It has been about two months since our last communication. We aren’t home for long stretches of time. We have been here a year!!!! Can you believe it? It is just as warm and humid and beautiful as it was last year.
After Diana, Brett, Andrea and Cameron left we had to get back to the work of the mission, and that was hard to do. We had such a good time with them and made lots of memories. The weekend after they left we went to historic Red Star Ward about 1 ½ hours south of Jackson. The chapel is out in the middle of the countryside; no town is close by. The members all live in the rural area and are mostly descendents of two families baptized over 100 years ago. They have their own little cemetery out at the side of the chapel. The building is on Mormon Trail Road. We took a picture of the street sign because it is spelled wrong: they had the sign stolen so many times that the last time they put it up they spelled it Morman Trail Road. No one has stolen it since. The first missionaries there were rescued from an armed mob by a family who were later baptized. Chapels built there were twice burned down in the early 1900s, and members were threatened and told the church would never survive. The building there now is very similar to the Oak Hills Ward chapel (with comparable attendance), and things are a bit more peaceful.
Around the first part of June our mission boundaries were realigned. Everything on the Coast was shifted to the west about 30 miles. Because so many people after Hurricane Katrina have not come back here to live, the Slidell, Louisiana Stake was dissolved and its units reassigned. We lost Pascagoula and Lucedale, Mississippi from our mission to the Tallahassee Florida Mission, and we gained Slidell LA, Bogalusa LA and Picayune MS from the Baton Rouge Mission. Don’t you just love those names Picayune and Bogalusa?
On June 5th we had 5 elders go home and 6 great elders and one sister arrive. The missionaries coming from the MTC have so much fire and excitement it revitalizes the other missionaries all over again.
The end of June we had a fun experience. Because of the 1 millionth missionary called and the Church having 13 million members, the newspaper here in Jackson did a feature article on two of our missionaries. The reporter and a photographer went tracting with them one afternoon. Some of the neighbors in the area called the police. The photographer took off, but the elders (accustomed to this) visited with the policeman, and he was fine with it all. The reporter asked them if this happened frequently. The next day the reporter met with us, 6 missionaries, some new converts and a member of the Stake Presidency for several hours. The article was very favorable and the missionaries she interviewed were great. (Of course that is the only kind of missionaries we have hereJ) You can find the article on jmgordon@clarionledger.com – it’s title is Knocking on Doors – June 30th, Religion Section.
This last week we had another similar article written about the elders in Shreveport LA, again very positive. That is very rare around here!! That link is
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070722/LIVING/707210309
We had a wonderful 4th of July. (We did miss Oak Hills and the picnic and parade and fireworks etc). It was our missionaries’ preparation day so a family here in Jackson had all of the missionaries (about 20) from the area over for a barbeque. They have a tennis court and a basketball court and all the things the elders enjoy. We had two sister missionaries there, and we had fun taking pictures and fixing the food. It is great to see the missionaries when they are all doing fun things together. As with last year we had a loud thunderstorm about fireworks time.
We had another Senior Conference on the 11th and 12th of July. With the change in our boundaries, we have two new couples. One of the couples run the employment center in the Slidell bishop’s storehouse. It is a huge operation which was in great use during Katrina. Our seniors had such wonderful wisdom, and they are so willing to share it with the others. We had a fun evening activity Wednesday after dinner. We found out one sister fell into an open grave during a mutual activity at a cemetery on Halloween. A senior elder was on a walk here recently, and two nurses from the nursing home up the street thought he was a runaway from the home and tried to take him back. The next day we had breakfast all together and then workshops and talks and everyone left after lunch. All of the couples and also our single sisters are having success and baptisms. It is wonderful to see their excitement as they succeed.
Thought you might enjoy reading an article one of the couples found from their home newspaper:
IT’S TIME FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO LOOK AFTER MY PARENTS by Robert Kirby
“If you live long enough, you’ll eventually turn the tables on your mom and dad. The day will come when you have to be the parent. It’s a hope that kept me going for years. Way back in l969, I vowed that I would one day put my parents in a home. On Monday I did. They had it coming. Grounding me for most of a summer simply because I backed our station wagon into a lake seemed excessive. I never really got over it. Incensed by that injustice, I spent the summer thinking, “Just wait until they’re old and helpless. I’ll stick them in the worst rest home in the country.”
I felt pretty good about it. The only thing missing were the tearful pleas for forgiveness as I drove away laughing. As it turned out, they actually wanted to go into the home. It was the mission home, or LDS Church’s Mission Training Center in Provo. The MTC may not be a real home, but it amounts to the same thing on my end. Someone else will be taking care of my parents, telling them when to eat, that their shoes are on the wrong feet, and keeping them out of the street.”
David flew in on the morning of the 12th for some business in Clinton MS, and so he was able to meet the seniors while they were here at the home. Jessica, flew in that night and they stayed here for three days with us. Friday, we went to the Cypress Swamp.
On the way we passed a huge patch of water lilies and then at the swamp we took pictures of beautiful colored mushrooms and a live alligator having his afternoon nap.
The next day, we drove to the Mississippi Coast and toured the hurricane area. We had a great, fun time with them. We went to the Jackson Branch on Sunday and they met all the missionaries. Parker had just called a new assistant a couple of weeks ago, and he was there, too. After Sacrament meeting Jessica said that Elder Robison looked familiar, and she asked us if his name was Josh (of course we just call him Elder). It turned out that she knew him from California, and he used to date her roommate. Small world, huh?
After David and Jessica left we had transfers. We had 2 sisters and 7 elders leave. One of the Assistants, Elder Kirk from Texas, went home. The mission will really miss him, and especially we will miss him. I’m sure his parents wouldn’t let us but we would adopt him if we could. He is a great missionary! You would love him as a member of our family!
I got a phone call a couple of weeks ago from a woman who asked me if we were having a baptism on Sunday. She sounded rather hostile, and I had to tell her I didn’t know - it depended upon where in the mission she was interested. She said that she heard her son Doug was being baptized on Sunday. I had heard about Doug because Elder Taylor and Elder Robinson here in Jackson had told us about him. I gave her the missionaries’ number, and then I quickly called them. Doug is 26, and his mother is a Baptist Youth Minister and is very upset about him taking the lessons. He had to put his baptism on hold while he works with his parents. They believe some terrible, false anti-Mormon information.
As all of you know by now, we do a lot of driving through the countryside in Mississippi and Louisiana when we go out into the small branches to speak in Church. There are big beautiful farms with brick homes and white pillars in the front. Everyone has a porch with rocking chairs or porch swings on them. Many of the homes have ponds for raising their own catfish. The Crepe Myrtle trees are blooming again like they were when we got here: pinks, whites and purples.
In a Relief Society Lesson at the Jackson Branch Sister Epps was giving the lesson. She is a black sister who really knows her scriptures and loves the gospel. She has a great way of putting things. These are a few of the great things she said during the lesson:
“We have to do it the Jesus way.”
“If we don’t stand strong we’ll fall for anything.”
In the evenings the cicadas (insects in the trees) are very loud. You really notice them after the stillness of the day. There are a lot of frogs in the ponds too; some of the missionaries have a hard time sleeping because of the noise. Actually it makes the nights magical.
All of the restaurants here serve Hush Puppies in place of rolls or bread so we thought some of you might like to try them:
HUSH PUPPIES
Sift 2 cups cornmeal
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 large finely chopped onion
1 cup milk
1/4 cup warm water
Sift the cornmeal, baking powder and salt into a bowl containing the chopped onion. Add the milk and water. Mold into pones about the size of golf balls and fry in deep fat until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and serve immediately.
These are perfect served with hot fried fish.
There are lots of variations but the above is the most common and oldest recipe;
Some people add 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped and ½ cup chopped bell pepper. This gives them lots of flavor.
A couple of weeks ago, your Dad walked into the mission office one afternoon to find a lady chatting with Sister Richardson, our mission secretary. She said that in her church she had heard all of her life about the wild and “terrible” beliefs (all untrue of course) of the Mormons, but that everyone ended their comments by saying, “…but they are some of the best people I have ever known.” Her name was Connie Taylor, and she had some LDS friends in Arizona and wanted to know more. They visited for about an hour, and then your Dad and Elder Robinson and Elder Taylor taught her and her husband (a former Methodist minister) the next evening. They were at church today (he reluctantly), and she has a baptism date set for August 11th. They just returned from a long road trip, and she read the Book of Mormon to him the entire time (captive audience). She brought tears to my eyes just meeting her, feeling her excitement, and hearing her story.
We are grateful for the spiritual experiences we are having. We are so impressed with the missionaries and the way they teach with power and with the spirit.
We enjoyed having several phone calls this weekend from some of the elders that have gone home. Their visits are great blessings in our lives.
We have really appreciated having all of you come to see us. It means a lot and we have enjoyed it so much!!!!
We can’t believe it is both Hayley’s and Andrew’s birthdays this week. We love talking with you on the phone and seeing how you are changing and growing up. You used to be so littleJ
Hayley I’ll bet EFY was fun. There were no pictures on your last email.
Andrew, we can’t believe we will have a grandson that will be passing the sacrament. We are proud of youJ.
Parker, are you going to play flag football again this fall? School here starts the 2nd week in August. We are glad to hear that you are working on your Webelos.
Becca we really like the updates on your teeth and when you lose them. We are also very glad that your Lake Powell experience turned out okay.
Second grade will be fun. I remember when I was in second grade. We used to have to lie down and take a rest in the afternoon. We also got snacks like figs and peaches.
Olivia, we love talking to you on the phone. You are really getting big and we can’t believe you will be in pre-school this year. Way to goJ
We can’t believe we missed Brett’s birthday. I keep thinking that it is on the day of your reception in Oregon but it is actually on your anniversary. We’ll remember next year:-).
Andrea, we love hearing your friendly “Hi!” when you call us. Did you help make a birthday cake for your Dad? We are really proud of you memorizing your Articles of Faith.
Love to Y’all,
Mom and Dad
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