Nimmer Pond

We had a unique and beautiful experience  yesterday.  We attend a baptism over in Greenville, Alabama.  We had not been involved with any of the finding and teaching of this man, but we followed his progress through our friends, Elder and Sister Spects and through several of the Sister missionaries who worked with him.

I hope I can paint you a mental pictures of the day.    We all met in the front room of President and Sister Nimmer. (picture with words as we were not to take pictures) He was the Branch President of Greenville until just recently. There were about 40-50 of us. Even our Mission President and his wife came down.  When the talk on baptism was finished, we all walked out to the Nimmer Pond.  Many of the homes here in this area have built a pond on their property.  They are used for fishing and maybe having a little canoe.   This was a very large pond-I would call it a small lake.  The day was absolutely gorgeous, the sun was shining, the sky was blue and the birds were singing.  The two men dressed in white lead us down past the dock and we watched ever so reverently as the two men walked from the beach down into the water.   When they were sufficiently in deep enough,  a peaceful silence filled the air as we heard the words of the Baptismal Prayer.   The witnesses indicated that he had not been completely submersed and so the Ordinance was repeated.  Again, the peaceful silence as the words were repeated.  This time, both men beaming, came forth out of the water and then cheers erupted. Cheers of joy and happiness for him.  

In Greenville, our church has purchased a small church from another denomination and it is a lovely old church and serves the people very well, but it does not have a baptismal font, so any baptisms are performed at a church in Highland Home about ½ hour away.  This was a most special opportunity for us to be a part of such a beautiful day. 

For those of you who have been baptized, pause a minute and recall what you can remember of your baptism.  It probably was not in a pond, but still a most special event in your life.  We are so grateful that we have had this opportunity to serve here in rural Southern Alabama. 

We love each of you.  Be Strong and Choose The Right.

Love, Grandma and Grandpa

Miles and Miles of Driving

Tonight’s letter will have to be short.  I went with the Sisters to teach a second lesson and it took a little longer than usual and then we decided to go to the home of a less-active that we have not been able to get into since we got here.  We pulled up and no one was home and just as we were about to leave they pulled in the driveway.  I expected to just have a short meeting on the porch, but they invited us in.  They seemed so excited that we had come and they talked and talked and talked.  Grandpa was home by himself and getting more and more worried.  Of course, I didn’t take my phone in the house as it appeared that we would only be leaving a note on their door.  I finally asked Sister for her phone, but then they told us they don’t have coverage up there.  Sister Manness (less active) finally called dad on their home line and let him know we were okay.  We had been gone for 3 ½ hours.  No wonder he was nervous.  But at least we got to visit with them and they invited us back.  First lesson went alright, but I think he is just enjoying the visits and really not interested in conversion. He listens and asks good questions, so  we will go back and see what happens next time. 

One cute thing. Friday we were in WalMart in Selma. We had finished our shopping as we didn’t have much to buy and we were waiting in the front of the store for the Sisters to finish there shopping.  A sweet little tiny black lady with curly gray hair was sort of the “greeter”.  She came up to me and said how nice I looked.  I thanked her and commented on her cute name: “Billie”  She looked at me with a smile and said, “ I was Billie Jean before Michael Jackson was born!”  Such a cute little lady. 

We are tired tonight.  We have had a very busy week.  In the last week we have put 1000 miles on our car.  We have been to Montgomery 3 times as we had computer problems and that is the nearest Geek Squad and a trip to Birmingham for transfers.  Our Sister Houston from Kaysville completed her mission and we have a new sister from Mesa Arizona.  It seems like some days all we do is drive.   We love you dearly.  We are so grateful that Trevor was not hurt any worse than it was.   Be safe.  Say your prayers and thank him for all your blessings.  We are a blessed family.  Love Grandma and Grandpa

Mission Extension

Dear Family,

We have officially requested the extension of our Mission from November 4, 2014 to April 13, 2015.  AND  We have received an official approval of our extension:

To the Hepworths, our dear and wonderful friends....

You have been APPROVED!!!

DOUBLE AND TRIPLE HOORAYS!

You are extended until April 13th.

Blessings on you!

Richard D. Hanks, President

Alabama Birmingham Mission

Thought you would want to see our notification.  Our Branch is so very happy that we are staying longer.  We were at one of the members home last Tuesday night.  He said his 1^st wish was to go to the Temple and his 2^nd wish was that we would move our family down here and stay. We really do love these southern friends. 

Tonight I had the opportunity to go with the Sister Missionaries to teach a gentleman that they had met walking in downtown Camden.  He is an “Ordained Deacon” in the Baptist Church and I was a little worried about bible bashing, but it was not that way at all.  He knew a little about Mormons, but said he had never taken the opportunity to hear what they believed.  We taught the lesson on the Restoration of the Gospel.  He had some very good questions and I felt we were able to answer him with scriptures and with testimony.  There was a wonderful spirit in the room and he invited us to come back for another lesson.  It seemed to me that several times he pondered what was said, as if he were giving it extra thought.  I was grateful for the opportunity to share in the gospel discussion.  I am so grateful that I have a Testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that I am a member of His church.  We have so many, many blessings in our lives because of Him and His Gospel.  Cherish your Testimony.  We love you and think of you very often.   Love, Grandma and Grandpa

Dinner for 8

Dear Family,

This has been an interesting week.  Tuesday morning we were invited to go over to Montgomery for lunch at the Montgomery Cattle Yard Grill.   This is at the actual cattle yard, where they bring in cattle for auction.  The restaurant is at the front of the stock yard building.  They have the BEST Prime Rib and it is only served on Tuesday.  You have to be there by 11:00 am to get a table and get the prime rib before they run out.  Our High Councilor, Vaughn Memory, is a very successful attorney in Montgomery.  He is actually from Springville, Utah.  He came out here to serve his mission and  met Glenda., who would become his wife.  He completed his mission and then came back for Glenda, she said I will follow you anywhere.....as long as it it is in Alabama!  He is a most educated man and can almost quote you Jesus the Christ.  He says he only has two hobbies....work and studying the scriptures.

Today, Pres. Memory was our speaker for sacrament meeting, he brought with him two sister missionaries.  Sister Davies just returned from the Guatemala mission, the one just above Derek’s. The other Sister is leaving in 4 weeks for England.  Inasmuch as Montgomery is 90 minutes from Camden and they had to be here at 8:00, so on Tuesday, I invited them for dinner.  To my surprise Pres. Memory said yes and so we had eight at our dinner table today.  The lunch was delicious (everyone said) and we had a fun time listening to  missionary experiences and the Memories’ experiences in Israel.

Our young Sister Houston completes her mission on August 6^th.  She expressed a liking for meatloaf and that she had not had any since coming on her mission...so we had meatloaf today.   Also Orange Jello and Cheesy Potatoes, fresh sliced tomatoes from Miss Ruby’s garden and fresh green beans.  Bet you wish you had been here!

On Friday, the Sisters were going over to Selma for team-ups with the Elders. We took them over ( The young missionaries are very restricted in the number of miles they get a transfer (6 weeks), so we are the drivers).  The District Leader asked if we would go with them to see a lady who used to live here in Camden.  Her name was on the Selma Branch records, but no one had been able to find her.  A few weeks before, the Elders were coming back from an appointment and it was about 8:30.  They were tired and wanted to just get home, but Elder Kirby said, let’s just try to see if we can find anyone who knows her.  So they stopped a guy working in his yard and he did know her and pointed to where she lived.  They went over and knocked on the door, she opened it and said.....”How did you find me?”  They explained and had a brief lesson and asked if they could come back.  They have now taught her and her 4 grandchildren three lessons.  She was so excited for us to come visit with her.  We were able to bring her up to date on all the people she knew from Camden and for us to hear about her family.  We told her we would come back in a few weeks.  It means so much to converts that someone cares enough to come visit and keep them connected to the gospel.  Out here, the members live far distances from each other, with small cars, and expensive gas; therefore they do not tend to help these new contacts get to church.  We were in Selma from 10:00 am to 8:00 p.m.  Needless to say we were TIRED!

 Again, thanks for the pictures, texts, messages and phone calls.  It really keeps us going.  We love you dearly. Love Grandma and Grandpa   

Pioneer Day!

As you all get ready for the Big July 24^th Celebration, I wanted to tell you about our “Pioneer Trek” here in Camden, Alabama.

We had 12 primary children attend which was wonderful, we only thought we would have 7.  We met at Bridgeport Park, just about 3 miles up the road from where we live.  It is on the banks of the Alabama River, a beautiful spot with lots of trees and vegetation.  It is not at all what the pioneers found on the plains or in Utah.

We had the children come down to the edge of the water, take off their shoes and go into the river up to their ankles.  ( Some of them had pretty high ankles)   We had them look across the river at “Nauvoo” and say good bye.  We talked of what they could put in their wagon....;what favorite toy they might be able to bring. Then we started for Sugar Creek...singing Pioneer Children Sang as the Walked and Walked...AT that stop we made little bracelets to mark their family, so that they wouldn’t get lost.  We had given each of the children a name tag with the name of a pioneer child.  At each stop, we had the child come up and we heard about their story. We went on to Winter Quarters, where we told them how the pioneers had to tell time by the shadows of the sun.  We drew their shadows on the pavement.  Later in the afternoon, they were surprised at how much taller their shadow was then when we drew it.  Another stop was Chimney Rock and then on to the Salt Lake Valley.  Here they ran in the crickets!  We had a fun game of throwing the black crickets into the pail.  Then we had pioneer games of Joseph Smith’s pole game, sack races and a few others.

Between each stop we sang as we walked and walked and walked!! We had a wonderful time.  Today, I taught Sharing Time.  We made pioneer covered wagons.  Graham cracker for the base, two big white marshmallows for the cover, two pretzels for the  axles and 4 white life savers for the wheels.  They turned out so cute and the kids had a wonderful time assembling them with the aid of thick frosting. 

Friday night our land lady and dear neighbor, Miss Ruby, took us to dinner at Gaines Ridge.  It is a beautiful old southern mansion that Miss Gaines, who grew up in the house, has turned into a lovely restaurant.   Very good food, decorated with beautiful old antiques and a most elegant atmosphere.  A place that Aunt Bebe would have loved!!!  We thought it was a great place to celebrate Grandpa’s Birthday.   He was so happy to get all your calls, texts and face book messages.  Thank you for making his day. 

We miss y’ all very much and thank you for your love and support.  It means so much to us.  The work with the less actives is going very slowly, but the active members are so grateful to have us here to give them support and encouragement.  They really are STRONG!  Our Sacrament Meetings and Fast Meetings are filled with wonderful talks and testimonies.   We love each of you.  Love Grandma and Grandpa