Sister Lindberg in Mississippi: This Week in Biloxi! 8/22/2016

(Ashley's Disclaimer: Apparently a whole week went by and I didn't realize it. So these are out of order. So sorry.)

We were tracting this week and were being met with the usual "I'm good." or "Not interested" through barely cracked doors. That is until we met Christian. Christian is a young boy, maybe 8 or 9. We knocked on the glass door to the house and had to bite our lips to stop from laughing as Christian ran up to the door, chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing in hand. He slipped and barely caught himself as came flying to the door. Luckily the cupcake was safe.

He opened the door, we introduced ourselves. Christian yelled for his Mamaw. His Papaw came instead. Introduced ourselves again and then introduced the message we share. We said "We are sharing a message about Jesus Christ and the gospel He established during His ministry. Is that something you would be interested in hearing more about?"

Cue Christian. "YES!"

Then Papaw. "Christian! Go inside!"

Hey, at least the kids like us!

As I'm sure y'all have already seen, to say the South is gettin a lot of rain is an understatement. We only had Sacrament meeting yesterday because so many people were in Louisiana helping with the flooding. It is sad to hear about and see pictures of the houses down there. Most of the men and some of the women from the ward have been down there all weekend helping to knock down walls, tear out carpet, and move belongings to the curb for someone to pick up. One of the members we had dinner with showed up pictures of the scene down there. So sad. There are dead animals that were caught in the flooding. Piles of stuff lining the streets. And people going to town knocking down walls that once held valued family photos, now water damaged and ruined.

Pray for them folks. They need it.

Yesterday a miracle happened. After Sacrament meeting two members walked up to us and said they had a couple hours to come out with us. That never happens y'all. We have to pull teeth to get them to come out with us. But hey, we'll take it. We went right out with Sister Ganshaw and visited Brother Terry Carnley. We have been teaching him like an investigator since he hasn't been to church since he was baptized at age 8, 23 years ago. He is sort of creepy flirty, so it was nice to have reinforcement to keep the flirting at bay.

We then headed to the Haleys. They are a very less active elderly couple. We visit them and show them the love that the ward has for them. Wonderful people. Also Tony Haley lets us know what the weather is so we don't get caught in torrential downpour too often.

Then to the Griffins. Another less active elderly couple. They were found by a miracle years ago as the Elders were biking down the road to an appointment and one of the Elder's handlebars turned suddenly onto their street. They got baptized. And then kept going to their Pentecostal church every other week. Their preacher hates us (the Mormons) and does everything in his power to keep them away from us. It has worked. Now Brother Griffin avoids us and Sister Griffin is caught up in doctrinal misunderstandings involving where Jesus will put His foot down when He comes again and the temple garment, put there by the preacher. We went to visit them and invite them to church.

Then back home to await the coming of Sister Cardon to take us to teach Megin and Kayla Oliver. They have been coming to YW and Girls' Camp and showing some interest in the church. Sister Cardon is the Young Women's President so it is perfect!

Then to dinner at her house with Zasha, their hunting dog. Love that dog. She has to be tethered to a handmade weight/tether in the middle of the kitchen to keep her from roaming the whole house. She sits on the upside down bowl that sits on top of the 80 lbs of plates. The stack keeps getting bigger as Zasha gets stronger and can pull the weights. Funny dog with a beard.

I was reading my patriarchal blessing this past week and realized that many of the blessings that are promised, are made richer by me serving a mission. One such promise involves my future home being a refuge and sanctuary for my children, and their friends and associates. As I thought of this, I imagined the home that I could establish, with the help of my husband of course, and then the home that would be made only richer with the experiences and lessons learned on a mission. It made me appreciate my mission that much more.

Favorite quote: "We could use a little of the rain from Louisiana. It is SO dry here!" -Southern woman that isn't outside trudging through puddles and soggy grass, or swimming through the air.