Week 24, 10 October 2016

CASWELL BEACH

Out and about on Pday after Hurricane Matthew. The sea was calm and we walked and picked up a few shells. You can spot the seaweed on the beach, the only sign of the rough seas for which Hurricane Matthew was responsible.

BURNEY'S BAKERY

Our favorite place we visit every Pday, Burney's Bakery, had their sign demolished by the hurricane.

SUNDAY DINNER

The Goodsen family invited us to dinner on Sunday Evening. Our two elders on the right! Sister Goodsen in the turquoise tshirt.

Sorry about the "extras" in this photo but it gives you an idea of the damage in Southport on the Cape Fear River. These are two of our favorite restaurants during the storm.

UPROOTED

This is a huge tree in a ward members home that was toppled over by Hurricane Matthew.

SAVED BY THE BELL

The tree fell right next to the house and only damaged the back porch. The family is still waiting for the insurance adjusters to come and assess the damage before getting the tree removed.

BELLAMY MANSION HISTORICAL MUSEUM

The Hydes are leaving us in about 3 weeks and they wanted to visit the Bellamy Mansion Museum. We went with one other senior couple on a tour of the house. It was home to a Dr. Bellamy, his wife and ten children.

SLAVE QUARTERS

These slave quarters at the back of the property housed about 10 slaves.

BACK PORCH

The house was built during the late 1850s - early 1860s and was used by the Union Army as their Wilmington Headquarters during the Civil War.

DINING ROOM

This is a photo of the dining room with the table laid ready for dinner. The tour lasted almost two hours and really gave you feel for what life was like during those years.

MISSIONARY WORK

Every week we have many unreturned phone calls and text messages besides those who are visited and have no interest in returning to church. We met with the Relief Society President who gave us the names of 25 sisters about whom she knew nothing. She wanted us to find them so that she could assign Visiting Teachers. We set out with our list and, par for the course, found 10 had moved, 12 not interested, 1 that will accept VT, 2 we were not able to find. It is amazing to hear the stories they tell about their lives and tragedies!! Divorce is a huge factor in so many lives, marrying outside of the church and attending other faiths. Most believe that all is well and they will still go to "heaven".  We are looking forward to a new experience this week. The mission office contacted us with a request from a member in Utah, to visit his ex son-in-law who is in prison here in Leland. We are going to visit him on Tuesday morning to hear another sad tale of a life gone wrong. We are truly having an amazing adventure which is teaching us, more clearly than ever before, how important faithfulness to the gospel and commandments is to our happiness.

 THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK (courtesy of Lane)

"The convincing power of the Holy Ghost is so great that there can be no doubt that what he reveals to us is true. Through the Holy Ghost the truth is woven into the very fibre and sinews of the body so that it cannot be forgotten."  President Joseph Fielding Smith (Doctrines of Salvation)