Happy Mother's Day!

Today, being Mother's Day, has given me time to reflect on the 61 years I was able to learn from my angel mother. I can't ever remember a time when Mom wasn't serving, and that's not just serving in Church callings but serving anyone and everyone on a regular, daily basis. I'll just say this to illustrate my point. As we exited the chapel after her funeral, a dear friend and also the accompanist that day, Judy Billeter, began to play the postlude music. The first hymn she played was "Scatter Sunshine." At first I thought it certainly wasn't your typical hymn for a funeral, but it was actually a perfect choice for the occasion. It indisputably describes my mom.

1. In a world where sorrow ever will be known,
Where are found the needy and the sad and lone,
How much joy and comfort you can all bestow,
If you scatter sunshine ev'rywhere you go.
[Chorus] Scatter sunshine all along your way. Cheer and bless and brighten
Ev'ry passing day. Scatter sunshine all along your way.
Cheer and bless and brighten ev'ry passing day.
2. Slightest actions often meet the sorest needs,
For the world wants daily little kindly deeds.
Oh, what care and sorrow you may help remove,
With your songs and courage, sympathy and love.[Chorus]

3. When the days are gloomy, sing some happy song;
Meet the world's repining with a courage strong.
Go with faith undaunted thru the ills of life;
Scatter smiles and sunshine o'er its toil and strife.
[Chorus] Text: Lanta Wilson Smith  Music: Edwin O. Excell, 1851-1921

Good looking, hard working elders--Elder Sato (he's hoping the mission will start allowing skateboards!), Elder Barnes, Elder Ware and Elder Martell 

We attended our Church meetings in the Natchez Ward then had to part company with our wonderful weekend companions as we headed in 2 different directions. On our way back to Baton Rouge we made a little diversion from the highway to check out a little town called Woodville, just north of the Mississippi-Louisiana border. It's been around for over 200 years, incorporating in 1811, just after the Louisiana purchase in 1803 but before Mississippi became a state in 1817. John James Audubon visited there in 1820 and found 26 species of birds that he documented and painted in his Birds of America series. I'm guessing that the little guy in the tree below is a direct descendant of one of those in his books.

Downtown Woodville--a pretty lonely looking place

Maybe everyone is at church and all the stores are closed on Sunday!

With my vast amount of knowledge in the area of birdology, I'm going to go out on a limb here (pun intended) and  state, categorically, that this little guy is, scientifically speaking, the Red-headed Woodpecker. Speaking of birds reminds me of a great story which also happens to be true. This occurred a few years ago in our former stake in Southern California. A very humble man was called to be the Bishop of one of the wards in our stake. He was so uncomfortable with the calling and sincerely and prayerfully sought for confirmation that his calling was from the Lord.  Because he was an avid birdwatcher, he took his binoculars and bird book and drove up into the canyon near his home. It wasn't too long before he spotted a bird that he'd never seen before, and he'd done plenty of birdwatching. So he put down the binoculars and thumbed through his bird guide until he found the exact bird that he'd just seen. What kind of a bird was it? A Bishop Bird! I'd say he received his answer.

We did find a few homes in some very idyllic settings

Vicksburg National Military Park

Because we went to Vicksburg before, I've decided to concentrate on the USS Cairo, the only boat that the South was able to sink during the battle of Vicksburg. 102 years after the USS Cairo sank to the bottom of the Yazoo River, the boat was located and a massive salvage effort was set in motion to raise the boat and restore as much as possible. It wasn't actually transported to the Vicksburg National Military Park until 1977.

"Meet the deadline or pay $200 a day."  James Buchanan Eads, a wealthy St. Louis industrialist who risked his fortune in support of the Union, agreed to the deadline terms for the construction of 7 new ironclads. To speed production, a partner shipyard built 3 of the boats. Eads' shipyard built the other 4. All 7 were delivered 100 days later. The USS Cairo and 6 sister boats were all named for towns along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Unlike wooden sailing ships used at the beginning of the Civil War, these new boats had steam engines, armor plating, 13 cannons and a whopping top speed of 9 MPH!

We had no idea the the ironclads were paddle boats driven by steam. The paddle was actually inside the boat. It took a ton of coal per hour to make the steam to power the engines that drove the paddle wheel. They had to keep the fires burning and steam pressure up even when anchored in case of an attack, because without the steam the boat couldn't move. I wouldn't want to be the "coal heavers" who piled coal from storage into the fire room!

Some of the sides of the boat have rails turned upside down for the sides.

The Hastings, The Bible's and us--There are some outstanding missionaries in our mission, and the Hastings and Bible's are 4 of the best. They are truly the "salt of the earth," and yes, "by their fruits ye shall know them." They're dedicated and humble and are doing a great work in this part of the Lord's vineyard. 

The Missouri Monument--The plaque in front says, "Here Brothers Fought. Here, Confederates from Missouri fought Union soldiers from Missouri. At Vicksburg--and across every Civil War battlefield--men who had once been friends faced off as enemies. Neighbors and even family members found themselves on opposite sides, fighting for different ideals. Did they hesitate to fire on each other? In the officers' ranks were many men who had attended the same military academies. When Grant and Pemberton met to discuss surrender terms, they spoke as enemy commanders, but also as West Point graduates. The Civil War was not a struggle to fend off a foreign nation, but a war of Americans fighting Americans."

The sun is always in the wrong part of the sky by the time we get to the Kentucky Monument, but it's still a beautiful sight even though you probably can't tell it's Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis.

The Senior Weekend

Several weeks ago Elder Lauper made arrangements to get together for a weekend with the Bible's and Hastings, 2 of the other senior missionary couples here in LA. This was the weekend! But before we met up with the others we dropped off a new dryer for the Natchez Elders. When we finally reached them on the phone they were somewhere in Natchez on their bikes but said they'd hurry home. Let me just say that Mississippi is not flat like Louisiana, so hurrying home meant peddling up and down hills on a very warm day, but they didn't complain. Elder Ware, who'll be going home next month, says his pants fit a lot better than they did before he was transferred to Natchez:) Maybe I need to be transferred to a bike area!

Elder Ware and Elder Martell

After the delivery was made we met up with the Hastings and Bible's for a little driving city tour with Elder Lauper as the tour director. And it's a good thing we did, because we were so disappointed with the horse and buggy tour we took later in the evening. Our guide was nothing like Gus, the guide we had in September. Fortunately, it was a beautiful evening--about 80 with a gentle breeze. Okay, back to the Marc Lauper tour. We took a drive through the City and National Cemeteries to show off the beautiful iron work around the family plots. Neither of the other couples had been to Natchez before, and they loved it! Then we drove around looking at houses, churches, city buildings and business establishments sharing what we remembered from our previous times here. The homes below all face this view of the Mississippi River. Beautiful setting!

Dinner at Johnnie Mae's Seafood and Grille in Vidalia LA--just across the River from Natchez. The food was great, but the company was better! We enjoyed their version of a"bloomin' onion" and onion rings made with the famous Vidalia Onion. Yes, this is where Vidalia onions come from. In addition to that, we had fried green tomatoes, lots of shrimp, catfish, salmon and all the trimmings.

Six Senior Missionaries

Allison feeding Champ his carrot just before we left on our "tour."

Ok, maybe we learned something. This is the church that inspired the part of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer when Tom and Huck attend their own funeral. Mark Twain attended this church and wondered how the congregants got into the balcony seats. There's an outside door on the side where people of color entered the balcony and were allowed to sit.

You Want What?!!

We've received a lot of interesting requests to be supplied to the missionaries through "commissary" such as a full length mirror, electric mixer, bathroom scales, paper towels, etc., but today's was truly something unexpected. Elder R: "In our commissary, do you happen to have an extra Mission President's Handbook?" Stick to the "Missionary Handbook," Elder. I think you'll find that's all you'll need.

It always amazes me how I can go from swamped to "how can I best spend my time today?" The first 6 hours were consumed with missionary summaries and 4 x 6 cards for the July incomings. I know I'm jumping the gun but thought it would be one less thing to worry about.

t was really nice to see the BR Zone Leaders, even if they weren't there for long.

Elder Lehr and Elder Richardson

But the best part of the day was the marriage of 2 former LABRM missionaries. Jenna Schmutz and Billy Watkins were sealed for Time and All Eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple. Caden Steele and Chandler Adkins were so thoughtful to send some pics.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Billy Watkins--forever!

Five forever friends! Catherine Wolf and Jenna were North BR Sister and companions for several months. I just don't remember how many. Billy, Chandler & Caden were all awesome Office Elders who served with each other but not at the same time.

Big Surprise!

Former Companions

Eternal Companions

Sister Hockemier's Last Day

Monday and Tuesday were extremely busy but quiet. I was so behind after transfers but managed to get caught up yesterday. Today was MLC so it was nice to have the Zone Leaders from New Orleans and New Orleans Spanish stop by on their way to the Mission Home.

Elder Jean Louis, Elder Carson, Elder Mills and Elder Walker

Sister Hockemier completed her mission last Thursday, and her parents came to pick her up. They've been visiting Sister H's past areas and friends and also doing some sightseeing. I saw one pic with her holding an alligator at the alligator farm in Hammond. Now there's something we haven't tried yet!

The Slaughter Elders were in again today--this time to take their car in for some repairs when it lost a little altercation with a fire hydrant. So this is Elder Nield and Elder Rees with the Office Elders.

P-Day--Sort of

Just look what I got for going into the office today--Missionaries! I had to go into the office today to try to print the roster. There were a few issues that needed to be resolved before President Hansen could submit it. Until he does it can't be printed. For some reason it went very quickly. Maybe it's because we now have 5 zones instead of 6 so there were only 16 pages to print instead of 18. Also, our big copy machine is out of commission so I had to use the smaller printer in our office, which meant I didn't have to go into a different room to change the paper for each zone. I think I learned something today.

The Hastings, Elder Smiley and Elder Smith came into Baton Rouge from Oakdale for a Branch Temple Day

Elder Elison and Elder Taylor from Marksville and Elder Whittier in his real missionary clothes:)  The Marksville Elders had to come into BR because their car registration needed to be renewed. 

Sister Jewett and Sister Roberts dropped by the office to drop off a letter for another Sister that came to them for some strange reason.

Go-Home Day

Today we had 18 missionaries leave Louisiana to be honorably released by their home Stake Presidents. Fourteen of them flew home, and 4 had parents pick them up. We were so happy to have beautiful Sister Astle stop by the office with her parents. The fun thing for Sister Astle is that her dad just happens to also be her Stake President, so she can be released then go on a swamp tour or whatever she chooses. It's not like she'll go crazy. That's just not her style. But most of the other missionaries will have to come back to take in a few of the sights and activities that they couldn't do while serving here. One more thing about the Astle's is that they live in St. George! Happy Day! I'll be able to see Ashley a little more often than the other returnees.:)

Sister Astle with her mom and dad

Elder Bennett with the newest Office Elder--Elder Whittier. They were on their way to empty one apartment and move a few others around, thus the P-Day attire. Welcome aboard Elder W. I think you're gonna like it here.