August has been HOT! We have only hit 100 degrees once, but the kicker is the humidity. On a day of 95, the heat index is like 105. We were at the Opening Football Jamboree. We were in our seats at 5:00pm and it was so hot and humid we looked and felt like we had been in a sauna. It still felt that way at 10:00pm when it ended. The stadium was packed and hardly anyone left early, even those with young children. ! Football is a big thing here....a REALLY BIG THING., The two young men in our branch, Stone and J.P. are on the team, and they really look forward to our being there.
Along with being very hot, we have not had any rain. To our surprise everything has stayed fairly green, but the grass has not hardly grown at all. Grandpa used to mow every Monday and the grass really needed it and now it has been almost two weeks and it sill doesn’t need to be mowed. I don’t know why it is so humid with the lack of rain, but it must be the humidity from the Gulf (of Mexico). The landscape of this part of Alabama is very rural with natural greenery on every side. It is similar to Oregon’s roadways’, but we do not have the large fir trees. In Utah by now, the greenery along the sides of the road would be yellow and brown and a huge fire threat. To our knowledge there have not been any forest fires in our area. The cotton plants are about 3 feet tall now and have an occasional cotton ball on them. I am super excited to see a cotton field in full bloom.
We are still working with the Branch, to strengthen the members in their callings and reaching out to the Less Actives. It is sad to see those who have once been so active, now so complacent and comfortable in staying away. They seem so warm and accepting as we visit with them, but they don’t come on Sunday. But we keep on friend shipping. We truly love them....no strings attached. We are having the Annual Fish Fry next Saturday. No one seems to know how many years they have had the Fish Fry, they just call it the Annual. It will be a typical Southern menu: Fried Fish, French fries, Cole Slaw and Hush Puppies (also some chicken for the non fish folks).
On Friday this past week, we had the Senior Couples Activity. Our Mission tries to have an activity every 6 to 8 weeks. Dad and I planned this activity to go to the Montgomery Stock Yard Grill for lunch ( A real active Stockyard on Mondays) and then on a tour of the Hyundai Automotive Plant. ( a great tour) We had 6 couples in attendance including our beloved Mission President and his wife. We were so glad they could join us and have a little time to relax. They have been out for a year and a half and they work every minute of every day helping, training, motivating and loving their missionaries. You can’t really appreciate what a Mission President and His wife do for a mission and especially each missionary. They love and care for them as if they were their own children. They have to be truly dedicated to their service. They do not get “days off”.
We have been invited to a barbque on Monday and the Sister will be here in our home doing their Preparation day messaging to the Mission President and to their families.
As this is a holiday weekend, we feel more tenderness about home....it is not really homesickness, just tenderness. We love each of you so much and are so grateful for our family. Whatever you do tomorrow, think of us for a minute. We look forward to seeing you in a few weeks. Love, Grandma and Grandpa
No comments:
Post a Comment