We had a wonderful week finishing up with the last Tennessee Knoxville Mission Zone Conference. What a treat it was to be with the missionaries and feel the Lord's spirit as they teach each other and share their wisdom and experiences. It was also a treat to hear President Pickett and his wife teach the missionaries.
President Pickett told a story about feeding his cattle at Christmas time in Oakley, Idaho a few years ago. He had given his employees time off for Christmas.
President Pickett and his son were in a truck feeding 4,000 head of cattle. There had been a snow storm the night before and it was calving time. He said when they approached the herd, all the cattle knew that food had arrived and ran towards them eager to eat. They were hungry! He noticed in the distance a black spot away from the rest of the herd. This cow wasn't coming in, and he knew the cow must been calving. He asked his son to drive out that way. As they got closer, they could see a calf standing on his wobbling legs for the first time under its mother. They also could see on the hilltop above them, a big coyote.
President Pickett didn't have a gun with him, so he got out of the truck and starting charging toward the coyote as fast as he could as he had done numerous times in the past. This time was different, instead of the coyote running away, the coyote bared his teeth and held his ground. President Pickett decided instantly to turn around and run back to the truck.
He likened the coyote to Satan and how he is more bold and aggressive than ever before. He counseled the missionaries to be on guard, to know he will attack them where they are weak, and reminded them to follow the missionary hand book and promised obedience would keep them safe. He said the cow protected her calf from the coyote that night, and the next day she and the calf came in to the feed truck.
We will be in South Carolina for the next two weeks and realized it would soon be time for transfers before we had a chance to get to know our new elders and sisters in our district. We made an extra effort to get to know them after district council meeting. We took the sisters out to lunch and invited the elders to our apartment for dinner that night. Elder Sillito had requested Japanese food, so Rod made his famous oyakodon.
We also spent time at the Midwest Food Bank inputting volunteer information again and enjoyed seeing the people on our Meals on Wheels route. It is so fun to get out and serve in the community.
Saturday morning a group of senior couples went to the Atlanta temple and had lunch together. We work with some amazing people. I love it here!
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