That Perhaps We might be the Means

Hope each of you had a wonderful and memorable Thanksgiving.  We surly did.  New friends with food traditions.  We had ham and turkey, dressing. mashed potatoes and gravy but THEN  potatoes salad, chicken casserole and bean casserole with Mississippi Mud Pie, Sweet Potato Pie and Theresa‘s Cheese Cake.  And I made Rolls.  We were all stuffed to the brim.  And the time spent with this family was very very special.  We have been truly blessed!

On Monday, we had a two zone “Fun Day”. There were about 50 Missionaries and two Senior Couples at a local bowling alley in Montgomery.  What a blast!  It was the first time we had seen all the missionaries in casual clothes: us included.   For $7.00 we got shoes, bowl three games and have a hamburger, fries and a drink. What a bargain.  We started at 11:00 and finished up about 3:00.  It was truly inspiring to see so many young people, happy, friendly, laughing and supporting each other.  Not a single hard word.  Some were very good at the game and others just rolled the ball and had a great time.  Dad and I had not bowled since we all bowled that one year for Christmas.  Needless to say, we were not very good.  Dad barely broke 100 and I just made sixty for our “high” games.  It was one of the Sister Senior Training Leaders Birthday and someone brought two cakes, so we all sang “Happy Birthday and had Cake.  The Mission has set some very desirable goals and they have all been working so hard, it was great to see them relax for a short time. 

Today, we had a baptism in Magnolia.  Bobby is 17 years old and has been living with an LDS family.  I don’t know all of his story, but it has not been the easiest life.  While they were changing into dry clothes, we each wrote him a letter telling him how much our baptism meant to us and what it could mean for him.  Magnolia is a branch similar to ours, but the town is much smaller.  (This is where the 100 year old chapel stands)  We took our Sister Missionaries and their investigator over to the baptism.  Our investigator is Sarah and she is in her late 40’s.  She is one of those “elect” that we hear so much about.  Her baptism is scheduled for Dec. 13^th.  

We continue to visit with the Less Actives and we love them dearly and I think they love us too, but so far it hasn’t carried over into church attendance.  We have set some new plans for the Christmas Season and hope that they might have a “change of heart”.  Shayla wrote a letter once where she quoted the scripture, “That perhaps we might be the means...”  Alma 26: 26, 30.

This week the mission goes to the temple.  We will have 8 special sessions so that all the missionaries will be able to participate.  Dad and I will help at four of the sessions: Wednesday and Thursday at the 9:00 and 1:00 sessions.  Since we are 2 ½ hours from the temple, we will go up Tuesday night and stay overnight for two nights.  It is a most humbling experience to be with all of these young people. 

We missed you all on Thanksgiving and we will miss of the Christmas fun, but we have wonderful memories of the times we have been together and that brings us a lot of joy.  Keep us in your prayers.  Thank you for all the little texts, pictures and letters.  Love Grandma and Grandpa