A Warm Southern Welcome

We've been looking forward to going to church and meeting some of the branch members. Quality, not quantity would perfectly describe them. The counselor who conducted Sacrament Meeting said he counted 23 including children. I thought there were a few more. No matter. We received such a genuinely warm welcome from everyone we met. Considering the fact that almost all are first or second generation members they have strong testimonies and a great depth of understanding. Seems like they've had the gospel in their lives forever. (Actually they have but didn't know it.) I'm sure I'll learn far more from them than they'll ever learn from me.

This is a testimony to me that somewhere they knew those truths before and now they're being recalled to mind. 

The elders came to dinner this evening. Good thing they came at 5 because when we got home from church I'd forgotten to plug in the crock pot. Please note: a 4 lb chuck roast can be cooked on hi in 4 1/2 hours!

On the lighter side--observations on how you know y'all are in a small branch:

1. You meet everyone in the branch twice  --once on the way in & again on the way out. 

2. There's no place for a box of Kleenex on the portable podium. 

3. The piano is a Yamaha keyboard. 

4. All the hymn books are brand new because the branch was recently reopened. 

5. The Sacrament is prepared before you finish the first verse of a 2 line hymn. 

6. The same sister conducts, leads, prays & teaches the lesson in Relief Society. 

7.  You don't have to use the church restrooms because you're only there for 2 hours instead of 3. 

8. Everyone loves you the minute you walk in the door. They act like you've been best friends forever. 

9. You pray that you'll get to spend your entire mission in that incredible little branch!!!