07-14-2019 - New Contacts

This was a great week! The ward members are so kind and welcoming here.  We had two dinner invitations; one with the Jennings family and the people they minister to; and one with the Hind family (Chelsie's sister-in-law) again. It is so enjoyable to get to know the people in our ward and stake.  There are so many good and faithful people! We love it here!

Dinner at Tracy and Emily Hinds
Elder Hopkins finishing off the desert with a rubber spatula so he could get every last bite.

This week was load-out at the Midwest Food Bank. Tuesday there were so many volunteers that we were assigned data entry. While Elder Merrell and I were busily typing away, Elders Rushton & Phipps found a young man that was very interested in learning about our church. It was decided that the missionaries needed to go back to the Food Bank on Thursday and postpone District Council Meeting for a few hours to keep in contact with this young man.

Thursday came and so did the young man, so our elders had another opportunity to share some gospel truths again. (They had also been in contact with him thru messenger.) 

Our Pick Team
Dea, Karen, reps from a charity, me, and Elder Merrell

Elder Merrell and I were assigned a pick team.  This time Karen was our lead (who works in the same little office that we do data entry in) and Dea was our cart pusher.  

We had some time to get to know these two ladies. We learned that Dea worked for the movie industry here in Georgia. She explained the she works for the second unit, the stunt people and explosive scenes.  She records the scene notes used in editing the films. She was from Los Angeles, then Reno, now Georgia.  Karen was a nurse specializing in diabetes. 

Once we got to know each other and laugh together, they started asking questions about our missionaries and how long we had been married.  They were quite surprised to hear 44 years. We then had the chance to tell them about our temple marriage. They wanted to know if you would be excommunicated if you weren't married in the temple. There really are a lot of misconceptions out there in the world. Before we left that day, we had friended Dea on facebook and had permission to send her a video clip. We sent two videos, the Rome Temple Tour video with Elder Bednar and Elder Rasband and "This is Church."  We're hoping for more questions.  When we go back next week. 

Midwest Food Bank loading trucks
Sister Williams (blue shirt) Sister Rice, Elder Sillito, Elder Bailey

Elder Rushton in white shirt, Elder Dunn in the trailer

Elder Dunn and Elder Rushton

Elder Phipps and Elder Smith

On the "Just Serve" app there was a need to take photos of gravestones in the cemetery a few blocks from our apartment.  Elder Merrell and I decided that it would be a good thing to do Saturday morning.  While there, several people stopped to visit with us, curious about what we were doing. I had to smile. I never expected that this was a way to meet new people.  

One of the people we met was Thomas Dorsey. His family has been in Fayetteville since 1840 when his 3G Grandfather, Thomas Dorsey, was a slave. Thomas was involved in the restoration of the cemetery we were standing in and many of his family members were buried there.  He invited us to a special event honoring his family at the Fayetteville Holliday-Dorsey-Fife Museum.  We couldn't pass up a chance to see family history in the making.

The Descendants of Thomas Dorsey.
The picture of Isaac, his son, is displayed on the wall behind the family

Thomas Dorsey, Sister and Elder Merrell
Thomas was so warm and friendly. We plan to have lunch with him.

The Holliday-Dorsey-Fife Museum (Photo taken from back of building)

Scarlett O-Hara's dress from the movie "Gone with the Wind"
In the Holliday-Dorsey-Fife Museum

The original civil war flag of  the Fayette Rifle Grays.
This Confederate flag was made in this house for the Fayette Rifle Grays,
the first company in the county to be raised for the Confederacy

The cause of the South,
We go to maintain,
We'll come back, with honor,
Or, come not again.

Sister Clayton invited Sister Kone and I to go to the temple and lunch on Friday. I love being in the temple and I especially loved chatting with these good sisters.  I hope we can do it again!