Beginnings of Spring

Tornado in Dublin

There was a small tornado in Dublin this weekend.  It went through about a mile north of where we lived all last year.  Winds of 125 mi an hour - not too severe, says one whose home was not damaged, and whose trees were not unrooted.  We are glad it was not any worse, and two of our members in its path did not sustain any damage.  Everyone is still cleaning up branches/ trees split or knocked down in the ice storms.  There was one casualty because an uprooted tree fell on a man the next day as he was cleaning up the mess.

The trees are beginning to blossom, so if the cold weather this week, does not spoil it, we should have signs of spring.  It feels like Spring to us - 75+ degrees ought to bring back the flowers and green grass don't you think?

Here are a few shots of our grey winters - it was such a lovely breezy day, we stopped at the boat dock in the community where we were checking on a referral from someone who wanted 10 bibles.  That was an unusual request, and with the ice storms and such, we had not been able to get out in the country to see about it.  Besides, we were not getting an answer to our phone calls.  We love that, as it is an open invitation to just knock on their door.

In this case, it was a lovely black woman who wanted the books for her church, because everyone these days came with the scriptures on electronics, and she felt they should hold the scriptures in your hands.  She also wanted one for her 6 year old grandson who "was such a good reader".  We were able to tell her about the Book of Mormon, a book written by prophets here on this continent which was another witness of Christ, and told of his visit to the Americas.  She seemed interested, and even though she said her husband was a pastor, she accepted the book and said she would like to read it.  We only had two bibles with us, so we gave those to her, and promised to return if she wanted more, or if she had any questions.

This is beautiful Lake Oconee.  It is almost an hour north east of Milledgeville and at the very corner of our area.

This is a good time to see the lakeside houses, as the leaves will soon be out and hide them from view.  The day we were here, fishermen were lazily enjoying the day in their tiny boats.  Lakeside living looks pretty inviting.  The grandchildren would love it!



New Districts and Zones

We have two wonderful new missionaries a sister from American Fork, and an Elder from Rupert, ID.  Milledgeville has one new Elder, from Burley ID, but he has been out for awhile, so is finished training.  It is always a treat to see their enthusiasm and hear their sweet sincere feelings about the Gospel.  I wish you could all step into one of these weekly meetings.  The Spirit is so strong as they teach each other the Gospel truths, and go off renewed and more dedicated to share with everyone.  That is one of our favorite parts of being here.

Next week will be our Zone meeting and interviews with the President.
They divided two of our zones, trying to make them smaller for less distance and more participation.  The Zones changed were in Savannah on the coast, and Tifton in Southern Georgia.  I don't know how our President will be able to get around to two more Zones.  Our mission covers a big area.