Inside this tunnel is a large room (a council hall) it was very cool in there. It felt nice because it was 95 degrees outside.
This is one of the Temple mounds. All of this mound was made by people carrying up baskets of soil and dumping them in a pile.There were many different mounds.
It is quite a journey to the top of the Temple mound. and at the top some of up needed a quick breath in the 95 degree heat.
When we were driving up to the Temple mound parking lot we saw a large splash in a small pound just off the road. It was like someone had thrown a tree stump in the water. When we got to his trailhead we discovered it was not a tree stump.
That's right there were alligators and all hikers were being warned. Gramma wouldn't go down so we continued down the road. The railroad had build a line to transport cotton through the mounds in 1844 and had destroyed several mounds. They were later (around 1900) made to move the railroads. This railroad bridge is all that is left of the railroad and this bridge was built in 1844.
We then went to old Macon and visited the Hay House. It was build by a couple with more money than sense during the mid 1800's. the house has 18,000 square feet.
This was a good enough view for me, but of course Gramma wanted to see the inside. So she bought two tickets and off we go.The front double doors were each 16 feet tall, 6 feet wide, and weighed 500 pounds each. This is room the servants would seat you until the family could come greet you.
This is the side door in that room (sorry about the finger shot). Next is the living room up stairs. These are just a few of the many rooms in this house.
This room was for entertaining, dances and concerts. Didn't take pictures of all the other rooms, but you get the picture, a 'little much".
Our day was running out, but we were told to be sure a see the Catholic church down the street, so we stopped there. It was beautiful, but we both thought the one in Helena, Montana was prettier.
Tuesday morning we had district council meeting with the Elders and Sisters in our area. It was a great meeting and we got some events scheduled for the week. They also loaded google drive on our phones with all the area missionary information. Tuesday evening we drove to Peachtree City and had dinner with President and Sister Clayton. They are very nice and wanted us to know of their support. They have about 160 Elders and Sisters, and about 20 Senior Missionaries (10 Couples) that they are responsible for. I posted a picture of the Elders assigned here to the Jonesboro Ward, but didn't post a picture of the Sisters. Sister Strickland (left) and Sister Diener.Conner, do you recognize Sister Strickland? She was looking at Gramma's Facebook and saw a picture of Conner. She had a communication class with Conner and even had a photo of him and her together after a class presentation.
Wednesday, we went to check on a couple of address in Ellenwood, but both homes were vacant. Late afternoon we went to a Bible study class at the church, but no one made it but the Elders so we had a short meeting with them. Thursday morning Gramma wrote several letters and cards to people at home, and in the afternoon explored more roads and places so we can get around better. I have never been in a place with so many winding roads, none of them straight, up and down with thick trees on both sides of the road. People drive fast and furious on these windy roads and you have to be on your toes. That evening we split with the Elders and we went with Elder Stock to Hampton and contacted four or five families. This was Grammas first time at door approach contacting and she really enjoyed it, and she is quite good at it. We had some good visits with some less active members and previous investigators and in a couple of cases their neighbors. The people here in Atlanta are quite kind and friendly. Friday we spent the morning with the Elders and Sisters from the Jonesboro Ward and the Elders and Sisters serving in the Spanish Branch that meet in the some building, to sing at the Golden Crest nursing home.
They do this every week as a service project. They were really glad to have Gramma here with her piano skills. They had to sing a lot of the songs acapella. We were asked to sing some of hymns from a different hymn book the missionaries would take pictures on their phones of the song so they could sing along. The people staff and patients seem to enjoy and appreciate the music. We are going to work on ways to make it go smoother without photo breaks.That afternoon we spent with the Relief Society president and went through the ward list. She has lived here quite a while and knew many of the members. Friday we were taken to dinner, along with the other missionaries by Brother Hellesoe and his daughter. They are Samoan and we are sure is is related to the Hellesoe's that we knew in Samoa. They had been to Upolu a couple of years ago and we had a fun visit with them. Saturday we watched afternoon conference here in the apartment on BYUtv, and was to pick up a investigator to take her to the church for the women's meeting. She called and cancelled so Gramma went to the meeting at the church. We really enjoyed conference. Today we will watch morning conference here and then we will pick up Anthony Cleveland to take to the afternoon session at the church. He is the investigator that we picked up for church last Sunday. That is pretty much the activities for the past week. We already have a full schedule for next week and we think finding things to do and ways to help the missionaries is not going to be a problem. We love all of you, hope you got to see and feel the spirit of conference. You can call us, just remember we are 2 hours ahead of you. The Gospel is true and remember we are praying for all of you each day. God bless ya'll. Elder and Sister Hammond.
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