August 23, 2015

Sit back, relax and prop your fee up for a spell.  We have had a very busy week!

We headed back up to the North Carolina Charlotte Mission again this week.  Tuesday found us driving back up......I think our car can just do 'auto-pilot' these days!

We stayed in the same Hampton Inn for 3 nights straight (unheard of for us normally!), so we were thrilled to make that our home base and 'spider out' from there.  However, on WEDNESDAY we found ourselves in a bit of a major backup on the highway.  There had been a car accident and the highway we were to take was completely closed.  We were about 1 1/2 hours late.  Nothing we could do about that.  All of those school busses were late as well.

The chapels we were in this week were just as varied as any other week of Zone Conferences.  We love to visit them all.

At Thursday's Zone Conference we FINALLY got to meet Elder Killian, mission nurse!  How wonderful to meet him.  His wife is also a nurse with him but she had to work and couldn't be there that day.

 It just so 'happened' that on Wednesday evening as we left the Zone Conference, we dropped by a Funeral Home in Winston Salem to see a cousin that had passed away on Sunday.  We had gotten word that Frances Joan Kirkman Carroll has died.  J.C. Kirkman, her brother-my cousin, was going to be there.  J.C. and I remember each other and it gave us a chance to catch up on our lives!  I love these tender mercies that happen on a daily basis!

Thursday evening after Zone Conference was over we slipped over to Faye and Ronnie's home in High Point.  And, the tender mercy for the day, Uncle Wendell had arrived at their home.  He had driven from California.  How good it was to be with him.  We have not seen him for a number of years.  We went out to dinner and had a great evening.

 On Friday the Zone Conference was held in the Greensboro Stake Center.  We had heard they have beautiful paintings hanging throughout the building.  And, indeed, they did.  This painting is one of my favorites!  The Savior is teaching Mary while Martha is working preparing food and trying to listen at the same time.  I often say I am more of a 'Martha' because I am always trying to get so many things done.

I happened to look over and spotted Elder/Dr. Allgaier having a conversation with President Alexander, the Mission President.  What a great man President Alexander is.  We have surely enjoyed getting to know he and Sister Alexander.....one of our 3 brand new mission presidents.

And it was time for Elder/Dr. to give a brief presentation to this Zone.  He always does such a great job with informing and educating the missionaries on good health practices.  And at lunchtime he takes care of their individual needs by seeing them one at a time, at least those who have medical questions or concerns.

When we finished Friday, we headed up to Mt. Airy, N.C. for the weekend.  That IS a part of our mission.  Notice Pilot Mountain in the background.

The FUN thing about our trip to Mt. Airy was that three of the Senior Missionary couples from the NCCM were there for a day as well.  They asked us to show them around and we were happy to do that.  We started out by meeting them at the top of Pilot Mountain.  Even though you can't see the 'view' from the top, we WERE at the top.

On Saturday morning we headed over to the JAIL, WALLEY'S FILLING STATION and to see the SQUAD CARS.  

 And, lest we not have our foto taken at the squad car, we all took advantage of the foto-op!

Sitting on the front porch and shooting the breeze is just the thing to do.....

And, of course, we all had to try out Otis's jail cell!!!!

If you reach real hard you can actually get the keys off the wall!!!

We traveled on up to the top of the QUARRY, The World's Largest Open Face Granite Quarry in the World!!!  I am still impressed with it after all of my lifetime of seeing this place.

On to downtown Mt. Airy and see what Mayberry has to offer.  We found a little friendly game of Chess on Main was fun.....Elder Adamson and Elder/Dr. Allgaier had fun playing....

After doing the usual things downtown and around town with the 3 senior missionary couples, they had to head back down to Charlotte.  We then joined Sharon and Lester and Wendell and Elders Jackman and Anderson and Gary (who drove up from Boone, N.C.) for dinner at the brand new Cracker Barrel on Highway 601.  That was so fun!!!

We headed up to Lester and Sharon's home for a little visit.  Lester was so good to attach another 16 medallions on our walking sticks for us!!!  Bless his heart.....16 of EACH of the two walking sticks that is.

We went to Mt. Airy Ward for church on Sunday.  I had crocheted a red & white doily for 'the other Esther Johnson' (as I call her....since my mother was Esther Johnson and they were in the same ward).  I was glad to be able to give it to her.

After church we headed to Sharon and Lester's for lunch.  After lunch we decided to take a drive to a family cemetery.  I had been wanting to visit my great-great grandparents graves again....Dr. James Dickerson Dean and his wife, Esther Hiatt Dean.  They are the ones who joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1872 in Mt. Airy, N.C.

 Sharon and I got down on the ground to have our foto taken and couldn't get up to move to the next grave marker.  So, we decided to just SCOOT!!!  Why not!!

 At least we made it to the other marker.

We also found our great grandparents not too far away as well (Grandpa Marion's parents).  Uncle Wendell joined us for this foto.

It has been a very, very FULL week.  We never lack for 'something' going on....and YES we are on a full-time mission and loving it.  Amazing how we can accomplish a little bit in such a short amount of time!!!  Off to the Tennessee Knoxville Mission tomorrow and for the week!