We hope you had a wonderful Christmas with family and all the activities that come with the holidays. It was a quiet holiday for us but nice at the same time. We enjoyed talking to all our children and other family members.
We had dinner on Christmas Eve with our Branch President’s family, the Hopkins, including their six children and his parents. After dinner they all acted out the Christmas story, and it was very, very sweet. It is a nice tradition in their family.
The Hopkins family entertained us on Christmas Day. |
Don't mess with Elder Gorden! |
We love every chance we get to spend time with our kids! (Audrey and Grandpa) |
Pratt is a good community, and our church is small here but strong. There are many recent converts, and it is great to see them coming to church and actively participating in the gospel. We still have many members to go meet. We arrived here right before Christmas and haven't had an opportunity to meet everyone. With the holidays a lot of people have been gone or otherwise busy. We are getting around to visit all of them slowly and steadily.
Pratt water towers show that the town has a sense of humor. |
There is an elderly lady in the branch named Betty who had us to dinner Friday night and she wanted us to meet her friend, Wilma. She said Wilma was never loved by her mother. It was really sad when she told us that Betty's mom has always told her " I should have drowned you when you were born!" Can you imagine? So obviously Wilma hasn't ever had much self esteem and needs to be loved, Betty explained to us. So before we went to meet Wilma, Betty wanted to say a prayer. If only you could have heard that sincere prayer she offered for her friend! Prayer is one thing that has impressed us a lot while being on our mission. Sometimes hearing these members makes us think we've forgotten how to pray. It seems the more humble circumstances people live in the more sincere their prayers become. Anyway we meet with Wilma. She is such a sweet lady. It was obvious she didn't think a lot of herself, but she was gracious even though she did not know that we were coming. We visited a little while, and she let us show her a video that Betty had suggested. (It is a Mormon message about the ugly duckling, basically). Being there was a sweet experience. After the video she showed us some quilts and afghans she had made. It seemed to make her happy that we appreciated her good work. Another thing that helped us connect with her is that she once lived in Mountain Home, Arkansas, and she still has some family there.
There were a lot of nice Christmas decorations in the community. |
Dad started teaching his Gospel Principles Sunday School class last week, and Mom is teaching the youth Sunday School during the same hour. Her kids are really sweet, and they have taken a liking to her - especially one girl that is 14 and in foster care. Justus lost her mom from a heart attack four years ago, and she has had a rough time. She is a new convert, and she comes and sits beside Sister Gorden during Sacrament each week. Last week she asked if she could help with the lesson today. Mom gave her a part to prepare, and she prepared well even though she probably left out a lot during her short presentation. It was a good thing for her. She is a sweet girl, and like with most people, it is easier to love her as we find out more about her situation. Today Justus saw Sister Gorden’s Personal Progress ribbons in her scriptures and asked what they were. She said she wanted to earn them, too. We hope to work with her on that. There are only three young women in the branch - two that actually attend. None of them have never started the Personal Progress Program.
The Sister Missionaries decorated our door for Sister Gorden's Birthday |
So there is a lot of work to be done here. That is just a couple of examples. The Relief Society President wants us to come and visit with one of her friends. The members here are very missionary oriented. They are big on just loving their neighbors and becoming their friends and it seems to be working.
This Friday will be a city-wide Red Cross blood drive, and our Branch is in charge of feeding everyone that donates blood. It will not just be a snack but a meal. We will be making a lot of chili and cookies. It should be a fun day and an opportunity to meet people from the community, and we are looking forward to it.
We have been actively volunteering in the community, but we have not received many assignments yet. We do deliver meals to shut-ins on Mondays and Thursdays. We have some other service opportunities pending.
Birthday Surprises for Sister Gorden |
The Pratt Branch has regular activities, including potluck dinners. It is a pleasant change from our last area. We do love Pratt, and we are happy here.
Mom likes to share Christmas goodies with just about everyone. |
Love,
Elder & Sister Gorden
No comments:
Post a Comment