Sharing the Georgia Harvest

Any of you who have not watched "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration"  lately should do it.

We loved seeing it again.  It seemed very real and tells the story of the days of the early church very accurately.  You can find it on You Tube in sections or as a whole movie.  It's easy to forget all the sacrifices the early members made to establish the Church as we know it today.

The Powells who took us to dinner last week, own an acreage out by Wrightsville.  They keep bringing us grapes, so while I was having a little nap last week to recover from talk preparation, Doug went to work to make grape juice - his favorite!

He wants you to notice the size of these Muscadine grapes - the Grapes of the South.

Juice always takes effort, but it is so-o-o-o good!
It reminds us of Grandma Elaine.

Thanks Doug for the nostalgic treat!









We Had our High Priest Social out at their property last night.

We had been trying to bring some of the single sisters that are not able to get out much, but it is a long way to go and most finally declined.  We went out to check on another widow lady who had not been out for several weeks.  Doug saw she was looking tired and insisted on finishing mowing her huge lawn, and her neighbor/mother-in-law's yard, which she was going to do next.  We sat in the shade and visited while Doug worked.  The Mother-in-law is 94 and had only one son, so Carolyn has taken on a lot of extra duties.  One of her own sons lives in Utah, and the other is busy and involved in local government, so she often feels "all alone".

We talked her into coming with us.  She insisted she could drive herself, but in the end, she came with us, and enjoyed the visiting and the Southern Boil.  That consisted of shrimp, red potatoes, small pieces of corn on the cob, large sausages, onions, special seasoning, all boiled together in huge specially made pots.  Everyone thought it was wonderful.  I liked the potatoes!  Some were almost too full to eat because we ate so many boiled peanuts before we started- (another Southern favorite). I wished we had taken some pictures as the evening was cool and there were no gnats flying around.  Carolyn is only my age, but she has memory challenges.  We were glad she didn't have to drive these country roads in the dark.

This week we visited a home of an 86 year old lady who has a 55 year old daughter living with her in a little dilapidated home.  Together they have three dogs and 12 cats.  We were glad they opted to sit outside to visit, except it was by a major highway with Walmart across the street, so Doug basically heard only snippets of the conversation.  This is typical of many of the inactive members we find.  They have few resources to help themselves, and most haven't been to church since they were baptized years ago as a child, so it is like starting all over.  We know the Gospel needs to go to all people - poor, and well- to-do, as Jesus showed us.  The good folks in this little ward do all they can to make everyone feel welcome, but the disparity makes it difficult.  It is hard to find ways to help people better their condition as some are old, and as in this case, their families are not in a position to help either.

There are certainly challenges in this work and things that are unique to our area.  We are doing our best to share our testimonies and experiences to make a positive contribution.