Monday, Feb. 22 We went to Melissa’s & enjoyed playing with the girls while Melissa went to physical therapy. On the way home we went by walmart to pick up some things. We went by Bro. & Sis. France’s home & left a message. When we got home & checked my blood pressure & it was really high so we went to the ER. They transported me by ambulance to Griffin b/c there is a cardiologist there. Every time we went to sleep someone woke us up. They did blood work several times to see if I had had a heart attack but I didn’t. They did a CT scan to see if there were any blood clots but there weren’t. They did find a nodule on my thyroid. The dr. told me to stop taking the new blood pressure medicine & to go see my doctor in 7 days. We got back to the apartment Tues. around 6:00 p.m. & we were so glad to be able to sleep without any one bothering us.
Feb. 24th Barry taught Brother Dotson the lesson this morning while I stayed home & rested. We delivered a birthday candy bar to Kay Middlebrows. Tonight Barry went to Stockbridge & met with the bishopric, ward mission leader the missionaries there & gave a presentation about missionary work.
Feb. 25th Today we rescued a little cat that had been run over in the road. She lifted her head as we passed by so we went back to get her & took her to the vet. She looked really bad & we thought that she might die. The vet gave her an iv & a pain shot. We went back to where we found her & asked all the neighbors if she was their cat but no one claimed her. We went back to the vet & it was like a miracle — she looked so much better & wanted to be petted. The vet said that she was so sweet they would keep her until she was better & find a home for her. Her jaw was fractured slightly but didn’t need to be wired so they will just need to feed her soft food for about 6 weeks. Later Barry went home teaching with Brother Price. Then I went with him to visit Fay Peder. She told us that she had had trouble with her roof leaking but couldn’t afford to fix it, Barry said that he would see if anyone in the branch had roofing experience.
The Wicklunds gave us a bunch of food & some for the Cockram’s so we took it to them & took some to Duane and fed all of the hungry cats over there (apparently some have been abandoned when people move out of the apartments). Then we went to the Book of Mormon class.
Feb. 26th We home taught the Knight’s & gave them some banana bread. We went by to see Victoria but she wasn’t home—left the h.t. message. Went by to visit Holly Johnson & she wasn’t home either so we left her the message & some banana bread. We’ve never been able to see her so we were hoping the banana bread might soften her up some. We home taught Sister Thelma Kirkland & took her some banana bread. She seems to be pretty lonely.
Feb. 27th We went to a baptism in Stockbridge and got to see Sister Jones! She had permission to come b/c she had taught this lady several lessons. afterward we took Sister Jones & her companion back to Jonesboro & fed them at chick-fil-a on the way. Cooked 4 pies, chicken salad & the democrat deli salad for ward conf. tomorrow.
Feb. 28th We had word conference & lunch afterward. That night we went to a fireside where 2 new members from Stockbridge spoke and Sister Guyton & Brother Knight spoke also. It was a great meeting! We have some wonderful (relatively) new converts.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Monday, February 22, 2016
February 15th-21st
Monday, Feb. 15th We fed the missionaries breakfast. We went walking in the cemetery. We cleaned the apartment. We called Barry, Jr. & wished him a happy birthday! I read & studied & Barry worked on discussions for the Book Of Mormon class.
Feb. 16th We walked. We went to Locust Grove to the Senior citizen’s center with Brother Numa. It is a really nice building. He paid for our lunch & then he & Barry played a couple of games of pool. He seems lonely & he loves for us to come.
We visited Tiffany Brooks, Bro. Stafford & the Wicklunds. We went by Jackie Menard’s & left her a note. We took the missionaries and one of our neighbors, Bev Reiner (we missed her Christmas because she was out of town) some banana bread. We went by the Stansell’s & fed & walked their dogs for them. We took a birthday candy bar to Chuck Young but he wasn’t home so we left it with his brother & hope that he gets it!
February 17th We had our district meeting today instead of yesterday. We took all the missionaries out to eat afterward. We had supper with the Barringer’s. He isn’t a member & we really enjoyed getting to know him. We took a birthday candy bar to Brother Knoll—he wasn’t home so we hung it on the door in a bag.
Feb. 18th We called Bro. Dotson & made an appointment with him for tomorrow. Barry prepared for the Book of Mormon class & I read & studied. The class is going well!
Feb. 19th We taught the 2nd lesson to Brother Dotson. He seems interested. We visited with Kay Middlebrows. We had gone by before but she wasn’t there. Barry showed her how she can now print her cards at home to do the temple work & she had tears in her eyes. She said now she can give the cards to her sister & her sister can get the work done. She has continuing health problems & may need more surgery soon. Sweet lady. This afternoon I went to the dr. because my blood pressure has been up and she gave me another blood pressure medicine to take. I baked banana bread for tomorrow.
Feb. 20th We had our 2nd senior couple conference at the mission president’s home. It is fun to go & hear what everyone has been doing & have pot luck lunch.
We went to Kenneth Sumner’s baptism. There were a lot of people there! Later Barry gave Brother Stafford a blessing.
Feb. 21st We took Katie Hall to church today. She is in a wheelchair & her husband isn’t able to bring her. We had 72 people at church today. The Elders & we visited & ate supper with the Wicklund’s. Tonight we met our new next door neighbor—a sweet lady named Mona. That apartment has been empty since we’ve been here.
“I used to say that sacrifice is never a bad thing if we have a testimony. But really, something cannot be a sacrifice if we are getting more in return. You may not have gone where you had in mind but you will end up where you need to be with better blessings.” Al Carraway
Feb. 16th We walked. We went to Locust Grove to the Senior citizen’s center with Brother Numa. It is a really nice building. He paid for our lunch & then he & Barry played a couple of games of pool. He seems lonely & he loves for us to come.
We visited Tiffany Brooks, Bro. Stafford & the Wicklunds. We went by Jackie Menard’s & left her a note. We took the missionaries and one of our neighbors, Bev Reiner (we missed her Christmas because she was out of town) some banana bread. We went by the Stansell’s & fed & walked their dogs for them. We took a birthday candy bar to Chuck Young but he wasn’t home so we left it with his brother & hope that he gets it!
February 17th We had our district meeting today instead of yesterday. We took all the missionaries out to eat afterward. We had supper with the Barringer’s. He isn’t a member & we really enjoyed getting to know him. We took a birthday candy bar to Brother Knoll—he wasn’t home so we hung it on the door in a bag.
Feb. 18th We called Bro. Dotson & made an appointment with him for tomorrow. Barry prepared for the Book of Mormon class & I read & studied. The class is going well!
Feb. 19th We taught the 2nd lesson to Brother Dotson. He seems interested. We visited with Kay Middlebrows. We had gone by before but she wasn’t there. Barry showed her how she can now print her cards at home to do the temple work & she had tears in her eyes. She said now she can give the cards to her sister & her sister can get the work done. She has continuing health problems & may need more surgery soon. Sweet lady. This afternoon I went to the dr. because my blood pressure has been up and she gave me another blood pressure medicine to take. I baked banana bread for tomorrow.
Feb. 20th We had our 2nd senior couple conference at the mission president’s home. It is fun to go & hear what everyone has been doing & have pot luck lunch.
We went to Kenneth Sumner’s baptism. There were a lot of people there! Later Barry gave Brother Stafford a blessing.
Feb. 21st We took Katie Hall to church today. She is in a wheelchair & her husband isn’t able to bring her. We had 72 people at church today. The Elders & we visited & ate supper with the Wicklund’s. Tonight we met our new next door neighbor—a sweet lady named Mona. That apartment has been empty since we’ve been here.
“I used to say that sacrifice is never a bad thing if we have a testimony. But really, something cannot be a sacrifice if we are getting more in return. You may not have gone where you had in mind but you will end up where you need to be with better blessings.” Al Carraway
Monday, February 15, 2016
February 8th-14th
Monday, Feb. 8th: We have a family that the husband works at the Co-op & he gives us extra food from there so we share with the Cockram’s & took some by today. While we were there a guy named Dwayne Plunkett came up to us & started talking to us. He wanted us to come by & teach him & bring him some food too so we set up an appointment with him. I could tell that he had been drinking & he acted a little looney. We went by to visit Polly Miller, Ann Owens & Andrew Groberg but none of them were home so we left a message on their door. We went by the Flowers’ home but no-one came to the door—we could tell someone was there & we we drove by a few minutes later they had gotten the note that we taped on the door.
Feb. 9th: We got up at 4:40 am. & went to the Temple. We did a session & some special family sealings. Melissa came to see me during the lunch part of zone training. She brought me some godiva chocolate cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. It was so good! Then we had zone training until 3:00 p.m. Barry took me out to eat at Longhorn’s for my birthday on the way home. I got a package from Jennifer with a Yankee candle & 2 cute Valentine's kitchen towels. I loved them!
Feb. 10th: Made some soup this morning. Studied the missionary lesson two. We went to the Dotson’s to teach Brother Dotson (lesson two) but when we got there Sister Dotson said he was sick so told her we would call later & reschedule. Barry went with the missionaries to teach their next door neighbor, Bev the first lesson.
Feb. 11th: We had a 10:00 a.m. appointment to teach Dwayne the first lesson. We could tell that he had been drinking. He had a short sleeved shirt on & we could see sores on his arms. He told us that he had cirrhosis & hepatitis & it’s not hard to figure out how he got both of those things. We did teach him a short lesson. It was hard to keep him on track—he was all over the place with questions & comments. He told us that if we took him to church he would speak. He kept telling us that he knew a lot more than we thought he did. When we got through he said, “I surprised you, didn’t I?” "I blew your mind, didn’t I?” Elder Sadler said, “Yes, you kind of did!” As we say in the south, “Bless his heart!” He told us he didn’t have any food & we told him that we would bring him some. We’re not sure how accountable he is but I think he does have a good heart because he does feed the stray cats & has fixed them a couple of beds on his porch & being the animal lover that I am, that goes a long way in my book! We will check on him & take him some more food but probably won’t teach him any more. Barry has started a Book of Mormon class on Thursday nights. We had a good group there & a good discussion. When got out to the parking lot someone had put a bucket of candy on our car for us with a cute stuffed puppy dog & balloon for Valentine’s Day. The card said it was from the branch. It was very sweet & I took a picture of it. They know how much I miss my pets so they added the stuffed dog!
Feb. 12th: We had a flat tire & Barry took it & had it fixed. Then I bought groceries & got a few extra things for Dwayne. We visited the three ladies in the nursing home & took them some Werther’s candy & they all really appreciated it. They are all three so sweet & really appreciate us visiting them. We took the food by to Dwayne but he wasn’t home. We talked to several of Dwayne’s neighbors there. I think they look out for Dwayne.
Feb. 14th: We took Brother Author Price to church. President and Sister Foote, our mission president & his wife spoke in sacrament meeting. They are both great speakers. We rested for the rest of the day.
I will closing I wanted to share part of President Foote’s message—I can’t quote it exactly but he said that on his computer he got a message that said “unrecoverable error” but in the gospel of Jesus Christ there is no such thing as an “unrecoverable error”.
Feb. 9th: We got up at 4:40 am. & went to the Temple. We did a session & some special family sealings. Melissa came to see me during the lunch part of zone training. She brought me some godiva chocolate cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. It was so good! Then we had zone training until 3:00 p.m. Barry took me out to eat at Longhorn’s for my birthday on the way home. I got a package from Jennifer with a Yankee candle & 2 cute Valentine's kitchen towels. I loved them!
Feb. 10th: Made some soup this morning. Studied the missionary lesson two. We went to the Dotson’s to teach Brother Dotson (lesson two) but when we got there Sister Dotson said he was sick so told her we would call later & reschedule. Barry went with the missionaries to teach their next door neighbor, Bev the first lesson.
Feb. 11th: We had a 10:00 a.m. appointment to teach Dwayne the first lesson. We could tell that he had been drinking. He had a short sleeved shirt on & we could see sores on his arms. He told us that he had cirrhosis & hepatitis & it’s not hard to figure out how he got both of those things. We did teach him a short lesson. It was hard to keep him on track—he was all over the place with questions & comments. He told us that if we took him to church he would speak. He kept telling us that he knew a lot more than we thought he did. When we got through he said, “I surprised you, didn’t I?” "I blew your mind, didn’t I?” Elder Sadler said, “Yes, you kind of did!” As we say in the south, “Bless his heart!” He told us he didn’t have any food & we told him that we would bring him some. We’re not sure how accountable he is but I think he does have a good heart because he does feed the stray cats & has fixed them a couple of beds on his porch & being the animal lover that I am, that goes a long way in my book! We will check on him & take him some more food but probably won’t teach him any more. Barry has started a Book of Mormon class on Thursday nights. We had a good group there & a good discussion. When got out to the parking lot someone had put a bucket of candy on our car for us with a cute stuffed puppy dog & balloon for Valentine’s Day. The card said it was from the branch. It was very sweet & I took a picture of it. They know how much I miss my pets so they added the stuffed dog!
Feb. 12th: We had a flat tire & Barry took it & had it fixed. Then I bought groceries & got a few extra things for Dwayne. We visited the three ladies in the nursing home & took them some Werther’s candy & they all really appreciated it. They are all three so sweet & really appreciate us visiting them. We took the food by to Dwayne but he wasn’t home. We talked to several of Dwayne’s neighbors there. I think they look out for Dwayne.
Feb. 13th: Today is Elder Walker’s birthday & we took them out to eat at the Waffle House. We walked over there because we live really close by. Then Barry & the missionaries took Dwayne the food. I had also picked him up some dry & canned cat food & Barry said he was excited about that because he was out of cat food. Then they went to Katie Hall’s to give her a blessing. They visited with the Mullinax family. They went by to visit Andi Kirby—she was not there—they left a note. They went by to visit the Kamplain family & found out that they had moved. Went by to visit the Flowers’ again (went by Monday) but no-one came to the door this time either.
Feb. 14th: We took Brother Author Price to church. President and Sister Foote, our mission president & his wife spoke in sacrament meeting. They are both great speakers. We rested for the rest of the day.
I will closing I wanted to share part of President Foote’s message—I can’t quote it exactly but he said that on his computer he got a message that said “unrecoverable error” but in the gospel of Jesus Christ there is no such thing as an “unrecoverable error”.
Monday, February 8, 2016
February 1st-7th Update
Monday, February 1st We fed Elder Waite & Elder Walker & Barry also invited the zone leaders. Barry vacuumed & washed the car & I cleaned & we met his cousin, Betsy Jennings Pressley at the Vanilla Bean in Monticello for lunch & we talked for hours catching up b/c we haven't seen her in years.
Tuesday we had our district meeting in Jackson. We delivered a birthday candy bar to an inactive & talked with his nonmember wife who was very nice & very positive about the church. We visited Brother Sisk & found out that his mother in law had just passed away a day or so ago. Visited with Glenda & she is postponing the discussions. We were disappointed.
Wednesday my laptop arrived! It stormed today so we stayed in except to buy groceries late this afternoon & feed CatCat (the Knight's cat) when it quit raining for a while.
Thursday we took a bucket of KFC & biscuits to the Sisk family--talked with his wife & she said she wanted us to come over soon. We visited with Sister Deeter & her daughter. Sister Deeter is the family search expert in the branch. Barry told her he wanted her to teach some classes & she said,"I guess you've got to get me active first!" We talked with Norma Smith's son & found out that Brother Smith died in 2007. Left a note for Wendy Smith (different family) with her Mom. They were on a trip. We were in the McDonough area when Brother Knight called & asked us if we would pick up their nephew who was flying in & the Knights weren't getting back until Friday afternoon so we did! He spent the night with us.
Friday I cooked breakfast for us & John. Cooked hamburgers & baked potatoes for lunch. We visited two inactive families that asked for their name to be removed. This has only happened once before so we were surprised to have 2 in one day. We went by the Flowers' home but no one came to the door so we left them a note. We visited with Brother Saylors who is blind & can hardly hear. He can't hear my voice but can hear Barry's when he talks loud! He seems very lonely & appreciates our visits. Brother Knight called & invited us to supper! He said they were going to feed us a bunch for taking care of John. He said he really appreciated us going to the airport & letting John stay with us. He said he wanted to see if we really did "walk the walk". We passed that test!
Saturday we visited with Brother Larry & Sister Katie Hall. Her MARSA is inactive & she really wants to come to church. She wanted to know if someone could lift her wheelchair out & put it back if they came to church b/c her husband has bad back problems & we assured her that we had several that could help. She is such a sweet lady. We went by the Mullinex's--the parents weren't home but we talked with a couple of their children at the door. The younger boy wanted to play his trumpet for us & he was pretty good! We went by the Hayslip's & visited with their son for a few minutes at the door & invited them to church. Barry visited with Kevin Sanders, an inactive at the door for a few minutes & invited them to church. We went to the Kamplain's but no one was home so we left a message. Visited with the Wicklund's & Kim & they had some food for us. And I loved on Kim's little white chihuahua puppy! She gets excited when she hears my voice! Brother Wicklund works for a coop & he gets extra food there which they share with us & several families.
Sunday we went to church. We had 70 people there--a little disappointing. We studied Sunday afternoon.
I'm closing with a quote from Ann Dibb, "Purify your life by keeping the commandments. This will help you qualify for the Spirit, who will assist you in your quest".
Tuesday we had our district meeting in Jackson. We delivered a birthday candy bar to an inactive & talked with his nonmember wife who was very nice & very positive about the church. We visited Brother Sisk & found out that his mother in law had just passed away a day or so ago. Visited with Glenda & she is postponing the discussions. We were disappointed.
Wednesday my laptop arrived! It stormed today so we stayed in except to buy groceries late this afternoon & feed CatCat (the Knight's cat) when it quit raining for a while.
Thursday we took a bucket of KFC & biscuits to the Sisk family--talked with his wife & she said she wanted us to come over soon. We visited with Sister Deeter & her daughter. Sister Deeter is the family search expert in the branch. Barry told her he wanted her to teach some classes & she said,"I guess you've got to get me active first!" We talked with Norma Smith's son & found out that Brother Smith died in 2007. Left a note for Wendy Smith (different family) with her Mom. They were on a trip. We were in the McDonough area when Brother Knight called & asked us if we would pick up their nephew who was flying in & the Knights weren't getting back until Friday afternoon so we did! He spent the night with us.
Friday I cooked breakfast for us & John. Cooked hamburgers & baked potatoes for lunch. We visited two inactive families that asked for their name to be removed. This has only happened once before so we were surprised to have 2 in one day. We went by the Flowers' home but no one came to the door so we left them a note. We visited with Brother Saylors who is blind & can hardly hear. He can't hear my voice but can hear Barry's when he talks loud! He seems very lonely & appreciates our visits. Brother Knight called & invited us to supper! He said they were going to feed us a bunch for taking care of John. He said he really appreciated us going to the airport & letting John stay with us. He said he wanted to see if we really did "walk the walk". We passed that test!
Saturday we visited with Brother Larry & Sister Katie Hall. Her MARSA is inactive & she really wants to come to church. She wanted to know if someone could lift her wheelchair out & put it back if they came to church b/c her husband has bad back problems & we assured her that we had several that could help. She is such a sweet lady. We went by the Mullinex's--the parents weren't home but we talked with a couple of their children at the door. The younger boy wanted to play his trumpet for us & he was pretty good! We went by the Hayslip's & visited with their son for a few minutes at the door & invited them to church. Barry visited with Kevin Sanders, an inactive at the door for a few minutes & invited them to church. We went to the Kamplain's but no one was home so we left a message. Visited with the Wicklund's & Kim & they had some food for us. And I loved on Kim's little white chihuahua puppy! She gets excited when she hears my voice! Brother Wicklund works for a coop & he gets extra food there which they share with us & several families.
Sunday we went to church. We had 70 people there--a little disappointing. We studied Sunday afternoon.
I'm closing with a quote from Ann Dibb, "Purify your life by keeping the commandments. This will help you qualify for the Spirit, who will assist you in your quest".
Monday, February 1, 2016
January 25th-31st Update
Monday, January 25th we fed the missionaries breakfast. Then we went to Dr. Overton's office to have a mole cut off of Barry's leg. The biopsy showed that the cells were not cancer but were atypical so they wanted to remove it. After that we ate at Longhorn's--one of my favorite places to eat!
This afternoon I helped Barry do his home teaching. Two of the families were not home so we left messages. We were able to visit with one inactive that we have missed several times when stopping by. She seemed interested in coming back to church.
Tuesday we had our district meeting in Stockbridge. We usually take Elder Waite & Elder Walker to Hibachi Grill to eat. We like it there--it is a buffet and the food is good but today we were in a hurry b/c they had an appt. so we ate at the Chic Filet.
This afternoon we visited with the Day family. He said he wants to get back active in the church.
Elder Woodbury, Elder Hansen, and Elder Ericksen
This afternoon we visited with the Day family. He said he wants to get back active in the church.
The Guyton's fed us & the Elders supper. We met Brother Gutyon for the first time. He is a good cook! He cooked supper for us. Barry gave a short lesson.
Wednesday we took Sister Jones to transfer meeting. She, Elder Hanson & Elder Woodbury from Stockbridge are being transferred too. We will miss them. I will really miss Sister Jones--she is such a sweetheart.
This afternoon I helped Barry do some more home teaching. Talked to Victoria at the door--2nd time we've seen her--we've been by several times & missed her. She told us when we 1st met her that she went to LDS Business college & lived in Utah for a while so we were hoping she would come back to church but she hasn't yet. We also visited with Sister Cockram & her daughter Debbie through the door. She told us that they appreciate us remembering them. I had taken them two loaves of banana bread & at Christmas took some home made cookies & candy for her great-grandchildren who also live with her.
Thursday Barry took Brother Knight home teaching which gave me time to do a little cleaning since I didn't get to do much Monday. They visited the Huddlestons & the Wicklunds & Sister Kim Hard. Brother Knight was able to help facilitate Sister Wiklund in the process of getting on health insurance which she really appreciated.
Later Barry & I went by the drug store to pick up some medicine & talked to the lady that wants us to help her with her genealogy work. She said today was her last day at work & she will call us soon to help her. Then we visited Kelly at Verizon who helped us with the 2 rebates for Barry's phone. She said we could come by & talk to her about our church.
Friday we went walking in the cemetery that is close by. I cooked a lot of baby spinach which the Stansell's gave us. I made cornbread to go with it & it was delicious. We visited with the Branch President & family. Barry wanted to present the 10 key indicators of growth to him. We also visited with the Wiklund's & Kim. Kim has the cutest little white chihuahua that I love to hold! Sister Wicklund seemed relieved to have gotten the paperwork in for her insurance.
We ate out at the Blind Pig bbq restaurant & it was really good.
Saturday we went to Fayetteville to eat with the other senior missionaries & President Foote & his wife at Frank's at the Old Mill. The food was delicious, the place is beautiful and we enjoyed visiting with the other senior missionaries & Pres. & Sis. Foote.
Barry went home teaching with Brother Price while I stayed home & cooked a little for Sunday. I finally made the dressing! It was so good! On Sunday we don't usually get home until 1:30 so it is good to have some food cooked on Saturday for Sunday! The missionaries usually eat with us Sunday after church too.
Sunday we had 82 people at church! We have a strong family moving back into the church & everyone is happy about that. We had a sister there with her son & two nephews & she said she really liked the branch & may start coming here. We hope she does. It was her brother that slammed the door in our face the second door we knocked on when we moved here. He has a son that is a member. Now he has given permission for his whole family to be taught. His sister said she never thought that would happen & we have to agree! Hearts can be softened. This afternoon I went with Barry to home teach Brother Raybun. We've been waiting for his huge puddle to dry up some in his driveway but it is still really big so we drove to the puddle & Barry walked the rest of the way. He had a good visit with him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)