Moundville

There is not  a lot to report on this week, but on our way home from taking some things out to the Elders in Tuscaloosa we drove back by way of Moundville, Alabama.  It is believed to be the site of the largest native American settlement north of Mexico City.  Of course the museum was closed, but it was nice to have the grounds all to ourselves while we were there. These signs tell a little about it.

The site is located on a bluff overlooking the Black Warrior River. It would have been something to see in it's day. 

We have a three week break now before the next batch of missionaries arrive, mostly on re-assignment.  We hope to help find suitable housing for them. 

Mission Miracle:

This week was a tiring week. We had a lot of referrals this week and we organized them into categories, based off where they live, and we got a lot of Book of Mormons to deliver. We did our first Bible study request this week and it went very well. After we finished she asked us out of no where if there was a book we would recommend that brings us peace and comfort. We looked at each other like we just won a million dollars. We recommended her the Book of Mormon and she was excited to get reading it.

Zoom Conference

President And Sister Allred

There was a three day mission wide Zone Conference via Zoom this week which allowed for more than 6 hours of instruction and interaction for the nearly 200 missionaries still in the field in the Alabama Birmingham Mission.  It would be nice to meet together in person, but this format also has it's advantages in that it will free up time for President and Sister Allred to interview and meet with missionaries in other settings. President Allred talked about how this is a transitional time for missionary work and that many of the skills developed over the last couple of months will still be useful regardless of the direction the world takes.  

 Things are slowly starting to open up with baptisms and teaching allowed for small groups in the church building. 

We had a very moving experience this past week. In fact, two of them.

Hazel Green Apartment (outside)

Hazel Green Apartment (inside)

One load, that's all.

Elder Mecham and Elder Nielson

On Tuesday we helped move stuff from an apartment that needed to be closed in Hazel Green, Alabama to a Sister's apartment in Huntsville where it is being stored until July when another apartment will be available in the Huntsville area. 

Saturday found us taking some furnishings out west to Tuscaloosa to an apartment there that is currently empty but will be used when 15 more missionaries arrive this coming week. 

Of course in both cases we had plenty of help from the local Elders. 

 

One interesting thing that we've noticed here is that there are many intersections where the name of the road depends on the direction you are turning. That and there are some really good street names.

We would like to take a moment this week end to remember those who have served and, in some cases, given their lives in service to their country.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

John 15:13

Magnolias

Magnolias are in blossom now!

We have turtle sightings nearly every day in the park where we walk. Can you spot the wildlife  in these pictures?

Most of the critters blend in well with the surroundings, but not this duck. 

 

We see it in the same spot on the creek every day.  Not a hint of camo or any sign it is worried about being seen. He is always alone and always at the same bend of the creek, usually sitting on a log.

Here are close ups of the pictures above for those having trouble finding animals in them.  

This was transfer week, but not a normal transfer week. Missionaries flew in Tuesday and Friday and some flew home on Thursday for a net gain of about 18. Here are some from the Tuesday group in the mission home waiting for orientation. 

We made two trips to Moody, Alabama this week to help resolve a bed bug problem in an apartment there and are trying to help get things ready for 15 more missionaries coming in two weeks. 

We have a feeling that this is a historical time that future historians will look back at to try to make sense of events that make no sense to those living through them.  The key thing right now is to not get distracted by distracting things and lose sight of what really is important.  When the right thing is easy to say and hard to do it means that it is now time to do hard things.

The mission miracle is that baptisms and teaching in small groups is again allowed in church buildings.

What is this?

Can you guess what the above picture is of and where it was taken? 

The first person to answer correctly will win an autographed copy of an even better picture suitable for framing. To show we are serious, here is the picture that you can win:

First Prize picture of Snapping Turtle

The only thing necessary to claim the prize will be for you to download, print and autograph the picture. What could be easier? Keep those guesses coming in.

This big guy was in the creek flowing through the park where we walk. As you can tell from the picture he blends into his surroundings quite well.  It is very exciting to see a real, live snapping turtle in it's natural habitat. We asked a man who walked by about it and he said that this was the first one he had ever seen in the park. Coincidentally, it was the first one we had seen there as well.  To get an idea of the size of this monster imagine a yard stick laid next to it.  Now imagine taking a reading from the yard stick and saying to yourself, "Wow, is it actually that big?" Well, yes, it was actually that big!  

Our current assignment is to help get apartments ready for the 24 missionaries coming in this week and to help find other housing as more come over the course of the summer.  On Thursday we ran some things up to Tuscaloosa to prepare open apartments there. Four Elders met us to help open the apartments and carry stuff in.  

Elder Rout, Wiseman, Jaszkowiak and Fife

We sure do love the missionaries. They seem to be holding up well in challenging circumstances.

On Saturday we hiked about a mile in to Caney Creek Falls about an hour and a half away. There are some amazingly beautiful water falls here in Alabama. It felt good to get outside, stretch our legs, breathe fresh air and convert sunlight into vitamin D. 

No problem at all doing the social distance thing here. There wasn't another soul around until we were hiking out. We imagine in the summer it will be quite busy with people swimming and playing in the water, but it was cool enough Saturday that we had it all to ourselves for awhile. Here are a few more pictures. The large leaves are on a type of Magnolia tree that have a tropical look. 

So, how about the picture at the top of the page? It was taken looking up into this tree. The light showing in the middle of the picture is actually coming in through a hole about 20 feet up the tree. We see a lot of hollow trees here and wonder how some of them are still standing. Don't worry if you weren't able to guess what it was. The consolation prize is an autographed picture of a turtle. Feel free to download and autograph at your leisure.

One on One with One of the Twelve

On Thursday we had the awesome opportunity to participate in a special mission wide devotional with Elder Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He talked with us for over an hour, covering a wide range of Gospel topics. Most of the time was spent in addressing questions directed to him by our missionaries.   It was very personal and actually felt like he was right there in the room with us.  It was very interesting to observe how carefully he would follow up when responding to a question to get a feel for what the individual had heard and whether additional clarification or insight would be helpful. 

One thing Elder Bednar emphasized right from the beginning was that, in light of recent events, it is evident that the Lord is directing his church. We might be surprised by events, but He is not.

Well, things are starting to loosen up a little bit here and there, but most missionary work is still taking place remotely through social media and on-line teaching.  The young Elders and Sisters are really becoming proficient with the available tools and rather than slowing down the work seems to be accelerating. 

Our mission is preparing to receive those missionaries who returned to the US from overseas that have been reassigned to serve in missions here in the United States or Canada. We are expecting to grow by over 100 missionaries before the end of summer. It will be kind of like having transfers every two weeks instead of every six weeks for the next four months and is presenting some very interesting logistical challenges. We're just glad that we're still here to see how it unfolds and hopefully can help with these 'adjustments'.

We discovered a civil war monument in the town of Double Springs about an hours drive northwest of us. It stands in front of the Winston County Court House. It is very interesting because it depicts a soldier who is dressed 1/2 in a Union uniform and 1/2 in a Confederate uniform. It represents the way the Civil War was not a clean division of Northern and Southern states but actually divided families and communities.  Winston County, Alabama did not join the confederacy during the Civil War and is even today known as the Free State of Winston. There were some citizens of the county who joined the Union Army and some who joined the Confederacy with some families being divided.

It is sobering to think that the primary issue leading up to the Civil War was States Rights vs Federal Authority which is still a mater of contention today. 

We found a new apartment. One of us is ready to move in, the other not so much - and she has the deciding vote 😞.

Mission Miracle:
"Aside from that, we have received so many referrals! It almost worries us how we can handle even more when we are out of the quarantine... when we plan our days, they are completely packed. We can see no room to fit all the things we need to accomplish let alone getting creative and taking time to go on walks.... but somehow every day, the Lord gives us a glimpse of Heavenly time I guess. Things just have a habit of working out when we are on His errand. We just take it one miracle at a time these days! What a time to be alive!"