We have had a busy last two weeks but I will start the e-mail from the first of August until this week.
The first few days of August Elder and Sister Richardson’s family came to visit. Elder and Sister Richardson have been here since April of 2006 and have not had a break except for their preparation days. They are at the office every morning at 8:00 and are there all day – then when they leave the office at 5:00 (and usually later) they go out with the missionaries or check on referrals.
While their family was here we they took a few days off to show their family the sights and I was the office secretaryJ You all know how much I dislike office work but it was really fun. It confused the missionaries when they called the office and I answered – they thought they had called the mission home by mistake.
The weather was 97-100 degrees and we had some great thunder storms but either we have become accustomed to the hot weather or it hasn’t been as hot this year as last year.
The end of the month was very busy with Shreveport Stake conference and then hurrying back to Jackson for the Zone Leader Overnight here at the mission home – 18 missionaries spent the night with training in the evening and all the next day.
We didn’t have any missionaries leave the mission to go home this transfer because two years ago Katrina hit and the missionaries that were to come here were sent other places. It was great not to have to say goodbye to anyone this time – it seemed really different. The missionaries that were here during Katrina have all gone home and the missionaries we have now know about it only because they have been told about it. Elder Kirk was one of the missionaries going home. He was your Dad’s Assistant and he is at BYU. The two assistants we have now are Elder Joshua Robison and Elder Calvin Taylor. They are both super missionaries in every way!!!!!
We had a great group of 8 missionaries come the next day (29th). They are all so different but this group seems to get along so well together and support each other.
We just had time to get the mission home cleaned up and then on Thursday Sept 6th we traveled back down to Shreveport LA. (4 hours west) to pick up Elder Douglas L. Callister and his wife. They were here to tour the mission and to change the Stake Presidency in Hattiesburg Ms. He is a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy and he is really amazing!! He spoke for five days – 7 different talks (some of them 21/2 hours long) and never used notes of any kind. He did read one thing to the missionaries – a short story.
He told the missionaries what a great blessing it is for them to be here following many Apostles who have served as missionaries in the south. He said the world is becoming so wicked and this is the last strongheld of God-fearing people. He told about some of the experiences his grandfather LeGrand Richards had while he was Mission President in the South. He wrote A Marvelous Work and a Wonder while he was serving here.
After meeting with the missionaries on Friday in Shreveport, We drove about 7 hours back through Jackson and down to Hattiesburg. Elder Callister had interviews for the new stake presidency all day on Saturday, had Saturday night session of Stake conference, Sunday Stake Conference and then after lunch met with the missionaries for 4 hours. The wonderful sisters in one of the wards sent us back to Jackson with a boxed lunch and when I opened mine I found this note:
"To whom this lunch belongs; I am sorry you are short a bag of chips, but 4 children were here who had not eaten in 2 days.
I knew you wouldn’t mind if I gave one of the children yours, for we were short one bag!
Thank you for your service to the Lord. I thank Him for you! Sis. Caraway"
You can imagine how I felt….I would have given the children a whole bunch of lunches if I had known.:-)
We arrived at the mission home about 7:30 that evening and the Callisters were tired. The next morning we were up early and on our way to Clinton (about 30 minutes away) for our last zone conference.
After the meetings we took them to the airport. It was a great experience and very uplifting. He was very complimentary of the missionaries,about the only thing he recommended is that some of them tone down their ties. Your Dad didn’t wear his pink or orange ones while he was here:-)
Elder Callister was talking to the missionaries about obedience. He said, “As you look at all the General Authorities seated on the stand this General Conference I want you to remember, the General Authorities are not obedient and on time for their meetings because they are General Authorities. They are General Authorities because they were first obedient and on time. In other words, they are perfect examples of obedience in all their lives.
On Saturday the 15th we traveled back to Monroe, Louisiana for another Stake conference and now we are trying to get organized and caught-up so we can leave for a week to meet with all the missionaries in the mission.
While we were staying at President Garrett’s house they have a saying on their wall:
“SOUTHERNER”
A person born or living in the south, gracious, easy-going, slow-talking, friendly folk devoted to front porches, oak trees, cool breezes, magnolias, peaches, and fried chicken!
I was in a restaurant the other day with the sisters and above the ordering desk was this sign:
“NEVER TRUST A SKINNY COOK”
I am always getting calls from the elders about funny things. Elder Burton called and wanted to know if popcorn is a vegetable or a grain. They had been given a big bag of caramel corn and they were hoping it was a vegetable so they would feel better about eating more of it being the nutritionally minded Elders that they are:-).
On September 1, 2007 sister Janice Stallworth was baptized.
Her husband is an elderly man who is the Elder’s Quorum President of the Jackson Branch. Since we have been here he has been coming faithfully and she has been with him most of the time. I didn’t realize she wasn’t a member for several weeks. Brother Stallworth is a very faithful man. He is a former alcoholic and drug user and he credits the Church with saving him from a horrible life. He went to the temple about a year and a half ago and loves doing his genealogy. He has been a great example to her and she has finally been baptized. He said this was one of the greatest days in his life. Every time Home teachers or the missionaries go to their home, as they leave every one stands in a circle, holding hands, and have a prayer together. They are traveling to conference to stay with the senior couple who baptized him. Their names are Blaine and Betty Hyer from Kaysville Utah.
Terrance James, the 17 year old son of the Jackson Branch President is the only member of the Church in his school. He is a very good football and basketball player. The other night a couple of the members were at his football game. They were sitting with some of the students who went out to get some food and came back to the bleachers. Before eating their food they had a prayer. Brother Lawson told them he thought that was great and asked them why they had the prayer. They said, “Because number 78 told us we should bless our food”. Number 78 is Terrance James. He is not afraid to be a good influence on others. He will make a GREAT missionary when it is time for him to go.
The other day we received a letter from a new convert telling us about her conversion story. She and her daughter and 2 boys had moved to Ruston Louisiana. They didn’t know why they came there – her daughter was going through a divorce and then soon after she found out she had a tumor in her leg bone and a cyst on her ankle. She fell and could not walk, and they told her she might lose her legs. When she found out about all of this, she spent the whole day crying not knowing what would happen to them and especially her two boys 6 and 3. She said she began to pray – telling the Lord she wasn’t sure he was real, and she wanted physical proof. Before she could say Amen, Brother Purdue from the Church was knocking at the door. He refused to tell her who he was or why he came. He said, “I am a servant of God, He loves you and wants to bless you”. He brought food and toys for the boys. She said, “I tried for days to figure out why this man came to us and why. This was my first day in Ruston and didn’t know anyone here”.
“A few days later I was sitting outside. I watched the elders come down the street getting the doors slammed in their faces. They kept a smile though! I got my first lesson that day. God and Jesus brought me the messengers I needed. I had my baptism on 07/07/07. Our baptism was really special (my mom was baptized with me). Strangers became friends and our road to recovery has begun. Our trials have not fretted us since. We still have them but they just don’t seem as big as they once did.
“I was given a blessing from the priesthood before I choose to have surgery. The surgery was a complete success! I can walk now and someday I may even be able to run after my 3 year-old again.
“When I met the Elders I felt life was over. All I could think about was, “How can I raise my two boys on my own in this condition. I moved here hoping for a miracle for my legs and a happy life for my boys. The Elders brought me hope to live a complete life. I am happy. I now know this is why Heavenly Father brought me to a strange place. I knew no one. He gave me my miracle and a new family through the Church.”
We attended a baptism of Noah Wilson a few months ago, and now he is passing the Sacrament and has even baptized a friend of his. The missionaries love seeing someone they have been influential bringing into the Church taking his Priesthood seriously and performing ordinances. That is payday for them they say.
The last few days have been beautiful here. 86 has been the highest temperature, and the humidity has been low…a lot like Oregon:-).
We are still working with Connie Taylor and her husband. We went out to dinner with them last week. She is sure that her ancestors were members of the church because of the areas they lived. She is going to the Family History Library tomorrow to start her quest. She thinks her father was a member. Her mom hated Mormons and they went to church. Her two older step-sisters were members she has found out. She really wants to be baptized but Warren, her husband, is not going along with it. He used to be a Methodist Minister; yet he hardly believes in Jesus Christ. He wants every thing proven to him. He said if the National Geographic or Smithsonian would come out with proof that there were cities like the Book of Mormon talks about and wheat and grains and the metals, then he might believe. He will not believe a LDS Church source. He wants an independent source – non bias – ya, rightJ Dad talked to him about Doubting Thomas and about all the scriptures that talk about those who need a sign, but he still doesn’t budge. Connie is a very interesting person. She used to be an actress – she was in Urban Cowboy (I never saw it – R rated) and some others I’ve never seen. She sent us a picture of her when she was in the movies. She was really beautiful!!!!! She has lots of friends who work with or are related to the Osmonds.
I used Becca’s story of her teacher not being able to be a missionary…every one loved it. This is how I told it:
Our 7 year-old granddaughter, Becca, called us the other day to tell us about her first day of 2nd grade. We were asking her all kinds of questions and then we asked her about her teacher. She said, “I really like her but according to that white missionary handbook we got from grandpa, she couldn’t be a missionary. We asked her “Why” knowing her teacher wasn’t a member of the church. Becca said, “Because she has a stud in her nose and missionaries can’t have pierced noses”. Every Monday evening during Family Home Evening, our daughter and son-in-law discuss segments of the Missionary Handbook with our 5 grandchildren (ages ranging from 4-13) so that there will be no surprises about the expectations when they get on their missions.
They use a lot of corn in recipes here so the recipe for the month is:
CREAM CORN AND CRAWFISH SOUP
3 Tbs. butter
1 (101/2 oz) can cream style corn
2 Tbs. bell pepper – chopped
1 (101/2 oz) can whole kernel corn
2 Tbs. celery – chopped
1 ½ cups water
1 tsp. garlic – chopped
½ tsp. savory
2 Tbs. onion – chopped
2 pinches saffron
1 cup crawfish tails
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
1 pint half & half
Saute vegetables in butter until tender. Add crawfish tails and sauté for 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients,
Except half and half, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add half and half and heat without letting it come to a boil.
Easy and Tasty
The last few days have been beautiful here. 86 has been the highest temperature, and the humidity has been low…a lot like Oregon:-).
Thank you for all the phone calls and e-mails and pictures. It is wonderful to not be left out of what you are doing and how you are growing.
It is fun to imagine Andrea and Olivia and Becca all dressed up ready for dance class. Just like going to the Bantons.
Parker we loved the e-mail you sent. It is really colorful and creative!!! The pictures of Cameron and Andrea at the gardens were great. Cameron keeps rolling up his top lip just like the pictures we took of him here.
We love you all, and Elder Callister in a prayer asked our Heavenly Father to remember all of you while we are here serving. He also told the missionaries that they were very blessed to have your Dad as their Mission President.
Mom and Dad
