month is:


BRUNSWICK STEW


Brown in bacon fat in a heavy kettle:
2 diced onions and serving portions of 1 fryer, 1 squirrel, and 1 rabbit

Add 3 cups water, 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce, and 1 can tomatoes
Simmer 2 hours.

Add 1 pound lima beans, 1 can corn, and ½ cup okra
Cook 1 hour. Add 2 Tbs. butter, ½ cup bread crumbs, and more water if needed.

Simmer 2 hours more YUM!

We had a very spiritual experience this last Saturday – March 10th. The Williams Family were baptized. Mom and Dad and Erica who is 9 years old. There are three other darling children 7, 4 and 3. The father is a big tall black man who had tears in his eyes when we sang “Families Can Be Together Forever” and the talk about the Holy Ghost and the influence of the Spirit is their lives. We are so excited about their progress already and their desire to learn and grow.

Just a few spiritual thoughts from the reader boards in front of a couple of churches in the area:

"Obedience is our job, the rest is up to God."

"Need a Faith Lift? Come and join us."

It is hard to find time to sit down for long periods and write this email. As you can see I started it in early January

We love y’all,

Mom and Dad